Flickr vs Instagram – Instagram still king

VS

As part of its mission to build up the brand and become valid again, Yahoo! is releasing some great apps recently. The Yahoo! Mail app has received some good reviews and the Flickr App seems to have been labeled by some folks across the net as an Instagram killer. Not so fast…

After using both apps fairly extensively, well as extensive as it gets in the case of Flickr and my one week with it, I have found many things that make Instagram better.

Vintage Cameras Look Cool!

First, I love that Instagram locks images to a square format. The idea at Instagram is that photos are supposed to be in the old square film format of yesteryear when vintage camera were all the rage. Although people continuously do it wrong, resulting in a fail pic with big black bars on the top and bottom, the square format does a lot in my opinion to force some artistic quality to the simplest pics. It requires the photographer to choose the most artistic sectional capture. This is more of a personal preference, and people who have been annoyed by the square requirement (“INSTAGRAM WON’T LET ME POST MY FULL SIZE PIC!!!”) will find this as a non-issue affecting neither performance or effectiveness.

Application Speed

On to the real stuff – the Flickr app is just too slow for me. The photo filters lag for a brief second and everything from loading a new pic to uploading the finalized pic just takes longer in Flickr. Also, since Instagram rides on Facebook for the most part, there is a much larger community on Instagram and my friends list is enough to keep me entertained for a few minutes when I check my feed. Flickr is a ghost-town on my feed. It’s like Google+ but with pics.

Social Network Tie-Ins

At least the Flickr app allows users to tie in Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, there is no tie-in for Four Square and definitely not for Instagram. One of the pics I uploaded to Facebook from Flickr didn’t include my description and took away from the joke I was making.

Instagram FTW!

Overall I think the Flickr app has potential and the value of Instagram is diminishing with the release of the Flickr app and Twitter’s recent updates that allow photo filters to be applied to pics being tweeted. Even Facebook Camera is a usable alternative to Instagram and I think it’s only a matter of time before that site isn’t nearly as relevant as it has been over the last year.

What do you think? Have you had time with the new Flickr App? Does it work better than Instagram for you? Answer in the comments section below!

Apple to Bring Manufacturing to the US?

Looks like Apple is set to bring manufacturing for one of their product lines here to the US. Which product line hasn’t been confirmed by Apple, but my speculation is that it’s Apple TV.

While Tim Cook didn’t exactly say so, he did say this, “When I go into my living room and turn on the TV, I feel like I have gone backwards in time by 20 to 30 years,” Cook told Williams. “It’s an area of intense interest. I can’t say more than that.”

Apple will eventually bring manufacturing for more product lines to the US and this may be just the type of thing American citizens want to see their US based corporations do more of.

Read more at Forbes.com

5 Stats That Demonstrate Just How "Mobile" The World Has Become

Not that it was ever a question, at least not in my private life, but there have been few questions about the reality of mobile computing and whether or not the concern is valid for support teams in enterprise IT departments.

 

In a report by respected venture capitalist Mary Meeker, she lays out several statistics about internet use. These are five of the most eye-opening stats that, in my mind, demonstrate just how upon us the mobile computing era actually is.

(Taken from Fobes.com)

1) Nearly half of all American kids want an iPad for Christmas. 

According to research by Nielson, 48% of American children aged between 6 and 12 want Apple‘s iPad for Christmas, making it the most wished-for gift among the next generation of trend setters. In second place comes the Nintendo Wii U, and another 36% want the iPad Mini, followed by the iPod Touch and iPhone in fourth and fifth place. Sure kids still want a fixed games console, but it’s telling that a large proportion of them prefer the mobility of small devices that they can interact with, and take anywhere.

2) Global mobile traffic now represents roughly 13% of Internet traffic.

Just three years ago, in 2009, that statistic was at a measly 1%. It edged up to 4% in 2010, and it hit 13% in November 2012, according to StatCounter Global Stats. The reason: more people are buying things through their mobile phones, using them in the store to validate coupons, or social networking, or using GPS-enabled apps. Shopping is the big driving force, though. On Black Friday 2012, the day after Thanksgiving that marks that frenzied start to the Christmas shopping season in the U.S., 24% of all online shopping took place on mobiles and tablet devices, up from 6% in 2010. In India, mobile Internet traffic has already surpassed desktop traffic as of May 2012.

