Apple’s developer website hacked, personal information ‘may have been accessed

Apple's developer web-site, which has skilled some significant downtime this previous week, has become hacked.

Apple launched the knowledge just a handful of moments in the past in an e-mail to registered developers, saying that delicate emails, names, and bodily addresses could have been compromised, and that it took the website down on Thursday to prevent any further harm:

Last Thursday, an intruder attempted to secure individual information and facts of our registered developers from our developer website. Delicate personalized info was encrypted and can't be accessed, nevertheless, we now have not been in a position to rule out the probability that some developers' names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may possibly are already accessed. In the spirit of transparency, we desire to inform you of the problem. We took the internet site down immediately on Thursday and have been working across the clock since then.

So that you can prevent a safety threat like this from taking place yet again, we're completely overhauling our developer techniques, updating our server computer software, and rebuilding our whole database. We apologize to the sizeable inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we anticipate to get the developer internet site up again soon.

The last time Apple's developer site went down it had been as a result of a rush around the company's iOS 7 beta release in early June. This week's outage, however, was longer-lived  for considerably of a day  and for any much extra damaging motive.

apple web site hackedPrevious Apple hacks have all been clientside, usually as a result of vulnerabilities from the Java program the corporation employed to ship with OS X, and sometimes by means of social-engineering attacks on iCloud passwords. This really is potentially a considerably much more serious issue, as you'll find 300,000 iOS developers while in the U.S. alone, and possibly very well over a million globally.

Apple is really a tempting target not only for its developers, but also for its customers.

iCloud and iTunes have above 300 million accounts, all with juicy charge card info. An attacker who could penetrate Apple's security in one particular spot  the developer website, as an example  may possibly be able to penetrate Apple's safety in other spots. I've contacted Apple for much more data on what the corporation is executing to guard these consumers, and make sure that none of their data has become affected.

Apple' worst fear, of course, may be that hackers could achieve accessibility to its app store or even the signing credential engineering that certified iPhone apps as secure, acknowledged, and malware-free. Google lately had a major scare of precisely that class  which is so far appears to possess been ready to incorporate  plus the last thing Apple would like is for its iPhone-buying public to take into account the iOS ecosystem anywhere near as malware-laden as Android from time to time appears to get.

The front webpage with the web-site is presently live, but developers trying to log into the web-site will locate this message:

In an effort to protect against a protection threat like this from taking place once more, we're fully overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software program, and rebuilding our whole database. We apologize for your significant inconvenience that our downtime has brought about you and we assume to have the developer web site up once again soon.

source: http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/21/apples-developer-website-hacked/

relate article: Google appears poised to unveil new Nexus tablets
                Google Glass: Getting In Your Face
                Samsung Confirms Boxee Acquisition

Google will push Internet TV services are independent of content licensing negotiations

Google also preparing to launch its own Internet TV services and media company in the near future with the authorization of content matters were contacted. The service will be able to play traditional TV programs.
If Google continues to promote the plan, then the search giant will also join the camp of other technology companies, introduced a broadband connection via cable channels combined services. Intel, Sony are also in the development of similar services, while Apple has told the media over the past few years, the company offers a variety of TV content licensing program.
Informed sources said that in recent months, Google began to introduce the project to some programmers, and provide product demonstrations. If Google launched this service, then the traditional TV ecosystem will have a significant impact on the pay-TV operators to generate new competition. Pay-TV operators are already struggling to support the amount of retained video subscribers.
Google has not yet comment.
In the existing online video providers, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon provide television programming on demand video, but Google's new service will prove safety of traditional TV channels, allowing consumers to demand programming like using the same cable or browse through channels.
Content licensing difficulties
But Google and other technology companies are unable to guarantee any content reached a licensing agreement. Media companies worried about them with the new online payment service agreement may damage previously reached with existing distributors lucrative agreement. Media company executives said they are more focused on expanding its existing distributors through programs online and on-demand capabilities.
Although media companies license their content publicly, but they will generally give the most affordable price largest distributor. OTT TV service programs in order to obtain the appropriate license price, Google and other technology companies almost have to accept the standard program package, which includes the popular TV channels and low popularity of TV channels.
Informed sources said that this is the second attempt to launch Google TV service two years ago, the search giant has been with the company for similar services, the media had launched negotiations, but negotiations were not thorough.
Intel plans to launch its own television services before the end of the year, and has worked with several media companies, broadband service broadcast rights negotiations on a year's time. It is unclear whether Intel reached a licensing agreement any major program, but last week's disclosure documents show that Intel television service may be called OnCue. Intel two spokesman declined to comment.
Informed sources said that Apple in the content licensing negotiation process was resisted media company. Sony plans to progress is not yet clear, but a media company executives said on Tuesday that Sony TV service launch date may be earlier than Intel. Earlier reports said that Sony plans to Internet TV services to its own devices, including the PlayStation game console, TV and Blu-ray player. Sony spokesman declined to comment.
Google is also taking other measures in recent years to expand TV and online video market, including the injection of original programming produced YouTube, Google in its fiber-optic network to launch regular cable service, has developed a cable box mounted on the Google TV software.

