Microsoft launches public preview of Windows Thin PC
Microsoft on Monday launched the public community technology preview (CTP) of Windows Thin PC (WinTPC), the locked down version of Windows 7 designed to turn legacy PCs into thin clients that can run Windows 7 applications.
The Public CTP of WinTPC includes some new features not available in the limited preview that was released earlier in March, such as support for RemoteFX and System Configuration Manager (the two major improvements in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1,) and write filter support, which helps limit writes to disk and improves security on the client side.
Google to embrace NFC in Android with new payment service
Google is said to be working on a mobile payments solution with Citigroup and MasterCard which would bring so-called near-field communication (NFC) technology to Android smartphones, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The announcement would only be the latest announcement in what seems to be growing momentum for the technology.
NFC support was enabled in December as part of the Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" update. Currently the only widely available Android phone with support built in is the Samsung Nexus S, although several NFC-equipped devices are expected this year.
AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile USA will cause 'Ma Bell duopoly', says Sprint
Sprint Nextel, the United States' third largest wireless network operator on Monday officially took a stance against wireless network operator AT&T's proposed acquisition of number four network operator T-Mobile USA.
Sprint's opposition should be anything but surprising, as the company says AT&T and T-Mobile combined would be three times bigger than Sprint, and would "entrench AT&T's and Verizon's duopoly control over the wireless market."
Make Firefox 4 work for you
Firefox 4 is finally here, and while those familiar with how web browsers have evolved won't be surprised to see the streamlined new interface, it can come as a culture shock to those used to plodding along with Firefox 3 for the past few years. With that in mind, we've compiled 10 tips showcasing the best new features in Firefox 4.
Better still, we don't just explain what's new in Firefox 4, we'll reveal how the functionality works, so you can start using and benefiting from it too. Except where specifically stated, the tips should work on all platforms: Windows, Mac and Linux.
Can't read this story because your Net connection is busted? There's a fix for that
There are many reasons why your Internet connection or web-related Windows components might start misbehaving, and diagnosing the problem for yourself can be difficult. So it's often easier not to try: just resetting a few key Windows settings could be enough to get your system working again.
Doing this manually isn't always straightforward, either, but fortunately Complete Internet Repair offers a simpler alternative. Just choose the fix you'd like to try, click the "Go!" button and it'll make the necessary tweaks for you.
Parents can set up 'E-Allowance' with American Express' new system Serve
Credit card company American Express on Monday launched Serve, a payment system that allows customers to make person-to-person payments online, via mobile phones, or at merchants who accept American Express credit cards. Serve launched just two weeks after Visa Inc. announced a similar person-to-person service powered by Popmoney and ZashPay.
Users set up an account on Serve.com or through the Android or iOS apps, and then link their bank accounts, debit or credit cards, or other Serve accounts to add funds. At its most basic, Serve works like a prepaid credit card that can receive funds from any linked bank account or registered Serve user. Without adding any information other than name, age, address, and phone number, a Serve account can receive up to $500 per month.
Get what Apple won't give: TRIM support for 3rd-party SSDs
There's little doubt that solid-state drives (SSDs) are the future for hard disk-based storage. They're quicker, quieter and cooler than the drives we've come to rely on over the past few decades. But with SSDs now entering the mainstream as prices fall within the reach of consumers, there's one potential performance hurdle to overcome.
TRIM is a command designed to fix a problem whereby over time the write performance of a SSD starts to degrade to as little as 50 per cent of its original speed. Unfortunately, TRIM isn't supported on a lot of operating systems, and while newer drives boast their own technologies to combat this problem with relying on the OS, older drives rely on TRIM being supported. Apple plans to rectify this with the upcoming release of Mac OS X Lion (and possibly in the next update for Snow Leopard too), but there's still no guarantee it'll support TRIM on non-Apple SSDs. But now there's a possible solution that's small, free and quick. It's called TRIM Support Enabler.
Apple's annual developer conference coming in June
This morning, Apple announced that Worldwide Developer Conference 2011 will be June 6-10 in San Francisco. "Join us for a preview of the future of iOS and Mac OS X" Apple's WWDC 2011 info page proclaims. Which has me scratching my head. What about all those rumors that Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" is near golden master. Isn't the future coming sooner?
Apple is known for being indirect -- and, yes, secretive -- where the subtlest information in an announcement can convey other meaning, or rumormongers make subtleties to mean more than they should. So I'll watch with interest to see how the Mac fan club of bloggers and journalists interprets Apple's press release quoting Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, and not CEO Steve Jobs. Remember, Jobs is on medical leave. Surely someone will ask if this means he won't give the keynore. Relax the interpretations. WWDC 2011 is months way, I say.
