Latest Technology News

I must make an embarrassing confession. This morning I logged into my Last.fm account for the first time since June 2008. Has it been that long? Gads! I've really got to start using the service again. Is it a question of Last.fm irrelevance? Nah. Blame iTunes, which I gave up using a few months ago, and hassles with tagging songs. When I last used Last.fm Scrobbler for the Mac -- granted years ago -- there were, ah, issues. I'm on Windows now, where Last.fm and Microsoft are hug-a-beasts.

Last.fm emailed me today about a new service, which is what got me looking around again after being so long absent. Last.fm Discover is supposed to help you better discover independent music. Hey, I'm all for that. I was a deejay in my youth, back before the Federal Communications Commission deregulated radio and jocks had to pass a test to get one of three "Class" licenses.

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The standard Windows desktop clock doesn’t exactly come with many configuration options: you can set the date and time, and add a couple of extra clocks for other time zones, but that’s about it. If you need a little more versatility, then, you’ll have to look for some third-party help. And there are few options quite as configurable as DS Clock.

Initially, for instance, the program will display both the date and time in the top right-hand corner of your desktop, but you can configure this to show whatever you like. You can choose from multiple date and time formats; add the time in selected time zones; select custom separators and more, creating a format string that defines exactly what you’d like to see.

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While the BBC’s iPlayer has been available to iPhone users for some time, until now it has only been through a web browser. The latest update to the iOS iPlayer app means that there is now an app that can be used to watch the programs you have missed from the BBC’s channels -- this brings the same option that has been available to iPad users who have been able to take advantage of a dedicate app for a number of months.

While most people will be happy to be able to watch programs at home using a wireless Internet connection, the new iPhone app also allows for broadcasts to be streamed over a 3G connection. Adaptive bitrates are used to ensure the best possible quality for your connection speed but the option of using a 3G connection opens up the possibility to incur hefty data charges nonetheless.

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Suddenly, Microsoft is a major developer for iOS. The software giant better known for Windows dropped three iOS apps or updates in just two days, and there are rumors of more coming (e.g. Office). But what about Android? "What about Android?" you ask, surprised. "Why should Microsoft give a hoot's fart app about Android? Google and open source are reasons enough why not Android". Yes, but Microsoft makes heaps of money from Android. Nothing from iOS.

Shouldn't Microsoft support the platform that is more personally profitable? The Redmond, Wash.-based company now has convinced most major Android developers to pay licensing fees, presumably because the open-source OS violates Microsoft patents. Perhaps threat of lawsuit is enough. It's serious money, too, $10 or more per device -- if rumors are to be believed. "Patent trolling with Microsoft" I called it in July. Microsoft makes what from iOS? Diddly.

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Microsoft debuted two new apps for Apple's mobile platform. The new apps are iOS versions of popular Kinect game Kinectimals and Windows Live SkyDrive, its online storage service.

SkyDrive is free, although Microsoft is charging $2.99 for Kinectimals. The game is the only app that the company currently charges for. The two apps follow the release of an Xbox Live app earlier this month and OneNote for the iPad, and Lync for the iPhone.

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Why keep those special moments to yourself, when you can share them with the people that matter most? There's Facebook, or even Google+, but what good is that when you're Skyping Claire Beauvoir in Brussels and you're in Washington, DC? Today, Skype 2.6 posted to Android Market, and its big new feature is sending photos and videos. Share and share alike. The new capability works over cellular data networks as well as WiFi.

"We've also improved battery life and video quality with Skype 2.6 for Android on devices using Nvidia's Tegra 2 chipset, which include amongst others; the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola XOOM and Acer Iconia Tablet. Now you can take full advantage of the big screen with better video quality than ever before", says Dan Chastney, Skype senior product manager.

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Carrier IQ is once again making headlines, this time over reports that it is giving information to law enforcement. Complicating matters more, the FBI denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last week asking about its own use of Carrier IQ technology, saying the release of such documents "could reasonably be expected to interfere with law enforcement proceedings".

The FBI's admission in the letter that documents do exist raises concerns that Carrier IQ is using its technologies more than just for customer experience purposes, but actual spying as it is being accused of by many pundits. The company is moving quickly to quell this latest round of criticism.

