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Upgrade your geek with Dwight Silverman

Linkpost | 10.21.2012

Sunday, October 21, 2012
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• Apple’s smaller iPad to likely start at a minimum of $329 in the U.S. – 9to5Mac quotes sources as saying the iPad Mini will be priced higher than previously expected. Most earlier rumors priced it at $249.

• Mention of iBooks 3.0 discovered in recent iTunes listing, supporting books focus for iPad mini event – A graphic novel listing on iTunes notes that iBooks 3.0 is required. (So, why is the book available for download, since iBooks 3.0 isn’t out?)

• Class Action Filed against Apple for locking iPhones to AT&T Network – The complainants allege Apple’s locking of iPhones to AT&T without customers’ contractual consent violates the Sherman Act.

• Apple rebuts juror misconduct claims, says Samsung dropped the ball – Apple says Samsung had its shot to investigate the foreman during voir dire.

• Motorola Posts List of Phones Not Receiving Jelly Bean, Confirms Which Phones Will Get the Update – Phones not getting Jelly Bean will instead get a $100 trade-in credit on a new Motorola Android phone.

• Dissecting The Sony Nexus X, The Fake That Launched A Thousand Stories – How one 3D modeler fooled many tech blogs into thinking Sony and Google were collaborating on a Nexus device.

• Mark Zuckerberg: Don’t Just Start A Company, Do Something Fundamental – Mark Zuckerberg tells the Startup School conference that too many tech companies are trying to fix problems that are too small, or copying someone else’s idea.

• Facebook, Twitter apps no longer on Xbox 360 marketplace [Update] – Microsoft nukes 3-year-old Twitter and Facebook apps from the Xbox 360, and suggests users access the sites through Internet Explorer, which is part of the new Xbox update.

Categories: Linkposts

Linkpost | 10.20.2012

Saturday, October 20, 2012
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• New full-sized iPad with improved internals, Lightning connector to be announced next week at current prices – The tweaked iPad will be introduced alongside the iPad, according to 9to5Mac.

• New Photos of 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Show Battery Layout, Ports, and More and Estimated prices on 13-inch Retina MacBook Pros: Starts around U$1,699 – Judging from the images, there’s a lot of battery inside the upcoming retina MacBook Pro. And if the pricing rumor is right, it won’t be inexpensive.

• Waze Is The Only App To Gain Meaningful Marketshare After Apple Maps Fail, Onavo Finds – That’s largely due to its being free, and including turn-by-turn directions.

• Initial Surface US pre-orders sold out, some UK orders delayed to November 2nd – The 32-GB model had already sold out; now all the pre-order stock is gone.

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: Windows 8 is ‘the end of Windows’ – Benioff said that because no one is talking about traditional desktops anymore, Windows has become “irrelevant”.

• Why Windows Just Can’t Win – Mat Honan argues that, by clustering its many announcements and launch events together at the end of this month, Microsoft will just create confusion rather than buzz.

• Housecleaning, Then Dinner? Silicon Valley Perks Come Home – The battle to lure top talent, some SiliValley companies are providing perks that make life at home easier, such as housecleaning.

• In Wi-Fi Intoxicated Manhattan, a Generation of Teetotalers – An NYTimes reporter attends a session for seniors aimed at explaining smartphones and wireless connectivity to them. Fear and loathing ensues.

• Google Weighs Mobile-Patent Antitrust Settlement – Google is accused of improperly refusing to grant licenses to patents it holds on mobile technology.

• Jeff Bezos: The Smart People Change Their Minds – Listen for new information, then change course if it makes sense. That’s being smart and agile, not weak and indecisive.

• T-Mobile ditches entry-level postpaid 200 MB smartphone data plan – T-Mobile’s base smartphone data plan will now start at 2 GB. Feature phones can still use the 200 MB plan.

Categories: Linkposts

    • And now, it’s time for open-comment Friday

    Friday, October 19, 2012
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    Here’s your weekly open-comment thread on TechBlog – it’s your chance to sound off about what’s on your mind regarding personal technology.

    Leave a comment here, and I’ll approve it.

    Come back later to see what others have to say about what you had to say.

    Then, say some more.

