Chromebook goes Haswell
Today, at the Intel Developer Forum, Google and OEM partners unveiled plans to release new Chromebooks using Haswell chips. That means long battery life, on the order of MacBook Air, for a fraction of the price. Six top OEMs will produce Chromebooks, which isn't the best news for Microsoft and Windows 8.1. ASUS and Toshiba join Acer, HP, Lenovo and Samsung.
"Intel’s latest processors consume less power to improve battery life by more than 2X over previous generations, while offering increased performance", Caesar Sengupta, Google's Chromebook product manager, claims. "This means these new Chromebooks can last all day so you can focus on getting things done".
Google loses appeal in Street View Wi-Fi collection case -- right or wrong?
Google faces claims for damages from people who had personal data collected from their wireless networks as the company gathered information for its Street View service. Google had previously claimed that emails, usernames and passwords had been collected unintentionally, but the appeal ruling means that the company is not exempt from liability under the federal Wiretap Act.
Back in 2010, Google admitted that data such as network SSIDs and MAC addresses were collected along with photos. In this blog post the company denied that it pulled "payload data" (essentially the data that is being sent over the networks) but it was later revealed that "Google did indeed collect (and store) this information from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks". A full report is available to read online. Google was required to delete this data, and indeed did so.
Lenovo updates the performance and value line of its ThinkPad laptops
Lenovo has been on a roll lately, announcing a plethora of new devices to fit many needs. The company recently announced updates to its business and consumer line of laptops. Today, the company furthers its onslaught by announcing updates to its performance and value line of business ThinkPad laptops.
"Improvements include new user inspired designs and longer battery life while continuing to support full connectivity capabilities that commercial customers depend on. The new performance systems are thinner and lighter devices with clean designs and maintain MIL-SPEC tested ThinkPad durability and reliability", says Lenovo.
Google files amended transparency petition in push to publish FISA order details
Google's unofficial motto has long been 'do no evil' and the company is keen to be seen to stick to it. Jumping into bed with Nestle may have raised a few eyebrows and rattled a few cages, but in a blog post, Richard Salgado, Director of Law Enforcement & Information Security, and Pablo Chavez, Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs show the search giant is eager to stay on the right side of customers.
Google has filed petition in the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court asking that they be allowed to publish details of FISA orders. The petition is very similar to others that we have seen in recent months in the wake of the NSA surveillance revelations, and is really just a follow-up to the We Need To Know letter from back in July in which a number of leading companies wrote to, amongst others, President Obama to "urge greater transparency around national security-related requests".
ClipboardFusion Free automatically strips formatting from clipboard text
You’ve found some text you need on a web page, and so you copy it to the clipboard, paste it into a document. But now there’s a problem. Not only have you got the text, but it’s also come with links, colors, and a host of other formatting you really didn’t want at all.
If this only happens occasionally then there are a few tedious workarounds you could try (copy the text into Notepad, select and copy the converted plain text to the clipboard). But ClipboardFusion will strip formatting entirely automatically -- and it comes with some other interesting clipboard options, too.
Google Music offering more stations to suit your tastes
Because there's more to life than books, you know, Google unleashed Music All Access on us back in May of this year, going head-to-head with rivals such as Spotify, Rdio and Pandora, and combining this with all of your own music stored for free on the search giant's servers. My colleague Brian Fagioli called the new service a game-changer and today that contest alters a bit more.
Google is quietly rolling out an update to All Access that enhances the Pandora-like feature in the service. Personalized radio stations allow customers to enter an artist, or multiple ones, to create a station that plays music of the same type. However, for those who would like to simplify this process, Google Music now offers genre stations -- if you wish to listen to just Alternative, well, now you can.
NTT Docomo to offer new iPhones in Japan
Apple is trying to boost its smartphone market share in Japan by teaming up with the largest local mobile operator, NTT Docomo. Through this agreement, the latter will officially offer the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, that were unveiled during a special event yesterday, in the land of the rising sun.
"NTT Docomo has built an impressive network, the largest in the nation with over 60 million customers", says Apple CEO Tim Cook. The large userbase should allow the Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation to grab a bigger slice of the Japanese smartphone market, which is heavily dominated by Android handsets. "We've enjoyed tremendous success with iPhone in Japan, in fact it's the top selling smartphone in the country, and we look forward to delivering iPhone into even more customers' hands through NTT Docomo", adds Cook.
The trouble with relying on passwords for security
One of the key features of the new Apple iPhone 5S is the fingerprint sensor built into the home button. This allows users to unlock the device, and even authorize iTunes purchases, simply by pressing a digit against the laser cut sapphire crystal. So now when someone steals your phone, they’ll have to also steal one of your fingers at the same time.
It’s another attempt to replace the password and PIN, and we’ve seen a few of those over the years. Windows 8 even lets you sign in using a picture as an alternative. But the truth is, as exciting as fingerprint scanners and other forms of futuristic security measures seem, the password is here to stay for a while yet. And that’s a problem.
