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April 01, 2011
Open comments, and an April Fool's Geek Gathering
Here's your Friday open comments thread, this week falling on April Fool's Day. Gulp.
You know what to do: Leave a comment about anything related to personal technology, and I'll approve it. It's as simple as that.
Come back again to see what others said about what you had to say, and then repeat the process.
It's also the first Friday of the month, which means tonight's the Geek Gathering, the monthly meetup for Technology Bytes, the KPFT radio show I co-host on Wednesday nights. The very concept of an April Fool's Day GG boggles the mind.
But no, it's all too real, and it's going down starting about 7:30 p.m. at The Coffee Groundz, Bagby at McGowen in Midtown.
Join me, Jay Lee, Barrett Canon, Terry "phliKtid" Leifeste and Groovehouse for good conversation, coffee, wine/beer, food and free Wi-Fi. Bring your gear, your curiosity and your enthusiasm. If you like, you can RSVP on our Facebook page.
It all starts about 7:30 p.m. and goes until the last geek is standing. I'll have my iPad 2 there, if you want to check one out without standing in a long line at an Apple Store.
See you there!
Posted by Dwight at 07:00 AM in Open-comment Fridays
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• Amazon.com Said to Be Considering Mobile-Payment Service for Smartphones – Amazon's mobile payment service would work in brick-and-mortar stores.
• Facebook Unifies Mobile Site For 250 Million Users – Facebook used to have multiple mobile sites, but now there's just one.
• CHART OF THE DAY: How Many Users Does Twitter REALLY Have? – Twitter's official count is 175 million users, but active users is much smaller than that. It's not a number that's easy to figure out.
• Massive SQL injection attack making the rounds - 694K URLs so far – The attack exploits badly written Web pages.
• FCC's Copps not pleased with AT&T bid for T-Mobile – It will be a "steeper climb" than NBCU-Comcast, according to the commissioner.
• Apple exploring multi-camera iPhone systems for 3D picture taking – According to a patent filling. There are already quite a few 3D camera systems out there, including several form Sony.
• Hollywood Rolls Out $30 Rentals. Smart. – For movies that have finished a theatrical run but are still in theaters. $30 could be cheap, compared to the cost of tickets for a family, popcorn, parking, babysitting, etc. etc.
• Time Warner Pulls Channels From iPad App – Including MTV and FX.
• In Big Endorsement, AP Embraces Mozilla's ‘Do Not Track’ Header – It's a new privacy feature in Firefox 4.
• HTC ThunderBolt outselling iPhone 4 at Verizon Wireless stores, analyst claims – In many stores, not all.
Posted by Dwight at 06:33 AM in Linkposts
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March 31, 2011
On Microsoft, Google, antitrust and irony
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In the 1990s, Microsoft was the focus of a U.S. Justice Department antitrust inquiry and lawsuit into its business practices. The main focus was on the software giant's bundling of its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system. Microsoft was believed to have a monopoly position in personal computer OSes, and the federal complaint alleged the company was leveraging its power to force PC makers to offer only IE as a browser.
The case was settled in 2001, but Microsoft continues to operate under restrictions as a result.
Microsoft also was the target of antitrust allegations in Europe. In a settlement there, the company agreed to unbundle Windows Media Player from Windows for its European customers. And in 2009, it agreed to do the same with Internet Explorer, instead providing a "ballot" that lets users choose from a variety of browsers when they set up a new PC.
Now, it's Microsoft's turn to sit at the plaintiff's table. The company has filed a formal complaint with the European Union over the behavior on that continent of its rival in search, Google. In a blog post, Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith argues Google is behaving in such a way that it throttle competition in a region where it has a whopping 95 percent share of the search market, according to the EU.
Smith give six examples of ways in which Microsoft believes Google is acting unfairly:
• Google doesn't provide full access to competing search engines to the data necessary to fully search YouTube, which Google owns.
• Google has not provided Microsoft with the same access to YouTube data for its Windows Phone 7 devices, while granting that data to Android and iOS phones.
• Microsoft claims Google is blocking access to content owned by book publishers, an argument highlighted by last week's federal court decision against Google's book-search agreement with publishers.