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Google has announced the release of Chrome 16.0.912.63 to the Stable Channel for Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome Frame. And as you may know if you’ve been following beta developments, this release includes one particularly interesting new feature in the ability to create multiple profiles for a single instance of Chrome.

If others use your copy of Chrome, you’ll probably already know just how important this can be. Because right now, sure, Chrome is great at syncing your bookmarks, extensions, history and so on across all your other devices. But if someone adds their own bookmarks or extensions then they’ll be synced as well, which probably isn’t what you want at all.

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I am a new Windows Phone user -- HTC Titan -- and I cannot be more excited about it. As a UX developer it is very apparent that Microsoft has paid some serious attention to detail in ways I have never seen before. In my opinion, Windows Phone really is the best phone people aren’t using.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of consumers make smartphone purchasing decisions and every day most of them choose Android or iPhone? Why? Because they think they're better since most sales technicians at Verizon and AT&T will push Android or iPhone over and above Windows Phone.

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Forrester analyst Holger Kisker seems to think it is. Today he blogs: "2012 is the year the cloud becomes mature". It's also the year we're all supposed to die, if you believe ancient Mayan predictions. But December is that time when analysts peer (should that be leer?) into their crystal balls and prognosticate about the year ahead.

Kisker offers 10 reasons, but doesn't serve meat and potatoes until No. 6: "The total cloud market (including private, virtual private, and public cloud markets) will reach about $61 billion by the end of 2012. By far, the largest individual cloud market continues to be the public SaaS market, which will hit $33 billion by the end of 2012". Those are big numbers.

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This week, Nielsen listed the most popular Android apps by age group -- 18-24; 25-34; 35-44. Well, well, talk about age discrimination. Perhaps people 45 or older are considered to be iPhone users? For shame! The data is interesting not for what is there but what's not. Facebook tops all three age groups, when looking at actual apps. Android Market ranks higher. Google+ -- and Twitter, for the matter -- is nowhere in sight.

For all the buzz about Google+, and I am a big fan, it's not among the top-15 apps for each age group. That's no small thing. Mobile phones are by and far the most personal devices everyone uses. They're where people connect to other people and things that are important to them. Facebook clearly matters, Google+ and Twitter do not -- as measured by most-popular apps. I suppose some people could use browsers to access the services, but why would they?

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I'm scratching my head wondering. You want to answer that one? If you work for Microsoft, I'd love your anonymous response.

This afternoon, in an email sent to Microsoft employees, CEO Steve Ballmer announced that Terry Myerson would take over the Windows Phone division, replacing Andy Lees, who only assumed position of "president" 14 months ago. Lees is the second divisional leader moved out by Ballmer in about 11 months. The other: Former Server and Tools president Bob Muglia.

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AT&T's deal to purchase T-Mobile appears all but dead. The carrier joined with the Justice Department to ask for a stay of a planned trial until mid January, which US District Judge Ellen Huvelle granted on Monday. The extra time allows for a "Plan B" to be considered, and for AT&T to "evaluate its options".

"AT&T is committed to working with Deutsche Telekom to find a solution that is in the best interests of our respective customers, shareholders and employees", the company says in a statement. "We are actively considering whether and how to revise our current transaction to achieve the necessary regulatory approvals so that we can deliver the capacity enhancements and improved customer service that can only be derived from combining our two companies' wireless assets".

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New data from NPD confirms something I claimed in February: "The real reason Android tablets don't stand a chance against iPad -- onerous monthly data fees". American consumers simply aren't opting for 3G/4G, preferring WiFi for tablets instead. That's good news for Amazon Kindle Fire and Apple's iPad, particularly, but doom and gloom for Motorola Droid XYBOARD and other tablets requiring onerous, two-year data contracts from cellular carriers.

In April, NPD surveyed tablet owners about their wireless connectivity. Sixty percent said WiFi-only but 5 percent planned to add cellular broadband within six months. Fast forward to December and 65 percent are WiFi-only. So much for buying/adoption intentions.

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Microsoft on Monday quietly released an iPad-specific version of Office OneNote, the note-taking application in Microsoft's Office suite.

At CES last year, Microsoft's OneNote team admitted that few people were using OneNote even though it had been part of Office for the better part of a decade. As an application class that lent itself nicely to mobile use (evinced by Evernote) its utility on a PC was less than obvious.

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