Firefox 4 usage share is twice Internet Explorer 9 in half the time
In the early battle for users, Firefox 4 handedly beats Internet Explorer 9, according to NetApplications. As of March 26, IE 9 usage share was 1.78 percent (in 12 days), according to NetApplications. By comparison, Firefox 4 had 3.64 percent usage share (in just 5 days) -- or twice as much in less than half the time.
Microsoft released Internet Explorer 9 at Midnight ET on March 15, but Net Applications is on Pacific Time, so its measurement of usage share is from the 14th. Mozilla released Firefox on March 22nd. Firefox 4 outpaced Microsoft's browser in first-day downloads. IE9: 2.35 million. Firefox 4: 6 million -- 15.7 million in first 48 hours. Last week, Mozilla also issued the Firefox 4 Mobile Release Candidate for Android and Maemo.
Is Firefox doomed?
Ed Bott's March 22nd ZDNET post "Why Internet Explorer will survive and Firefox won't" answers the question yes. "So long, Firefox. It was nice to know you," he writes about the browser's future. Well, I don't agree with that. But Bott makes another prediction that rings right. If so, the new browser wars will make the 1990s skirmish between Microsoft and Netscape look like kids fighting with sticks.
Bott puts Firefox's future in context of a new platform war, as the computing market transitions from the PC era to the cloud connected device era. I riled some Betanews readers regading this transition with February 9th post: "The PC era is over."
Did you miss CTIA Wireless 2011? We've got you covered
The second really big wireless tradeshow of the year concluded yesterday. Although, for all practical matters it was over a day earlier. My colleague Tim Conneally told me about Day 3: "You should see it down here, it's a ghost town compared to Day 1." Like I said yesterday, there was something missing from this years CTIA Wireless. That's not to say there was no news or no worthy gadgets coming out of the show. I've collected our coverage here into a single post for quick reference.
1. AT&T and T-Mobile USA merger. On March 20, a Sunday and two days before CTIA Wireless, Deutsche Telekom agreed to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T for a whopping $39 -- $25 million in cash. In an analysis, we looked at how the merger will affect you. In a follow-up post, you expressed your reaction to the proposed merger. Today, we returned back to topic. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission may resist the major merger.
Verizon slashes price of original iPad to $299
Aiming to clear remaining stocks of the original iPad from their shelves, Verizon on Friday began a sale at its retail stores which lowers the price of the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only model to $299. This would be $130 less than AT&T's current offer.
AT&T sells the 16GB model for $399, however it also offers a free month of data to any customer purchasing the tablet. Prices range from $429 to $629 in store (although the 64GB version is on sale for $529 online where it is the only one available), and checks seem to indicate the sale is having its intended effect of clearing out the older models.
AT&T deal to acquire T-Mobile may find FCC approval difficult
An FCC official told the Wall Street Journal that AT&T's effort to acquire T-Mobile may face steep resistance to gain approval from the regulatory body. The comments echo similar concerns of some on the left who are leery of less competition in the wireless market.
"There's no way the chairman's office rubber-stamps this transaction," the source said, declining to be named in the story. "It will be a steep climb to say the least." That said, the FCC has done little to block recent blockbuster mergers -- most notably Sirius and XM Satellite Radio's $13 billion merger in 2007.
Android in-app billing coming next week
In case you missed the announcement yesterday, Google has started testing in-app billing, which goes live next week. It's not exactly loads of notice for developers but still opportunity to test apps before Google turns on the feature.
"In preparation for the launch, we are opening up Android Market for upload and end-to-end testing of your apps that use in-app billing," Eric Chu writes at the Android Developers blog. "You can now upload your apps to the Developer Console, create a catalog of in-app products, and set prices for them. You can then set up accounts to test in-app purchases. During these test transactions, the in-app billing service interacts with your app exactly as it will for actual users and live transactions."
Honeycomb tests Google's 'Open Principles'
Google's decision to withhold Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" from the open-source community is nothing but shocking. From a business perspective, the company's reasons make sense. But Google has put principles before business before, like its stance with China or H.264 support. There is also the broader question of leadership and what the move means, if anything, about Eric Schmidt soon stepping down as CEO and Google cofounder Larry Page replacing him. There's a new sheriff in town. Will he enforce the law differently?
Google dropped the Honeycomb bomb late yesterday. In a statement the company said that Honeycomb "was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we're excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones."
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