Archive | July, 2009
Happy Birthday to Us
I doubt that anyone noticed at the time (including me!), but June 9th was the first anniversary of my first post on Technologizer. It was mostly an announcement that the site was in the works, and I didn’t blog again until July 14th. That’s when things really got underway here, and I’m therefore declaring today as our first birthday.
It’s been the most remarkable and enjoyable year of my career in tech journalism. I thought we could find a critical mass of folks who’d read what we have to say here, and you showed up in droves–around 400,000 folks visited the site last month. (It helped, I think, that the past twelve months have been so interesting, between the iPhone and Android and Chrome and Windows 7 and Twitter and netbooks and all the other topics we ruminate on hereabouts.)
I may have been optimistic, but I didn’t know that PCMag.com would name Technologizer as one of its favorite blogs. Or that my Twitter account would become a cool annex of Technologizer, leading TechRepublic’s Jason Hiner to name me as the #1 techie to follow on Twitter. Or that we’d have the opportunity to throw a great party and help to put on a packed conference. Or that so many people along the way would get what we’re trying to do here. (It all started with support from all the great people at Federated Media, our ad partner, and WordPress, our publishing platform.)
I also didn’t know that Technologizer would be able to assemble such a sterling crew of regular contributors–especially Ed Oswald, David Worthington, Jared Newman, Benj Edwards, and Jason Meserve, plus my PC World compatriot Steve Bass. I’m happy to be outnumbered by them.
Of course, all of us who get a byline here are outnumbered by you, the Technologizer community. And the biggest single thrill of the past year has been watching so many of you participate so actively in the conversation here. Every day, I’m impressed by how thoughtful and knowledgeable you are–and by how constructive the first year of Technologizer comments has been. (Even though registration isn’t required to comment on the site, the quality of the chatter is tremendously high, and I rarely need to break up fights or toss out trolls.) You’re a classy bunch, and I can’t thank you enough.
Technologizer may be twelve times as old as Bing–which is commemorating its first month of existence this week–but we’re still young. And we’re working on a bunch of new stuff we’ll roll out in the next few months which I think you’ll really like. Please continue to hang out with us here–It’s trite to say that the best is yet to come, but in this case it happens to be true.
The Amazing World of Version Numbers
14. July 2009
In theory, software version numbers should be about as scintillating as as serial numbers, house numbers, channel numbers, or Vehicle Identification Numbers. You don’t get much more mundane than the practice of keeping track of a software package’s major and minor editions by assigning decimal numbers to them.
Except…version numbers long ago stopped being version numbers. Software companies started using them as marketing weapons. They tried varying methods of assigning identities to applications, such as naming them after years. They decided that numbers were too dry and substituted letters and words that were meant to be more evocative. I’m not embarrassed to admit I find ‘em interesting enough to write this article.
I cheerfully admit to using the broadest possible definition of version number in this story–hey, I’m going to discuss names that don’t involve numbers at all. I know that developers still use more formal, traditional software versioning naming conventions behind the scenes. (Windows Vista, for instance, is officially version 6.0 of Windows; Technologizer is on version 20593, but don’t ask me to explain why.)
For no particular reason, I’m going to write this as a FAQ. Even though there’s an awful lot about this topic which I just don’t know…
Bioshock 2 Delayed. One Less Holiday Game, Please.
13. July 2009
The gaming world was seriously bummed out today, hearing that the blockbuster Bioshock 2 will be delayed until fiscal year 2010. I’m thrilled.
Publisher Take-Two said in a financial update that the game needs “additional development time,” but there are hints that the company wants to duck this year’s holiday game rush, even if FY2010 technically allows for a November or December release. Mainly, the following quote shows the publisher’s hand: “We believe the result [of a delay] will be a more compelling consumer experience and a better performing product in the marketplace (emphasis mine).”
Could this signal an end to the age-old practice of releasing too many good games at the end of the year? Maybe, but there are other factors that can’t be ignored. Take-Two acknowledges that it’s partly waiting for a better economy to come around. In explaining Bioshock 2′s delay to FY2010, the publisher says the game, along with other blockbusters, “provide a platform for enhanced financial performance in what we hope will be an improved retail environment.”