Happily living with two mobile operating systems
I have vague memories of Windows Mobile from some previous life...it's like a nightmare that I can't escape, though I am pretty sure it was a dream in that dark, distant era. Fast-forward to today and I have found myself torn between two mobile operating systems and thankfully neither is that early CE-based mess that Microsoft pushed on customers and businesses lapped up -- when they were not swayed by BlackBerry.
Since those heady days I have settled down to Android, as many of my colleagues here use. However, I cannot help but stray my eye to other possibilities and Windows Phone 8 intrigued me enough to take a shot. The hardware and software (I'm using the Nokia Lumia 928) grabbed me, but the lack of apps did not. Still, it proved smooth and usable. My Galaxy Nexus was set aside, becoming a glorified MP3 player because I cannot live without Google Music All Access or Beyond Pod.
Organizations struggle to adapt to the mobile world
As the market gears up for the new iPhone, research from analysts Forrester and mobile engagement company OpenMarket offers some insight into the struggles companies are having to incorporate the use of mobile devices into their business models.
The study of 167 enterprises in the USA, commissioned by OpenMarket, examines how in the era of smartphones, tablets and BYOD, organizations are adapting to the widespread shift to mobile -- both internally and among their customers. It found that 74 percent of businesses surveyed regard mobile as a priority, however, their IT departments are struggling to build and manage mobile solutions using their existing skills and technologies.
Apple fails to excite -- allows Google to keep taking bites
Today, Apple announced two new iPhones, the 5S and 5C. Sadly, through various leaks and rumors, the wind was taken out of the fruit logo company's sails; the element of surprise was lost. Surprise or not, either way, both new smartphones look really well made, attractive and full-featured. There is only one problem -- no one cares.
Well, "no one cares" is an exaggeration. I'm sure existing iPhone users care and these phones will sell well. Unfortunately, it won't be enough to lure the people Apple really needs to target -- first-time smartphone buyers and Android users. In other words, Google will continue to erode Apple's market-share, one chomp at a time.
SendMessage can control applications from scripts, shortcuts and more
Most Windows programs are controlled by "messages", signals which keep it up-to-date with what’s happening (you’ve moved the mouse) or tell it what to do: close down, perhaps.
If you’re thinking "so what?", then you may have a point. The typical PC user doesn’t have to know anything about this at all. If you’d like to automate common tasks via scripts or shortcuts, though, it may be worth looking at how this system can work for you.
Apple reveals iPhone 5S -- the rumors were true
There were so many leaks prior to today's announcements at Cupertino that we pretty much already knew what to expect. Apple has taken the wrapper off the latest version of the iPhone and the company has stuck to its recent release schedule of following up a major iPhone with an S edition -- the iPhone 5S. Visually, things are very much the same as before, but in addition to black and white models, there's also the light gold colored model -- colors we now know should be referred to as space gray, silver and gold.
The promise to "brighten everyone's day" seems to have meant not only an addition to the color options for the iPhone 5C and 5S, but also new features. While the 5C retains the same processor as in the 5, the 5S boasts a new A7 processor which is the world's only 64-bit chip in a smartphone. iOS 7 has been re-engineered as a 64-bit operating system, but the chip is capable of running 32-bit and 64-bit apps. Apple claims the processor is double the speed of the iPhone 5 according to the graph they showed. And the processor now supports OpenGL|ES 3.0, the same as Nexus 7.
With iPhone 5C Apple takes a stab at the mid-range smartphone market
Apple changed the smartphone market dramatically with the original iPhone, which launched in mid-2007. The company took the world by surprise as it reenvisioned the basic smartphone concept by forgoing the (typical) unintuitive user interfaces and adopting a simpler, hardware and software, design instead. The iPhone had turned Apple into the top smartphone vendor, a title which the Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation can no longer claim today. Why?
The short answer is "Android". The long one is a bit more complicated. Apple began changing the smartphone market in 2007, but the smartphone market changed as well since then. The iPhone was and still is a flagship product, a high-end handset with the price to reflect it. Consumers, however, have been slowly moving away from that price range and type of device to cheaper, mid-range and low-end products. According to an IDC report from June, the smartphone average selling price (ASP) dropped from $443 in 2011 to $372 in the first half of 2013, and is expected to drop even further, to $309 by 2017. That is a price-bracket that Apple could not tap into, as it had no product to fight with. The iPhone 5C, that the company just unveiled during a special event, is designed to change that.
Apple to release iOS 7 on September 18
As you’ll no doubt be aware Apple is currently hosting an iPhone event at its Cupertino, Calif.-based home. Like all Apple events, proceedings started with an impressive figure -- Apple will ship its 700 millionth iOS device next month -- and then after a brief look at the free iTunes Festival, we got a recap of what the next version of Apple's mobile operating system has to offer us.
The Jony Ive designed iOS 7 has a flatter, functional design and the skeumorphism -- faux wooden bookshelves, green felt and the like -- is no more. The icons have been redesigned, the typeface changed, and there’s new pallet of colors. Siri has been massively improved too. Apple also engineered iOS 7 to take full advantage of the advanced 64-bit technologies in the iPhone 5s, including the native 64-bit kernel, libraries and drivers. The built-in apps have been re-engineered for 64-bit as well.
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