• Microsoft says Google is keeping advertisers who provide information for ads from sharing that information with other advertising platforms, including Microsoft's.
• In Europe, Google contractually prevents site operators who place Google search boxes on their pages from including search boxes from other services, Microsoft charges.
• Microsoft agrees with other, smaller complainants that Google makes it more costly for competitors to buy better ad placement.
During its battles with the U.S. Justice Department, Microsoft argued that nothing was stopping Windows users from downloading and using another browser. In fact, this was at the core of its defense. But in Smith's blog post, he pooh-poohs a similar argument used by Google:
On PCs it is usually not difficult for people to navigate to any search engine. Google in fact makes this point virtually every time someone raises antitrust concerns about their practices. Their defense ignores the hugely important fact that there are many other important ways that search services compete. Search engines compete to index the Web as fully as possible so they can generate good search results, they compete to gain advertisers (the source of revenue in this business), and they compete to gain distribution of their search boxes through Web sites. Consumers will not benefit from clicking to alternative sites unless all search engines have a fair opportunity to compete in each of these areas.
And yes, Microsoft is aware of the irony of all this, which Smith addresses directly:
There of course will be some who will point out the irony in today's filing. Having spent more than a decade wearing the shoe on the other foot with the European Commission, the filing of a formal antitrust complaint is not something we take lightly. This is the first time Microsoft Corp. has ever taken this step. More so than most, we recognize the importance of ensuring that competition laws remain balanced and that technology innovation moves forward.
The EU has much more stringent antitrust laws than in the U.S., but if Microsoft's charges are accurate, Google has some serious 'splainin' to do, possibly even in this country. The feds have moved to investigate Google in the past, but the company has been quick to settle and change its behavior to avoid protracted litigation. The pugnacious Microsoft of the '90s, in contrast, would rather fight than switch.
So far, there's no response from Google, either on its general public policy blog, nor on one devoted to European policy. I'll update this post if one appears.
Posted by Dwight at 08:21 AM in Google, Government & regulation, Microsoft
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Updated 4:12 p.m.
• Twitter Kills The #Dickbar and So a bar walks into an app... – A new version of Twitter for iPhone kills off the controversial QuickBar. Now, it just needs to restore support for third-party URL shorteners . . .
• Twitter warning to UberSocial users: Your DM's might be public – BlackBerry users, a fix is in the works.
• Google’s Music Search Engine Quietly Vanishes From The Web
• Google Plays Down Microsoft's Antitrust Complaint in Europe – A spokesperson said this was expected, since a Microsoft subsidiary had been involved in earlier complaints.
• Apple Looks to Taiwan for iPad 2 Panels – Since its suppliers in Japan were disrupted by the earthquake.
Original post
• Antitrust Cry From Microsoft – The software giant, itself once the subject of a landmark antitrust suit, files a formal complaint with the European Union against Google, claiming its rival promotes its own products over competitors in search.• Do Not Anger the Alpha Android – Google reportedly is cracking down on tweaks and customizations to its mobile operating system in an attempt to provide a more uniform experience for users. Hardware manufacturers using it aren't happy. Also Google rumored standardizing Android 3.0, ARM chips
• Fake pirated Walk and Text Android app embarrasses pirates and steals sensitive data – It looks like a cracked version of a popular app. But if you download and install it on an Android phone, it sends sensitive info to a remote server and dispatches a text message to your friends saying you just stole a $1 app.
• Meet +1: Google's Answer To The Facebook Like Button – You may be among the small number of users who will be able to see a +1 next to search results. Click it to indicate you like the results. There's also a way you can manually turn on the feature. And Sure, I Could Join a Google-Based Social Network — But Why?
• Ultra high-speed broadband is coming to Kansas City, Kansas – Google picks this Midwestern metropolis to get a gigabit network. Other cities may follow.
• Crippled Phones Reveal AT&T Isn’t Ready for 4G – The company told a Texas customers that its Atrix phones don't yet support 4G, even though they're being sold as 4G phones. That feature will be turned on at a later date.
• Apple releases Mac OS X 10 Lion Developer Preview 2 to developers – It includes an overhaul of iCal, the Mac's popular calendar program.
