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Security Flaw Found in Tumblr, Company Says It's Now Fixed (Mashable) : Technet |
- Security Flaw Found in Tumblr, Company Says It's Now Fixed (Mashable)
- AT&T, Where's the Pooled Data Plan with Rollover Megabytes? (PC World)
- Dutch government seeks to allow online gambling (Reuters)
- CTIA rumor: Sprint to launch HTC EVO 3D, EVO View 4G tablet (Digital Trends)
- Android Gaming Has Finally Arrived (PC World)
- Best Celebrity Twitter Pictures (The Daily Beast)
- Can RIM's Cloud Push Recapture BlackBerry Magic? (PC World)
- Top 100 Socially Networked Cities in the U.S. (Mashable)
- Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard leads iPhone Games of the Week (Appolicious)
- Tonight's 'super perigee moon' will not cause a natural disaster, says NASA (Digital Trends)
- The Week in iPad Cases: The iPad 2 has landed (Macworld)
- Learning from Microsoft’s six biggest blunders (Digital Trends)
| Security Flaw Found in Tumblr, Company Says It's Now Fixed (Mashable) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 10:41 AM PDT It started with a tweet Saturday morning, sounding an alarm of a security breach in the popular microblogging platform Tumblr. "OMG… The Tumbeasts are spitting out passwords!," it warned. That tweet spread like wildfire, notifying the world of a coding error that opened a security hole with the potential of revealing users' passwords, server IP addresses, API keys and personal information. Fortunately, Tumbler reacted, fixing the problem and then issuing this official message about 5 to 6 hours after the flaw was discovered: "A human error caused some sensitive server configuration information to be exposed this morning. Our technicians took immediate measures to protect from any issues that may come as a result. We're triple checking everything and bringing in outside auditors to confirm, but we have no reason to believe that anything was compromised. We're certain that none of your personal information (passwords, etc.) was exposed, and your blog is backed up and safe as always. This was an embarrassing error, but something we were prepared for. The fact that this occurred at all is still unacceptable, and we’ll be seriously evaluating and adjusting our processes to ensure an error like this can never happen again. Please let us know if you have absolutely any questions." What caused the error? That's still under intense discussion at The Hacker News and elsewhere in the hacker community, but many think the culprit was a errant piece of PHP code. Obviously, spelling counts. Let us know in the comments if you think those who discovered the security flaw were more eager to broadcast its existence than notify the Tumbler coders who might have been in a position to quickly fix it. |
| AT&T, Where's the Pooled Data Plan with Rollover Megabytes? (PC World) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 10:17 AM PDT AT&T has pulled the plug on unlimited data for its home DSL and Uverse customers. The move to capped data comes only nine months after AT&T ended unlimited access for its mobile data plans, and sets a concerning precedent. For me, though, it just begs the question of why AT&T can't bundle those things up for a better deal. AT&T residential customers have enjoyed unlimited data up to now, but--according to AT&T--the vast majority of its customers only use about 18GB per month. AT&T claims that only two percent of its customers will come close to exceeding the 150GB cap for DSL, or the 250GB cap on Uverse data. The AT&T statistics are similar to the numbers AT&T shared about mobile data consumption--where supposedly only two percent of the AT&T wireless customers need more than 2GB per month of data. I switched two of the three smartphones on my AT&T family plan to the 200MB data plan when AT&T switched things up. They weren't using that much anyway, so switching plans allowed me to save $15 a month on each device. After exceeding the 200MB cap a couple times, I eventually upgraded one of the two to the 2GB plan--plenty of data and still $5 less than I was paying for unlimited. But, now I am paying $30 for unlimited data on one phone, $25 for 2GB of data on the second, and $15 for 200MB of data on the third, plus $45 a month for 12Mbps data through Uverse which is now capped at 250GB. Assume for a minute that I changed my unlimited plan to the 2GB plan--I would be paying $110 per month for a combined total of 254.2GB of data. But, according to AT&T, odds are good that I only really need less than 20GB between all of the devices combined. Of course, I haven't yet taken into account that I am also paying an additional $30 a month for unlimited text messaging on the wireless family plan. A text message is just data--and, in fact, AT&T reports text message usage within the data usage when viewing account data--so I am not really sure why I have to pay for it separate from the data I am already paying for. Add that in, and we're looking at $140 per month for massive data capacity that I am using only a fraction of. Then, there are the additional fees for tethering. AT&T is now offering a $45 data plan that includes the 2GB plan plus an additional 2GB for a combined total of 4Gb of data capacity that can be shared across multiple devices using the Wi-Fi hotspot functionality in phones like the iPhone 4. But, what if I don't need any additional data capacity? Why can't I just turn on the hotspot and share my base 2GB with other devices without paying more money? I think AT&T is on to something, though, with the rollover minutes it offers on the voice plans. I have a pool of minutes that are shared between all of my mobile phones, and the minutes we don't use carry over to the next month. So, AT&T--when can we drop the pretense of treating residential and wireless data separately, or paying for each device individually, and get something similar for data plans? How about a pooled data plan? Give me some tiered options--say 50GB, 150GB, and 250GB--and let me buy a combined data plan that is shared between my home and mobile devices, and let my unused megabytes rollover to the next month. Oh, and stop pretending that a text message isn't just another form of data. |
