No one can accuse Microsoft Surface marketing of copying Apple iPad
That didn't take long. A day after debuting the first Windows 8 TV commercial, Microsoft puts out another -- this one for Surface. There's a theater of the bizarre quality about the ad spot, which features lots of folks dancing with tablets. I half expected to see digitally-inserted cameos with Fred Alistair and Ginger Rogers. No one could accuse Microsoft of copying Apple iPad marketing, that's for sure.
The commercial focuses on Surface's attachable keyboard and pop-out stand and the click sounds they make. There is lots of action centered around clicking. You won't learn anything about what Surface does from the one-minute jig or how much the tablet costs (oh, do we want to know). But people will remember the commercial, the slate and the colorful Modern UI. That's the whole point of advertising: get people to remember something.
AT&T starts LG Optimus G preorders Oct. 16, sales Nov. 2
AT&T's hottest smartphone of the season (well, so far) arrives in 18 days, and it's not iPhone 5. America's second-largest carrier has queued up the LG Optimus G, which will be available for $199.99 on contract -- that means two-year commitment. Optimus G specs impress, particularly that quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, but the software somewhat disappoints. The device ships with Android 4.0.7, not successor Jelly Bean unveiled in June. Upgrade may be months away.
Older software mars what otherwise is a beauty: 4.7-inch TrueHD IPS+ display, 1280 x 768 resolution, 15:9 aspect ratio; 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor; 2GB RAM; 32GB storage (internal and card, expandable to 80GB); 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras, zero-lag shutter; 4G LTE; Wi-Fi; A-GPS; MHL; DLNA; near-field communication; Bluetooth 4.0; and 2,100 mAh battery. Measures 131.9mm x 68.9mm x 8.45mm and weighs 145 grams.
CyanogenMod users, get BBQTools NOW!
CyanogenMod team introduced an in-house updater for its CM10 custom Android distribution, and while it may cover important functionality some users might desire a more comprehensive app. Addressed to more demanding modders, Team BBQ offers BBQTools, touted as an all-in-one tool for delivering updates, changelogs and more.
Just like BBQLog, BBQTools comes with the ability to display the changelog between CyanogenMod 10 nightly or stable builds, but can also download the essential Google Apps package needed by the installed CM version to offer access to Google Play store and other essential Android functionality, as well as stable or nightly builds for compatible devices and capability to install or update the CyanogenMod.
What Windows 8 Pro means to you (and Microsoft, too)
Microsoft announces calendar third-quarter earnings in three days, and during the conference call, as usually is the case, some financial analyst almost surely will ask about the percentage of professional to consumer versions sold, since the former typically yields higher margins. But that question may soon be a thing of the past, as Microsoft seeks long-term gains from a little short-term pain. The Redmond, Wash.-based company is quietly, but quite deliberately, trying to put Windows consumer, once called Home, out to pasture (hopefully with a bullet in its bytes).
The signs are everywhere. In April, Microsoft reduced the number of Windows editions to three -- 8, Pro and RT -- or four when looking at volume-licensing-only Enterprise. Most people can't buy Windows 8 Enterprise or RT (which is preloaded only). They also can't buy the consumer edition -- yet -- and Microsoft makes it awfully damn easy to get Pro. Existing users of most any version of Windows going back to XP can, until Jan. 31, 2013, upgrade to 8 Pro for $39.99. That's a helluva bargain, and the lowest launch promotional price for a professional Windows edition ever. Meanwhile, buyers of new Windows 7 PCs starting June 2 get a $14.99 free upgrade -- to Pro 8. Last week, Microsoft and retailers started taking boxed Windows 8 Pro upgrade preorders for $69.99. Windows 8 "consumer" upgrade isn't available. Is the pattern clear enough?
An open 'Happy Birthday' to my first love (I'm not late)
My hands plunge into a beaten-up cardboard box sitting atop a black flea market chest of drawers, pulling out one rarity after another…Tigervision's "King Kong," Spectravision's "Mangia," a prototype of Spy Hunter for paddle & keypad controllers, it's every rare game that ever existed and a whole lot of ones that have never been seen before. I am elated.
Then, of course, I wake up.
Tech tribalism leads to BAD computing decisions
Computing, and I use the term in the widest sense, has always been tribal to an extent. People have loyalties, and there’s nothing wrong with that. This year, tribes are called "ecosystems", but whatever the current label, looking around the Interweb it seems to me that tribalism is becoming more prevalent and more aggressive. It’s as if everyone stood on soapboxes with their fingers in their ears, shouting "LALALALALALALA", while at the same time (a good trick, this) yelling through a megaphone that theirs is the only way and anyone who doesn’t agree is just too stupid to be considered human.
Famously, way back in 1994, the writer and thinker Umberto Eco (The Name of the Rose) compared computing loyalties to religions: Apple followers were Catholics who believed that they would find salvation through following the One True Path. Conversely, PC users, like Protestants, were obliged to find their own way through the many paths open to them, and not all would be saved. And (I guess) Linux users are the hairy prophets who come out of the desert proclaiming, "It’s really easy. Honestly. And these days you only have to scourge yourself with thorns once a week …"
Just under half of US wireless services now owned by foreign multinationals
With Softbank's majority stake acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corporation, the amount of foreign interest in the United States wireless market is greatly expanded. On the other side of the coin, wholly-American owned wireless companies are beginning to look like an endangered species.
