October 2008 - Posts
Interesting article on PC Magazine website. Moto is opening an office in Seattle to work in Windows Mobile 6.5. That’s right, Windows Mobile 6.5.
Motorola will open a new office in Seattle "in order to work closely with Microsoft to deliver differentiation" via the Windows Mobile platform, he said.
Motorola expects to release a phone based on Windows Mobile 6.5 platform in the second half of 2009, and an Android-based device for the 2009 holiday season.
"I think that that will reduce the number of phones that will launch at least in the second or third quarters of next year, but I think thereafter, we expect that using Android and Windows Mobile, to be able to address larger portion of the mid- and high-tier market," Jha said.
Is this right? And if so, why is it we’re hearing about WM 6.5 from Motorola and not Microsoft? Still disappointed we’re seeing severe delays in Windows Mobile 7. Interesting to see what they’re doing with 6.5
Article
Wal-Mart To Sell Google's G1 Phones At Discount Starting Wed
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Wal-Mart Inc. (WMT) will start selling the G1 phone at a discounted price starting Wednesday, a Wal-Mart spokesman confirmed Monday night.
Wal-Mart will carry the Google Inc. (GOOG) G1 phone, sold through Deutsche Telekom AG's (DT) T-Mobile USA, in 550 Wal-Mart stores at the reduced price of $ 148.88 for new customers, or existing customers eligible for an upgrade, who sign up for a two-year agreement, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said.
Consumers interested in purchasing the T-Mobile G1 can save $31.11 at Wal-Mart as opposed to buying through T-Mobile, which sells the device for $179.99.
The T-Mobile G1, released for pre-order last month, is the first phone that's compatible with Android, Google's new operating system.
Source
Rumor in blogosphere that the G1 Android phone from T-Mobile will begin selling in Walmart starting tomorrow. First the iPhone (due 11/15), now the Android?
How has Windows evolved, as a general purpose operating system and at the lowest levels, in Windows 7? Who better to talk to than Technical Fellow and Windows Kernel guru Mark Russinovich? Here, Mark enlightens us on the new kernel constructs in Windows 7 (and, yeah, we do wonder up into user mode, but only briefly). One very important change in Windows 7 kernel is the dismantling of the Spin Lock Dispatcher and redesign and implementation of its functionality into separate components. This work was done by Arun Kishan (you've met him here on C9 last year). The direct result of this great work is that Windows 7 can scale to 256 processors and enabled the great Landy Wang to tune Windows Memory manager to be even more efficient than it already is. Tune in. This is a great conversation (if you're into operating systems). It's always great to chat with Mark.
http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/Going+Deep/Mark-Russinovich-Inside-Windows-7/
One of the most frequent requests we've had from Qik fans has been for a BlackBerry client. Today we are really excited to announce our alpha release clients for the BlackBerry Pearl 8120, BlackBerry Pearl 8130, and BlackBerry Bold. BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 will follow soon.
UPDATE: We just got it running on Blackberry Curve 8320 and 8330. So, alpha opens up on these devices as well.
New to Qik? Join Qik and download the app by going to qik.com/sign_up.
Already a Qikker? On your BlackBerry, go to qik.com/dl/165 and download the file onto your device. Then after you start the app the first time, sign In with your existing Qik username and password to start streaming to your profile on Qik.
How is the alpha release of Qik different?
In this alpha release, Qik on BlackBerry works a bit differently than the other devices.
- When you start Qik, a screen is shown with just one button - Stream. Press the center button to start streaming. This will bring up the camera application and you'll be off streaming live to the web. When you are ready to stop, just press the center button again.
- Depending on the network condition, after you press stop, you may see a progress % on the top right hand corner indicating the video that is left to be sent. It is advised to wait for the stream to be completely uploaded prior to streaming again.
- In this version, the chat does not show up overlayed on the camera.
- For best performance, use BlackBerry OS 4.5 and above.
- Your BlackBerry should have a SD card and video capture should be set to the directory: SDCard/Blackberry/Videos.
- The video capturing mode should not be set to the MMS mode.
With Google Earth for iPhone, you can:
• Tilt your iPhone to adjust your view to see mountainous terrain
• View the Panoramio layer and browse the millions of geo-located photos from around the world
• View geo-located Wikipedia articles
• Use the 'Location' feature to fly to your current location
• Search for cities, places and business around the globe with Google Local Search
It's available today in 18 languages and 22 countries in the iTunes App Store. To learn more, check out this video tour and read the blog post on the Lat Long Blog.
Source
Opera Mobile was launched in 2000 as the first mobile browser to bring the full Web to the small mobile screen. Since 2004 it has been installed on 100 million phones. Opera Mobile has pioneered and set the standard in mobile browsing, supporting the latest technologies and receiving industry acclaim. Today, Opera continues to provide the best mobile Web experience with the first beta of Opera Mobile 9.5.
