For all the blathering smartwatch idiots...
It's a reminder: You're even dumber than you think.
Tireless commentaries and speculation about when will Microsoft release a smartwatch are ill-informed -- as are other speculations about when will watchmakers release their own devices. (I refer not to our readers but writers here, there, and everywhere.) Perhaps you were sucking your thumb or mommy cleaned your poopy diapers when both were trendsetting market realities.
USA Freedom Act is blocked but NSA will stop phone data collection anyway
Privacy advocates in the US -- and, indeed, the world over -- had pinned great hopes on the USA Freedom Act bringing to an end the mass collection of phone records. Hitting the Senate for the second time this year, the Act was blocked in a 57-42 vote.
Section 215 of the Patriot Act expires on 31 May, and it had been hoped that the hype and momentum surrounding it would have helped push the USA Freedom Act through. Despite making through the House of Representative, the Bill failed to reach the 60 vote goal it needed to hit. But as of 1 June, the NSA will still not be collecting phone data. So what happened?
Just about everyone thinks Internet.org is a terrible idea
Mark Zuckerberg probably thought the world would bow down to him when Facebook announced the Internet.org project. The idea of bringing internet access to those in developing parts of the world seems, on the face of it, to be something of an exercise in altruism. Of course, it's not quite that simple.
Many companies complain that the project goes against the idea of net neutrality -- a claim that Zuckerberg vehemently denies. But now the vocal opposition to Internet.org is getting louder. Privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has several concerns with the project, and a collective of 67 digital rights groups has signed a letter to the Facebook founder expressing concerns about the approach Internet.org is taking.
Apple resurrects the iPhone dock, adds Lightning connector -- still stupid
When I bought my first iPod, a click-wheel model, I excitedly bought some accessories too; a silicone case and the official dock. Docking the iPod was such an elegant thing, I was excited to do it. I connected the dock to my Windows PC, put the case on my iPod and...FAIL.
Yes, with the case on, my iPod would not fit in the dock. I had to decide between elegant docking and protecting my investment. Fast forward to today, and Apple introduces a dock for the lightning-connector iPhones and iPods. While it may work with some thin cases, once again, users will have to decide between the dock and protection, which is surely foolish.
Court of Appeals says Samsung's legal payments to Apple should be reduced
Patent lawsuits in the world of technology are nothing new, and the case between Apple and Samsung resulted in one of the largest fines ever being handed down. Samsung was ordered to pay $930 million in damages after a court found that the company had violated Apple patents with its smartphone and tablet designs.
Today the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned part of the original ruling, saying that the jury was wrong to say that Samsung infringed on Apple's trade dress intellectual property. The exact details of what this will mean are yet to come out, but it should lead to a fairly hefty reduction in Samsung's legal costs.
Snapchat plans to release a Windows Phone app, but don't get your hopes up
While Windows Phone Store is home to lots of third-party apps, you will not see a Snapchat client in there. And it is not due to a lack of effort. The company simply does not want any such offerings to be available, actively working towards eliminating each and every one.
Rudy Huyn, a well-known Windows Phone developer, has gone as far as asking Snapchat to review the code of his 6snap client to keep the app alive in Store, but the company would not budge. Also, when Snapchat CEO Evan Spegel was told that Windows Phone users want an official app, he simply replied: "didn't think anyone used those". However, Snapchat's could-not-care-less-about-Windows-Phone stance seems to have changed, as it just announced that a Windows Phone app is on the cards.
More than 1,000 companies join IBM in the battle against cybercrime
Last month IBM launched its X-Force Exchange opening up access to threat intelligence data to help in the fight against cybercrime.
With 80 percent of cyber attacks now coming from organized gangs it's important that the good guys get organized too. IBM has announced today that more than 1,000 organizations across 16 industries are participating in the new threat intelligence community.
Ultra HD Blu-ray 4K is coming -- will consumers care?
I am a huge proponent of pushing the limits. The moment you say something is good enough, you have officially lost your way. When DVD was released, I remember being blown away by the quality and convenience, but many friends and family said VHS was good enough. The fools!