• Apple to absorb increasing costs created by Japan earthquake – Costs of components are going up as the result of brownouts and other disruptions.•
• Adobe demos Photoshop for iPad with real layer support – But there's no indication when this might actually be released.
• When Media Giants Attack! Cease-and-Desist Letter to News Reader Zite Claims All Kinds of Copyright Damage – Zite, which has been described as a Pandora for journalism, gets threatened by a pack of media companies who claim the impressive iPad app violates their copyrights.
• A Year Later–The Windows Phone 7 Numbers That Matter – Microsoft's Windows Phone Developer Blog releases a bunch of numbers related to the platform's app development, but still omits the number that REALLY matters: How many phones have been sold so far.
• Acer CEO and President Gianfranco Lanci resigns amid disagreement about company's future direction
• Amazon in Big Push to Clinch Music Deals – Amazon is still talking to the music labels in search of a blessing to the Cloud Player service it launched earlier this week.
• No keyloggers on Samsung laptops as far as we know – A Network World report says a keylogger was found on 2 Samsung notebooks. But a Samsung-related blog indicates it was actually a Windows Live multi-language component. And Samsung 'keylogger' is a GFI VIPRE antivirus false-positive
• And away I go – Chris Ziegler is the latest high-profile editor to leave Engadget. Oh, and Joanna Stern has also left.
• Microsoft's Odd Couple – Vanity Fair has an extract from Paul Allen's autobiography, The Idea Man. Also Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen says Bill Gates schemed to dilute his share
Posted by Dwight at 06:45 AM in Linkposts
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March 30, 2011
AT&T rep: Houston service is awful because so many people are using it [Updated]
Houston AT&T wireless users have been able to muster a smidgeon of smugness about Ma Bell 2.0's service here. While a lot of users experience dropped calls and or calls that don't go through, at least we're not in the same boat as San Francisco or New York, right?
That may be changing, and if one customer's experience with an AT&T service rep is indicative, it's generally what's expected when the phone company gets too much love.
Consumerist has an eye-opening item about a Houston customer named Chris who noticed that call quality near his home and office had been steadily declining. After suffering a series of last-straw frustrations, he called AT&T's customer service and was fairly astounded at what he heard:
Last night, I tried to participate on 3 phone calls, all of which either resulted in dropped calls or the other party not being able to hear me at all unless I was standing on my patio. At that point I had had enough. With the same problem happening at my office so close to my home, I decided AT&T needed to know about the issue, so I called support and spoke to [M].
After I explained what was happening, M.'s first statement to me was this, "Let me make sure I understand you, you are only having this problem when you are inside?" When I said yes, he followed up with, "Ok, well the first thing you need to know is that AT&T does not guarantee you will have any signal strength at all when you are not outside."
When I explained again that the call quality has gotten worse over time, so I know that good call quality is possible in this area, he explained that to me by saying, "Well, as more and more people move to AT&T, there are more people on the network, so you will experience poorer quality service. That's just how it works."
Now, to a certain extent, the rep is correct. More people on a network can lead to dropped calls. But the "that's just how it works" is essentially the same as saying, "Sorry, pal, your problem." But still, that doesn't compare to the what happened next.
M. then informed me that I shouldn't worry, that AT&T had a solution for me that was very effective and could take care of this problem quite easily: the Microcell 3g.
He went through the benefits of this device (which may work for my home, but the limit of only 5 accounts wouldn't do much for my office), explained that it used my current internet connection, and that it would cost me $199 after a $100 mail in rebate.
In other words, AT&T's service is so bad that Chris was being invited to spend more money just to bring it back up to par.
Clearly, AT&T's got more than just network issues here - it's customer service in this case was clearly faulty. The company has, in some cases, offered Microcells to some customers for free, and that's probably what this particular rep should have done.
So, T-Mobile customers . . . reading this, how do you feel about soon becoming part of the AT&T family, hmmm?
I've e-mailed a couple of AT&T spokesfolks and asked for a response to the Consumerist item. I'll update this when I hear back.
Update: AT&T has responded to my query. The company has been in touch with Chris.