3) Nearly a third of all American adults own a tablet or e-reader.

Figures from the Pew Research Center show that more than 29% of U.S. adults already own a tablet device, Meeker pointed out. And just as startling: that number is up from 2% less than three years ago.

4) There are 5 billion mobile phone users in the world, but only 1 billion smartphone users.

The mobile revolution may seem well underway, but globally it’s only getting started. The number smartphone users is growing by 42% a year, globally, according to research from Morgan Stanley, where Meeker previously worked as an analyst. Most remarkable again is India. It already has 44 million smartphone subscribers, making it the fifth biggest smartphone market, but this represents just 4% of total subscribers. There’s huge room to grow.

5) Android is growing faster than anything.

Apple’s fastest growing mobile device is the iPad, with sales having grown three times faster than the iPhone in the last few quarters. But that’s nothing when you look at the adoption of Google’s Android platform, which has grown 6 times faster than the iPhone. To date handset makers have shipped well over 600 million smartphones that run on the Android operating system, while Apple has shipped around 100 million iPhones in the last four years.

For Meeker’s full, 88-slide presentation, click here.

Would you buy a $60 tablet?

If it worked decently, I would.

And by 'decently' I mean, if I can do the core features I would demand from a 7" tablet and do them without frustrating me with lags, delays, crashes, and unresponsiveness, then I'm in.

This is quite an impressive spec list for any cheap device, let alone one with an approximate $60 price tag in India where it is being sold :

• 7 inch, 800 x 432 capacitive touchscreen
• Android 4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 1GHz Cortex A8 ARMv7 CPU
• 512MB RAM, 4GB storage
• Wi-Fi (a version with GPRS cellular capability is also available)
• VGA front-facing camera
• Micro SD slot
• Power, micro-USB, and headphone connectors

Check out the Ubislate Website for more info.

I really don't know if this is going to be made available in America, or what the price will be if it does come. It's doubfull that this thing will ever be considered even a competitor in the tablet market, especially here in the US, but I think if it's successful in any way it can demonstrate a couple things:

1. A functional electronics device can be built for a very affordable price.
2. The market is no longer as dependent on specific hardware/software combinations to get what they want.

New Windows 8 Keyboard Shortcuts

 

Personally, if I could avoid using my mouse altogether, I would. I use shortcuts for just about everything I can and I’m happy to share my list of shortcuts for the new Windows 8 operating system with you.

New Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 8

• Windows+first letters of app: Search your PC
• Ctrl+plus or Ctrl+minus: Zoom in or out
• Ctrl+scroll wheel: Zoom in or out
• Windows+C: Open the charms / Commands for Open App
• Windows+F: Open the Search charm to search files
• Windows+H: Open the Share charm
• Windows+I: Open the Settings charm
• Windows+J: Switch the main app and snapped app
• Windows+K: Open the Devices charm
• Windows+O: Lock the screen orientation (portrait or landscape)
• Windows+Q: Open the Search charm to search apps
• Windows+W: Open the Search charm to search settings
• Windows+Z: Show the commands available in the app
• Windows+spacebar: Switch input language and keyboard layout
• Windows+Ctrl+spacebar: Change to a previously selected input
• Windows+Tab: Cycle through open apps (except desktop apps)
• Windows+Ctrl+Tab: Cycle through open apps (except desktop apps) and snaps them as they are cycled
• Windows+Shift+Tab: Cycle through open apps (except desktop apps) in reverse order
• Windows+PgUp: Move the Start screen and apps to the monitor on the left (Apps in the desktop won’t change monitors)
• Windows+PgDown: Move the Start screen and apps to the monitor on the right (Apps in the desktop won’t change monitors)
• Windows+period: Snaps an app to the right
• Windows+Shift+period: Snaps an app to the left
• Esc: Stop or exit the current task

