September 5, 2012
Written by Jim Dalrymple
“We have not announced any tablets, but I think the opportunity is very clear,” Nokia CEO Stephen Elop told ABC News. “People today increasingly are looking for a common digital experience between their smartphone and tablet, with a PC, and with their gaming platform, and so there’s clearly an opportunity across there. This is something that we’re looking at very closely.”
Not a huge surprise, really. Maybe a bigger surprise that it’s not more of a priority.
Oranged Software on Wednesday announced the release of Studiometry 10, a major new release of their project management software for OS X and Windows. It costs $199.95, or $59.95 to upgrade. A free 30-day trial is available for download.
Studiometry helps small businesses to organize, plan, track and invoice – complete project management and time tracking software. It also has companion iOS applications.
The new release boasts more than 150 new features and improvements, including “Employee Roles for Projects,” helping you organize what your people are doing. New Timesheets help you track and enter daily and weekly work totals. Invoicing features have been added including item merge, new “Combo Data Rows” for templates and more.
Mountain Lion Notification center support has been added, along with Contact groups, Client specs, improvements to Blueprint, work and expense images, visual template syncing and much more.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Kevin C. Tofel:
Instead, I was left with a key unanswered question from Nokia that directly impacts the company’s future: What did it announce today that will get consumers to switch from an iPhone or Android device? Without a compelling answer to that question, I suspect most new Lumia sales will come from those already using an older Lumia and that won’t generate the growth that Nokia needs to sustain a turnaround.
Smart article by Kevin. To my mind, this is the key point that Nokia may have missed. You have to give consumers a reason to switch and if they didn’t do that, they missed a huge opportunity. With the new iPhone coming soon, it’s hard to imagine that people will go for a Lumia.
Apple on Wednesday responded to a weird story earlier this week that UDID information was stolen by hackers from an FBI computer. Apple contacted The Loop with some additional information.
“The FBI has not requested this information from Apple, nor have we provided it to the FBI or any organization,” said Apple spokesperson, Natalie Kerris. “Additionally, with iOS 6 we introduced a new set of APIs meant to replace the use of the UDID and will soon be banning the use of UDID.”
Hacker group Antisec released 1 million unique identifiers, but in a statement released on Tuesday the FBI said “there is no evidence indicating that an FBI laptop was compromised.”
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Apple’s iPhone share of U.S. smartphone subscribers bumped upward 2 percentage points from May through July, giving it 33.4 percent of the market, online tracking and analytics firm comScore said Tuesday.
Android grew 1.4 percent to 52.2 percent of the market.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
A new version of Nuance’s speech and dictation software.
Citrix recently commissioned a study to find out what the average American consumer thinks about cloud computing. The results show that even though people are using cloud computing extensively, they don’t really understand what it is – some even think it’s a “real” cloud, like in the sky.
For example, 51 percent of respondents, including a majority of Millennials, believe stormy weather can interfere with cloud computing.
Despite that, 97 percent of those polled are actually using the technology in some form or another – online shopping, banking, social networking and file sharing all qualify as “cloud” services.
If nothing else, this demonstrates the absence of technical literacy among general consumers, and the confusion that’s created when people insist on adopting cute monikers like “cloud” to describe something that can be clearly defined in plain language: network-based file storage and data management.
Eh, whatever. I’m gonna go chill out and listen to The Orb.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Chrome turned 4 on Sunday.
Written by Peter Cohen
Youkyung Lee for for the Associated Press, via Yahoo:
Fresh off a billion-dollar loss in a patent fight with rival smartphone maker Apple, embattled Samsung Electronics Co. now finds itself accused by a labor rights group of mistreating workers in China and illegally using child labor. The New York based-China Labor Watch said its investigation into workplace conditions at eight factories in China showed some employees were working more than 100 hours per month of overtime and that children were knowingly employed.
The factories are owned by Samsung suppliers. Samsung says it is undertaking a review of labor policies with its suppliers.
Written by Peter Cohen
Wired UK:
To replicate with CGI, however, there had to be physical Daleks present. “Having the Daleks on set is quite an odd process because you rehearse the scenes with the operators standing in for the them but then when it comes to shooting, the poor guys are in there for about four or five hours at a time,” Wilson said. “You can just see the glow of iPhones through the head grills as they play games or read e-books. You also never know if there’s someone inside or not. So you’ll think you’re having a conversation with someone and suddenly another Dalek will respond. They do keep you on your toes.”
Great info about the making of the Doctor Who season premiere, “Asylum of the Daleks” (which made its debut last weekend). The episode featured many different Dalek models which producers had to beg and borrow from the BBC, exhibitions, collectors and fans – including former show-runner Russell T. Davies.
September 4, 2012
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Now, according to a Yahoo executive involved in hiring, Mayer is actually doing it.She literally looks at every serious candidate’s resume.
Much respect to Marissa Mayer. She wants the talent she feels will improve the company and she’s making sure she gets it.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Fender updated it’s line of Machete guitar amps today with a 50 Watt Head, a Combo and two cabinets.