We’re so sorry for the frustration Chris has experienced. It’s important to note that even in the strongest coverage areas, in-building coverage can be difficult due to a number of factors that are beyond our control—terrain, building materials, location within the building, etc—and our 3G MicroCell is designed to be a solution that benefits customers who live in homes that have such coverage impediments. While we can’t disclose exact details of this case for privacy reasons, we can pass along that we’ve been working with Chris and yesterday were able to offer him a MicroCell free of charge.
Posted by Dwight at 02:42 PM in AT&T, Customer service
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iPad 2: First (and somewhat late) impressions
On Tuesday, I finally received an iPad 2 review unit. Apple tends to send these items to me later, granting review products first to our Mac columnist, Bob Levitus, because . . . well, he's Dr. Mac!
I'd already played with an iPad 2 a couple of times. First, I spent quite a while with it at an Apple Store while I worked on my Garage Band for iPad review. I wanted to see if there was any difference in how the app performed compared to the iPad 1. (There wasn't much.)
Then, a co-worker brought one in. His daughter works at an Apple store, so he was able to snag an iPad 2 without waiting in line or waiting an eternity for one ordered from Apple's website.
My initial impression of the tablet during those interludes didn't change my early opinion of the product. Yep, it's an iPad that's thinner, lighter and noticeably faster than the original, and sporting dual cameras. As an iPad 1 owner, I didn't feel the need to upgrade.
Now I've got one I can use over time. I've set it up so it has all the same apps and settings as my iPad 1, and will use it just as I did the original. Then, in the ultimate test, I'll go back to my own iPad and see if I miss having the newer one. After that, I'll write a review.
In the meantime, here are some initial impressions of Apple's latest and most-sought-after device.
• The iPad 2 is indeed quite thin and light. Where the original iPad has hard edges, the new model has tapering curves, which give you the impression that it's thinner than it really is. In fact, if you're used to an iPad 1, it feels disconcertingly insubstantial, even delicate. I also feel like it's hard to hold, and I'd definitely want to keep this in a case that's provides more of a solid grip than Apple's Smart Cover.
• And speaking of the Smart Cover: Yeah, it's as cool as others have described. It snaps to the iPad 2's body using a series of magnets, and when it covers the screen, the iPad 2 goes to sleep. When you lift the cover, it wakes up without you have to swipe the screen lock. The only problem is that there's absolutely no protection on the back, which is a slick aluminum finish similar to that found on MacBook Pros and Airs. While the Smart Cover is a great idea, it's inadequate.
• Although the screen is the same resolution as the iPad 1, the iPad 2's display is higher-quality. It's brighter, with richer colors. This difference is particularly noticeable in games. I've been playing Angry Birds Rio on both tablets, and the game looks much better on the 2. It does not, however, improve on the iPad's text readability. Text remains somewhat jaggy and pixilated, thanks to a low pixel density on both models.
• Yes, the iPad 2 is faster. You notice this most in basic functions, such as scrolling, switching screens, launching apps. It is not as noticeable within apps. For example, GarageBand for iPad still takes a few seconds to switch from electric to acoustic in the Smart Guitar. Generally, though, the iPad 2 feels more fluid and natural.
• The cameras are indeed rudimentary, and holding the iPad up to take a picture feels klunky and unnatural. I haven't yet done any video with it, nor have I tried Facetime, though I play with that on my co-worker's iPad 2. However, there's one camera-related feature that's already big fun around my house: Photobooth. This app, originally found in Mac OS X, lets you take distorted, funhouse-style pictures. It is a hoot.
And yes, I spent a good chunk of yesterday evening terrorizing my family with this.
• Apple sent me the 64-gigabyte version that talks to AT&T's 3G network. I'll be curious to see just how much AT&T data I end up using. I can tell you now that it's obvious when the iPad is connected to 3G rather than Wi-Fi, because Internet access is markedly slower. My iPad 1 is Wi-Fi only, so this will be my first exposure to an iPad that's always connected to the Net.
Posted by Dwight at 08:14 AM in Apple, iPad
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Updated 10:24 a.m.
• Google Settles FTC Complaint over Google Buzz Privacy – Google has agreed to submit to privacy audits for the next 20 years, along with other requirements.
