Hello everyone and TGIF! It is Friday which means it is time for another edition of Googling Friday! Let’s see what is going on this week in GoogleLand.
Android 3.0 Honeycomb off Limits to Phone Developers
Google has closed Android 3.0 Honeycomb to phone developers which of course means no phone tablets on Android anytime soon. Kind of makes sense to me, but I can see where some developers might accuse Google of pulling an Apple.
Google Search supporting Cherokee language
Google really pleased my heart with this move. For those that don’t know, I am 1/8 Cherokee and the Cherokee Nation holds a special place in my heart. Google scored big points with me here.
Google Fiber coming to Kansas City, Kansas
Google has named Kansas City, KS, to be the first city to get its high speed fiber network. I will let Google take it from here.
Pretty cool stuff, obviously KCKS will be a test market, we have seen before where whole cities were going to get WiFi networks, see Earthlink and several cities like San Francisco and Anaheim that were going to get it but it never materialized.
Google intros +1
Seeking to keep up with Facebook’s Like feature on stories and websites, Google has announced a new feature called +1. To give an idea of how it will work, once again here is Google.
Well, with that, we conclude another week of Google news. See you next week for more news from the big G. Have a great weekend!
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Friday, April 1, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Googling Friday #26
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday, a blog about all things in the world of Google. Got quite a few things to dig into so let’s get right into things.
Google brings Discussions to Docs
Google has really enhanced their group collaboration with Google Docs. They have added mentions and thread view. Quite obvious they took what was part of the late Google Wave and put it into Google Docs. To illustrate they have posted a video.
Pretty cool stuff I would say. They are also working to restore offline storage for the Apps users as well.
Steve Jobs Google’s first choice as CEO
About 10 years ago as Google was getting started, its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were in search of a CEO to give it some serious street cred and apparently their first choice was Steve Jobs. But Steve had just recently returned to Apple so they settled for Eric Schmidt...not a bad second choice really.
Sprint integrates Google Voice
Google and Sprint announced this week that you can now use your existing Sprint phone as your Google Voice number. Also if you have an existing Google Voice number you can setup your Sprint phone’s caller ID to show your Google Voice number when you call someone.
Latitude gets Check-ins: Review
Google has updated its Latitude mobile app to offer check-in similar to FourSquare and Facebook Places. I have used it and it does have a comprehensive listing of places nearby no doubt relying on its robust business search database whereas FourSquare is more of a user adds locations. Unlike FourSquare and Places though, it does not offer any deals at places you check into, nor do you get to become mayor or score points the more you check in like in FourSquare.
How to Advertise your Android Phone (or not)
Finally today, Sony Ericsson has a new Android-based phone called the Xperia Play. With so many different Android phones out on the market, how does one set theirs apart? Well leave it to Sony Ericsson to think outside the box with this ad.
Hope you enjoyed that little video as much as I did. See you all next week for another week of Google news.
Google brings Discussions to Docs
Google has really enhanced their group collaboration with Google Docs. They have added mentions and thread view. Quite obvious they took what was part of the late Google Wave and put it into Google Docs. To illustrate they have posted a video.
Pretty cool stuff I would say. They are also working to restore offline storage for the Apps users as well.
Steve Jobs Google’s first choice as CEO
About 10 years ago as Google was getting started, its founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were in search of a CEO to give it some serious street cred and apparently their first choice was Steve Jobs. But Steve had just recently returned to Apple so they settled for Eric Schmidt...not a bad second choice really.
Sprint integrates Google Voice
Google and Sprint announced this week that you can now use your existing Sprint phone as your Google Voice number. Also if you have an existing Google Voice number you can setup your Sprint phone’s caller ID to show your Google Voice number when you call someone.
Latitude gets Check-ins: Review
Google has updated its Latitude mobile app to offer check-in similar to FourSquare and Facebook Places. I have used it and it does have a comprehensive listing of places nearby no doubt relying on its robust business search database whereas FourSquare is more of a user adds locations. Unlike FourSquare and Places though, it does not offer any deals at places you check into, nor do you get to become mayor or score points the more you check in like in FourSquare.
How to Advertise your Android Phone (or not)
Finally today, Sony Ericsson has a new Android-based phone called the Xperia Play. With so many different Android phones out on the market, how does one set theirs apart? Well leave it to Sony Ericsson to think outside the box with this ad.
Hope you enjoyed that little video as much as I did. See you all next week for another week of Google news.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Googling Friday #24
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. Let’s see what is going on this week in the world of Google.
Gizmo5 shutting down April 3rd
Gizmo5 the popular VoIP service which was bought by Google and later transformed into Google Voice, will cease operations on April 3rd. Customers in the US can have credits for their service transferred to Google Voice.
Google to Fortify Android Market
In light of last week’s malware issue on over 50 apps. Although not mentioning specifically just what that means, they did say they would build safeguards to prevent further instances of it happening again.
Google Allowing Users to Block Sites in Search Results
Google has yet another feature, in addition to bringing instant preview to mobile devices, it now gives the user the option to block certain sites from search results. So if you don’t like a certain site being shown in search results, block away! Uh, MSNBC, HuffPost, and Daily Kos...guess what!
Gmail and Smart Labels
So do you get a mass email from a newsletter that you just don’t need to taking up your inbox space? Well, Gmail has a new feature called Smart Labels to move them somewhere else besides your Inbox. It is in the Labs section of your Gmail settings if you want to play around with it.
Well, this week I don’t have a Google product review for you. But if you know of something I haven’t reviewed yet, let me know and I will take a look at it. Until then, see you all next week!
Gizmo5 shutting down April 3rd
Gizmo5 the popular VoIP service which was bought by Google and later transformed into Google Voice, will cease operations on April 3rd. Customers in the US can have credits for their service transferred to Google Voice.
Google to Fortify Android Market
In light of last week’s malware issue on over 50 apps. Although not mentioning specifically just what that means, they did say they would build safeguards to prevent further instances of it happening again.
Google Allowing Users to Block Sites in Search Results
Google has yet another feature, in addition to bringing instant preview to mobile devices, it now gives the user the option to block certain sites from search results. So if you don’t like a certain site being shown in search results, block away! Uh, MSNBC, HuffPost, and Daily Kos...guess what!
Gmail and Smart Labels
So do you get a mass email from a newsletter that you just don’t need to taking up your inbox space? Well, Gmail has a new feature called Smart Labels to move them somewhere else besides your Inbox. It is in the Labs section of your Gmail settings if you want to play around with it.
Well, this week I don’t have a Google product review for you. But if you know of something I haven’t reviewed yet, let me know and I will take a look at it. Until then, see you all next week!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Googling Friday #23
Hey gang and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday, a weekly blog about all things Google and Android related. We have a few interesting things to get into this week so let’s get right into the news.
Did Gmail eat your Mail?
This week a small percentage, about 0.02% of users found their email in Gmail was GONE! Just into thin air vanished! Luckily Google has been working hard on it and has now fully restored all email accounts effected. Still this may give some people some pause when it comes to cloud based email. About once every month I open up my Apple Mail application so I have everything in mail backed up locally.
Google pulls an App from Android Market over In-App Payment Policy
So for all the people that think Google is the good guy vs Apple when it comes to being friendly to apps, I would point you to this incident where Google pulled the Visual VoiceMail app after it collected payments after a free trial through its website and not through the app directly. Now personally I don’t have a problem with Google doing this, all the developer has to do is resubmit it with the option to purchase within the app. It is just a lot more easy for the customer than going to the developer’s website and buying it there. But for those that like to nit pick Apple for doing it, I’m just pointing out that Google is not without sin either.
Several dozen malware apps pulled from Android Market
So maybe Apple does have the right model for an App Store after all, to Google’s credit they pulled the apps pretty quick. One thing Apple has always stressed is virus free environments from its Macintosh computers to its iOS devices. Obviously Apple has a gate keeper for any app submitted to their store and one of the things that will get an app rejected is malware. Just something for Android to think about.
DoubleTwist Review
So you have all your media content run through iTunes but you have an Android based phone. How do you get your iTunes stuff into your new phone? Well, there are a number of ways, but one software developer has made it a lot easier to get that done. With this application it is easy to move your music, videos, and photos to your Android device. Also it has a built in Android Market so you can look at apps for the Android like you can via iTunes for iPhone apps. Install the doubleTwist app on your Android device and you can WiFi sync your files to it without connecting wires to your computer. DoubleTwist runs on both Mac and PC and is free so check it out if this describes you.
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Googling Friday. See you all next week for more news from Google!
Did Gmail eat your Mail?
This week a small percentage, about 0.02% of users found their email in Gmail was GONE! Just into thin air vanished! Luckily Google has been working hard on it and has now fully restored all email accounts effected. Still this may give some people some pause when it comes to cloud based email. About once every month I open up my Apple Mail application so I have everything in mail backed up locally.
Google pulls an App from Android Market over In-App Payment Policy
So for all the people that think Google is the good guy vs Apple when it comes to being friendly to apps, I would point you to this incident where Google pulled the Visual VoiceMail app after it collected payments after a free trial through its website and not through the app directly. Now personally I don’t have a problem with Google doing this, all the developer has to do is resubmit it with the option to purchase within the app. It is just a lot more easy for the customer than going to the developer’s website and buying it there. But for those that like to nit pick Apple for doing it, I’m just pointing out that Google is not without sin either.
Several dozen malware apps pulled from Android Market
So maybe Apple does have the right model for an App Store after all, to Google’s credit they pulled the apps pretty quick. One thing Apple has always stressed is virus free environments from its Macintosh computers to its iOS devices. Obviously Apple has a gate keeper for any app submitted to their store and one of the things that will get an app rejected is malware. Just something for Android to think about.
