The Coolness Factor Spring 2013

So, what happened in tech this past week that’s worthy of notice?

Bits & Bytes:
Google I/O 2013 seems to have come off fairly well
Glass has captured the imagination of gadget lovers everywhere
Dell stock went in the tank dropping 79%.
Congress looks into privacy concerns surrounding Google Glass.
LinkedIn moving into personalized business news with Channels.
Samsung Galaxy S4 getting ready to launch
T-Mobile finally gets iPhone
Rumormill: Google working on a smart watch (joining Apple, Samsung & Pebble)
New Google Play UI gets warm reception from users
Bad Move: Yahoo to acquire Tumblr
Rumors about possible quantum computer speed and bandwidth increases.

There are a few wrinkles creating waves of change in the world of technology.

Bits and Bytes:

• Facebook Home generates excitement and overpricing complaints
• Samsung to unleash a new 8″ HD Galaxy Tablet soon.
  
• Chinese company to sue Apple over SIRI
• Excitement builds over Sony Experia A
• Google working extra hard to Make Google Glass “COOL”
• T-Mobile is trying to change the traditional carrier business.
• Apple iPhone demand increases and pushes it back to the top spot.
• Law suits again on the rize internationally.
• Samsung talks up Galaxy Note 8.0 to cover all bases
• Facebook spends ad money on Facebook Home promotion

Here we are rounding the bend on the first quarter of 2013. Most of the big events have happened and now comes the actual race towards the rest of the best of the year with so much to look forward to.

In the meantime let’s go over the important news bits from the previous week.

Bits & Bytes:

SXSW 2013 is a wrap. Event better than previous ones.
Google Reader to shut down in July.
Android visionary Andy Rubin, OUT,
Amazon phone delayed till late 2013.
S-IV consumer anticipation strong after peaks, leaks & previews
Apple iPhone regains top spot in sales and satisfaction
HTC brands Samsung S IV as “just more of the same”.
HULU selects their next CEO.

Thanks to MWC 2013 in Barcelona, Spain there are now tons more interesting phones on the market and some of these new offerings are instilling market share fear in the corridors and cubicles of Apple and Samsung. One phone in particular has much traction.
HTC’s new roster of smart phones are drawing great praise and consumer attention.

Bits & Bytes:
Pres. Obama wants folks to be able to Jailbreak their phones
T-Moble MetroPCS deal moves forward
Urban Fiber Broadband Initiatives stall
Malicious Malware delivered  through Google Play under scrutiny
Microsoft having issues aligning products
Apple regains momentum, iPhone still much in demand
No new Apple iWatch expected to launch in 2013
South By Southwest looks to be big this year

We are on the very verge of yet another major mobility industry trade show promising to change everything and introduce totally new devices.

Bits and Bytes:

• The Mobile World Conference rampup is on
• HTC One: an exceptional if not superior new smartphone
• Apple iPhone rises back to the top of the heap
• International Hack attacks are running rampant
• Google Glass expected to get real in 2013
• Market seriously hesitant on  and wary of
• Samsung targets ipad mini with new Note 8.0 tablet nun
• Windows offerings, its so yesterday

More to come..

Well we are through with the first month of 2013. MacWorld is winding down and CES is a memory. There are a few spicy bits of news that are worth noting and with this edition of B&B we look at those.

Bits and Bytes:

• RIM has launched their new Z10 Blackerry smartphone
• MacWorld San Francisco is still with us even without Apple
• Pebble Watch is now shipping
• The Government makes unlocking cellphones illegal
• LG debuts a new 15.6-inch U560 Ultrabook
• Lenovo conisdering Buying up RIM
• Google Smartwatch still In Development
• Huawei steps forward as 3rd Most Popular Smartphone
• Samsung scores through-the-roof Financial Results
• Consumer Anticipation high for Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet
• Samsung to sell 10 Million Galaxy S4 Phones per Month
• Pebble Smartphone Developers make News At CES 2013

More to come…

Now that we are coming down from the buzz and CES2013 high things are certainly strarting to happen.

