Thursday, April 25, 2013

TechEye

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3 million Windows tablets shipped in Q1

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:58 AM PDT

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments hit 40.6 million units in Q1 2013. Apple still dominates the market, but Android is gaining ground. In addition, the first Windows 8 tablets went on sale in Q1, but they haven’t been a runaway success, to say the least. 

A total of 19.5 million iOS tablets were shipped, up from 11.8 a year ago. Android saw even more growth, 17.6 million Android tablets were shipped, up from 6.4 million in Q1 2012. A total of three million Windows tablets were shipped as well. Global tablet shipments grew 117 percent year-on-year.

"Global branded tablet shipments reached an all-time high of 40.6 million units in Q1 2013, surging 117 percent from 18.7 million in Q1 2012,” said Peter King, Director of Tablets at Strategy Analytics. “Demand for tablets among consumer, business and education users remains strong.” 

The big news should be Windows. Strategy Analytics concluded that Windows tablets probably won’t see much growth - just some of the factors holding back shipments include limited distribution, a shortage of top tier apps, and confusion in the market.

Microsoft's updates crashed my computer

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 04:51 AM PDT

In a blast from the past, software giant Microsoft has had to replace a security update that had crashed customers' PCs and crippled the machines with endless reboots.

The MS13-036 update was first issued April 9, but pulled three days later from distribution. Reports started to spread that the fix was generating the "Blue Screen of Death" (BSOD) error message and forcing PCs to reboot.

The Vole never explained what happened. It claimed that the update, when paired with certain third-party software caused system errors.

Microsoft spokesperson Dustin Childs told Computerworld that only some customers experienced any problems.

Customers and experts thought that combinations of the security update and "G-Buster," a browser security plug-in widely used in Brazil for online banking and on the Microsoft patch and Kaspersky Lab security software were responsible.

In a support document, Microsoft had posted several error messages that were symptoms of the patch failure, and recommended that Windows 7 users uninstall the update.

Childs said that the new update, KB2840149, still addresses the Moderate security issue described in MS13-036, and should not cause the rebooting problems.

The revised MS13-036 update has been restored to the Windows Update service, and will be downloaded and installed by machines with Automatic Updates enabled.

Still, it is rare these days that Microsoft makes a cock-up like this or that security patches react badly with third party software. It reminds us of the 1990s when updates were delivered slowly by system admins who appeared to stick their fingers in their ears and hide under the desk when they installed them. 

IHS predicts Google Glass shipments to hit 9.4 million

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:59 AM PDT

The first Google Glass devices have already started rolling out the developers and tech enthusiasts, but public availability is expected some time next year. 

IHS predicts Google Glass shipments will reach 124,000 this year, but the adoption rate will accelerate by 250 percent in 2014. Between now and 2016 Google is expected to sell 9.4 million units, with sales hitting 6.6 million in 2016.

It doesn’t sound like much compared to shipments of flagship smartphones, but bear in mind that Google Glass costs $1,500 and it is still an unproven concept. At $1,500 Google won’t find many takers, so it is safe to assume that it is targeting a much lower price point for 2014 and beyond. IHS also pointed out that apps will be crucial to the widespread adoption of Google Glass.

“Hardware is much less relevant to the growth of Google Glass than for any other personal communication device in recent history. This is because the utility of Google Glass is not readily apparent, so everything will depend on the appeal of the apps,” said Theo Ahadome, senior analyst at IHS. “This is why the smart glass market makes sense for a software-oriented organization like Google, despite the company’s limited previous success in developing hardware. Google is betting the house that developers will produce some compelling applications for Glass.”

This is good news for Google, as it has proven time and again that it simply can’t do hardware.

However, IHS also came out with a much more cautious, even pessimistic forecast. Under this outlook, app development will be limited, relegating Google Glass to the role of an overpriced wearable camera rather than a proper augmented reality system. In that case, shipments will reach just one million through 2016.

Phablet and superphone sales to remain strong

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:50 AM PDT

Sales of oversized smartphones and tablets are strong, and according to Transparency Market Research, the trend is set to continue over the next five years. 

The outfit’s latest report found that superphone and phablet sales will reach 825 million units by 2018. They will generate $116.4 billion for manufacturers who decide to jump onto the phablet bandwagon. Asian markets are expected to see the fastest growth rates over the next five years, TalkAndroid reports.

The vast majority of phablet devices run on Android and Transparency Market Research believes Google’s OS will continue to dominate the market over the next five years. However, the share of Windows based devices is also set to increase, thanks to upcoming phablets from Nokia, HTC, ZTE and Sony.

Apple is nowhere on the list as it doesn’t produce large phones, at least not yet. However, if phablets prove to be more than a fad, Cupertino will probably be forced to respond. 

Samsung claims it will struggle with Galaxy S4 demand

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:41 AM PDT

Samsung has claimed that it is likely to run out of its new Galaxy S4s and is facing overwhelming global demand.

It has warned that the initial supply may be limited and it will be several weeks before it can fulfill inventory to meet demands.

In the US, telcos are reporting delays because of "an unexpected delay with inventory deliveries." Sprint will take online orders starting Saturday as planned, but the phone will be sold at retail outlets only as it becomes available. Sprint blamed "unexpected inventory challenges from Samsung" from having a full product launch. AT&T thought it had enough to do a launch as it planned.

Lee Don-joo, head of sales and marketing at Samsung's mobile business told Reuters that demand is far stronger than he had expected. The tech press is used to hearing this from outfits when a phone is launched, but this case it seems a little too embarrassing for Samsung. It had the same problems last year.