Tagged! Smugler's Notch, VT Tree Tunnel

via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=137112459830202&set=a.129628380578610.1073741827.100005943464209&type=1

Tagged! BEST VIEWED LARGE....TRUST ME

via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=137074219834026&set=a.129628380578610.1073741827.100005943464209&type=1

Tagged! Look! A pretty rainbow. Also, it's probably a good idea to pay attention to the "beware of dog" signs.

via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=141221026084653&set=a.116294341910655.1073741828.100005902693932&type=1

Google appears poised to unveil new Nexus tablets

Google appears to get getting ready to introduce the next generation of its Nexus tablets.

The unveiling is most likely to come at a July 24 occasion in San Francisco. Google Inc. sent invitations Wednesday towards the media.

The occasion will be hosted by Sundar Pichai, a Google executive who oversees the company's Android and Chrome operating systems.

Android, the world's top mobile operating procedure, powers Google's line-up of Nexus tablets. People products have emerged being a well known alternative to Apple's iPad due to the fact Google released the first Nexus tablet with a 7-inch display display last July.
It's develop into customary for top-selling devices to become upgraded at the very least after a yr, fueling speculation that is what Google is about to do with all the Nexus subsequent week.

 

source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/07/17/google-nexus-tablets/2529557/ 

My website: dbuying.com
My facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
My twitter: http://twitter.com/dbuying1

Interpretation of Baidu acquisition of 91 game trip: 1.9 billion U. S. dollars in exchange for price entrance