    Categories: Open-comment Fridays

    Linkpost | 10.19.2012

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    • Google launches 11.6-inch ARM-based Samsung Chromebook: $249, ultra thin and light, 6.5-hour battery, 1080p video and New Samsung Chromebook also available with 3G for $329.99 – The latest Chromebook has a small screen and a very small price, and comes with 100 GB of free storage for two years. It’s available now for pre-order.

    • Google shares plummet after fake earning posting and Motorola results stink, continue to weigh on Google – Google accidentally releases an incomplete version of its earnings, causing its stock to tank so hard that trading is briefly halted. The acquisition of Motorola becomes a real drag on Google’s numbers.

    • Google Adds 25 Million New Building Footprints To Google Maps On Desktop And Mobile

    • Thoughts on the Display, Price, and Name of the Impending Smaller iPad – John Gruber nails the question of pricing on the supposed iPad Mini: So what if the tablet costs less than the iPod Touch? They are two completely different product categories, and the pricing of one doesn’t really affect the other.

    • iCloud: Sharing done wrong – iCloud, in theory, puts documents online where they can be gotten to easily – but only by certain programs, and not by more than one person at a time. This is a thoughtful critique from Macworld.

    • Apple gets aggressive – latest OS X Java security update rips out browser support – A new update from Apple that installs the latest version of Java on a Mac also removed the Java plug-in from OS X browsers. Users who need a plug-in are advised to get it directly from Oracle.

    • Bitten: Apple’s ‘blasphemous’ logo under fire in Russia – To some, an icon showing an apple with a bite taken out of it is a symbol of sin.

    • iPhone Uber-Hacker Comex Is Out At Apple – Apple had hired him for two internships, and he would have had a third, had he remembered to reply to an email offering a renewal.

    • AMD loses $157 million on $1.27 billion revenue in Q3, will lay off 15 percent of workers and Intel Reports Third-Quarter Revenue of $13.5 Billion – Earnings for both makers of traditional desktop processors are hurt by a shift in what people are buying with their electronics dollars.

    • Microsoft Stores giving out Surface reservation passes – Including the Microsoft Store in Houston’s Galleria.

    • Tweetbot for Mac finally comes in for a landing — with $20 price tag – Because of Twitter’s new API restrictions, this slick client comes with a high price and a limited number of downloads. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

    • Is Pheed the New Twitter? – It’s like Twitter, but it allows its members to charge for viewing their feeds. It has already drawn the attention of some celebrities.

    • Airtime, a Pedigreed Start-Up, Is Tested – The video chat service, started by the co-creators of Napster, hasn’t caught fire as many had hoped.

    • New MegaUpload Will Deflect Copyright Liability and Become Raid-Proof – Known as “Mega”, Kim Dotcom’s next venture will encrypt all files so even the company can’t see what’s on its servers, and will distribute its servers in countries around the world. And Megaupload Is Dead. Long Live Mega!

    • At Newsweek, Ending Print and a Blend of Two Styles – Newsweek goes all digital, with print ceasing by the end of the year.

    • Reddit Troll Michael Brutsch Defends Himself on CNN: ‘I Treated Reddit As a Game’ – The man formerly known as Violentacrez is interviewed by CNN in the wake of his unmasking by Gawker’s Adrian Chen.

    Categories: Linkposts

    There’s pain and joy in Apple’s new Lightning connector and adapters

    Thursday, October 18, 2012
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    1pieceadapterWhen Apple dropped the venerable 30-pin dock connector for its smaller, 8-pin Lightning connector, it created a conundrum for owners of iOS accessories. The new connector, found on the iPhone 5, iPod touch and iPod nano, is incompatible with thousands of products designed to use the larger plug.

    To address this issue, Apple is selling a couple of adapters that connect 30-pin accessories to 8-pin Lightning devices. As is typically the case, they’re not inexpensive. The one-piece, 30-pin-to-Lightning adapter will set you back $29. A version with a cable joining the 8- and 30-pin components adds another $10 to that cost, for $39. If you have a lot of accessories and you don’t want to swap adapters back and forth, buying several of these can put a dent in your budget.

    Unfortunately, there aren’t any third-party options out there yet. The Lightning connector contains processors that recently were cloned by Chinese manufacturers, and the resulting knock-offs have yet to hit the market. Apple-sanctioned third-party Lightning products are still a ways off, as the company reportedly plans a session explaining its licensing program for accessory makers in early November.