And sure, extra development time could certainly be a necessity. There are, after all, four studios working on the project, which I imagine would slow things down considerably.
But Bioshock 2 is a major release, certainly capable of going toe-to-toe wih other top-tier titles, and publishers aren’t well-known for delaying a game past the holidays for the sake of making a better product. I don’t know if the economy will be more favorable to video games by, say, next spring, but I’m inclined to think Take-Two sees an advantage in separating itself from the holiday game glut. At least one other high-profile game, the Playstation 3 exclusive Heavy Rain, is doing the same.
It’s my opinion that Bioshock was a flawed masterpiece, better left standing alone, so the news doesn’t bother me on another level. Still, I welcome any sign of better games in the off-season. A blockbuster game would be perfect right about now, in the summer.
Amazon-Netflix? Let’s Make It Happen, Please.
13. July 2009
At this point, it’s just a rumor that’s giving Netflix’s stock a nice goose: Speculation has it that Amazon.com might move to buy Netflix, a merger that makes immense sense to me. Between its Amazon MP3 service and Video on Demand and the Kindle and Audible, Amazon.com is working overtime to reinvent itself for the era–coming sooner than we think–that virtually all content is digital. Netflix, meanwhile, has an enjoyable and well-done Watch Instantly service, but its selection is sparse and less-than-current; if Watch Instantly is as good as it’s going to get, it’s hard to imagine Netflix stating Netflix once it no longer makes sense to mail shiny discs.
An Amazon that owned Netflix would get the opportunity to market digital downloads to all those happy Netflix customers; a Netflix that was part of Amazon would have access to Amazon’s ambitious video-on-demand platform and content deals. It would probably leave both companies and their customers better off—and hey, it give Apple an iTunes Store competitor that was that much larger and stronger.
I’m just a customer of Amazon and Netflix, not a shareholder. But if mergers were voted on by shoppers, I’d give this one my stamp of approval. Even if it’s not really under discussion at the moment, it feels sort of inevitable…
Lexmark Does Touchscreen Printing
13. July 2009
Last month, HP unveiled an $399 all-in-one inkjet printer with a Web-connected color touchscreen that runs applets for tasks such as printing coupons, movie tickets, and Google Maps. Today, Lexmark announced an all-new lineup of inkjet all-in-ones–and no less than three of ‘em are equipped with touchscreens. People, we have a trend here.
The Lexmark (top) and HP (bottom) touchscreens are the same size (4.3″) and look strikingly similar–actually, both look rather like iPhones affixed to the front of a black-and-silver printer:
However, Lexmark is using its touch technology–which it’s calling myTouch with SmartSolutions (not to be confused with T-Mobile’s myTouch 3G phone)–for quite different purposes than HP’s. The Lexmark printers, unlike HP’s consumery model, are designed for use in small- and medium-sized businesses. Lexmark’s screens are Web-enabled (they let you scan documents and e-mail them without a PC being involved, and include a simple RSS reader) but don’t let you print Web content directly in the way that HP’s does. Instead, Lexmark mostly uses the screen to simplify tasks that you’d normally accomplish with the dedicated plastic keys that most printers have. And the SmartSolutions part of myTouch with SmartSolutions is a nifty-looking feature that lets you save multiple custom sets of settings for use by different people–potentially pretty handy in offices where folks share a printer.
Lexmark’s starting price point is also half of HP’s $399: The company will release touchscreen printers for $199, $299, and $399, with varying sets of features. They’re not due to ship until September 1st (HP’s printer is also supposed to show up this Fall). I hope to get my hands on one for a review.
The Steve Bass Guide to the iPod Touch
13. July 2009
You would think a PC guy could escape Apple’s clutches. I’ve been successful until now, but I recently bought an Apple iPod Touch. Here’s the weird part: I love it.
If you own an iPod Touch, you’re wondering why it took me so long. For the rest of you: This is one fun device, and a terrifically useful one with the right applications. Watch a video to see what the gizmo does. (Warning: The presenter is a hurt-your-eyes perky Apple evangelist.)
Actually, I had no choice. My wife, Judy, heard about iBird ($30), a must-have birding program available for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. The app does away with the hassle of carrying birding field guides; iBird shows images and illustrations of birds, plays their songs, supplies behavior and range details, and more. (Even if you’re not a birder, watch a video of iBird in action–it’s amazing.)