Bits:

• China’s Hauwei has jumped to 3rd in the smartphone market
• It’s now illigeal to unlock cellphones, Fines and Jail time threatened
• The Pebble Watch (Kickstarter) is shipping, Finally!
• Microsoft helping to finance Dell possible buyout
• Apple’s ailing stock drops below $450 a share
• RIM BlackBerry 10 device launch set
• Cisco Sells Linksys to Belkin

• More to Come…

I have been a bit tardy in delivering B&B in this early part of the year but as I improve my online news gathering gadget inventory I hope to improve. Now that CES 2013 has ended and I have a better handle on what new products are available I shall get busy. So here goes/

Bits and Bytes:

• An 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Note might come to the market by March extending the Galaxy Note line. This is consistent with Samsung’s “anything and everything, flood the market” approach.
• Sony stepped forward to announce new devices at CES 2013, including a new Sony Xperia Z smartphone and a new Cybershot RX1,
• Kogan Agora is a $149 budget Android smartphone handset launching in the US and comes with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and features a 5″ display with an effective resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, processing power is provided by a 1GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor.
• More to ome…

One week closer to Earth’s muc- predicted DoomsDay. Many seers already finding excuses, new theories, and hedging their bets. Retail stores stocking up for huge 2012 Holiday shopping season. Geeks getting ready for CES 2013 in January. Hey History Channel, stop with all the Nostradamus crap already!

Best Bits of the Week:

• Rumor: Next Gen iPad Mini to have high res display
• Google hard-pimping Google Maps for iOS, rubs Apple’s face it it!
• Mozilla Browser hanging in there on market share
• Indium gallium arsenide transistor to boost microchip performance
• Litigious Samsung Files Another Lawsuit Against LG Display
• Google Says: No Plans To Build Apps For Win Phone 8, Surprise!!!
• YotaPhone Two-Faced Phone to sport LCD & E-Paper Screen
• Apple Testing Out Designs For Apple HDTV
• Microsoft Increasing Surface Tablet Production to meet demand
• Nexus 7 tablet a hands-down hit, demand super high
• Galaxy Note II getting Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) Update
• Google Nexus 4 Hacked, Runs On Some AT&T’s LTE Networks
• Rumor has it that Apple’s New 27″ iMacs To Ship Soon
• Samsung planning ‘Something New’ For CES 2013
• USPTO rules Apple’s Multi-Touch Patent Ruled Invalid
• LG Back in Game by Selling 10 Mil L-Series Smartphones
• Apple Considering Making Mac Pro In USA
• For Shame: Teen Steals iPhone From Quadriplegic Man
• Event Data Recorder Black Boxes To Be Required In New Cars
• New version of Google Chrome fixing a few flaws is now available
• Revelation: U.S. Counterterrorism Agency Can See All Your Files

So there you have it a short round up of some of the news briefs and rumors that caught our attention.

Take care, Stay Safe and enjoy your life & family.

Email accounts chock full of mind-numbing hype and hustle, is that the world we envisioned and built for ourselves? As the High Holidays approach it willl only increase and get worse. Just about very app we have acquired during the year is sending out upgrade requests and fee adjustments. Companies such as Google are revealing that those once “free” solutions will now begin to charge to create revenue to continue.

Well as we empty out the crap and get ready for CES 2013 this is a good time to examine the relevant news briefs from the past week.

Bits & Bytes

• Google ready to start charging for Google Apps
• Apple sold million iPads in three days promise to be hottest tech gift
• News Corp. to shut The Daily newspaper for iPad Dec. 15
• T-Mobile to offer iPhones and kill subsidies

Most of the big news from this past Thankgiving week and weekend is centered around new products and discount sales leading up to the 2012 holiday season.

Cyber Monday is here and is much more insidious and annoying than it was last year in the early days of its infancy.

The pundits and analyst are busy cranking out posts of “The Best this and that” and looking back at what happened in 2012 and forward to personal predictions about what we can expect in 2013. Somewhere in between there are some useful reviews of the some of the latest and greatest products that  we will use in the coming year. These may aid us in making our choices of which tech options can help us be more productive.

