Microsoft opens first retail store

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Ahleen
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Source: Tidbits Tech News
Source: Tidbits Tech News

Congratulations Microsoft!

Today, around 500 people (some even camped out all night) waited for the software giant to open its retail store.

Located in Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, the store is the Microsoft’s first retail outlet. People who waited outside for the opening were greeted by staff wearing Microsoft shirts.

“It’s a good idea to give consumers a warm and fuzzy (feeling) about using an operating system… It will make consumers feel better about their purchase,” Hafthor Stefansson, an IT consultant who uses both Apple and Microsoft systems, said as he stood outside the store.

The store is only the beginning of the many retail stores that will be opened all over. The second one is due to open in Orange County, California.

People in the store really got their shop on, browsing displays of Zunes, Xbox 360s, HP and Dell Laptops, and of course, the much anticipated Windows 7 operating system, which was also launched on the same day.

Surely Microsoft is making headway into what Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer calls making a direct connection with users and showing the “customer what you really can do”.

With lots of opportunities for users to try out their products in the store, friendly and helpful sales associates and in-person support, I’m guessing this’ll be a huge success for Microsoft.

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20091022/tc_nm/us_microsoft_store

Nokia and Apple: the war begins?

By
Ahleen
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2

Yup, you read that right. The biggest handset maker in the world and the maker of the most popular handset are heading to what could be a long legal battle.

Nokia is suing Apple because the latter has refused to license 10 patents and according to a statement released by the Finnish phone maker, all iPhone models (yup, that means even the original iPhone) is infringing.

“The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for,” Ilkka Rahnasto, vice president, legal and intellectual property at Nokia said. “Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree to appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.”

According to Nokia, the company has spent over $60 billion on R&D related to wireless technology. The patents that Apple allegedly violated include patents on wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. It also said that for any phone to be able to run on a GSM, 3G, or Wi-Fi network, it would have to license one of its patents – an action that Apple did not make.

So what will happen if Nokia wins in court?

According to Apple analyst Gene Munster, Nokia can extract a royalty payment of 1 to 2 percent for every iPhone EVER sold (basically that $6 to $12 per phone or $204 to $408 for all iPhones). What’s worse for Apple is that if the court found that a “willful infringement” was committed by the company, they will have to pay Nokia three times the amount of whatever the judgment won.

And what does that leave Apple? Either they settle this out of court, or they can invalidate Nokia’s patents. According to Jason Schultz, director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Law however, the latter could be much more difficult to do.

“Invalidating 10 patents is a lot, that’s like running the Boston Marathon. It’s really hard to do. You might get one, two or even five,” Shultz said. “But 10 is a lot.”

Stay tuned!

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10381354-233.html

Amazon eliminates Kindle U.S. versions

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Ahleen
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0
Credit: Amazon
Credit: Amazon

I’ve said this a couple of times, and I’m gonna say it again, Amazon is really serious in maintain their status as the reigning ebook reader provider.

After unveiling the international version of the Kindle just a couple of weeks ago which was sold for $279, Amazon decided to take away twenty bucks from its original price and lower it down to $259.

The company also announced that the U.S version of Kindle, which was powered by Sprint, is being discontinued. All the new Kindles now use AT&T as the device’s carrier.

If you’ve already bought the international version of the Kindle, don’t fret about getting it too early thus more expensive because Amazon is generous enough to give you a $20 refund.

Good news! Due to strong customer demand for our newest Kindle with U.S. and international wireless, we are consolidating our family of 6-inch Kindles. As part of this consolidation, we are lowering the price of the Kindle you just purchased from $279 down to $259. You don’t need to do anything to get the lower price–we are automatically issuing you a $20 refund. This refund should be processed in the next few days and will appear as a credit on your next billing statement.

Amazon won’t be completely severing its ties with Sprint though. Amazon.com director of communications Drew Herdner said that the Kindle DX will still continue to use Sprint’s data network. 🙂

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10381325-1.html

Short update: PepsiCo finally takes down controversial app

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Ahleen
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Credit: AP Photo/Dan Goodman
Credit: AP Photo/Dan Goodman

After receiving much criticism for stereotyping women, PepsiCo announced that it will remove the application “Amp up before you score” today, according to the Associated Press.

If you haven’t heard about this controversial iPhone app, it promises men to “score” with stereotyped women with pickup lines”suitable” for each class. Women are classified into stereotypes such as foreign exchange student, nerd, cougar, and rebound girl, among others. It also includes a “brag list” for men to tally their conquest and post them in popular online sites like Facebook and Twitter.

PepsiCo issued an apology for the application last week but the app was still up and available online before it was finally taken down today.

In a statement, the company took responsibility for its action and said that discountinuing the app was the “most appropriate course of action” after “listening to a variety of audiences.”

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/10/pepsi-amp-iphone-app.html

Fuel cell for mobiles from Toshiba

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Ahleen
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0
Source: Tech Fragments
Source: Tech Fragments

If you’re one of those guys who need their phones constantly glued to their bodies for business or er- pleasure, you might consider getting this one, or at least when it becomes available in the U.S.

Toshiba Corp. will begin shipping its new fuel cells that can power cellular phones and laptops next week in Japan.

Dubbed the Dynario, this direct methanol fuel cell that converts wood alcohol and water into an electric current of up 5 Volts DC power at 400mAto can triple most of your cell phone’s battery juice. And what’s even better? It can be recharged in seconds. How cool is that?

