Author Archive for Iian Kehn

Windows Phone 7 RTMs

By Iian Kehn at 8:16 pm - 01/09/2010

WinPhone_h_webAt long last, Microsoft has put the finishing touches to their next implementation of Windows Phone, dubbed “Windows Phone 7” in conjunction with the Windows 7 branding.

As we’ve discussed before, Windows Phone 7 is a new approach to Smartphone computing, and not just simply another rip of iOS, which has done so well for the past 4 years. Unlike iOS, WP7 is different in many ways; first of all, the OS is based on “experiences” and “hubs” or what can also be known as gateways to different features on your Smartphone. Instead of having a single 4×4 grid of icons, you have dynamic “tiles” that present information in real time.

As Microsoft has stated before, the launch is expected to be on September 16th, which is about 2 weeks away as of the time of this writing, and we’re expected to see devices during the 2010 Holiday Season. There certainly a lot of excitement going on, and we can’t wait to give it a run by.

via Windows Phone Blog

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Recap: Apple September 2010 Event

By Iian Kehn at 12:25 pm - 01/09/2010

Apple-logoToday Apple unveiled a revamped line of iPods as well as a new Apple TV. The event highlighted a lot of widely anticipated features and additions the blogosphere have been buzzing about for as long as we can remember.

So what did they announce?

New iPod Shuffle – A lot of people wanted the buttons on the Shuffle, so what did Apple do? They added the buttons back, and made it smaller.

New iPod Nano – Now without a wheel, the new iPod Nano is compleately multi-touch based, with a simplistic UI, similar to that of iOS devices.

New iPod Touch – The new iPod Touch comes with an A4 Processor, front and rear facing cameras, a thinner framework, and iOS 4.1. You can edit HD movies with iMovie as well!

New Apple TV – Even though rumors suggested that the Apple TV would be renamed, Apple did what they always do and keep the existing brand. The new Apple TV is smaller, and storageless with Streaming Video, Music and Photo capabilities including the ability to stream TV Shows and Movies from the iTunes Store.

iTunes 10 – With a enhanced feature set including a hybrid list view, social integration with their very own Ping, and support for iOS 4.1, it brings a whole new way of looking at Movies, TV Shows, and other content.

AirPlay – Formally known as AirTunes, AirPlay allows you to stream content to your Apple TV from your iOS Based device.

So what didn’t make the cut? Apple didn’t announce a new iPod Classic, which seems to suggest that they have moved onto a more portable venture with the Nano, Shuffle and Touch models.

So there you have it folks, stay tuned for the press video!

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IE9 UI leaks

By Iian Kehn at 2:08 pm - 25/08/2010

Internet_Explorer_9Internet Explorer 9, a topic many have talked about since we began hearing it at MIX. According to Mary Jo Foley, the UI has apparently surfaced from a Microsoft Business Press page, what lies below, is more interesting.

Since MIX there has been a Platform Preview for developers which was used to show the progress of Microsoft’s Trident engine, and their compliance with not only the Acid3 test, but HTML5 as well. According to Neowin, in 20 days, Microsoft plans to let loose a public beta for users to try out, and see for themselves.

ie9-ui

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Firefox 4 to drop PowerPC arch

By Iian Kehn at 1:47 pm - 25/08/2010

Firefoxlogo2It was only a matter of time when Mozilla would decide to drop the ever aging PowerPC architecture, according to Cnet Mozilla, after collecting usage data has noted that they will most likely not support it in the future, which leaves a small crowd of people without the latest version of Firefox.

Not that this is a big surprise to anyone, especially since Apple dropped the gun in 2005 with their new Intel Macs, and have dropped support for the architecture in later versions of Mac OS.

Director of the Firefox, Mike Beltzner, states:

"I am gathering data on the number of PPC users we have, but the likely outcome is that we will not be supporting PPC [PowerPC] for Firefox 4,"

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Windows 95: 15 years later

By Iian Kehn at 10:41 am - 25/08/2010

Windows_generic_h_webHard to believe that just 15 years ago Microsoft changed the PC industry, just yesterday, Windows 95 turned 15 years old. While I’m certain most of our readers won’t remember the day that it happened, it was a remarkable day in Technology history, not to mention one of Microsoft’s biggest successes of the time. Even moreso, the fact that Microsoft was running two different segments of the Windows business, one for enterprise customers and one for customers, when before that was not necessarily the case.

