Windows 7 stomps on Mac's feeble market share gains
PC shipments have been downright glum over the last couple quarters, with tablets (c`mon, friggin' iPad) sucking away consumer dollars. But that hasn't stopped Windows 7's advance, which is getting a boost from the huge corporate Windows XP install base moving onward. Today, Gartner predicted -- and, frankly, it's no shocking palm reading -- that Windows 7 will become the "leading operating system" this year.
Yeah, tell me something less obvious than my nose. But summer is a slow season even for analyst firms. Gartner needs to say something, so customers will keep buying those expense reports and that journalists (yeah, like me) write about the data -- lest somebody forget Gartner still exists.
Proof that the iPhone 4 and Galaxy Tab have had sex
Over the last couple of years, companies have come to view me as a writer who mostly covers Android. I suppose it's pretty true, but I like to think that I'm not exhibiting any sort of bias toward it, but rather just covering Android stories because there are simply more companies utilizing it than any other mobile OS, and more interesting stories are born from it every week because of this.
At any rate, I get pitched A LOT of Android gear, and trust me on this one, most of it is not worth even talking about, much less using.
Boxee for iPad is a wonderfully versatile means of accessing your media collection
The Mac and PC versions of Boxee provide a wonderfully versatile means of accessing your media collection -- music, photos and movies -- in a delightful interface. The app can be used in conjunction with your computer, or linked to your TV and stereo. Now there is an iPad app available that brings the flexibility of the desktop software to Apple's tablet. Boxee for iPad has been unleashed, and it has plenty to offer.
The idea behind the iPad app is very much the same as the desktop software, although this time around there is an even greater emphasis placed on streaming media. As is almost expected of any app these days, Boxee for iPad integrates with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. This is not just so that you can interact with your friends, but also so that you can access videos that have been posted to these sites in the same app you will use to access the rest of your media collection.
CCleaner 3.0: New beta supports Mac OS X Lion
Piriform has released the third public beta of its forthcoming CCleaner for Mac. Based on the popular Windows version, CCleaner for Mac offers various cleaning tools for parts of the operating system, and is a freeware release.
Beta 3's headline feature is that it introduces support for Mac OS X Lion, but it also includes a number of new cleaning options, including Google Chrome and Firefox 6, plus a selection of system caches.
File Blender: Process or encrypt just about anything
Image editing, file format conversion, encryption/ decryption: there are many reasons why you might want to process a file, and usually you'll require a different program to handle each one.
File Blender, though, is a little more ambitious. The program provides a simple front end to tools like IrfanView, FFmpeg, LAME MP3 Encoder and more, and can be further extended to provide a unified, portable interface for all your file processing needs.
Facebook Messages threads now include texts thanks to new Facebook Messenger app
Social network Facebook on Tuesday released a new app for iOS and Android mobile devices called Facebook Messenger. The application is effectively a standalone mobile version of the new Facebook Messages platform which allows users to send messages to individuals or groups of individuals in their phone book or Facebook friends list.
Facebook unveiled Messages in late 2010, billing it as a single, unified inbox that could thread together many disparate methods of communication into a single stream. If two users are conversing over Facebook chat, and one switches over to a mobile device, for example, the conversation would still take place through Messages, except the messages are being sent through SMS instead of a Web interface.
Not even Huffington Post or TechCrunch could save AOL, which value plummeted over 25% today
AOL stock hit its lowest point since the company separated from Time Warner, after a 25.75 percent death-tumble. A last-minute rally pulled shares up, which earlier had fallen by more than 26 percent. AOL closed at $11.19, down from its $15.19 opening.
The disastrous day of trading followed another. Yesterday, on the first day following Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States credit rating to AA+ from AAA, the Dow closed down a stunning 635 points and Nasdaq declined by 6.9 percent -- taking many tech stocks with it.
People realize oil is more important than iPhones, Exxon retains title as world's biggest company
Apple Inc. managed to shoot right past Exxon Mobil in the stock market to become the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world, but the big oil company kept up the fight throughout trading on Tuesday.
As of August 8th, the top ten international companies by market capitalization were Exxon Mobil, Apple Inc, then IBM, Microsoft, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, General Electric, and Coca-Cola. But over the course of Monday and Tuessday, Exxon Mobil's shares fell while Apple's rallied, and the number one and number two companies swapped positions.