Frequently Used General Windows Shortcuts

• ALt+F4: Close open program or app
• Alt+Esc: Cycle through items by order of being opened
• Alt+Enter: Display Properties of a selected item
• Alt+Left Arrow: Back
• Alt+Right Arrow: Forward
• Alt+Tab: Switch Between Open Apps
• Ctrl+C: Copy
• Ctrl+X: Cut
• Ctrl+V: Paste
• Ctrl+Y: Redo
• Ctrl+Z: Undo
• Ctrl+Shift+Esc: Task Manager
• Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Vulcan Nerve Pinch
• PrintScr: Copy contents of desktop to clipboard as BMP image
• Windows+E: Open My Computer
• Windows+Up Arrow: Maximize Current Window
• Windows+Down Arrow: Minimize Current Window
• Windows+Left Arrow: Maximize Desktop program to left side of screen
• Windows+Right Arrow: Maximize Desktop program to right side of screen

Dell Releases New Windows 8 Products

Looks like Dell is ready to go for Windows 8. I just don’t know if it looks like these will be good or not. With Dell’s presence in the enterprise though, these might be just what IT organizations are looking for to pacify it’s “consumerized” group of employees.

First up, the XPS 12:

This interesting guy here weighs in at 3.35 lbs. It has two USB 3.0 slots, a MiniDisplay port, 3.5 mm headphone jack and dual speakers. The unique part about it is that the screen flips over, allowing the XPS 12 to turn into an oversized slate. The touchscreen is enticing, but the design is questionable. I can see worn out and broken hinges being a possible issue. Also, the reviewers at Engadget seem to think the trackpad is a little flaky for their liking and not as smooth as it could be when using it in the desktop environment.

They sum it up here:

“Though the XPS 12's size and weight make it a bit unwieldy as a substitute tablet, it's still a compelling option if you're in the market for a high-end, touch-enabled Ultrabook. The XPS 12 is almost as light as other Ultrabooks, with a premium industrial design, comfortable keyboard, gorgeous 1080p screen and a super-fast boot-up time. The biggest drawbacks seem to be the flaky trackpad and the relatively short battery life, which doesn't improve much when you dim that 400-nit display. We'll be curious to see how other touchscreen Ultrabooks fare, particularly those with similarly versatile designs. In the meantime, though, the XPS 12 represents a solid start for this new wave of Windows 8 shape-shifters.”

-Engadget.com

Dell is also releasing a wireless touchpad. I have never desired using a touchpad on a PC. On my MacBook Air, I actually prefer using the touchpad and purchased Apple’s Bluetooth touchpad to go with it. I’m not sure how successful, or even desirable this Dell offering will be.

And now introducing the Dell XPS 10 Windows 8 RT tablet.

The XPS 10 Windows 8 RT tablet is Dell’s RT offering. This is not the fully functional Windows 8 OS but a mobile tuned version limited to apps in the Windows Marketplace. This tablet, like most others becoming available, has a optional keyboard dock that turns it into a pseudo laptop of sorts. Dell’s Windows 8 RT goes on presale for $499 for a 32GB tablet. Without the optional keyboard, that drops down to $399.

Dell XPS 10 Tablet

51% of iPhone Accidents Happen Around the Home–Infographic

If you’ve ever fallen victim to a chipped corner, a scuffed up bezel, and the all-too-glorious shattered screen, then you might have also been in one of the situations below.

Here’s a breakdown of how iPhone damage happens at home according to the good folks over at extended-warranty provider Squaretrade.com.

Microsoft Releases Surface Tablet RT Pricing

Today Microsoft unveiled pricing for their new Surface Tablet RT. For those who don’t know, some Windows Surface tablets run a version of Windows 8 they are calling RT. This version is not the full version of Windows 8 that will be on PCs later this year and instead is, "an exciting new version of Microsoft Windows," that "works exclusively with apps available in the Windows Store." –Microsoft. For some reference, Apple's mobile OS, iOS , does not run standard OSX software and is only compatible with apps from Apple's App Store. Microsoft is now taking the same approach with Windows RT.

There are details on the Microsoft.com website and the Surface RT tablet starts at $499 for 32 gigs without a Touch Cover and $599 with a Black Touch Cover. This is right in line with iPad pricing. A surface tablet without the Touch Cover comes in even cheaper than Apple's 32 gig iPad which starts at $599. For Apple's price, consumers can get a 32 gig Surface RT with Microsoft's new Touch Cover included.

The announcement of Surface pricing marks the beginning of Microsoft officially being a player and signifies an important step into the mobility market.

Surface Tablet RT is releasing October 26th, 2012 and you can go check out the "Help me choose” page.

