Today Google made me want Glass
We all have heard about Google Glass -- for sometime now. There's talk it's coming (but not when) and that there are unique capabilities (but most details are under wraps). Google Glass is a bit of an enigma, and I have remained largely uninterested in the project. That changed this morning.
Google makes me want a product I had no idea I was even interested in -- I am pretty sure that's the intention. In fact, Google had me drooling in only two minutes and sixteen seconds -- talk about a good sales pitch. And the video did not even require many words to accomplish its task.
Updated evasi0n jailbreak tool available for iOS 6.1.2
Yesterday Apple rolled out iOS 6.1.2 for compatible iPads, iPhones and iPod touch devices, touting the fix of an Exchange calendar bug that might boost network activity and decrease battery life. And, as customary with a new iteration of iOS 6, there's also a new version of the popular evasi0n jailbreak tool. Evad3rs, the team responsible for the first iOS 6 jailbreak tool, released evasi0n 1.4 shortly after iOS 6.1.2 rolled out.
The latest version, according to the "evasi0n 6.0-6.1 Unthether" package in Cydia, touts the same bug fixes as two weeks ago when I reported on the first evasi0n update. It appears that the fruit company did not put the lid on modding attempts just yet. First-time jailbreakers running iOS 6.1.2 simply have to connect their iPads, iPhones or iPod touch devices to a compatible PC running Windows, MacOS X or Linux and run evasi0n to unleash the modding gates on their smartphone or tablet.
iPhone 5 outsells Galaxy S III? In your DREAMS
Bloggers the globe over report today -- and you can hear the snickering -- that Apple's flagship handset outsold Samsung's during fourth quarter. That's because Strategy Analytics director Neil Mawston told them so and they didn't really look carefully at the data: "Apple’s iPhone 5 overtook Samsung’s Galaxy S3 to become the world’s best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever in the fourth quarter of 2012".
Tsk. Tsk. Strategy Analytics mixes "bestselling" with "shipments". They are not the same thing. Shipments refer to units going into the channel (carriers and dealers), while sales refer to product purchased by users (businesses and consumers). Only Gartner measures actual phone sales, so why does Mawston use bestselling in one sentence referring to shipments in another?
Microsoft boasts big Yammer sales growth
In June of 2012 Microsoft purchased Yammer, a social networking site geared towards enterprise. The service allows employees to collaborate across buildings and geographic locations. Now the company has released its 2012 numbers in an effort to show that the investment paid off.
The fourth quarter ended on January 31, and Microsoft reports that sales have "nearly tripled year-over-year". The service has more than seven million users. The numbers bragging continues with the addition of 290 new companies coming on-board with the service, including big names like TGI Fridays, Woolworth and Trek Bicycles. In fact, the announcement says Yammer now has "85 percent of the Fortune 500".
CyanogenMod 10.1 now features HDR mode
The team behind CyanogenMod 10.1 announced a new camera feature for "(almost) everyone" running the popular custom Android distribution on their smartphone or tablet -- support for HDR mode.
The CyanogenMod 10.1 implementation for HDR mode "captures multiple pictures, and then renders them together to form one HDR image", similar to the functionality currently available on the LG-made Google Nexus 4. The software snaps three photos, at minimal, neutral and maximum exposure, and displays a single image at the end of the process, through "some fancy algorithms".
Why I love Chromebook
Third in a series. For Valentine's Day, Wayne Williams and I explained why we love Kindle and Surface Pro, respectively. We've decided to extend the concept into an ongoing series, which I continue about Chromebook and in many more ways Chrome OS.
My Chromebook journey began in December 2010 when Google dispatched 60,000 Cr-48 test units. I used the computer as my primary PC for a week, but no more, being a concept. But, then, my 11.6-inch MacBook Air failed in March 2011, and I reverted back to the Cr-48 during the emergency. In June 2011, Samsung released the Series 5 Chromebook, which I used as my only PC for two solid months. But performance couldn't meet my needs -- that is until the successor, the 550, launched in May 2011. I abandoned MacBook Air and didn't look back. Performance and features met my needs. I traded performance for better ergonomics when switching to the ARM-based Series 3 Chromebook in October.
Win a chance to buy a pair of Google Glass specs
Select developers already have access to Google’s futuristic glasses, but now the search giant has launched a competition giving ordinary American citizens the chance to buy a pair before they’re launched, and become a "Glass Explorer" (as Google terms those "bold, creative individuals who want to help shape the technology").