Opera Mobile is the answer to the demands of global mobile Internet community . The first beta of Opera Mobile 9.5 comes outfitted with added performance, a new UI and the developer tool Opera Dragonfly.
Download Opera Mobile 9.5 beta
I see a very interesting trend with mobile phones happening, at least with PDA’s, and I’m beginning to wonder why you aren’t hearing much about it. I can almost guarantee that if Microsoft pulled this garbage, they’d be involved in lawsuits/class action to stop the activation process, with folks up in arms screaming monopolies, etc. Facts:
When I tested both the EDGE version and the 3G version of the iPhone, I was required to activate the phone with iTunes before I could continue. I’ve crashed and burned the phone a few times and the phone is absolutely worthless until you connect to your computer and let iTunes activate it.
Over the last few days, I’ve been testing the T-Mobile G1. I was required to have a Gmail account, or create one, before I could even use the phone. That’s right. I received Google server errors and was completely unable to do anything with the phone except make an emergency call until the phone was able to “talk” to the Google servers.
I’ve also tested the HTC Touch Pro, and the Samsung Epix, both running Windows Mobile 6.1. Interestingly enough, I was able to fully use the phone out of the box, without requiring a sync to my computer, or requiring a data connection. It just worked, right out of the box.
So, what do you suppose would happen if all of a sudden Microsoft required all Windows Mobile phone activations to REQUIRE a Hotmail or Windows Live account before activation? Not just say it’s nice to have to get the full functionality, but actually DEMAND it and not be able to use the phone unless you did? What if the instructions in the box said you need ActiveSync with Windows XP or Windows Mobile Device Center with Windows Vista BEFORE YOU CAN USE THE PHONE? Think they’d be sued? Why is it that Apple and Google can get away with this? They are after all, phones, aren’t they?
AT&T Pantech Duo customers…go and get it…
Pantech Duo Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
CE OS 5.2.19597 (Build 19597.1.1.8)
Radio Version C819.33.
OS Bld. Version 6.11.M044.33
RIL Version 2.02
SW Release Date: September 29, 2008
Download File Size: Approx. 58 Mbytes.
Available storage space required for use: Approx. 90 Mbytes.
http://www.pantechusa.com/html/images/software/download.htm
From the Google Mobile Blog…
As an engineer on the Gmail for mobile team, I use the Gmail client on my mobile phone all the time. Because of this, I'm always looking for ways to make it faster, more robust and easier to use. Today, we're thrilled to introduce Gmail for mobile version 2.0 for J2ME-supported and BlackBerry phones. Our focus for this version was to make the experience faster and more reliable. We rearchitected the entire client to push all the processing to the background, greatly improve the client-side caching scheme and optimize every bottleneck piece of code we came across.
So, what does this all mean for you?
- Overall performance improvement: You should experience significant raw speed improvement, smoother scrolling, and no freezing.
- Multiple accounts management: If you have both a Gmail and Google Apps email account, you can easily switch between them quickly. You will no longer have to use two different mobile apps to access personal and work emails.
- Multiple mobile email drafts: You can save multiple email drafts in your mobile phone, so that you can pick and choose what you would like to send later.
- Powerful shortcut keys: If you have a QWERTY phone, you can use shortcut keys. Hit 'z' to undo, 'k' to go to a newer conversation, and 'j' to go to an older conversation. See Menu/Help in the app for more shortcuts.
- Basic offline support: Can't get a signal? Not a problem. You can compose and read your most recent emails even when there is no signal. Also, any outgoing messages will be saved in the outbox on your phone and sent automatically when you're back in coverage.
Those that know me or follow my blog know I’m a big fan of Kevin Daly and his Windows Mobile blogging client. Out of curiosity, I checked his site to see if he had a Twitter client and low and behold, he does. It’s called Twitula. I’m going to download anyway because I love his blogging client, but I see this post:
14 September 2008 - Important notice: Twitula is no longer under active development. The public application programming interface for Twitter currently has unfixed bugs which render some functionality unusable...I am not going to waste time looking for workarounds to get Twitter developers off the hook just because they can't be bothered to keep their own API working. If they ever get around to doing something about it, the "People I follow" option will start working again. But I wouldn't hold my breath. I'm truly sorry folks.
Quite honestly, that’s a shame because the client looks tasty.
Link for download anyway. Spread the love.
The Epix™ is Samsung's first AT&T Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional device featuring touch screen capability—built for enterprise and small business customers.