Original post
• Google Is Studying Your Gmail Inbox So It Can Show You Better Ads and Was Google's Priority Inbox Just a Testing Ground for New Gmail Ads? – Google's rolling out a service that shows ads based not just on the text in them, which Gmail ads have always done, but also how you treat them and pay attention to them.• Google Talk Guru is a new Google bot that lets you ask simple questions. – Very experimental. Natural language queries don't always work, temperatures always delivered in Celsius, etc.
• How fast is the Internet at Google? Mind blowing. – A speed test shows its over 500 Mbps. Gulp.
• Amazon faces backlash over music locker service – Music labels aren't happy that Amazon launched its Cloud Player without their approval. Does Amazon need that approval?
• Despite reports, Amazon's rumored tablet won't be called the Scratchpad and Calm down, Amazon Scratchpad are dev-tools not tablet
• An Obvious Next Step – Evan Williams confirms he's no longer involved day-to-day at Twitter, and is striking out on something new. Also Q&A: Twitter's Jack Dorsey on Priorities, Products and Getting Punched in the Stomach
• A Snake Escapes the Bronx Zoo and Appears on Twitter – The cobra that is missing from the Bronx Zoo has shown up on Twitter.
• Microsoft Is Said to Plan Mobile Payments in Next Windows Phone – Using Near Field Communications, on which both Apple and Google are also reportedly working.
• Microsoft begins distributing Windows 8 to OEMs via Connect – It's a very early build.
• Apple iPad will fail in the enterprise: Dell and Dell's desperation shows, says the iPad will fail in the enterprise – A Dell executive predicts the iPad won't do well in business. Strange, why do I see so many at my place of employment, and see so many visitors packing them as well? Also Tablets might be a flash in the pan: Microsoft global chief strategy officer
• Meet Edward Zuckerberg, the high-tech dentist (and Mark's father) – He taught the Facebook founder to program on an Atari 800.
• Android 3.0 catalog still stalled below 100 apps – Of course, there's still only one tablet out there that uses Honeycomb.
• As Regulators Weigh AT&T Bid, a Look at Wireless Markets Abroad – If AT&T succeeds at scarfing T-Mobile, expect the mobile market here to look a lot like it does in many European countries.
Posted by Dwight at 06:44 AM in Linkposts
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March 29, 2011
Amazon beats Apple, Google to the musical cloud
For months, rumor and speculation have pitched Apple and Google against each other in a race to offer a service that would let people store their music collections online for playback anywhere. But while the two rivals were allegedly planning, plotting, building and testing, Amazon.com beat them both to it.
On Monday night, the online retailer launched the Amazon Cloud Player and a media storage service called Amazon Cloud Drive. You can upload up to 5 gigabytes of music free to Amazon's servers, then play it back anywhere via your Mac, PC or Android device. Cloud Drive also lets you store video, photos and other files.
You can can also pay for more storage - $20 a year for 20 GB, $50 for 50 GB, $100 for 100 GB, and so on, at the rate of $1 per gigabyte. If you buy an Amazon MP3 album, you'll get 20 GB of storage free for a year. More about that deal in a moment.
To begin using the service, sign in to your Amazon.com account. At the Cloud Player page linked above, you're prompted to upload music. You'll need to download and install a music uploader, which searches your hard drive for tunes.
The uploader takes note of how much space you're allotted, the size of your overall music collection and tells you how much space you need if you want to upload all of it. It will also tell you how long this will take.
Now, I've got a pretty zippy connection, but to upload all 3,668 songs the uploader found would take almost 15 hours and require nearly 20 GB of storage. If your connection is slow, uploading a lot of files could take days. In addition, uploads count against most Internet provider's data caps.
In my case, I chose to initially upload only about a gigabyte of music. Still, the uploader estimated it would take almost an hour to make the transfer.
By the way, once the transfer began, the estimate went over an hour. At one point, the uploader stopped and told me that authentication had timed out. I had to shut it down, and restart the process. Fortunately, the uploader knew what I'd already moved to the cloud drive, and it was easy to upload the rest.
Once there's music in your locker, you can begin playing it. On the Mac or PC, it plays in the browser.
The player plays your music based on the file's quality, so a 256-kbps bitrate MP3 sounds quite good.
