Tech tidbits from around the web.
10/26/2016 8:31:05 AM
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Petition: Bring back Skype to the Windows Phone 8.1 store
If you’re upset that Skype no longer works on the vast majority of Windows phones, you have an online petition that can help your voice be heard.
Bring back Skype to the Windows Phone 8.1 store for those users whose phones are not eligible to receive the Windows 10 Mobile Update. Not everyone can afford to go and buy a new phone and many users rely on Skype to keep in contact with important family members. Almost 80% of Windows Phone market share is Windows Phone 8.1. Do the right thing and put Skype back in the Windows Phone 8.1 store for those users whose phone are not eligible to receive the Windows 10 Mobile update.
That said, I don’t see Microsoft changing things given the importance of its transition to a new Skype infrastructure.
Google announces something that is totally not a Surface Hub clone
It’s 55-inches big, will cost about $6000 and is designed for teams that wish to collaborate in person. No, I’m not talking about Microsoft’s Surface Hub. I’m talking about Google’s Jamboard. Obviously. 🙂
At Google, we’ve set out to redefine meetings.
It’s just that we set out to do this a year after seeing what Microsoft did and then decided to do the same thing.
Today, we’re introducing Jamboard — a collaborative, digital whiteboard that makes it easy for your team to share ideas in real-time and create without boundaries. We’re moving the whiteboard to the cloud.
It’s a whiteboard. Because the cloud is white!
Jamboard raises the bar on collaborative creativity, bringing the same real-time collaboration found in G Suite, combined with the best of the web, to your team’s brainstorms and meetings. You can work with teammates from across the world on other Jamboards or remotely use the smartphone or tablet companion app.
In other words, it hits the G Spot.
Sorry, I’ll stop.
Enjoy the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare live-action trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_87zvl0LcEg
“Screw this. Let’s go to space.” Love it.
That said, I always watch these commercials—sorry, “trailers”—and wonder if I’m supposed to recognize all of the people in them, because some are famous, and most are … heh?
Smartwatch sales are tanking
The analyst geniuses at IDC have weighed in on smart watch sales. And let’s just say that Apple’s next big product will not be Apple Watch.
The worldwide smartwatch market experienced a round of growing pains in the third quarter of 2016 (3Q16), resulting in a year-over-year decline in shipment volumes … total smartwatch volumes reached 2.7 million units shipped in 3Q16, a decrease of 51.6% from the 5.6 million units shipped in 3Q15.
So let’s go into spin mode.
Although the decline is significant, it is worth noting that 3Q15 was the first time Apple’s Watch had widespread retail availablity after a limited online launch. Meanwhile, the second generation Apple Watch was only available in the last two weeks of 3Q16.
In other words, the smart watch market is Apple Watch, and it waxes and wanes according to Apple’s release schedule. Got it.
Looking at the list of other smart watch makers, I couldn’t name one of those products. Which I think is the real problem. Moving on.
What to expect from the next version of Chrome OS
Yes, there are blogs devoted to Chrome OS. This is one of them.
It has been an exciting week here at Chrome Unboxed.
OK. Let’s get to the story, shall we?
Chrome OS 54 is right around the corner [and] is laying the foundation for a number of new features to be released in version 55 in early December.
New features will include:
Web Bluetooth.
For consumers, this technology will most likely be geared more towards mobile devices; giving users access to nearby devices that will interact with Chrome browsers to deliver advertising and content from surrounding businesses.
WebVR
The Chromium project has been working to bring web-based VR to the Chrome browser. The result to be an enveloping experience brought to you directly from your web browser.
Performance enhancements
Chrome OS continues to make better and better use of system resources and the enhancements to Chrome browser should inherently transfer over to the Chrome OS ecosystem.
Android apps
Recent commits have shown us that the long awaited addition is most definitely moving out of the testing phases. We expect the Play Store to begin rolling out with version 54 or no later than 55.
Other features
Native image resizing in the Chrome OS image viewer [and] voice input, handwriting input and quick emojis.
So this is what passes for an exciting week in the Chrome OS world.
Google slows down its Fiber initiative
And speaking of Google and slow-moving, it looks like the search giant is giving up on Google Fiber. The New York Times reports:
Google is signaling a strategy shift for one of its most ambitious and costly efforts: bringing blazing-fast web connections to homes across America.
The company said on Tuesday that it was curbing the expansion of its high-speed fiber optic internet network and reducing staff in the unit responsible for the work.
Craig Barratt, chief executive of Access, the Alphabet division containing Google Fiber, also said he planned to step down because the company was shifting to new technologies and methods of deploying high-speed internet.
After years of costly investments to dig up roads and lay fiber optic cable, Google started considering alternatives, including wireless and fiber partnerships, that did not necessarily require the company to build a full network.
It’s dead, Jim.
Blackberry ships a new Android flagship for businesses
Two things. Yes, Crackberry is inexplicably still a thing. And I can’t help put think that this is the sort of thing HP should have done with the Elite x3.
BlackBerry has now officially announced the latest in its series of secure Android smartphones, DTEK60. Offering a larger high-resolution display, fingerprint sensor, long lasting battery, 21-megapixel camera, DTEK60 comes loaded with all the security features that BlackBerry’s Android OS devices have. DTEK60 is the second device in the DTEK series of Android smartphones and is a part of BlackBerry’s transition towards a device software licensing strategy – which allows it to focus on putting “the smart in the phone” – the DTEK60’s hardware is manufactured by TCL.
You can find this device on the Shop Blackberry web site for $500.