For those who like toys, visit the Pre-order page and pick one up!!

Watch YouTube TV!

YouTube has silently rolled out a new feature that can be accessed simply by going to YouTube.com/TV. This interface is intended to provide simple navigation for a big screen or TV. Using the keyboard to navigate up and down and shortcut keys like S for search and G for home, this interface is definitely slick looking, simple, and delivers just the content.

After going to youtube.com/tv users can also add a mobile device to serve as a remote. It feels more like a second screen to me, and this is where playlists, subscriptions, video info, and play queue creation takes place; leaving the big screen to display just the content. It is not limited to a TV and the interface can used on any display with access to YouTube.

First go to Login & Settings on Youtube.com/TV and choose the option to pair a device. A pairing code will be generated…

Then go to to Youtube.com/activate on the device and enter the code. Now you can select YouTube videos to watch on the “TV screen” that was just paired. There’s also a YouTube Remote app available for Android

The new Youtube.com/TV interface looks to replace YouTube.com/Leanback, a similar service/interface, while providing a more streamlined, minimalistic approach. From the looks of things, YouTube may be trying to convert the Leanback service to the TV service. Either way, this is a great way to watch YouTube.

Marissa Mayer Arming All Yahoo Employees iPhone 5’s

New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer might be anxious to get Yahoo turned around and revive the reputation, image, and value of the internet powerhouse but it this irresponsible and superficial or just plain super-cool? Mayer sent an email to all of Yahoo’s full time and part time employees in the US and said they would receive new smartphones under their internal program, “Yahoo! Smart Phones, Smart Fun!”.

Through the program, employees will have a choice of phones (along with data and voice plans) that includes the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, HTC Evo 4G LTE, or Nokia Lumia 920. Notice anyone missing from the list? It’s just not going to get better for Blackberry is it….

According to a Yahoo memo, the idea is for Yahoo employees to use similar devices to what their users have so they can think and work like a majority of their users do. “People are happy,” Yahoo says. The program will cost Yahoo a few million dollars, but if the benefit will be a more informed and motivated workforce then Yahoo is on the right track to turn-around.

Read the article from businessinsider here: http://www.businessinsider.com/marissa-mayer-just-gave-every-yahoo-employee-an-iphone-5-2012-9#ixzz26w6RQjcZ

Experts say iPhone matches Blackberry in enterprise security

Certainly not what RIM executives want to see, and just another moment in the ongoing Blackberry decline. According to a report from Tech Republic by Nick Heath, “IT leaders and industry experts believe that Apple now roughly matches RIM on mobile security, removing BlackBerry’s last remaining advantage over the iPhone in enterprise.”

As I wrote about last October, one of the biggest reasons (aside from the physical keyboard) people allow themselves to suffer with miniture screen sizes and a sore lack of functionality via apps is the security a Blackberry environment can provide. Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) has always provided superior management, tracking, policy enforcement, and central management for a fleet of Blackberry devices. Now through many efforts of companies like Afaria, MobileIron, and Maas360 the Mobile Device Management (MDM) options for organizations allow for fleets of iOS, Android, and other devices to be managed just the same as a BES can – and without the hefty price tag RIM charges.

IT directors are seeing that there are no longer any reasons to limit employees to a Blackberry. Organizations ranging in fields from accounting shops with 2,500 employees to government agencies with over 12,000 employees are simply ditching Blackberry for something better and just as manageable.

With the iPhone 5 coming out this week, iPhone 4S is dropping to $99 and iPhone 4 can be found for free on some carriers. So now even the price of a device is on par, even better, than Blackberry.

A RIM spokesperson said the company was “unable to provide a comment” (unable or unwilling?) Oh well…at least RIM showed off…ERRRR, leaked the new Blackberry 10 recently…

Introducing iPhone 5

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/iphone-5-officially-announced/

• Thinner, longer, and 4” screen
• A6 processor
• iOS6
• Better camera (including panoramic mode)
• LTE 4G
• Turn by turn navigation
• 720p front facing camera
• Lightning port (new USB connector)
• Starting at $199 for 16 Gig

 

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4s

iPhone 4 for free and iPhone 4s for $99

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-discounts-iphone-4s-$99/

The PC is dying while people fall in love with their tablets!