| Dutch government seeks to allow online gambling (Reuters) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 05:45 AM PDT AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government said on Saturday it wanted to grant licenses for Internet gambling services in the Netherlands and lift restrictions that hundreds of thousands of Dutch ignore every year. The proposal, by a new coalition government that took over last October, represents a major policy overhaul for the Netherlands, which has defended an online gambling ban all the way to the European Union's highest court. "It is a big shift (in policy), but this is a new government with a more liberal approach," said Jaap Oosterveer, a spokesman for the Dutch ministry of public safety and justice. In a letter sent to the Dutch parliament on Saturday, Fredrik Teeven, state secretary of security and justice, wrote that hundreds of thousands of Dutch defied a ban by gambling online, and so a change in the law would allow more oversight. Several European countries such as France, Italy, Austria, Britain and Sweden already regulate online gambling, and the Netherlands should also be offering licenses for online games such as poker, bingo and sports betting, Teeven wrote. A number of online gambling companies have launched legal challenges against several European countries in an effort to break into lucrative markets but have found the going tough. Ladbrokes, Britain's biggest bookmaker, and Betfair, the world's largest online gaming exchange, both challenged Dutch gambling policy unsuccessfully last year at the European Union Court of Justice. In his letter, Teeven wrote that consumers should have an appropriate and attractive range of gambling options but that it was very important that there are safeguards against risks such as gambling addiction and fraud. The licensing system for lotteries in the Netherlands should become more transparent, while competition in the gaming industry, which is dominated by state monopoly casino operator Holland Casino, should also be explored, Teeven added. The Dutch government expects the auctioning of Internet gambling and lottery licenses to generate at least 10 million euros ($14.1 million) per year for its coffers starting from 2012, Teeven wrote. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis, editing by Jane Baird) |
| CTIA rumor: Sprint to launch HTC EVO 3D, EVO View 4G tablet (Digital Trends) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 03:50 PM PDT
According to a source who spoke with BRG: The first big unveil for Sprint "most certainly will be" the HTC EVO 3D smartphone, the successor to the EVO 4G. It will run on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with the HTC Sense user interface. Measuring 4.3-inches, the EVO 3D sports a 960×450 resolution touchscreen with Autostereoscopic 3D display capabilities — the newfangled type that doesn't require the use of glasses. The guts of the device, which runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), include a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm 8660 Snapdragon processor and a 1730mAh battery. (The device probably has 1GB of RAM and 4GB of ROM memory, but BRG says its source switched the numbers around when he gave the specs.) In front the EVO 3D has a 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat. On the back are two 5-megapixel cameras, which enabled users to shoot footage in 3D. It can also output regular ol' two-dimensional video at 1080p, or 3D video at 720p high-resolution, via an HDMI port. The device will also have access to both YouTube 3D and Blockbuster 3D on-demand apps. In addition to the EVO 3D, Sprint will allegedly add the HTC EVO View 4G tablet to its roster. The 7-inch device is said to be "much like the HTC Flyer tablet" that debuted at Mobile World Congress 2011. It has a 1024×600 display, aluminum unibody design, and HTC Scribe for optional pen usage. Like the EVO 3D, the View 4G runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, with a HTC Sense UI that's optimized for tablets. It has a 5MP camera in back and a 1.3MP camera in the front. The phone also has a 4000mAh battery, DLNA and HDMI output. Outside of the CTIA timeframe, Sprint is said to launch three additional tablets: The Motorola Xoom, and two versions of the BlackBerry Playbook (one Wi-Fi-only, the Wi-Fi/WiMax 4G). |