July 16 morning, Baidu announced the proposed acquisition of a wholly-owned Hong Kong-listed company's 91 NetDragon wireless business, purchase price of $ 1.9 billion, the relevant parties have signed the Memorandum of Understanding. 91 subsequently confirmed to reporters that the wireless aspect of the matter. The transaction if completed, will become the largest in the history of China's Internet a merger.
Previously, 91 wireless plan is in full swing in Hong Kong Introduction. In the market before the introduction of the final round of 91 radio strategic investors, Richard (Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's son) led to its investors invested $ 17.8 million, corresponding to 91 was valued at 2.2 billion yuan, and the second Baidu right 91 shows 91 takeover request a valuation rose sharply.
Currently 91 wireless parent holds 91 wireless NetDragon 57.41% of the shares, the Baidu acquisition only holds 91 wireless NetDragon shares. And 91 other shareholders hold 42.59% of the hands of 91 shares, Baidu is negotiating the acquisition of the transaction total of $ 1.9 billion.
$ 1.9 billion valuation, not only the parent company of more than 91 market value of NetDragon, also exceeded the majority in the U.S. listed Chinese stocks market value. In accordance with the July 16 closing price, NetDragon listed in Hong Kong of HK $ 9.739 billion market capitalization. This shows that the market for mobile Internet concept in the pursuit.
Both for Baidu or 91, this merger is a win-win deal. According to sources close to the deal, Baidu had on 91 offer is only around $ 10 billion, and now suddenly price increases to $ 1.9 billion, showing Baidu a little anxious in the mobile Internet, this is the money for time to catch up strategy.
From the development of the mobile Internet trends, the application stores the good old days may be coming to an end, 91 selected high-priced to sell at this time, should be a wise choice.
91 The logic being sold
Earlier this year, the newspaper reporter with 91 wireless CEO Wu Chak exchanges had asked, "If Baidu and other giants tried to buy 91, 91 will be considered?" Wu Chak then replied, "if the right seller, 91 will not be rejected, but depends on whether the offer attractive enough. "thenceforth came news of 91 and Baidu, Alibaba and other giants have been in contact.
91 wireless operators the famous 91 assistants and Android market, is considered to be China's largest mobile Internet distribution channels.
At the time, Apple's iPhone has just begun popular in China, most Chinese people are not accustomed to American design Apple iTunes, 91 to seize this market opportunity to launch a smartphone is easy to install the software for 91 mobile assistant and In China's "white" user has a good mass base, and thus become a powerful mobile application distribution channels.
Since then, 91 has introduced specifically for Android phones "Android Market." Because Google's Android operating system in China most of the time was habitually called "Android System", so until now, even many Chinese people believe that Android is Google's official market.
Since 91 is a strong mobile internet channels, so 91 very early realization of a large-scale flow. Its realization is the primary means to promote the sale of application store locations, as well as with a number of mobile game makers to conduct joint operations, as well as advertising systems, 91 panda reading, and other businesses.
Why NetDragon 91 wireless chosen not listed by way of financing it? 3 months ago 91 Wireless CEO Hu Jin-min interview, explained: "We are not short of money, and now their own self-profitability, hematopoietic capacity well, so do not worry take this money (refers to public financing). Why Introduction because we want our own company's investors or to get the maximum value itself is good to play, so we do not dilute the shareholding to the current market. "
But there are other investors on the market that it is often the Introduction for the sale of the company to raise prices, it turned out that 91 was indeed planning to move the Introduction greatly uplift its purchase price. Richard introduced in 91 other investors in the final round of financing when the company that a corresponding valuation only 2.2 billion yuan, just less than a year to $ 1.9 billion rapid appreciation. While Ali and other potential investors into the Council, but also greatly uplift the 91 final sale price.
July 16, net long and 91 wireless Chairman Liu Dejian in the mail sent to company employees, said, "The Board considers that, compared with 91 wireless and listed in Hong Kong, the completion of this transaction, on 91 wireless and NetDragon to create greater value for 91 in terms of wireless and NetDragon is also a win-win situation. "
However, the merger was announced, investors sold off sharply NetDragon was the day the stock fell 21 percent, to close at HK $ 19.04. 91 NetDragon Wireless is the largest contributor to the business portion of profit after the sale NetDragon difficult to be optimistic about the market outlook.
Baidu money for time
From a strategic point of the pattern, the Internet giant Baidu actually need most of all mergers and acquisitions 91.
First wave of this wave of mobile Internet App, Baidu assessment of the situation has undergone major mistakes. Baidu to App represented in this wave action in the mobile Internet market is much slower than other internet giants.
In the PC Internet era, Baidu is a web traffic realized based company, Baidu is China's most important Internet traffic entrances to App dominated by mobile Internet, Baidu looked everywhere passive.
A large mobile Internet company declined to be named CEO pointed out that the impact on Baidu mobile Internet is fatal, because the mobile Internet has greatly accelerated the process of vertical search in various vertical categories App and comes with the search box, which is Baidu, great impact.
For example, people search for food would use the public comments, the search will use a scouring e-commerce products, search Youku video will be used inside the search box, Baidu's traffic entrance advantages will be significantly weakened.
The Internet's most profitable games business, for example, a PC on the Internet, over the past few years has been the most popular web game market, and to the mobile Internet, App client game started to become mainstream, so the application stores become the best results distribution channels.
Since late last year, Baidu began to realize that they lag behind in the mobile Internet field, began a frenzied acquisitions, and has acquired a snack, magic Chart Wizard and other companies, but these companies are too small, can not solve Baidu in the mobile Internet the fundamental problem.
One pair Baidu is quite familiar with the TMT field VC investors pointed out that the main purpose of mergers and acquisitions and competitors in order to shorten the gap. Assuming Baidu and major rivals in the mobile Internet on a six gap, totally dependent on their own strength to chase too difficult, and the acquisition of 91 such a user, the flow of the company, you can greatly reduce the gap and key competitors.
Baidu is currently the number one competitor is 360.360 announced into the search market, Baidu's share price led to a sharp decline, Baidu top to bottom guard. Baidu traffic and 360 are doing business Internet companies, are to snatch the mobile Internet portal, it is bound to have a war.
360 in the wireless application distribution business flourishing. Previously, 360 and 91 in the wireless application store on one occasion not happy cooperation, the two sides launched a 91-360 mobile assistant, but then broke up because of various disagreements, then, 360 to start their own independent development of mobile application distribution business and gradually become China's largest mobile application distribution channels.
In contrast, Baidu own mobile application distribution business is slow, and the gap has been growing 360, mainly through Baidu Baidu currently assistant to distribute mobile phone App, but because of the late start, the application number and 360 and the distribution 91 are not a small gap.
Therefore, after the acquisition of 91, Baidu mobile application channels can quickly make up for the short board. In addition, 91 also has a mobile advertising, wireless game development, mobile reading and many other business segments. Acquisition of 91, Baidu gained was not just a mobile application channels.
Good times coming to an end?
The Baidu is 91 out of the high prices in a way proved that the App Store is still the first mobile Internet portal, but the trends in the development of mobile Internet, the application stores the good old days may be coming to an end.
Since the development of the mobile Internet, Web and App route on the long-standing debate, especially in the industry, many people expect the future will replace HTML5 App upper hand, but after several years of development can be seen, HTML5 development is very slow, and App Development has been very fast.
Japanese mobile social gaming giant DeNA's China CEO Yong recent interview that the company is the company best shift resources to develop App client game up, but before the company has been based Web mobile web games Kyo, Wang Yong said the future is more optimistic about the App games - even DeNA this game to mobile web-based betting big manufacturers have begun to App, the industry's direction is evident.
"App Store and soon may be a good day." Domestic a large application store business leader pointed out that "the number of mobile Internet traffic have become a stock, application stores and Web site navigation, browser, search for these web-core different flow distribution, flow once handed out no longer own up. "
So 91,360 other mobile application stores unable to sell unrestricted traffic flow because they will be distributed micro-channel, street street, mobile QQ, fishing people, looking for your sister and other large flow applications, these applications and the formation of a new traffic, which will compete for traffic and application store entrance.
To Tencent micro-channel, for example, early in the development of micro-channel rely major application stores to promote, but in the hundreds of millions of users, a set of building their own micro-channel flow system - micro-channel is a public account mild App, makes it no longer need to download a lot of App.

