Will Microsoft Catch Up?

                     My question today: Will Microsoft catch up? It seems as though the world's once biggest technology has fallen behind in recent years. It was just a few short years ago, they were still on top of the mountain. We all know who's on top now, Apple it seems as though no one is going to knock them off. We all know to that the problem's with Microsoft started whenever they released the Microsoft Vista OS. People either stayed with XP, moved to the Mac, or even as they say migrated to Linux. They used to be the only choice. We all know that there are many different platforms and many different choices. There are just too many people who are afraid to make the leap and leave the Microsoft OS. I for one haven't completley done it myself either. My desktop stll runs Windows, Linux on my laptop, and I just can't afford a Mac.



                        The reason I posed the question, is to me Microsoft has lost touch with the people. They have fallen behind. All companies are farther along it seems with the Droid or iOS. Numerous amounts of technology companies are releasing tablets like you wouldn't believe. Reports have it that Microsoft will not release their tablet until 2012. In my estimation, that will certainly put them behind everyone. It may be too late for them. Can they, will they catch up? It seems they are too busy working on an edition of Windows to run exclusively on tablet's. You would think that after all of the success and excitement that the iPad has brought to Apple, Microsoft would be a little more enthusiastic about getting into the mix with the tablets. This is their loss though. It will hurt them as a giant in technology. If you are out there and you are reading this Mr. Gates, it's time for Ballmer to move on. He is hurting Microsoft. You need youth at the head of the reins.


                          They have also kicked off an effort to rid the world of the IE6. A really horrible browser anyhow. I just didn't know that there were still so many people in the world that used it. Here's a good one for you: " friends don't let friends use Internet Explorer  6. They have even set a website where you can clearly see 12% of the world is still using the IE6. There are still an overwhelming 34.5 percent of the world's user's in China. You can visit the website here: http://ie6countdown.com/  I think though that a browser that was released 10 years ago, people wouldn't even risk using. It is certainley not stable. It wasn't then, it's not now either. So you see, they, Microsoft have fallen behind the competition. Go on get out there and enjoy your day!

                                                  IE6 World usage, see link above

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A World of Apps

                        We have become a world of apps. Applications that is. The innovator's Apple started it all with the first iPhone. There were gaming apps, office apps, and so forth. You get the picture, don't you? We really love these little gem's. Apple has had over 10 billion downloads from their app store. Apple didn't stop there though. Shortly after the first iPhone came the iPod Touch. You could get apps for it as well. Now of course there is apps for the iPad as well. Some of the apps are exclusively for the iPad, and nothing else.


                         Then Google had to get into the mix of things whenever the released the Android OS. There are now an amazing amount of different cell phone manufactuers that have made phones that are powered by the Android operating system. Google didn't stop there though. They then release a browser that they named Chrome. I don't know how many people are using it, but I would encourage yo to. It is by far the fastest browser. Then Chrome became an OS. That's when they released Chrome apps for their Chrome OS. Now you can get Chrome apps for the browser as well.  Check it out here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore?hl=en-US


                            Now we have Mozilla. Yes Mozilla announced yesterday that they are releasing Mozilla Apps. It's just an extension that you install inti Firefox. There is also a version for  the Google Chrome browser as well. Once the add on is installed you can get more web apps from their web app store. They don't have many apps yet, but you can bet they will.  It seems that most all are doing what they can to offer cheap or free apps. With the release of the soon to be Play Station tablet, Sony too will join the mix. Who's going to be next? We will have to wait and see. Get out there and enjoy your day!

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The iPad 2

                    They released it yesterday. I believe that the only reason as to why they, Apple that is, pushed it out, is because of all of the different tablet's that are being released with Android. If it's one thing that Apple wants to do is be ahead of the pack. We've all got to admit, ever since Apple released the first ipod in 2001, they have definetley been ahead of the pack, in all catergories. They have now put themselves into being the innovator's. None of us thought it would happen, but none other than Steve Jobs, showed up himself to unveil it. The crowd live at the event gave him a standing ovation. There are some things that you need to know about the iPad2. I will have a look and explain the differences in the new version.