5Words for Monday, July 13th 2009
13. July 2009
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Special all-Office-2010 section:
Office 2o10 hits BitTorrent. (Surprise!)
Scoble: Office back from dead.
Amazing disappearing Office 2010 site.
Computerworld likes the Technical Preview.
Special no-Office-2010 section:
Windows 7 for businesses: September.
Most companies skipping Windows 7?
Has Microsoft turned the corner?
Chrome OS: Important. And irrelevant.
Office 2010: The Technologizer First Look
13. July 2009
Today at its Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans, Microsoft is announcing that it’s distributing a Technical Preview version of its upcoming Office 2010 suite to tens of thousands of testers. It won’t be a public beta that’s open to everyone who wants a sneak peek; that will come later this year, and the final version of Office 2010 isn’t due until some time during the first half of next year. But for the first time since it demoed some features last October, Microsoft is showing off the new Office and providing more information about its plans. And it’s briefed reporters and provided them with early access to the Technical Preview (including me).
Office 2010 will be the first version of the suite to reflect the era in which upstarts such as Google Docs and Zoho are delivering Office-like features in the browser, and charging little or no money for them. Microsoft’s response to the new challengers is multifaceted. On one hand, it’s introducing the first Web-based versions of the major Office apps. But it’s also stuffing scads of ambitious new features into the traditional versions of the applications, as if to prove its oft-stated (and accurate) contention that local software can still do lots of things that Web services can’t. And it intends to make the traditional and Web versions of the apps into a powerful team that’s more useful and versatile than either standalone software or a purely browser-based suite can be.
Unfortunately, using the current version of the Technical Preview doesn’t tell us enough to come to even a preliminary verdict about whether the final version of Office 2010 will be a no-brainer upgrade. That’s because Microsoft isn’t providing access to the Web applications or an array of new collaboration tools yet–and it’s the online and collaborative stuff that’s the biggest, boldest change planned for Office 2010. Moreover, the Technical Preview, unlike an almost-finished piece of software such as the Windows 7 Release Candidate, is still subject to meaningful revision before it goes out the door. It’s rough around the edges in spots, and Microsoft says it’s still looking for input from testers. So all I can say is that I’m cautiously optimistic about Office 2010 based on what I’ve seen so far.
Okay, that’s not all I can say–read on for my hands-on impressions of the Technical Preview, plus some information on the features that Microsoft isn’t ready to let outsiders try just yet. There’s a lot to chew on, so I’ll focus on the features thagt impress and/or intrigue me most.
Is Google Apple…or Microsoft? Neither, I Hope!
11. July 2009
Google’s announcement of Chrome OS is causing observers to try and figure out which other gigantic tech company it most closely resemble. Brian Caufield of Forbes thinks that Google is “stealing” ideas from Apple, pointing out that both companies now make operating systems for PCs and phones, browsers, productivity suites, and e-mail, and bringing up the fact that Google CEO Eric Schmidt serves on Apple’s board.
I’m not convinced that Google is intentionally or unconsciously cribbing anything from Apple. In every case Caufield cites except browsers, Google’s products and Apple’s are wildly different. The two companies’ approaches to operating systems couldn’t be less similar: Apple’s OS is a rich, proprietary, decidedly traditional piece of software that’s available only on its own, premium-priced computers. Google’s Chrome OS is going to be a simple, open-source, Web-centric product that will show up on cheap netbooks from other companies, and Google plans to give it away. Remind me again exactly what part of this constitutes intellectual theft?
Beyond the fundamentally different personalities of the two companies–which Caufield does acknowledge–it’s also worth nothing that they seem to be steering clear of each other’s core businesses. Apple doesn’t do search; Google doesn’t sell music or video.
Then there’s Anil Dash’s comparison of Google to Microsoft. I can quibble with some of the examples he gives–he says that Google is focusing on Android at the expense of the iPhone, when in fact Google continues to produce some of the best iPhone apps and services of anybody. But the basic metaphor is apt, and worrisome–between Android and Chrome OS Chrome-the-browser and Google Apps and Knol and Wave and 11,342 other projects, Google is entering almost every market you can imagine it entering. So far, the results are more often good-to-excellent than disappointing. But there’s no way that Google can successfully be all things to all people indefinitely. (Lots of folks are excited about Wave, but it felt disturbingly Microsoftian to me.)