My website: dbuying.com
My facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
My twitter: http://twitter.com/dbuying1

Global PC shipments in the second quarter fell for the fifth consecutive

Research firm Gartner said Wednesday, the second quarter of the global personal computer (PC) shipments were down 10.9% for the fifth consecutive decline, PC market as a result of the popularity of tablet PCs suffer greatly.
 
This is the longest in the history of the decline of the PC industry during the second quarter, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N: Quote) market share lost to Lenovo Group (0992.HK: Quote). Lenovo is now the world's leading PC manufacturers, market share of 16.7%.
 
 Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a press release, "We are seeing the decline of the PC market shrinking and the PC is directly related to the number of users in the mature developed markets, cheap tablet computer is mainly used for consumption instead of low-end PC." 
 
Also on Wednesday, research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) announced that PC shipments in the second quarter, down 11.4%, slightly better than expected. 
 
"As close to the expected performance of the second quarter, we still expect some improvement in the second half of this year," IDC analyst Jay Chou said in a report in. 
 
Gartner said PC makers second quarter shipments of 76 million units a year earlier to 85.3 million units.

UPDATE 1-T-Mobile US to allow phone upgrades every six months

By Sinead Carew

(Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc said on Wednesday that customers will be allowed to upgrade phones every six months and it unveiled a family plan for prepaid customers that it hopes will lure customers away from its three bigger rivals.

Verizon Wireless , AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp offer phone discounts in exchange for tying customers to two year contracts and typically do not allow phone upgrades during that period.

T-Mobile, which is under pressure to stem years of customer losses, said it is already seeing good results from its efforts to differentiate itself from bigger rivals. Now, it is betting people will switch to its service because they want to change phones more often than its rivals allow.

"You can upgrade when you want, not when you're told," T-Mobile Chief Executive John Legere, who was appointed in September 2012, told reporters and analysts at a New York event where he announced the changes.

Legere told Reuters he expects the offer to improve customer loyalty and to increase the number of new customers T-Mobile lures from other carriers each quarter without having a big financial impact on the company.

The No. 4 U.S. mobile provider also hopes to attract more customers who pay for calls in advance by offering a prepaid family plan that does not require a credit check.

It said its $100 monthly fee for a family of four is about $100 less than AT&T's service. It expects a lot of interest in the service as it estimated that a third of U.S. families would not pass the credit checks required for typical family plans.

AT&T and Verizon attribute much of their success in retaining customers to these plans because it is harder for an entire family to change service than an individual.

