Showing 61-70 of 76 results
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Is your phone spying on you?
Life, James Hein, Published on 01/05/2013
» I've long been a fan of Firefox, but I somehow missed the announcement of its new OS coming out for mobile phones. Geeksphone, a Spanish start-up, sold out of the first devices with the new OS within a matter of hours and had to shut down its online store as demand unexpectedly exceeded supply. The new units were meant for developers only because the new Firefox OS is still in a very early stage of its evolution. Application development for the new OS is based on HTML5, JavaScript and Open Web standards. The official OS launch will be some time later this year and Google is working with ZTE in China on the project. The first commercial units will be manufactured in Brazil so this is a truly international effort and may be one to watch in the future.
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It's time for an overhaul
Life, James Hein, Published on 24/04/2013
» So the question of the next big thing seems to be, why would you need to have a watch and a phone? I have noticed that most of the younger generation, the ones with a smartphone, don't have a watch because the time is prominently displayed on the phone. One simple answer might be that a watch is still useful for when your hands are full, or swimming underwater, or when you are doing something that doesn't include pockets.
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The eyes have it
Life, James Hein, Published on 13/03/2013
» Another detail about an upcoming Samsung smartphone feature. The latest is that the phone will allow you to scroll through text by watching your eyes. Apparently when it sees that you have reached the bottom of the text it will scroll down to the next paragraph. Not sure that the Galaxy S4 will boast this feature, but it is one that the next iPhone won't possess. As the S4 release date gets closer, the wild claims of the next iPhone's feature set are also being ramped up. I suggest you wait until closer to the actual release date to find out what that model really offers.
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Household names that just can't keep a secret
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/02/2013
» So which companies do you trust? Every year for the past seven, independent research group the Ponemon Institute has published a report on the Most Trusted Companies for Privacy. This US-based survey asks 100,000 adults to rate the larger organisations out there. This year, AmEx, HP, Amazon and IBM made the top four. Microsoft and eBay also got into the top 20, but Apple and Google didn't _ for the first time in several years. The problem is that people these days no longer trust IT organisations, believing that they have precious little regard for users' privacy. In fact, the prevailing opinion is that these firms collect users' personal info and profit from it, either by using it themselves or by selling the data to others.
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Paid applications market growing at healthy rate
Life, James Hein, Published on 12/12/2012
» Your app store needs more developers. According to the analysis firm Canalys about half of the money paid out is to about 25 developers both in the Apple and Google worlds. Given that there are over 700,000 apps to choose from this means that most people miss out. Most of the top earners are game developers like Rovio, Electronic Arts and the like. The stand out non-game developer was Pandora selling the obviously popular Pandora radio app that supports the personalised music experience. So as usual it is the developers with the brand name behind them that get the money and it is difficult for a new player to break into the market. Not unexpected from the survey is that the demand and associated market for paid apps is growing at a very healthy rate so give it a go, you have a chance of making something for yourself in the future.
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A pattern of patent complaints
Life, James Hein, Published on 07/11/2012
» In what should come as no surprise to anyone, moments after Windows 8 was released someone claimed they put boring coloured squares on a screen first. The claimant is SurfCast and they say they did the equivalent of Live Tiles, what Microsoft is calling a coloured square you can click on or touch activate, first. Their patent from 2004 is for a "system and method for simultaneous display of multiple information sources". If for example you look up a screen shot of Xerox's Windows equivalent that appeared before Windows 1.0 you will see what looks a lot like a Windows 8 screen that was designed a long time before the year 2000.
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Is Twitter's number up?
Life, James Hein, Published on 17/10/2012
» Some time ago the stock exchange in the US had problems because online trading was new and how quickly people would react to a perceived change in the market was unexpected. Fast forward to 2012 and the age of the tweet and online flash mobs and we find ourselves in a similar situation but with a broader scope.
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Backtracking Apple allows ad tracking
Life, James Hein, Published on 24/10/2012
» So you have your new iPhone 5 and you love it; good for you! The first time you access iTunes you'll need to provide a payment gateway of some kind. Unlike with Android-based devices, you'll need to give Apple financial access in order to be able to get to the free stuff. My advice, especially if you have children, is to use a debit card with a low ceiling on spending, or something similar, so that when your children use your phone and inadvertently start paying for stuff, your liability will be kept within acceptable limits.
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When upgrading can be a backwards step
Database, James Hein, Published on 10/11/2010
» It can sometimes be interesting to see how people view computers and applications. Many years ago I put together a small Access application that was used by my father, an archaeologist, to track pottery sherds discovered in digs in Thailand. It wasn't a very complex application in IT terms _ a simple database and a couple of forms _ but it was very useful to my father for his work.
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As predicted, several predictions were wrong
Database, James Hein, Published on 29/12/2010
» It is that time of year when I look back and see how my annual predictions went. This was a bit of a strange year for the technical world because we are still in the effects of a financial crisis. Major buyers like the US have high unemployment and less disposable income to drive the buying that drives the release of new toys. This meant that things happened slower than they normally would in a growing economy.
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