Kim Dotcom's MEGA has found a new home
It would be an understatement to call the past year a wild ride for Kim Dotcom, founder of MegaUpload, but the New Zealand entrepreneur has not slowed down. Dotcom is preparing his latest website, MEGA, after losing control of his former site. He originally secured the me.ga URL using the Gabon top level domain, but then lost it recently when the Gabon government announced they would not host the new site. Still undeterred, Dotcom has taken to Twitter to blame the United States government for pressuring Gabon. He also talked there of plans to continue to pursue his new website.
Earlier today, Dotcom once again logged into his Twitter account, this time to announce that MEGA has found a new home -- "New Zealand will be the home of our new website: http://Mega.co.nz - Powered by legality and protected by the law."
Charge your iPad with a rocking chair
Swiss furniture maker Micasa Lab designs some weird and wacky products. Cocoon 1, for example, is a customizable bubble -- a clear sphere with stackable plastic modules that let you relax, cook, and even wash up afterwards. But my favorite of its designs is the iRock -- a rocking chair that charges iPads.
It works, as you’d expect, by converting the rocking motion into energy, and as you’d probably also expect, it’s no match for just plugging your device into a mains charger. But if rocking’s how you roll, it will give your Apple device a little extra boost while you sit out on your porch reflecting on life (or playing Angry Birds Star Wars).
I smell a rat behind eBay's wildcard search change
Late last month, eBay, the dominant auction site, took away from users the ability to search auction listings with wildcard keywords, which can be very useful to buyers looking for very specific part numbers or product series. It is (or rather was) easy to store wildcard searches on eBay as a powerful way of drilling down through millions of items as they are listed. No more. And eBay’s reason for eliminating wildcard searches? “Our research showed that using specific terms to expand one’s search was a more effective method than wildcard searches, which oftentimes included unexpected variations that cluttered search results. By removing the wildcard (*) advanced search functionality, we’re able to deliver search results more efficiently and faster".
Yeah, right. Yes, it probably is more accurate to list individually all possible permutations of a search term, but if they can be replaced nearly as well with a single asterisk, why make users do it the hard way?
BlackBerry 10 launches January 30
The waiting is nearly over. RIM announced today that during an event to be held on January 30, BlackBerry 10 will debut alongside two new smartphones. The operating system can't come soon enough. RIM literally bleeds market share across the planet to Androids and iPhones.
New OS features include BlackBerry Balance, Flow, Hub and Keyboard, which are optimized for the use of gestures. Balance targets corporate environments by separating work and personal data with transition between the two made using gestures. Flow eases navigation between open apps, while Hub acts as notification center for calendar events, feeds, messages and notifications.
Malwarebytes Anti-Rootkit beta is a smooth operator
Malwarebytes Corporation has made available the first public beta of a new Anti-Rootkit tool, which aims to provide a quick and easy way to detect and remove the stealthy malware from your PC. And as you’d expect from Malwarebytes, the program seems very straightforward and simple to use.
The beta is portable, of course, so there’s no installation required. Unzip the download, run MBAR.EXE and it’s ready to go immediately.
Microsoft Surface makes a good first impression
This afternoon I got my first look at Microsoft's Windows RT tablet at the company store here in San Diego. I wanted to drop by for two weeks, but simply couldn't make time. Today, my daughter needed a ride to Fashion Valley Mall; she's got a new job there. That gave me 90 minutes free time for Microsoft Store -- oh, and four doors down Apple, too.
I am pleasantly surprised by my initial reaction, which quite simply is "wow". This starkly contrasts with my negative response to iPad mini. (But the Apple Store jaunt to see the tablet can wait a few paragraphs.) Surface's display is bright, clean, clear and crisp. Font rendering is superb, particularly given resolution is only 1366 by 768. The tablet is fast and touch-response exact and fluid. Presentation of default apps, such as MSN and weather, pop. They look exceptionally good, and Microsoft serves up lots of rich touchy, feely additional content throughout. Presentation gets A-plus.
Apple and HTC settle patent dispute
Tonight, Apple and HTC ended their longstanding patent litigation. The agreement terminates all litigation and establishes cross-licensing of patents current and future for 10 years. The deal raises questions about whether Apple might step back from its aggressive litigation, working with competitors. Cross-licensing intellectual property tends to be mutually beneficial, and it's a tactic long pursued by Microsoft.