Written by Shawn King
PCWorld:
Is it time to give Java the boot? Experts say yes.Java, the programming language designed to make the web fun and interactive, has become one of the weakest links in a PC’s and Mac’s defenses against external threats.The risks don’t outweigh the rewards, security experts say. “I’d say 90 percent of users don’t need Java anymore,” says Dominique Karg, the founder and chief hacking officer of AlienVault, a security software company. “I consider myself a ‘power user’ and the last and only time I realized I had Java installed on my Mac was when I had to update it.”
When was the last time you used Java on your Mac?
Written by Peter Cohen
Morgan Brennan for Forbes:
The Savant Experience Center, which took eight months to craft and opened in July, was designed by Thom Filicia of TV show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” fame. It hosts a master bedroom with a walk-in closet, a loft-like living room, a Theo Kalomirakis-designed home theater, even a sports bar. But the real draw isn’t the lavish layout (which also has a hotel room, an office and a classroom); it’s the technology that covertly operates the space. Every “room” in the center is automated by Savant Systems and easily controlled with Apple products like iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch-embedded remote controls.
Savant makes really cool home automation systems and features Apple technology front and center. Apple stuff isn’t added on as an afterthought, like it is for some home automation companies. At Savant, Apple hardware and software is truly a centerpiece of how it works. I have a special affinity for them not only because of the Apple angle, but because they’re not too far away from where I live.
Check out our live coverage of the event.
Apple on Tuesday sent out invites for an upcoming event happening in San Francisco on September 12, 2012. The invitation I received says the event will take place at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 10:00 am.
It is widely expected that Apple will announce its next generation iPhone at the event.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Another great looking product from Apogee.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
Ross Miller from The Verge talking about the final version of Windows RT on a Samsung tablet. The video is funny. Microsoft is screwed.
Written by Peter Cohen
The Daily Mash:
MALE hair loss-related anxiety can be cured by growing a pair of balls and getting on with it, it has emerged. As scientists claim a baldness cure will hit pharmacies within two years, researchers at the Institute for Studies have found a link between worrying about hair loss and being unmanly.
I love the Daily Mash. The UK’s answer to the Onion.
September 3, 2012
Written by Jim Dalrymple
A distinctively different kind of weather app for iPad and iPhone with stunning Retina-quality visuals and a refreshingly fun and touch centric UI.
Weather 2x is the perfect balance of aesthetics, intuitive functionality and the right amount of detail.
Check out the latest version with great new features including iCloud sync, Twitter & E-mail sharing, local weather detection, and images of Jim’s igloo for when it reaches those sub-zero temperatures.
I’ve been using Weather 2x since it first came out and love it.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
After using his Nexus 7, David Chartier wonders why the 7-inch product category even exists.
Written by Jim Dalrymple
An incredible story that our own Peter Cohen has been living.
My only question is how he didn’t drink the beer.
Written by Peter Cohen
Katy Steinmetz for Time Techland:
Are you plagued by dropped calls? Is your download speed slow as molasses? Well, that could be because your metropolis is on this list. As part of TIME’s look at how wireless technology is changing our lives, we partnered with data firm OpenSignalMaps to find out which cities had the spottiest service.
Bakersfield, Calif., Colorado Springs and Oklahoma City make the top three.
Written by Peter Cohen
Jessica Wohl for Reuters (via PCWorld):
Walmart is testing a new system that not only would save the company money but reduce the amount of time customers have to interact with the world’s largest retailer’s self-checkout machines, an experience some people find annoying.
You can’t pay directly on your iPhone, but the system allows you to scan barcodes on your phone, then transfers that data to a self-checkout kiosk, which you then use to pay. So you spend less time at the self-checkout and more time getting out of the store once you’re done.
The local grocery store chain I frequent, Stop & Shop, offers a similar system for iPhone and Android phone users. I’ve tried it out a few times. It works.
Written by Peter Cohen
Neil Sears for the Daily Mail:
[Bruce Willis] is said to be considering legal action against technology giant Apple over his desire to leave his digital music collection to his daughters.
The report says that Willis’ lawyer contends that the iTunes terms of service only allows him to “borrow” the music, not own it outright. He wants to put it in trust for his daughters in the event of his death, as he would for other assets.
In 2009, Apple removed DRM restrictions on the music sold through the iTunes Store (users with tracks purchased before then can pay to “upgrade” them to a DRM-free version).
Those tracks can be copied to other computers unencumbered with any restrictions, though that’s not ownership as defined by the iTunes Store terms of service, according to Willis’ lawyers.
Update: Bruce Willis’ wife disputes the report on Twitter.
Written by Peter Cohen
Brad McCarty for The Next Web:
Let’s pretend that you’re a blogger. You’re given the chance to review new, hot hardware from a major company. All that’s required is that you participate in some tasks, but these tasks would fit into your coverage so you agree. In return you get to be one of the first to go hands-on with devices and give your opinion on them. Sounds like a good deal? Well that’s what a couple of Indian participants in Samsung’s Mob!ler program thought too, until Samsung threatened to leave them stranded in Berlin, Germany.
This is an ugly story that makes Samsung look like a bunch of assholes.
I think Clinton Jeff is being disingenuous about expecting to maintain journalistic credibility after accepting Samsung’s offer to fly him from India to Germany and put him up in a hotel. Junkets aren’t cheap, even for global companies like Samsung. Quid pro quo, Clarice.
As Robert Heinlein noted in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”