Toshiba’s palm-sized fuel cell wil run on methanol packaged in cartridges which are sold separately. It is available in Japan for 29,800 yen or $328 while each set of five fuel cartridges is sold for 3,150 yen or $35 dollars.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-BusinessofGreen/idUSTRE59L3HH20091022

MySpace introduces new feature

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Ahleen
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0

myspace-logo-thumb-300x100-63528Since everyone’s been saying how MySpace is slowly but steadily becoming obscure less popular because of Facebook, the once-number one social-networking site is doing all it can to gain back that glory.

Today, MySpace introduces its new service that’ll bring back some of its once-loyal users, the musicians.

The MySpace Artist Dashboard is a free comprehensive data dashboard for an artist or a band with a music profile page on the Web site. It can be very useful for those who lack teams of marketers to do the research for them because it shows demographic information about people who are visiting the artist’s site and what they are doing there. Other info on the dashboard include song plays, profile views, and friend count.

“Whether you’re a small-town garage band, an emerging indie, or a well-established act, our ultimate goal is to provide the right mix of tools and real-time data to help you gain a deep understanding of who your fans are and how best to reach them,” MySpace Music President Courtney Holt said.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13526_3-10381499-27.html

Toyota unveils new electric vehicle sans steering wheel

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Ahleen
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0

toyota

If you think joysticks are just for video games, think again.

Unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show today, the world’s biggest car maker introduced the FT-EV II –their first venture into electric vehicles.

What makes this compact car different from others, like the new 2017 Prius C, for example? Toyota decided to do away with the standard feature that every car has – the steering wheel. Instead, they’ve used a drive-by-wire technology which allows the car to be controlled with a joystick.

And since the joystick can do more than just steering, the company also decided not to use foot pedals and left the breaking and acceleration to hand control too.

Unlike Nissan’s Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiev which is designed to get about 100 miles range, the FT-EV II is designed for short trips with 56 miles range. Toyota’s compact car also retained four seats, leaving more room for passengers.

Don’t get too excited though, there’s no word yet as to when this futuristic car will be available in the market and as to how much it’ll cost you. 🙂

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-10380190-48.html

Acer introduces laptop with 3D screen

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Ahleen
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2

Techbit 3D LaptopThe very imminent launch of Windows 7 (that’s this week guys) has spurned a lot of actions from rivals and allies alike.

One example is PC-maker Acer. With Windows 7, others are now including touch screens as a main feature in their laptops, but Acer is taking a step higher with the introduction of the a laptop with a 3D screen.

The Acer Aspire 5738DG-6165 ( try memorizing that 😉 ) boasts a 15.6-inch screen that appears to take depth when you’re viewing 3D movies and games when used with special glasses. Because Microsoft’s newest OS doesn’t have features specially catered for 3D-screen laptops, Acer provides a movie player software that solves that. If you want to use it like a regular laptop, you can turn off the 3D feature easily with a button.

Although this might seem new, Acer isn’t the first PC maker to introduce laptops with 3D screens. Six years ago, Sharp Corp. also unveiled a laptop with 3D screens. Unlike Acer, users didn’t have to wear glasses on this one, but had to keep their heads in the right place or angle for the 3D effect to work.

Sharp’s laptop cost a whopping $3,300, but don’t worry, Acer’s model isn’t that pricey. Developed for the use of regular folks (like me), the Acer Aspire 5738DG-6165 is available in the market for just $780.

Would you get one?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j9hB2Bkpl3hrXfgKKzESVkkQHKOQD9BFOUCG2

Shure unveils headset for iPhones

By
Ahleen
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0

143428-shurese115mplus_originalShure, a consumer and professional audio electronics corporation, unveiled today the SE115m+ Sound Isolating Headset with Remote and Microphone. The headset is similar to the SE115 Sound Isolating Earphones but specially designed for Apple’s products.

The SE115m+’s earpieces are designed to fit into your ear canals (canalphone design) so as to block external noise. It comes with an inline microphone and a three-button remote control that works with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, the latest iPod models and the latest MacBooks.

Sold at $120, the SE115m+ will be first available exclusively in Apple retail and online stores later this month. Other Shure retailers will have stocks of the earphones in January of next year.

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/macworld/20091021/tc_macworld/shureannouncesse115miphoneheadset

Microsoft teams up with Twitter and Facebook

By
Ahleen
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0

Yes, its confirmed. Microsoft’s newest search engine, Bing, will be bringing real-time search results from Twitter and eventually, Facebook. The announcement was made by search head Qi Lu and senior vice president usuf Mehdi at the Web 2.0 Summit in Francisco held today.

Real time tweets were available in beta from Twitter at Bing.com/twitter starting today. Facebook info will arrive “at a later date”, according to Mehdi.

So how does this work?

Users of the Bing Twitter search can view the tweets that match their query chronologically. They also have the option to view the results in “best match” mode where according to Medhi, Bing’s team will “apply a bunch of our search techniques and relevancy to improve the results.”

“You have to do more visual things, you have to do more sophisticated things, and you have to have better access to data,” Mehdi said.

Don’t expect to dig out deets regarding how much the deal cost Microsoft though coz if there was, Microsoft and Twitter are keeping mum about it. Facebook however, was quick to set the records straight. According Shery Sandberg, Facebook’s site’s chief operating officer, “no money changed hands” in its deal with Microsoft.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10380306-36.html

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