DoubleTwist Review
So you have all your media content run through iTunes but you have an Android based phone. How do you get your iTunes stuff into your new phone? Well, there are a number of ways, but one software developer has made it a lot easier to get that done. With this application it is easy to move your music, videos, and photos to your Android device. Also it has a built in Android Market so you can look at apps for the Android like you can via iTunes for iPhone apps. Install the doubleTwist app on your Android device and you can WiFi sync your files to it without connecting wires to your computer. DoubleTwist runs on both Mac and PC and is free so check it out if this describes you.
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Googling Friday. See you all next week for more news from Google!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday Tech Talk #81
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. Let’s see what is going on this week.
AT&T CEO: App Stores are Bad
So according to the AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, app stores like the iTunes App Store and Android Marketplace are bad because they are platform specific. Uh Ok, well if that were the case then why have 10 billion apps been downloaded just on the iOS platform? What is his solution? Web-based apps, you know like the first gen. iPhone had. Remember how boring those were? I sure do. Mr. Stephenson is completely out of touch with the reality of what the customer wants.
Apple vs Google vs Amazon on Subscription Plan
AppleInsider has a rather in-depth article on the subscription plans offered by Apple, Google, and Amazon Kindle. It is worth the read if one has quite the time to read as it is about 3 pages of reading. Here is a quick breakdown chart found in the article though.
Motorola Atrix 4G Rooted already
The thing is not even out yet and someone has already managed to root it. I have to admit, this is a nice looking phone and might be the first Android device to make me want to cheat on my iPhone...why do I feel so dirty all of the sudden?
Well, that is all I have this week. Kind of a slow week for general technology. Come back later this week for AppleTalk Thursday where I will have some choice words for Apple and their new subscription policy. See you next week for another Tuesday Tech Talk.
AT&T CEO: App Stores are Bad
So according to the AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, app stores like the iTunes App Store and Android Marketplace are bad because they are platform specific. Uh Ok, well if that were the case then why have 10 billion apps been downloaded just on the iOS platform? What is his solution? Web-based apps, you know like the first gen. iPhone had. Remember how boring those were? I sure do. Mr. Stephenson is completely out of touch with the reality of what the customer wants.
Apple vs Google vs Amazon on Subscription Plan
AppleInsider has a rather in-depth article on the subscription plans offered by Apple, Google, and Amazon Kindle. It is worth the read if one has quite the time to read as it is about 3 pages of reading. Here is a quick breakdown chart found in the article though.
Motorola Atrix 4G Rooted already
The thing is not even out yet and someone has already managed to root it. I have to admit, this is a nice looking phone and might be the first Android device to make me want to cheat on my iPhone...why do I feel so dirty all of the sudden?
Well, that is all I have this week. Kind of a slow week for general technology. Come back later this week for AppleTalk Thursday where I will have some choice words for Apple and their new subscription policy. See you next week for another Tuesday Tech Talk.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Googling Friday #21
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. I don’t have much this week so this will be a quick edition, but I hope you will still find it informative.
Google announces One Pass payment system
In the light of Apple’s new in-app subscription plan, Google announced its own digital content payment plan. They will take 10% off the top compared to Apple’s 30% from developers as it presents developers not happy with Apple’s strict guidelines on in-app subscription policy, an alternative. But one more key thing, content providers can obtain users data with One Pass, something Apple does not allow.
Switching to Google Calendar, a How-to
Last year I made the jump to using Google’s Calendar for my personal organization. I have been very please with it and a highly recommend this free service. MacWorld has a step-by-step process on how to get setup with Google Calendar, it is well worth the read for Mac and iOS device users.
Well, that is it this week. Kind of a slow news week in GoogleLand, but see you all next week for more news from Google.
Google announces One Pass payment system
In the light of Apple’s new in-app subscription plan, Google announced its own digital content payment plan. They will take 10% off the top compared to Apple’s 30% from developers as it presents developers not happy with Apple’s strict guidelines on in-app subscription policy, an alternative. But one more key thing, content providers can obtain users data with One Pass, something Apple does not allow.
Switching to Google Calendar, a How-to
Last year I made the jump to using Google’s Calendar for my personal organization. I have been very please with it and a highly recommend this free service. MacWorld has a step-by-step process on how to get setup with Google Calendar, it is well worth the read for Mac and iOS device users.
Well, that is it this week. Kind of a slow news week in GoogleLand, but see you all next week for more news from Google.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Googling Friday #19
Howdy folks and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday! This is a blog for all things Google news related. Let’s see what is happening in their world this week!
Google brings mobile number porting to Google Voice
Google is now allowing you to port your mobile phone number to Google Voice. But it will cost $20 and may cost you an early termination fee with your cell phone carrier as it is the same as moving your cell phone number from say AT&T to Verizon for example. One user has stated it has been a nightmare for him with regards to his wireless carrier.
Google removes Flash-based app from Android Market
What? I thought only the “big bad Apple” did this? But apparently this is what Google did to an app called Kongregate which is based on a popular website featuring Adobe Flash based games. It was in the Android Market for less than 24 hours before being pulled by Google citing a violation of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement. Hmm, that sounds familiar, I guess Google can’t claim the moral high ground with regard to Apple on being an open marketplace after all.
Google unhappy with slow Android app sales
Despite healthy sales of Android devices, that has not resulted in app sales within the Android Market as opposed to the highly successful iTunes App Store for Apple’s iOS devices. Google is working on a plan to help that along.
Google brings cloud-based printing to iOS devices...sort of
Google announced this week that iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users can now print to the cloud...providing they have a Windows-based computer...WHAT!...TechFAIL! Google does say they are working on Mac and Linux-based printing that will be “available soon”. Hey Google, how about when you announce something like this you have it ready for ALL clients? This is not 1999 for crying out loud!
Need a job? Google is hiring
Google announced on Wednesday that it is hiring for many positions not just at its Mountain View, CA HQ but also worldwide. So if you have a college degree particular in Computer Information Systems, then you might be in luck. For us folks that learn as we go without having that nice piece of paper from a university, no need to apply apparently...bigots!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. I apologize if I was a bit harsh on Google this week, but I do offer my opinion on these matters. No Google product review this week, but I will have one for you all next week. See you then!
Google brings mobile number porting to Google Voice
Google is now allowing you to port your mobile phone number to Google Voice. But it will cost $20 and may cost you an early termination fee with your cell phone carrier as it is the same as moving your cell phone number from say AT&T to Verizon for example. One user has stated it has been a nightmare for him with regards to his wireless carrier.
Google removes Flash-based app from Android Market
What? I thought only the “big bad Apple” did this? But apparently this is what Google did to an app called Kongregate which is based on a popular website featuring Adobe Flash based games. It was in the Android Market for less than 24 hours before being pulled by Google citing a violation of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement. Hmm, that sounds familiar, I guess Google can’t claim the moral high ground with regard to Apple on being an open marketplace after all.
Google unhappy with slow Android app sales
Despite healthy sales of Android devices, that has not resulted in app sales within the Android Market as opposed to the highly successful iTunes App Store for Apple’s iOS devices. Google is working on a plan to help that along.
Google brings cloud-based printing to iOS devices...sort of
Google announced this week that iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users can now print to the cloud...providing they have a Windows-based computer...WHAT!...TechFAIL! Google does say they are working on Mac and Linux-based printing that will be “available soon”. Hey Google, how about when you announce something like this you have it ready for ALL clients? This is not 1999 for crying out loud!
Need a job? Google is hiring
Google announced on Wednesday that it is hiring for many positions not just at its Mountain View, CA HQ but also worldwide. So if you have a college degree particular in Computer Information Systems, then you might be in luck. For us folks that learn as we go without having that nice piece of paper from a university, no need to apply apparently...bigots!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. I apologize if I was a bit harsh on Google this week, but I do offer my opinion on these matters. No Google product review this week, but I will have one for you all next week. See you then!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday Tech Talk #78
Greetings everybody and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. Lot of big stuff broke last week in tech news after Tuesday such as Eric Schmidt stepping down as the CEO of Google which I covered in Googling Friday. Let’s see what is happening this week.
Verizon appeals Net Neutrality FCC ruling
Verizon is challenging the FCC new Net Neutrality ruling, keep in mind this is the Verizon wing and not the Verizon Wireless wing of the company from what I am reading. If I am reading this incorrectly then feel free to clarify in the comments. A deeper analysis from MacWorld appears here. On a separate note, Sen. Al Franken thinks Comcast is trying to whack Netflix.
Verizon kills off 150MB Data Plan for Smartphones
No surprise here as 150MB data plans for a smartphone are a joke. Instead they will just offer a $30 a month unlimited data plan. It will also apply to feature phones as an option beyond the 75MB plan for $10 a month on those, a nod to LTE feature phones in the future.
Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox announce web tracking blocking tools
Chrome and Firefox just became a little nicer to users (even though I still don’t like their attitude toward H.264), by offering extensions to block advertisers from tracking your website visits. This is cool and gets them off my bad list over H.264 just about. It basically gives the user more privacy which is a great thing. The Google Chrome version called Keep my Opt-Outs, is available now. The Firefox version called Do Not Track is currently under development.
Pope Benedict weighs on on social networks
Today Pope Benedict XVI hailed social networks as “a great opportunity” but also warned against the dangers of living in a virtual world and cutting off real life relationships in his message entitled, "Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age." If you are a Catholic Geek like I am, you can find the Holy Father’s full address here.
Star Wars Blu-ray set to appear in late September
According to Amazon the much awaited by many Star Wars Blu-ray set will appear on September 27th. There is much division here as it will NOT include the original Star Wars version in the Blu-ray set. Needless to say, I will be buying it regardless.
Use your phone to buy coffee at Starbucks
This is kind of cool if you are into chain brand coffee (you know where I stand as I support local).
Comcast now owns NBC
Last week Comcast received both FCC and Justice Department approval to purchase NBC. My thoughts are what can possibly go wrong with Comcast owning a channel? *note the sarcasm*
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you next week for another installment and GO PACKERS!!!
