dhavleak - Slashdot User

Submission + - Google blocks YouTube app on Windows Phone (again) (technet.com) 4

Submitted by dhavleak on Thursday August 15, 2013 @05:37PM

dhavleak writes: From Gizmodo: Earlier today, the Microsoft-built YouTube app for Windows Phone was unceremoniously disabled by Google. These kind of little inter-corporate kerfuffles happen from time to time, and usually resolve themselves without screwing too many users. But boy, Microsoft didn't take it quietly.

Submission + - What's cooking in MSR: Microsoft Tag (istartedsomething.com) 1

Submitted by

dhavleak

on Friday January 09, 2009 @06:18AM

dhavleak writes: "Some interesting looking stuff from the boffins in MSR: Microsoft Tag: "With the Microsoft Tag application, just aim your camera phone at a Tag and instantly access mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!". Device support is fairly extensive (iPhone, WinMo, Blackberry and more), and tag scanning appears to work quickly and reliably from a different distances and angles.

Long Zheng has an overview on his site. The tag is similar to a barcode, but has obvious visual differences — colored vs. black and white, and triangles vs. squares or lines. Perhaps this was required to optimize the area in which the tag data was encoded, while also yeilding better results for pattern recognition software. The technology looks interesting — but will it get the adoption necessary for it to be successful? What applications do you see for such technology?"

Submission + - Bruce Schneier Weighs in on Lock-in Strategies

Submitted by dhavleak on Thursday February 07, 2008 @05:22PM

dhavleak writes: Wired has an article from Bruce Schneier on the intersection of security technologies and vendor lock-ins in IT. From TFA: With enough lock-in, a company can protect its market share even as it reduces customer service, raises prices, refuses to innovate and otherwise abuses its customer base. It should be no surprise that this sounds like pretty much every experience you've had with IT companies: Once the industry discovered lock-in, everyone started figuring out how to get as much of it as they can.

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