RIM indulges in some ‘myth busting' at BlackBerry DevCon Europe

Alec Saunders, VP of Developer Relations, just took the stage at RIM's DevCon gathering in Amsterdam to build up and promptly knock down a few “myths” about RIM's state of health. First up, he tackled the notion that BlackBerry is a declining platform by saying that App World is seeing six million downloads per day, which is up 30 percent from three months ago. He also rejected the idea that BB app devs don't make money, revealing that 13 percent of them have made over $100,000 from their products and that App World generates 40 percent more revenue than the Android Market. Lastly, Saunders said “we're sorry” that RIM's strategy has been “hard to understand” for “some people”, but added that BB 10 will solve that problem. He said that the new OS represents a “simple and easy-to-understand strategy” that is about combining the best of QNX and the current BB OS, offering consistent cloud services and making software that is both backwards and forwards compatible.

Nokia has no Plan B, throws in their lot with Windows Phone?

When we plan something, there has to be a back up of sorts – as you can never tell just when something might go awry. This is a good and practical train of thought, but sometimes, there are no avenues for different plans – leaving you with only one chance and opportunity to get it right. Nokia seems to be in this sport, as Nokia VP Victor Saeijes mentioned to a Swedish newspaper that the Finnish smartphone manufacturer's only future option would be Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system – nothing else. Of course, it really depends on how you read into this statement, but for the majority of us, we would interpret this as not having a plan B. When approached of a back up plan, Saeijis said matter-of-factly, “Plan B is that Plan A must succeed.” Nokia is taking the approach that they are starting from scratch, and in order to make it big worldwide, they will still need to break into the US market. We do know that Nokia has not closed their doors to Symbian just yet (having just released the Symbian Belle update), but by all means, Symbian will fade away and ride off to the sunset, with Windows Phone waiting for the sun to rise.

HP releases Android kernel source for TouchPad to CyanogenMod team

When the HP TouchPad was released in the summer of 2011 it did little to impress consumers, leading to the tablet being discontinued after a mere 49 days on the market. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions, dropping to as low as $99 dollars during a huge fire sale. Shortly after inventory ran dry, crafty hackers had announced their intention to run the Android operating system in replace of WebOS on the TouchPad, and progress thus far has been slow, with alpha versions being released that are fairly stable but have serious bugs. In an act of good will, HP has now released an Android kernel source code to the hacking community. Read on for more. The source code appears to have been developed separately from webOS, and was last changed in March 2011, three months before the TouchPad's release, RootzWiki reports. The code will not help with any major fixes, however, and will instead help with minor bugs. “Kernel source from HP would have been more helpful earlier in development. Don't expect huge gains from this source,” said Erik Hardesty, a member of the CyanogenMod team, on Twitter. “It will help with things like serial console and Bluetooth. Most other areas it *might* with will be minor.” Read Read

Microsoft celebrating leap year right by launching Windows 8 Consumer Preview at MWC

Perhaps celebrating a push toward the mobile space with its traditionally desktop-bound OS — or maybe just doing its best to further confuse the similar naming conventions with its forthcoming smartphone operating system — Microsoft today sent out invites for a February 29th Mobile World Congress event that will see the launch of its Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Details are scarce about the two-hour event, but you'd better believe that we'll be there in Barcelona with bells on.

Sharp display panel for iPad 3 spotted?

Just yesterday we reported that despite rumors of Sharp's IGZO displays not meeting the yield rates set by Apple, there was still a possibility of Apple utilizing said displays for their upcoming iPad 3. Thanks to Japanese blog Macotakara, the photo you are looking at above appears to be a component allegedly belonging to the display that Sharp will providing Apple for their iPad 3. Granted this could be pretty much any component manufactured by Sharp, it was acknowledged that Sharp had IGZO display panels manufactured (although they have yet to make their way into commercial products), so this could very well be one of those components. However according to the blog, this part was obtained by a parts reseller, and with its size appearing to be that of 9.7", and sporting a cable that connects to the motherboard similar to that of the iPad 2's LCD panel, it is believed (by some) that this could belong to the iPad 3. However with Apple's habit of producing multiple prototypes of a device, it is possible that this component could just be another prototype, assuming that it is even a component that has anything to do with Apple in the first place. Once again we suggest you take this with a grain of salt for now, but assuming the iPad 3 is to be announced in the first week of March, we guess we don't have to wait very long for official confirmation.