Verizon appeals Net Neutrality FCC ruling
Verizon is challenging the FCC new Net Neutrality ruling, keep in mind this is the Verizon wing and not the Verizon Wireless wing of the company from what I am reading. If I am reading this incorrectly then feel free to clarify in the comments. A deeper analysis from MacWorld appears here. On a separate note, Sen. Al Franken thinks Comcast is trying to whack Netflix.
Verizon kills off 150MB Data Plan for Smartphones
No surprise here as 150MB data plans for a smartphone are a joke. Instead they will just offer a $30 a month unlimited data plan. It will also apply to feature phones as an option beyond the 75MB plan for $10 a month on those, a nod to LTE feature phones in the future.
Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox announce web tracking blocking tools
Chrome and Firefox just became a little nicer to users (even though I still don’t like their attitude toward H.264), by offering extensions to block advertisers from tracking your website visits. This is cool and gets them off my bad list over H.264 just about. It basically gives the user more privacy which is a great thing. The Google Chrome version called Keep my Opt-Outs, is available now. The Firefox version called Do Not Track is currently under development.
Pope Benedict weighs on on social networks
Today Pope Benedict XVI hailed social networks as “a great opportunity” but also warned against the dangers of living in a virtual world and cutting off real life relationships in his message entitled, "Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age." If you are a Catholic Geek like I am, you can find the Holy Father’s full address here.
Star Wars Blu-ray set to appear in late September
According to Amazon the much awaited by many Star Wars Blu-ray set will appear on September 27th. There is much division here as it will NOT include the original Star Wars version in the Blu-ray set. Needless to say, I will be buying it regardless.
Use your phone to buy coffee at Starbucks
This is kind of cool if you are into chain brand coffee (you know where I stand as I support local).
Comcast now owns NBC
Last week Comcast received both FCC and Justice Department approval to purchase NBC. My thoughts are what can possibly go wrong with Comcast owning a channel? *note the sarcasm*
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you next week for another installment and GO PACKERS!!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday Tech Talk #77
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. Covered quite a bit last 2 weeks with CES and Verizon-iPhone announcement, let’s see what this week brings us.
Facebook grants Developers Access to Phone and Addresses
So if you have ever granted third party developers easy integration to your FB account, you now may be giving them more information then you are comfortable with. This is not cool in my opinion and as soon as I read the article I deleted my phone numbers from my FB account, which is a shame because it made it easier for my long lost friends to get in touch with me offline. So it is back to the old way of doing things, if you need my phone number, drop me an email.
Computer History Museum now open
If you are ever in the Mountain View, CA area, then you may want to stop by the recently opened Computer History Museum. 25,000 square feet of geeky fun, I may have to schedule a vacation now where I actually go somewhere.
Spotify Coming to America Finally?
According to the New York Post, Spotify could soon be finally available in the US as it nears a deal with Sony Music and one other unmentioned label. The article goes on to mention that both Apple and Google have shown interested in a partnership with the Luxembourg-based company.
Steve Jobs takes Medical Leave of Absence again
Not a lot of details as to why as the CEO of Apple is very private person when it comes to himself, but for the second time Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave and Tim Cook will run the day to day operations just as he did the last time while Jobs remains CEO during his absence. So this may explain why Cook was there for the iPhone-Verizon announcement last week and not Jobs as many expected. We here at TupeloGeek wish Steve nothing but the best and pray for a full recovery for him and look forward to his excellent keynote speeches soon enough. I was thinking of holding this back for AppleTalk Thursday, but Steve Jobs has such an impact on technology in general, I thought it was appropriate to share the news here.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all next week!
Facebook grants Developers Access to Phone and Addresses
So if you have ever granted third party developers easy integration to your FB account, you now may be giving them more information then you are comfortable with. This is not cool in my opinion and as soon as I read the article I deleted my phone numbers from my FB account, which is a shame because it made it easier for my long lost friends to get in touch with me offline. So it is back to the old way of doing things, if you need my phone number, drop me an email.
Computer History Museum now open
If you are ever in the Mountain View, CA area, then you may want to stop by the recently opened Computer History Museum. 25,000 square feet of geeky fun, I may have to schedule a vacation now where I actually go somewhere.
Spotify Coming to America Finally?
According to the New York Post, Spotify could soon be finally available in the US as it nears a deal with Sony Music and one other unmentioned label. The article goes on to mention that both Apple and Google have shown interested in a partnership with the Luxembourg-based company.
Steve Jobs takes Medical Leave of Absence again
Not a lot of details as to why as the CEO of Apple is very private person when it comes to himself, but for the second time Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave and Tim Cook will run the day to day operations just as he did the last time while Jobs remains CEO during his absence. So this may explain why Cook was there for the iPhone-Verizon announcement last week and not Jobs as many expected. We here at TupeloGeek wish Steve nothing but the best and pray for a full recovery for him and look forward to his excellent keynote speeches soon enough. I was thinking of holding this back for AppleTalk Thursday, but Steve Jobs has such an impact on technology in general, I thought it was appropriate to share the news here.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all next week!
Friday, January 14, 2011
I Don't Hate Google
I apologize for the short Googling Friday earlier today. When your in technology there are a lot of standards and sources companies adopt into their technology. The problem I have with Google dropping H.264 is that they are such a giant when it comes to the internet that they can force standards on others hence my attack on them for abandoning their “Don’t be Evil” motto they held for so long.
I just want to be clear that I do not hate Google, I simply have a significant policy disagreement with them, much like I would have a political disagreement with my friend Lucas for example, yet we are still great friends in spite of our policy disagreements. I will still use Chrome here and there, but I believe the best way of protesting their decision is to simply use a browser that does support H.264 (Safari).
Hopefully Google will come around and decide that they can support both standards and not be so arrogant to simply disregard one. I hope this clears up some things regarding my attitude to Google. I am not ditching Gmail or Google Voice, it is just on this one issue we part ways.
I just want to be clear that I do not hate Google, I simply have a significant policy disagreement with them, much like I would have a political disagreement with my friend Lucas for example, yet we are still great friends in spite of our policy disagreements. I will still use Chrome here and there, but I believe the best way of protesting their decision is to simply use a browser that does support H.264 (Safari).
Hopefully Google will come around and decide that they can support both standards and not be so arrogant to simply disregard one. I hope this clears up some things regarding my attitude to Google. I am not ditching Gmail or Google Voice, it is just on this one issue we part ways.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
AppleTalk Thursday #4
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of AppleTalk Thursday. We have a bit of Apple news to discuss this week so let’s get right into things.
Mac App Store is Here
Of course hours after last week’s AppleTalk Thursday went out, Apple rolled out the Mac App Store as part of the 10.6.6 update. Among the notable apps is Angry Birds and Flight Control HD which are popular games on the iOS devices and the Twitter app (formerly Tweetie). They also are selling the iLife (3 of them anyway) and iWork apps, although the iWork apps are still the ’09 variety and not the updated iWork ’11. iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand each sell for $14.99 which if you add them up, come up to $45, a single license copy of iLife ’11 sells for $49 in optical media format but you can actually install the apps on the Mac App Store on multiple computers so if you add in the Family Pack cost of $79 you are getting quite a deal. Pages, Keynote, and Numbers sell for $19.99 each compared to $79 for optical media single copy and $99 for Family Pack. Of course not all the developers have jumped on board yet, they maybe taking a wait and see approach. But I love it, it is like having one big software virtual mall. It also scans your other apps that you have pre-installed and will alert you to an update for it if that application is part of the store. Apple has reported it had 1 million downloads of apps in the first 24 hours of its launch.
Verizon gets the iPhone 4
I discussed this on Tuesday Tech Talk as it broke that day. I had quite a bit of information on it and you can find that post here. What has not been determined yet is the cost of the data plans from Verizon for the iPhone. One would think they would be the same as the data plans for their other smart-phones. But the fact they are throwing in a mobile hot spot device (MiFi) to connect up to 5 devices to it, is pretty sweet and reinforces Verizon’s confidence in their network where AT&T had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a still pricey tethering plan for the iPhone. Now comes word that the iOS 4.3 update will include mobile hot spot feature as part of the OS so clearly, Apple by teaming with Verizon can negotiate with AT&T from a position of strength for a more competitive tethering plan. The Verizon iPhone will go on sale on February 10th at Apple and Verizon store locations as well as their online stores. Also of note Verizon and Apple will sell a CDMA based iPad as well.
Microsoft fights Apple on “App Store” trademark
Microsoft being the crybabies they are (see Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer), have filed an objection with the US Patent & Trademark Office over Apple’s plan to trademark the term “App Store”. Hey Microsoft, it sucks to be dominated doesn’t it? In my opinion, Apple was the first to launch such a store way before Android and Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry so they should get the right. Be creative enough to come up with your own name losers..oh wait this is Microsoft we are talking about...they have no imagination!
Jobs and Murdoch to launch The Daily on January 19th?
The much rumored iPad only digital magazine The Daily is expected to be announced on January 19th in San Francisco. If it is anything like NewsCorp’s Wall Street Journal app for the iPad, then it would be well worth subscribing to at the 99 cents per week expected cost.
Apple eliminated restocking fees
Wow, first Best Buy and now Apple will be eliminating restocking fees according to an article from 9 to 5 Mac starting this past Tuesday. Not heard anything confirming this so take the article for what its worth.
AT&T and Apple lower price of 3GS iPhone to $49
If you just want to get an iPhone but don’t need the latest and greatest there is good news, both Apple and AT&T have dropped the price from $99 to $49 on the 8GB 3GS iPhone. So if you missed out on the Radio Shack and Best Buy offers, the deal is here to stay. iPhone 4 pricing remains the same though.
iOS App Reviews
Apple Remote (FREE) - If you have an AppleTV did you know that with the Apple Remote app you can control it from your iPhone or iPad? I have used both for controlling mine and I actually prefer it over the line of sight based remote that comes with the AppleTV. Course it can also play iTunes content from your Mac(s) while you are sitting in the recliner or pulling into the garage and pulling a nice prank on your unsuspecting significant other who thinks your Mac is possessed all of the sudden (Yes, I did this once.)
