Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all!

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

MSFT: We're Number Two!

Microsoft has once again asserted that 1.5 billion PCs
around the world run on Windows.

It posts the figure in its newly updated Microsoft by the
Numbers website, which also shows off that Cortana has
been asked 18 billion questions, facts about the company's
artificial-intelligence activities, donations, and its carbon
Footprint.

The number is consistent with figures that Microsoft has
previously set out about Windows adoption. Apple has
about two billion active Android devices.

Microsoft in July said just under 700 million PCs are running
Windows 10, up from 500 million in May. Last week, the

Microsoft's own app data statistics report shows that, as of
September, 76 percent of all Windows PCs are running the
Windows 10 April 2018 Update, version 1803, with the
remainder on some earlier version.

Missing from the new By the Numbers report is a mention
of Office. Previously it stated that Office apps have had been
downloaded over 100 million times on Android and iOS, as
Neowin reported when Microsoft's site launched in 2015.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Samsung Overhaul

Samsung Electronics Co. is overhauling its line-up of
premium phones for next year, preparing to launch its
first 5G-capable smartphone, a cheaper flagship model
and a foldable-screen device to challenge Apple Inc.
and stay ahead of Chinese rivals, people familiar with
the matter said.

The Suwon, South Korea-based company is in talks with
Verizon Communications Inc. to launch its Galaxy S10 in
the U.S. with a fifth-generation wireless chipset, said the
people, asking not to be identified because products are
still under development. The goal is to secure support from
the biggest U.S. carrier to popularize the technology, which
is designed to transfer data dozens of times faster than the
fourth-generation networks in use now.

Samsung has embedded a fingerprint sensor under the
display of its S10, overcoming years-long challenges of
mass-producing such a device, the people said. The world’s
biggest phone maker will launch three versions of the
flagship model, including a more affordable version to appeal
to the widest range of consumers, they said.

While Samsung already has a line-up of cheaper “A” models,
the move signals the company shares Apple’s concern over
Chinese rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co. and Oppo
that continue to win customers by offering premium models
at lower prices. Samsung is also rushing to complete devel-
opment of a bendable device that it hopes will let it dominate
a niche market with potential to grow.

“If you think about how Samsung can differentiate itself and
compete in this market, it’s with hardware,” said Cliff Maldonado,
an analyst at BayStreet Research in San Francisco. “That’s what
their forte is, and their foldable phone is about positioning and
Branding.”

The standard S10, codenamed “Beyond,” features an OLED
screen curved on both sides, round-shaped corners and almost
no bezel at the top and bottom, the people said. It will be about
the same size as the current 5.8-inch S9 model. The S10 has
triple cameras on the back while the front camera is visible and
tucked under the screen, the people said. Samsung also plans

a bigger “plus” version for next year.

Friday, October 26, 2018

No Post Today

There will not be a post today, I'm too sick. I'll be in bed if you need me,

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Here Comes Apple TV (again)

Apple’s streaming television service, which is said to
resemble Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, will launch
in the first half of next year, according to a report today
from The Information. The service, which may exist as
a standalone app or within the existing TV app, will
launch in the US first and become available in more than
100 countries after a few months of availability, the report
says. It will feature a mix of original programming, access
to third-party services, and the ability to subscribe directly
to channel packages offered by network and cable
providers, similar to Amazon’s Channels feature.

For years, Apple has been trying to crack streaming like
it did digital media and smartphone apps. But due to
complex licensing deals and media conglomerates’ tight
control on pricing and bundling, the iPhone maker has
been less successful than competitors like Amazon and
Netflix, both of which have built strong ecosystems mixing
licensed content and original programming. And although
Apple has sold its own set-top box since 2006, the device
has largely remained a conduit for other companies’ media,
and it lags behind Amazon and Roku hardware in market
share.

Apple appears ready to try and change that with the launch
of its official streaming TV service, which will be free for iOS
device owners and exist as the home interface of its Apple
TV line, reports The Information. One snag is that Apple
doesn’t appear willing to let the software exist outside its
own hardware, which may limit its ability to expand. Both
Amazon, through its Prime Video app, and Netflix exist as
mobile apps, built-in native smart TV apps, and streaming
set-top box apps. In the case of Amazon, which produces
the Fire TV line, its software is the entire home interface
on its devices. That means consumers have numerous
access points to Prime Video and Netflix, while Apple will

necessarily limit its own service’s reach.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Qualcomm to Join With Amazon

Microchip firm Qualcomm  is joining Amazon.com to
spread the use of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in
wireless headphones, the companies said on Monday.

Under the deal, Qualcomm will release a set of chips
that any maker of Bluetooth headphones can use to
embed Alexa directly into the device. When the head-
phones are paired to a phone with the Alexa app on it,
users will be able to talk to the voice assistant by tapping
a button on the headphones.

The functionality would be similar to Apple AirPods wireless
earbuds, which enable users can tap the devices to talk to
Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri.

Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, whose voice assistants
have most often been found in their respective smart
speakers for the home, are rushing to partner with headphone
Makers.

Models from Bose and Jabra feature Alexa built in, and Sony
said earlier this year that a software update will make some of
its headphone models work with Alexa. Google Assistant can
be used on headphones from Bose, JBL and Sony, along with

Google’s own Pixel Buds.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

No New Post Today

There will be no new post today. Our mailbox is currently down.

Monday, October 22, 2018

New Google Smart Hub

The latest entry to the Google Home ecosystem is
called the Google Home Hub. The Home Hub marries
a screen with the Google Assistant-powered voice
command system, allowing users to call up recipes,
utilize smart home controls, or watch YouTube videos.

We've seen this software before—there's presently
a whole device category out there known as "Google
Smart Displays." Just like with Android, Google makes
the software, and a number of OEMs then load the
software onto their devices. Google Smart Display
devices have thus far been made by LG and JBL, and
we did a full review of the Lenovo Smart Display.
Unlike Android, Google currently has full control of the
Smart Display software no matter who manufactures
the hardware. This means every device pretty much has
the exact same UI and capabilities, aside from the usual
technology treadmill of new features exclusive to new
Devices.

But with Google launching its own version of the Google Smart
Display hardware, this is definitely the unit to buy if you're in
the market. The Home Hub happens to be cheaper—just
$150—and better looking than any of the third-party devices.

Plus, it has an awesome new display feature

Friday, October 19, 2018

Online Gaming

here's a specific kind of frustration associated with crappy
game-streaming services. It's all about the buildup: You
find a game, whether it's something brand new or a long-
lost childhood favorite, and boot it up. It takes forever to load.
The title screen stutters and your heart drops, but it's easy to
convince yourself it was just a bout of preliminary jitters.

And then the game begins. And stops. And starts up again.
And stops. The dialogue is chopped, animations are discon-
nected and any type of action scene is impossible to control.
Your character is killed five times in 10 minutes, and you're
simultaneously filled with rage and an acute sense of loss.
You exit out of the streaming service and spend the night
playing Fortnite again.

That's been the story with so many streaming services over
the years, from OnLive to GeForce Now. However, this entire
ecosystem is poised to change. After years of impossible
promises and half-baked public trials in an incomplete online
ecosystem, streaming services are finally viable, and major
companies like Google and Microsoft are teasing the future

of the industry.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Gen Z Voters

Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem
for a Dream) has teamed up with Generation Z activists
from all over the country to find out why they are voting,
in order to get young people to the polls on November 6.

Aronofsky queried his subjects, who are calling on their
peers to vote in the midterm elections, in a short film for
the Sierra Club Voter Education Fund. Produced by
Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures and Chromista, the video
features people active in movements for indigenous rights,
gun control, rights for the disabled, immigrant rights,
climate justice and transgender equality, among others,
passionately advocating for participation in this November’s
Election.

“First-time voters have the power to make a massive impact
in the upcoming midterm elections, but 18-20-year-olds are
part of a demographic that has historically failed to participate
in national elections. It’s time to change that,” said Aronofsky
in a release. “We are working with a dynamic group of activists
from all over the country, who care about an array of causes,
including Delaney Tarr, David Hogg, Chella Man, Xiuhtezcatl
Martinez, and Gavin Grimm, and filmed them speaking about
what issues will be most important when casting their votes
next month.”

The film crew traveled across the country to capture the
messages from the activists included in the video.

“The passion these activists share about their causes is
contagious. All of them are between the ages of 18-20. None
of them were eligible to vote in 2016. But now they can be heard,
and all of them are passionate about voting,” Aronofsky said.
“We hope their activism inspires Generation Z to get to the polls
on November 6 and speak up for the issues that are important to

all of us.”

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Paul Allen Dies

Microsoft co-founder and former Charter Communications
chairman Paul Allen died Monday in Seattle. He was 65
years old and the cause was complications of non-Hogdkin's
lymphoma.

This was Allen’s third battle with cancer. He retired from
Microsoft in 1982 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's
lymphoma, from which he later recovered. In 2009, Allen
said he had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which he later beat
after chemotherapy treatment. But on Oct. 1, Allen said
the disease had returned.

He burst on the cable scene in 1998, purchasing Marcus
Cable and then Charter Communications, deals that laid
the groundwork for Allen’s “Wired World” strategy. What
followed was a flurry of transactions – among them Bresnan
Communications, Falcon Cable and Avalon Cable – that
vaulted Charter to the upper echelons among cable
operators across the country.

But those deals significantly increased Charter’s debt load
– at one point it was among the highest leveraged operators
in the industry. Allen stepped down as chairman in 2009,
shortly after the company emerged from bankruptcy

He stepped further back from Charter in 2011, reducing his
holdings in the cable company and focusing on his other
tech holdings via his personal investment vehicle Vulcan Inc.,
and interests including ownership of the NFL Seattle

Seahawks and the NBA Portland Trailblazers.