New Force Touch Macbook Pro and iMac Out This Week

Posted: May 18, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wednesday looks to be the day that Apple drops new 15 inch Macbook Pros and 27 inch iMacs with Force Touch baked in to the track pads. 9to5mac.com says that otherwise, the update will be a minor one, with upgrades to the CPU and graphics processors.

In a story from tech crunch.com penned by the CEO of Zuora, the present car industry is compared to the early PC industry of the mid 80’s. The auto makers are cast as being as clueless as giant IBM was at that time, and Digital Equipment…remember them…even more out of touch. IBM went on to be clobbered as the platform…like Windows or Mac…became much more important to consumers than the brand itself. With Gartner predicting that there will be 250 million connected cars on the road by 2020, the platform makers, like Google with Android Auto and Apple with Car Play, may become far more important that the actual brand of cars…causing a gigantic shakeup in the auto industry.

‘Googlemobiles’ Will Be On The Loose This Summer

Posted: May 15, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t look now…but look later! ‘Googlemobiles’ will be hitting the public pavement in Mountain View this summer. Yes, according to the official google blog, self-driving Google cars will be tooling around…albeit with a safety driver aboard, and limited to 25 miles per hour. Google notes that 94% of crashes are caused by human error. The second generation Google cars still look like a VW Beetle that’s been hit with an ugly stick, but there’s plenty of time to get the styling right later after self driving is perfected.

Amazon may be working on making its Prime membership more valuable to members. Cnet.com reports that they have been reaching out to third party merchants, looking into letting them shop goods directly to customers, instead of drop shipping the goods to Amazon first. This would make a lot more goods in on the free two day shipping, and also expand the selection of goods available to you that way. It’s likely that the reports that Walmart is going to test free 3 day shipping this summer for a $50 annual fee is pushing Amazon to sweeten their Prime membership, which is $100.

FAA Drone Study May Bring Good News For Amazon

Posted: May 6, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Federal Aviation Administration is beginning a study regarding drone flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight. Both Amazon and Google have clamored for this, and the Europeans are already getting ready for it. Geekwire.com notes that the present FAA policy-just set in February- limits drones to the pilot’s line of sight.

Home Depot is upgrading its point of sale equipment, and working towards accepting Apple Pay at all of its 2000 stores. Bloomberg.com says that would make the chain the largest retailer to accept Apple Pay. Home Depot doesn’t yet have an agreement with Apple, but already accepts PayPal, and is looking at including other kinds of mobile payment, too. This would presumably include CurrentC, the still developing pay system from the Merchant Customer Exchange.

Apple Watch Will Be Their Highest Profit Product Yet

Posted: April 21, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has been known for making healthy markups on its products, but bgr.com says the new Apple Watch may be their most profitable one ever. Research from Think Big Analytics shows the average gross margins for Apple Watch will be over 60%! Obviously, even with the costs of gold, the Edition version will be much more profitable than that since it’s the same inside as the other two models!

Google is killing the YouTube app on older gear like the 2nd generation Apple TV, and Sony and Panasonic Blu-rays and TVs made before 2012. Thenextweb.com reports older iPhones and iPads will have to run iOS7 or later to still use the app.

Engineering students at Rice University have created a simple gadget to make shots hurt less. According to gizmodo.com, the salt shaker sized device uses a chemical reaction to make skin numb in 60 seconds, allowing the nearly painless shot.

Looking for a Place to Eat? Check Your Wrist

Posted: April 19, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Yelp has announced an Apple Watch app with local listings and reviews. 9to5mac.com says you will see the majority of the info you’re used to seeing about eateries right on the small screen, without having to fish in your pocket or purse for your phone. As with the Yelp smartphone app, the Watch app is integrated with Apple Maps, too.

Google has announced that it’s encrypting the vast majority of its search ads and YouTube ads….finally. TechCrunch.com notes that gmail was encrypted back in 2008. The new HTTPS encryption will apply to Google Display Network, AdMob, and DoubleClick, and will be in place by June 30th.

Amazon is dropping one of the coolest features of its Android app store. Engadget.com reports they are killing TestDrive, the try before you buy feature where you could run apps on a virtual machine, and compare them before downloading. Amazon points to the fact that the vast majority of apps are free now anyway as the reason for dropping the service.