| Android Gaming Has Finally Arrived (PC World) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 12:35 PM PDT Android gaming. Two years ago, the iPhone was effectively the only phone that supported serious gaming--unless you consider Brickbreaker on the BlackBerry to be the ultimate gaming experience. Last spring, Google proved that it was serious about gaming when it hired games industry veteran Mark DeLoura to act as its "Developer Advocate" for games. But gaming developers seemed a bit hesitant to climb on board with the platform. When we surveyed the games available in the Android Market, we found a lot of sad rip-offs of popular iPhone games, plagued by shoddy graphics and buggy game play. There wasn't even a games section in the Market! But the announcement last fall of an Android version of the well-loved iPhone game Angry Birds signaled that other popular, big-name games might be headed to Android as well. And rumors of an Android-based Sony PlayStation phone, which could supposedly play 3D PSP games, further strengthened the perception that Android might finally be ready for gaming. Dedicated Gaming Handsets Xperia Play, the gaming phone features a D-pad (for in-game direction control), four game control buttons and a set of circular touchpads in the middle, which function like a joystick for some games. You won't find the PlayStation logo anywhere on the phone, but the Xperia Play will be able to run certain PlayStation games. Sony also announced its PlayStation Suite, a standard "software platform" designed to bring PlayStation games to more devices--specifically, to ones that run at least Android 2.3 and receive a "PlayStation Certified" designation from Sony. The games will be distributed through a marketplace that Sony will set up later this year. The result should be a lot more Android phones in the future that are tricked out for optimal game control. At this year's Gaming Development conference, Sony Ericsson also revealed that the Xperia Play will be the official mobile phone of Major League Gaming (MLG), North America's official pro video games league. MLG attracts about 40 million gamers and represents some of the top professional gamers in the world. The fact that a mobile phone is now regarded as a medium for competitive gaming is a huge step for Android gaming. Will we see dedicated gaming handsets from other manufacturers? It's hard to say. Aside from Sony Ericsson, no phone manufacturer has any track record in the gaming world. And Nintendo has said publicly that it has no interest in making mobile devices, so there's no competition from that quarter (though you can play old Nintendo games on your Android phone via an emulator). Microsoft's mobile XBox Live is one of the best features of Windows Phone 7, so we would love to see Redmond work with an OEM to develop a dedicated gaming phone. Gyroscopes Become the Norm The iPhone 4 was the first phone to ship with a gyroscope, but Android phones are following suit, starting with the Samsung Nexus S, which launched earlier this year. Most top-of-the-line Android smartphones are likely to have them this year. I Love Katamari game, you tilt your phone to roll the Katamari ball through the various levels. A gyroscope provides greater precision and accuracy thatn an accelerometer for controlling your phone. It also permits developers to make richer, more immersive motion-controlled games. For example, in first-person shooter games like Eliminate: Gun Range, you can aim your weapon by tilting the phone subtly. Now that more Android phones are shipping with gyroscopes, we hope to see games of similar quality on the platform. Powerful Gaming-Optimized Chipsets The mobile chipset makers are helping phones deliver a better gaming experience by designing low-power chipsets for 3D gameplay. Qualcomm's new generation of Snapdragon chipsets feature the Adreno 220 GPU, which enhances graphics performance with rich 3D effects and detailing. At Qualcomm's booth at Mobile World Congress 2011, we saw a demo of the new game Desert Winds and were impressed by the smooth gameplay and the rich, realistic graphics. At GDC, Qualcomm announced a deal with Gameloft in which the game distributor will rerelease some of its best-selling high-definition game titles, optimized to take advantage of the Snapdragon processor and Adreno GPU. Similarly, dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 chips for tablets and phones are designed with gaming in mind. One goal of Tegra 2's GeForce GPU is to deliver responsive mobile 3D game playability without compromising battery life. Virtually all of the demos we saw of Tegra 2-powered devices (including the LG Optimus X, the Droid Bionic, and the Motorola Xoom) showed games in action--and they were quite impressive. Nvidia even has its own app store (Tegra Zone) for Tegra-powered phones and tablets. Like Qualcomm's, these games are optimized for one particular chipset. Software development kits--or SDKs, as they are more commonly known--are extremely important to developers. They provide the framework and resources that developers need in order to create successful programs and applications. Without access to a platform's SDK, a developer has little or no chance of creating appropriate software for a specific platform. Android has the largest market share for mobile devices, thanks to its flexible SDK, which allows developers to get their games out to a bigger audience on a wide variety of devices. Developers can also work with manufacturers (as Gameloft is with Qualcomm) to take full advantage of the latest and greatest hardware for their games. The Xperia Play, for example, will be among the many future