    And to add to the pain, Apple only recently began shipping the adapters, and they’re still in relatively short supply. You can find the cheaper, USB-to-8-pin cables, which sell for “only” $19, in Apple Stores and online, but even they sell out quickly. And they don’t fix the problem of using a newer iOS device with older accessories.

    cableadapterThese issues aside, the Lightning connector is a big improvement over the aging, larger 30-pin dock connector. The biggest benefit of everyday use: You don’t have to fiddle with plugging it in correctly. Unlike the 30-pin plug and micro-USB connectors, you don’t have to make sure it’s plugged in right-side up. Both sides are the “right” side, which makes using it a real joy, particularly if you’re connecting the Lightning cable in the dark. Apple also says it’s more durable, though I could easily see the plug breaking off. Time will tell on that one.

    Macworld has gotten its hands on the two adapters, and Dan Frakes has a review that anyone who owns or is thinking about buying a new iPhone, iPod touch or iPod nano will want to read.

    For the most part, charging and audio playback work on most devices. The exceptions are charging with older accessories from the very early days of the iPod, which then used Firewire ports for charging. Chances are, there are few of those around, but still . . .

    The real problem comes with video, Frakes says:

    As Apple makes clear on the product pages for the two adapters, neither adapter supports video output. If your 30-pin speaker dock or other accessory offers a video-out jack to display iPhone or iPod video on a TV or projector, that feature won’t work with the 2012 iPhone and iPod touch when connected using Apple’s adapters.

    The Lightning connector itself actually supports video output, but these adapters don’t pass video signals to the 30-pin connector. Apple told Macworld, back when the Lightning connector was announced, that Lightning-to-HDMI and Lightning-to-VGA cables will be available “in the coming months.”

    In addition, a feature called iPod-out Mode – often used in automotive and home stereo to duplicate the iPod’s menus – don’t work with the adapter. Frakes says iPod-out Mode uses the video signal, which the adapters don’t support.

    Frakes also discusses the notion of physical stress on the connector by adding an adapter between an accessory’s plug and the iOS device’s port. This extends the height of the device, possibly making it more prone to be knocked off and the adapter or the connector breaking.

    And then there’s the whole issue of using the adapter with cases:

    There’s also the matter of iPhone- and iPod-case compatibility. The standard adapter is slightly wider than the 30-pin dock connector, and the entire top edge of adapter’s body sits flush against the bottom of your iPhone or iPod. So unless you’ve got a case that leaves the bottom of your iPhone or iPod unobstructed, chances are you won’t be able to use the standard adapter. The cable version of the adapter uses a much smaller housing around the connector, so it should be usable with many more iPhone and iPod cases.

    However, there’s a minor hitch: The cable’s connector housing is considerably larger than the plug housing on Apple’s stock Lighting-to-USB cable. So cases designed to precisely accommodate the stock cable might not be able to fit the Lightning to 30-pin Adapter’s plug.

    These annoyances fall into the category of First-World Problems, but they are disruptive to a long-standing ecosystem. Still, the 8-pin Lightning connector is an improvement over the older dock connector, and these issues are part of the shift to a newer and arguably better technology. Unfortunately, the pain won’t end until the transition is complete, which will take both time and money.

    Categories: Apple, Hardware

    Linkpost | 10.18.2012

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    • With Surface looming, Microsoft fails to explain Windows 8 vs. Windows RT to consumers – Did you know that you won’t be able to run legacy Windows apps on a Microsoft Surface RT? If not, it’s because Microsoft hasn’t done a great job of explaining the difference between Windows RT and Windows 8.

    • $499 Microsoft Surface preorders slip to three weeks – If you pre-order now, you won’t get it until well in to November.

    • Nokia’s Q3 2012: $754 million operating loss, $9.49 billion in net sales, 2.9 million Lumia phones sold – Nokia’s pain continues, with its sixth straight quarterly loss. Can Windows Phone 8, coming later this month, save it?

    • AT&T Lumia 920 exclusive for six months and some training videos leak too – Expect news about a Lumia 920 launch as early as Sunday.

    • Google hosting Android event Monday, Oct 29th in New York – That’s the same day as Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 launch.

    • A $99 Nexus tablet could spawn a new race to the bottom, but is it possible yet? – And if it is possible, would it even be worth owning?

