The growing criticism of Flash and Apple CEO Steve Jobs' extreme dislike of the technology) appears to be fueling the adoption of HTML. A study by the video search engine MeFeedia (http://blog.mefeedia.com/html5-video-stats) shows an 160% increase in the proportion of video encoded in HTML5 since January.

The study found that 26% of all web video is now available for playback in HTML5 using the H.264 format. MeeFeedia notes that most sites that support HTML5 will detect iPad users and switch to an HTML5-compatible format. Only YouTube enables this functionality on their embeds on other sites though.

For news, recent stories are available, but most back library content is not yet re-encoded, says MeeFeedia. Their study also shows that there's little HTML5 supported episodic content available from major TV networks. ABC has an iPad app, but there are no full...

Hon Hai Group, the Taipei-based maker of products such as iPhones, is recruiting mental health professionals and building leisure facilities in its Chinese factories after at least seven employee suicides this year, reports "Bloomberg Businessweek" (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-17/hon-hai-turns-to-counselors-...).

The company has deployed 100 counselors and its health division plans to work more closely with local governments and academic institutions to support its 800,000 workers in China, Edmund Ding, a spokesman at the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, told "Bloomberg" by phone. However, he didn't comment on why workers may be taking their own lives.

The...

Softbank Mobile -- the exclusive iPhone carrier in Japan -- had said that the 3G version of the iPads sold in Japan could only be used on its mobile network. That’s because Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in January that the devices would be unlocked outside the U.S. and usable on any carrier willing to provide a micro-SIM card for it.

However, Apple tells "The Wall Street Journal" (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/05/15/apple-clarifies-japanese-ipad-sim...) that, while Japanese 3G iPads will only work with Softbank’s 3G service in Japan, outside of Japan, those iPads are unlocked, so they can be used with SIMs for local carriers in their respective markets. Whether 3G iPads purchased outside of Japan will work in Japan will depend on the roaming agreement that the users’s home carrier...

Starting in February 2009, ABI Research (http://www.abiresearch.com) forecast that approximately 35 million netbooks would ship into world markets in the course of the year.

That estimate was viewed in some quarters as unrealistically high. However the final 2009 shipment numbers -- 36.3 million netbooks shipped -- have confirmed that the forecast was perhaps a little conservative, according to the research group.

In 2010, netbook shipments are expected to reach 58 million while a new element has been added to the mobile consumer electronics market equation: the media tablet, initially personified by Apple’s iPad. How will mobile CE markets react to a “new kid on the block” so soon after the start of the netbook craze?

“We expect the netbook market to fragment according to different regional value propositions,” says principal analyst Jeff Orr. “Functionality will be added to...

TrendyDigital Design has unveiled three new accessories for the iPad: the PadShield  Elements Protection Case, the PadGear Folio Case and the PadRide In-Car Carry Case. The PadShield Elements Protection Case (http://trendydigital.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&produ...) combines the functionalities of a protective screen, a water resistance case and a padded protective pouch into a simple, elegant case.

It's most useful when people use their iPad in wet, dusty environments or other locations where the the Apple tablet should be protected from harmful environmental elements. The PadGear case features a four-point anchor system to secure the iPad and double zippers for closure when the iPad isn't being used.

The PadShield Elements Protection Case...

The Aquamacs Project (http://aquamacs.org) has released Aquamacs 2.0, an update of the Mac-friendly variant of the Emacs editor Emacs. It's a free editor for source code, web pages, typesetting documents and all other forms of text.

Aquamacs is optimized for Mac user interface conventions. Version 2.0 is now fully based on Cocoa, supports 64-bit computing on Macs and allows for better integration of applications with the operating system and other applications. It also offers improved dialogs for opening, saving, and printing files, configuring fonts and colors, and displaying user messages.

Text display is now fully based on Unicode. Aquamacs 2.0 also sports: more consistency and configurability in key bindings; improvements in the configurability of toolbars; updates in major included Emacs editing modes, including Python, Ruby, ESS, LaTeX/AucTeX, and more

Aquamacs is open source software. It's...