Customers who want frequent phone upgrades must sign on to a service called Jump that requires them to pay a $10 monthly insurance fee on top of monthly service fees and a one-off down payment that partially covers the cost of the phone. They are also charged a monthly fee of up to $20 per month to pay for the remainder of the phone.

When T-Mobile customers want an upgrade, they can bring a phone to a store and swap it for a new device. They pay another down-payment and resume monthly payments for that device. The moves follows T-Mobile's elimination in March of long-term contracts and handset subsidies.

T-Mobile will lose money in some cases if a customer trades in a lower value phone for a more expensive one, according to Chief Financial Officer Braxton Carter.

But he told Reuters this would likely be evened out by the fact that popular phones such as the iPhone can keep as much as 70 percent to 80 percent of their original value after a 6-month trade in. The company will then sell those phones back to customers looking for a discount.

"We'll definitely attract more customers to our company by having this innovation," Carter said. "By attracting more customers, we're attracting more revenue and (better) margins. This is a greater retention tool."

The event on Wednesday was T-Mobile's first media function since it merged with MetroPCS in April.

Some analysts said the new plans could prove popular. But Avi Greengart of Current Analysis questioned whether customers would leave big providers because Verizon's network has a good reputation and AT&T has a huge number of customers tied to family plans that are hard to leave.

However, Greengart said the move should make those companies "sit up and take notice."

T-Mobile also announced that customer defection rates are lower than ever because of new marketing efforts and the introduction in April of the Apple Inc iPhone, which accounted for 29 percent of its smartphone sales in the second quarter.

While the company would not disclose total customer numbers for the second quarter, it believed it had added the most net customers of all the national U.S. carriers, at least in several major U.S. cities. It cited strong customer growth compared with its rivals in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Dallas.

T-Mobile shares closed 1.3 percent higher at $24.42 on the New York Stock Exchange.

source：http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/10/tmobileus-upgrades-idUSL1N0FG2DL20130710
relate article: http://andylin189.tumblr.com/
                http://andylin189.livejournal.com
                http://dbuying.over-blog.com
My website: http://www.dbuying.com/
My facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
My twitter: http://twitter.com/dbuying1

Social report: iPhone 5 most popular adverse criticism Galaxy S4

According to the British "Daily Telegraph" reported that a recent survey shows that social media, social media users of the iPhone 5 has fiercely criticized, while the Apple iPhone 5 have the highest degree of concern. Samsung Galaxy S4 became the most popular brand users.

By the market research institute "We are social" (We Are Social) provides this latest report shows that in 2012 and released the smartphone market this year, four major smart phones - Apple iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 920, BlackBerry Z10 and Samsung Galaxy S4, criticism of Apple iPhone 5 to get up in the surveyed users, one in five people complain iPhone 5 charging jack and the lack of innovation in this product.

Report provides four major mobile phone number on the social network data comparison:- Release day social networking device associated session volume: iPhone 5 170 million, the Blackberry Z10 30 , Galaxy S4 14 , Lumia 920 4.5 thousand.- Brand appeal session accounted for more than: iPhone 5 42%, Blackberry Z10 41%, Galaxy S4 20%, Lumia 920 41%.- Brand accounted for more than a session bad reviews: iPhone 5 20%, Blackberry Z10 18%, Galaxy S4 11%, Lumia 920 15%.- Smart machine features sessions accounted for more than: iPhone 5 29%, Blackberry Z10 27%, Galaxy S4 56%, Lumia 920 37%.

Social network users have tucao iPhone 5, iPhone 5 itself is manifested in the lack of innovation, charging jack and a poor performance of its Maps application.

 Apple iPhone 5 using a 30-pin socket lightning, meaning that the user can not continue on the new devices use the old charger, you must configure an adapter extra money. As well as its before giving up Google maps, replacing their own maps, users have complained that Apple's lead to wrong icon landmark, image blur as well as providing the wrong direction. To this end, the market less than two weeks in the iPhone 5, Apple's rush to apologize on the map, and recommends that users try to replace other good map service.

Apple iPhone 5 camera images are also much controversy: A user said photographs of the device image purple; addition, the user just purchased a new machine called after the cabinet paint, leaking the underlying aluminum material.

The social network for listing this year in March Samsung Galaxy S4 complain the least negative comments about the Galaxy S4 only 11 percent of the post.