Goodreads (FREE) - If you are a user of Goodreads and have an iPhone, then this app is a must have! For those that don’t know, Goodreads allows you to share what books you are reading, have read or want to read with other friends that are book readers. Think of it as Facebook for book worms. So sign up for the service which is free and download the app. You can find me here to see what I’ve been or will be reading.
Green Bay Packers (FREE) - Ok so I am a bit bias here as Green Bay is my team in the playoffs right now being that my Chargers and Titans failed to make it this year. But this is a good model for how any sports team thinking about making an app should follow. Videos, schedule, injury updates, etc. it is all there.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday. Look forward to sharing more Apple related news with you here same time next week!
Mac App Store is Here
Of course hours after last week’s AppleTalk Thursday went out, Apple rolled out the Mac App Store as part of the 10.6.6 update. Among the notable apps is Angry Birds and Flight Control HD which are popular games on the iOS devices and the Twitter app (formerly Tweetie). They also are selling the iLife (3 of them anyway) and iWork apps, although the iWork apps are still the ’09 variety and not the updated iWork ’11. iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand each sell for $14.99 which if you add them up, come up to $45, a single license copy of iLife ’11 sells for $49 in optical media format but you can actually install the apps on the Mac App Store on multiple computers so if you add in the Family Pack cost of $79 you are getting quite a deal. Pages, Keynote, and Numbers sell for $19.99 each compared to $79 for optical media single copy and $99 for Family Pack. Of course not all the developers have jumped on board yet, they maybe taking a wait and see approach. But I love it, it is like having one big software virtual mall. It also scans your other apps that you have pre-installed and will alert you to an update for it if that application is part of the store. Apple has reported it had 1 million downloads of apps in the first 24 hours of its launch.
Verizon gets the iPhone 4
I discussed this on Tuesday Tech Talk as it broke that day. I had quite a bit of information on it and you can find that post here. What has not been determined yet is the cost of the data plans from Verizon for the iPhone. One would think they would be the same as the data plans for their other smart-phones. But the fact they are throwing in a mobile hot spot device (MiFi) to connect up to 5 devices to it, is pretty sweet and reinforces Verizon’s confidence in their network where AT&T had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a still pricey tethering plan for the iPhone. Now comes word that the iOS 4.3 update will include mobile hot spot feature as part of the OS so clearly, Apple by teaming with Verizon can negotiate with AT&T from a position of strength for a more competitive tethering plan. The Verizon iPhone will go on sale on February 10th at Apple and Verizon store locations as well as their online stores. Also of note Verizon and Apple will sell a CDMA based iPad as well.
Microsoft fights Apple on “App Store” trademark
Microsoft being the crybabies they are (see Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer), have filed an objection with the US Patent & Trademark Office over Apple’s plan to trademark the term “App Store”. Hey Microsoft, it sucks to be dominated doesn’t it? In my opinion, Apple was the first to launch such a store way before Android and Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry so they should get the right. Be creative enough to come up with your own name losers..oh wait this is Microsoft we are talking about...they have no imagination!
Jobs and Murdoch to launch The Daily on January 19th?
The much rumored iPad only digital magazine The Daily is expected to be announced on January 19th in San Francisco. If it is anything like NewsCorp’s Wall Street Journal app for the iPad, then it would be well worth subscribing to at the 99 cents per week expected cost.
Apple eliminated restocking fees
Wow, first Best Buy and now Apple will be eliminating restocking fees according to an article from 9 to 5 Mac starting this past Tuesday. Not heard anything confirming this so take the article for what its worth.
AT&T and Apple lower price of 3GS iPhone to $49
If you just want to get an iPhone but don’t need the latest and greatest there is good news, both Apple and AT&T have dropped the price from $99 to $49 on the 8GB 3GS iPhone. So if you missed out on the Radio Shack and Best Buy offers, the deal is here to stay. iPhone 4 pricing remains the same though.
iOS App Reviews
Apple Remote (FREE) - If you have an AppleTV did you know that with the Apple Remote app you can control it from your iPhone or iPad? I have used both for controlling mine and I actually prefer it over the line of sight based remote that comes with the AppleTV. Course it can also play iTunes content from your Mac(s) while you are sitting in the recliner or pulling into the garage and pulling a nice prank on your unsuspecting significant other who thinks your Mac is possessed all of the sudden (Yes, I did this once.)
Goodreads (FREE) - If you are a user of Goodreads and have an iPhone, then this app is a must have! For those that don’t know, Goodreads allows you to share what books you are reading, have read or want to read with other friends that are book readers. Think of it as Facebook for book worms. So sign up for the service which is free and download the app. You can find me here to see what I’ve been or will be reading.
Green Bay Packers (FREE) - Ok so I am a bit bias here as Green Bay is my team in the playoffs right now being that my Chargers and Titans failed to make it this year. But this is a good model for how any sports team thinking about making an app should follow. Videos, schedule, injury updates, etc. it is all there.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday. Look forward to sharing more Apple related news with you here same time next week!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Googling Friday #16
Hello everybody and welcome to the first Googling Friday on 2011. It has been a couple of weeks so let’s see what is happening in the world of Google.
Google looking to launch digital newsstand
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how Google is looking to launch a digital newsstand for Android devices similar to Apple and Amazon but offering to take less of a percentage of sales than the other 2. If Google really wants to do this right they could utilize their new Bookstore app as the distribution point offering it to iOS devices as well and not just Android. It wouldn’t benefit Google to be a closed platform service when they are known for their openness, an advantage they have over Apple.
Google makes free calling to US and Canada via Gmail for all of 2011
Google announced that calls made to the US and Canada via Gmail will continue to be free in 2011...YAY!! I was hoping this would be the case and it gives them an advantage over rival Skype in this area. The best way to take advantage of this is to sign up for a Google Voice account as it gives you a dedicated phone number. Oh if your not using Google Voice by now, then you really should cause you won’t need a long distance plan on your landline if you are still even doing such a thing.
Google looking at mobile payment system
Imagine going to the grocery store and buying groceries and simply waving your mobile phone at the register to pay for everything. Well, that is what Google is looking to do. I admit this idea has both a great potential and a security issue concern. But I will be interested to see how it plays out and deployed.
Google Translate Review
For this week’s review, I wanted to tell you about Google Translate. Pure and simple, you type in words in the language you speak and it will translate how to say it in another. They even support Latin which as a Catholic I am very happy about.
Pretty cool huh? It’s an easy interface and as you can tell from the picture, it even has a listen button so you even know how to pronounce it. Google Translate supports over 50 languages (sorry but Aramaic is not one of them). It is a free web-based service so go give it a try and it also works in reverse, you can copy and paste in a foreign language and it will translate it for you. Pretty cool!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Google looking to launch digital newsstand
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how Google is looking to launch a digital newsstand for Android devices similar to Apple and Amazon but offering to take less of a percentage of sales than the other 2. If Google really wants to do this right they could utilize their new Bookstore app as the distribution point offering it to iOS devices as well and not just Android. It wouldn’t benefit Google to be a closed platform service when they are known for their openness, an advantage they have over Apple.
Google makes free calling to US and Canada via Gmail for all of 2011
Google announced that calls made to the US and Canada via Gmail will continue to be free in 2011...YAY!! I was hoping this would be the case and it gives them an advantage over rival Skype in this area. The best way to take advantage of this is to sign up for a Google Voice account as it gives you a dedicated phone number. Oh if your not using Google Voice by now, then you really should cause you won’t need a long distance plan on your landline if you are still even doing such a thing.
Google looking at mobile payment system
Imagine going to the grocery store and buying groceries and simply waving your mobile phone at the register to pay for everything. Well, that is what Google is looking to do. I admit this idea has both a great potential and a security issue concern. But I will be interested to see how it plays out and deployed.
Google Translate Review
For this week’s review, I wanted to tell you about Google Translate. Pure and simple, you type in words in the language you speak and it will translate how to say it in another. They even support Latin which as a Catholic I am very happy about.
Pretty cool huh? It’s an easy interface and as you can tell from the picture, it even has a listen button so you even know how to pronounce it. Google Translate supports over 50 languages (sorry but Aramaic is not one of them). It is a free web-based service so go give it a try and it also works in reverse, you can copy and paste in a foreign language and it will translate it for you. Pretty cool!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Tuesday Tech Talk #75
Greetings and Happy New Year everyone! It’s the first Tuesday Tech Talk of 2011 and after taking last week off, there is a lot to catch up on so let’s get right into things!
Firefox 4 Beta 8
Mozilla released its beta version 8 of Firefox 4 a few days before Christmas. I decided to give it a try and wow it is FAST! It is pretty much as responsive as Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari browsers. Quite impressed and I can’t wait to see how the official release will be when it is rolled out this year.
AT&T Launches WiFi initiative in Problem spots
AT&T will be launching WiFi spots in urban areas where it has had trouble with coverage. The spots are NYC and San Francisco. Among the areas to be covered are Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral which will make smartphone carrying Catholics like myself happy when visiting. Also later in 2011, they will launch WiFi at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.
RIM Playbook battery issues
Uh oh, it looks like Research In Motion may have stuck its foot in its mouth with all its iPad trash talking and playing up their Playbook tablet. Now comes word they are having a hard time matching the iPad’s battery life...can we say, “Marketing FAIL”? If you're going to trash talk your competition, it may help that your product can walk your talk! I still love you Canada though.
Paul Allen refiles patent suit against almost everybody
The world’s most insecure billionaire is at it again! After having his first suit tossed out by a judge, Paul Allen has refiled his patent suit against Apple, Google, eBay, Amazon, etc. Wonder how soon this one will get tossed? I will say it one more time, Paul your company ripped off the Apple GUI but you don’t see the 2 Steve’s suing you and Bill do you? You insecure jackass!