This infographic comes from ComScore as part of a great report on tablet usage and user satisfaction. Some interesting facts:

• Apps, price, and brand are most important in consumer decisions; not whether or not it is the same vendor as their phone/computer.
• iPad owners and Kindle Fire owners differ in one major way: iPad owners care more about the app selection and Fire owners care more about the price. (surprise?)
• Satisfaction of owners ranks 8.6 out of 10 compared to 8.1 of 10 for smartphones

Check the infographic for a nice summary.

ComScore infographic: Today's U.S. Tablet Owner Revealed.

(Credit: ComScore)

 

Meanwhile, an article by CNN Fortune says the PC is not just losing a battle to Apple; it dying completely. Slowly but surely. Whether it is from lack of innovation, the economy, or the tablet, one thing is sure – PC sales are down.

Market research firm IDC reported that sales were down last quarter 0.1%. Doesn’t seem like much until realizing just how far below the anticipated 2.1% growth that number actually is.

Could the PC make a comeback? With Windows 8 set to ship in October we may see a surge of PC sales, but Microsoft is marketing Surface tablets more than conventional PCs or even ultrabooks like the MacBook Air competitor, Dell XPS13. Is this an indication that even the PC company Microsoft is set to move in a different direction? I don’t believe we will be rid of PCs any time in the next few years, but with sales slowing like this and all signs pointing to more mobile, light-weight computing devices, the days of a huge tower sitting under your desk may be gone.

Check out the whole story here: SOURCE CNN Fortune

Five Secrets Of Companies That Build Great Teams

From an article featured on Techcrunch back in the middle of June, here are five secrets that companies use to build great teams.

1. Aggressively seek out passive candidates.

“…they (talent war winners) know that they have to go find top talent, not the other way around.”

2. Obsess about the “top of the funnel”.

“…recruiting is a numbers game and the most important number just might be the number of qualified people at the start of their pipeline.”

3. Give candidates a strong reason to engage with the company.

“The company’s jobs page is an obvious one but these companies also pay attention to the overall candidate experience.”

4. Obsessed with metrics.

“They track everything…and use the metrics to continually improve their processes and better allocate resources.”

5. Make recruiting their top priority

“They invest in the right tools and make sure their teams are fully staffed for the challenge in front of them. Recruiting high-quality candidates is not a “nice to have” for them. It’s an absolute must have.”

Check out the full article at Techcrunch

Apple Removes YouTube App From iOS

The YouTube app on iOS has been one of the native apps since the iPhone first came out. That is no more. Starting with iOS6 Beta 4, YouTube is not included on the device.

According to Apple’s official statement, “our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.”

The YouTube app was created and kept up (or not kept up) by Apple, not Google. Users can still go to YouTube.com to watch videos and I have no doubt that the Google app will be far better than Apple’s version. This could turn out to be a good thing for iOS users who don’t have to live with a sub-par YouTube app that never gets updated and is outshined by the web version of YouTube.

Depending on what you believe, this could be more of Apple’s crusade to eliminate Google from the picture. Or it could be Google wanting to monetize their YouTube videos, which they can’t do through an app built by Apple. Either way, the iPhone seems to be just one step away from becoming an entirely Google free phone by default.

What Happens When Your Products Just Work?

You don’t have to spend money on marketing and promotion. None.

According to marketing chief Phil Schiller’s testimony on Friday in the Apple vs. Samsung patent trial, Apple relies on two strategies:

• Rely on the media to create buzz for its products through positive reviews
• Product placement in TV shows and movies

When the iPhone was launched in 2007, the company didn’t do any advertising for a period of time. They didn’t have to.

Mass media reports, reviews, and pop culture buzz alone was enough to lift the iPhone to the forefront of public mindshare around mobile device technology. This should come as no surprise, but I find it fascinating that this strategy was successful before anyone even knew how much this phone would change the world.

Read more at Business Insider

Apple Considered Creating An iCar?

Loads of crazy stuff coming out of the Samsung vs. Apple trial. Basically Apple says Samsung has ripped off their designs and the court proceedings are to either prove that or to show that Samsung products are not, in fact, Apple clones.

One of the more interesting pieces of information was revealed by Phil Schiller on the stand. According to Nick Bilton’s tweet, Schiller said Apple was having discussions around making a camera or a car – quote, “crazy stuff.”