                      For one it is lighter and thinner, it is now 8.8mm compared to 9.3 mm. It is also 15% lighter than the previous version. The new version includes FaceTime, which Apple now owns the trademark on. The battery life has not been improved. We would have thought to have seen some improvements on this aspect. The display size 9.7 is the same as well. What gives this little gem more power, it now has a dual core processor. The new processor is called the Apple5. It's based on ARM's Cortex-A9 design. The graphics on the new version are completely better. Like Steve Jobs himself said, "Wow". It has iOS 4.3. That means the rest of us, will have to wait until March 11th before the update is ready for us. The major accomplishment, "the stupid button problem" has been fixed. It now has a HDMI out port on it as well. It also features HSUPA support, For those of you who don't know, faster uploads over 3G. It also features a USB port and a slot for an SD card.



                There you have it. By the looks of this, Apple is still on top of the mountain. It doesn't look like they are getting knocked off anytime soon for that matter. I for one, was hoping that the price would come down some. They say consumer's may pay a little more, it depends on where you buy it. I know that $500 dollars is a lot of money to shell out for a tablet. My money is still waiting for the HTC Flyer to hit the store shelves. You can bet your bottom dollar on that. As always, get out there and enjoy your day!

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The New's

            From the tech world we have some of today's tech news. Everyone is geared up for the Apple iPad event. I know that everyone is anticipating the release of the iPad 2. Stay tuned throughout the day, I will keep you informed on the latest. Speaking on tablet's, we have yet another one to tell you about. This time this one is from Blackberry. It seem as though that we will see the release of the Blackberry Playbook on April 10th. It has a 7 inch LCD screen, 1 GHZ dual core processor, 1 GB of ram (memory), 2 cameras, one in the front at 3 mega pixel, and 1 in the rear at 5 mega pixel. It is powered by the Blackberry Rim OS. For more information, please go here:
 www.blackberry.com/playbook  Above is the picture!


       Word has it the the motorola Xoom is more expensive the the iPad because it cost more to build. Has anyone checked the prices for this? I have, it cost $360 to build the Xoom, while only $320 to build the iPad. Either way although both are very good products, I believe they are still a little pricey. We as consumers want a better deal. When are these tablets coming down in price?


                         
          In other news, there were dozens of Android Apps pulled from the Marketplace due to Malware infections. Wow first the big mess with Gmail and now this. What's going on Google? I know it's hard whenever you are on top, always someone there trying to knock you down. The infection is one of the worst to hit the mobile market. It sounds as though that the more opened source os, needs to beef up it's security a little. We know that Apple screens it's apps, however Google does not. Do we forsee a change coming to this? Apps released under the developer names of "Kingmall2010", "we20090202", and "Myournet" contain the DroidDream malware and have been pulled from the Droid Market Place. As always this malware wants our personal information. I will have more on the Apple press conference later. As for now though, get out there and enjoy your day!
                        


    

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Android OS

          Here it is, the release of Android 2.3. We are well onto moving forward with the next release Honeycomb to follow. This is by far the hottest OS on the market right now. Some don't think that it can live up to or even beat the iOS. I say why not? It has apps, just like the iOS. The one good thing about the Android market though, the apps are free. I know you can access it from your phone, but did you know that you can get to it from your desktop as well? It can be found here: https://market.android.com/ If you haven't checked it out, I would encourage you to do so. Be sure to use the safest, most secure browser Chrome. Chrome has an app market as well, which can be found here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore





                 Sure Android is just for smartphones and tablet's right? Wrong my friends, the hottest running OS can be for your desktop as well. All you have to do is a search. Upon searching for Android I came across this: http://www.android-x86.org/  You would just be amazed at all of the different communities out there with different projects. I for one know that I have been. Get out there and enjoy your day!

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Linus Torvalds

                   Do you know who this is? Most people probably don't. This is Linus Torvalds, he is the guy who created the Linux kernel. He was born in Helsinki, Finland. He is a Finnish software engineer and hacker, best known for the Linux kernel. He acts as the Linux kernel's project coordinator. He also created the revision control system git. He is the main reason for Linux. Over the years he has generated a huge following.