Google Said To Introduce Cloud-Based Storage Service In The Coming Months

2012 just got a whole lot more interesting. Long rumored for years now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is finally getting ready to introduce their own Dropbox-like service, allowing users to store all their pictures, videos, music and more in the cloud, for easy access across a range of devices (with an Android app no doubt on launch day). Said to launch in the coming weeks/months, “Google Cloud” will take on Apple's iCloud head-on, by offering free storage (for the majority of users) with monthly plan options for business who need more heavy cloud storing. Cloud storage seems like the final puzzle piece for Google to complete the circle of web connected services. We've already got Picasa for pictures, Google Music for music, YouTube for video now Google Cloud for everything in between. With Dropbox becoming a completely indispensable service for someone like me with a wide range of gadgets and devices, I, for one, can't wait to see what Google comes up with later this year.

HP releases Android kernel for TouchPad, hackers applauded

You may remember that during the TouchPad fire sale, a few slates slipped out with a rather primitive Froyo build on them. Well, HP doesn't seem to know how the tablets hit shelves with Android on board, but its decided to release the source code for the OS nonetheless. Developers had previously called on the company to hand over the code, but the request was refused since HP had never intended for TouchPads to ship with Android, and thus were not obligated to abide by the open-source requirements. As a gesture of goodwill to the community (and under a certain amount of pressure from it) the former purveyor of all things webOS has reversed course though, and let the TouchPad-specific kernel loose on the internet for others to repurpose as they see fit.

Sony CyberShot TX300V Wireless Charging Camera

Now that digital cameras are slowly adding wireless connectivity as another novel feature for newer models, it would only be a short time before it becomes a common feature among all camera models. But what might come next with all this wireless business in digital cameras? For the new Sony CyberShot TX300V Digital Camera, it's the inductive charging feature. The new Sony CyberShot TX300V Digital Camera is being introduced as probably the very first Sony digital camera to feature wireless charging. It comes with a Multi-Cradle dock that makes use of TransferJet technology. This allows users of the point and shoot camera to transfer images and charge the camera wirelessly via inductive charging. The dock is powered via USB making it convenient to connect to a PC or a laptop. Features wise, the Sony CyberShot TX300V Wireless Charging Camera comes with an 18.2MP CMOS sensor, Full HD shooting capabilities for both still images and video as well as Geotagging support. This wireless charging digital camera is expected to come out sometime in March. Unfortunately it will only be available in the Japanese market. It is expected to cost around 50,000 Japanese Yen or around US$409.

Osmotic Dehydration dan Larutan Osmotik

Osmotic dehydration merupakan salah satu cara yang dapat dipilih untuk mengurangi kandungan air dari dalam bahan. Osmotic dehydration ini merupakan teknik perendaman bahan dalam larutan hipertonik yang dapat mendorong pengeluaran air melalui membrane sel dari bahan (Sereno et al., 2001). Osmotic dehydration sering digunakan untuk menghilangkan sebagian air dari jaringan tanaman dengan merendam dalam larutan hipertonik (osmotik).

Jika dua larutan dengan konsentrasi yang berbeda, yang dipisahkan oleh membran semipermeabel, cairan pelarut akan cenderung berdifusi melalui membrane dari konsentrasi rendah ke larutan dengan konsentrasi yang lebih tinggi. Proses demikian disebut dengan osmosis, dan energi yang mendorong terjadinya proses ini disebut tekanan osmosis (Moreira et al., 2002).