As I said, you can buy an MP3 album and get 20 GB of storage. There are Amazon MP3 albums for as little as $1.99, so this is a great way to cheaply get more space for your tunes. However, there's a catch: The free 20 GB only lasts for a year. Amazon promises it won't start charging for you 20 GB after the promotional period ends - instead, you'll be cut back to the free 5 GB plan. The company doesn't say what happens if you have more than 5 GB of music when the lesser plan kicks in - does that music just vanish?
In theory, you've got the music stored on your hard drive, right? Well, maybe not. When you buy an MP3 album, Amazon gives you the option to only store purchased music on its service, though you can download it to your computer at any time. Hopefully, Amazon will allow you to re-download music that might be nuked by falling back from a promotional plan.
[Update: Amazon says MP3 music purchased from its site and stored in the Cloud Drive won't count against your storage limit, so dropping back to the 5-GB plan in a year won't mean you'll lose music you haven't downloaded.]
Also, the tin-foil-hat crowd may want to read Amazon's user agreement for Cloud Drive closely. It says Amazon has the right to access and use your files at any time.
5.2.Our Right to Access Your Files. You give us the right to access, retain, use and disclose your account information and Your Files: to provide you with technical support and address technical issues; to investigate compliance with the terms of this Agreement, enforce the terms of this Agreement and protect the Service and its users from fraud or security threats; or as we determine is necessary to provide the Service or comply with applicable law.
Now, presumably this is for technical support issues, and to prevent the storage of malware and illegally obtained material. But, that wording is open-ended, and the privac- minded may want to think twice before storing some files in Amazon's cloud.
Still, this is a pretty impressive service, and I can see myself making use of it. But as an iPhone 4 user, it's a shame that there's no mobile player for iOS devices, which may or may not have to do with Apple's restrictions on competitive apps. Amazon could eventually create a Web-based player that works on Mobile Safari, of course, but an app would be the best solution.
Update: Just received an e-mail from Amazon that offered me the free 20-GB plan because I'd recently purchased an MP3 album. (Specifically, Lucinda Williams' latest, Blessed.)
It's not clear how recent the purchase needs to be, but Amazon's taking care of its customers.
Update 2.0: It looks like I didn't get this offer because of a pre-launch purchase. While researching, I was looking at different albums and - because I had Amazon's One-Click purchase system enabled - I bought it without realizing it. The e-mail I received was generated with this new purchase.
Oh well. At least it was an album I love.
Update 3.0: Bruce Houghton at HypeBot notes that Amazon launched this service without the blessing of the major music labels.
"We don't need a license to store music. The functionality is the same as an external hard drive," according to Craig Pape, director of music at Amazon. But not everyone agrees. Sources tell Hypebot that Warner Music Group is particularly upset by Amazon's unlicensed launch and considering how to react. WMG, may however, find that other labels aren't ready to join them in a fight with Amazon. "It's about time someone did this and we're just glad its not Apple," one label source shared privately. "It will push other negotiations forward."
Posted by Dwight at 08:34 AM in Digital music, movies, media
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Updated 1:26 p.m.
• Smartphone Market Expected to Soar in 2011 – IDC thinks it will grow by as much as 50 percent this year.
• Mozilla Launches Firefox 4 for Android, Allowing Users to Take the Power and Customization of Firefox Everywhere – It now syncs with Firefox 4, but Mobile Firefox Skips Flash In Favor Of HTML5
• Verizon's Samsung LTE Mobile Hotspot goes on sale: $100 on contract – Of course, you'll have to pay $50 or $80 a month for a mobile broadband plan.
Original post
• Amazon Cloud Player goes live, streams music on your computer and Android – Upload your existing music to Amazon's new music locker service, or store MP3 albums you buy from Amazon. You get up to 5 GB free; another 20 GB free when you buy an MP3 album from Amazon; or pay an annual fee for even more storage. Works on Macs, PCs or Android devices, but not on iOS devices..• Legends Of The Fall, Apple Style – Will the iPhone 5 debut in the fall instead of this summer, with support for 4G LTE? And Apple not yet aligning iPhone 5 part suppliers, handset may miss fiscal 2011
• WWDC 2011 already sold out – Tickets to Apple's World Wide Developers Conference were gone in less than 10 hours.