To be in with a shot you need to tell Google, via Google+ or Twitter, what you would do with the glasses if you had a pair. The more creative your answer, the more likely the chance of you actually being selected. "Wear them on the subway and get mugged" probably won’t win.
Instantly block inappropriate websites with DNS Angel
Parental controls software is normally bulky, complex, and the kind of application which can take some considerable time to configure. There may be lots of files to install, resident components which must always be running in the background, user profiles to create, content filters to customize, and the list goes on.
If your child protection needs are simple, though, you may not have to worry about any of this, as DNS Angel can provide a reasonable amount of protection with a single click.
Meet SwiftKey 4 -- a top keyboard for Android
I have to be completely honest -- I am not a fan of the default Android keyboard. For people like me who write in languages other than English on a day-to-day basis, it misses the mark entirely, and does not adapt to my writing style either. Ever since I bought my Galaxy Nexus only one Android keyboard has lived up to my expectations -- SwiftKey. And now there's a new version, and it's even better than ever.
On Wednesday, after a couple beta versions, SwiftKey 4 made its way onto Google's Play Store in both smartphone and tablet form. The popular third-party keyboard introduces a plethora of new features, including support for swipe input through Flow and revamped predictions.
iTunes update adds new Composer view, boosts sync performance
Apple has released iTunes 11.0.2 for Mac and Windows. The new build, also available for Windows 64-bit machines as iTunes 11.0.2 64-bit, adds a Composer viewing option to the Music section, plus promises greater responsiveness when syncing large playlists.
The update, which also includes performance and stability improvements, plus one notable bug fix, comes hot on the heels of a Java update released by Apple to prevent hackers accessing the computers of its employees.
BBC Sport launches a dedicated Android app
When the BBC launched a dedicated sports app for iOS devices a month ago, it said it was working on an Android version and expected to release it in a matter of weeks. Well the good news for sport-loving Android owners is that day has finally arrived.
The new BBC Sport app is compatible with devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above, and has been optimized for screens up to 7-inches so should display perfectly on devices such as Google’s Nexus 7.
Protect your Windows 8 PC with Panda Cloud Antivirus
Spanish security company Panda Security Ltd has released Panda Cloud Antivirus Free 2.1.1, a minor update to its free cloud-based security tool for Windows. Version 2.1.1 is the first release to secure a Windows 8 compatible logo after passing the eligibility requirements laid down by Microsoft.
Panda Cloud Antivirus, also available with built-in firewall in Pro form, is primarily a maintenance release, building on the major improvements found in version 2.1, which included real-time protection for Windows 8 Store apps and anti-exploit technology.
Winners of the UK's 4G auction announced
UK Telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced the winners of the auctions for 4G spectrum on the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands, and it’s a list with no surprises. After more than 50 rounds of bidding the winners are EE, Hutchison 3G UK, Niche Spectrum Ventures (a subsidiary of BT), Telefónica, and Vodafone.
The Office for Budget Responsibility had expected the auction to raise £3.5bn but in the end it actually raised considerably less -- £2.34bn. A fraction of the £22bn the 3G spectrum auction brought in for the Treasury in 2000.
Twenty-percent of dollars spent on consumer technology goes to Apple
No wonder Google wants to open retail stores and sell more gadgets. Apple's reach is enormous, which is as important for the brand as making mullah -- and there is a whole lot of that. According to NPD, the fruit-logo company accounted for 19.9 percent of all US retail consumer technology sales last year, up from 17.3 percent in 2011.
Samsung ranked second, accounting for 9.3 percent of sales, up 2 points year over year. HP (8.2 percent), Sony (4.4 percent) and Dell (3 percent) rounded out the top five.
If Apple can't protect itself from malware, how can you trust it to protect you?
Apple may be perceived as a bastion of security and users generally feel safe from the plagues that us Windows users suffer, but market share plays a large part in that perception. The bigger target gets more attention. Well, the party may be over, folks, because the fruit-logo company has a problem, and it is one that is incredibly familiar to Windows users -- Java. The Oracle software platform may be one of the most exploited ones on computers.
Today Reuters reports that Apple, a company largely known for never admitting error -- think "You're holding it wrong" -- released a statement describing "the widest known attacks targeting Apple computers used by corporations". The same exploit had been used to attack social networking giant Facebook.
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