The Epix is a powerful smartphone that offers features like a high-speed processor, large application memory capacity, and aGPS to run corporate email, location-based services, and vertical application solutions. The Epix has the manageability and security capabilities that enterprise IT managers seek, including Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager deployment—a security and manageability server that enables enterprise IT administrators to better manage mobile devices.
The Epix is a world-capable, 3G smartphone featuring tri-band HSDPA (850/1900/2100) and quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900). Its touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, dedicated function keys, and optical center navigation button with mouse pointer enable easy one-hand operation for even the most complex multitasking needs.
More details later…been testing the last few days.
Website is up for requesting iPhone fixes.
http://pleasefixtheiphone.com/
According to the website, the top 10 requests to get fixed?
October 31st is the last day to take advantage of the free upgrade to Windows Mobile® 6. The upgrade link will be removed from HTC’s website at 12:00 pm (noon) GMT on October 31st.
Removal of this free upgrade may affect users of the following devices: HTC S621, HTC S620, HTC P4350, HTC P3300, HTC Advantage.
If you haven’t upgraded yet and your device has a Windows Mobile® version lower than 6, please take advantage of this offer before it expires. To check the version on your device go to Start > Settings > System tab > About.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Struggling electronics retailer Circuit City Stores Inc. is considering a plan to shut at least 150 stores and cut thousands of jobs to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Circuit City has hired Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, which oversaw Kmart's Chapter 11 reorganization, as its bankruptcy counsel. The company also has retained FTI Consulting Inc. to develop a turnaround plan and investment bank Rothschild Inc. to guide talks with banks and secure emergency financing, the Journal said.
Source
How many more casualties?
Like we need this…or want this…
Isn’t this something…
One of the biggest frustrations with Windows Live Writer was how long it would take after hitting “Publish” to be able to use it again. I updated to the latest build, and there were either changes made on the blog backend (thanks myitforum guy), or they fixed Windows Live Writer to post faster. Now takes a matter of seconds to post.
Interesting utility, and didn’t know it was there. I was reviewing an Excel spreadsheet, and couldn’t navigate correctly. I glanced down in the status area, and noticed that “Scroll Lock” was on. I looked all over my keyboard on my HP 6910 and couldn’t find a key marked Scroll Lock. So, I went and looked at several of my home desktops and all of the keyboards had a key marked Scroll Lock. So, how do you turn off Scroll Lock when you don’t have a Scroll Lock button on your keyboard?
What to do? I used the On Screen Keyboard feature. Go to Start, Run, type OSK, hit enter. After a few seconds, an On Screen keyboard appeared showing me, of all things, a full featured keyboard with all the special keys, including slk (Scroll Lock). It was highlighted, so I clicked it to turn it off and how about that, Scroll Lock turned off.
UPS package tracking made easy. Want to know where that package is and don’t have time to go look it up on the UPS website?
Send the tracking number to totaltrack@ups.com. Just drop your tracking number in the subject line and you’ll get a reply back via email within minutes with current tracking status.
Anyone else following the Twitter blog? This one just went up…
Stepping into Different Roles
Jack and I have worked together since the beginning to define a direction and goals for the future of Twitter. I took an active executive role as Chief Product Officer at Twitter. This decision was driven by my enthusiasm and belief that Twitter has huge potential and deserves my full efforts.
We're entering a new phase now and there are new kinds of challenges ahead. Healthy companies acknowledge the need for change even during the best of times. As Twitter grows both internally and externally, we took a good look at our path forward and saw the need for a focused approach from a single leader.
While the board of directors and the company have nothing but praise for where Jack has taken us, we also agree that the best way forward is for Jack to step into the role Chairman, and for me to become CEO. Jack will remain on the board and be closely consulted for all strategic decisions, while I take on day-to-day operations with the support of Biz, Jason, Greg, and the rest of this impressive Twitter team.
I wonder…
Having followed the media over the last few months, anyone else notice that the “Blackberry killers” are becoming fewer and fewer, and “iPhone killers” are becoming the norm?
For instance, Nokia is bringing out an iPhone killer in 2009, among others. I did a quick search and this is what I found:
So, according to Google News search, there have been more than twice as many articles for iPhone killers as there are for Blackberry killers.
What does that tell you from a competition standpoint? Where do OEM’s think the competition is coming from?
The last I really hear from someone in their blog they fall on their backside and had a bruise like Mars?
Also, anyone else notice the new version of Windows Live Writer sometimes truncates?
For those that don’t hang out there…you’re missing out…it’s a great place to follow your friends…
I never knew following folks could be so much fun. You know who you are…
Reed
Rod
Jedi
Rick
Greg
Chris
Ed
Anthony
Too many to mention…good stuff gang…thanks for the entertainment. Who else is out there? Let me know.