Gingerbread devices that support the Havok physics engine. Havok will permit richer 3D experiences and is already well known in the gaming world. The Xperia Play (and other Tegra 2 devices) will be able to take advantage of the benefits of the Havok engine through the PlayStation Suite. Having a free, open SDK is one of Android's greatest strengths. Anyone can download the SDK and create an app--an opportunity that many computer programming courses take advantage of. Developers can submit their apps directly to Google's Android Market, or they can try third-party sites such as GetJar or even Amazon's App Store. The developer can customize the SDK to suit specific needs or wants. Immersion, a company that develops haptic feedback for various devices, including phones, recently released its Motiv haptic SDKfor Android. This SDK enables developers to create tactile feedback within their applications. Haptic feedback can be used in many application scenarios, but we think its best use is for gaming. When we met with Immersion, they showed us a demo of a pinball game developed with Motiv. The gameplay was fantastic: The vibration of the ball hitting the sides of the "machine," made the game feel as though we were playing it on a real pinball machine. This SDK opens up lots of exciting opportunities for game developers and gives them the opportunity to make their Android game do something iOS games can't. Why? Because iOS and the iPhone don't support haptic feedback. Better Money in Android Aside from the hardware considerations, game developers have other incentives to go with the green robot. Spacetime Studios, creators of the popular Pocket Legends 3D MMORPG on both iOS and Android, has said that Android users are approximately three times more active than their Apple counterparts. Pocket Legends is free to play and is primarily supported by in-app purchases, so much more revenue is coming from Android users than from iOS users. Spacetime has found that, even though in-app purchases are more streamlined on iOS, Android users buy more things. Likewise, Android users are more likely to click ads, thus bringing in even more revenue. Jean-Francois Greyelin, developer of the game PewPew, agrees: "For starters, the market share of Android is very big, so you have a lot of potential customers. In my case, PewPew has been more downloaded and in less time on Android than on the iOS." iOS developers looking to jump ship to Android have some help in the form of the social gaming platform Openfeint and Chinese developer The9. The9 wants to invest $100 million in various projects and (together with Openfeint) plans to scour the App Store looking for good candidates for funding. As a result, Android is likely to host quite a few iOS ports; but once developers are accustomed to the platform, we may begin to see a lot more original content on Android devices. With new game developers looking at Android as a viable gaming platform and with MLG pushing the Xperia Play as their official handset, Android is on its way in becoming the mobile gamers' OS. At the very least, we'll see a slew of excellent games beyond cheap iOS rip-offs. |
| Best Celebrity Twitter Pictures (The Daily Beast) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 05:56 PM PDT |
| Can RIM's Cloud Push Recapture BlackBerry Magic? (PC World) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 09:00 AM PDT RIMs BlackBerry has been steadily losing share in the smart phone market, but RIM hopes it could use the cloud computing space to offer something new and exciting like it did when it came out with its then-revolutionary push e-mail service over a decade ago. During a presentation that Alec Taylor, vice president, software, services and enterprise marketing for RIM gave Thursday, cloud applications have become "core to RIM's strategy." Taylor also claimed that RIM is "positioned to lead in mobile cloud services." As part of its push into the cloud, RIM said it has formed a partnership with Microsoft to offer Office 365 Web-based office applications, which include SharePoint, Exchange, and Lync. RIM said BlackBerry and soon-to-be launched Playbook tablet customers will be able to use Microsoft Office 365 over the cloud free of charge in the middle of the year. RIM says its announcement with Microsoft represents one example of many new cloud services it will offer its users. But corporate posturing aside, what does RIM's push into the cloud mean for the small business user? That mostly remains to be seen, but I know what I would like to see. A major peeve I have always had with my BlackBerry, as well as with any other kind of Android, iPhone, or smart phone device for that matter, is how hard it is to share data with workstations, whether tethered directly to a PC or to a LAN. Sure, you can use BlackBerry's sync software to share data with PCs, but it is clunky, to say the least. Being able to use a BlackBerry or RIM's upcoming Playbook to seamlessly share data and access applications over the cloud with different PCs and devices as easily as you can between PCs on a LAN could make RIM's devices exciting again. I also would love one day to be able to use a BlackBerry for all of my computing tasks over the cloud, whether for storage, office, or any other application. That way, I could work anywhere and everywhere with nothing but my mobile device. But for a variety of reasons--not least of which are unresolved security concerns--the real role the cloud will play in the future of computing has yet to be determined and does not depend much on RIM. RIM's Microsoft announcement is hardly earth-shattering, as the company will likely never capture the magic again like it did when it captivated the business world with its first BlackBerry devices. RIM will also face stiff competition in the mobile space from Google, Android, and the search giant's cloud services. At least RIM's announcement that it will offer Microsoft's cloud-based office applications is a step in the right direction. RIM also says there is a lot more to come, but only the future will tell how successful it will be. Bruce covers tech trends in the United States and Europe and tweets at @brucegain. |
