Google Chromebook 11 no longer on sale after charger overheating problems
Google and HP are, at least temporarily, stopping the sale of the Chomebook 11. Announced in a joint statement on the Google Blog and HP's Next Bench blog. The cessation of sales is blamed on overheating chargers. No recall has yet been declared, but Chromebook owners are told to stop using the charger supplied with the device.
The statement reads: "Google and HP are pausing sales of the HP Chromebook 11 after receiving a small number of user reports that some chargers included with the device have been damaged due to overheating during use. We are working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to identify the appropriate corrective action, and will provide additional information and instructions as soon as we can".
Dropbox connects business with home
Cloud storage and sharing service Dropbox has been looking to grow its footprint in the business industry, adding Dropbox for Business, along with a steady stream of new features for the service. Now the company is attempting to consolidate its enterprise efforts with those for home users.
"On one hand, people wanted to access their personal stuff at work; meanwhile, IT admins wanted to keep company data separate and free of personal files. Both needs were real, but people had to choose between two Dropboxes", claims the company.
G marks the spot -- or, at least, that is what Motorola is hoping
In August 2011, Google purchased Motorola Mobility (which was Motorola's cellular phone division prior to 2011). Google was good at software and services, but had little experience in making hardware for the mass market. Motorola had plenty of experience in building cell phones, starting with the first flip/clamshell mobile phone, the StarTAC, which was released in 1996. On paper, a good marriage, but the detractors complained that it was coming at too high a cost ($12.5 billion) even though buying Motorola Mobility gave Google ownership of a potentially valuable patent portfolio that it could use to defend itself against Apple and Microsoft.
The first child of this marriage, born in August 2013, was Moto X -- an Android smartphone that was to be Motorola's competitor to the iPhone. The main idea behind the Moto brand was to focus on user experience rather than technical specs. Focusing on the later had resulted in the Droid brand, which, although quite successful when it launched in 2009, perhaps owed most of its success due to a massive marketing campaign and the fact that it was the only decent smartphone available on the Verizon network (at that time, in United States, the iPhone was only available on the AT&T network). In 2013, with the smartphone market dominated, at least profit-wise, by Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy phones, it was time to try a new approach.
Android tablets go to school, want to Play
There is a market in education, and both Apple and Microsoft pursue it with iPads, Office and more. Now Google is looking to get in on the action with its Android mobile operating system. The search giant wants you to bring a tablet to school, and is rolling out a special version of its Play store designed to make this simpler.
"Today we're launching tablets with Google Play for Education for K-12 schools in the US. For the past five months, thousands of students and more than 50 schools have used Google Play for Education and shared their experiences as part of our beta program", says the company's Rock Borovoy.
Nexus 5 -- meh, it's OK [Review]
While I love Android, I am open-minded. Despite the fact that I collect Android figures, I am no "fan-boy" of Google's mobile operating system. My choice to use the OS is because I like it. Over the years, I have tried Palm OS, iOS, Blackberry, and Windows Phone -- all of these smartphone-focused operating systems are good in their own ways. However, I fell in love with the counter-culture aspect of Android -- hacking, rooting, flashing roms; it was fun.
The holy grail of this sub-culture of Android is the Nexus smartphone. You see, these phones are easy to tinker with because you can easily unlock the bootloader, plus they have a pure Android experience. The newest such smartphone, the Nexus 5, has the Android community giddy with excitement. The phone sold out almost immediately and it is currently on backorder for weeks. If you check eBay, you will find the device selling for more than MSRP. You must be thinking that this phone is amazing right? I am sorry to say it's not. It's just OK. It's also one of the best Android phones you can buy. Confused? Read on.
LogicMonitor introduces free NetFlow network monitoring
It seems like everything is shifting to the cloud at the moment and that places additional pressures on network management. LogicMonitor, maker of a cloud-based infrastructure monitoring solution, is aiming to ease the burden by offering free NetFlow traffic monitoring in order to enhance its usability by service providers.
NetFlow (the collective name for NetFlow, sFlow and JFlow) is an industry-standard protocol for monitoring network traffic. LogicMonitor's Collector receives data from network devices and sends it to the cloud for analysis and storage, keeping down the load on local servers. A number of off-the-shelf performance metrics are available including data flows, bandwidth and application use. This NetFlow functionality is being offered free to LogicMonitor's customers for at least the remainder of 2013.
Easily block cookies, images, scripts and more with Chrome's HTTP Switchboard
Blocking unwanted web content -- cookies, scripts, images -- is a great way to speed up browsing and improve your security, and there are a host of browser extensions to help you get started. But there’s a problem. Most of these focus on just one content type, such as adverts, and more general tools are often tricky to use.
