28 June 2013

Microsoft Windows 8.1 better but still hostile to most PC users

Short answer: if you have a non-touch screen PC, or do work on your PC that requires a mouse, or have no interest in developing "gorilla arm," better stick with Windows 7 on your PC desktop or notebook computer--

Microsoft Windows 8.1 - Operating systems - CNET Reviews: "Do the changes make Windows 8 better? The short answer appears to be: yes. Windows 8.1 streamlines much of the touch interface, while adding many cosmetic and tangible, utilitarian features. We think the real question, however, is: does 8.1 do enough to sweeten the bad taste left in the mouths of many Windows 8 users? That’s a much more difficult question to answer and one that will require much more time spent with the new OS. Windows 8.1 probably still relies a bit too much on touch and may not do all it needs to repair damage caused by its predecessor; however, it’s a much-needed and in some cases impressive step in the right direction."

Google Now comes closer to Chrome, shares TV show info
CNET
Along with Google Now, options on my machine include Google+ Photos, Google Documents,Google Drive, Google Calendar, Gmail, Tweetdeck, Amazon Cloud Reader, and The New York Times. The Chrome expansion means many more people could get ...

Apple Abroad: What if the World Doesn't Want IPhones?
Businessweek
An Apple store in Paris. Photograph by Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg. An Apple store in Paris. Global Mobile. Apple Abroad: What if the World Doesn't Want IPhones? By Joshua Brustein. June 26, 2013. Facebook; Tweet; LinkedIn; Google Plus; Email. Related.

Microsoft Also Challenges Government Surveillance Gag Order
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Big U.S. technology companies, including Microsoft, Google and Facebook, have been caught in a swirl of controversy following revelations of how the National Security Agency receives data from the companies in order to keep tabs on foreigners of ...

Apple Spells Out iTunes Radio Terms for Record Labels
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Ahead of its launch of an online radio service Apple circulated terms to independent record labels last week, many of them more generous to the music companies than what rival Pandora Media currently pays. Apple intends to pay royalties to labels based ...

Google Puts Its Own Spin on the Galaxy S4 and HTC One
ABC News
Two of the most popular Android phones -- the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One -- are now available inGoogle's own image. While the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One on shelves today run Google's Android software, today Google will begin selling versions of the ...

Apple's TV Ads Touting Corporate Values Flop With Viewers (1)
Businessweek
Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s newest TV commercials, showing consumers enjoying its products while an actor reads the company's corporate philosophy, are a flop compared with earlier ads from the maker of iPhones and iPads. The company's latest ad, which began ...

Microsoft consolidates startup support activities with Microsoft Ventures
PCWorld
As its annual Build development conference gets underway, Microsoft is announcing that it has shuffled and revamped the way it handles its startup support activities. A number of disparate programs have been tied together under a single, unified ...

Apple Can't Add Galaxy S4 to Samsung Patent Lawsuit
Bloomberg
The decision yesterday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal is part of a second patent case in San Jose, California, between the companies covering technology in newer smartphones, including Apple's iPhone 5 and Samsung's Galaxy S III.

Apple opens its first-ever online store in Russia
San Jose Mercury News
The Cupertino tech giant this week opens its first online store, enabling legions of fanboys and fangirls from Moscow across the Ural Mountains and into Siberia to get their mittened hands onApple products straight from Apple itself. And the punsters ...

Google Lat Long: Only clear skies on Google Maps and Earth
By Lat Long
To celebrate the sunny days of summer (in the northern hemisphere at least), we're unveiling new satellite imagery for all Google mapping products today. This stunning new imagery of the earth from space virtually eliminates clouds, includes ...
Google Lat Long

Microsoft Turns On Its First Carrier-Billing Deal For The Windows ...
By Ingrid Lunden
For Microsoft, which is a distant third to Android and Apple for adoption of its smartphone platform, going to markets where there are still consumers to be won over is a smart strategy, and one that its close partner Nokia is also pursuing. ... directly to your prepaid mobile phone account is not only more convenient, but might actually be opted for more frequently than in markets where users already have accounts with iTunes, Amazon and the rest based on their credit card accounts.
TechCrunch

Microsoft Moves to Simplify 3-D Printing - NYTimes.com
By By AMY O'LEARY
Robert Wright for The New York Times Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 8.1, will offer support for 3-D printers like this MakerBot Replicator. Back when digital cameras were the hot new Christmas gift, Apple zinged Microsoft with an ...
NYT Bits

Google Search Android app updated with location-based offers ...
By Zach Honig
Jelly Bean users running Android 4.1 or later can now snag a few more features with Google's Search app. The update (version number ... out at the FCC (updated). Next. Apple launches online store in Russia, avoids Yakov Smirnoff gags.
Engadget RSS Feed

Apple's iTunes Radio Terms With Record Labels Revealed - Mac ...
By Husain Sumra
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple sent its iTunes Radio terms to independent record labels last week and the paper was able to review a... ... I recommend you go google what Pink Floyd had to say about Pandora, et all. I've talked to a couple smaller bands. They are big enough to play venues in most big cities and travel the world non-stop ... Apple Set to Take On Microsoft with Expanded Florida Mall Retail Store. 2 days ago on Mac Blog · The expansion project at the ...
MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors...