What would an iCar look like? Maybe a car will fully integrated electronic links between computers, iPods, and radio? Something similar to Sync technology?

-Designer, Franco Grassi, Concept Design

Interesting to think about…and probably a better business strategy to get into iPhones instead.

Hood ornament image borrowed from: DVICE.com

Goodbye Hotmail…

Yesterday Microsoft announced the end of Hotmail.com. Over the next few months, they will be rolling out the new and improved Outlook.com.

Hotmail users can already start using the new service at Outlook.com. It features social networking tie-ins and you can see friend’s status updates and tweets right from an email from the same person. The interface is very “Metro-like” and is right in line with using new Windows 8 and Office 13’s UI elements.

From Microsoft’s blog:

Webmail was first introduced with HoTMaiL in 1996. Back then, it was novel to have a personal email address you could keep for life - one that was totally independent from your business or internet service provider. Eight years later, Google introduced Gmail, which included 1 GB of storage and inbox search. And while Gmail and other webmail services like Hotmail have added some features since then, not much has fundamentally changed in webmail over the last 8 years - though yesterday's frustrations about the small size of inboxes are now things of the past. At the same time, email is becoming less and less useful as inboxes become cluttered with newslettersand social updates, and people increasingly keep up their personal connections in social networks instead of their email address books. All of this has led many to hope for a better solution so you don't have to settle for today's webmail.

With the social connection features, sure to be expanded to services like LinkedIn or possibly Google, this new Outlook.com is more focused on being social. Skype functionality will be built in and is coming in the next few months as well. This may just be enough to get me back and away from Gmail…

Read more at Microsoft’s Blog site.

App Development Is King

As a daily user of both iOS and Android, I can say that I like both platforms. I can make all my devices work the way I want them to within the confines of each universe. That being said, there is a definite difference between the two and they are simply not the same.

Without unique apps or configurations, both universes are completely capable of doing most, if not all, of the same things. It is when digging in to 3rd party developed apps where the true power of any mobile platform is discovered…and everything I see indicates that iOS owns this area. It is simply a more desired platform to develop for and thus a better experience on almost all multi-platform apps. Just look no further than Google themselves, their Google+ app for iPhone is far more elegant than the same app on Android. The Google+ tablet version doesn’t even exist on Android, yet it is gorgeous on the iPad.

And now I believe more than ever that Android fanboys and iOS haters who say Android is 'better' probably don’t really use their mobile device to its full potential. Either that or they simply don’t understand or care how important app development is for a platform. In an article for Techcrunch, Alex Williams points out how 53%, more than half, of developers surveyed would like to develop for iOS compared to only 38% of developers with desire to create on Android – down from 44% just last year.

It is easy enough to call a platform second rate when the rival's consumer app development is eons above; but it becomes even worse for second-rate platforms when developers are making a push for the possibly ‘more valuable’ enterprise space. Seemingly even worse for Android when Windows, a platform that no one cared about last year, now has 33% of devs wanting to produce for it

Read the full story over at Techcrunch.

Office 2013 on Display

Microsoft unveiled Office 2013 yesterday. Looks like they’re building it to match with the new Metro appearance of Windows 8 and there is a heavy

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/07/first-look-at-microsoft-office-2013-and-office-365-going-to-the-cloud/all/

Notable features:

· Cloud integration with Skydrive, Office 365, and possibly others.

· Touch interface

· Embed videos to Word docs

· Apps in Office (i.e. Bing maps in Outlook, Facebook in Power Point)

· Skype built-in?

Font-Bomb Webpages!!

Here’s a cool little Java plugin for your browser that allows you to plant bombs in places on a website and experience the joy when a bomb explodes, rendering the text unreadable and leaving a “hole” in the page. Pretty fun way to waste time.

fontBomb - Stylishly destroy the web from Philippe-Antoine Lehoux on Vimeo.

HP's Windows 8 Business Tablet Details Leaked

HP looks like they are going to learn from mistakes and improve some things in the process. Some of the details on their Windows 8 tablet have leaked and this might just show some promise. They bombed on the HP Touchpad but if nothing else, they learned what 'not' to do in the world of tablet computing. I have always been a fan of WebOS and still think its a truly multitask-focused platform beyond how either iOS or Android handles it. The developer support just wasn't there for WebOS and Apple did, and continues to do, an incredible job luring and keeping devs developing on iOS. Developer support for Windows though? Different ball game than iOS. 