Bits and Bytes

• CES 2013 is near and almost here
• Samsung Adds iPad Mini To Lawsuit Against Apple
• Apple Ordered To Reveal Agreement With HTC To Samsung
• Apple Space Ship style (Campus) opening in 2016
• Samsung to stop supplying Apple with iPad and MacBook batteries

So here we are at the home stretch of 2012 retail sales. Still to come Black Friday, White Saturday Cyber Monday, and the high Holy days not to mention CES 2013 in January kicking off the new year. Lets take a peek at the headlines for this past week in which the term “Just Launched” predominated.

Bits & Bytes:

•  Apple’s iPhone is number 2 behind Samsung Galaxy SIII
• Samsung not negotiating or settleing with Apple
• Reported Adobe Connect hack may affect 150,000 uses
• Hackers using email addresses to take over Skype accounts
• $1.5 million worth of iPad minis stolen from airport
• HP PC exec puts down: Microsoft Surface as “Kludgey”
• Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer rags on Google’s Android and Apple iOS
• Consumer Survey says: Windows 8 PC demand low
• Microsoft’s Andy Lees Loses President Title adds new duties
• Samsung Betting heavy on Flexible Displays
• Nokia falls to to 7th in Smartphone Market
• Apple and Google dominate Smartphone OS Market
• General Petraeus’ problems grow and expand drastically
• Amazon’s Jeff Bezos judged  ”Businessperson of the year”
• Vodafone Red Hot offering smartphone swap-out every 12 months
• Rumor: New iMac might be delayed to 2013
• Sinofsky begins explaining what happened and what didn’t
• Obama re-election team had a good handle on Social Media

• Lenovo launches IdeaCentre Q190 HTPC & All-in-Ones
• Asus VivoBook U38DT AMD Ultrabook
• Google unveils New Android SDK Tools
• Toshiba launches new 10 inch AT300SE Android Tablet
• Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ now shipping; 4G LTE version coming in a week
• HTC & Verizon launch Droid DNA; 5″ 1080p Quad-Core
• Google Nexus 4 Smartphone Sells Out In under 1 Hour
• Samsung: Dual SIM Galaxy Note II in the pipeline
• Pioneer cranks up their DJM-2000 a nexus DJ Mixer
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 Arriving At T-Mobile
• LG Optimus Regard Cricket’s first 4G LTE smartphone

Since we last met we have a 4-year extention of Pres. Obama’s administration, an improved situation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy., an economic environment that remains shaky.

We are headed breakneck into the 2012 holiday season and into a brand spanking new 2013 assuming we survive all the dire end-of-the-year doomsday predictions.

• IE making surprising recent gains much to Microsoft’s delight
• PayPal: offering price matching, free return shipping for holidays
• Fallout from Apple Firing Scott Forstall
• Google Nexus 7 by Asus Judged “Tablet of the year”
• New iPad mini on sale winning rave reviews
• Insiders hinting at FTC antitrust case against Google
• Android pulls down 75.0% market share in Q3,14.9% for iOS
• Yahoo searching out best path for future growth and development
• Barnes & Noble cut Nook Color and Tablet to $139 and $159
• Samsung Galaxy S3 reports 30 million sales
• Android gains in tablets, Apple slows in 3Q
• Report says Apple unlikely to approve Google Maps app for iOS
• Pres Obama’s re-election points to a seriously divided America
• U.S. Online Holiday Sales Will Grow up to 20 Percent this year

Whatever is happening in technology must be going on quietly under wraps and away from the public eye. This week Bits & Bytes seeks to explore stories buried and hidden out of the glaring spotlight.