Make a custom My Map - Google Maps Help
How to create a "My Map" in Google Maps. With My Maps, you can create and share maps of your world, marked with the locations, routes and regions of interest ...
https://support.google.com/maps/answer/62843?hl=en

Microsoft Beefs Up Azure Cloud Platform at Build
PC Magazine
Microsoft on Thursday announced the general availability of several services associated with its Windows Azure cloud computing platform, as well as a preview version of Visual Studio 2013. Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft's Server & Tools Business, ...

NASA's Voyager 1 Craft Enters Unfamiliar Space
ABC News
New research pinpoints the current location of NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft: It's still in our solar system. Since last summer, the long-running spacecraft has been exploring uncharted territory where the effects of interstellar space, or the space between stars, ...

Verizon Going 4G LTE Only, Preparing for LTE-A
PCWorld
Verizon announced today that starting in late 2014, smartphones released through the carrier would only be compatible with 4G LTE, weaning customers off of the aging 3G network. This comes on the heels of Verizon's proclamation that their 4G LTE network ...

Apple Offers Indie Labels .13 Cents Per Play on iTunes Radio
The Mac Observer
Apple is offering independent music labels US$0.0013 every time a song is played and 15 percent of advertising revenue if they sign contracts for its iTunes Radio music streaming service. The deal would give independent labels a better deal than they ...

PayPal Researching Payments in Space with PayPal Galactic
Tom's Hardware Guide
Here on Earth, services like Google Wallet give us an idea of how payments are progressing and where they're going. But what about in space? Have you ever considered how we'll pay for things if we were all to suddenly relocate to the moon? Probably not.

Japan's largest carrier sees no urgency to get Apple's iPhone
Apple Insider
Asked when his company might try to win back some customers by carrying Apple's iPhone, a representative of Japan's largest wireless service stayed noncommittal on the issue, saying that Apple's phone is no longer "the god of all smartphones.".

The rise of cloud computing is forcing old adversaries to work together
The Economist
FOR years they loathed one another, rarely missing an opportunity to pick a fight. Their rows, full of sarcasm and sniping, occasionally hit the headlines. Then they started meeting discreetly every now and again—and ultimately realised just how badly they ...

Daily Report: Trying to Fix a Big Flaw in Cellphone Technology ...
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
As more people eschew landlines, companies are offering technologies like personal cell sites and signal boosters to augment cellphones, Eric A. Taub writes in The New York Times. Read more…
NYT Bits

Americans Want To Ditch Technology For Real Life Social Interaction
Recent survey findings show American adults miss human interaction and want to reduce use of digital social media in favor of real life.
LAPTOP Mag Main Feed

Visual Business Intelligence - technology isn't spelled with a capital “T”
By Stephen Few
My attraction to this book is not without bias. Morozov seems to view technology—its potential for both good and ill—much as I do, but the technologies that reside within his purview, the depths to which he's studied them, and the disciplines on ...
Visual Business Intelligence

Afternoon Video: Engadget Does Education Technology
By Alexander Russo
Yes, there's an Engadget show, and the June episode focuses on teaching kids about and through technology. I can't get it to embed properly but you can watch and read all about it here: Education with Google, OLPC, Code.org, LeapFrog, ...
This Week In Education

One-on-One + Technology = Better Reading in Elementary School ...
By Rick Nauert PhD
New research finds that individualized reading instruction from first through third grade results in better readers than those who do not receive the.
Psych Central News

Project Loon: Google's biggest obstacle isn't technology. It's politics ...
Mesh networking and dirigibles have been around for decades. What truly makes Project Loon a difficult -- if not impossible -- undertaking is getting the world's ...
gigaom.com/.../project-loon-googles-biggest-obstacle-isnt-tech...

Swell Takes Streaming News And Talk Radio To Mobile
Forbes
Pandora has been known for streaming music, but news or talk radio don't have an equivalent streaming mobile app. Startup Swell is a new app to help consumers find this content. Or, Pandora for news. The company's cofounder and CEO is G.D. “Ram” ...


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