    • Google Throws Open Doors to Its Top-Secret Data Center – Wired’s Steven Levy gets to visit Google’s big data center in North Carolina. And you can visit, too, via Street View.

    • Hands on with Apple’s Lightning to 30-pin Adapters – Macworld looks at the expensive adapters that connect the iPhone 5 (and likely the looming iPad Mini) to older accessories that use the 30-pin Apple connection. Dan Frakes find there are some compatibility issues. Also Source: Apple Accessory Partner Seminar Coming November 7-8, Will Cover Lightning Guidelines

    • Troubled media sharing startup Color Labs said to be acquired by Apple – Color may have started out with $41 million in seed money, but it ran into trouble as it lurched from one focus to another. Now it apparently has been purchased by Apple.

    • Rumors and Speculation of November 2 ‘iPad Mini’ Launch Building – That’s the rumored date that the iPad Mini is expected to be available.

    • Foxconn official says iPhone 5 supply shortages caused by complicated design, productivity improving

    • Apple loses UK tablet design appeal versus Samsung – An appeals court judge upholds a ruling Samsung’s Galaxy Tab products aren’t copies of the iPad’s design.

    • AOL launches Alto webmail client, its biggest conceptual leap since ‘you’ve got mail’ – You’ve still got mail – and probably from multiple sources. Alto, which for now is invitation-only, is a Web client that uses IMAP and works with other services, including Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud.

    • Verizon reports Q3 wireless service revenues up 7.5 percent, LTE now available to 250 million people

    • Nobody “Goes Online” Anymore – A Forrester survey indicates people spend less time “going online”, but it’s likely people are connected more often, but don’t think of it in the same way. Increasingly, people are always online.

    • Let’s reconsider our “users” – Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and the CEO of Square, urges the tech industry to quit calling its customers “users”.

    • Jack Dorsey: Leadership Secrets Of Twitter And Square – Forbes profiles Dorsey, who is described as a “serial disruptor”.

    • Internet providers set to crack down on illegal file-sharing – We’ve already heard that AT&T was going to implement the so-called “six strikes” policy, but now it appears that Verizon and Comcast are also joining in.

    • Sprint to Take Control of Clearwire – The takeover would be done without an acquisition. The two companies have had a long and sometimes tempestuous relationship.

    • Exclusive: White House review finds no evidence of spying by Huawei – sources – Huawei’s hardware isn’t a security risk, but it may be vulnerable to flaws that can be exploited.

    • Computer Viruses Are “Rampant” on Medical Devices in Hospitals – Hospitals: they’re not just for carbon-based viruses anymore! And Pacemakers, defibrillators open to attack

    • MasterCard Is Selling Your Data Just in Time for the Holidays – Millions of transactions a year are paying off for MasterCard in more ways than one.

    Categories: Linkposts

    Google may own Motorola, but carriers still have their way with Android

    Wednesday, October 17, 2012
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    RAZR HD_Dyn_R_vert_Hero_VZW-2Two drawbacks to Google’s Android mobile operating system are fragmentation of its ecosystem and the lack of timely upgrades – and in some cases, no upgrades at all. Since version 1.0′s launch four years ago, Android has improved dramatically, but these two things still bedevil it users.

    Actually, let me clarify that . . . bedevil some users. It’s safe to say that the majority of people who buy an Android device don’t care whether it has a “skin” on it, or whether they get a quick upgrade to the latest version. They buy the phone or tablet and just use it. It’s a tool, not an obsession.

    But for those who care – techies, enthusiasts and users who think about extending the value of their technology – these things matter.

    Google, the keeper of the Android flame, also cares. That’s why the company has its own line of devices under the Nexus brand. These phones – and so far, one tablet model – use the stock Android OS, free of enhancements and interface overlays. They also tend to get upgrades in a timely fashion. This is Google’s way of saying, “Look: This is how Android should be done.”

    But hardware makers and wireless carriers have a different agenda. They think they can improve on Android’s bare-bones interface, and they hope to make a little extra cash by adding apps that generate revenue in a variety of ways. When it comes time to push out an update, both the handset makers and the carriers must test and tweak the new version so their add-ons work with it, a process which delays the release.

    And because giving people new features for free in an upgrade could mean users feel less compelled to buy new hardware and re-up their wireless contracts, manufacturers and carriers actually have a disincentive to roll out a new version of Android.

