18159512
submission
Goffee71 writes:
Skyfire proved a hit on the iPhone and an improved version is coming to the iPad but will people really splash out for an extra browser? The new features include Facebook Connect and other social additions, not a million miles away from what Rockmelt offers, without the natty sidebars — is the browser wars ready for a reboot and is Skyfire prepared for the demand this time?
17671740
submission
Goffee71 writes:
Movie Director Oliver Stone casts his lens in a different direction, investing in an online video platform, Vzaar. The company is aiming upmarket at professionals after starting out selling to eBay users. If nothing else, the company gets a great video advert featuring the man himself; Vzaar is one of those lightning bolts that hit me right between the eyes." Stone commented. Vzaar's system helps users create custom players and content sizes, including HD, and compile playlists and analytics. Content can be run on the user's site with various storage options across a range of price points.
17527904
submission
Goffee71 writes:
Breaking up is never easy to do, but the split between Oracle and the new LibreOffice team has been one of the more traumatic recent events in IT. CMSWire asked the new team's Italo Vignoli what went on behind the scenes and what can we expect to see now from Libre/OpenOffice.
Example Q: Did the process of separation feel like a "rush for the exits" or was it a hard decision for some people?
A: It has been a hard decision for most people, as they have been instrumental for building the OOo brand in most countries. We still believe in OOo, although we do not believe in a corporate-sponsored free software project.
We feel that corporate-sponsored free software projects belong to previous decades, as free software was not perceived as good enough to be self-sustaining. After 20 years, free software is mature enough for a self-sustaining business model, with corporate sponsors as members of the community.
17492072
submission
Goffee71 writes:
Not satisfied with dominating social networks, Facebook is now going after the major email services. On Monday, Facebook is holding a surprise launch event where it will unveil, what 95% of the tech press believes, will be a new email service to rival the likes of Gmail, Hotmail and others. The event will precede Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg's appearance at the Web 2.0 Summit where the news will go down like a lead balloon among the dominant email players.
17255200
submission
Goffee71 writes:
With Sony bumbling about in the pre-launch phase of the PSP2, the PSP risks falling into sales obscurity, as shown by the plummeting sales figures. Why not open the PSP and the PSP Store up to homebrew and all indie developers to let it go out in a blaze of quirky, innovative gaming, rather than slide off into obscurity?
"So, Sony, rip down the protective walls and let those developers get creative with the PSP for the rest of its life, let them put games on the store cheaply and quickly, and hopefully a few will generate just some of the kind of buzz and sales that Angry Birds has managed, opening up the PSP as a viable device for new and existing gamers, which might just drag the machine further into 2011..."
http://goffee-freelance.blogspot.com/2010/10/psp-psp2-so-why-not-extend-life-of-psp.htm
17222694
submission
Goffee71 writes:
The first apps are out for MIcrosoft and its partner's Windows Phone 7 devices that are onsale now in some parts of the world. But what do the developers think of creating apps for it? CMSWire talked to IdentityMine who created the IMDB app, among others, for the phone's launch to find out what they thought about development and how the user experience really works.
16085252
submission
Goffee71 writes:
So, we picked up X-Men Origins: Wolverine on DVD today on our way around the supermarket during the weekly shop, tempted in no small part by the tag offering "a digital copy of this movie for your portable player." It says on the voucher "enjoying a portable version of your favourite film has never been easier." and "Compatible with iTunes", I beg to differ!
12374156
submission
Goffee71 writes:
With the rumour/news that the PSP2 is going to be unveiled at E3, it makes me wonder what Sony will be doing to limit the piracy (short of hand-cuffs, retinal scans and the like) that has crippled development on the original console. A little digging shows PSP piracy is something like 60%+, comparing torrent downloads to sales from various sources for the bigger games.
How to stop it? The PSP was flawed from the start because the store came after the console. If the store had come first and all games were code-registered against the user account, then piracy could have been limited at the gate, assuming the user put their console online. The same can be said for firmware updates, if they were online-only updates with checks for legit code, like the PS3 and Xbox, then the damage could have been limited. Simple lesson, bring the console out after you've built in the protection. So what other lessons might Sony have learnt and what can it do?
10810588
submission
Goffee71 writes:
The PSP, despite selling 60 million odd boxes, is considered a failure due to Sony's lack of imagination, something the homebrew crowd and others have in spades. Is it time for Sony to open up the PSP and let others wring the maximum potential from the little box of magic?
"All Sony seems to be able to offer is to offer up a new colour every now and again, that might sell more boxes but doesn't fix the lack of interest. With an App store we could get a better browser, improved media players, apps for the GPS (if anyone remembers that little add-on — a gimmick that helps sell shedloads of phones) and a raft of fun, cool, pointless things that make iPhone owners so happy."
More here — http://bit.ly/alWPY9
