billpalmer - Slashdot User

Submission + - Prosecutors didn't kill Reddit cofounder Aaron Swartz, his fans did. (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Saturday January 12, 2013 @09:23PM

billpalmer writes: "Reddit cofounder Aaron Swartz killed himself yesterday at the age of twenty-six, amid a troubling pattern of illegal hacking and resulting criminal charges. Not surprisingly, fingers are pointing in all directions as to who’s to blame. Before broaching that matter, it must be remembered that no parents should have to bury their son, so this is a personal tragedy. And in the wider scope, society lost one of its brighter minds before he had a chance to show us what all he might have been able to contribute. But his fans are making today all about blame, pointing to a prosecutor who kept going after the kid, and that begs the question: with such an obviously troubled kid engaging repeatedly in increasingly self destructive behavior, were the fans who continued to cheer him on just as responsible? The concept requires examination of just how and when he went off the rails"

Submission + - Samsung confirms new 85-inch device isn't a television. It's the Galaxy Note 3. (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Thursday January 10, 2013 @12:00AM

billpalmer writes: "The 85 flatscreen device which was introduced by Samsung at the nation’s largest consumer tech conference this week was initially believed to be a new class of television set. But according to a Samsung representative, the new mammoth device is actually the Galaxy Note 3. Despite its size, the company expects it to do well among technology enthusiasts."

Submission + - iPhone 6 release date, key features, and what to expect (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Monday January 07, 2013 @09:11AM

billpalmer writes: "The iPhone 6 cycle has begun. It’s codename-checked in the latest beta test version of the iOS system software, according to various reports, which means that it’s coming sooner than later and we can expect its release date..."

Submission + - Apple to release iPhone 5S in the spring, iPhone 6 in the fall (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Saturday January 05, 2013 @08:33PM

billpalmer writes: "Apple appears set to introduce the iPhone 5S in early 2013 with a release date which could come as soon as March, and the iPhone 6 perhaps as soon as the fall of 2013, based on a number of recent changes to the company’s iOS product release strategy and one key piece of insider information. Since its introduction in 2007, Apple has been consistent in launching one new iPhone model per year, originally in the summer and more recently in the fall, while keeping the two previous generation iPhone models around as lower priced options. The company had also been doing the same with its iPad, releasing a new generation each spring. But that pattern changed significantly last month when Apple launched not only the iPad mini offshoot, but also a new fourth generation iPad a mere six months or so after the iPad 3 had taken the stage. This makes clear that Apple is no longer married to its once-a-year hardware update strategy, paving the way for it to do the same with the iPhone lineup. And now there’s buzz that the iPhone 5S may be in limited production already"

Submission + - After initial flop, does Google+ have a secret weapon for a comeback? (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Friday December 28, 2012 @02:20AM

billpalmer writes: "Google+ was going to lure millions of existing Google services users away from Facebook and become the dominant social network, according to “social media experts” everywhere who in hindsight were guilty of wishful thinking. In reality, while plenty of Gmail users sought invites to Google+ and registered for it, they took one look around and went back to Facebook..."

Submission + - Happy New Year: iPhone 5S coming early next year, iPhone 6 in late 2013 (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Tuesday December 18, 2012 @09:23PM

billpalmer writes: "Apple appears set to introduce the iPhone 5S in early 2013 with a release date which could come as soon as March, and the iPhone 6 perhaps as soon as the fall of 2013, based on a number of recent changes to the company’s iOS product release strategy and one key piece of insider information..."

Submission + - http://www.beatweek.com/blog/13414-apple-maps-vs-google-maps-apps-for-iphone-fac (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Tuesday December 18, 2012 @06:08PM

billpalmer writes: "The news reports regarding Apple’s shift from Google Maps to Apple Maps, the quality of the latter, the firing of Scott Forstall, and the return of the former have been coming fast and furious. Confused? You should be. Nearly all of those reports have been inaccurate, many of them bordering on fiction. Some of the more bizarre claims have read like science fiction. So in order to set the record straight regarding Apple and its Maps apps, here’s a look at the FACTS you need to know and the FICTION you need to ignore"