The analyst, senior analyst Ed Kitchingman said, "if a brand new products in terms of innovation and before the old product does not usually receive more bad reviews and the most successful products, usually those innovations through new equipment products to meet consumer imagination. "

My facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
My twitter: http://twitter.com/dbuying1

Samsung Confirms Boxee Acquisition

Samsung has acquired Boxee, a streaming media startup that develops set top boxes, the company confirmed Wednesday.

“Samsung has acquired key talent and assets from Boxee,” a Samsung rep told Mashable in a statement. “This will help us continue to improve the overall user experience across our connected devices.”

SEE ALSO: Boxee TV Brings Live TV, DVR and Netflix in One Box

The Marker, an Israeli business publication, originally reported Wednesday that Boxee had been acquired for $30 million. Calcalist, another Israeli outlet, confirmed the news and noted that Samsung would keep Boxee's staff employed.

Samsung did not confirm the price tag of the acquisition, but if true, it would be low for Boxee. The startup, which operates out of New York and Tel Aviv, has raised $26.7 million to date. If the acquisition price is accurate, it would barely cover the amount of money invested into the company.

Boxee declined to comment on the original reports.

The news of Boxee's acquisition is not entirely surprising. AllThingsD reported in mid-June that Boxee was either looking to raise more money or else looking for potential buyers. Around the same time, VentureBeat reported that the company had been acquired, but not didn't know by whom.

The acquisition could help Samsung in the increasingly competitive smart TV market. Intel confirmed earlier this year that it is planning to build a smart TV, and Apple is widely rumored to be working on its own as well.

This marks the second notable Israeli startup acquisition in as many months. Google acquired Waze, a mapping company, for just more than $1 billion in June.
 source: http://mashable.com/2013/07/03/samsung-buybought-boxee/

My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
My Twitter: http://twitter.com/dbuying1

Google Glass: Getting In Your Face

At the beginning of this year, Google asked me if I'd like to try out a prototype of Google Glass. Being a complete gadget junkie, I'd read all about them and was as excited as anyone to actually put them on. A future of augmented reality in the form of computer glasses has long been the dream of many a science fiction fan who imagines a world where information is superimposed into his vision, where his every move is documented and archived and thus no memory is ever lost and every experience can be relived. (That may also be a dream function for the NSA.)

Given time, Google Glass definitely has the potential to give us that fully augmented reality that so many have been asking for. But in answering that desire, it's also brought up some new questions: will we still want it when we have it? Will it overwhelm and shorten our already-minute attention span? Will it make life chaotic or simplify it? And will its intrusion into our perceived privacy and personal space be a cultural issue? The debate has just begun, but so has the technology. From my hour or so with the prototype of Google Glass I got the feeling that it was sort of like the Wright brothers' flying machine—that we still have a way to go before we get to something more like a Lear jet.

As obvious as this may sound, I felt keenly self-conscious that I was wearing a small computer strapped to my head. To be straightforward, I think the main problem with most examples of "wearable tech" is that the emphasis is overwhelmingly put on the tech rather than it being truly wearable. To widen their appeal for when Google Glass becomes commercially available, Google would do well to mind its approach to design so that we don't risk looking like Geordi from Star Trek or a Terminator. It would be smart to partner with established eyewear designers such as Tom Ford or Ray-Ban to create something truly aesthetically pleasing that people would want to wear. Such collaborations could ensure that wearable tech is actually wearable. If not, I feel that Google Glass could quickly go the way of the Bluetooth headset—something that only obnoxious bro-types wear on their heads in 2015.

With Google Glass, I felt the most uncomfortable when I had to announce commands verbally. This is also my problem with Siri and other voice-activated technology; who wants to be the crazy person speaking to a computer? At the time I suggested to the reps from Google that maybe they could have Glass read some kind of rudimentary sign language. Perhaps you could wear a ring or bracelet with a small accelerometer embedded that reads your movements and reports it to Glass. Yep, in my mind's eye I was sorting through files like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. Then again, maybe looking like you're conducting an invisible orchestra is just as crazy as speaking to an invisible computer assistant.

By the sound if it, Google Glass will have immediate competition in the wearable tech space from Apple and Samsung when it hits the wider market in a few months. As you're undoubtedly aware, Apple has reportedly been testing 1.5-inch curved OLED screens that would be perfect for an "iWatch." It's even started trademarking the name in many countries. And this spring, Samsung confirmed development of a smartwatch. From the rumors alone it sounds like the smartwatch concept could be a much more comfortable and acceptable apparatus to use, even if its form means it can't offer the same level of interactivity.