Of course, Google’s at its best when it’s reminiscent of neither Apple nor Microsoft, but is its own admirable self. May it continue to be really good at being Google for a long time to come…
What’s Modern Warfare Without Call of Duty?
10. July 2009
In a perfect world, Activision’s next war-based first-person shooter would be called “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2: The Sequel: The Game.” Then, we could laugh even more heartily at the contrived nature of this video game title.
Instead, the once-proud Modern Warfare 2 is being renamed to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a change that stresses the game’s roots in the wildly popular Call of Duty franchise. For reference, the game’s predecessor was dubbed Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, so it’s just a numerical switcheroo.
Activision hasn’t said this flat-out, but it seems to me like a branding issue, and that seems more obvious considering an apparent loss of name awareness that occured. Besides, when you’ve got a name brand that’s six titles strong and gaining new audiences every year — not counting expansion packs and console ports, but counting last year’s Call of Duty: World at War — why mess with it? Call of Duty’s got the mainstream appeal that few first-person shooters enjoy, thanks to its recognizable real-world settings and popcorn action.
But changing the upcoming sequel’s name carries baggage. Instead of spinning Modern Warfare into its own successful franchise, it remains shackled to an existing, and rather old, series. In addition, this makes it harder for Activision to grow both series independently.
I’m wading into wacky prediction territory here, but don’t believe there can’t be a holiday season with Modern Warfare and Call of Duty games selling side-by-side. The upcoming glut of “Hero” music games — DJ Hero, Band Hero and Guitar Hero: Van Halen are all coming this year — shows Activision’s willingness to exploit successful franchises. Call of Duty games could be next, and while part of that will entail making Modern Warfare different enough to stand alone as a game, it all starts with the name.
Silverlight 3′s Chicken-or-the-Egg Conundrum
10. July 2009
Microsoft is rolling out version 3 of Silverlight, its competitor to Adobe’s Flash, and the Expression tools used to create Silverlight content in San Francisco today. The new version of Silverlight can smoothly stream live HD video, supports hardware graphics acceleration, does 2-and-a-half-D effects involving moving flat objects in 3D space, and can be used to build applications that run outside of a Web browser as well as inside it. Basically, it looks pretty cool.
Steve Ballmer doesn’t seem to be here, but another Microsoft exec invoked his Developers, Developers, Developers mantra at the keynote this morning. And every Microsoft employee I’ve chatted with has stressed the notion that Microsoft is about helping developers build applications. (They keep bringing up the fact that Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in 1975 to sell their version of the BASIC programming language–call me paranoid, but I think they may have discussed the talking points they wanted to hammer home.)
US: We’re Number 33 in Broadband
10. July 2009
Good news, bad news. First the good: The United States moved up two places in the global broadband speed rankings, according to Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report out today. Bad news: We’re still only 33rd when it comes to percentage of broadband connections above 2Mbps.
Switzerland ranked first in terms of top-tier connections, with 92% being above the 2Mbps level, while the US scored only 63%. Among the countries ahead of us: Slovakia, South Korea, Romania, and Monaco. Poor Tunisia, which ranked first in the last report, fell out of the top 10 after an 18% decline.
Since it is probably not an option to become an expatriate just to get faster broadband, your next best option is to move to the East Coast, which dominates the top 10 states with the best internet connectivity. Number one is Delaware with 62% of connections above 5Mbps, followed up by New Hampshire (must be all the political pull from the Presidential Primaries) at 59%, a 5.1% increase over last quarter. New York, Nevada, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Oklahoma and Maine, round out the top ten.
Something Phishy is Going on Twitter
10. July 2009
If a Twitter user suddenly gushes about an AWESOME site that got him or her TONS of followers, and then provides a link to it, it’s reasonable to be skeptical–especially if that person doesn’t strike you as the type to get excited about such things or make excessive use of ALL CAPS.
