Whether it's Lightning dongles for the iPhone 7 or USB-C dongles for the latest Android phones and Windows laptops, these small, overpriced pieces of plastic push our old tech accessories into the future, says WSJ's Joanna Stern. Video published Oct 12, 2016.
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Chromebook: For Everyone, Everywhere - Chromebooks were the best selling laptops on Amazon last holiday season, and teachers and students made them the #1 device in schools last year--
For travelers. For explorers. For makers. For everyone. From $149. Find out more at http://google.com/chromebook
Google Chrome Blog: More Chromebooks, for everyone: "This summer, ASUS will launch a new type of Chrome device: the Chromebit. Smaller than a candy bar, the Chromebit is a full computer that will be available for less than $100. By simply plugging this device into any display, you can turn it into a computer. It’s the perfect upgrade for an existing desktop and will be really useful for schools and businesses."
All things Google Chrome Download Chrome Download Chrome for Mobile Chromium Blog Chromium homepage
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Financial Express Samsung mobile boss given second chance for turnaround
ZDNet
Samsung Electronics' mobile boss and co-CEO Jong-Kyun Shin will keep his post despite recent downturns in the company's smartphone business, Samsung said in the conglomerate's annual management reshuffle announcement. There were rampant ...
Forbes Apple Store logos tinted red worldwide in support of World AIDS Day
Apple Insider
Apple brick-and-mortar retail outlets around the world on Monday changed their iconic Apple logos red in recognition of World AIDS Day, which in 2014 is commemorating its 26th year of supporting those affected by the disease....
Hindustan Times Xbox Japan chief resigns after poor sales
Hindustan Times
The head of Microsoft's Xbox business in Japan has stepped down, but the firm said the move was not linked to years of poor sales of the games consoles. Takashi Sensui resigned Sunday as "interactive entertainment business general manager" at Microsoft ...
Microsoft acquires email startup Acompli Although limited Exchange email and calendar compatibility is cooked into both Google and Apple's mobile OSes, Acompli handles tasks like creating ...
Join Lauren Gellman, Director of Product Marketing, and Steve Sinclair, VP of Product Marketing, for a first look at the new portfolio of Moto products. They will be answering your questions live Friday, September 5, 2014, at 1:30 PM CT - time conversion. Mark your calendars and post your questions using #askmoto
@Motorola: join us at 1:30 PM CT on Sep. 5 for our "First Look" live Q&A (post questions now using #askmoto). The details: http://bit.ly/1BdRi2Q
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It is estimated Microsoft gets $2 billion (US$) a year from its Android patents, but a recent analysis in wake of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's disclosure of what patents Microsoft claimed, questions the value of Microsoft's patents--
M-Cam specifically tried to answer the question of whether Microsoft owns proprietary rights to Android OS, and whether the giant software maker was unfairly taxing Android device makers....The most damning part of the M-Cam report, however, was the revelation that more than 40 of the 65 commercially viable patents had actually been preceded by other companies, and that Microsoft had failed to cite them in its patents filings as required by law. (source infra)
What Lies In Store For Microsoft's Android Patents? - Microsoft Corporation | Seeking Alpha: "...Hitherto, only Motorola has ever successfully challenged Microsoft in court regarding patent demands. Motorola won 16 of the 17 patent suits it had filed before the Germany Federal Patent Court. Microsoft's only victory in the case was in regard to U.S. Patent No. 6,370,566 for ActiveSync. All other Android manufacturers have usually elected to pay whatever Microsoft demanded from them, due to the fear of heavy litigation costs. After all, patent trolls cost the U.S. economy nearly $30 billion per year... With the Microsoft's Android patents no longer a secret, you can expect to see more disgruntled Android manufacturers taking Microsoft to court instead of simply putting up and paying up like they've always done...."
Wall Street Journal Apple Watch to Allow Mobile Payments
Wall Street Journal
Apple also is expected to add the wireless technology to the next versions of its iPhone, people familiar with the device said, potentially simplifying the ...
