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Monthly Archive:: August 2014

Why some schools are selling all their iPads

While nobody hated the iPad, by any means, the iPad was edged out by some key feedback, said Joel Handler, Hillsborough's director of technology. Students saw the iPad as a "fun" gaming environment, while the Chromebook was perceived as a place to "get to work." And as much as students liked to annotate and read on the iPad, the Chromebook's keyboard was a greater perk - especially since the new Common Core online testing will require a keyboard.

Another important finding came from the technology support department: It was far easier to manage almost 200 Chromebooks than the same number of iPads. Since all the Chromebook files live in an online "cloud," students could be up and running in seconds on a new device if their machine broke. And apps could be pushed to all of the devices with just a few mouse clicks.

Hillsborough educators also tend to emphasize collaboration, and they found that Google's Apps for Education suite - which works on either device - was easier to use collaboratively on Chromebooks.

I'm shocked - shocked! - that a device with a keyboard is more useful in educational settings than a tablet.

Samsung and Apple agree to drop legal disputes outside the US

Apple and Samsung are making peace - at least outside the United States. In a surprise move late Tuesday, the two companies said they were dropping all litigation outside the country.

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," the two companies said in a joint statement to The Verge. "This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in U.S. courts."

Good news of course, but just imagine if all the money and resources wasted on fruitless court cases was spent on actually useful things. I also wonder how this settlement-that-isn't-a-settlement will affect the ongoing American court cases. Won't the judge push them to settle even harder now?

Windows Threshold: here come the virtual desktops

Microsoft is considering bringing virtual desktops to Windows Threshold. The feature, which is already on other platforms like Ubuntu and OS X is currently being tested and is said to have similar functionality to that of Ubuntu. You can activate the desktops with a button on the taskbar (subject to change) and there are keyboard shortcuts that let you jump between active desktops.

Of course, this should have been done eons ago, but the fact they're considering it now is great news. Let's hope it's true.

Samsung loses grip on China, India

Samsung in China:

Xiaomi, a smartphone maker based in China, sold more devices in its home market during the second quarter than Samsung, the world's No. 1 supplier of devices. Samsung owned the Chinese smartphone market for more than two years, but data from Canalys says its reign has come to an end.

Samsung in India:

Indian budget smartphone maker Micromax has ousted Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as the leading brand in all types of mobile phones in the April-June quarter, grabbing a 16.6 percent market share, a recent research report showed.

Great news for consumers and the market in general. This will drive prices down, foster competition, and increase choice. We all win.

Now, if only Europe had its own smartphone maker. And what about South-America?

Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 rolling out to developer Lumias

As promised, Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 is rolling out to Lumia phones with Developer Preview enabled.

The biggest feature is Live Folders, which allows users to dynamically create folders on the Start screen. Other new features include the Apps Corner, SMS merge and forwarding and much more. It should also add Cortana support for the UK and China, and India, Australia, and Canada residents can check out the US version of Cortana officially for the first time.

The update is not rolling out for owners of non-Lumia devices - HTC 8X and 8S owners, for instance, are not getting the update. There's no word from Microsoft yet as to why Lumia devices are getting the preferential treatment.

Samsung stops paying protection money, Microsoft sues

Microsoft is suing yet another Android device maker - but this time it's a very different case than their usual protection money scheme. Microsoft claims that Samsung has stopped complying with a patent sharing agreement between the two companies.

After becoming the leading player in the worldwide smartphone market, Samsung decided late last year to stop complying with its agreement with Microsoft. In September 2013, after Microsoft announced it was acquiring the Nokia Devices and Services business, Samsung began using the acquisition as an excuse to breach its contract. Curiously, Samsung did not ask the court to decide whether the Nokia acquisition invalidated its contract with Microsoft, likely because it knew its position was meritless.

Interesting, if true. This is what happens when you stop paying protection money - the burly men with clubs show up.

Mobile IE to spoof Safari to render mobile sites properly

Based on your feedback, we pursued a web experience for IE users consistent with what is available on iOS and Android devices - even where this meant we would be adding non-standard web platform features. We believe that this is a more pragmatic approach to running today's less-standardised mobile web.

Thank you, web developers, for turning mobile Safari into the new Internet Explorer. Have you people learned nothing?