How to polish up your LinkedIn Profile
Read an interesting article on MacWorld about overused buzzwords in LinkedIn profiles and how to simplify your profile. Worth a read if you are maintaining a LinkedIn profile
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. We have the Consumer Electronics Show starting on Thursday so next week there will be a lot to talk about. See you next week!
Firefox 4 Beta 8
Mozilla released its beta version 8 of Firefox 4 a few days before Christmas. I decided to give it a try and wow it is FAST! It is pretty much as responsive as Google Chrome and Apple’s Safari browsers. Quite impressed and I can’t wait to see how the official release will be when it is rolled out this year.
AT&T Launches WiFi initiative in Problem spots
AT&T will be launching WiFi spots in urban areas where it has had trouble with coverage. The spots are NYC and San Francisco. Among the areas to be covered are Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral which will make smartphone carrying Catholics like myself happy when visiting. Also later in 2011, they will launch WiFi at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.
RIM Playbook battery issues
Uh oh, it looks like Research In Motion may have stuck its foot in its mouth with all its iPad trash talking and playing up their Playbook tablet. Now comes word they are having a hard time matching the iPad’s battery life...can we say, “Marketing FAIL”? If you're going to trash talk your competition, it may help that your product can walk your talk! I still love you Canada though.
Paul Allen refiles patent suit against almost everybody
The world’s most insecure billionaire is at it again! After having his first suit tossed out by a judge, Paul Allen has refiled his patent suit against Apple, Google, eBay, Amazon, etc. Wonder how soon this one will get tossed? I will say it one more time, Paul your company ripped off the Apple GUI but you don’t see the 2 Steve’s suing you and Bill do you? You insecure jackass!
How to polish up your LinkedIn Profile
Read an interesting article on MacWorld about overused buzzwords in LinkedIn profiles and how to simplify your profile. Worth a read if you are maintaining a LinkedIn profile
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. We have the Consumer Electronics Show starting on Thursday so next week there will be a lot to talk about. See you next week!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
AppleTalk Thursday #2
Hello everybody and welcome to the second edition of AppleTalk Thursday. Just a quick note, I am taking a Christmas and New Years break next week so there will be no AppleTalk Thursday next week. With that said we got a lot to cover here so I’m going to dive right in!
iPad 2 Rumor Roundup
Lot of stuff out there on what might be in the upcoming iPad 2 so here is a quick rundown of rumors regarding the tablet. DigiTimes is reporting Apple has added 2 new touchscreen suppliers for the iPad. The article goes on to say that Apple is expecting to ship 6 million iPad 2’s per month. The Unofficial Apple Weblog explains that DigiTimes is hit and miss on rumors so only time will tell. Another source, a Japanese Mac blog named Mac Otakara states that it will sport a larger “wide-ranged-speaker” and a flatter backing to it similar to the new iPod touch. They have an image of the reported speaker as well. Again this is speculation and rumors, but here is the photo of what they claim is the new speaker.
Course the at this point it is a safe bet that the iPad 2 will sport both a front and back facing camera. Not sure if it will sport a Retina Display like the iPhone 4 does, but it would be nice if it did. But that is a run down of the latest iPad 2 rumors. Sounds like we could see it ship around February.
Apple TV News and Notes
Apple announced that this week it expects to sale its one millionth new AppleTV. For those that don’t have one, I can assure you it is worth the $99! We have enjoyed watching Netflix on it, renting movies from the iTunes store that are not available on Netflix yet (Inception and A-Team), and with AirPlay now out, I can stream Pandora from my iPhone and iPad to my stereo system. It also works with apps like iheartradio and TuneIn Radio as well. As long as you have an HDTV already and a broadband connection, then you are good to go with one. In addition, it has also been a boom to Roku sales as well. If you don’t have an HDTV but have RCA connections, then Roku is the way to go although it doesn’t have access to iTunes movie rentals and lacks AirPlay support, but it does have Hulu and MLB as apps among others. Another bit of AppleTV news is this story on how using Google’s public DNS address for your internet can hinder the AppleTV’s performance on iTunes movie rentals. Now this could be just a fluke, but if Google is doing this then isn’t Google breaking their own “Don’t be Evil” policy? Oh, maybe not. Then again maybe it is just sour grapes over the failure that is GoogleTV. Another interesting note is according to a DirecTV survey, they may soon offer their popular and exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket to AppleTV users. This would be huge if it were to happen!
Apple removes Unofficial WikiLeaks app from Store
This week Apple chose to remove the Unofficial WikiLeaks app. I agree with this decision, Apple is choosing to be a responsible party here in removing an application that supports a service that could cause severe harm to our troops overseas. If you still want the app I’m sure you can get it on the Android market next to the porn section which Apple also does not allow thankfully.
Verizon sees iPhone as “Essential to Future Success”
Continuing the long rumors of the iPhone to Verizon stories, comes this article on how Verizon which apparently has seen its Android unit sales decline, very much sees the iPhone as vital to sales and market share. This story kind of surprised me as I thought Android was going to take over the world according to what its proponents have been stating. Apparently the numbers just don’t add up in Verizon’s case anyway. Full disclosure, before I upgraded my 3GS to an iPhone 4 at Radio Shack, I did research the Android phones and was just not impressed in how it would relate to my Mac hardware such as syncing my iTunes music library and such. Plus their battery and network icons at the top of the screen just look tacky and not as smooth as the iPhone icons. Ok, I have said enough, I’m sure I am going to hear from the Android fanboys and girls out there now.
Sam’s Club selling iPhone 4 for $147
Well, if your reading this on Thursday or Friday and missed out on the Radio Shack deal, Sam’s Club is selling the iPhone 4 16GB model for $147 and the 8GB 3GS for $47. No word on the price of the 32GB model though. Hurry!
iWork ’11 to arrive in Early January?
Based on limited retail copies of iWork ’09 and the launching of the Mac App Store on January 6th, there appears to be growing speculation that iWork ’11 will make its debut as part of the App Store. This would certainly entice people to come check out the Mac App Store on launch day and maybe even buy some apps for their Mac. Sure makes sense to me.
Skyfire coming to the iPad
Yes, it is finally coming soon, Skyfire which allows you to view Flash content on the iPhone using its browser, will soon have a counterpart on the iPad. Should arrive any day now and sell for about $5. It will also have social network quick view for Facebook and Twitter updates.
iOS App Reviews
CNN iPad app (FREE) - CNN has launched an iPad only app. Of course it already offers an app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The view on the iPad app is very nice as you scroll down to view photos of stories with captions over them. Selecting on the photo opens the story up, it is like reading Flipboard almost in terms of how it displays.
MobileNavigator ($44.99 North America) - MobileNavigator recently updated their app to include some new goodies, among them is an iPad version, also Active Lane Assistant which gives a more accurate view of the road you are on in terms of lanes on the road. Also offers Travel and Restaurant guides via in-app purchases, and sharing favorites between iOS devices via email, and MyReport which allows you to leave feedback on a route that is no longer accurate on MobileNavigator which will allow it to be more responsive with map updates.
Flipboard (FREE) - Speaking of Flipboard, it has been updated to support Google Reader and Flickr. If you have never tried Flipboard then you really should. It is like reading your social media in a magazine form. Please note, this is an iPad only app though.
Voices 2 (99 Cents) - If you have ever tried Talking Tom Cat, then you will love this app. It gives you the ability to record your voice and then add about 26 different effects to your voice. My favorite is Max which basically makes you sound like Max Headroom.
Emoji (FREE) - This is a nice free app that allows you to add emoticons to your text messages. It was one of the first apps I added to my wife’s iPhone so she could insert the smileys she had on her old flip phone. It is very cool and for a free version, it includes a lot of icons to use.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday, A lot of news this week but you got 2 weeks to digest it all before another edition of AppleTalk Thursday on January 6th which will be the same date the Mac App Store launches. So now doubt we will have a bit more news then over the course of 2 weeks. See you then and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
iPad 2 Rumor Roundup
Lot of stuff out there on what might be in the upcoming iPad 2 so here is a quick rundown of rumors regarding the tablet. DigiTimes is reporting Apple has added 2 new touchscreen suppliers for the iPad. The article goes on to say that Apple is expecting to ship 6 million iPad 2’s per month. The Unofficial Apple Weblog explains that DigiTimes is hit and miss on rumors so only time will tell. Another source, a Japanese Mac blog named Mac Otakara states that it will sport a larger “wide-ranged-speaker” and a flatter backing to it similar to the new iPod touch. They have an image of the reported speaker as well. Again this is speculation and rumors, but here is the photo of what they claim is the new speaker.
Course the at this point it is a safe bet that the iPad 2 will sport both a front and back facing camera. Not sure if it will sport a Retina Display like the iPhone 4 does, but it would be nice if it did. But that is a run down of the latest iPad 2 rumors. Sounds like we could see it ship around February.
Apple TV News and Notes
Apple announced that this week it expects to sale its one millionth new AppleTV. For those that don’t have one, I can assure you it is worth the $99! We have enjoyed watching Netflix on it, renting movies from the iTunes store that are not available on Netflix yet (Inception and A-Team), and with AirPlay now out, I can stream Pandora from my iPhone and iPad to my stereo system. It also works with apps like iheartradio and TuneIn Radio as well. As long as you have an HDTV already and a broadband connection, then you are good to go with one. In addition, it has also been a boom to Roku sales as well. If you don’t have an HDTV but have RCA connections, then Roku is the way to go although it doesn’t have access to iTunes movie rentals and lacks AirPlay support, but it does have Hulu and MLB as apps among others. Another bit of AppleTV news is this story on how using Google’s public DNS address for your internet can hinder the AppleTV’s performance on iTunes movie rentals. Now this could be just a fluke, but if Google is doing this then isn’t Google breaking their own “Don’t be Evil” policy? Oh, maybe not. Then again maybe it is just sour grapes over the failure that is GoogleTV. Another interesting note is according to a DirecTV survey, they may soon offer their popular and exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket to AppleTV users. This would be huge if it were to happen!
