Is Sony’s Vita, Vital?

Posted on December 17, 2011 by John

Sony’s newest portable PSP (Vita) made a big-splash debut today in Tokyo… the question(s) that the firm faces (now and in the near-term) are basic: 1) will they be able to keep pace with the shifting landscape whereas Smartphones / tablets have largely become countless consumers gaming platforms; 2) is the Game Console the best bet for the firm’s (gaming) future; 3) will a 2012 global-release be soon enough to stem the tide of the aforementioned challenges / reality?

(Source) NY Times: http://goo.gl/GZx4n

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Duh!

Posted on December 16, 2011 by John

Although Sprint is essentially an also-ran mobile carrier in America they did the right thing (long overdue by AT&T) in disabling Carrier IQ’s key-logging software (which should not have been allowed on any smartphone from the outset).

(Source) MSNBC: http://goo.gl/Fr7Jn

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Crack-Bury: The End’s Near?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by John

A former (industry) giant continues to gain momentum (the wrong type though) as their death-spiral shows little and/or no signs of abating…

(Source) Bloomberg: http://goo.gl/m3JvA

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One Would Hope.

Posted on December 14, 2011 by John

In the ‘Court of Public Opinion’ Carrier IQ is essentially guilty… within the court-system itself – that / this point has yet to be proven. However, what’ll (in all probability) matter the most is whether or not the firm can reinvent themselves in light of the illegal e-tracking news that broke… Towards that end; if adding insult to injury and/or art imitating life isn’t surreal enough their (marketing) point-person’s last name (who is basically tasked with damage-control) is: Coward. No further comment…

(Source) CNET: http://goo.gl/LzCeD

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Oh No…

Posted on December 13, 2011 by John

The axiom, ‘what a difference a day makes’ certainly applies to Netflix… the former high-flyer that through a series of (what could best be termed as), ‘boneheaded moves’ is now the subject of a takeover bid by Verizon. No doubt that America needs more industry consolidation whereas consumers pay higher fees for reduced services and less innovation (which is such an incredible combination, right?!)

(Source) Business Week: http://goo.gl/3Au0U

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Hey, Teacher Leave Them Kids Alone!

Posted on December 12, 2011 by John

Google’s image-remaking process continues as YouTube (which also was recently relaunched) has debuted their EDU initiative (a website dedicated to creating a global learning repository) that has the potential to ride the long-tail of the open-source educational offerings of countless universities over the past few years.

(Source) Engadget: http://goo.gl/0No1N

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A True Visionary.

Posted on December 11, 2011 by John

There’s a very high probability that most people have never heard of Robert Noyce; yet, the same people use something that he pioneered (essentially on a daily basis): the silicon chip.

(Source) Stanford: http://goo.gl/YzlCA

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Mother Nature’s Wonder!

Posted on December 10, 2011 by John

(Last night’s) 2011’s Lunar Eclipse demonstrated just how amazing nature is to the naked eye (let alone how spectacular it is when viewed with the aid of modern instruments)… Wow!

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As Tech Turns: Take That!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by John

Apple seems to have gotten a taste of their own medicine via Motorola (of all sources) as a judge in Germany ruled that they used some of their technology without (prior) authorization…

All of this on-going (global) litigation seems to be a good lead-in for a reality TV program and/or a Soap Opera, “As Tech Turns” starring Apple as the patriarch; Google as the misunderstood upstart; Samsung who desperately claims originality and craves acceptance; Microsoft (the bumbling unoriginal family member whose blown numerous chances) Motorola and Nokia (having fallen on hard-times as hubris blinded their vision) as all three are now the misguided group within the greater community who yearn to (once again) become significant players; and, HTC the unknown outsider who nobody seems to have a definitive read on… ‘As Tech Turns’ Monday Night at 10:00 p.m. on your local cable or satellite channel, HTTV.

(Source) BBC: http://goo.gl/Nt7BF

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(School’s Out) Building Educational Apps: Best Practices & Insight.

Posted on December 8, 2011 by John

The enclosed article provides an overview of some of the finer points of (successfully) building educational mobile apps that by their very nature should be (primarily) a medium for greater end-user (student) access… demonstrating additional value first and foremost (by making them device agnostic; easy to use; learning-focused; and, collaborative in nature whereas the entire community of students; staff / faculty and administration benefit from their deployment).

(Source) The Guardian U.K.: http://goo.gl/nj2Gi

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