HTTP Switchboard is rather more interesting. Not only does this Chrome extension help you block a wide range of content -- cookies, images, plugins, scripts, frames, XHR and more -- but it allows anyone to do this just by pointing and clicking.
Why Moto G matters
Motorola's newest smartphone is an aggressive response to Samsung, white box manufacturers and Apple in markets that matter -- where more people use feature phones rather than smart ones but will soon convert. The $179 pricing appeals, particularly for the features, benefits and design.
The U.S. manufacturer sells Moto G unlocked and contract-free, for a price more realistic than iPhone, or even many Samsung handsets, while delivering most -- if not all -- of the more desirable features. I highlight the major reasons why Moto G matters.
Twitter introduces custom timelines
Twitter is about to get a whole lot more customizable and personal thanks to the introduction of custom timelines. This latest feature gives users the ability to control exactly what appears in their timeline -- a very interesting alternative to wading through thousands of tweets from the hundreds of accounts you follow. Custom timelines can be used in various ways and offer quick and easy methods of organizing related tweets into a single, manageable stream.
In a post on the Twitter developer blog, Brian Ellin reveals details of the new feature, explaining that:
System Mechanic license giveaway -- get yours now!
While Windows, at least arguably so, has become more efficient with each new version, it's still far from fault-free. System problems still rear ugly heads -- check the action center and you will likely find something awaiting you. There is no end to the amount utilities that purport to help you fix these errors, but some are useless and a few are just malware, so it's frequently best to go with a reputable piece of software, even if it costs a few dollars.
System Mechanic describes itself as "an all-in-one PC tune-up utility software suite that analyzes, fixes, optimizes, and maintains Windows computers. It incorporates multiple patented and patent-pending technologies, such as ActiveCare, a technology that allows the program to run automatic maintenance scans and repairs on a Windows PC while a computer is on but not in use".
Changing the role of technology in child development with cloudBoard
Pittsburgh-based start-up Digital Dream Labs has launched a Kickstarter campaign to improve childhood interactions with technology and promote the development of logic and problem solving skills.
"10 years ago, parents were worried their teenagers were getting too consumed by video games", says co-founder Matt Stewart. "Now you have toddlers playing on touch screens before they know how to walk. Technology is doing amazing things to change the world, but that doesn't mean we should give up the fundamental experiences that dictate our children's growth and help them interact with the things around them".
Roku gets new Netflix experience
In the ongoing battle for your entertainment dollars, video streaming service Netflix announces a brand new makeover and Roku is one of the early adopters, announcing it is bringing the update to its Roku 3 set-top boxes. The effort is another move from Netflix to stay ahead of competitors like Amazon Prime and Redbox Instant.
"Today we are excited to unveil the biggest update in Netflix history to our TV experience. This update improves the Netflix TV for Netflix members around the world", states the streaming company.
Nokia Refocus now available for flagship Lumia smartphones
Finnish maker Nokia has released Nokia Refocus, a new app for its flagship Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones with PureView cameras that allows users to choose new focus points after snapping pictures. The feature is similar to what Lytro cameras deliver, but adapted to work on smartphone hardware.
The philosophy behind Nokia Refocus is to give users the ability to "capture first and then focus and re-focus later to produce interactive photos", says the Finnish maker. The app is designed specifically for "scenes with a great contrast in the depth of field, like macro shots".
Bloomfire improves integration with Salesforce
Knowledge management specialist Bloomfire, whose product we looked at a few weeks ago, has announced deeper integration with the Salesforce customer relationship management platform. This will allow users to share information and knowledge with their co-workers without having to leave the Salesforce screen.
Bloomfire began integrating with Salesforce in 2012 when it joined the AppExchange to allow single sign-ons and posts from Bloomfire to appear on the Salseforce Chatter page. The deeper integration will allow sales professionals access to the information they need to close deals, enable them to get questions answered quickly, and share the feedback they receive. From the company's point of view information gathered in Salesforce can be shared without giving all employees access to the package, plus knowledge gained from Salesforce can be used across the organization.
Best Buy to sell Microsoft's Surface RT for $199.99
Yes, you've read that correctly. Microsoft's Surface RT tablet will be available at US retailer Best Buy under the magical $200 mark. The $199.99 price tag will be attached next to the Windows RT slate between November 28 and November 30, just in time for Black Friday.
The model that the US retailer will offer during that period is the 32 GB Surface RT without the bundled keyboard. Normally, the tablet would cost $349.99 at Best Buy, which makes the $150 discount look rather impressive.
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