Deemable Tech » tablet

Episode 24 – Holiday Minisode 2: The not so “mini” episode

Ray Hollister — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:00:53 +0000

Today, Tom and Ray were supposed to do another short mini episode, but they got way off the rails, and ended up recording a 49 minute episode! They had tons of fun, and answered four of your tech help questions.

Make sure to subscribe to the show in iTunes by clicking here, or subscribe to the show in another podcast reader by clicking here. Also, make sure to leave us a review in iTunes. The more reviews we have the higher we’ll be listed in iTunes and the more listeners will see our show!

Need tech help? Got a problem or tech question about your computer, phone or tablet? Give us a call and leave us a voice mail at 904-372-DEEM (3336), or send us an email to questions at deemable dot com. We’ll take the best questions and answer them on the show.

Episode 24: Holiday Minisode 2: The not so “mini” episode
http://cpa.ds.npr.org/wjct/audio/2015/02/DeemableTech_2012-12-17.mp3

Today’s Questions:

Can I manage multiple email accounts from one web app like I can do on my iPhone?
What are the differences between Windows and Android tablets, and which would be best for me as a writer?
Why does Flash keep crashing on Chrome?
How can I search my clouds?

Links we mentioned on today’s show:

Episode 23 – Holiday Minisode 1: Tablets vs. Laptops

Tom Braun — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:27:21 +0000

Episode 23 – Holiday Minisode 1: Tablets vs. Laptops

http://cpa.ds.npr.org/wjct/audio/2015/02/DeemableTech_2012-12-09.mp3

Ray Hollister was out for today’s episode, but don’t worry, he’s always with us in spirit! Kristen Spencer co-hosts with Tom Braun as they talk about what video games, game systems, tablets and laptops to get your kids for the holidays.

And make sure you listen all the way to the end for a little something… extra.

Today’s Questions:

Should I buy my son a tablet or a laptop?
What’s the point of Twitter? And did someone really name their baby ‘Hashtag’?
How do I make sure all personal data is erased before giving someone my old computer?

Links we mentioned on today’s show:

The Downfall of Research in Motion

David Ahn — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:54:55 +0000

We may soon be saying R-I-P to R-I-M, the maker of the once beloved BlackBerry smartphone. After reducing their initial profit forecast roughly two months ago, Research in Motion announced its first quarter financial earnings results yesterday which were almost $1 billion lower than expected. Although RIM managed to ship 13.2 million BlackBerry devices and 500,000 BlackBerry Playbook tablets during the quarter, the discouraging news of the drop in profit and revenue caused shares in the company to fall 14 percent in after-hours trading last night. Now, Research in Motion is going to cut costs through “headcount reductions”… meaning layoffs are on the way.

RIM is quickly fading into oblivion behind the new giants in the business – Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., Research in Motion’s sixth-largest investor, just revealed that it would be dumping all of its 10.2 million shares in the company, with the chairman of the investment group leaving this ominous quote,” We are on the way out. The stake has been reduced by more than 50% or even more… They are resting on their laurels … Steve Jobs is a much better marketer than RIM.”

So what is RIM’s main problem? Delays in production… and the fact that their technology is not keeping up with competitors’. No new products will be released by the company during the summer until August, the latest BlackBerry OS 7.0 update coming out won’t even work for most of the current models, and who honestly wants to buy a PlayBook over another tablet?

Co-CEO Jim Balsillie announced in a press release:

“Fiscal 2012 has gotten off to a challenging start. The slowdown we saw in the first quarter is continuing into Q2, and delays in new product introductions into the very late part of August is leading to a lower than expected outlook in the second quarter… RIM’s business is profitable and remains solid overall with growing market share in numerous markets around the world and a strong balance sheet with almost $3 billion in cash. We believe that with the new products scheduled for launch in the next few months and realigning our cost structure, RIM will see strong profit growth in the latter part of fiscal 2012.”

With investors’ confidence already shaken, this statement does not provide much reassurance, and the outlook is looking very grim for a company that was once considered the world leader in the smartphone market.

Photo by darkscher via deviantART

Copycat! Apple Sues Samsung

David Ahn — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:50:26 +0000

?Man is an idiot. He doesn’t know how to do anything without copying, without imitating, without plagiarizing, without aping. It might even have been that man invented generation by coitus after seeing the grasshopper copulate.?

– Augusto Roa Bastos.

My middle school Latin teacher once told me that “if you’re not cheating, then you’re not trying.” While it was obviously meant to be a joke that I never took seriously, it’s the only thing I can remember from his class. However, in the world of trademarks, patents, and intellectual property rights, there is only the slightest bit of room for humor – and Apple is clearly not in the laughing mood.

On Friday afternoon, Apple filed a 38-page lawsuit against Samsung, specifically targeting Samsung’s Galaxy line which, according to Apple, has “slavishly” copied the “look and feel” of the iPad and iPhone. Apple alleges that Samsung not only copied the look and feel of its devices, but also copied the applications and the packaging that the devices are housed in. The Wall Street Journal adds, “Apple is also embroiled in legal battles with companies such as HTC Corp., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Nokia Corp. and Eastman Kodak Co. over products such as smartphones and software, some of whom it has sued and some of whom it has been sued by.”

While the South Korean company plans on defending itself against the lawsuit, the relationship between the two heavyweight consumer electronics companies may be impacted in the future as several Apple products contain computer chips manufactured by Samsung, including parts of the A4 and A5 processors which are found in iOS devices and Apple TV products.

