Monthly Archive:: September 2014

Microsoft finally surprised us all: At the eagerly-awaited first briefing for the next Windows, the firm revealed that they had decided to skip the 9 and call it Windows 10 instead. From a features perspective, we only learned about a few minor new features that hadn't already leaked. And as promised, the technical preview won't ship until October. Which starts tomorrow, by the way.

To say that this was a different kind of Windows event is a major understatement. I want to focus on the details of the announcement here, but it's at least worth pointing out that Terry Myerson's team is approaching Windows 10 with a completely different - for the better - approach. Not just when compared to the past few releases. But when compared to every Windows release from the past 20 years. Everything is new again.

At this stage, the Commission considers that the measure at issue appears to constitute a reduction of charges that should normally be borne by the entities concerned in the course of their business, and should therefore be considered as operating aid. According to the Commission practice, such aid cannot be considered compatible with the internal market in that it does not facilitate the development of certain activities or of certain economic areas, nor are the incentives in question limited in time, digressive or proportionate to what is necessary to remedy to a specific economic handicap of the areas concerned.

The Commission wishes to remind Ireland that Article 108(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union has suspensory effect, and would draw your attention to Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/199935, which provides that all unlawful aid may be recovered from the recipient.

The European Union will accuse Apple of taking illegal aid from the Irish state through sweetheart tax deals over two decades, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

A European Commission investigation into Apple's tax affairs in Ireland, where it has a rate of less than 2%, has found that the company benefited from illegal state aid, the newspaper reported, citing sources close to the matter.

Since announcement of the BlackBerry Passport in Toronto, London and Dubai, there has been over 200,000 devices sold across Amazon and Shop BlackBerry. As noted by BlackBerry CEO John Chen on the Q2 2015 earnings call, the BlackBerry Passport has moved to the number one spot on the Amazon unlocked device list and sold out through ShopBlackBerry within the first six hours after sales had gone live.

By now you may have heard about a new bug found in the Bash shell. And unless you're a programmer or security expert, you're probably wondering if you should really worry. The short answer is: Don't panic, but you should definitely learn more about it, because you may be in contact with vulnerable devices.

This bug, baptized "Shellshock" by Security Researchers, affects the Unix command shell "Bash," which happens to be one of the most common applications in those systems. That includes any machine running Mac OS X or Linux.

Apple has released iOS 8.0.2. It's available now via Settings > General > Update or over Lightning to USB tether to iTunes on your Mac or PC. This comes just one day after the iOS 8.0.1 update left iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers unable to use Touch ID or connect to cellular networks. Apple promised a fix within days and delivered it with a day.

The whole time I've been reviewing the BlackBerry Passport there's been a lingering thought in my head and I'm sure it's one I share with many of you all as well. How well is the BlackBerry Passport going to sell for BlackBerry? At the end of the day, or in this case at the end of the review, I really don't know but what I have decided is this. The BlackBerry Passport is just quirky enough, just odd enough to make people interested in it. Even during my review, I've had several people ask about the device, even a guy at the Apple Store (Yes, I was showing off) had questions about it and that's actually beneficial to BlackBerry. Just quirky enough, just odd enough, that people want to pick up the device and see what it is all about and well, BlackBerry needs that. Not enough people know BlackBerry 10 even exists, let alone the fact that's a great operating system. If their first experience on BlackBerry 10 is the BlackBerry Passport, I feel that's a good thing because even though it looks a little odd, it's a pretty complete package when all things are considered.

One week after the launch of iOS 8, Apple has already released its first update for the new OS in iOS 8.0.1, which contains a slew of bug fixes.

But you shouldn't hit the install button yet. Soon after the update hit, an abnormally high number of users immediately started reporting that the iOS 8.0.1 update is breaking cellular reception and other features like TouchID. For those affected, "no service" is displayed after the update has been installed, and toggling airplane mode or powering the phone off and on again doesn't seem to be fixing it. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the situation.

Despite my concerns, iOS 8 makes me feel excited for the future more than anything else. Apple's steps to open up more options for customization by developers and users on iOS marks a significant departure from their previous releases. It's not Android but it isn't meant to be. It brings new features and capabilities that are implemented in a very Apple-like manner, for better or for worse. I don't think it's going to do much to sway Android fans toward iOS, but it gives a lot of reason for current iOS users to stay with Apple. This is especially true for users who can take advantage of continuity. iOS 8 feels like another step in the maturation that began with iOS 7. Most exciting of all is that it's still only the beginning.

Earlier this week, coder and game designer Jonathan Blow gave a presentation on his Twitch channel outlining his thoughts on why and how programmers might go about building a new programming language specifically for game development.

"We are literally killing ourselves every project, deathmarching to get games done," said Blow, during a Q&A segment. "It just really doesn't have to be anywhere near that bad -- at least for programmers."

The team is also responsible to promote and spruce up devices that are based on Tizen, an open-source mobile operating system built by Samsung. Tizen-based devices will be introduced in the Indian market in November. "It will coexist with the Android devices," he said.

With all the hype and interest in wearables these past few months, you'd think more companies would be looking to compete with Google's Glass headset, but up until now that hasn't really been the case. Sony teased an alternative to Google's gear in the form of a SmartEyeglass prototype first shown off at CES 2014, which aims to be as versatile as Glass while bettering it in some respects as well. The rather awkward-looking SmartEyeglass is peppered with sensors - there's an accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, ambient light sensor, and a 3-megapixel camera - and comes with a wire connecting it to an external battery pack equipped with an extra touch sensor and microphone.

The next generation of Google's Android operating system, due for release next month, will encrypt data by default for the first time, the company said Thursday, raising yet another barrier to police gaining access to the troves of personal data typically kept on smartphones.

Android has offered optional encryption on some devices since 2011, but security experts say few users have known how to turn on the feature. Now Google is designing the activation procedures for new Android devices so that encryption happens automatically; only somebody who enters a device's password will be able to see the pictures, videos and communications stored on those smartphones.

Rather than comply with binding court orders, Apple has reworked its latest encryption in a way that prevents the company - or anyone but the device's owner - from gaining access to the vast troves of user data typically stored on smartphones or tablet computers.

The key is the encryption that Apple mobile devices automatically put in place when a user selects a passcode, making it difficult for anyone who lacks that passcode to access the information within, including photos, e-mails and recordings.