Apple removes Unofficial WikiLeaks app from Store
This week Apple chose to remove the Unofficial WikiLeaks app. I agree with this decision, Apple is choosing to be a responsible party here in removing an application that supports a service that could cause severe harm to our troops overseas. If you still want the app I’m sure you can get it on the Android market next to the porn section which Apple also does not allow thankfully.
Verizon sees iPhone as “Essential to Future Success”
Continuing the long rumors of the iPhone to Verizon stories, comes this article on how Verizon which apparently has seen its Android unit sales decline, very much sees the iPhone as vital to sales and market share. This story kind of surprised me as I thought Android was going to take over the world according to what its proponents have been stating. Apparently the numbers just don’t add up in Verizon’s case anyway. Full disclosure, before I upgraded my 3GS to an iPhone 4 at Radio Shack, I did research the Android phones and was just not impressed in how it would relate to my Mac hardware such as syncing my iTunes music library and such. Plus their battery and network icons at the top of the screen just look tacky and not as smooth as the iPhone icons. Ok, I have said enough, I’m sure I am going to hear from the Android fanboys and girls out there now.
Sam’s Club selling iPhone 4 for $147
Well, if your reading this on Thursday or Friday and missed out on the Radio Shack deal, Sam’s Club is selling the iPhone 4 16GB model for $147 and the 8GB 3GS for $47. No word on the price of the 32GB model though. Hurry!
iWork ’11 to arrive in Early January?
Based on limited retail copies of iWork ’09 and the launching of the Mac App Store on January 6th, there appears to be growing speculation that iWork ’11 will make its debut as part of the App Store. This would certainly entice people to come check out the Mac App Store on launch day and maybe even buy some apps for their Mac. Sure makes sense to me.
Skyfire coming to the iPad
Yes, it is finally coming soon, Skyfire which allows you to view Flash content on the iPhone using its browser, will soon have a counterpart on the iPad. Should arrive any day now and sell for about $5. It will also have social network quick view for Facebook and Twitter updates.
iOS App Reviews
CNN iPad app (FREE) - CNN has launched an iPad only app. Of course it already offers an app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The view on the iPad app is very nice as you scroll down to view photos of stories with captions over them. Selecting on the photo opens the story up, it is like reading Flipboard almost in terms of how it displays.
MobileNavigator ($44.99 North America) - MobileNavigator recently updated their app to include some new goodies, among them is an iPad version, also Active Lane Assistant which gives a more accurate view of the road you are on in terms of lanes on the road. Also offers Travel and Restaurant guides via in-app purchases, and sharing favorites between iOS devices via email, and MyReport which allows you to leave feedback on a route that is no longer accurate on MobileNavigator which will allow it to be more responsive with map updates.
Flipboard (FREE) - Speaking of Flipboard, it has been updated to support Google Reader and Flickr. If you have never tried Flipboard then you really should. It is like reading your social media in a magazine form. Please note, this is an iPad only app though.
Voices 2 (99 Cents) - If you have ever tried Talking Tom Cat, then you will love this app. It gives you the ability to record your voice and then add about 26 different effects to your voice. My favorite is Max which basically makes you sound like Max Headroom.
Emoji (FREE) - This is a nice free app that allows you to add emoticons to your text messages. It was one of the first apps I added to my wife’s iPhone so she could insert the smileys she had on her old flip phone. It is very cool and for a free version, it includes a lot of icons to use.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday, A lot of news this week but you got 2 weeks to digest it all before another edition of AppleTalk Thursday on January 6th which will be the same date the Mac App Store launches. So now doubt we will have a bit more news then over the course of 2 weeks. See you then and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday Tech Talk #74
Hello all and welcome to the last Tuesday Tech Talk of 2010. I will be taking a Christmas and New Years vacation from blogging next week. So lets take a look at the news over the past week in technology.
Paul Allen’s Lawsuit Against Everyone Thrown Out
You may recall that Microsoft co-founder tried to sue Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, eBay, and AOL among others over 4 patents for e-commerce. Well, the judge in the case has thrown it out calling it too vague. Allen has until 12/28 to re-file the suit but he really shouldn’t. He looks small and pitiful by doing so and it’s not like he is hurting for money at this point. Besides if he wants to go down that road Apple can easily argue that Windows was based on the Mac OS in the first place which it is. But you don’t see Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak going around suing Microsoft and the different varieties of Linux.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Time Person of the Year
Time Magazine has named Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as its 2010 Person of the Year. He won after beating out Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, the 33 Chilean Minors, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Facebook has certainly been busy this year with many features added and the movie The Social Network certainly helped out as well even if Zuckerberg himself hates the film.
More troubles for Yahoo
Yahoo fresh off announcing it will layoff 650 employees, is now looking at cutting unproductive services and selling off one of its popular ones. As you have read here before, I have my doubts about Yahoo’s longterm viability just based on their recent history of a lack of innovation. I am pretty much divesting myself of any Yahoo dependence. For example, I use Facebook and Picasa as an alternative to Flickr but still maintain my Flickr account. That being said, there is a great article on how to backup your Flickr albums.
My guess is if the worst case scenario did happen to Yahoo, they would certainly sell off Flickr to either Google or Facebook, maybe even Apple. I’m thinking about posting a separate blog post regarding a Post-Yahoo survival guide and what services to start using now just in case.
AT&T Acquires Qualcomm’s Flo-TV Wireless Spectrum
AT&T looking to bolster its next technology of wireless broadband, announced it has purchased Qualcomm’s soon to be defunct Flo-TV’s broadband for $2 Billion. The new broadband will really help AT&T in high urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where it has struggled with network issues.
DirecTV Bringing Personalized Ads to Customers in Late Summer of 2011
DirecTV is partnering with Starcom MediaVest to bring a more personalized advertising model to consumers. I don’t know about you but this screams privacy issues. I have a DVR so I never see the ads anyway. They hope to have it up and going by August or September 2011.
FCC approves Apartheid Net Neutrality Plan
Yes, I know I am using a strong word there, but the new ruling by the FCC only protects wired services from ISP’s blocking legal internet traffic, for wireless mobile users it does not apply so it is separate and unequal in how it treats wireless users. Will be interesting if it is challenged in court how it would rule if filed under such a case. Think of Florida 2000 recount as the case for it.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all in the New Year and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Paul Allen’s Lawsuit Against Everyone Thrown Out
You may recall that Microsoft co-founder tried to sue Apple, Google, Facebook, Netflix, eBay, and AOL among others over 4 patents for e-commerce. Well, the judge in the case has thrown it out calling it too vague. Allen has until 12/28 to re-file the suit but he really shouldn’t. He looks small and pitiful by doing so and it’s not like he is hurting for money at this point. Besides if he wants to go down that road Apple can easily argue that Windows was based on the Mac OS in the first place which it is. But you don’t see Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak going around suing Microsoft and the different varieties of Linux.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Time Person of the Year
Time Magazine has named Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as its 2010 Person of the Year. He won after beating out Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, the 33 Chilean Minors, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Facebook has certainly been busy this year with many features added and the movie The Social Network certainly helped out as well even if Zuckerberg himself hates the film.
More troubles for Yahoo
Yahoo fresh off announcing it will layoff 650 employees, is now looking at cutting unproductive services and selling off one of its popular ones. As you have read here before, I have my doubts about Yahoo’s longterm viability just based on their recent history of a lack of innovation. I am pretty much divesting myself of any Yahoo dependence. For example, I use Facebook and Picasa as an alternative to Flickr but still maintain my Flickr account. That being said, there is a great article on how to backup your Flickr albums.
My guess is if the worst case scenario did happen to Yahoo, they would certainly sell off Flickr to either Google or Facebook, maybe even Apple. I’m thinking about posting a separate blog post regarding a Post-Yahoo survival guide and what services to start using now just in case.
AT&T Acquires Qualcomm’s Flo-TV Wireless Spectrum
AT&T looking to bolster its next technology of wireless broadband, announced it has purchased Qualcomm’s soon to be defunct Flo-TV’s broadband for $2 Billion. The new broadband will really help AT&T in high urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco where it has struggled with network issues.
DirecTV Bringing Personalized Ads to Customers in Late Summer of 2011
DirecTV is partnering with Starcom MediaVest to bring a more personalized advertising model to consumers. I don’t know about you but this screams privacy issues. I have a DVR so I never see the ads anyway. They hope to have it up and going by August or September 2011.
FCC approves Apartheid Net Neutrality Plan
Yes, I know I am using a strong word there, but the new ruling by the FCC only protects wired services from ISP’s blocking legal internet traffic, for wireless mobile users it does not apply so it is separate and unequal in how it treats wireless users. Will be interesting if it is challenged in court how it would rule if filed under such a case. Think of Florida 2000 recount as the case for it.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all in the New Year and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Googling Friday #14
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. This week I want to talk about Google’s new eBook reader but as always, we have Google news for the week.
Groupon says no to Google
There has been speculation last week and indeed Google made an offer to buy Groupon the daily-deal site. However Groupon declined the offer. I’m guessing they were looking for a higher dollar amount than the $6 billion that Google offered or maybe they see a niche and want to explore it, remember a few years ago Mark Zuckerberg turned down Yahoo’s offer to buy Facebook and I think that turned out well for Facebook.
Google updates Priority Inbox
Earlier this week, Google announced it has updated the algorithm used to determine what is a priority message in your Inbox in Gmail. It will also offer insight in a message as to why it is considered priority. You can find this message by hovering over the yellow arrow above the message. Hopefully this will make Priority Inbox even more accurate.