And if the Twitter user in question happens to be the host of a network TV show and have close to A MILLION followers already…well, the chances are 101% that something is amiss:
Mr. Stephanopoulos is one of scads of Twitter users who have fallen victim to some sort of scam. Clicking on the links in their Tweets takes you to one of several sites that instruct you to enter your Twitter name and password to get the promises TONS of followers. And given that whoever’s behind all this has hacked into other people”s Twitter accounts to spread the word, trusting him or her with your Twitter password would be a Very Bad Idea.
I’m not sure how the phisher who’s doing this is tweeting from other folks’ accounts–it could be a known Twitter vulnerability, or one that nobody knew about until now. I’d love to hear Twitter explain what it’s doing about security other than telling folks to tread carefully.
One other note: George Stephnopoulos is one of the high-profile twitterers who has a Verified Account. But Verified Accounts don’t mean all that much if you don’t have any confidence that the tweets that emit from them are legit…
5Words for Friday, July 10th 2009
10. July 2009
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Gazelle, Microsoft’s experimental Web browser.
Intel is helping with Chrome OS.
Schmidt hated Chrome OS. Initially.
Flickr cofounder’s follow-up project.
Geographic photos in Google results.
We Know Almost Nothing About Chrome OS
10. July 2009
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber has an excellent post up on Chrome OS. He’s skeptical and critical. But most of all, he wants Google to put up or shut up: “I like facts, demos, and best of all, shipping products. I don’t like vague promises,” he says.
And that’s the thing about Chrome OS: Google announced it without telling the world enough to allow us to form coherent opinions about it. If it has a fresh, inventive, and useful interface, it’ll be a lot more interesting than if it’s a reduced-functionality knock-off of Windows or OS X. But we just don’t know. If it’s autonomous enough to stay useful even when you’re not connected, it’ll be a lot more interesting than if it’s crippled by the lack of an Internet connection. But we just don’t know. If Google intends to make it possible to install Chrome OS on a variety of hardware, it’ll be more interesting than if it only works on a handful of netbooks. But we just don’t know. And so on.
There’s no law that a company needs to wait to announce a product until it’s ready to discuss it in detail. Conspiracy theories abound about why Google started talking about Chrome OS when it did. I’m not hazarding any guesses about the timing. But I do know that the only bottom line on Chrome OS that makes much sense right now is “Well, it could be interesting.”
Oh, and another thing we just don’t know about Chrome OS: When Google plans to show it to us, rather than describe it in general terms…
Bravia Gets Netflix. What About Playstation 3?
9. July 2009
Thanks to a partnership with Netflix, Sony Electronics’ Internet-capable Bravia televisions will be able to stream Netflix movies starting this fall.
That’s great news for Bravia owners, but I want to know whether Sony ever intends to bring Netflix to the Playstation 3. The odds of finding out for sure are admittedly slim, so let’s take a look at what’s been said to determine the likelyhood:
The chatter began last year, shortly after Netflix came to the Xbox 360 as part of a major interface update. John Koller, director of hardware marketing for the Playstation, told GamePro in December that the PS3 would focus on rentals and downloads. He cited a focus group in which participants weren’t enthused about Netflix on the Xbox 360, because they could just as easily watch movies on their laptops. Sounds fishy to me, but for our purposes it’s a vote of no Netflix interest on Sony’s part.
In February, Sony got downright nasty, responding to Microsoft’s boasts of one million Netflix sign-ups on the Xbox 360. In a rebuttal, Sony passed around a list of bullet points explaining why its service is better. Chalk this up as another sign Netflix isn’t coming to the PS3.
But then, there were some glimmers of hope. March saw a survey asking Netflix subscribers whether they’d stream to their PS3s if all it took was a $10 streaming disc that somehow handled the job. The next month, a Netflix job posting sought an engineer to build out the service on gaming consoles, prompting a Netflix spokesman to say that “for now,” console streaming is exclusive to the Xbox 360. Finally, in May, another Netflix survey appeared, but without the $10 streaming disc fee, and with the possibility of Wii streaming as well.
Which brings us to today. The stars are ever-closer to aligning, but there are barriers. For starters, we don’t know whether Microsoft has Netflix locked in an exclusive console arrangement. Ignoring that, it’d take some serious pride-swallowing for Sony to follow Microsoft in such obvious fashion. And there’s evidence that Sony’s doing just fine without Netflix anyway.
In short, I’m not counting on PS3 Netflix support anytime soon.
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14. July 2009
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