Paul, what’s up?
More later to explain why…but this is a really BIG mistake…
Source
From the Dallas Business Journal:
Telecommunications giant AT&T Inc. has promoted Glenn Lurie to serve as president of the newly
created AT&T Emerging Devices unit.
Lurie, who previously served Dallas-based AT&T (NYSE: T) as president of national distribution for
mobility, will be overseeing the company’s efforts to expand its wireless capabilities to devices beyond
the traditional handset.
Lurie was selected for the position after leading the company's negotiations with Apple. Those
negotiations ended with AT&T becoming the exclusive service provider for the Apple iPhone.
The Emerging Devices unit will investigate other opportunities AT&T has to introduce wireless
capabilities on an assortment of electronics devices — from laptops to GPS systems and digital cameras.
This is one of my favorites. I click on a Word document I receive via email in Outlook 2007 and this is what I get:
And that’s a story????
After users disputed his count, a Microsoft Corp. executive explained yesterday how the company concluded that the upcoming Windows 7 is the seventh version of the operating system.
Yesterday, Mike Nash, vice president of Windows product management, followed up a Monday announcement that Microsoft had settled on Windows 7 by defending his tally.
"There's been a lot of lively discussion since I confirmed yesterday that the official name for the next version of the Window client operating system will be 'Windows 7' about how we got to the number '7'," said Nash in an entry to the Windows Vista blog. "I'll say upfront that there are many ways to count the releases of Windows, and it's been both a trip down memory lane and quite amusing to read all the different theories about how we got to the number."
In fact, others had wondered that same thing. On Monday, bloggers as well as users commenting on Nash's announcement arrived at different numbers when ticking off each edition of Windows. The AeroXperience blog, for example, counted seven as of Windows Vista, eight if the consumer-oriented Windows Millennium was included. Also on Monday, Windows blogger Ed Bott came up with seven for Windows 7 by counting only members of the NT family, starting with Windows NT 3.1. "If you try to count using the consumer versions from the Windows 9X family, or the barely usable Windows 1 and 2 releases, you'll quickly go mad," Bott noted.
Folks are COUNTING?
Source
For those that follow the industry, you probably know Clearwire is geared to provide WiMax to Sprint/Nextel. Well, looks like Clearwire is pushing for a merger.
Clearwire’s CEO Ben Wolff announced what the senior staff appointments will be of the new Clearwire, following its merger with Sprint Nextel’s WiMax division, and provided an update on the merger and when they expect the FCC to approve the transaction in an email sent to employees. The full text can be found in a SEC document filed today. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel are in limbo as they wait to receive FCC approval on the merger between the two company’s WiMax operations. Following the transaction, the company will raise $3.2 billion of capital from Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Woff wrote: “Clearly the infusion of $3.2 billion of capital together with the tremendous talent, resources and benefits to our combined organization brought through the relationships with our new strategic partners puts us in great shape for moving forward with our game changing business, notwithstanding the current turmoil in the financial markets.”
On shareholder approval: Wolff: “Last week we filed the second amendment to the Clearwire Proxy Statement with the SEC. We expect to be able to mail the Proxy shortly and hold the shareholder vote in mid-November.”
On FCC approval: Wolff wrote: “you may have seen Chairman Martin’s recent comments in which he indicated that approving our transaction was one of his top priorities, and that he expected the approval to occur before year end, although we are making every effort in the hope of having the FCC act well before then. As a result, I continue to be confident that the transaction will close before the end of the year.”
On staff appointments: Last month, Wolff announced who the likely high-level execs will be when the two companies merge. The appointments will still need board approval. Today, he provided a detailed list of employees, who will report to those executives.
Source
What a way to have immediate deployment of a new product…don’t patch your old products to fix a vulnerability, release a new one…
Security Bulletin for Flash Player and Security Advisory for Flash Professional CS3
The big news today is that CS4 has launched, along with Flash Player 10. We have released a Security Bulletin to correspond with the Flash Player 10 release. Flash Player 10 addresses Flash Player-specific aspects of the overall clickjacking issue that has been making news recently, and also includes a mitigation for recent clipboard attacks as well as other security enhancements. For customers who cannot upgrade to Flash Player 10, a Flash Player 9 update is currently scheduled for early November. We’ve also posted a Security Advisory for Flash Professional CS3, informing customers of potential issues with malformed SWF files. Note that Flash CS4, and Flash Player, are not vulnerable to these issues.
We’d like to thank Robert Hansen and Jeremiah Grossman once again for their help, and extend special thanks to Liu Die Yu of TopsecTianRongXin for working with us on the clickjacking issue.
Posted by David Lenoe on October 15, 2008 10:59 AM | Permalink
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