The era of wearable tech that Google Glass and smartwatches are moving us into will be something like the smartphone market seven years ago; we will see wildly different takes on the idea that will filter down into a few tried and tested models that make sense for most people. The one rule I see dominating this emerging industry is that for wearable tech to really make sense it has to enhance our life, not complicate it or intrude upon it.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421188,00.asp

Like me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
Follow me: http://twitter.com/dbuying1

Firefox OS phone launches Tuesday in Spain at $3 a month

It's not every day that a new mobile operating system arrives, but Tuesday will be one of them as Telefonica begins selling the inexpensive ZTE Open with Mozilla's Firefox OS in Spain.

The move marks the commercial beginning of an effort by phone makers and network operators to use Mozilla's open-source, browser-based operating system to reclaim power in the mobile market lost to Apple and Google.

The phone itself costs 69 euros ($90), including 30 euros ($39) of pay-as-you-go credit, or for those who sign up for a two-year contract, for 2.38 euros ($3.10) per month. That's a lot cheaper than most of the new Android and iOS smartphones on the market today that consumers have flocked toward and against which Firefox OS is designed to compete.

The ZTE Open won't impress smartphone power users who want more than its 3.5-inch 480x320-pixel touchscreen, 3.2MP camera, 256MB RAM, and 512MB flash memory that's boosted with an included 4GB microSD card. But it's not designed to win them over; it's more for new and cost-conscious smartphone buyers, said Yotam Benami, Telefonica's digital director of open Web devices, in an interview.

 So why would a customer buy it? "We're excited about dynamic app search," which finds apps and pages on the Web rather than on app stores. "It's a very personalized experience. You can interact with Web apps in the cloud." He added, "The entire user experience is more simple and streamlined. Many users are frustrated with the complexities of Android," and low cost and long battery life are compelling advantages especially in emerging markets.

This single Firefox OS phone in a single market soon won't be alone. Telefonica also will sell another lower-end phone, the Alcatel One Touch Fire, and will launch the phones in Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia, Benami said.

It's not the only carrier on board. Telenor will launch its first Firefox OS phones in central and eastern Europe later this year, and Deutsche Telekom will do so in Poland. There are also several other Firefox OS supporters, including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Sony and LG Electronics that build handsets and sizeable list of carriers.

For many of these allies, Firefox OS provides a way to loosen the mobile marketplace control of Apple and Google, which control not only their operating systems but also the app stores used to distribute software.

"The current dynamics of the mobile ecosystem are problematic for OEMs, for developers, for end users, and for carriers," Benami said. "Firefox resolves many of these issues."

Developers get multiple pathways to market, he said. Hanset makers get new choices and "a path to lower level of litigation," a reference to the swarm of mobile-market lawsuits between the biggest mobile players. And for carriers, "We are not bound by rules set by one particular company that owns the platform."

As the difficulties at Microsoft and BlackBerry have shown, it's hard to compete against Android and iOS. The Firefox OS supporters think they have a recipe that will work, though, in part because of the billions of people who haven't yet entered the market and because the operating uses Web programming that means the developer and app ecosystem isn't starting from scratch.

It's that Web connection that gives Firefox OS its edge over other mobile OS challengers, said Mozilla Chief Operating Officer Jay Sullivan.

"The only remaining ecosystem is going to be around the Web," Sullivan said.

Even though Web pages and Web apps work on Firefox OS devices, there's still a lot of programming work to be done. Challenges include support for multitouch interfaces, learning how to write Web apps that use new interfaces like accelerometers and offline support, and the much broader issue of adapting pages to small screens and slow mobile networks.

For that reason, Mozilla is fleshing out developer documentation and holding evangelism and training events around the world for programmers. And it's promoting the Geeksphone Keon for developers.

Plenty of developers will need a presence on the Web, and they'll be able to reach Firefox OS users, Sullivan argued.

"When you look at the long tail of highly relevant local apps, a lot of people developing those are small local developers," he said. "They don't have the money to develop an iOS app, an Android app, and a Web app."



source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57591716-94/firefox-os-phone-launches-tuesday-in-spain-at-$3-a-month/

My facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dbuying
My twitter: http://twitter.com/dbuying1