Akvis Software (http://www.Akvis.com) has released Akvis ArtWork 3.5. The upgrade introduces the ability to save guiding lines to a file (.direction extension), making it easier to continue editing a photo later. Also, the plug-in version is now 64-bit compatible.

Akvis ArtWork is available as a stand-alone application, as well as a plug-in to a photo editor. The plugin version of Akvis ArtWork is compatible with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, Corel Painter, Corel Photo-Paint, and Paint Shop Pro, ACD FotoCanvas, and PhotoImpact. Akvis ArtWork runs on Mac OS X (10.4 or higher) and Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista/Win 7.

Akvis ArtWork Home License (plug-in or standalone) sells for US$72. Registered users can upgrade to version 3.5 for free. Just download the program and reinstall it. Use your license key to reactivate the program after reinstallation.

Home users can buy the full line of...

Excel Software (http://www.excelsoftware.com) has updated MacA&D -- a software solution for system analysis, requirements management, software design, code generation and custom reports -- to version 3.1. Enhancements include support for UML 2.2, data flow diagrams, class models and code generation for REALbasic and Objective-C 2.0.

MacA&D 3.1 enables a software designer to draw the 14 major diagram types specified by UML 2.2, including newly added support for Component, Component Structure and Timing diagrams. The Timing diagram can show object states with multiple state lines or shaded areas. Diagrams may contain component objects, classes with ports and required or provided interfaces using ball
and socket notation. Sequence diagrams can have interaction frames with conditional regions.

Data flow diagrams are enhanced to allow links to external child diagrams. A process on...

Someone is going to be in BIG trouble. A Vietnamese site, "Tinte" (http://www.tinhte.com/threads/408209-Ro-ri-MacBook-nhua-doi-moi), that recently got their hands on a (purported) next gen iPhone is claiming to now have obtained a leaked version of a fresh of the MacBook.

According to "Tinte", the MacBook model 7,1 sports a 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, and has a GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with the main memory. It has a 1280x800 pixel widescreen display, a 250GB 5400 RPM hard drive, and 2GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM.

If "Tinte" isn't pulling our legs, it's likely we'll see an official announcement of the tweaked MacBook next week. Along with a refreshed MacBook Air, perhaps?

Here are the latest iPhone/iPod touch/iPod/iPad apps announced. You can find 'em at the Apple App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore/).

ASK Video Interactive Media, a creator of software tutorials on DVD, has released the Tempo Delay Calculator for the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Also available in a free desktop version for Mac and PC, this US$0.99 app allows synchronization of digital delay devices to song tempo. Simply enter the song tempo, choose the note type, and the delay setting is calculated in milliseconds for entry into the delay unit.

Playtainment, the family games label of the publisher RTL interactive GmbH Games Publishing from Cologne, has announced Fire Panic, a $0.99 game for the iPhone and iPod touch. It pits would-be firefighters against a seemingly never-ending barrage of catastrophes needing immediate attention.

Pabusily has introduced PicSea 1.0 for...

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to to institute an investigation of certain digital imaging devices and related software regarding Apple's claims against Kodak over patent infringement. The products at issue in this investigation are digital still cameras, digital video cameras, and related software.

In an online note (http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2010/er0513hh2.htm) the USITC says that by instituting this investigation (337-TA-717), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC's Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC's six administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination...

Forty-four workers in Suzhou, China, are planning to sue Taiwan-based Wintek alleging they were poisoned while cleaning iPhone screens with a chemical called n-hexane, according to Stratfor Global Intelligence (http://www.stratfor.com/).

At least 62 Wintek workers have been hospitalized since August 2009 due to n-hexane poisoning, a chemical “which can cause nerve damage and sometimes paralysis, the article adds. The US Department of Labor describes n-hexane this way:

"n-Hexane is a narcotic agent; an irritant to the eyes, upper respiratory tract, and skin; and a neurotoxin. Exposure of humans to 5,000 ppm n-hexane for 10 minutes causes marked vertigo; exposure to 1,500 ppm results in headache and slight nausea [Hathaway et al. 1991; Clayton and Clayton 1982]. In industrial settings, exposure to levels exceeding 1,000 ppm have been reported to cause mild symptoms of narcosis [Hathaway et al. 1991...