Amazon, Microsoft may invest in Cyanogen to better compete with Google - Silicon Valley Business Journal: "...The report said that Cyanogen is planning a large Series C round of funding. It has raised about $30 million to date from investors who include Andreessen Horowitz, Tencent, Benchmark and Redpoint Ventures. The company faces the usual challenges of startups that are built on open source software that is supported by enthusiastic developers. It would likely need to find services and apps that it can charge for on top of CyanogenMod. But if it is acquired by a handset maker like Microsoft or Amazon, it could become an important differentiator from makers of other Android-powered devices." Chromebooks: Going offline to compete | ZDNet: ... quite a few apps work offline; there's even a section in the Chrome Web Store that makes them easy to find. This improvement, coupled with the fact that like PCs and Macs users are rarely offline, make Chrome work like most platforms. Google isn't content with this, and recently mandated that legacy packaged apps must go away by the end of the year, and will get kicked out of the store...
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BBC News - NSA and GCHQ agents 'leak Tor bugs', alleges developer: "...British and American intelligence agents attempting to hack the "dark web" are being deliberately undermined by colleagues, it has been alleged. Spies from both countries have been working on finding flaws in Tor, a popular way of anonymously accessing "hidden" sites. But the team behind Tor says other spies are tipping them off, allowing them to quickly fix any vulnerabilities...By fixing these flaws, the project can protect users' anonymity..."
Delivery Start-Ups Are Back Like It’s 1999 - NYTimes.com: "Of course, the couriers still need to be paid. “The complicated part is not getting customers, it’s getting the product to the customers"...." The Ivy League, Mental Illness, and the Meaning of Life - The Atlantic: "William Deresiewicz explains how an elite education can lead to a cycle of grandiosity and depression. " Google Buys Product-Design Company Gecko for X Projects - Bloomberg: "Gecko, which is based in Los Gatos, California, will join Google’s X lab, the startup said on its website. The company helps design products for clients including Hewlett-Packard Co., furniture maker Herman Miller Inc. and wearable-device provider Fitbit Inc., according to its website." Execution of U.S. journalist reveals the changing business of war coverage | Reuters: "... On the evening newscasts at the major U.S. networks ABC, NBC and CBS, the number of minutes dedicated to overseas coverage is less than half of what it was in the late 1980s, Pew reported. But a new crop of smaller and less resourced news outlets, such as GlobalPost, Vice Media and BuzzFeed, are stepping into the breach and reporting from conflict regions. There has also been an influx of freelance journalists who can now report with a smart phone or hand-held camera and post their stories online, all without the backing of an established media organization...." I will not be returning to Ferguson | Ryan L. Schuessler: "...We should all be ashamed, and I cannot do it anymore. I am thankful for my gracious editors who understand that."
Probably too late--Windows 7 owns just over 50 percent of the PC OS market share and Windows XP owns an additional 25 percent. Windows 8 platforms and Windows Vista combined make up just 15 percent. In the trendsetting United States Apple's Mac OS is gaining ground, now accounting for more than 15 percent of domestic market share and Chromebooks are taking off (sources infra)--
Will Windows 9 Be Able To Save Microsoft? - Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) | Seeking Alpha: "Microsoft is facing challenges from Google, Apple and others on numerous fronts. Windows 8 turned out to be a flop, Windows phones are struggling, and the Xbox One launch went poorly... Despite heavy investments in its Windows Phone platforms, the company has secured only 2.7 percent of the global smartphone OS market, vs. 81.1 percent for Google and 15.2 percent for Apple... If Windows 9 turns out to be yet another flop, Microsoft could find itself in a difficult situation. The company relies on the sale of its operating systems and updated software for each system to drive revenues. Windows 8 has thus far been rejected by most consumers, depriving Microsoft of potential revenue streams...."
Why 2014 Will be the Biggest Year Yet for Google Chrome OS | Digital Trends: "... Most people just want a computer that can perform simple computing tasks without crashing, and they want to pay as little for it as possible. Netbooks failed because they only met the latter goal, but Chromebooks achieve both. Don’t just take my word for it though. Head over to Amazon’s best-seller list, where three or four Chromebooks can usually be found among the top 10 best-selling laptops. Look further and you’ll see that, excluding MacBooks, it’s rare for a notebook priced above $500 to crack the top 20. People want to pay as little for a PC as possible, and also want it to work well. Chromebooks meet both criteria...."
