Windows 8 needs a little more work
Windows 8 gets a poor grade on a simple task. What is that task you may ask? Read on.
Every Windows computer needs a beginners programming language. Those of us from the DOS days can look back fondly on QBasic. From learning how to program, to just having a quick and easy scripting language that a business user can use to write some simple app in a few minutes, a beginners language makes sense. So what beginners programming language might fit the bill for Windows 8? Microsoft's own Small Basic!
Google announces upgrade to Maps and Earth: First step, offline mode for mobile
Google on Wednesday announced some upcoming changes to its geospatial products Maps and Earth, which promise to greatly improve the user experience with the two services.
These changes will include more "Street View" maps for areas where there's no street, an expanded presence of Google's DIY mapping tool Map Maker which will be available in South Africa, Egypt, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland, and greatly improved 3D aerial imagery in Google Earth.
LinkedIn hack is much worse than you think
Today's LinkedIn hack, exposing more than 6 million encrypted passwords, is more serious than it might appear and reveals one of the biggest security shortcomings social networks pose: Linked or shared data. Literally linked-in accounts expose information from others -- then there is the sheer amount of personal data hackers can siphon.
LinkedIn hasn't confirmed the hack, but is investigating. Meanwhile the stolen data already is available on the Internet. Cyber-security expert Robert David Graham says he has confirmed "this hack is real". The stolen data was published as password hashes. He created a SHA-1 hash of his password and found it in the dumped data. "The password I use for LinkedIn is in that list", he explains. "I use that password nowhere else. Furthermore, it's long/complex enough that I'm confident nobody else uses the same password.
If Windows Phone is No. 2 by 2016, I'll clean Steve Ballmer's toilet
In March of last year, I boasted: "If Windows phone is No. 2 by 2015, I'll kiss Steve Ballmer's feet". Looks like Microsoft's CEO and I get a year's reprieve. Once again, IDC makes ridiculous, bold claims about how Windows Phone will ascend to second place in market share, now in 2016. Oh, pleeease forgive my skepticism considering how Windows Phone share has done nothing but fall like a rock -- 1.9 percent sales share in Q1, according to Gartner.
It's a year later in the forecast, so I'm making a new pledge. Since my prediction and ego would be in the toilet, I'll clean Ballmer's if Windows Phone rises like IDC predicts. It's a pledge I never expect to fulfill, so it's easy to make. Besides, in this newer forecast, IDC places an escape clause, suggesting waning confidence Nokia can lift Windows Phone so high.
Instead of buying a touch-enabled PC for Windows 8, just use your iPad or Android tablet
Splashtop Inc. makes a handful of applications that allow users to link their mobile tablets with their PC in different ways. On Wednesday, the company released a new tool for developers that lets them use an Android tablet or an iPad as the touch interface for Windows 8.
Called Win8 Metro Testbed -- Powered by Splashtop, the application recognizes more than a dozen Windows 8 touch gestures, including: Swipe to view the Charms menu, Swipe to switch apps, Swipe left/right in Internet Explorer to move between pages, Swipe down to bring up additional menus, Swipe down on an item to select it, Pull down to close an app, Slow swipe to "snap" two apps side-by-side, Swipe to show running apps, Pinch for "Semantic Zoom," and more.
Change your LinkedIn password NOW: 6.5 million accounts at risk
LinkedIn users are advised to change their passwords after it was revealed that more than 6.5 million encrypted passwords were posted to a Russian hacker website. The hackers are attempting to enlist help to crack the encryption, and 300,000 accounts are already compromised.
Security experts who have seen the data say the encryption appears weak and will likely be broken in short order. This means millions more will soon be at risk of having their accounts compromised. While the social network has yet to confirm the breach, it did say it was "looking into reports".
PickMeApp moves just about all your applications from one PC to another
In the long list of PC Jobs We Really Hate, there’s one task in particular which stands out from all the others: reinstalling (or relocating) applications. Installing the core program files on a new PC is easy enough, but then you have to manually recreate accounts, remember and restore all your old configuration settings, perhaps download extensions and addons: it can take forever to get everything working as it was.
You could avoid most of this hassle by using the appropriate Laplink package to relocate the programs for you, of course, but that can be a little expensive. And so you might prefer to opt for PickMeApp, a free tool that also promises to help move just about all your applications from one system to another, without requiring any manual reinstallations at all.