                         Linus doesn't get the recognition that he clearly deserves. He is not as rich and famous as his counter parts, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. He has done just as much for the
computing world as they have. Where is the respect? Where is the Love? He attended the University of Helsinki between 1988 and 1996 graduating with a master's degree in computer science. It was in 1990 that he was exposed to UNIX for the first time. After receiving his copy of Minix in 1991, is when he went to work on Linux.







                    The Linux operating system doesn't get as much recognition as it should. Most of the world's computer's run the Microsoft operating system, but most of the world's servers, run Linux. It is a much more stable operating system. It is safer as well. There is no viruses or spyware. I've mentioned before try it for yourself. The most friendliest and popular is Ubuntu, which can be found here: www.ubuntu.com There is also a very good free version of Red Hat Linux called Fedora which can be found here: http://fedoraproject.org  Try it for yourself. The best part, it's free and can do everything that the big boys do. Get out there and enjoy your day! 

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Who is Jonathan Ive?

       There are rumor’s all over the internet that Jonathon Ive is moving back to his native country of England. He and his wife want their children to be educated in British schools. I know you are saying o.k., so what? Who is Jonathan Ive anyhow? What makes him so important anyhow? I will answer the question for those of you who don’t know. Jonathon Ive is a British designer. He is no ordinary designer though. He works for the technology giant Apple. He has the title of Senior Vice President of Industrial Design.


        Why do people make such a big deal, you may ask? I’ll tell you why? He is the master mind behind the iMac, the titanium and aluminum PowerBook G4, MacBook, MacBook Pro, iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. This is the genius, who has given the world all of these great products. Since he wants to move back home, Apple doesn’t want him to work for them anymore.


        Without his work, Apple wouldn’t be where they are today, and we wouldn’t have all of these great toys. What do you think we should do? I say that we flood Apple with either email, phone calls or letter’s, telling them to let Jony do what he wants, just keep him employed. You can reach Apple at the following address and phone number:               Apple
                                     1 Infinite Loop
                                     Cupertino, CA 95014
                                     408-996-1010
                                     media.help@apple.com       
                                  
                                  

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Google

           Good evening to all. I don't understand all the fuss that companies and people have with Google. Just becuse they changed their algorithm. Most people don't even know what the word means. In a sense, it's the way the search results are displyed. I really don't mind though because it is by far, believe it or not, my favorite website. For you see Google is so much more than a search engine. If used properly with all of their different sites and their different applications, the potential is unimaginable. Sure people know that for instance you go to www.google.com type in a word and hit search and bam, you have countless results. Some may be what you are lloking for, although some may not. That's the beauty of the web, something for everyone.

         Let's take a look at some of the other features of Google. There is of course their very fine email client Gmail. If you don't have an account, I encourage you to get one. That can be found at www.gmail.com There is Google Docs, which will open up just about any office file there is including PDF. Everyone's favorite Youtube. Yes it's a Google product. Just about everyone goes there at least once a week to view something. You can find it here www.youtube.com



        Those I guess you could say are some of the more popular products. Like I said though if used properly the potential is unimanginable. There is also AdSense, AdWords, Alerts, Analytics, App Engine, Base,Blogger, Bookmarks,Calendar, Checkout, Double Click for Publisher's. The list goes on and on. Those are just some of the applications that I use. Of course I only listed a fraction. There is also their web browser Chrome, which is by far the fastest, safest browser out there. Which has led to Google Chrome OS. Of course, I won't forget about Android. Need I say more? 




       Like I said most people just go there, type in a word and hit search. The next time that you do though. I want you to try something. Make sure that whenever you type in the word in that you are looking for, that the everything option is enabled. It's to the left of the search. Then go down to All Results, click on the tools, and there you have it,  Google Wonder Wheel. Click that on, the results are truly amazing. They are even endless so to speak. The way I go on about them, you'd think that they pay me. No, they don't, I don't work for them. I guess you could say though, that I am a very BIG FAN! Now go on get out there and enjoy your day!

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