If Microsoft gets Windows 8 right and the experience on a touch interface is practical and fun to use, then potentially all HP has to provide is good hardware and some marketing. If an HP slate was able to come into an enterprise Windows environment and be completely at home and immediately compatible, all while offering a user experience on par with iOS on an iPad, then there's a huge opportunity. The company I believe that has the best chance of denting the Apple machine is Microsoft - especially in the enterprise because of their presence in enterprise infrastructures globally. 

HP's tablet will be geared towards business use, so chances of it having an ARM processor is probably slim because of the potential limitations on running legacy Windows apps. Here's an early look at what HP might have planned for later this year.

HP's Windows 8 Business Tablet Details Leaked - Everything Microsoft | Leading Unofficial Microsoft Site
http://www.everything-microsoft.com/2012/05/06/hps-windows-8-business-tablet-details-leaked/

DJ Magic JMAC

Taken at Casa De Tru

Posted via email from planetjmac's posterous

MACNET Yard Sale

Taken at Casa De Tru

Posted via email from planetjmac's posterous

Read-It-Later Becomes “Pocket”

And what used to be the premium version of Read-It-Later is now free!

One of my most used services throughout my travels on the internet is Read-It-Later. Simply put, it allows you to save stories from any internet page for easy access later via the Read-It-Later website or the apps available on iOS and Android.

It’s an excellent way to mark stories to read when there’s more time available. Even better is the ability to download stories offline to a mobile device for easy reading when there’s no data connection.

As of today, Read-It-Later is now “Pocket”. Head on over to their site at GetPocket.com to register for an account if you don’t already have one, and then head out to your favorite mobile app marketplace and download the app for your devices.

 

Pinterest now the third most popular social network behind Facebook and Twitter

Described by some as digital hoarding, the virtual pinboard known as Pinterest is picking up steam. Fast!

Experian’s “2012 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report” says that social networking is at new highs, with 91% of adults using social media regularly. The Experian report says that Pinterest’s traffic surged 50% between February and January of this year. That type of growth by itself is just stunning. Consider the fact that it has already overtaken existing sites like Tumblr, Google+, and LinkedIn for visits in February, and it looks like Pinterest is quite the network.

Pinterest attracted 17.8 million unique visitors from the U.S. alone with users spending an average of 89 minutes per month on site. The site still has a long way to go to compare to Facebook whose users spend about 405 minutes per month on site.

Checkout my boards here: http://pinterest.com/jmac303/

Walmart offers in-store disc to digital UltraViolet conversion

Rip your DVDs to digital format and host them in the cloud!

Walmart just held a press event that included almost every big studio executive and announced an exclusive in-store disc to digital conversion service. The service will be available in more than 3,500 stores starting April 16^th. Customers can bring in their DVDs or Blu-Ray discs in and have them converted to digital format and hosted in the cloud via online movie streaming provider Vudu.

Ripping a single DVD will cost $2 and for $5 the digital copy can be done in an upgraded HD format. This is a step closer to the movie industry’s vision of UltraViolet (UV) movies and the service will also allow people to purchase movies and play them on any UV capable device. Head on over to Engadget to check out the full press release.

Source: Engadget

Turntable.fm going major!

Turntable.fm inks deals with major music labels, promises 'no traditional advertising'

You might not know about Turntable.fm yet. With all the other music streaming services out there, it’s not hard to imagine why Turntable.fm isn’t quite the household name.

The basic idea is that users get together in a room and listen to music from other users “dj-ing” in the same room. Social networking meets chat room meets Pandora and it’s all free. They launched an iPhone app last September and is taking another step into the big leagues.

Billboard reports Turntable.fm has officially signed a licensing deal with four major music labels. Turntable co-founder says that they want to focus on improving the user experience and assures users they will not use “traditional advertising.” Surely the idea is to drive music purchases and subscription, right? Details are not clear yet, but you can head over to Engadget to read their full write-up.