Google Books
On Monday, Google unveiled its eBook store and ebook reader applications for iOS and Android devices. Upon initial review of both the application and the store it is Ok but missing some key features that people maybe used to in the Amazon Kindle Store. For example, there doesn’t seem to be a way to highlight or make notes on certain lines in the book. From a store perspective, it has a general search box but not a search by option, so if you say search works by Earnest Hemingway, it will display both his books and books about him. These are minor fixes via software update, but it is also missing a key thing, Kindle support. It does support Sony and Nook, but not Kindle as of now. Obviously it is a 1.0 product right now so it will be interesting to see how it evolves. For now, here are some screenshots.
The shot on the far left is the boot up screen on the iPhone, the middle is what your bookshelf looks like, and the third is the online store. Also, Google has a video explaining their eBook reader application and store and its advantages.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. Stop by next week for another helping of all things Google! Have a great weekend!
Groupon says no to Google
There has been speculation last week and indeed Google made an offer to buy Groupon the daily-deal site. However Groupon declined the offer. I’m guessing they were looking for a higher dollar amount than the $6 billion that Google offered or maybe they see a niche and want to explore it, remember a few years ago Mark Zuckerberg turned down Yahoo’s offer to buy Facebook and I think that turned out well for Facebook.
Google updates Priority Inbox
Earlier this week, Google announced it has updated the algorithm used to determine what is a priority message in your Inbox in Gmail. It will also offer insight in a message as to why it is considered priority. You can find this message by hovering over the yellow arrow above the message. Hopefully this will make Priority Inbox even more accurate.
Google Books
On Monday, Google unveiled its eBook store and ebook reader applications for iOS and Android devices. Upon initial review of both the application and the store it is Ok but missing some key features that people maybe used to in the Amazon Kindle Store. For example, there doesn’t seem to be a way to highlight or make notes on certain lines in the book. From a store perspective, it has a general search box but not a search by option, so if you say search works by Earnest Hemingway, it will display both his books and books about him. These are minor fixes via software update, but it is also missing a key thing, Kindle support. It does support Sony and Nook, but not Kindle as of now. Obviously it is a 1.0 product right now so it will be interesting to see how it evolves. For now, here are some screenshots.
The shot on the far left is the boot up screen on the iPhone, the middle is what your bookshelf looks like, and the third is the online store. Also, Google has a video explaining their eBook reader application and store and its advantages.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. Stop by next week for another helping of all things Google! Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday Tech Talk #72
Greetings everyone and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. Quite a bit of news this week I want to share so lets get right into it!
I have an iPhone 4!
Out of the blue, I upgraded to an iPhone 4. Thanks to a week long promotion going on at Radio Shack, I was able to trade in my iPhone 3GS for a $125 credit toward an iPhone 4 which was also sold for $50 off the regular price. What this meant was I was able to walk out of the store with a brand new 32GB iPhone 4 for $125 instead of the regular $300 price, a $175 savings! But it gets even better, my wife who has had a flip phone for a few years now, purchased an 8GB 3GS for $49. Now the catch is obviously you have to be eligible for an upgrade with AT&T and you agree to a new 2 year contract.
So, how is the iPhone 4? It is great! I can FaceTime now with it, take HDR photos, and the Retina display is awesome! You really have to see an iPhone 4 in person to grasp just how rich the display is. A good test is to visit the New York Times website and close in on the “New York Times” banner and the detail of the font is spectacular! My wife really likes her first iPhone and loves that her Yahoo email comes right to her email now instead of having to login on the Yahoo website. It has been a bit of a learning curve for her, but she likes it a lot! Here is an HDR photo I took last night at Oby’s of our bread pudding dessert.
Yum!! So, if you are eligible for an upgrade from AT&T, you might want to check in at your local Radio Shack before Saturday.
Facebook Profile Facelift
So I watched 60 Minutes on Sunday night which I never do but Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed by Lesley Stahl and they hinted something new Facebook was working on, would be shown on 60 Minutes. Sure enough, they have given a whole new look to the Facebook profile page. To give you an idea, here is what mine looks like now.
So basically you enter in your key information and it spells out a nice summary of who you are. It also offers an expanded family tree for connections. Now in addition to spouse, brother, sister, mom and dad connections, it also offers uncle, aunt, cousins, niece and nephews. Interesting enough in-laws is still not an option so if you have a brother-in-law for example and want to add the family connection, you will just have to label them as a brother for now. So check it out, I happen to like it but your mileage may vary.
Google offers e-Books
Also announced yesterday, Google is now an e-book seller and offering reader apps for iOS and Android devices. Stay tuned for this Friday’s Googling Friday where I talk a lot more about the pros and cons of Google’s e-book reader app.
Mac App Store to launch Monday?
Apple may be preparing to launch their Mac App Store as early as this coming Monday. Apple did state during the OS X 10.7 Lion preview that they would launch a beta version of the Mac App Store within 90 days so this seems to fit into that timeline. If it does then we will have something to discuss here next week.
AirPlay coming to Safari and Third-party apps in 2011
Once again Steve Jobs fired off an email reply from his iPhone to someone that asked about AirPlay limitations on video from iOS devices to AppleTV. Jobs states that Apple hopes to add video features to third-party apps and Safari. This is great news for folks that use Netflix and Hulu Plus on their iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as they can then stream video to the AppleTV.
This Week’s iOS app Reviews
iMove ($4.99) - IF you have an iPhone 4 then you really should get this app. What it does is allow you to edit video shot on your iPhone 4, on your iPhone 4. I was able to put together a video overview of the Google Books reader app using my iPhone 4 and iMovie. You can find the video here!
Loopt (FREE) - Yes, another location based social networking app. I try them all folks and what I like about this one is it integrates with Facebook’s Places. So you tie your Facebook account into Loopt and whenever you check into a location using the Facebook app, Loopt will also show you at such place. You can also connect your Twitter account to Loopt as well.
Words with Friends (FREE) - Ok so there is also an iPad version as well. They also offer a paid version without advertising. Basically Words with Friends is Scrabble that you can play with friends and family. You will have to setup a username, but it is fairly easy to setup a game quickly with a friend. I have learned words I didn’t know existed and you can also chat with each other as well. It is a lot of fun.
Google Books (FREE) - As I mentioned earlier, Google is offering their own e-book reader app now (iPad version). The look and feel is similar to that of the Apple iBooks and Amazon Kindle app. On Friday, I will have more about it.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all next week for another fixin’!
I have an iPhone 4!
Out of the blue, I upgraded to an iPhone 4. Thanks to a week long promotion going on at Radio Shack, I was able to trade in my iPhone 3GS for a $125 credit toward an iPhone 4 which was also sold for $50 off the regular price. What this meant was I was able to walk out of the store with a brand new 32GB iPhone 4 for $125 instead of the regular $300 price, a $175 savings! But it gets even better, my wife who has had a flip phone for a few years now, purchased an 8GB 3GS for $49. Now the catch is obviously you have to be eligible for an upgrade with AT&T and you agree to a new 2 year contract.
So, how is the iPhone 4? It is great! I can FaceTime now with it, take HDR photos, and the Retina display is awesome! You really have to see an iPhone 4 in person to grasp just how rich the display is. A good test is to visit the New York Times website and close in on the “New York Times” banner and the detail of the font is spectacular! My wife really likes her first iPhone and loves that her Yahoo email comes right to her email now instead of having to login on the Yahoo website. It has been a bit of a learning curve for her, but she likes it a lot! Here is an HDR photo I took last night at Oby’s of our bread pudding dessert.
Yum!! So, if you are eligible for an upgrade from AT&T, you might want to check in at your local Radio Shack before Saturday.
Facebook Profile Facelift
So I watched 60 Minutes on Sunday night which I never do but Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed by Lesley Stahl and they hinted something new Facebook was working on, would be shown on 60 Minutes. Sure enough, they have given a whole new look to the Facebook profile page. To give you an idea, here is what mine looks like now.
So basically you enter in your key information and it spells out a nice summary of who you are. It also offers an expanded family tree for connections. Now in addition to spouse, brother, sister, mom and dad connections, it also offers uncle, aunt, cousins, niece and nephews. Interesting enough in-laws is still not an option so if you have a brother-in-law for example and want to add the family connection, you will just have to label them as a brother for now. So check it out, I happen to like it but your mileage may vary.
Google offers e-Books
Also announced yesterday, Google is now an e-book seller and offering reader apps for iOS and Android devices. Stay tuned for this Friday’s Googling Friday where I talk a lot more about the pros and cons of Google’s e-book reader app.
Mac App Store to launch Monday?
Apple may be preparing to launch their Mac App Store as early as this coming Monday. Apple did state during the OS X 10.7 Lion preview that they would launch a beta version of the Mac App Store within 90 days so this seems to fit into that timeline. If it does then we will have something to discuss here next week.
AirPlay coming to Safari and Third-party apps in 2011
Once again Steve Jobs fired off an email reply from his iPhone to someone that asked about AirPlay limitations on video from iOS devices to AppleTV. Jobs states that Apple hopes to add video features to third-party apps and Safari. This is great news for folks that use Netflix and Hulu Plus on their iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as they can then stream video to the AppleTV.
This Week’s iOS app Reviews
iMove ($4.99) - IF you have an iPhone 4 then you really should get this app. What it does is allow you to edit video shot on your iPhone 4, on your iPhone 4. I was able to put together a video overview of the Google Books reader app using my iPhone 4 and iMovie. You can find the video here!
Loopt (FREE) - Yes, another location based social networking app. I try them all folks and what I like about this one is it integrates with Facebook’s Places. So you tie your Facebook account into Loopt and whenever you check into a location using the Facebook app, Loopt will also show you at such place. You can also connect your Twitter account to Loopt as well.
Words with Friends (FREE) - Ok so there is also an iPad version as well. They also offer a paid version without advertising. Basically Words with Friends is Scrabble that you can play with friends and family. You will have to setup a username, but it is fairly easy to setup a game quickly with a friend. I have learned words I didn’t know existed and you can also chat with each other as well. It is a lot of fun.