Bits & Bytes:

• T-Mobile prices Galaxy Note 2: $300
• Google to hold October 29 Android Event in New York
• Google Quarterly Earnings miss revealed in a leak
• Newsweek planning to halt offering Print Edition
• Yelp to Warn users About Paid Reviews
• Acer said to be rethinking Intel-based smartphone
• Sprint Taking over Clearwire
• Best Buy to offer a 9.7-inch Insignia Flex Android tablet
• MS Surfacedisplay said to beat Apple Retina
• AMD facing hard times, cutting 30% of workforce
• Apple ending chip production by Samsung
• Hot Topics: Big Data & Cloud Computing

While we soak up the last warm beams of Summer 2012 In Japan at CEDIA attendees are wandering the aisles looking at some of the latest devices to hit the market. Expect many of the Aisian manufacturers to put theie best foot forward including mighty SONY, once the top of the heap and still hoping to be a contender.

October Bits:

• Sony Xperia AX intros in Japan
• HP, Zynga Socks hitt the skids
• iPad Mini anticipation hysteria and rampant rumors rage
• Not Enough iPhone 5′s to meet market demand
• Twitter Employees now jumping ship in bundles
• T-Mobile+MetroPCS deal seems likely despite obstacles
• Apple still mired in Maps mess atempting fixes
• Science finds bacteria That Produces Pure Gold
• Modular computers to be a reality
• iPhones and iPads the prime targets of theives
• New Nexus Phone expected Late October (unconfirmed)
• HTC One X+ making a good splash
• Google Launching 32GB Nexus 7 Tablet, Samsung Nexus 2 phone

Summer 2012 is over! We’re headed into the holiday shopping  season and expect companies to pull out all their trump cards and release the best fruits of the developments they have hidden till now. Scads of apps will flow into the market to support the new devices and hordes of accessories will falling of the shelves hoping to benefit.

Who really knows what the bigt hits will be other than the  surefire iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III and a tablet or ten?

Bits & Bytes 9.28.12

• Apple’s Tim Cook  issues apology letter re: Maps to users
• Supply issues: The reason  only 5 million iPhone 5s were sold
• TSA suspected of stealing numerous iPads
• Twitter Uses Browsing History to Target Ads
• HP’s sticking with with Open Source WebOS Code
• Samsung’s Series 9 Ultrabook to sport “Better-Than-Retina Display “
• RUMOR: Apple still preparing 27-Inch iMac refresh
• Facebook to Delete Thousands of Fake Accounts & Page Likes
• LG Display Files OLED Patent suit Against Samsung
• Apple Files Patent For Siri. Seriously?
• Google’s Schmidt accuses Apple of being a patent troll
• RUMOR 2: Google Launching $99 Nexus Tablet Late T2012
• Microsoft facing multi-billion dollar fine by EU over browser issue
• Next Big Thing – Social Analytics
• RadioShack CEO Steps Down, search is on
• Nokia ready to Rollout New Lumia Phones

Time will tell!

This is my birthday weekend so excuse me if Bite & Briefs are in a little “brief”.

Bits & Bytes:

• Amazon set to intro new Kindles at Sept 5 gathering
• Dell’s Q2 profits fall 18%, stock price also stumbles
• T-Mobile talking unlimited nationwide 4G data plans Sept. 5
• Amelia Earhart discovery turns up after 75 years missing
• MetroPCS lines up upcoming roster of smartphones
• Apple Samsung battle nears final round,for now!
• Wayward pundits predict  the end of Silicon Valley
• Serious Security Flaw shows up in Apple iPhones
• Verizon intros new app rating system
• New HP Mobility division to produce consumer tablets
• OHHWee, Google denies paying bloggers during Java suit
• AT&T reported to be discontinuing “subsidized” tablets
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet garners good reviews
• Google still Trying To Ban iPhones, iPads, & Macs From U.S.
• RUMOR: iPad Mini and iPhone 5 Parts Leaked to press
• Google/Motorola: Apple infringes 7 Siri-related patents & location-based reminders
• Steve Jobs’ stolen iPad recovered from SF street clown/performer
• RUMOR: iPod Nano Refresh Late Sept?
• Shamoon Trojan leaves some PCs unbootable
• Unsubstantiated Rumor suggests OnLive shutdown imminent
• Google to Crack Down on malicious Android apps
• US.. Gov’t turns up heat on employers over rampant job bias

I have been having a whole series of technical issues and have come to the conclusion that none of this stuff really works and we cannot rely on any of it as being worth a damn! It always seems to be something like our mothers warned “if it’s not one thing, it’s another!”