| Top 100 Socially Networked Cities in the U.S. (Mashable) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 09:16 AM PDT Anyone who wants to rank socially networked cities is going to be in for a fight. But the brave souls at Men'sHealth aren't shying away from a tussle, placing the top 100 most socially networked cities in order for all to see. How did they do it? It appears to be a fair and scientifically valid procedure. First, Men'sHealth figured out each city's LinkedIn and Facebook users per capita, and then tapped the NetProspex marketing database to figure out each location's amount of overall Twitter usage. Not stopping there, the next step was to consult online ad network Chitika to quantify traffic from MySpace, Friendster, Reddit and Digg, and finally, SimplyMap helped determine the percentage of households using chat rooms and blogs. The list below is as much a study of how to find this information as it is a valid assessment of which city has the bragging rights to calling itself The Capital of Social Networking. Speaking of capital, who knew our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., would be at the top of the list, or that Milwaukee (#45), the location of Mashable's humble Midwest Test Facility, would rate higher than the mighty New York City (#53), home of Mashable HQ? See how your city ranks, and feel free to trash-talk those other lesser bergs in the comments. Most socially networked 11 Cincinnati, OH A- Least socially networked |
| Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard leads iPhone Games of the Week (Appolicious) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 04:00 AM PDT |
| Tonight's 'super perigee moon' will not cause a natural disaster, says NASA (Digital Trends) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 04:55 PM PDT
Do not worry: Tonight's supermoon, which will appear larger than any moon in the North American night sky since 1992, will not cause any natural disasters, NASA reassured everyone today. They've even go so far as to produce a YouTube video to explain the super moon's effects. NASA predicts the 'super perigee moon' will appear 15 to 30 percent larger than normal. Optimal viewing time, experts say, is just after sunset, when the glowing orb hangs just above the horizon, creating an optical illusion that makes its size appear even greater (an effect known as the "moon illusion"). The moon, which measures a constant 3,474 kilometers across, isn't actually changing size. Instead, the moon appears so large because it is at the "perigee" point in its orbit around earth, the closest point in the orbit's ellipses. The moon became perigee at roughly 3pm EST today, at which point the moon was a mere 221,565 miles from our planet, about 31,000 miles closer than its furthest distance, know as "apogee." In addition, the moon became officially a full moon just an hour before hitting becoming perigee — a rare event that creates a stunning visual. "The full Moon of March 19th occurs less than one hour away from perigee," says Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C, "a near-perfect coincidence that happens only every 18 years or so." While the close proximity off the moon does increase the its gravitational effects on the oceans to bring about "perigeean tides," or tides that have a greater range between high and low, the changes are relatively small — about 6 inches more than normal. So grab your cameras, or binoculars, get outside, and enjoy this magnificent heavenly event — it will be quite some time before you'll see it again. Watch NASA's video about the super perigee moon:
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| The Week in iPad Cases: The iPad 2 has landed (Macworld) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 07:15 AM PDT The iPad 2 is finally here, in all its greatness and glory! That, however, is not the only reason for celebratingâ€"many a vendor has also announced that it's in the process of creating and producing protective accessories specifically for the newest magical device. In the best Scandinavian tradition of buffet eating, tuck in and help yourself at this veritable feast of fashionable protection covers. It's all in this week's iPad case roundup. Beiza Cases: Straight from Europe, Beiza brings us the Wave (iPad 2), a luxurious sleeve series that takes its name from its unique wavy design. Made entirely of genuine leather and soft canvas, and available in sixteen different configurations, the Wave usually retails for €140, but is on sale for €105 for a limited time. Blackbox Case: This company's iPad 2 Case ($99) is handmade in Colorado from solid oak, combining