46353029
submission
whoever57 writes
"According to a report in Techcrunch, Microsoft is considering buying out the remaining shares in Nook Media. Microsoft already owns 17% of Nook Media. Documents reveal that Nook Media plans to discontinue selling tablets and transition to a model under which media is distributed through partners."Link to Original Source
45790163
submission
whoever57 writes
"The Prime Minister of the UK is proposing that porn should not be available through WiFi hotspots in public areas. Exactly how this will be implemented has not been identified, even to the extent of whether the ISP or the hotspot operator should implement the blocking. The Children’s Charities Coalition has demanded urgent action on the issue."Link to Original Source
45650107
submission
whoever57 writes
"Galen Gruman writes in InfoWorld about the persistence of Microsoft technologies in the enterprise. He notices that IT groups are the most likely buyers fro Windows tablets, despite their users preference for Android and IOS tablets. He blames this on "in-breeding" within IT groups — who simply expect Microsoft technologies "to extend into the newfangled technologies such as mobile and cloud". IT groups, he writes, will wait for Microsft to deliver the technologies that are already available from other sources. He summarizes the status of Microsoft's offerings thus:
"It's clear Microsoft's strategy is to withhold its better technologies to force users to stick with the inferior Windows platforms. IT is waiting for that magic day when Microsoft's Windows delivers beyond the legacy desktop.
Users, meanwhile, have moved on. They'll buy more tablets than PCs this year, and adoption will only accelerate as users start augmenting their PCs at work with tablets, not just buy them for home use as is usually the case today""Link to Original Source
44400521
submission
whoever57 writes
"Several European phone carriers have complained to the EU about the contracts that Apple imposes on them if they want to sell the iPhone. Because the contracts stipulate a minimum purchase, and the carier must compensate Apple if they fail to sell through that minimum, it has the effect of forcing the carrier to promote iPhones ahead of alternative phones. The European Commission is monitoring the situation. Apple claims that its "contracts fully comply with local laws wherever we do business, including the E.U""Link to Original Source
44110033
submission
whoever57 writes
"A report in ExtremeTech (quoting an article in the Wall Street Journal) details price cuts that Microsft has made for sales of Windows 8 and Office to OEMs in response to slow adoption. According to the report, the price of a dual pack of Windows 8 and Office for touchscreen devices under 10.8 inches has been cut to only $30 from the prior price of $120. The Wall Street Journal attributes the claim to anaonymous sources, hwever, other sites, including Digitimes report information that tends to confirm the original claim."Link to Original Source
43510559
submission
whoever57 writes
"Microsoft's Azure storage appears to be down worldwide. Indications are that the problem lies in an
expired ssl certificate. Recovery is in progress."Link to Original Source
43326039
submission
whoever57 writes
"Patent trolls like to claim that patent laws provide a way that small inventors can create products and benefit financially from their invention. One such inventor faces selling his house, despite inventing a product that has sold tens of millions worldwide."Link to Original Source
41405761
submission
whoever57 writes
"The yacht that Steve Jobs commissioned has been held over a claim that the architect's bill has not been paid in full. Co-designer Philippe Starck claims that Job's estate has paid him only $6M out of a $9M bill. The court of Amsterdam has allowed Starck's lawyers to impound the yacht."Link to Original Source
40511813
submission
whoever57 writes
"In a follow-up to stories about the non-existent Sandy Island, a librarian in New Zealand looked for Sandy Island on the library's colection of charts. Sandy Island was
found on a 1908 British Admiralty chart. On the chart, it was reported that the island was discovered in 1876. According to the report, another person found a record of Sandy Island on his copy of The Times Atlas of 1897."Link to Original Source
40081661
submission
whoever57 writes
"A man was arrested at Oakland airport and charged with having bomb-making materials. The materials? An ornate watch and extra insoles in his boots. Despite the bomb squad determining that there was no bomb, the spokesman for the Alameda county sherriff's department claimed that he was carrying "potentially dangerous materials and appeared to have made alterations to his boots, which were unusually large and stuffed with layers of insoles". Linked in has a profile for a person with a matching name that (Geoffrey McGann) who is the owner and creative director of a media production company called Generator Conten"Link to Original Source
39288013
submission
whoever57 writes
"In an interview in Der Spiegel, Craig Mundie blames Microsoft's failure in mobile on cyber criminals. Noting that Microsoft had a music player before the iPod and a touch device before the iPad, he claims a failure to execute in Microsoft resulted in Microsoft losing its "leadership". The reason for the failure to execute, in his words: "During that time, Windows went through a difficult period where we had to shift a huge amount of our focus to security engineering. The criminal activity in cyberspace was growing dramatically ten years ago, and Microsoft was basically the only company that had enough volume for it to be a target. In part because of that, Windows Vista took a long time to be born.""Link to Original Source
39287159
submission
whoever57 writes
"A report in The Atlantic wire quotes Geekwire in a description of lines "around the building" but,
"a significant portion of those in line are somehow affiliated with Microsoft, either as employees, vendors, or contractors."
The same article describes a "press only" Surface tablet event at which the "clapping and hollering" came from a group of people who had badges that were different to the press badges."Link to Original Source
39280275
submission
whoever57 writes
"The main who claimed ownership of 50% of Facebook has been arrested and charged with fraud in connection with his claims. The United States attorney in Manhattan said “Ceglia’s alleged conduct not only constitutes a massive fraud attempt, but also an attempted corruption of our legal system through the manufacture of false evidence,” “Dressing up a fraud as a lawsuit does not immunize you from prosecution.”"Link to Original Source
39022695
submission
whoever57 writes
"EU regulations require electronics manufacturers to be "liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists when the goods are delivered to the consumer and which becomes apparent within a period of two years"., yet Microsoft clearly offers a 1-year warranty on Microsoft's UK store where the Surface tablet is offered. Apple and many other manufacturers also offer only a 1-year warranty."Link to Original Source
39018653
submission
whoever57 writes
"Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com predicts that Windows 8 will mark “the end of Windows” and that “Windows is irrelevant.” These claims were made at the Cloudforce show in Manhattan. He states that an exec-level employee at one of his customers does not plan to migrate to Windows 8. He mentions IOS and Android tables as the devices that people want to buy, not traditional computers."Link to Original Source