Well I am sick and tired of it!! There is no reason for us to put up with the shoddy programming that maquerades as development these days. Its not just the small companies with limited staff and tiny budgets but it can be the deep pocket major players like Apple and others that have lead us down the path to the point. Enough of my rant lets get to Bits & Bytes.

• Judge in Apple/Samsung tussle gets frustrated and short tempered
• Testimony wraps up
• Apple iCloud having issues but Apple’s not talking.
• New Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop is a definate winner
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2 rumors picking up steam
• Apple stock tops $600 Billion Market new record high
• Potential Best Buy buyers trying to figure out how to make it work
• Nexus 7 tablets finally creeping onto the market
• Steve Job’s property stolen, iPad returned by party clown
• And so it begins: Google/Motorola files patent suit against Apple
• Windows RT tablets looking at possible $300 price tag
• Facebook investors cashing out and selling short, stock drops
• Twitter planning to choke off apps it doesn’t approve of.
• OnLive rumored to be laying off staff and shutting down
• Round 2: HP getting back into consumer tablet market
• Apple stock rises on the strength of new iPhone rumors
• Black Samsung Galaxy S III due in October
• Yahoo to consider becoming An iPhone-Only Company

Well its been what seems like a long two-week break away from editing Bits & Bytes and I have come to the realization that whether we diligently blog or not does not stop the world from turning or the clocks from tickibg. I’ve also understand that the work is as much for us the bloggers as for our readers if not more so and that every now and then we need to force ourselves to take a break to clear our heads and not give in to the pressures of arbitrary deadlines. Now that lesson is locked in and its time to get back to the business at hand. So what in the world of tech has happened during the break?

Bits & Bytes:

• Samsung Galaxy S III gaining ground on iPhones.
• Technology patent Infringement suits intensify
• Consumers turning to prepaid mobile away from long contracts
• eBay moving forward with Same-day shipping plans
• Nuance to challenge Apple’s Siri with new voice assistant  app
• Apple fans increasingly demanding a smaller cheaper iPad tablet
• AT&T to Shutter 2G Wireless Network in Five Years, or so.
• Apple tact: Proving Samsung plotted to copy everything Apple
• Apple requests immediate judgement from judge
• Judge admonishes Samsung, allows patent trial to proceed
• Samsung launching Bigger Galaxy Note Aug. 29th, maybe!
• Surprise: Next iPhone rumor mill in serious overdrive
• HTC One X strarting to gain ground with youth and students
• Asus Nexus 7: The $200 tablet that rocks!
• AT&T chooses iPad-based POS
• USDA also chooses iPads
• 15 Rounds: Apple versus Samsung
• Report states Older generations 45+ are biggest tablet fans
•  (BYOD) Bring-your-own-device movement temporarily stalls
• Sharp brings in disappointing earnings report
• CEO admits RIM can’t keep up with Apple or Samsung
• Siri and voice change the mobile game, Nuance wants a piece
• Apple iPad mini rumored for fall debut

Another Friday. For me this one is much different. It marks the forth Anniversary of the massive stroke that sidelined me and brought about my early retitrement from all four of my professional careers as (1) Radio Broadcaster (2) Musician, (3) Program Administrator (4) Technology Instructor.

Publishing The Coolness factor has served as my personal occupational therapy and attempt to keep my hand in the industry stimulating my life long interest in new technology and great gadgets.

I have decided to celebrate this ocassion in my recovery process by taking a short break from the work. (my lesson was to learn to reduce stress by learning to take time out for myself). LESSON LEARNED!

I will return to the work of TCF and Bits & Bytes in the beginning of next week after the celebrated date has passed.

Great love and thanks to friends and family that have helped me get through this.