    It was against this backdrop that Google acquired Motorola Mobility earlier this year, inspiring hope among caring Android users that the fragmentation and delayed-upgrade cycle could be broken by at least one handset maker. If Google owns Motorola, it stands to reason that devices coming from Moto would be closer to stock Android. Right?

    But that’s not what has happened so far. Motorola released its RAZR M and RAZR HD phones with an older version of Android, skins and customizations for Verizon, the exclusive carrier for the devices. Now, in a story at The Verge, a Motorola executive reveals why.

    Motorola Senior Vice President Rick Osterloh said that Google must still make carriers happy, even though it knows that the best thing for users is to offer stock Android. Here’s what he told a group of reporters:

    Going forward, we’re going to try to be as close to the base as we can be, because we think that’s the right thing for users. We think users also want fast upgrades and upgrades for their phones over the long haul, so we’re going to be focus on that as well. It’s a little bit different than what a lot of OEMs are doing and certainly what Motorola did in the past, but going forward that’s going to be our strategy.

    Verge reporter Dieter Bohn pressed Osterloh on carrier customization, and elicited this response:

    “Our partners sometimes want customizations. [...] Our interest is to make it as close to Android as possible and generally we negotiate somewhere in the middle.”

    So Android can expect carriers to still have their way with the interface on Motorola-made Android devices – Google’s ownership won’t allow Motorola to offer only stock Android devices.

    But there is one ray of hope from Osterloh: Motorola expects to be able to push out Android updates more quickly. Indeed, the while the RAZR HD will ship this week with Android 4.0, it is expected to get 4.1, a.k.a. Jelly Bean, before the year is out.

    If you’re an Android user, what do you think of this scenario? Does it make you more interested in buying Motorola devices?

    Categories: Android, Google, Mobile

    Linkpost | 10.17.2012

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    • How Much Tablet Does $500 Get You? Microsoft Surface vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Note 10.1. – AllThingsD compares three tablets that sell for $500, one of which you can’t actually buy yet. And as writer Bonnie Cha warns, don’t buy a tablet on specs, or sight unseen. Try it first.

    • Best Buy to price its own Android tablet at $239-$259 –source – Yes, Best Buy’s getting into the tablet game under its in-house Insignia brand. The Flex will be a 9.7-inch tablet and goes on sale Nov. 11, according to Reuters.

    • Motorola calls stock Android ‘the right thing,’ but bows to Verizon customization – A Motorola executive says the company – which is now owned by Google – would like to ship pure Android devices, but its partners want customizations. But here’s good news: Motorola hopes to deliver Android updates in a more timely fashion.

    • Verizon draws fire for monitoring app usage, browsing habits – CNet says Verizon has begun selling this data to advertisers, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation warns it may violate federal wiretapping laws.

    • Windows 8 Review – Walt Mossberg reviews Windows 8 for the Wall Street Journal. He gives Microsoft credit for innovating, but says traditional computer users will face a learning curve.

    • Google CEO ‘Hopeful’ About Outcome of Antitrust Probes – Larry Page, who has been out of the public eye because of a voice ailment, speaks out against over-regulation of the Internet. Also Amazon founder Jeff Bezos calls for governments to end patent wars

    • Google Launches Disavow Links Tool – It helps publishers battle spam links that might lower their page rank on Google.

    • A Few Words On Reddit, Gawker, and Anonymity – Popehat’s Ken White, an attorney, lays out the Gawker v. Reddit controversy against the 1st Amendment and evolving law about privacy and anonymity on the Internet. An excellent read. Also Reddit CEO Speaks Out On Violentacrez In Leaked Memo: ‘We Stand for Free Speech’

    • Size of the Average iOS App Increased 16% in Six Months – This is becoming an issue for owners of smaller-capacity iPhones and iPads.

    • Apple snaps up celebrity-backed Web app firm Particle – The app and Web design firm had been funded in part by Justin Timberlake.

    • Retail: Amazon’s Next Big Business Is Selling You – Amazon sees its burgeoning ad business as a way to keep its retail prices lower.

    • Kaspersky Lab Developing Its Own Operating System?  We Confirm the Rumors, and End the Speculation! – Kaspersky Lab, best known for antivirus software, is working on a secure operating system designed for industrial and infrastructure operations.

    Categories: Linkposts