Submission + - All signs point to iPhone 5S release date in Spring of 2013, iPhone 6 in Fall (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Sunday November 18, 2012 @06:41PM

billpalmer writes: "Apple appears set to introduce the iPhone 5S in early 2013 with a release date which could come as soon as March, and the iPhone 6 perhaps as soon as the fall of 2013, based on a number of recent changes to the company’s iOS product release strategy and one key piece of insider information"

Submission + - Barack Obama Greatest Hits: the President's ten biggest accomplishments (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Monday October 15, 2012 @03:13PM

billpalmer writes: "With the 2012 Presidential campaign having turned quite negative in the home stretch, now is a good time to take a look at what the current President, Barack Obama, has accomplished in his first term. Here are his ten greatest hits:"

Submission + - Why Apple can't afford an iPhone 5S next year (tapformobile.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Tuesday October 09, 2012 @07:40PM

billpalmer writes: "Those who have followed the evolution of the iPhone have by now picked up on a consistent pattern: while Apple updates the internal hardware specs and features of the iPhone yearly, it only revises the external hardware design every other year. Apple’s naming conventions don’t try to hide this fact: the iPhone 3G and 3GS were the same on the outside, while the iPhone 4 and 4S followed the same pattern. The only exception was the very first iPhone in 2007, whose body style lasted a mere year before being retired. Next year Apple must make another exception to the pattern by skipping any plans for an “iPhone 5S” and moving directly to whatever comes after..."

Submission + - The Facebook era of politics: are we all now characters in Lord of the Flies? (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Friday October 05, 2012 @01:27PM

billpalmer writes: "The Facebook era of politics quickly teaches us who will fall for anything, and who’s willing to embrace the most abhorrent of panderers for the most selfish or shortsighted of reasons. In some sense this may be a good thing. If someone else’s morality or thought process is that incompatible with our own, perhaps it’s best we know that up front so we don’t mistakenly try to get too close to them. Then again, we may not be doing ourselves any favors by knowing this much about each other’s mental mechanisms before we know each other. We all read Lord of the Flies..."

Submission + - Apple says Siri is still in Beta, not the version Tim Cook teased this summer (tapformobile.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Wednesday October 03, 2012 @06:42PM

billpalmer writes: "Apple has confirmed that the latest iteration of its Siri digital voice assistant is in fact still in beta-testing mode. That means that the fabled “Siri 2.0 touted by Apple CEO Tim Cook this past summer at the All Things Digital conference is has not yet surfaced..."

Submission + - Review: iPod touch 5 expands in height but shrinks to role of child's toy (tapformobile.com)

Submitted by billpalmer on Wednesday October 03, 2012 @06:13PM

billpalmer writes: The upcoming launch of the iPod touch 5 marks its first revision in nearly two and a half years, and while it’s set to gain the same taller screen and gee whiz features of the iPhone 5, the fifth generation iPod touch may finally mark the point at which the product is intended as little more than a child’s toy – and it’s all in the colors. In the beginning, the iPod touch was meant as a stopgap, or as “training wheels for iPhone” as Steve Jobs once infamously and perhaps unintentionally put it. The iPhone was initially only available on one carrier per nation, and rather than flocking to the designated carrier en masse, many would-be iPhone buyers decided to stand their ground until it eventually came to their preferred carrier...

Submission + - The five kinds of American idiots who don't bother to vote. (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Wednesday October 03, 2012 @03:13PM

billpalmer writes: "From elitist liberals who are good to vote, to republican home-teamers who like the other guy better, these people are all idiots..."

Submission + - iPhone users defend iOS 6 Maps, wonder what the supposed problem is. (beatweek.com)

Submitted by

billpalmer

on Monday October 01, 2012 @04:53PM

billpalmer writes: "If you believe the tech headlines, Apples new iPhone Maps app in iOS 6 is the worst thing to ever happen to the platform, and it’s so inaccurate you can’t rely on it to accurately navigate you from your couch to your own kitchen. It’s not safe to buy the new iPhone 5, they claim, nor is it advisable to update your existing iPhone, they say. But real world iPhone users paint a very different picture: the new Maps app is a vast improvement over the old Google Maps-based app in terms of functionality, look and feel, and ease of use. I checked in with some typical iPhone users for feedback on iOS 6 Maps, and here’s a sampling of what I received:"

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