Saturday, July 21, 2018
Friday, July 20, 2018
Microsoft wants to win back the consumers it let down - The Verge
"Microsoft hasn’t exactly been winning over consumers recently, leaving many onlookers wondering if the company is switching all of its efforts to businesses and turning into another IBM. Over the past couple of years, Microsoft has killed off its Groove Music service, officially discontinued Kinect, scrapped its Microsoft Band fitness device, and finally admitted Windows Phone is dead. Other consumer efforts like Cortana have been left to fall behind rivals by chasing business users, and even the impressive HoloLens hardware has pivoted strongly towards commercial users. Microsoft now has a new plan to win back the consumers it has let down.
While Microsoft has had a tough time with consumers that stretches back far beyond recent years, the company appears to be learning from its mistakes. ZDNet reports that Microsoft executives are now communicating their new plan at the company’s Inspire partner show this week. Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi reportedly opened up a presentation on the company’s new “modern life” initiative by admitting Microsoft’s consumer issues. “In the last couple of years, we’ve lost a little of that magic with consumers,” said Mehdi. During the session Mehdi also revealed that this “year we begin the journey to win back consumers with our vision...”
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Chrome OS isn’t ready for tablets yet - The Verge
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"Processor is a weekly YouTube show that takes a deeper look at how consumer technology is changing and how we should think about our gadgets as people, not just as users. Subscribe here.
I’ve been banging on for a while now that Android tablets are done for and will be replaced — someday — by Chrome OS tablets. Over the past couple of years, it’s gone from a weird theory that enraged Android partisans to conventional wisdom. This is despite some fairly decent, yet ultimately not very popular, Android tablet offerings from Huawei and Samsung.
That’s all fine in theory — in fact, it’s great, in theory. Chrome OS has the advantage of running a full, true desktop-class browser that is much more capable than Safari on an iPad (or even Edge on a Surface). Combining that power with Android applications and other conventional Android subsystem bits seems like it should be easy. And if you add in the fact that Chrome OS is already dominant in education markets, it’s a slam dunk.
So this is supposed to be a review of the Acer Chromebook Tab 10, a tablet that was designed explicitly and exclusively for the education market. Acer and Google say teachers really wanted a tablet form factor for the classroom, and they really don’t want to have to figure out how to manage an entirely new operating system when they’re already all in on Chrome OS. And so here it is, finally: an honest-to-goodness Chrome OS tablet..."
Chrome OS isn’t ready for tablets yet - The Verge
Africa could become the new Silicon Valley
"At one point, the idea of developing a startup in Africa was unfamiliar and far-fetched. However, new major tech labs in Ghana or Nigeria are looking to emulate the success of their counterparts in Silicon Valley.
The “Vibranium Valley” project, which is located in Yaba, Nigeria, was commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The project aims to deliver an elaborate, state-of-the-art space specifically for tech startups.
In May, Google and Facebook also lauched their own tech initiatives in Nigeria, according to a report from Phys.org.
Osinbajo recently traveled to California to discuss with tech investors the future of Africa’s tech industry and what he deems could be a “fourth industrial revolution...”
Africa could become the new Silicon Valley
Google Fined $5.1 Billion by E.U. in Android Antitrust Ruling - The New York Times
"BRUSSELS — Google was hit with a $5.1 billion fine by European antitrust officials on Wednesday for abusing its power in the smartphone market, in the region’s latest move to rein in the clout of American tech companies.
The penalty of 4.34 billion euros was a record, and far larger than the €2.4 billion, or about $2.8 billion, that the European Union levied on Google last year for unfairly favoring its own services in internet search results. The decision on Wednesday highlighted how European authorities are aggressively pushing for stronger regulation of the digital economy on issues including antitrust, privacy, taxes, and the spread of misinformation and hate speech..."
Google Fined $5.1 Billion by E.U. in Android Antitrust Ruling - The New York Times
Google Fined $5.1 Billion by E.U. in Android Antitrust Ruling - The New York Times
"BRUSSELS — Google was hit with a $5.1 billion fine by European antitrust officials on Wednesday for abusing its power in the smartphone market, in the region’s latest move to rein in the clout of American tech companies.
The penalty of 4.34 billion euros was a record, and far larger than the €2.4 billion, or about $2.8 billion, that the European Union levied on Google last year for unfairly favoring its own services in internet search results. The decision on Wednesday highlighted how European authorities are aggressively pushing for stronger regulation of the digital economy on issues including antitrust, privacy, taxes, and the spread of misinformation and hate speech...."
Google Fined $5.1 Billion by E.U. in Android Antitrust Ruling - The New York Times
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Monday, July 16, 2018
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