Storm Clouds Over Amazon Business - WSJ: "Amazon.com Inc. has been fighting two big rivals in the world of cloud computing. But that battle shows signs of becoming a free-for-all that threatens its profitability goals for the business. Large telecom and small startups have been forging into or expanding services that let companies rent computing cycles rather than operate their own servers and data centers. The broader competition comes amid a continuing price war in the business among Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Those pressures were underscored... when the online retailer reported a wider loss for its second quarter. Part of the reason: its Amazon Web Services, or AWS, recently cut prices by between 28% and 51% for various services as gains at AWS and similar businesses slowed to 38% from 60% in its first quarter..." (read more at link above)
Zillow To Swallow Trulia For $3.5 Billion: "Online real estate giant Zillow has agreed to acquire rival Trulia in a $3.5 billion, all-stock deal, Zillow announced Monday. The transaction is expected to close next year."
How to Make Any Smartphone or Tablet Screen out of Scratch-Proof Sapphire | MIT Technology Review: "...Sapphire, or crystalline aluminum oxide, is made in nature but can also be manufactured. It is second only to diamond in hardness, although incorrect processing can leave defects that make it brittle. Because of its scratch-proof properties, it has long been used for making LEDs, sensors on missiles, and the screens on some high-end phones that cost as much as $10,000...."
BRADENTON, Fla.: Fla. sheriff offers safe space for internet deals - Technology - MiamiHerald.com: "... The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says parking lots at each of its four district stations are available for residents to make transactions arranged online in a public and safe space. Hillsborough's program was created in response to threats of robbery or violence during the in-person cash transactions for items advertised online or in other classified ads."
BEIJING: Chinese portal Sohu reports $45 million loss - Technology - MiamiHerald.com: "... The loss for the three months ended June 30 compared with a $69 million loss in the previous quarter and an operating profit of $64 million in the same period of 2013. Profits at China's Internet companies have been squeezed by heavy spending to build a mobile presence as Chinese Web surfers shift quickly to going online wirelessly through smartphones and tablet computers. Sohu operates online media, search, gaming, community and mobile services. "For our news and video businesses, we made solid progress in mobile monetization as our large user base successfully attracted a growing number of advertisers," said chairman Charles Zhang in a statement...."
Toronto Sun Amazon Launches 3D Printed Products Store InformationWeek Amazon on Monday launched a 3D Printed Products store, a development that the ...Amazon says its 3D Printed Products store offers "modestly priced ...
Forbes Facebook Stock Is Classic Example Of Bubble Forbes I'm rounding these numbers because to think Facebook is not massively ... If you don't recognize today's market you can send it back to Amazon and ...
CNNMoney Apple welcomes back top Bitcoin wallet app CNNMoney blockchain Apple banned Blockchain and other Bitcoin wallets from its App Store earlier this year. ... The world's top Bitcoin wallet program, Blockchain.info, is back on Apple'sApp Store. ... Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) mobile operating system has become a hotbed for ... Facebook launched my startup.
Google Moves to Comply With EU Privacy Ruling: Video - Bloomberg: (Allow video to load after clicking play) Google is moving to comply with a recent European Union court ruling that backs the right of citizens to be forgotten online. Caroline Hyde has more on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg May 30) HP announces new Chromebook and 14-inch Android laptop | The Verge: "Inside it comes with the Chromebook standard 16GB of storage and 2GB of RAM, which indicates the performance of the Chromebook PC won't be much improved over last year's Chromebook 11. HP is listing battery life at 6.25 hours, which is a bit less than we've seen from Chromebooks offered by Dell or Acer." Should I get a Chromebook for a college student? | The Tech Guy: "Jay wants to know if a Chromebook is a good option for kids. Leo says absolutely. Great for school work because Google docs is all online. ...Chromebooks are getting better and better, though. We are now doing a lot of things online, and there are Chrome extensions for almost everything. But what about iTunes? Leo says he can upload everything to Google Music and then just stream from the Chrome browser. The new Chromebook 2's will be coming out soon and they're very nice. Leo says that Chromebooks are great for education. They're secure and if