tough protection with a killer old-world look. CleverWraps: When a case is a beautiful (and expensive) work of art, it becomes unsuitable for some uses. It's one thing to take your leather accessory to work, and quite another to take it to the beach, for example, where it's unlikely to provide much in the way of protection from sand and seawater anyway. Luckily, that's where CleverWraps comes into play with its line of disposable iPad 2 sleeves (three for $15). These waterproof, plastic wrappers keep moisture and dirt out of the way without preventing you from fully enjoying your device (although you will lose access to the iPad's ports and jacks). Best of all—or perhaps worst of all, for those of us concerned about the environment—when you're done, you simply throw them away. Gelaskins:: This manufacturer is bringing its popular line of printed protective films ($30) to the iPad 2. Each of the several hundreds styles of skins is imprinted with a unique design and provides protection for both the back of the device and the bezel around the screen. The company even provides for download a matching custom background picture for a seamless, all-over look. Griffin Technology: The Powerdock Dual is a clever charging dock that accommodates two devices simultaneously: an iPad or iPad 2 along with an iPhone or dock-connector iPod. As a bonus, this $60 stand includes a valet area where you can conveniently store your keys and pocket change. Griffin's Cinema Seat 2 ($40; iPad 2) allows you to strap an iPad 2 to the headrest of a car seat for handsfree viewing. It also features a webbed pocked for accessories and cables and openings for each of the tablet's controls and connectors. Finally, the Elan Folio Slim ($40; iPad 2) can be used both as a case and as a stand. It comes in black and features openings in all the right places to ensure that you maintain access to the iPad 2's various controls. Gumdrop: I don't know if it's on purpose, but judging from the amount of engineering that has gone into its design and construction, the Drop Series ($60; iPad 2) may be very aptly named, because it looks like it could protect your iPad from anything short of the Apocalypse. Luckily, safety doesn't come at the cost of style, and the case is available in black/red, black/black, pink/white, or white/black. The more traditional-looking Surf Convertible ($45; iPad 2) features an animal-friendly, faux-leather exterior and combines the protection of a cover with the convenience of a stand. It comes in black, blue, or red. iSkin: The iPad accessories in the company's Q.West collection, which combines protection with style in a number of rather unique sleeve and bag designs, are now compatible with the iPad 2. The Sling ($125) is a handy bag that, in addition to being waterproof, can accommodate a variety of devices, including the MacBook Air. It comes in black, blue, green, violet, or red, and features plenty of extra space for accessories. If protection is your thing, you may want to check out the Summit, which is probably what the landing airbag of the Mars Pathfinder would look like if Jean-Paul Gautier had designed it. It's shiny; it's puffy; it comes in black, red, teal, green, purple, or white; and it costs $95. Speaking of fluffy, the 3 Degree ($80) is not quite as shiny as the Summit, but packs plenty of padding to keep your iPad 2 safe and sound. It comes in black, teal, red, purple, or green. The Ballistic, as its name subtly implies, is made entirely out of ballistic nylon for tough and durable protection. It also features a small external pocket—ideal for a sync cable—and comes in black or gray for $90. For a stylish and thin look, the Monty ($50) features leather construction, a microfiber interior, and two straps for easy closure to keep everything safely in place. Available in black, it's not as flashy as its companions, making it ideal for a business-oriented setting (unless you're Lady Gaga). Finally, the Memo is a sleek leather sleeve that uses a strong elastic band to hold its closure in place. Its minimalistic but luxurious looks—available in black, blue, ping, gray, or white—will set you back a cool $110. iStyle: Like Gelaskins, iStyles sells vinyl skins in a great variety of styles and designs; the company also makes available matching wallpapers for each design. iStyle's skins cost $20, with an optional matte/satin coating available for an extra $5. Versions of the coverings are now available with the iPad and iPad 2. Macally: In addition to an unpronounceable name, Macally's Bookstand2BL Microfiber Cover & Stand ($30; iPad 2) features all-around protection and a Smart Cover-like flip design that makes it work both as a stand and a typing platform. The blue/orange color makes for a warm, welcoming contrast, and the price is reasonable. Marware: The Microshell ($40; iPad 2) is made of thin but sturdy rubberized plastic. It preserves the aesthetic lines of the iPad 2 without skimping on protection, and it can be used in combination with a Smart Cover. Orbino: The hand-stitched Padova Due ($209 to $689) looks exactly like what one would expect from the union of luxury and convenience. It comes in a variety of Italian leathers and exotic materials such as crocodile or ostrich skin, and it features a removable metal stand and flipcover that allow the Due to work as a stand in either landscape or portrait orientation, or as a typing platform. The company is