It would be an extremely rare case for Apple to win something in court based on their argument that Samsung copied the “look and feel” of their devices, if anything, Apple is just trying to take a stand and make sure that it doesn’t lose its competitive advantage over its rivals who are taking business away. Let’s face it though; all electronics companies imitate the latest innovative product to hit the market (that’s just a part of what makes our economy a free market) and Apple just happens to be leading the way.

Photo by Vlad Savov via Engadget

HP’s cards are finally on the table, but not all of them are good.

Ray Hollister — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:32:12 +0000

Yesterday HP had its big announcement that had the tech world waiting on pins and needles. A lot of famous people were in the audience, including the requisite journalists and even a few minor celebrities (MC Hammer and Serena Williams). The one thing that everyone seemed to noticed was suspiciously missing was the Palm logo, which is now missing from Palm’s website. [UPDATE: OK, now it’s back? Make up your mind people!] This was just a foreshadow of the real stab to the hearts of Palm fans that would come later in the day.

The announcement yesterday wasn’t quite a royal flush; it was more like 3 of a kind and a couple of jokers. I know that would normally be an incredible hand, but suffice it to say that these jokers were not good ones. Let me start with the three of a kind: HP announced three new devices yesterday.

The first device announced, the HP Veer, is an incredibly small, and pretty much adorable, device that is apparently replacing the Palm Pixi line. The Veer has a 2.6 inches screen, which is almost exactly the same size as the Pixi. However, the Veer is a portrait slider instead of a candybar. Another differentiating factor is that in addition to being compatible with the iconic Touchstone charger it has a magnetic USB connector that it charges through and transmits data through. The Veer camera is significantly upgraded over the Pixi with a 5-megapixel camera with extended depth of field. Most of the reviewers that got their hands on it were surprised at how comfortable it was to use, despite its diminutive size. The question remains though, “Is there a market for a small smartphone like the Veer?” Other companies have tried and failed. Does the Veer have something that will set it apart, or will it crash and burn like the others?

Their second device they announced yesterday is the one that most Palm fanboys and girls were waiting on: the next iteration of what was Palm’s flagship phone, the HP Pre³. In addition to having an annoying superscripted number three at the end of its name, the Pre³ also comes with a larger, 3.58 inch, 800 x 480 pixel screen and a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It also has a front-facing VGA camera and a rear-facing 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, and HD 720p video recording. Some other minor upgrades include a digital compass, dual-mic noise cancellation, and a slightly larger battery. Many fans were hoping for something larger, but one of the presenters said that HP wanted to differentiate themselves from the “bigger is better” crowd.

The pièce de résistance of the event was the HP TouchPad. This was the device that kept sneaking out and starting rumors. The TouchPad has a 9.7-inch XGA capacitive, multitouch, 1024×768 resolution display and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam. One of the features of the TouchPad that HP seemed to be the proudest of was the integration of Beats Audio^? by Dr. Dre. Although there aren’t any technical specifics about what makes this brand of sound equipment better, HP says that it “reproduces the original sonic integrity of digital tracks?letting you hear the music the way recording artists intended.”

Although the hardware was certainly impressive, a large portion of the event was spent talking about new apps for the devices. HP especially focused on the applications that are designed specifically for the TouchPad, such as the new Time Inc, magazines, the Kindle app, and Quickoffice. However, the highlight of the event was seeing how the new version of WebOS, verions 2.2 on the Pre³ and Veer, and 3.0 on the TouchPad, work and how they work together. For example, you can “move” web content that you are viewing on one device to another just by taping the two devices together. Also, you can answer a phone call or receive text messages that came in on your WebOS Phone on your TouchPad instead. HP also gave us a sneak peak into the future. HP intends to bring WebOS to desktops and laptops, thus bridging the gap from mobile devices to our more stationary devices and extending the experience.

The two daggers to the hearts of Palm fans that I mentioned earlier were discovered after the bright lights had come down and had everyone started to trickle out of the Herbst Pavilion. First, even though HP CEO Leo Apotheker promised that the new HP WebOS hardware was ready and that it would be ready to ship within weeks of the announcement, the Veer is the only device shipping within the next few months. HP officially says on its website that the TouchPad and the Pre³ are planned to be available this summer, and the Veer is planned to be available this spring. These statements have the sad, familiar ring of the line that became infamous within the WebOS community: “in the coming months.” This was the answer every time there was a delay in releasing the Palm Pre, the Pre 2, WebOS 2.0 and Adobe Flash support. It was also noted that neither the price of these new devices or the carriers that they would be on was disclosed.

The second and most painful wound for WebOS fans came when both Engadget and PreCentral spoke to the folks at HP behind WebOS and they confirmed to both sites that the Palm Pre, Pixi, Pre Plus, and Pixi Plus will not receive any more major over-the-air updates of WebOS. Jon Rubinstein told Engadget that the older devices simply did not have the necessary specs to support WebOS 2.0 properly. Apparently HP has “something special” planned for owners of the older devices when the new devices go on sale; what that means at this point is anyone’s guess. In the midst of the resulting torch and pitchfork waving from the incited masses, HP showed its humanity and compassion towards its loyal users when Lisa Brewster of Palm Developer Relations tweeted: “We’ve broken a promise to our most faithful users, and that has my heart heavy tonight. Ppl keep asking if I’m ok.” Palm later tweeted from their official Twitter account: “All the feedback and questions are appreciated — will be sharing as much info as possible as soon as possible”

In the end, HP may have scored a win with the general public, but they also scored an epic fail with their fiercely loyal fans that stuck with them through the WebOS Desert. HP needs to respond quickly to this PR nightmare with something that will salve the wounds that they inflicted. Then, HP needs to get these devices out quickly before new iOS and Android hardware comes out that make the new HP devices look beige and boring again.