something goes wrong, it's easy to "powerwash" it, which restores it back to factory settings." Myths | The Big Picture:Myths | The Big Picture: MYTH -"Sound quality counts. If it did, no one would be wearing the execrable Beats headphones. They sell because they’re a fashion item. This is what is scary about Apple buying Beats. Sure, Apple products always looked cool, but they were also the best, that’s why the company often charged more. But by aligning with a laughable enterprise built on momentary hype they’re squandering brand equity just like Sony, which continued to charge premium prices for me-too products. If you don’t know who you are, how do you plan to succeed in the future? Apple doesn’t have to invent everything, but they ultimately have to do it better than everybody else. So they’re selling mediocre, overpriced headphones and a me-too streaming service that has problems scaling and it shows that the company is creatively bankrupt. Steve Jobs was all about breakthroughs, where’s the breakthrough here?" WWDC 2014 Roundup: Enhanced iOS 8, redesigned OS X 10.10, new hardware (plus fresh details) | 9to5Mac: " . . . on Monday, June 2nd, Apple will make major announcements that will indicate the immediate future of its two major platforms: iOS and OS X. The Cupertino company will share details behind the changes in iOS 8, a redesigned Mac operating system, and perhaps even new hardware...." Registry hack enables continued updates for Windows XP | ZDNet: "A single registry setting makes Windows Update think your XP system is Windows XP POSReady, which will receive updates for another five years...." Google Stars Extension for Chrome Leaks: Hands On: "We’ve known for a while now that Google is testing a new favoriting service called Google Stars, aimed at helping users save, share, and organize Web content. This is largely due to multiple leaks, detailing features as well as showing off the interface in a video and screenshots. Today, Google+ user Florian Kiersch, who has done the majority of the digging behind the service, has leaked the Google Stars extension for Google Chrome...." Powered by Pano, focused on gaming: Google to announce Android TV at Google I/O in June — Tech News and Analysis: [Google tasted] "a success when it launched its Chromecast streaming stick last summer. Google still hasn’t provided any concrete numbers, but executives have said that the company has sold millions of Chromecasts, which is significantly more than Google TV’s hardware partners ever sold. Chromecast also has support from most major, and a growing number of smaller content publishers, and Google has said that it wants to get consumer electronics manufacturers to add cast capabilities to their own devices in the near future...."
Apple Monitors for Health and Home New York Times SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is unlikely to introduce new devices this week, ... Google's acquisition of Nest, the smart-appliance maker, for $3.2 billion ...
Apple's iPad Share Loss Not A Game Changer Forbes Apple saw a slight decline in its tablet market share from 33.8% in the ... Microsoft should increase its share due to its ties to corporations but if the ...
Apple's Beats Buy Is Two-Sided for Music Streaming Top Tech News Apple's $3 billion purchase of headphone maker and streaming music company Beats Electronics sheds light on a rarely recognized reality in the ...
Amazon delays book about CEO Bezos CNNMoney The feud between Amazon and the book publisher Hachette is dragging on, ... If you want to buy their books on Amazon (AMZN), expect big delays.
Google inundated with 'right to be forgotten' requests Atlanta Journal Constitution In just the first 24 hours claims could be filed, RT reports Google received 12,000 ... At this point, Google says Germans have filed the most requests. It comes after the EU's highest court ruled search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo must allow people to have the "right to be ... Trending on Facebook.
Google Glass Enters the Operating Room New York Times (blog) Dr. Christopher Kaeding, a surgeon at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Matthew Craig for The New York TimesDr. Christopher ...
Google Glasses: 'They Make Me Feel Powerful' Forbes Harvard Business School released a case study on Google Google Glass. ... MaybeFacebook or Tesla may have extra developers around, but most ... Apple made a quantum leap in technology when it essentially crammed the Mac ...
Report: Google Readying Android TV Debut for Late June PC Magazine While the core differences between the company's Google TV efforts and its ... That, or you could just check out Amazon's Fire TV — Pano is said to ...
Apple, Inc's WWDC is all about the D: Developers Apple Insider Editorial By Daniel Eran Dilger. Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference is the longest running developer confab in existence, dating back to 1986.