Source: Engadget

iTunes Match

I got myself signed up for iTunes Match this weekend. The basic idea; store all your iTunes music in the cloud and have access to your entire library from virtually anywhere on your iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad. All this for $29.99 a year! Upon signing up, the service scans your entire iTunes library – regardless of the source – and matches music to high-quality copies from the iTunes store. The songs that can’t be matched are then uploaded to iCloud and are limited to 25,000 songs. Bear in mind, if you have over 25,000 tracks in your library, the limit only applies to tracks that could not be matched.

One of the features that made it so desirable for me was the ability to replace low-quality copies of songs with high-quality copies offered by iTunes. I tried it with a few tracks already.

The easiest way to check for low quality copies:
1. Make a smart playlist and match Bit Rate is less than 256
2. Make the iCloud status is Matched

After making the playlist, I deleted a song, making sure not to check the box to "also delete from iCloud".

The song stays listed in iTunes, but has a cloud logo next to it where you can download it from iTunes in full 256 Kbps glory.

Problem is, I have a ton of albums for whatever reason or another matched only most of the album and left 3-8 tracks that had to be uploaded. In the example here, you can see tracks that didn’t match even though they’re from the same album:

On those tracks that were uploaded, deleting it and re-downloading from iTunes just gives you the same quality MP3. Also, some songs are ineligible and will not match or upload because they were under 56 Kbps or something. With those, users can right-click and “convert to MP3” and they may then upload or match...well, the ones I tried did.

Another hitch I had. I activated iTunes Match on my iPod Touch before my PC was done being analyzing my library and uploading songs. As a result, when I turned on iTunes Match, the iPod thought I had nothing in my Match library so my iPod was stripped of about 22 gigs of local files. This left me with my entire library showing up on the iPod, but I had to download any songs I wanted. (You can also just select them to stream/listen to them and I think it downloads as well)

All the songs showed an iCloud logo next to them that could be tapped to download. You can also download all tracks from an artist, an entire album, and an entire playlist, it's pretty cool. At first I didn't think it would be a big deal that my iPod was wiped, I just made sure to download some essential playlists and albums I thought I would need. Grabbed about 5 gigs in maybe an hour or so.

Well...wouldn't you know it, as soon as I was out and about I wanted to listen to a song I hadn't downloaded to my iPod yet. With no Wifi I couldn't stream it or download it. Sucked, but wouldn't be a problem with an iPhone since there's no dependency on Wifi.

Next problem, Watch The Throne would not download completely. There were three tracks that just would not complete. No matter what I did, the same three tracks would download to about 90% and stay there. I disabled iTunes match, re-enabled it, no luck. Disabled iTunes Match, copied the files locally to my iPod, turned back on iTunes Match...same deal, those three tracks were removed and would not download from iTunes.

After a lot of troubleshooting on my own I was able to figure out a couple things. 1. the original digital files I had were “owned by” two different iTunes accounts, the three tracks that wouldn't download were from a different account than the rest. I just deleted the whole album from my PC and from iCloud, re-ripped the album, and re-matched with iTunes. Downloading worked fine then.

Moving on to my iPad, when I turned iTunes Match on my iPad I was expecting the same thing to happen (all music deleted). I actually wanted all the music deleted on my iPad. Low and behold - that didn't happen. I'm assuming that once I let iTunes complete the matching/uploading process it built my iCloud library. Turning on iTunes Match on the iPad at that point left all the local files intact because they were listed in my iCloud library, and only added the rest of songs in the cloud with options to download them.

Knowing my iCloud library was all good to go, I couldn't understand though why when I removed iTunes Match from my iPod, added 22 gigs of music, turned iTunes Match back on, it still deleted my local files, unlike what happened on my iPad. Even if I turned off iTunes Match, all my songs still had the cloud logo and allowed/forced me to download them in order to listen.

I looked in Settings > Store and tapped on my account to "View Account". There was an option to "delete this device from iCloud" so I picked it. After that, my songs still showed the cloud icon (??). I ended up wiping it completely and starting over from scratch. Added 22 gigs of music, turned on iTunes Match, and now my iPod is perfect. I set it up on my youngest son's iPod Touch and got the same successful results. It left his local files intact aand gave him access to the entire library.

Footnotes: If you want to keep the local music files on your device, do not activate iTunes Match on your device until the entire iTunes library has been analyzed and uploaded. Your library will be wiped out and replaced with an iTunes Match library specific to that device.