Samsung took out an eight-page, full-colour insert in the Wall Street Journal heralding the arrival of the device and promised that by early summer, it will have set up Samsung "Experience" stores in about 1,400 Best Buy locations, designed to showcase its line-up of mobile and other electronic devices.

Some analysts predict the new Galaxy could top 10 million unit sales in the first month after its launch. The problem is that if Samsung rushes the phone into the shops it could create a manufacturing error which could mean a loss of sales.  Last year the company suffered from a manufacturing error on handset cases which cost Samsung over 2 million units in lost SIII sales 

Amazon has a telly vision

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:30 AM PDT

Online book seller Amazon has joined Intel, Microsoft, Apple, in fact pretty much everyone in the tech industry and said it wants to set up an internet TV channel.

Amazon plans to release a television set-top box that would stream video over the internet into customers' homes.

The plan is to release the box, which will connect to televisions, later this year. It will also provide access to Amazon's expanding video services, which include the Amazon Video on Demand store.

The move is still secret, but Bloomberg claims that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to push the company into a broadening array of hardware, including tablets, electronic readers and a planned smartphone.

In fact it looks like he is trying to turn Amazon into a more flexible version of Apple. The difference is Apple spiced up its hardware by adding content, while Amazon is moving from content by adding hardware.

The device would also compete with products from Roku and Boxee, gaming consoles from Microsoft and Sony that deliver video programming and Intel's planned channel.

Jason Krikorian, a general partner at venture-capital firm DCM, and the former co-founder of Sling Media said that the idea did make a lot of sense. After all Amazon had a ton of content and an existing billing relationship with millions of users.

The set-top box is being developed by Amazon's Lab126 division, based in Cupertino. Lab126 has toyed with building connected television devices for several years.

It is difficult to tell how much the service will cost. Apple normally sells hardware at a loss, with the intent of making up for discounts through sales of content, including books and movies.

According to Bloomberg, the project is being managed by a former vice president at Cisco Systems, Malachy Moynihan, who worked on the networking giant's various consumer video initiatives and worked for nine years at Apple. Also involved is Andy Goodman, formerly a top engineer at TiVo and Vudu and Chris Coley, a former hardware architect at ReplayTV, one of Silicon Valley's first DVR companies.

Bill Clinton overcomes shyness to join Twitter

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:19 AM PDT

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, has joined Twitter with a little help from TV funnyman Stephen Colbert. 

Slick Willy apparently joined the network to promote the Clinton Foundation. In his first tweets he offered words of praise for Colbert and said he is happy to join his daughter Chelsea on Twitter.

However, Hillary Clinton is still not on Twitter. We guess she was preoccupied by some more important matters in recent years.

Cobert welcomed Clinton by tweeting: "I taught @billclinton to tweet! This is almost as exciting as the time I taught Cheney "Dance Dance Revolution."

Clinton already has 250,000 followers, but he has a long way to go before he overtakes Obama, who has 30 million followers. In terms of sheer popularity, he could probably do it. After all, his eight-year tenure was marked by stable economic growth, no major wars and even a budget surplus or two. 

Then a cowboy from Texas and a kid from Chicago took over and we all know how well that went. 

Israeli customs and immigration can and will read your email

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:17 AM PDT

Anyone making any business connections in Israel might want to rethink their plans.

The Israeli government has decided that business people will have to provide email and passwords to all their accounts when you enter the country. This will enable Mossad to snoop on the private and business life of anyone one who enters the Holy Land.

Israel's top legal official said that security officials at Ben Gurion airport are legally allowed to demand access to traveller email accounts and deny them entry if they refuse.

Details of the policy were laid out by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein in a written response to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the group said in a statement.

Apparently this has been going on for some time. In June 2012, ACRI's Lila Margalit wrote to the attorney general demanding clarification following media reports about security officials demanding access to tourists' email accounts before allowing them into the country.

Now, according to Security Week, it seems Israel has confirmed the practice. It's claimed that it was only done in exceptional cases where "relevant suspicious signs" were evident and only done with the traveller's "consent". Consent being you will do it or we will send you home.

The attorney general's office also noted that while a traveller may refuse such a search, 'it will be made clear that refusal to do so will be taken into consideration along with other relevant factors, in deciding whether to allow entry to Israel.

ACRI pointed out that a traveller could not freely give their consent while facing the threat of possible deportation if they refused.

"Allowing security agents to take such invasive measures at their own discretion and on the basis of such flimsy 'consent' is not befitting of a democracy," the ACRI warned.

The moves might worry companies like Intel who have to fly lots of top executives into the country and might want not want Mossad looking at all executives emails and Powerpoint slides. If the government does not snoop on executives, then the question is why is it bothering tourists? 

SimCity patch floods cities with poo

Posted: 25 Apr 2013 03:13 AM PDT

EA Games really can't get its act together over the latest version of Sim City.

Not only was the game launch marred by EA sticking in DRM which required an online verification process that crashed its servers, now it seems the company has released a patch which fills player's cities with poo.

A Reddit user pointed out the problem is a bug which creates a "sewage OVERLOAD" for no reason. One town with a relatively tiny population of 4,000 saw their outflow pipe "MAXED" and terminally incontinent Sims had already had 55 rushed to Sim hospitals.

Some SimCity players have found themselves stuck on loading screens when attempting to resume cities created before the patch. Others have discovered that buildings wouldn't complete construction and are stuck as perpetual building sites.

Other quaint features of the patch include plagues of bright yellow taxi cabs for no apparent reason. There is strange talk of trees that honk and purr like trams.

It looks like EA has actually managed to achieve a perfect storm of the absurd for what should have been one of its most popular games. 
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