"We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC", Apple CEO Tim Cook, says. "We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation". HTC CEO Peter Chou remarks: "HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation".
PC boots too slow? Try Startup Master
Every time Windows launches on the typical PC it also fires off a host of other programs, extending boot time, gobbling up system resources and generally slowing you down.
If you’re looking to optimize your computer’s performance, paying close attention to those startup programs is a very good place to begin. And Startup Master is one of many tools that can help.
The post-PC era already is over
That was fast, if it ever was. Don't blink or the so-called PC era will pass you by. For years, I've called it the cloud-connected device era because of the deeper meaning: Context. But more appropriately, the new epoch is contextual computing, which really extends a transition underway since the World Wide Web opened to the masses about 20 years ago. During the two earlier computing eras, mainframes and PCs, location defined the user. During the contextual computing era, the user defines location. If you listen to analysts obsessed with selling services to enterprises or companies like Apple, post-PC is all about devices. It's anything but.
Context is everything today. I started writing about the concept circa 2004, borrowing from my boss of the day -- Michael Gartenberg. The concept is simple: People are satisfied with what they've got on hand. In context of the airport, a hand-held game console is good enough, while at home the person prefers Xbox and big-screen PC. But because of the cloud connected to an increasing number of mobile devices, context is a much bigger, broader and badder technology trend.
Bits of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean are awesome
Earlier this week I wrote about the Android 4.2 Transformation Pack for the Galaxy Nexus and it got me wondering. As a CyanogenMod 10 user, I get access to better Camera or Clock apps compared to stock Jelly Bean, so what could I possibly gain by installing some of the Nexus 4 apps or wallpapers?
Curiosity got the best of me, and I installed the new Camera, Clock, Keyboard and Gmail apps, and for the sake of changing looks I got the new wallpapers as well. This is not Android 4.2, rather a taste of what will come, but so far I like the new bits. There is an added touch of elegance in the new apps, which should give the new operating system a more polished look and feel.
Google updates Shopper for Android and iOS, makes spending money easier
First Amazon and now Google. The holidays begin earlier every year. Amazon got things kicked off by first rolling out the traditional Black Friday Store and then, more recently, the new Santa App. Now Google has decided to step into the fray with its own holiday season release to aid customers in lightening their wallets.
Today Google rolled out version 3.0 of its Shopper app for Android and iOS devices and packs some enhancements to get you through your holiday season shopping and relieve you of a bit of money, albeit at a discount mind you.
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean coming soon for Motorola Droid Razr M
Little more than two months ago Motorola introduced the Droid Razr M for Verizon Wireless running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. In October, a leaked ROM surfaced, but today the big red announced the real deal -- Jelly Bean is coming with all its bells and whistles to the Droid Razr M.
The significant software upgrade bears the "98.12.4.XT907.Verizon.en.US" moniker and it comes in at 254.1MB. Users should expect Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the usual Motorola add-ons and Verizon-specific apps. Some of the most noteworthy changes include better voice search capability thanks to Google Now, revised notifications panel and improved responsiveness due to Project Butter. Users should also expect faster GPS lock-in times, more frequent Contacts sync and instantly-updating circle widget, among other improvements. There is also a new version of QuickOffice as well Isis Mobile Wallet support and new Video Calling Portal app.
Because of Sony, Android upgrades for all devices may arrive sooner
After Google dropped the Sony Xperia S from the Android Open Source Project, AOSP Technical Lead Jean-Baptiste Quéru announced that the Mountain View, Calif.-based corporation will improve the tools required for manufacturer AOSP contributions. The intended purpose is to help manufacturers upgrade to new Android versions faster, and facilitate their contributions to the AOSP tree.
The revised tools, in short, make it easier for manufacturers to organize device-specific files in the same manner that Google does.
Nokia Lumia wireless charger page goes live
Apple's Samsung apology includes 'false material'
As expected, Apple has come in for some blistering criticism from the UK courts over its refusal to publish a straightforward apology stating that Samsung did not copy the iPad.
The full ruling of the court of appeal hearing, published today, pulls no punches, describing Apple’s compliance with the newspaper advertisement order (in which it was instructed to publish an apology in several UK newspapers and magazines) as "lackadaisical at best". The recent statement published on its website was found to be even more serious as it contained "false material" and made out the case as about Samsung copying the iPad, when it wasn’t. (It was actually about whether Samsung had copied Apple’s registered design.)
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