Random Dumber Generator

Surface RT At Giveaway Prices

2013-06-18T01:53:00.001+01:00

Just a few days after I suggested that Intel's Atom chipset heralded the death of Windows RT comes the news that Microsoft is offloading its Surface RT to educational establishments in the US. Having already all but given them away to conference attendees, the new offer slashes 60% off the RRP for education departments. That means an RT for $199, and if you want a keyboard cover that runs up to

Why Microsoft Is Giving Apple A Cut Of Office 365 Signups

2013-06-17T22:37:00.001+01:00

Office Mobile for Office 365 subscribers for iPhone (is that the worst product name ever?) launched last week, the news slipping out almost unheralded. In amongst the various reviews that pointed out its limited functionality and unavailability for the iPad was a curious feature: in-app purchase of an Office 365 subscription.Unlike Amazon which sends all of its iPhone app purchases out to the web

Colour Changing In iOS 7 Hints At Something New

2013-06-16T21:35:00.001+01:00

One thing that I'd missed in the big launch of iOS 7 was that the colour palette of the system remakes itself based on the wallpaper that you've selected. That's interesting in only the smallest of ways in itself but I think it is a good indication that a cheaper iPhone is coming and also of potential features of its design. As I've said before Apple's reduced profit margins suggest that the mix

Why Would I Care About Apps Being Used Around Me?

2013-06-14T02:04:00.001+01:00

Continuing to pick apart Apple's WWDC keynote (there was a lot there, so this may go once for a while) another one of the 'features' Apple announced was the ability to see which apps are in use in your vicinity. Whilst I could see a positive intention in most of what was disclosed in the Keynote I'm somewhat bemused by this.Am I really supposed to care what apps a bunch of strangers around me are

Hey Microsoft, Find Scott Forstall and Hire Him

2013-06-14T01:48:00.001+01:00

If there was one thing that came out of Apple's WWDC this week it was a sense if relief. Relief that without Scott Forstall they had managed to hit the back of the net with iOS 7. Forstall, who is being painted out of all of the success at Apple in a revisionist version if Apple's history, has been blamed for all things bad about Apple since his departure. What is being missed is that

Improved Atoms Spell The End For Windows RT

2013-06-13T13:20:00.002+01:00

Microsoft went to a lot of trouble to ensure that its tablet's could match the best of what Apple and Android could offer in terms of performance and battery life. In fact they invented a whole new operating system to launch at the same time as Windows 8 - Windows RT. They had to do this because Microsoft envisaged a whole new tablet line competing on price, meeting its performance goals and

Hitler Finds Out About iOS 7

2013-06-12T13:07:00.000+01:00

I don't generally post these, but this is the funniest yet. Watch out for the Australia and kidneys gags especially...

How Apple Fudged Its Numbers in WWDC Keynote

2013-06-12T11:34:00.001+01:00

In amongst the self congratulatory back slapping that Apple indulged in at WWDC yesterday were some numbers on OS X 10.8 and Windows 8 adoption. Tim Cook proudly stated that Mac OS X 10.8 shipped 28 million copies last year. He showed a slide that suggested 35% of Mac users were on the latest version against 5% for Windows 8. Followed by another slide showing average growth over the last five

iOS 7: What Does It Add?

2013-06-12T02:55:00.003+01:00

Putting aside all the arguments about iOS 7 being derivative in its look and feel, as well as some (most?) of its features, let's consider what it does give iPhone users. The two biggest additions are Control Centre and Activation Lock. After having to put up with a tortuous path to change settings in the past this will be something of a relief for users. A quick swipe up from the

Sony Backtracks On Second User Games Promise

2013-06-12T01:26:00.001+01:00

Sony's PS4 launch won E3 for many reviewers and attendees yesterday, most specifically for the announcement that users would be able to share, sell and trade second hand games with no interference. It was an announcement that drew a rapturous response from the assembled journalists and other attendees. Now it looks like Sony are back tracking from that statement, with various post show

Microsoft and Sony Go Head-to-head at E3

2013-06-11T11:11:00.001+01:00

Outside of Apple's WWDC announcements today, Microsoft and Sony faced off in the console marketplace with announcements of games, features and pricing for the Xbox One and PS4. First out of the blocks was Microsoft, who demonstrated new games and announced pricing for the third generation Xbox. The latter was unexpected, as was confirmation that Xbox will ship into 21 international markets

iOS 7: Pretty Pictures, No Real Advances

2013-06-10T21:41:00.001+01:00

iOS 7 was announced at Apple's WWDC this morning and it looks like the Reality Distortion Field is in full effect, judging by the wildly enthusiastic praise being lavished on it from some quarters. There's no question the new look is cleaner - although you can't help but feel that Microsoft should have had a hat tip as the design inspiration. The one really useful new feature is the Control

Skydrive on Xbox 360

2013-06-10T13:07:00.000+01:00

Not sure how I missed this, seeing as I've been demanding that Microsoft release it for several years now. Probably because it launched when I was in the middle of moving halfway around the world and my Xbox was on a ship for three months... Anyway, apparently Microsoft launched Skydrive for Xbox 360 back in December and in doing so has tied together its ecosystem rather neatly. All of your

Why Do iPhone Users Make More Use of Their Devices?