Google Books (FREE) - As I mentioned earlier, Google is offering their own e-book reader app now (iPad version). The look and feel is similar to that of the Apple iBooks and Amazon Kindle app. On Friday, I will have more about it.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Tuesday Tech Talk. See you all next week for another fixin’!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Googling Friday #13
Hello all and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend last week. I am certainly stuffed. Well, let’s see what is going on in the world of Google this week.
Top 5 Free Google Apps add-ons for business
MacWorld has a nice article on the top 5 free add-on apps for businesses using Google Apps. Sounds like some cool stuff, as someone that doesn’t use Google Apps, I can’t really vouch for them personally but they sound very productive.
More struggles for GoogleTV
Sony has cut the price of its Blu-ray GoogleTV box by $100 as sales of GoogleTV devices have struggled. When it first launched, GoogleTV created a lot of buzz but TV networks soon began to disable their online video content from displaying on GoogleTV devices so it is not the cable/satellite killer a lot of people were thinking it would be. Apple with its AppleTV seems to be realistic with the current mood of TV networks but it has the ability to expand as market conditions become more flexible.
Google, Facebook, and others, tell FCC to grow a pair on Net Neutrality
A group of internet based companies have a message for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, man up! They want the FCC to take a harder stand against companies like Comcast that want to establish a toll booth for various internet traffic. This is one area where I side with the Obama Administration on. I believe in an open internet where traffic can’t be impeded upon by internet providers. I pay Comcast $60 a month, if they have a problem with internet traffic, build a bigger pipeline, do something with my $60 a month I have given you for the last 5 years! It is called investing in your infrastructure! I also think the situation could be helped if we opened up areas to competition. My only options for internet are Comcast or AT&T DSL and with AT&T in my area I only get 1.5Mbps in my area from them which is a no-go for my AppleTV. Also we can really unleash the fiber optic market in more areas. I would love to have U-Verse or Verizon FiOS as my provider but due to market conditions, they are not yet. WIth those services, they generally begin at 15 Mbps which is more than double what Comcast offers me and at a cheaper rate.
Google Earth 6
This week Google updated Google Earth to version 6. It now includes trees and bridges in 3D. It was way cool and go check it out. Here is a snapshot from the Google blog.
Pretty cool huh and of course it is free! So go explore places you have never physically been before or places you have.
Well, that will do it for this edition of Googling Friday. Sorry no reviews this week, but the Google Earth 6 is a good sample I think. See you all next week!
Top 5 Free Google Apps add-ons for business
MacWorld has a nice article on the top 5 free add-on apps for businesses using Google Apps. Sounds like some cool stuff, as someone that doesn’t use Google Apps, I can’t really vouch for them personally but they sound very productive.
More struggles for GoogleTV
Sony has cut the price of its Blu-ray GoogleTV box by $100 as sales of GoogleTV devices have struggled. When it first launched, GoogleTV created a lot of buzz but TV networks soon began to disable their online video content from displaying on GoogleTV devices so it is not the cable/satellite killer a lot of people were thinking it would be. Apple with its AppleTV seems to be realistic with the current mood of TV networks but it has the ability to expand as market conditions become more flexible.
Google, Facebook, and others, tell FCC to grow a pair on Net Neutrality
A group of internet based companies have a message for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, man up! They want the FCC to take a harder stand against companies like Comcast that want to establish a toll booth for various internet traffic. This is one area where I side with the Obama Administration on. I believe in an open internet where traffic can’t be impeded upon by internet providers. I pay Comcast $60 a month, if they have a problem with internet traffic, build a bigger pipeline, do something with my $60 a month I have given you for the last 5 years! It is called investing in your infrastructure! I also think the situation could be helped if we opened up areas to competition. My only options for internet are Comcast or AT&T DSL and with AT&T in my area I only get 1.5Mbps in my area from them which is a no-go for my AppleTV. Also we can really unleash the fiber optic market in more areas. I would love to have U-Verse or Verizon FiOS as my provider but due to market conditions, they are not yet. WIth those services, they generally begin at 15 Mbps which is more than double what Comcast offers me and at a cheaper rate.
Google Earth 6
This week Google updated Google Earth to version 6. It now includes trees and bridges in 3D. It was way cool and go check it out. Here is a snapshot from the Google blog.
Pretty cool huh and of course it is free! So go explore places you have never physically been before or places you have.
Well, that will do it for this edition of Googling Friday. Sorry no reviews this week, but the Google Earth 6 is a good sample I think. See you all next week!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Googling Friday #11
Hello gang and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. I know it’s been a couple of weeks and I apologize but there seemed to be a lack of Google news to report on so lets see what is happening this week.
Free WiFi on domestic Delta, AirTran, and Virgin America for the holidays!
We are approaching the major travel holidays with Thanksgiving and Christmas. For many traveling can be stressful with TSA screenings and connecting flights and crowded gates and planes. How about some free WiFi on the plane? Well if you are flying Delta, AirTran, or Virgin America domestic between November 20th-January 2nd, your in luck as Google is teaming with those airlines to offer Gogo Inflight WiFi for free! Now you can update your Twitter status when the flight attendant gets 2 beers and jumps...oh wait, that only happens on JetBlue!
Engadget review of Logitech Revue for GoogleTV
Engadget has posted their review of the Logitech Revue for GoogleTV. This is currently the cheapest way to add GoogleTV to your current TV setup at this point. Also if you are a Dish Network subscriber, you can get it for $179 plus $4 a month. As for me, I am holding off as the price is just too high for browsing web based content on my TV, but I love the search though.
Google Instant Search review
This week I wanted to review what Google is best known for, search! One of their new features is Google Instant Search. What that means is as you start to type words it is displaying search results live as you type and modifies on the fly as you are filling out your search. Well they have now brought this incredible feature to Android and iPhone/iPod touch devices. It’s a great feature and saves me a lot of time on searches. What will they think of next? Oh, how about instant previews which shows a snap shot of a page in your search results once you click on the magnifying glass icon next to the link. Good stuff! Well that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Free WiFi on domestic Delta, AirTran, and Virgin America for the holidays!
We are approaching the major travel holidays with Thanksgiving and Christmas. For many traveling can be stressful with TSA screenings and connecting flights and crowded gates and planes. How about some free WiFi on the plane? Well if you are flying Delta, AirTran, or Virgin America domestic between November 20th-January 2nd, your in luck as Google is teaming with those airlines to offer Gogo Inflight WiFi for free! Now you can update your Twitter status when the flight attendant gets 2 beers and jumps...oh wait, that only happens on JetBlue!
Engadget review of Logitech Revue for GoogleTV
Engadget has posted their review of the Logitech Revue for GoogleTV. This is currently the cheapest way to add GoogleTV to your current TV setup at this point. Also if you are a Dish Network subscriber, you can get it for $179 plus $4 a month. As for me, I am holding off as the price is just too high for browsing web based content on my TV, but I love the search though.
Google Instant Search review
This week I wanted to review what Google is best known for, search! One of their new features is Google Instant Search. What that means is as you start to type words it is displaying search results live as you type and modifies on the fly as you are filling out your search. Well they have now brought this incredible feature to Android and iPhone/iPod touch devices. It’s a great feature and saves me a lot of time on searches. What will they think of next? Oh, how about instant previews which shows a snap shot of a page in your search results once you click on the magnifying glass icon next to the link. Good stuff! Well that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Googling Friday #10
Hey gang and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. Today I wanted to talk about another cool Google feature known as Google Goggles, but first lets get caught up on Google news.
Google passing GoogleTV over to YouTube
Last week I talked about GoogleTV, later that day, I went to Best Buy and they had a couple of versions of GoogleTV. One had the Logitech Revue and the other the Sony setup. One thing I took away from, it reaffirmed my opinion that it is a glorified WebTV. I don’t see it as a competitor to TV and Roku which offer video content at a much..much lower price. Now comes word that Google themselves are handing over development to its YouTube division. With the networks blocking online video from its sites to GoogleTV, Google is finding the same road blocks Apple has came across with content agreements with NBC and CBS.
Google Dodges the Tax Man
Google has found a way that many other companies have found to avoid paying huge taxes to the government and doing so legally. Course we could just make things easier to go to a FairTax system in this country, but that is a blog on a different subject.
Google Goggles
Now for this week’s review, I am a recent user of Google Goggles. Google’s app on the iPhone was recently updated to include Goggles in its search feature. What it does basically is say you come across a Chipotle logo on a cup, you can take a picture of it and it will come back with some information about Chipotle and what if offers for food and its locations. It’s very cool because you don’t have to know the name of something to find out about it, just a logo. It is point and shoot search basically. Pretty cool stuff and if you have an Android based phone, there is an app for it as well. Give it a try!
Well that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Google passing GoogleTV over to YouTube
Last week I talked about GoogleTV, later that day, I went to Best Buy and they had a couple of versions of GoogleTV. One had the Logitech Revue and the other the Sony setup. One thing I took away from, it reaffirmed my opinion that it is a glorified WebTV. I don’t see it as a competitor to TV and Roku which offer video content at a much..much lower price. Now comes word that Google themselves are handing over development to its YouTube division. With the networks blocking online video from its sites to GoogleTV, Google is finding the same road blocks Apple has came across with content agreements with NBC and CBS.
Google Dodges the Tax Man
Google has found a way that many other companies have found to avoid paying huge taxes to the government and doing so legally. Course we could just make things easier to go to a FairTax system in this country, but that is a blog on a different subject.
Google Goggles
Now for this week’s review, I am a recent user of Google Goggles. Google’s app on the iPhone was recently updated to include Goggles in its search feature. What it does basically is say you come across a Chipotle logo on a cup, you can take a picture of it and it will come back with some information about Chipotle and what if offers for food and its locations. It’s very cool because you don’t have to know the name of something to find out about it, just a logo. It is point and shoot search basically. Pretty cool stuff and if you have an Android based phone, there is an app for it as well. Give it a try!
Well that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)