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All major US tech companies oppose FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's Plan to Kill the Internet -- see letter to FCC here Will an Internet Fast Lane Be an Innovation Dead End? | MIT Technology Review: "Some VCs say the FCC’s latest net neutrality proposal will raise costs for startups that need fast connections or use a lot of bandwidth.The cost of delivering content over the Internet may determine which Internet products and services succeed in coming years. Some venture capitalists at the cutting edge of Internet innovation say they will shun startups requiring fast connections for video, audio, or other services, mindful that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission may let ISPs charge extra fees to major content providers. Proposed rules being drafted by the FCC’s chairman, Tom Wheeler, would allow ISPs to charge content providers like Netflix to ensure speedy service, so long as those charges are “commercially reasonable.” The rules are scheduled to be released for public comment May 15..." Intel Gets Serious About Chromebook | Mobile devices content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: "....Some of these devices won't ship until late in the summer. But that's still in time for back-to-school, and if Microsoft wasn't taking the Chromebook threat seriously before, I assume it's standing upright and paying attention now. With Intel entering the mix in a serious way, and with Google continuing to improve the core OS, the Chromebook value equation is starting to make more and more sense." Motorola confirms 'Moto X+1' name | MobileSyrup.com: "The Moto X+1 is one of the upcoming devices Motorola is planning to release. This was rumoured in the past, but for some odd reason Motorola has posted this go-to-market name on MotoMaker in the States...."
Amazon expands Sunday delivery to 15 more cities USA TODAY Don't let the weekend get in the way of your next online package delivery. Amazon.com's Sunday delivery program is now available in 15 additional ...
Apple reveals US government data request guidelines ZDNet The guidelines are specifically for law enforcement or other government entities in the US to use when seeking data concerning Apple device users.
Microsoft's Smartwatch Patent: Fitness Focus InformationWeek Microsoft's long-rumored smartwatch concept finally appears in a patent, ... A Microsoftsmartwatch patent surfaced this week that suggests the ... Google recently unveiled Android Wear, a smartwatch-optimized version of the ... Apple is widely assumed to be planning a smartwatch, and it has reportedly ...
Microsoft's Bing now searches, finds Xbox Music PCWorld (blog) Microsoft confirmed Wednesday that users can once again search for music ... (On Android, Google will pull up the song if you have it stored in your ...
Yahoo Eyes Big Bucks As Alibaba Files For IPO Forbes Yahoo! core business has failed to gain traction despite numerous website ... Alibaba's net income is more than the combined earnings of $2.4 billion posted during the same April-December period by eBay and Amazon last year.
Apple's North American Sales Head Leaving Wall Street Journal (blog) “Doug Beck has done a great job helping to grow Apple's business in Japan and Korea. His role is expanding to include North America sales as well,” ...
Google Play services 4.4 | Android Developers Blog By Android Developers ... Mobile Ads, and Wallet API. Here are the highlights of Google Play services release 4.4: ... Coming up in June is Google I/O, no need to say more… Android Developers Blog
Google Blocks Demonoid for Spreading Malicious Software | TorrentFreak By Andy Google Blocks Demonoid for Spreading Malicious Software. By Andy ... Google'sadvisory reports that after checking 59 pages on the site during the past 90 days, 7 pages resulted in “malicious software being ... TorrentFreak
Can Google Chromebooks Go Mainstream? | Technology | Minyanville's Wall Street By Michael Comeau It only shows that Amazon tech shoppers are early adopters. ... I see Chromebooks as a deadly threat to Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows juggernaut. ... It would be ideal if Google flat-out said things like "you can use Facebook ...
Yahoo News Digest has gone global - iDownloadBlog By Christian Zibreg Yahoo's News Digest iOS app isn't just gorgeous, it's a great time saver, too. For those unfamiliar with Digest, it uses Yahoo-owned Summly ... iDownloadBlog.com
Buying Attribution: Google, AOL Acquisitions Raise Flags On Media Neutrality - AdExchanger By Kelly Liyakasa Facebook Ad Network To Support Native Ads, First-Party Data Targeting ... FollowingGoogle and AOL's acquisitions of multitouch attribution vendors Adometry and ... “That will still be a hard sell to [prospective] Google clients.” ... Google To Buy Marketing Attribution Pure Play Adometry · Yahoo! AdExchanger: News and Views on...
Delhi's air among dirtiest in the world, reveals WHO report India Today Air pollution in India is attributed to the high dependence on fossil fuels, and industrial and vehicular emissions. Delhi's notoriously dirty air has breached critical levels of pollution and is unfit for breathing. A latest World Health Organisation (WHO) study on ...