Difusi air dari jaringan ke larutan didorong oleh tekanan osmotik yang lebih besar dari larutan hipertonik. Selain pelarut yang dapat berdifusi, padatan yang terdapat dalam sel dapat terlarut dalam larutan osmotic (Rastogi dan Raghavarao, 2004). Kecepatan difusi air selama proses osmotic dehydration tergantung dari beberapa faktor, antara lain karakteristik bahan, suhu dan konsentrasi larutan osmotik, rasio masa bahan dan larutan osmotic serta level pengadukan (agitasi) larutan (Corzo dan Gomez, 2004). Karakteristik atau sifat bahan yang digunakan dalam proses osmotik meliputi spesies, varietas, tingkat kematangan, ukuran dan bentuk bahan. Spesies, varietas dan tingkat kematangan yang berbeda akan memberikan pengaruh terhadap difusi perpindahan massa antara produk dan medium osmotik. Selain itu, ukuran dan bentuk juga akan memberikan pengaruh terhadap keluarnya air dari dalam jaringan dan kenaikan gula pada bahan (Lazarides, 1994).

Beberapa bahan yang dapat digunakan dalam larutan osmotik antara lain garam (NaCl), sukrosa, laktosa, high fructose corn syrup, dan gliserol. Selain dalam bentuk tunggal, dalam proses osmotic dehydration, bahan-bahan tersebut juga dikombinasikan dengan bahan lain. Contohnya kombinasi gula/asam, gula/garam, glukosa/fruktosa. Adanya agen osmotik lain berupa asam, seperti asam laktat, juga akan mempengaruhi proses yang terjadi selama osmotic dehydration. Makin tinggi konsentrasi asam laktat, makin tinggi pula pengeluaran air dan peningkatan total padatan dalam buah. Hal ini dikarenakan meningkatnya permeabilitas dinding sel akibat penambahan asam dalam larutan osmotik (Antonio et al., 2004).

Makin tinggi konsentrasi agensia osmotik dalam larutan osmotik akan menyebabkan makin tinggi pula penghilangan air dari dalam jaringan bahan, karena perbedaan konsentrasi yang makin besar tersebut, mendorong keluarnya air dari dalam jaringan ke luar untuk mencapai titik keseimbangan konsentrasi. Pengeluaran air dari dalam jaringan ini juga dikuti dengan masuknya sukrosa ke dalam jaringan buah, sehingga akan meningkatkan total padatan di dalam bahan. Ketika kehilangan air dan kenaikan padatan terjadi secara simultan, kecepatan penurunan air akan selalu lebih tinggi dari kenaikan padatan. Konsentrasi dan suhu dari larutan osmotik mempunyai efek yang signifikan terhadap terjadinya kehilangan air dan kenaikan padatan selama proses osmotic dehydration dari potongan papaya (El Aouar et al., 2006).

Torezan et al. (2004), mengungkapkan suhu memberikan pengaruh positif (sebanding) dengan kehilangan air dan kenaikan padatan pada buah mangga dengan perlakuan osmotic dehydration. Pada buah nanas yang telah dilakukan osmotic dehydration selama 6 jam, dengan suhu 30, 40 and 50ºC dalam larutan hipertonik (60% sukrosa), menunjukkan bahwa penurunan kadar air nanas mempunyai fungsi linier terhadap suhu perendaman. Makin tinggi suhu, makin turun kadar air nanas, kadar sukrosa dalam buah makin tinggi (Ramalo dan Mascheroni, 2005).
Penggunaan proses osmotic dehydration di industri makanan mempunyai beberapa keuntungan. Keuntungan yang diperoleh antara lain: meningkatkan kualitas warna, rasa dan tekstur bahan, efisiensi energi, penurunan biaya pengemasan dan distribusi, tanpa treatment dengan bahan kimia, meningkatkan stabilitas produk selama penyimpanan dan kehilangan nutrisi dapat dikurangi (Sablani et al., 2002).

Salah satu aplikasi dalam penggunaan proses osmotic dehydration ini adalah pada pembuatan manisan buah-buahan. Untuk proses dehidrasi pada buah-buahan, larutan yang dipakai adalah larutan gula dengan konsentrasi sukrosa dari 50-70 brix (Lerici et al., 1985). Proses osmotic dehydration ini merupakan pre-treatment sebelum dilakukan pengeringan lanjutan, sehingga dapat mengurangi penggunaan energi untuk pengeringan, serta dapat meningkatkan kualitas produk dengan penambahan gula pada bahan. Setelah proses dengan osmotic dehydration, dapat dilanjutkan dengan pengeringan menggunakan alat pengering.