Strong Galaxy S6 Sales Affect Apple’s Next iPhone Model

Posted: April 18, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The strong pre-sales of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge may indirectly hurt future iPhone 6s sales. Bgr.com says Apple had previously announced that the new A9 processors would be built entirely by Samsung, but now Samsung may not be able to keep up with the demand as Galaxy sales pick up. Now, Apple will look to Taiwanese maker TSMC to build 30% of their processor chips. TSMC already builds chips for the present iPhones.

Google now lets you install apps directly from search on Android. According to thenextweb.com, when you search for an app, there’s an install button right with the search results that takes you directly to the Google store and downloads the app.

Microsoft has enjoyed a lot of success with their Halo game franchise. Forbes.com reports that Redmond has released Halo spinoffs for iOS, Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and the gamer favored Steam machines. The 3 Halo Spartan games can be bought in a bundle for $9.99 in the various app stores.

Big Savings on Moto 360 Smart Watch

Posted: April 14, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Motorola’s next generation smartwatch has been spotted in the wild, and should be out shortly. Now, engadget.com says the Moto 360 has dropped to $165 at Google’s store. It’s a great looking and working Android smartwatch at 85 bucks off the regular price.

Techcrunch.com reports that Apple has patented a system that uses contextual information like current time zone, ringer silence status, battery life, location and cell network strength to let friends know you’re available for calls. Yes, it IS opt-in!

Google said last month that it was planning a small wireless service that would operate like existing carriers. According to business insider.com, you’d pay a flat rate for talk and text, and pay by the gigabyte, and could switch phones without a sim card.

Google Plans Apple Watch Access from Android

Posted: April 12, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google seems poised to pull something clever regarding the Apple Watch. Businessinsider.com notes they may be building support for the iPhone into their Android Wear smartwatch software. The present Android wear smartwatches only work with Android phones, and of course Apple Watch only talks to iPhones.

According to forbes.com, Paypal will be allowed to work with Amazon and Alibaba after the split from eBay later this year. The parent company has been positioning Paypal as a ‘true neutral third party’ to commerce and retail clients. In the short term, eBay will remain Paypal’s biggest client, however.

Microsoft has launched without fanfare a new Android app that lets you control Powerpoint presentations on a PC from your Android smartphone. Thenextweb.com reports says the Office Remote app also works with Excel and Word. The remote app has previously only been available on Windows phones.

Amazon has quietly acquired Shoefitr, a startup that uses 3D tech to help match online shoppers with shoes that will fit them better. TechCrunch.com says it’s unclear so far if they will operate it as a freestanding site, roll it into their Zappos subsidiary, or both.

New Features for Microsoft Outlook on Android & iOS

Posted: April 2, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft has updated Outlook for both iOS and Android, according to thenextweb.com. It now shows the full blown address book, there’s a 3 day landscape view of Calendar, and you can now enter zero length meetings & cancel appointments.

Google has expanded App Runtime for Chrome, allowing all developers to make Android apps that will run on any PC or Mac with a Chrome browser. Engadget.com warns that even so, not all mobile apps will play well, but expect many to join Evernote and Vine on your desktop.

The Navy is developing a duck-like drone. Dubbed the Flimmer, engadget.com says it will fly around looking for subs, and then can poke its nose into the water for a better look. They’re trying to improve it’s ability to dive into choppy seas at this point.

Samsung Rumored to Be Looking At Buying AMD

Posted: March 29, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung’s future smartphones and tablets could have graphics that really scream. Geek.com says they are rumored to be about to acquire AMD…the chip and graphics card maker. The Radeon graphics card tech would be particularly appealing to Samsung. AMD also has a large patent portfolio.

Yahoo and Microsoft have agreed to a 30 day extension to the deadline to renegotiate a ten year search deal. According to reuters.com, the original 10 year deal made in 2010 allowed for changes or termination after 5 years. Even with the partnership, Google still controls about 2/3 of the search market, and both Yahoo and Microsoft have been disappointed with their combined 30 percent.

This could be an actual lifesaver for cyclists. Theverge.com reports that Volvo has developed a special reflective spray paint that is only visible at night. Dubbed ‘Lifepaint,’ the washable material lasts about 10 days. It’s completely invisible until hit by the glare of headlights, then it glows. Besides bikes, it can be applied to clothes, helmets, shoes, and backpacks. It’s been rolled out in Kent and London, United Kingdom first, and if it does well will be offered here.

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