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Better get used to all the noise about the Alibaba IPO--it may not be until the end of 2014 when it actually begins trading: Alibaba files for IPO that could be biggest in history for tech company - San Jose Mercury News: "....There is no deadline for the company to begin trading, and some analysts expect trading may not happen until the fourth quarter of the year. Companies may announce pricing and begin a roadshow ---when executives hold meetings with potential investors to drum up interest in their company -- within 21 days of an IPO filing." Beyond net neutrality: The new battle for the future of the internet - Vox: "....There's also a danger that large internet service providers will abuse their monopoly power. Most of the leading American broadband companies also sell paid television services that compete directly with online streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. Network owners might be tempted to relegate online video services to the slow lane to prevent them from becoming a competitive threat to their lucrative paid television businesses. Or they might charge competing services a big markup for access to the fast lane, ensuring that they won't be able to undercut them on price. A final problem is that a multi-tiered business model could give ISPs perverse incentives. An ISP might be tempted to make its slow lane slower — or at least not upgrade it very quickly — to encourage content companies to pony up for fast-lane status...." Protecting Net Neutrality and the Open Internet | Open Policy: "Today, Mozilla formally filed a request with the FCC to take a new path forward. We are asking the FCC to modernize its understanding of Internet access services, and apply its statutory authority for Internet data delivery services in a consistent and complete way. With our proposal, the FCC would be able to shift its attention away from authority questions once and for all, and focus instead on adopting clear rules prohibiting blocking and discrimination online...."
FCC commissioner says FCC “invented” new authority to regulate Internet | Ars Technica: ".... On the other side of the aisle, consumer advocacy groups have argued that Section 706 won't give the FCC enough power to prevent ISPs from discriminating against Web services that can't afford to pay for preferential treatment. Yesterday, the Mozilla Foundation joined many other groups in asking the FCC to regulate broadband with common carrier rules." Google extends Intel love affair with new Bay Trail Chromebooks - CNET: " Google and Intel dabbled with a dalliance last year, but now they're all in as the two tech titans revealed a new lineup on Tuesday of more than 20 Intel-driven devices across several major hardware manufacturers that all run Chrome OS. The partnership sees Intel-powered Chromebooks jump from four Haswell devices announced in September to a vast range of Bay Trail, Haswell, and 4th generation Core i3 laptops and desktop boxes. Intel has a long partnership with Google's Chrome OS, stretching back to the original Chrombook prototype, the Cr-48, and part of today's announcements was that all the Chrome OS devices shown off at the event had their Intel chips made using conflict-free metals. The news marks the strongest commitment yet between the two companies Chromebooks are laptops for Google's Chrome-based operating system. They first debuted as a public prototype in late 2010, with the first Chromebook laptop reaching consumers six months later. The currently comprise a quarter of the sub-$300 market, and [chromebooks] are used in more than 10,000 schools across the US --up from 5,000 half a year ago...." Leaked Google Stars Video and Screenshots Show New Features: "Google is building a favoriting service called Google Stars that will let users save, share, and organize Web content. The company is testing a wide array of features for Stars, as depicted in a video and screenshots leaked out today (previous leaks only included marketing images and mockups)...."
Yahoo's Alibaba moment has finally arrived MarketWatch Alibaba, a company in which Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) owns a 24% stake, has filed papers for an initial public offering, capping what had been a ...
Google Sends Shopping Alerts To Android Devices InformationWeek Google Now blends search and location data to advise you when you're ... The latest update to the Google Search application for Android devices ...
Apple Jumps to Second Place in Online Retail Wall Street Journal (blog) In the crusade to capture clicks and pull in dollars from online sales, Amazon remains the clear frontrunner. But 2013 e-commerce sales data from ...
Microsoft files for smartwatch patent CNNMoney Google plans to release the Moto 360 smartwatch in the U.S. this summer, while Applehas long been rumored to be developing a smartwatch of its ...