Sebagai salah satu pretreatment, proses osmotic dehydration dapat digunakan untuk mengurangi kadar air awal dalam bahan, sekaligus mengurangi total waktu proses dan waktu pengeringan. Fernandez et al. (2006), telah melakukan penelitian mengenai osmotic dehydration dengan menggunakan buah pepaya yang dilanjutkan dengan pengeringan. Fernandez mengungkapkan bahwa penggunaan sukrosa dalam larutan osmotic dengan konsentrasi yang makin tinggi, maka waktu pengeringan akan menjadi lebih pendek.

Pustaka:
1. Sereno, A.M., Moreira, D. dan Martinez, E., 2001. Mas Transfer Coeficients during Osmotic Dehydration of Apple Single and Combined Aqueous Solution of Sugar and Salts. Journal of Food Engineering, 47:43-49.
2. Moreira, R., Chenlo, F., Fernandez, H.C. dan Varquez, G., 2002. Mass Transfer During Osmotic Dehydration of Chesnut Using Sodium Chloride Solutions. Journal of Food Engineering, 75:127-133.
3. Rastogi, N. K. dan Raghavarao, K.S.M.S., 2004. Mass Transfer during Osmotic Dehydration of Pineapple: Considering Fickian Difusion in Cubical Configuration. Journal of Food Engineering, 37:43-47.
4. Corzo, O. dan Gomez, E.R., 2004. Optimization of Osmotic Dehydration of Cantaloupe Using Desired Function Methodology. Journal of Food Engineering, 64:213-219.
5. Lazarides, H.N., 1994. Osmotic Preconcentration: Developments and Prospects dalam Singh, R.P.; Oliveira, Fernanda A.R. 1994. Minimal Processing of Foods And Proces Optimization. CRC Pres. New York.
6. Antonio, G.C., Azoubel, P.M., Alves, D.G., El-Aouar, A.A. dan Mur, F.E.X., 2004. Osmotic Dehydration Of Papaya (Carica Papaya L.): Influence Of Process Variables. Proceedings of the 14th International Drying Symposium (IDS 2004). C:1998-2004.
7. El-Aouar, A.A., Azoubel, P.M. dan Mur, F.E.X., 2006. Influence Of The Osmotic Agent On The Osmotic Dehydration Of Papaya (Carica Papaya L.). Journal of Food Engineering, 75:267-274.
8. Torezan, G.A., Favareto, P., Palet, D. dan Menezes, H.C., 2004. Osmotic Dehydration Of Mango: Efects Of Temperature And Process Time. Proceedings of the 14th International Drying Symposium (IDS 2004). C:2165-2172.
9. Sablani, S.S., Rahman, M.S. dan Al-Sadeiri, D.S., 2002. Equilibrium Distribution Data For Osmotic Drying Of Apple Cubes In Sugar-Water Solution. Journal of Food Engineering, 52:193-199.
10. Ramalo, L.A. dan Mascheroni, R.H., 2005. Rate of Water Loss and Sugar Uptake During the Osmotic Dehydration of Pineapple. Brazilian Archives Of Biology And Technology An International Journal, 48:761-770.
11. Lerici, C.R., G. Pinnavaia, M. Dalla Rose and L.Bartolucci, 1985. Osmotic dehydration of fruit:influence of osmotic agents on drying behaviourand product quality. J. Food Sci., 50: 1217-1219.
12.Fernandes, F., Rodrigues, S., Gaspareto, O. dan Oliveira, E.L., 2006. Optimization of Osmotic Dehydration of Papaya folowed by Air-drying. Food Research International, 39:492-498.

Fungsi asam dalam pembuatan manisan

Selain gula, dalam larutan perendam juga digunakan asam sitrat. Asam ini mempunyai sifat mudah larut dalam air, berbentuk kristal putih. Asam yang digunakan dalam pembuatan manisan kering buah adalah asam sitrat karena dapat bercampur dengan hampir semua aroma buah. Asam sitrat merupakan salah satu jenis acidulant yang banyak digunakan sebagai bahan tambahan dalam proses pembuatan makanan. Asam ditambahkan dalam pembuatan manisan kering buah bertujuan untuk memberikan rasa masam, memperbaiki flavor, memodifikasi manisnya gula, dan berperan sebagai pengawet.