• Color App Hack Lets You Spy On Anyone’s Photos Anywhere – Using geolocation spoofing.
• Elop Fights Nokia Traditions in Race to Ship Microsoft Phone – Not surprisingly, turning Nokia into a Microsoft shop has not been easy.
• How Microsoft can get Windows Phone 7 back on track – Mary Jo Foley lays out the scenarios.
• The New York Times Paywall Meters All Google Visits, Not Just Search Visits and How To Hack the New York Times Paywall … With Your Delete Key – It's a pretty "leaky" paywall.
• A Virtual Fix for ‘Broken’ Gift-Card Business – Gift cards would be digital under this plan being pushed by Google, Qualcomm and First Data.
• It's official: Sprint says AT&T's T-Mobile deal stinks – Sprint says it will actively oppose the merger. What a surprise!
• Facebook Prepares to Add Friends in Washington – An increasing number of Facebook executives have government and political ties.
• Two Twitter Founders Trade Places – Jack Dorsey will handle products at Twitter, while Evan Williams works on a new startup.
• Intel doubles capacity, drops price in refresh of popular SSD line – A 300-GB SSD for $529, and 160 GB for $289. That's still quite expensive compared to traditional hard drives.
Posted by Dwight at 06:32 AM in Linkposts
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March 28, 2011
Buying a new PC: The joy of the refurb
Earlier this month, my son came home to his apartment to discover that it had been burglarized. The scum who broke in while he and his roommate were out for the evening took their time and took what they wanted.
And mostly, they wanted electronics. My son lost a collection of older game consoles, a MacBook Pro and a desktop Windows PC I'd built for him. His roommate lost a couple of notebook computers.
One thing that didn't get stolen, gratefully: An external hard drive that contained all his data. He's an artist and a photographer (they also didn't take his camera), and several years' worth of work is stored on that drive. Whew.
He didn't have renter's insurance, but his loss was covered under our homeowners' policy. However, our deductible is high, and the value of the loss didn't quite match it. He's a student, and needed a computer for school, so that had to be replaced regardless of whether our insurance would reimburse us.
We were bracing to have to place the MacBook Pro, at 15-inch model that, when we bought it, was fairly tricked out. But no, what he wanted instead was a new Windows desktop. The main reason: He could play games on it as well as do schoolwork and art. With the consoles gone, this would be a main source of his entertainment.
My initial thought was to build him a new one, but the simple fact is that buying's cheaper than building these days. Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer et al can pay a lot less for parts than I can. With that, I began to do some online shopping.
Continue reading "Buying a new PC: The joy of the refurb"
Posted by Dwight at 08:25 AM in HP, Hardware, Shopgeek
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Updated 3:19 p.m.
• iPad 2 Coming to RadioShack Tomorrow? – According to internal communications sent to RadioShack stores.
• No iPhone, iPad or Mac hardware coming at WWDC – The focus instead will be on software, particularly iOS and Mac OS.
• @jack is back @twitter – Twitter's co-founder – and the guy who came up with concept – is back at Twitter doing product development.
• New York Times Offers Substantial Subscription Discount Ahead of Paywall Launch – 99 cents for four weeks. And A Letter to Our Readers About Digital Subscriptions
• LG to produce Nexus tablet for Google, suggests rumor – This would be a "pure" Android 3.0 tablet.
• ‘Know Your Meme’ Acquired By Cheezburger in Seven-Figure Deal
Original post
• RIM: The inmates have taken over the asylum - Jean-Louis Gassée looks at RIM's increasingly dour situation and wonders if its top leadership isn't to blame. But RIM: The obits are a bit premature• Apple Pushing Labels for April Music Locker Launch – According to sources, the locker service will cost about $20 a year and be part of a revamped MobileMe. Warner Music has already signed on.
• iPad 2: Out of stock by Saturday – After going on sale in 25 countries.
• iPhone app store of “Color” may be best app store review ever
• Apple looking to “radically improve” iOS maps and location services – According to an ad for a map developer.
• Google Pursues Role in Mobile Payments – You may soon be able to wave your Android-based smartphone at a contactless device to pay for goods and services.
