Here’s how desperate some IT people are to avoid Windows 8

Microsoft knows that it has some work to do to make its desktop users happier with Windows 8. Despite this, the company is hoping to see a rapid uptick in Windows 8 adoption next year when it officially ends support for Windows XP. BusinessKorea reports, however, that some Korean IT departments are considering truly desperate measures in a bid to forgo upgrading Windows 8 once Windows XP support ends — including adopting the Linux-based Ubuntu platform.



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Posted in 2013 at 04:20PM, December 18

FTC finds popular flashlight app for Android illegally sharing data with advertisers

A popular flashlight Android app with an installed base of between 50 million and 100 million users has also been collecting personal data including location and device ID and sharing it with advertisers even for users who had opted out, the Federal Trade Commission found. GoldenShores Technologies, LLC, the developer behind the “Brightest Flashlight Free” app that currently enjoys a 4.8-star rating from over 1 million reviews, on Thursday settled a case with the FTC, Fast Company reports.



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Posted in 2013 at 04:20PM, December 06

Forget the botched Instagram launch: Windows Phone is on the march

Instagram is finally coming to Microsoft's Windows Phone. Though the rollout looks to sloppy initially, with several features not being available at launch, it's an enormous opportunity for San Francisco-based Instagram, as well as Microsoft, given the growing popularity of Windows Phone.



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Posted in 2013 at 04:20PM, November 21

Motorola files patent for terrifying ‘smart tattoo’ technology

Google's creepier tendencies have clearly made an impression on Motorola, which has now started filing patents for technologies you'd expect to see in Philip K. Dick stories. Engadget has spotted a new Motorola patent application for a kind of "smart tattoo" that basically involves tattooing a microphone to a user's throat that will then send voice commands to their smartphones and tablets. The idea behind this terrifying creation is to have a microphone that will more easily pick up users' voice commands and eliminate background noise that could make using voice functionality on your smartphone inconvenient. As weird as this all sounds, we have to admit that the smart tattoo idea is still less creepy than Google's earlier proposal for password pills.

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Posted in 2013 at 04:20PM, November 08

Apple is quietly taking over yet another industry

Apple flipped the smartphone industry on its head when it launched the iPhone back in 2007. The company struck gold again in 2010 when it launched the iPad, creating a media tablet market out of thin air and succeeding where many firms before it had failed. Numerous reports suggest Apple is currently eying the smartwatch and television markets and we can likely expect to see launches in both categories next year, but there's another industry that Apple is quietly taking over: the auto industry.



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Posted in 2013 at 04:20PM, November 06