Study: Mobile apps frequently disclose sensitive user data
Despite all the attention as of late on mobile security, a majority of mobile apps still have security flaws that should be of concern, warns security firm ViaForensics. The results come from comprehensive security tests for 100 apps on both the Android and iOS platforms.
Each app was given one of three possible ratings -- pass, warn, or fail -- depending on whether or not ViaForensics was able to access data it stored in each of the apps. A "pass" rating was given if the data could either not be found or was stored encrypted. For apps where the data was found but did not pose an immediate risk, a "warn" rating was assign.
German court bars Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in European Union
Gasp. You read the headline right. Today, Apple won an injunction against major rival Samsung. A Dusseldorf court issued the injunction, which is preliminary.
Did I not write just a few hours ago claiming Apple is engaging in competition by litigation, rather than innovation? According to IDC, Samsung is Apple's biggest competitor in the tablet market. But rather than compete, the market leader has engaged in a campaign to block Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales just as the tablet launches in many countries around the world. What I find so surprising: How easily Apple is let off by bloggers and journalists for bullying behavior that would generate scathing headlines if Google or Microsoft was the protagonist.
British politician wants Blackberry Messenger shut off during riots
BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion has offered to assist British authorities in tracking down those participating in the riots across the UK, it said Monday. The move irked supporters of the rioters, and RIM's blog was subsequently hacked in retaliation.
It has also gotten the attention of British politicians. David Lammy, a member of parliament from the riot-stricken north London suburb of Tottenham, has called for the BlackBerry Messenger service to be shut down in the country. "This is one of the reasons why unsophisticated criminals are outfoxing an otherwise sophisticated police force," he lamented.
Nokia will only sell Windows Phones in North America, nothing else
Finnish mobile phone leader Nokia will be dealing exclusively in Windows Phones in the United States, according to several reports on Tuesday. The company's devices that run other mobile operating systems: S40, Symbian, and Meego, will not be sold in the North American market at all.
In an exclusive interview with AllThingsD's Ina Fried, Nokia Inc. President Chris Weber said the company will be putting all its strength into Windows Phone in North America, and that the continent is essentially "out of the Symbian…S40 business."
Apple-HTC patent dispute: Dark Side of the Force?
Apple's patent bullying continues -- competition by litigation rather than innovation. Today the US International Trade Commission agreed to investigate five patents Apple claims that HTC violates.
Perhaps Apple smells blood in the water, from an earlier, somewhat favorable ruling. The company sued HTC for patent infringement in March 2010; at the time, HTC was one of the largest -- if not the largest -- Android licensees. I called the lawsuit "competition by litigation" -- "where Apple hopes to scare off mobile manufacturers from licensing Android". Apple's lawsuit alleged HTC infringed 20 patents. It was really an attack on Google and Android and it seemed frivolous. Still, about a month ago, ITC ruled in Apple's favor on two of the 20 patents.
Lion Tweaks takes control of OS X 10.7 features from Apple and gives it back to you
A new operating system is always greatly anticipated and this is certainly true for Mac OS X. Apple's Lion caused waves of excitement when it released last month but, as is often the case, not everything that has been added to or changed in the OS has been received quite so warmly. While Lion has generally received good reviews, there are still a number of aspects that have caused irritation to users who have upgraded from Snow Leopard and this is something that Lion Tweaks can help with. A simple freeware tool that can be used to adjust settings that are not to your liking and disable features you find to be useless or annoying.
For example, reply to an email using Mail and you see a rather nifty animation. You also see this windows animation throughout Lion, particularly when switching between spaces. On a MacBook or Mac Mini, these animations are too slow for comfortable viewing. After a while, they restrict productivity.
Not sure about that video file's attributes? MediaTab can help
Dealing with media files can be a bind, especially video ones as the sheer number of permutations for each file can seem infinite. If you're editing video it really helps to get everything in the same format or at the very least know the format of the files you're using to ensure that your PC can handle them properly.
Generally when you right click a file in Windows and choose "Properties", you can find some basic information, including embedded data for the likes of music files that may include the title, artist, originating album and bitrate amongst others. You don't get full access to information about the codec used to produce the file or much of the key information that can help you to play a stubborn file, so you can find the right software to make it render properly.
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