Fast forward to 2015, and VHS is long dead, but so too is physical media. Yes, some maniacs still buy DVD and Blu-ray discs, but we all know that streaming is the future. Apparently, no one told this to the Blu-ray Disc Association, as today, it announces the completion of the Ultra HD specification. In other words, 4K Blu-rays are coming. While some consumers may be interested in buying UHD optical discs, the reality is, no one wants to re-buy their movie collection for the 100th time. Am I right, folks?
Windows Insiders will need a valid license to upgrade to Windows 10 RTM
At the moment you don’t need a Windows license to run the Windows 10 Insider Preview. Anyone can download an ISO, install it, and update the OS as new builds arrive. Microsoft wants to get feedback from as many users as possible to avoid repeating the catastrophe that was Windows 8.
But what happens when the preview versions stop and we reach RTM? We know the operating system will be free (in the first year) to anyone running a copy of Windows 7 or 8.1, but if RTM is a straight update, like all previous Windows 10 builds, does that mean every Windows Insider will be able to upgrade to RTM for free?
Apple goes green and aims for 100 percent renewable energy usage
Apple is not just a company concerned with boosting its profits, it's also interested in image and -- as its latest pledge shows -- the environment. Today Apple announces that it is setting its sights high when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of its operations. The ultimate goal is to switch worldwide operations to 100 percent renewable energy sources.
The company is teaming up with World Wildlife Fund to protect areas of responsibly managed woodland, and is also investing in renewable energy projects in China. Investments are also being made in solar energy projects that will produce more than enough electricity to power Apple's entire collection of Chinese offices and stores.
Even young drivers want parental controls in self-driving cars
Self-driving cars open up a world of possibilities, and people want parental controls to be one of them. And it is not just parents who are for it, even though they make up the demographic that this feature is meant for, as young people are also favoring it -- where have all the rebels gone?
The ability to control the speed limit, curfew time and the number of passengers was chosen as the leading parental control by 84 percent of consumers. Limiting the geographic range came in second, with only 61 percent choosing it, while communicating with the driver using a displayed text came in third, chosen by 60 percent of consumers.
U.S. smartphone market is phabulous
Alongside Euro-zone cell phone data, U.S. first-quarter 2015 phablet shipments are out from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Depending on how the numbers are cut, fanboys can rally for their platform.
Spurred by iPhone 6 Plus, iOS showed strong performance, representing 44 percent of phablet sales. However, the number of iOS smartphone switchers from Android fell -- to 11.4 percent from 14.6 percent year over year -- supporting early anecdotal evidence that existing Apple customers are the most-likely 6 Plus buyers. Also confirming: Android smartphone conversions from iOS fell from 9.8 percent to 5.9 percent.
My definition of 'modern' computing
Late yesterday I posted my review of Chromebook Pixel LS, which Google released in early March. The write-up is purposely rah-rah to impose the importance of embracing contextual cloud computing and to shakeup preconceptions about Macs being the tools of the creative elite. I also call "dumb" developers who may receive free Pixels during Google I/O later this month only to then sell them online.
One reader comment, from SmallSherm caught my attention, for accusing me of calling him (or her) stupid and for insulting other readers. After writing my response, I wondered how few people would ever see the interaction, which I regard as being quite valuable. So in the interest of fostering further discussion, I present our two comments for your Tuesday thought train.
It really is game over for Windows 8.x
Every month NetMarketShare releases usage share figures for all of the major operating systems. In the past these figures tended to paint an interesting picture of how well -- or rather how badly -- Microsoft’s newest operating system was doing. Occasionally the OS grew share, occasionally it lost share -- sometimes quite dramatically.
Now though, the only picture that’s being painted by these monthly figures is an operating system that has no future and will vanish quietly, and with zero fanfare, once Windows 10 arrives.
'You don't post pictures of us on Facebook -- I want a divorce!'
According to a new survey of 2,000 people in the UK, one in seven say they've contemplated divorce because of their partner's activity on social media.
Nearly a quarter also say they have at least one row a week with their partner because of social media use and 17 percent say they argue every day because of it.
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