Google Debuts Free Tool Classroom for Teachers - The Next Web By Emil Protalinski Google today launched a new free tool called Classroom as part of its Google Apps for Education suite. In short, Classroom helps teachers create and ... The Next Web Facebook Platform Roadmap Update - Facebook Developers By Facebook We announced a number of new products and updates to Facebook Platform at f8 in April, including the Graph API, social plugins, and support for ... Facebook Developer Blog "I Do Not Know One Person Who Is Happy at Amazon" - Gawker By Hamilton Nolan In the past week, we've heard from several insiders at Amazon describing the company's bizarre and sometimes exploitative workplace culture. Today ... Gawker
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No wonder everybody but a fewcasual users and consumershates Windows 8! -- Love Windows 8? Then Microsoft has you pegged as a casual user, content consumer, a computer illiterate. For those who actually use their computers to get real work done -- power users, content creators -- get a MacBook or Chromebook! Windows 8 UX designer on Metro: "It is the antithesis of a power user" - Neowin: " . . . Miller continued on to explain that the [Microsoft Windows 8] design team split users into two groups: content creators and content consumers: Content creators were explained to be power users: they have multiple windows open across multiple monitors, they sometimes even have virtual machines that also have their own nested levels of complexity. Content consumers were explained to be casual users who just use basic social media platforms, view photos, and so on. They were described as the computer illiterate younger siblings, the older grandparents, or the mother "who just wants to look up apple pie recipes." Windows 8 was designed for the latter group: the content consumers. This is also where Metro stems from: it is a platform that is "simple, clear, and does one thing (and only one thing) relatively easily." Miller described Metro as the antithesis of a power user...." Google strikes upfront deal with ad giant Magna Global USA TODAY A group of technology firms, including Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, created the NewFronts event a few years ago — a digital version of the TV industry's annual upfronts, where billions of dollars in ad slots for popular programming are purchased ...
Apple, Google cracking down on 'Flappy Bird' clones CNN (CNN) -- Your app store may be getting a lot less flappy. Both Apple and Googleappear to be cracking down on new apps taking advantage of the demise of "Flappy Bird," the addictively simple casual game that became an unlikely sensation before its ...
Microsoft makes Skype and Lync more compatible, adds Lync for Android tablets PCWorld After spending 2013 figuring out what to do with its various communication and collaboration tools, Microsoft's focus in 2014 is not unified communications, but “universal” communications, executives said. As the company opens its Lync Conference this ...
Microsoft: 'Remember, some XP-based embedded systems to get support to 2019' ZDNet As ZDNet has reported previously, Microsoft will continue making critical patches available for the embedded Windows XP systems running on ATMs until January 2016, compared with fulll Windows XP verions on desktops, for which there will be no more ...
Minyanville: Google, Microsoft make peace with partners USA TODAY That spring, Samsung Electronics released the first Galaxy S smartphone, which would later become the subject of a contentious legal battle with Apple. It was also in 2010 that the smartphone patent war went global, with the number of lawsuits ...
Apple Manager Mystique Tempts Google in Search for Talent: Tech Bloomberg Apple Inc. (AAPL) is known for producing great products, like the iPod. Now GoogleInc. (GOOG) with its acquisition of Nest Labs Inc. and its Apple alumni founder Tony Fadell, is hoping it produces great leaders who can replicate that success as well.
Microsoft marshals marketing, service, social for Dynamics CRM, aims anew at ... PCWorld Microsoft is about to make a fresh run at its CRM (customer relationship management) rival Salesforce.com with new capabilities for marketing automation, customer support and social media monitoring. The three components, which came about in part ...
Apple looking at cars, medical devices for growth: report Chicago Tribune Rival Google Inc. recently bought thermostat maker Nest Labs for $3.2 billion, robot maker Boston Dynamic and artificial intelligence startup DeepMind Technologies Ltd. The company has also been working on projects including Google Glass and self ...
Google Buys Israel's SlickLogin Wall Street Journal (blog) Google has acquired the Israeli startup SlickLogin, an apparent bet on a new way to more securely log into computer systems. Launched just a few months ago by veterans of the Israeli Defense Force's cybersecurity unit, SlickLogin had been working on a ...
Apple device sales have finally caught up with Windows tuaw.com And as John Gruber wrote in his short but astute summary of Microsoft's history, the amazing thing is that Gates actually realized this dream. By the mid-90s, if not a few years earlier even, we were living in a Windows world. At its peak, Windows ...
Elephants Comfort Each Other in Distress: Study HealthDay TUESDAY, Feb. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Asian elephants use touch and sound to console other elephants in distress, according to a new study. It's the first study to confirm that elephants comfort one another in difficult times, the researchers said....
