strata

The Strata from MetaWatch is a waterproof smartwatch that connects to your iPhone or Android handset via Bluetooth. You can receive calls, texts, e-mails, and Facebook and Twitter notifications via the watch, as well as use the integrated running and cycling app to track your workout.

Developers can also use the open-source software development kits for the watch, which is listed on the crowdsourced funding platform Kickstarter, to create Strata apps and widgets.

If you think all this sounds familiar, that's because the Pebble does exactly the same thing. … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--That this week's O'Reilly Strata data conference was sold out says a lot about this corner of tech. It's hot. Like cloud computing, big data is all the rage, even if, like cloud computing, it's not so much a single thing but an intersection of technologies, market needs, and critical mass.

One of several themes that kept popping up this week was data vs. models.

In 2008, Wired's Chris Anderson wrote a provocative article titled "The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete." His thesis was … Read more

Mozilla claims its long-delayed Firefox 4 Web browser will invigorate a browser market still dominated by technology that's 10 years old or even older. Strata40 is a Firefox add-on by SpewBoy that promises to deliver a user interface that is the closest possible match to the Firefox 4 mock-ups in both appearance and functionality. It's different from the usual Firefox theme in that it requires additional software to achieve its goal of approximating Firefox 4's new browsing environment.

The object of Strata40 is to give Firefox users a taste of things to come, and it's an … Read more

Firefox developer SpewBoy's Strata40 theme offers a look at the style and features that Mozilla's long-awaited, often-delayed Firefox 4 Web browser will bring to a stale browser scene. SpewBoy's StrataBuddy is a companion add-on that enables some of the graphics, animation, and display effects that are designed to give Firefox 4 a new and unique look and feel. It's specifically designed to be used with Strata40, but it can also be used by itself with other themes in current versions of Firefox. However, most of its options, such as aero glass effects and the Firefox 3.… Read more

Take two new add-ons, judiciously use some pre-existing extensions, and creatively apply built-in tweaks, and you can make Firefox 3.6 look like Firefox 3.7 or even Firefox 4.0. In this How-To video from CNET TV, I'll take you through the steps explained in this blog post from last week. The process isn't hard, and can be good for getting more familiar with the deep level of customization available in Firefox.

Microsoft has been growing its share of the Netbook segment in recent months, but it's largely on the back of the company's older Windows XP product, rather than Windows Vista.

The trend toward the small, cheap notebooks has not been lost on the software maker, however. When the topic turns to Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference next week, I would expect the software maker to talk about an operating system that can run well on all manner of laptops, including the ultra-low-end.

It's just one of many topics expected to come up at the conference, … Read more

Windows 7 and Windows Cloud may be the stars of Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference, but the next version of Office has also landed a role in the production.

Office 14, as the product is code-named, will be discussed at next week's event, with attendees likely to get a peek at a couple of its features, according to sources. Unlike Windows 7, though, folks shouldn't expect to leave Los Angeles with a copy of their own.

In particular, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has talked recently about the idea that the next version of Office will be able to … Read more

With less than two weeks until Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference kicks off in Los Angeles, news is starting to trickle out.

Come October 27, that trickle will turn into a flood. Here at CNET News we want to make sure you keep your head above water. To that end, our PDC page is already up and running.

You can bookmark that page and be sure that whenever you check it you will be up on the latest PDC-related info as well as catch any stories on the products expected to make headlines at the show.

Already there are a … Read more

Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talked about "Windows Cloud"--the company's long-rumored cloud operating system.

At the time, though, he noted that the Windows Cloud name was not necessarily the final name. On Wednesday, an eagle-eyed blogger noticed that the Web site for Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference was listing several cloud computing sessions under the subject heading "Windows Strata." Microsoft has since taken down the Windows Strata references, but not before a number of blogs noted the listing.

In his talks last week, Ballmer quipped that by the PDC, Microsoft might even have … Read more