currently taking pre-orders, with delivery expected in five to seven weeks. Skinit: As yet another "skin" alternative, Skinit now offers completely customizable vinyl-film coverings for the iPad 2. You can choose from a wide variety of professional designs, or even upload an image to create your own. The skins are priced starting at $30, with an optional screen protector currently available on sale for $12 (regular $26). Speck: Let's start with my favorite from Speck: the iGuy Standing Cover ($40; iPad & iPad 2). Speck markets it as "the funnest iPad cover available," hinting that it's designed to be child-friendly; I suspect, however, that many an adult will find it terminally adorable. Getting back to more traditional products, the PixelSkin HD Wrap ($50; iPad 2) is a wraparound hardshell case with a front cover that looks—and functions—much like Apple's own Smart Cover. The cover can be folded back to be used as a stand or as a typing platform, and the case provides complete protection to both the front and back of the device. The PixelSleeve ($30; iPad & iPad 2) is a stretchy, neoprene sleeve with a soft interior. The sleeve is lightweight but impact resistant; comes in black, purple, or pink; and features a convenient handle for easy carrying. The PortPack 10 and the CorePack 10 ($50 each; iPad & iPad 2) are convenient carrying bags that fit any device up to 10 inches in size. They offer a number of extra compartments and plenty of padding. Speaking of bags, Speck also offers the A-Line ($60; iPad & iPad 2), which is available in black/gray, gray/purple, or brown/red. Its stylish construction features lots of space, plenty of padding, and fits both iPad models as well as other devices up to ten inches in size. USBFever: The Soft-Silicone Case costs just $10 and offers snap-on protection for your iPad 2. It comes in smoky black, blue, crystal clear, purple, or frost white. USBFever's Crystal Case, which will also set you back $10, is a hardshell, snap-on case that provides protection without adding too much bulk. It comes in smoky black, crystal clear, blue, or rose red. USBFever also offers a range of screen protectors for the iPad 2, including the Anti Glare Protector ($13) and the Ultra Clear Protector ($14). Waterfield Designs: Waterfield is introducing seven—count them, seven—cases, starting with the iPad Wallet ($79; iPad & iPad 2). Available in six different colors (green, red, brown, teal, gray, or black), the iPad Wallet is a travel case for your iPad that features a separate pocket for a Bluetooth keyboard as well as room for a few other accessories. Its iPad pocket has enough room to accommodate a Smart Cover. The Smart Case ($59; iPad & iPad 2) comes in the same choice of colors and also provides an extra pocket for a keyboard, but it cuts down on the storage space in the name of compactness. (Though it still offers several layers of padding and a scratch-free liner.) The lack of any visible stitching keeps the case looking smooth and sleek. The Ultimate SleeveCase ($55 to $60; iPad & iPad 2) features a thin design that doesn't compromise the safety of your iPad. It's available in lead indium or brown leather and can be fitted with an optional shoulder strap ($5–$22) and pouch ($25–$27). The iPad Slip Case ($29; iPad & iPad 2) features a simple but elegant construction and a minimalist look. It comes in black, blue, green, brown, or pink and can accommodate a Smart Case. For an even more minimalistic look, you may want to check out the iPad Suede Jacket ($19–$25; iPad & iPad 2), which is as simple as simple can get—and thin to boot. Its stretch-memory construction ensures a snug fit every time, and the optional pocket gives you some extra space for cables and keyboards. Finally, the Muzetto is an all-purpose shoulder bag that comes in a variety of sizes, including one that fits both the original iPad and iPad 2 for $199. The Muzetto's construction is all leather with one of six accent colors; in addition to a comfortable fit for your device, this bag includes a generous number of pockets and extra compartments for everything from documents to extra accessories. Wrapsol: The Wrapsol Ultra screen-protection film is now offered in a version for the iPad 2. It comes in both dry- or wet-application versions and in front-only or front-and-back film combinations (but, curiously, not in the back-only configuration that would be ideal for an iPad with a Smart Cover). Prices start at $30. X-Gear: The 360 Shield (price unavailable) is a polycarbonate cover that features a unique design to both protect the iPad 2 from damage and act as a stand and a typing platform. The product, available either in white or black, will be available for preorder at the end of March. |
| Learning from Microsoft’s six biggest blunders (Digital Trends) Posted: 19 Mar 2011 04:00 AM PDT
I've been following Microsoft for over two decades, have cataloged a number of major mistakes and ranked them over time. Against most of them, I have names of people who mostly are no longer with the company. One of my major aggravations in the 1990s was that many of Microsoft's mistakes were first made by IBM, and last decade it was Microsoft mistakes that were made by Google. For an analyst, this kind of gets old – like watching a bad movie multiple times. In contrast, Intel this week demonstrated they actually could avoid a Microsoft mistake, and I think that too is worth talking about.