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Forget the Microsoft spin - see below), the reality for Windows Phone is painful --
source: infra
Communities Dominate Brands: Paging Mythbusters Again: Did Microsoft's Windows Phone Really Grow More in 2012 Than Android or iOS? - How to Lie Creatively with Statistics: The Canalys Are Deliberately Misleading and Utterly Untrustworthy Edition (PS: Not first time for Canalys): " . . . . Microsoft can never win this race. If they were able to burn all that Nokia smartphone good will of that thick blue slice -and end up with LESS than when they started - and it is now ALL GONE. That is literally true. When the Nokia partnershp was announced, the just-ended year Windows smartphone market share was 4.3%. We just now saw from Canalys that year 2013 Windows smartphones had 3.2% market share. In the interim the 'partnership' wiped out Nokia's total Symbian and MeeGo customer base and have NEGATIVE gain out of it. Windows smartphones have seen market share loss of 1.1 points!If Microsoft can't grow even one market share point by destroying Nokia's 35% in three years, what on earth are you smoking if you think they could now do better alone. . . ." (read more at link above) Apple loses smartphone market share to cheaper phones - MarketWatch: "Apple Inc. saw its share of the smartphone market shrink in 2013 as Android devices widened its lead over the company and more consumers turned to cheaper phones, IDC said Wednesday. Smartphones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system remained No. 1 last year, with 79% of the more than 1 billion devices sold in 2013, up from 69% in the year-earlier period, IDC said. Apple’s iOS was at No. 2 with 15%, which is down from 19% in 2012. Microsoft’s Windows Phone was at No. 3 with 3%, followed by BlackBerry with 2%." Now running on a Chromebook near you: Windows | Business Tech - CNET News: " . . . The deal will allow Windows-only enterprise software, such as accounting applications, to work on Google's low-cost Chrome OS laptops and desktop boxes. With most of its line priced at or under $300, Chromebook laptops have jumped in sales, capturing 21 percent of US notebook sales and 8 percent of the total PC and tablet market in 2013. That's up from negligible market share the year before, reports NPD. . . ."
Apple Says Supplies Don't Come From War Zones New York Times SAN FRANCISCO — Apple published on Thursday its supplier responsibility report, an annual audit of the contract workers who produce and assemble its iPhones, iPads and other hardware in factories outside the United States. Apple said that had it ...
Google gets more guarded about acquisition numbers Washington Post The circumspection makes Google more like one of its fiercest rivals, Apple Inc., which has never disclosed how many deals it closed in its regulatory filings. Apple just lists the total amount of money and stock that it paid for acquisitions, just as ...
Microsoft's Windows Strategy Gets Muddy InformationWeek The company's app ecosystem lags far behind Apple and Google offerings, and a unified app store could help address this deficit. But what incentive would developers have to focus on native Windows apps if Microsoft embraced Android, as well?
VMware, Google Team On Chromebooks InformationWeek Microsoft has announced it will end technical support for XP on April 8. VMware andGoogle ... VMware's Sanjay Poonen, VP and general manager of end-user computing, said VMware and Google product teams got together two months ago, or shortly after ...
Dropbox Hires Google's Woodside as Operating Chief Wall Street Journal "The most valuable companies in the world, like Apple, Google Microsoft—these are all companies that are in the enterprise and in the consumer's home," he said. Dropbox doesn't say how many businesses pay to use its higher-cost software for businesses ...
Apple in Talks to Revamp Set-Top Box Wall Street Journal In the current discussions, which involve at least two big media companies, Appleenvisages working with cable companies, rather than competing against them, the people said. For programming, it would rely on cable providers to acquire programming ...
Apple set to discontinue legacy, non-Retina iPad 2 Apple Insider After nearly three years on the market, Apple's second-generation iPad, which sports an A5 processor and non-Retina display, is now on the chopping block, and is expected to be discontinued in the near future, AppleInsider has learned. iPad 2 ...
Microsoft signs Android patent deal with Voxx Electronics ZDNet ... agree to pay Microsoft undisclosed fees to cover unspecified patented Microsofttechnologies that are part of these Google operating systems. Microsoft previously signed patent licenses with Samsung, LG, HTC, Acer, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and more.
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