The two largest US carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT&T are mostly owned by American companies, but based upon first quarter 2012 market share figures (source: Strategy Analytics) and corporate ownership percentages, we estimate that 45.3 percent of the United States' wireless market will be controlled by foreign multinational companies pending the regulatory approval of SoftBank's acquisition of Sprint. As the next four years fan out, we must turn our eyes to the smaller national competitors and regional carriers and see how they merge and change.
TWRP 2.3 is released, touts speed improvements
Running an Android distribution means having a custom recovery installed, with Team Win Recovery Project being one of the most popular solutions. TWRP 2.3 is released, touting a number of speed improvements as well as other fixes.
It's now based on AOSP Jelly Bean source code, and to aid implementing new features and future AOSP recovery updates, TWRP 2.3 has undergone significant under-the-hood changes due to a core rewrite into C++. ADB Sideload, which is a Jelly Bean recovery feature, has been implemented allowing to push and install an Android distribution using a single command from the computer. Also added is the charging indicator that updates every minute. What else?
Advanced SystemCare 6 FREE is Windows 8-ready
IObit has released Advanced SystemCare 6 FREE, a brand new version of its freeware optimization tool. Version 6.0 debuts a new, streamlined interface, and comes with full support for Windows 8.
ASC 6 Free, which is also available in Pro form with additional functionality, also updates its Surfing Protection, Driver Manager and Privacy Sweep databases, adds support for additional languages and provides unspecified general bug fixes.
Austrian skydiver sets live view record on YouTube
Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner broke a number of records with his breathtaking edge-of-space skydive yesterday -- and not just the highest jump from a platform (128,100 feet), the longest distance free-fall, (119,846 feet) and becoming the first skydiver to break the sound barrier (with a maximum vertical velocity of 833.9 mph or Mach 1.24). He was also responsible for notching up the most simultaneous live views on YouTube to date.
According to Google, over eight million people (myself included) visited the live stream to watch Baumgartner jump from a capsule attached to a giant helium balloon some 24 miles (39km) above the Earth and land safely around nine minutes later, nonchalantly touching down almost -- as a friend described it -- as if stepping off a bus.
When, if ever, will your LG smartphone get Android 4.1?
Jelly Bean is an elusive update for most high-end Android smartphones today, even though introduced at Google I/O four months ago. Today, LG revealed which devices will receive Android 4.1 in the upcoming months, undoubtedly in a move to catch up to the likes of HTC and Samsung that already have announced smartphones running the software.
The list of smartphones is not extensive, and includes more recent devices, such as the LG Optimus Vu and Optimus G; the latter model comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and made waves in the smartphone market for its incredibly powerful hardware. The South Korean manufacturer's flagship, Qualcomm-powered, device will be updated to Jelly Bean in December.
Adobe releases Reader XI, Acrobat XI
Adobe has announced the availability of its next generation PDF reading and creation tools, Adobe Reader XI and Adobe Acrobat XI. And this looks like a useful upgrade, with plenty of interesting additions and extensions on offer.
Adobe Reader XI offers more drawing and annotation tools, for instance: sticky notes, stamps, file attachments, audio recordings and more. Form support finally works at it should, too, with you able to fill, sign, send and save PDF forms as necessary.
Microsoft announces Xbox Music
Whether you think Microsoft wants to be Apple, or not, the company continues to roll out products designed to compete with its major rival. Today’s announcement is for Xbox Music, a digital music service for the Xbox games console, which will also appear as the default music player in Windows 8.
The service, which goes live tomorrow and will be available in 22 countries from launch, is a cross between Spotify and iTunes. Users will be able to listen to songs or full albums for free, create artist-based streaming radio stations, and put together music mixes and playlists. The iTunes element comes in the form of a music store, which will allow users to purchase and download tracks. The store will reportedly offer over 30 million songs, some four million more than Apple's store. There will also be over 70,000 music videos on offer.
SoftBank invests $20.1B in Sprint for 70 percent stake
Four days ago Sprint Nextel Corporation confirmed acquisition talks with Japan's third-largest carrier, Softbank Corp, with unspecified details surrounding the transaction at the time. Today the operator from the land of the rising sun announced that it will invest $20.1 billion in Sprint, $12.1 billion of which will give SoftBank a dominant stake of 70 percent in the US carrier.
The two operators expect the transaction to close, pending approval of Sprint's shareholders, the Federal Communications Commission and other regulatory agencies, in the second half of 2013. Combined the two carriers will rank as the third largest operator worldwide according to the press release, a strong position that favors both parties. The Japan-based carrier will provide Sprint $8 billion from the total amount for its balance sheet, mobile network and strategic investments.
Windows reimagined: 'Only Want You'
Well, hello, Windows 8 advertising. Microsoft smartly chose tonight's "The Walking Dead" season 3 premiere (and perhaps other programs I didn't watch) to kick off marketing for the new operating system. Considering post-PC advocates treat Windows as something like an undead creature, there's certain appropriateness to using the popular AMC series.
I'm stoked about the first commercial, "Windows 8 is coming soon", which begins with blast-off countdown "10, nine, eight, eight, eight..." I love the exploding laptop, because everything is changed, baby. The spot moves fast, uses jump cuts to bounce around and tells you absolutely nothing specific about Windows 8 other than release date: "10-26-12".
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