Microsoft's six biggest mistakes1) The first major mistake Microsoft made was after Windows 95 launched, and that was to drop anyone who called in for support after they exceeded the three-minute wait time. This upset hundreds of thousands of people, and turned the company's biggest success into what was arguably its biggest disaster.2) The second major mistake was "scalability day" a major event surrounding Windows NT that was supposed to showcase how it could perform as well as UNIX, or even a mainframe. It couldn't, and Microsoft bled credibility. 3) The third biggest mistake was taking on the US Department of Justice and making it personal with the then US Attorney General. After they lost more than the case, Microsoft lost its image of being invulnerable and everyone, including the EU, jumped on the anti-Microsoft bandwagon. 4) The fourth biggest mistake was decoupling Office from Windows. Office had, up until Office 9, been the primary first application to showcase the new features of an OS, but once it was decoupled, Microsoft lost one of the biggest drivers to get people to upgrade. Then came Vista. 5) The fifth biggest mistake was to require the guy who owned quality for Windows Vista to ship the product before he would be allowed to leave and go to work for Amazon. Getting it out became more important than getting it right and Windows Vista became infamous. 6) The sixth biggest mistake was to over-focus on the enterprise market, and lose any ability to deliver success to the consumer market (except the Xbox). This led to a long string of failures (PlaysforSure, Media Center, Windows Home Server, Zune, Origami, Tablets, Spot Watch, WebTV, Portable Media Center, Windows Mobile, Pocket PC, Microsoft Phone, Mira, the list goes on) through much of the last decade. In most cases, Microsoft both failed to complete the products, and failed to generate demand for them. In some cases they were simply horrid products. This is the mistake of tossing out unfinished products and crap without marketing, and it's the same mistake Google most often makes. I get tired of seeing the same mistakes over and over again, so it was nice to see Intel come through this week with an explanation of a plan to avoid one of them.
Intel and McAfee have been paying attentionWhen Intel and McAfee announced their merger was done this week, they also spoke about a new reason why this acquisition was done. That explanation gave me hope that the duo had learned to avoid Microsoft's fourth mistake.Intel has the same problem that Microsoft now has after decoupling Office from Windows. How do you get people excited about new features in a new processor? Developers – particularly security developers – don't like to write for something unless it has huge numbers in the market. It can take up to several years or more to get major software products into market after Intel has enabled a new capability. This is particularly troubling for security because Intel can take up to two years to develop a new feature in response to a threat. Now add up to seven years to make use of that feature, and you have an abysmal response time for a threat of up to nine years. You wouldn't just call that bad, you'd call that negligent. But the only way to change this is to buy or fund a company to fix it earlier; because that company can't be initially assured there will be enough revenue to pay for the effort. However, by assuring there will be security software at launch that will take advantage of a new chip security feature, Intel can get companies to buy more processors, and McAfee can be more successful at selling related new products. This is the Windows 95 model, and Windows 95 is the only version of Windows that had sustained lines at launch like an Apple product. Now, I'm not suggesting this will cause lines for Intel products, because it is a security- and business-oriented solution, but it will, if executed well, increase initial demand for a new processor and for security software. The benefit for us is that our hardware should become vastly more secure than it currently is.
Watch and learnIt kind of amazes me that companies generally seem to like to repeat the mistakes of others rather than learn from them. Google, for instance, seems to be going down a list of Microsoft mistakes, from bringing out incomplete products to upsetting governments, as if they have a to-do list. It is kind of nice to see Intel and McAfee hook up to use a lesson from a Microsoft mistake, rather than repeat one for once. In the end, the idea of a more secure future is likely something we can all get behind. |
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