iPhone Bargains?
Posted: August 21, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, iPhone, Microsoft, Twitter, Walmart, Windows 9 Leave a commentIf you don’t have to have the latest and greatest, Walmart has dropped prices on the 16 gig iPhone 5C to 97 cents, and the 5S to $79. 9to5mac.com says it’s only temporary, clearing inventory before the iPhone 6 launches, and is for all carriers but T-Mobile.
Microsoft will hold an event to roll out Windows 9 on September 30th, according to theverge.com. It will replace the widely panned Windows 8, and bring back a mini start menu and remove the Charms bar.
Twitter for iOS has a new feature. Thenextweb.com says you can now watch a video in a mini player window while continuing to scroll through your news feed. It only applies to videos that use Twitter’s in-app video player, though.
A Smartwatch NOT Coming From a Tech Company
Posted: August 6, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, AT&T, Qualcomm, Timex, Twitter Leave a commentIt’s not just tech companies chasing the smart watch market. AT&T has announced the Timex GPS One Plus. Gigaom.com says it’s powered by Qualcomm, and will synch running data and handle short messages. It’s $400, and has a year of free 3G service.
There’s more from Twitter…they may be adding e-commerce. A dormant setting for ‘payment and shipping’ has showed up in the Android app. Thenextweb.com reports that some have also seen a Buy Now button in tweets.
No chords OR batteries may be the future. Apple has patented a way to power keyboards and mice magnetically. Appleinsider.com says it will run accessories up to 3 feet away from the computer.
Phablets Will Far Outsell Tablets the Next Few Years
Posted: August 5, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Galaxy Alpha, phablets, Samsung, Twitter Leave a commentTablet sales have been dropping, and laptops edging up, but business insider.com says phablets are the big thing. They project phablets will outnumber tablet sales by 3 to 1 by 2018. Many define a phablet as a smartphone with a screen between 5 and 7 inches…not quite the handy pocket or purse size of a 3.5 or 4 inch smartphone, but still small enough to use as a phone, and big enough to negate the need to haul around two devices.
Twitter is testing showing you tweets from random accounts your friends follow. Thenextweb.com reports that it’s just a test, and so could just go away if they decide not to incorporate this alleged feature.
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Alpha smartphone will not just be their first metal clad model. Gigaom.com says they’re ditching Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors for their own Exynos chip…the first Samsung LTE phone to use it. Using their own chips more and more may counteract the drop off from no longer being Apple’s sole supplier of processor chips.
Apple Going Bigger on Biometrics
Posted: May 27, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Biometrics, Dropcam, Google, Twitter Leave a commentAccording to KGI research, Apple will include the Touch ID fingerprint sensor on all iOS devices that come out this year…two new iPhone models and two sizes of iPads. They are also changing the sensor to make it more durable, utilizing tin to replace part of the sensor components.
Google is looking at picking up Dropcam, and getting into the home surveillance business. The Information reports that the automated home surveillance business could be combined with Google’s Nest products. With Apple rumored to be launching a smart home system that can be controlled by iOS next week at the Worldwide Developers Conference, it could get interesting!
Twitter may have leveled off in the US, but a report from eMarketer picked up by techcrunch.com says by 2018, 40% of Twitter users will be from the Asia Pacific region.
Twitter’s New Photo Features
Posted: March 27, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Instagram, Twitter Leave a commentTwitter has just introduced a couple of new features…gigaom.com says you can now tag up to 10 people in photos, and include up to 4 pictures in a single tweet. User names appear above the pictures, and don’t count towards the 140 characters.
This feature creep at Twitter may be a way of playing catch up…according to thenextweb.com, Instagram has passed up Twitter in US users. The Financial Times says Facebook owned Instagram has 35 million users and Twitter 30.8 million. Twitter still has 40 million more worldwide, though.
Techcrunch.com reports that Apple has patented a Surface like touch keyboard smart cover, but with a twist…multitouch gesture support turns the whole thing into a giant trackpad, instead of just a small dedicated portion.
Twitter- Password Reset Their Error, Not Hacking
Posted: March 4, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dish, Facebook, Paper, Twitter Leave a commentA substantial number of users have received an email from Twitter, saying their account has been compromised, and password reset. Thenextweb.com reports that Twitter has admitted that no hacking happened…it was a system error on Twitter’s part.
Dish has cut a deal with Disney, and will get to stream ABC and ESPN programming over the web. According to Gigaom.com, there’s something of a downside…you won’t be able to skip the commercials!
In a move to boost their underwhelming Paper app, cnet.com says Facebook has updated Paper to allow users to share an article by email, text message, or Facebook message…even with people that aren’t your Facebook friends.
Microsoft Considering a Freebie?
Posted: February 28, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bloomberg, Microsoft, TOR, Twitter Leave a commentFor anyone who can remember Microsoft charging $495 or $795 for software, it’s a small victory…according to the verge.com, Redmond is experimenting with a free version of Windows 8.1. It’s being positioned as Windows 8.1 with Bing, and is focused on getting Windows 7 users to upgrade.
At 19 billion, WhatsApp has gotten a lot of notice since being bought by Facebook, and there are lots of messaging services around…some even shred your messages seconds after they’re read…but they travel through regular channels and can be intercepted by the likes of the NSA. Slasdot.org reports that the people that make TOR, the anonymous browser, are developing an anonymous instant messenger that will be rolled out at the TOR Winter Developers Meeting in Iceland.
Net tools get smarter and smarter, and big data marches one. Gigaom.com says Bloomberg now has sentiment analysis tools that tell traders about spikes in positive or negative chatter about companies…in other words, they gauge the collective mood on Twitter for a stock or company.
clarkreid 
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