• Out Now On Facebook: Five More Warner Bros. Films – You can now watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Inception, Life As We Know It and Yogi Bear on Facebook.
• Nintendo 3DS review: Is it worth $249 and $40 per game? – Dean Takahashi doesn't see a killer app for Nintendo's 3D portable game player.
• Benchmark battle: Chrome vs. IE vs. Firefox – Firefox 4 does pretty well in most benchmarks, though each of the other browsers has its strong points.
• Paul Baran, Internet Pioneer, Dies at 84 – He came up with the idea for a network with alternate routes for data, which would be less prone to disruption. His work paved the way for Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet.
• Ethical Quandary for Social Sites – The use of social media for political activism challenges many sites' stated policies of political neutrality. And U.S. Products Help Block Mideast Web
• Is It a New Tech Bubble? Let's See if It Pops – There are some big differences between now and 1999. Also S.F. tech jobs climb near level of dot-com peak
Posted by Dwight at 06:39 AM in Linkposts
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March 27, 2011
Linkpost | 3.27.2011
• iOS 5 Likely Pushed To The Fall After A Cloud Unveiling At WWDC – Rumors indicate it may not appear until new iPods are available later this year.
• Lukewarm Reaction To Playbook Could Force Drastic Measures For RIM – If the PlayBook is not a hit, RIM could face serious consequences.
• Samsung's Fake Galaxy Tab Interviews: Hey, Those Words Sound Familiar! – Not only did Samsung apparently present actors as "real" customers, but the company apparently derived a script using entries from Technologizer.
• ICANN asks the US to cut it loose – The agency that manages core DNS functions wants the U.S. to make good on its promise to let it become independent.
• Cellphones Track Your Every Move, and You May Not Even Know – Your cell phone company needs to know where you are in order to lock your phone into a strong signal. But does it have to store that information over time?
• The first musical album that's also a location aware iPhone app – As you walk around the National Mall in Washington D.C. listening to this album on a location-aware device, the music changes based on where you are.
• Need Proof That Not All 4G Is the Same? Here It Is. – Some 4G services are clearly faster than others.
• Silicon Valley Hiring Perks: Meals, iPads and a Cubicle for Spot – Bubble 2.0? What Bubble 2.0?
• Steal This E-Book – Tech book publisher O'Reilly makes tons of money off its e-books, and without employing DRM.
Posted by Dwight at 09:36 AM in Linkposts
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March 26, 2011
Linkpost | 3.26.2011
• OS X Lion Already Nearing "Golden Master" -- Release Around WWDC? - The next version of Mac OS X could come as early as June.
• Is Samsung's New Galaxy Tab Fibbing About Its Figure? And About Those Galaxy Tab Fans... - Samsung says its next Galaxy Tab is thinner than iPad 2, but a physical comparison casts doubt. And, did Samsung cast some actors in a video "project" and try to convince the tech press they were "real" people?
• Nintendo's New World of Games: Three Dimensions, Zero Glasses - Annoying glasses aren't required for the Nintendo 3DS.
• The Majority Of America Is Now On Facebook - That's more than half of all Americans over 12.
• Google-Owned Slide Launches Disco, a Group Text App, for iPhone - It's a group messaging app from a Google-owned company, and there's no Android version.
• Color Founder Bill Nguyen Explains Why You're All Wrong -- It Really IS A $41 Million Idea - The founder of Color explains why his iPhone app is special. (I still think it's the equivalent of a location-based, non-real-time, mobile Chatroulette.)
• Spotify splattered with malware-tainted ads - Cyberscum have planted malware in the ad-based version of the service.
• 4chan Using Fake OkCupid Profiles to Lure Pathetic Singles to Times Square - It's an attempt to create an involuntary flash mob.
• Microsoft disables secure access to Hotmail in over a dozen countries - Particularly those in the Middle East. Update: It was just a bug.
• Oxford English Dictionary welcomes LOL, OMG, and FYI
• At Google, Page Seeks to Cut Red Tape - The Wall Street Journal looks at Larry Page's mission as Google's new CEO.
Posted by Dwight at 08:12 AM in Linkposts
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