26 February 2014

Nokia forks Android, deletes Google, adds Microsoft services

Editor's note: Microsoft should have just paid Nokia to fork Android into Microsoft Android a long time ago, forgot about Windows Phone, and then Microsoft wouldn't be hung with a money-losing phone hardware company that will eventually succumb to underpricing from Chinese rivals, a loser Windows Phone OS, and the disastrous Windows 8 effort to dumb down its desktop OS to a touchscreen tablet/phone UX.

Nokia embraces open source Android for new smartphone range | Technology | theguardian.com: "... The new smartphones run Android, but lack access to Google’s apps and services. Similar to the way Amazon has “forked” Android for its Kindle Fire tablet range, rather than using the Android found on most mainstream Android smartphones, Nokia has modified the Android software. It has heavily customised it to including both Microsoft’s and Nokia’s own apps and services like OneDrive and Here Maps instead of Google’s apps like search, Gmail and Google Maps...."

Forget about email, Zuck now into instant messaging --
Facebook ends its @facebook.com email address service, citing low usage by users - The Next Web"Launched back in November 2010, the service was another effort by the social networking company to streamline all communications under a single umbrella."

Brazil, Europe plan undersea cable to skirt U.S. spying - Yahoo News"At a summit in Brussels, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said the $185 million cable project was central to "guarantee the neutrality" of the Internet, signaling her desire to shield Brazil's Internet traffic from U.S. surveillance. "We have to respect privacy, human rights and the sovereignty of nations. We don't want businesses to be spied upon," Rousseff told a joint news conference with the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council."

Mozilla Promises $25 Smartphone 'Flood' | News & Opinion | PCMag.com: "...."What we are all about is bringing more people online," said Mozilla COO Jay Sullivan. To that end, the company is partnering with Shanghai-based Spreadtrum to design and build a device that costs just $25 and deliver them to OEMs across the world. Sullivan predicted that "the efficiency of Spreadtrum will create a flood of $25 smartphones."..."

Apple users in security warning
BBC News
The problem was first spotted on Apple's mobile devices which run the iOS 7 operating system. It relates to the way secure connections are made between Apple's safari browser and websites, including banking sites, Google and Facebook. These sites have ...

Microsoft: Android Nokia not our call to make
Computerworld
He reasoned that if the Nokia X line fueled large numbers of Microsoft Account sign-ups, the Redmond firm may be able to replicate long-in-the-past moves by both Apple andGoogle, which used iTunes and Gmail accounts, respectively, to pull customers ...

Microsoft Hardware Chief Julie Larson-Green to Take New Job
Wall Street Journal (blog)
Larson-Green said in an internal email Monday that she will become the Chief Experience Officer, a new position where she will be responsible for making Microsoft web services and software look good and work well on different kinds of computing devices.

Apple's security bug: What to know about it and what to do about it
Washington Post
Last Friday, the tech giant took the unusual step of releasing an update for its mobile operating system, iOS, to fix one bug — one that left Apple devices wide open to hackers and spies looking to grab users' most sensitive information. What is this ...

Google sets roadblocks to stop distracted driver legislation
Chicago Tribune
Google is lobbying officials in at least three U.S. states to stop proposed restrictions on driving with headsets such as Google Glass, marking some of the first clashes over the nascent wearable technology. Some eight U.S. states are considering ...

Microsoft Confirms Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8 Updates
InformationWeek
Microsoft on Sunday confirmed that updates to Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone will arrive this spring. Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, corporate VP of Windows Phone Joe Belfiore said the upcoming changes will include UI tweaks to ...

Apple Joins Samsung in Telling EU to Cut Patent Trolls' Power
Bloomberg
Apple and Samsung are among 19 companies and associations that told the EU in a letter that a new court should limit the ability of companies that license technology to win court injunctions when the validity of the underlying patent is in dispute ...

Samsung's Gear Fit doesn't run Android or Tizen, and other surprises
CNET
Developers can make whatever apps they want for Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, but there's no open SDK for Gear Fit or Galaxy Gear, two of Samsung's top US mobile execs tell CNET.


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