Microsoft gives back to Android, but users say 'no thanks'
Thanks to some smart lawyering or perhaps fears CEO Steve Ballmer will show up unannounced, Microsoft has negotiated envious patent fee payments from nearly all major Android licensees. So there's something fitting about the software giant giving a little something back to Android, by way of an exclusive app -- well for now -- on{X}. Or perhaps it's a Trojan Horse to undo Android phones, chopping up performance or draining battery life. Or maybe Microsoft sees Android users as easy beta testers, considering the more rigorous standards for getting into Apple's App Store than Google Play.
One thing is certain: Early on{X} users despise the app, which has some of the worst reviews you'll see at Google Play. As I post, the app has average rating of 1.8 stars out of five. Among the 244 reviewers, 178 give the app a single star. Ouch! I had planned to grab this one, which is available in beta, but skipped after seeing the scathing response.
Sony Playstation Mobile wants certified third-party Android devices in the gaming ecosystem starting with HTC
At the the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 Sony Press Conference, Sony announced a big push for their mobile phone gaming platform for Android powered mobile devices. Once called Sony Playstation Suite, Sony is first changing the name to Playstation Mobile. The whole idea is about making it possible to allow access to PlayStation Classic games and other PlayStation titles on "PlayStation Certified" devices. This move expands the selection of access to Playstation games for mobile beyond the current Sony made Xperia phone and tablet line of Android devices.
Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe (SCEE) president, Andrew House, announced this on stage during the briefing as a big move, "That is promoting PlayStation Mobile for third-party Android Cellphone makers". House also unveiled the initiative's first third-party hardware partner is HTC. Not much more in the way of details besides this has been released. It's interesting that Sony would jump into this kind of bed.
Meg Whitman battles to convince world that HP isn't in terminal decline
HP Discover is the company's yearly opportunity to showcase its product lineup for enterprise customers. This year's event takes on a different tone, as some people are concerned about the company's future direction and whether or not HP's best days are behind it.
HP CEO Meg Whitman took over the company last September, following mixed messages on the fate of its consumer-facing businesses and a failed mobile operating system strategy in WebOS.
Nintendo says Wii U will revolutionize the living room, we hope so
The stage is set at the Nokia theater. The large screen in the middle of the stage flickers with the logo of Nintendo before the familiar face of Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Mario and Zelda, shows up with his pixie-like smile and innocent glee. Nintendo's opening act for today's E3 Expo press conference -- the Wii U update of the Gamecube classic Pikmin in Pikmin 3, setting the tone for the entire presentation.
This conference is about the games first, hardware accessories are a far second thought. The features of the Wii U hardware are only mentioned by Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, by saying "The Wii U will have YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Video, but you can find out more about the console later, let's do a rundown of the new GamePad and get back to what's important, the games!"
Zune -- It's really dead this time
Stop me if you heard this one before: the Zune is dead. Buried within Microsoft's slate of announcements at E3 was a change in branding, which effectively kills off the Zune altogether. A new music service is in the cards, called Xbox Music, which will be its replacement.
The Xbox branding is more appropriate considering the service will be available across Microsoft's disparate platforms -- Windows 8 computers and devices, Windows Phones, and the Xbox 360. Removing the Zune branding also gives the service a fresh start, free from the negative connotations the Zune name may have among many consumers.
Google warns you when you're under cyber attack from the state
With the recent talk of state-sanctioned malware like Stuxnet and Flame, Google on Tuesday announced it has taken measures to alert its users when it believes they are the target of state-sponsored cyber attacks.
Google Vice President of Security Engineering Eric Grosse said on Tuesday that targeted users will receive an alert like the one pictured above. This alert warns when Google's internal analytics have sniffed out patterns that look like their email is the target of phishing or malware.
iPhone market share heavily depends on carrier subsidies
First in a series. Recently, there have been some articles stating that carrier subsidies may pose a risk to Apple. But before we accept or reject this assertion at face value, it would be prudent to find out just how much of an impact they have. We can do this by delving into a statistical analysis to isolate the key drivers of the iPhone's country-wise market share. So let's dive right in.
To start off with the analysis, we need to create a shortlist of a few key drivers that could have a major impact on the iPhone's market share. If these inputs do not have much of an impact, then the analysis would show us as much, so this initial shortlist doesn't have any bearing on the actual outcome of the analysis. My shortlist:
Netflix will build content delivery network of its own
Netflix is building its own content delivery network, a sign that the company wants to be able to deliver its content on its own terms. The move signals trouble for current content delivery partners, many of which get a large portion of their revenues through contracts with Netflix.
The company is not immediately tearing up these contracts: rather Netflix will continue to use these commercial networks for the "next few years". Eventually, however, most Netflix content will be delivered through its own pipes, called the "Open Connect Network".
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