2013-06-10T01:14:00.001+01:00

Its a strange anomaly that no-one has satisfactorily explained yet. Despite selling far fewer devices Apple's iPhone accounts for much more of mobile web traffic and statistically occupies more of an individual's time per day. How can that be? If you dig into the data there are a couple of big clues and my guess is that there are several building blocks which, when tied together point to the

Multiple Leaks Suggest Nokia About To Announce Real Pureview Lumia

2013-06-08T04:09:00.002+01:00

Nokia's Symbian toting Pureview phone is something of a legend amongst camera phone aficionados (assuming such a thing exists) with its 41mpixel sensor and physical shutter. The only downside was the awful OS which forced consumers into a decision over what they needed more, a functional operating system or a brilliant camera. Most chose the iPhone instead. Now it looks like Nokia is ready to

Microsoft: No Fee For Reselling Our Xbox One Titles

2013-06-07T03:05:00.001+01:00

We now know conclusively how the Xbox One will handle the used game market and Microsoft have also today confirmed that there will be no charge for reselling their titles. The news was made public on the Xbox Wire news site. Of course this doesn't mean that the same holds true for other publishers, who are free to negotiate their own deals with retailers. Mondays announcement of launch

Windows 8 Doing Better Than You'd Think

2013-06-06T09:38:00.000+01:00

Actually there's quite a few takeaways from the usage numbers published by NetMarketShare. The headline figures, that Windows 8 is the fourth most popular version of Windows sounds pretty bad for Microsoft, however Windows 8 has been on the market for just seven months and in that time it has spread to 4.27% of all desktops. That's behind Windows 7 (44.85%), Windows XP (37.74%) and Windows

Google Engineer Aiding Hackers.... Wait, What?

2013-06-06T09:05:00.001+01:00

Something very bizarre going on here, but it appears that Google engineer Tavis Ormandy is publishing exploits and releasing details of code weaknesses in competing products (specifically Microsoft's, for now anyway) and he's doing it with the blessing of Google. Business Insider has the full story here, but in brief it appears that Tavis has been upset by the speed at which Microsoft

Samsung Takes Another Victory In Apple Patent War

2013-06-05T01:13:00.005+01:00

Hot on the heels of its victory over Apple's 'all your rectangles belong to us' patent in Holland Samsung has scored a potentially bigger win in the US, after the ITC found in its favour with a final judgement today. The result means that 3G versions of the iPhone prior to the 4S, and 3G versions of the iPad and iPad 2 will be banned from sale in the US. More importantly Apple will be liable

HTC Gets Some Positive News

2013-06-04T12:42:00.001+01:00

After what seems like a endless streak of bad results, HTC finally look to have turned things around with the rather tasty One. Last quarter's results are in and the company managed to grab revenue of $970m - back to early 2012 levels and significantly better than last quarter's numbers. Unfortunately this doesn't seem to have slowed the number of senior staff exiting the company. Whether this

This Could be The Worst Article To HIt The Internet... Ever!

2013-06-04T12:32:00.000+01:00

I really don't want to publish a link to this article its so bad. Its manages to be ill-informed, poorly researched and out-dated all at the same time. That the author lists US policy advisor, computer scientist and distinguished lecturer in his biography defies belief. In this article ZDNet blogger David Gerwitz makes such a ridiculous premise and then backs it up with further nonsense as to

Dutch Supreme Court Finally Kills Apple's 'We Own Rectangles' Claim

2013-06-04T11:05:00.000+01:00

Apple has pursued Samsung across most of Europe in an attempt to enforce its patent on a rectangle with rounded corners. The Dutch Supreme Court has become the latest to dismiss the claim, upholding a lower court's decision that Apple's patent was valid but limited as a number of other companies (including Samsung) could demonstrate prior art. The judges, sensibly, held that consumers were

Latest Numbers Are In, Android Winning, Windows Phone Rising

2013-06-04T10:50:00.002+01:00

Kantar WorldPanel published its reports on smartphone sales for the quarter ending in April this week and the numbers make for very interesting reading. Google's Android platform is eating up the market, posting further leaps forward in market share in every territory. In a growing marketplace this points to incredible sales numbers. And the figures suggest that both Sony and LG have seen

Chicago Sun Times Commits Cultural Suicide

2013-06-03T12:05:00.000+01:00

Its easy to spot when a newspaper has used a photo grabbed with a smartphone by a Johnny on-the-spot photographer. Usually relating to high profile incidents where the sheer penetration of phones with cameras guarantees that someone will be filming or snapping away. The photos are generally grainy, out of focus or otherwise sub-par. But that's okay, its the best photo available of the event

Facebook Home - What Facebook Should Have Done Instead

2013-05-30T12:54:00.001+01:00

After a high profile launch the Facebook Home replacement launcher and the HTC First phone, which brought it to the world, are rapidly disappearing from view. The former has been on the end of a seriously good kicking in the Play App Store, where it garners very high download numbers and incredibly low ratings. The First, meanwhile, has had its European launch cancelled and is all but dead in the