In a time where computers were a novelty to have, and only so many had them, now we’re in an age where everyone has a computer, on every desk, every lap, or anywhere they go, just like good ol’ Bill said.

Happy Birthday Windows 95, this one is for you.

Video after the break

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Google seeks ‘Live Updating’ Search

By Iian Kehn at 12:14 pm - 22/08/2010

logoIf you’ve been following the trends of what Google is doing you would know that Google is working on a way to optimize search so that it shows the results as you type, something that many modern Operating Systems have, and the more innovative small companies have already come up with.

Stricker told TechCrunch, noting;

“At any given time we are running between 50-200 search experiments. You can learn more on our blog,"

More after the break…

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Patent Troll: Oracle sues Google over patent and copyright infringement

By Iian Kehn at 3:51 pm - 13/08/2010

android-logo-whiteHere comes the latest round of patent and copyright trolling, according to Cnet, Oracle [not Sun] has sued Google over copyright and patent infringement, noting that Google used “key technologies” in their Android Smartphone Operating System.

Back, before Oracle acquired Sun, a lot of Java developers didn’t like the idea that Google pulled over key developers to work on their [then] new mobile OS. It didn’t sit well with a lot of people, and it wasn’t ‘like’ Sun to go through with all the trouble of a patent suit.

Is this a good or bad move for Oracle, and will it go anywhere, only time will tell. We’ll keep tabs on it.

via Cnet

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Verizon iPhone Speculation Continues

By Iian Kehn at 11:29 am - 09/08/2010

vzw_logo_1024Yes, we’ve all heard it before, we know, but according to some information that Mac Enthusiast site, MacRumors has reported that they have more beef to add to the pile of rumors circulating about the CDMA iPhone.

MacRumors notes that the folks over at TechCrunch, the folks who got a hold of such information that,

Sources with knowledge of this entire situation have assured me that Apple has submitted orders for millions of units of Qualcomm CDMA chipsets for a Verizon iPhone run due in December. This production run would likely be for a January launch, and I’d bet the phone is nearly 100% consistent with the current iPhone 4 (with a fixed internal insulator on the antenna)

However, a more interesting note, according to MacRumors and AT&T, there has been no sign from Apple signaling the termination of the exclusive contract that AT&T and Apple have, nor does it mean that Apple is looking for another carrier to plop the device on here in the United States, but what it does mean is that if things are heading down this path, Apple may in fact end the exclusive contract.

If the information holds to be true, Verizon CEO will be speaking at CES 2011 about the possibility of selling the iPhone on its network.

[MacRumors] via TechCrunch

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Apple: Jailbreaking ‘voids your warranty’

By Iian Kehn at 8:16 pm - 27/07/2010

Apple-logoDespite the decision to allow Jailbreaking/Unlocking for all Electronic Devices, as reported earlier, Apple has made a firm statement noting that if you do so, you would void your warranty, regardless of how you look at it, there’s no way that you would be able to service it if you returned your iDevice back to Apple Jailbroken.

So what did Apple have to say on the matter, according to TUAW, Apple notes

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

So there you have it folks, if you want to know more, check out Apple’s “mouthful” of information on their website.

via TUAW

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Google announces ‘signed’ applications for Android Market

By Iian Kehn at 6:51 pm - 27/07/2010

android-logo-whiteToday, Google announced a way to give users a better way of working with applications within the Android Market, the idea of ‘signed’ applications is to apparently give protection to developers, in a nutshell, copyright protection or licensing mechanisms for developers to utilize to prevent APK distribution over the web.

While the move sounds good and all, to some this is a bad move, and could possibly lead to further issued down the road, not to mention the fact that the Android platform is [technically] open.

From the blog, Google notes,

“This simple and free service provides a secure mechanism to manage access to all Android Market paid applications targeting Android 1.5 or higher. At run time, with the inclusion of a set of libraries provided by us, your application can query the Android Market licensing server to determine the license status of your users. It returns information on whether your users are authorized to use the app based on stored sales records.”

What are your thoughts? Is this the end of the “open” platform for Google, or is this a reasonable measure to help developers protect their intellectual property?

Share with us in the comments.

via Android Developers

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