Yet Another New Ask.com

Is Ask.com an also-ran in the search wars because it doesn’t know what it is, or does it engage in constant reinvention in hopes of finding the secret of huge success? I’m not sure. All I know is that I can’t think of another site that’s so willing to dump its user interface and start over from scratch.

Continue reading this story…

StarCraft Stats: Then and Now

PC gamers are coming out of the woodwork for today’s release of StarCraft II, a remarkable thing considering the downward spiral of traditional retail computer gaming. But how much has PC gaming really changed in the 12 years since Blizzard (now Activision-Blizzard) released the original StarCraft? To find out, I dug up a few facts and figures from 1998 and today.

Continue reading this story…

Apple’s Magic TrackPad: Niche Product or the Next Big Thing?

Apple announced a bunch of products this morning, including more potent Mac Pros, iMacs with new processors, an a 27-inch Cinema Display. But the most intriguing new item is the smallest and cheapest one: the $69 Magic Trackpad. Rumored for months, it brings the multi-touch design and integrated button to an oversized, standalone wireless Bluetooth model designed to look good sitting next to Apple’s wireless keyboard.

(Apple says that the Magic Trackpad is for Macs only; I wonder if anyone will figure out how to make it work with Windows, or if the company would consider a PC-friendly model?)

Continue reading this story…

Yahoo Japan, Now With Google Search!

Although it may share a name with its US counterpart, Yahoo Japan is all but a separate entity which is 40 percent controlled by cell phone provider Softbank (Yahoo has a 35 percent stake). That may be the reason why it announced Tuesday that it had struck a deal to use Google’s search engine to power searches on the site.

The announcement is a bit odd given that Yahoo just signed a wide ranging partnership with Microsoft last July. It is not clear how much — if any — say that Yahoo, Inc. had over the talks. In addition, it would move to Google’s advertising platform as well, which makes it sound like there really would now not be much Yahoo in Yahoo Japan at all.

The site enjoys a 58 percent share in the country, compared to just 38 percent for Google. However together, these two companies now essentially control the entire search market in Japan.

I have to say I’m shocked by this news, especially considering that Bing will be behind Yahoo’s primary search engine here in the states and in Europe. The quarterly financial report — where this news first surfaced — says that Yahoo, Inc. position as a strategic partner would not be affected.

That seems a bit odd. If you’re building a brand, wouldn’t you want it to be the same across all the markets you’re involved with?

One thing seems certain now: Yahoo as a brand itself seems to be slowly fading away, much like AOL has. The heart of it is now outsourced, and there is not honestly much left. Will the company follow a similar decline? Only time will tell.

Has Apple Leveled the iPhone App Playing Field? Maybe

Of all the controversies over Apple’s iPhone App Store acceptance policies, the one that’s bothered me most doesn’t involve smut, flatulence, tethering, bizarrely expensive knickknacks, or  even the work of Pulitzer Prize winners. No, what’s really bugged me has been the periodic evidence that Apple has a problem with iPhone software that aims to compete with its own apps. The examples started soon after the App Store opened (Apple told the developer of a podcasting app it nixed that it wasn’t allowed to duplicate iTunes functionality) and most famously include the company’s refusal to approve the Google Voice app on the grounds that it “interferes with the iPhone’s distinctive user experience.”

Continue reading this story…

Augen’s $150 Android Tablet Coming to Kmart This Week

While most major hardware makers are still getting their tablet acts together, Augen is sneaking in with 7-inch Android tablet, supposedly due this week in Kmart stores for $150.

The specs aren’t half-bad, either. According to Augen’s website, the Gentouch78 runs Android 2.1 and has an 800 MHz processor, built-in Wi-Fi, 256 MB of RAM, 2 GB of memory and an SD card slot holding up to 16 GB. It also supports 720p video playback, has USB input for data transfers and comes with a leather carrying case. Augen’s website claims Android Market support for 70,000 apps, which is surprising because Google reportedly prohibits access for devices that lack smartphone-like hardware, such as cameras and accelerometers.

If a cheap Android tablet interests you, but sounds too good to be true, there’s not much harm in finding out. Engadget heard from an Augen representative that the tablet will be in Kmart stores this week, and it’s already showing up in circulars. With any luck, you’ll be able to try the tablet before buying. You may also be able to take it home for a while, as I don’t see any exceptions for computers in Kmart’s 90-day return policy, but I’d double check in the store if you’re serious about it.

Companies that have promised or at least considered Android tablets include Asus, Acer, Lenovo, LG, HP, HTC and Toshiba. Archos already sells a 7-inch tablet that’s stuck on Android 1.5 and costs $200. Dell’s about to launch the 5-inch Streak Android tablet, and may move up to larger sizes, but so far, there isn’t much you can buy stateside.

So here’s to one of the first actual iPad alternatives to actually reach a retail store, and for cheap. Strange that it’s only available at Kmart and comes from a brand you probably haven’t heard of.

You Going to Jailbreak and/or Unlock Your Phone?

Now that it’s clear that jailbreaking iPhones (and performing the similar act known as rooting an Android phone) and unlocking them isn’t a violation of copyright law, let’s conduct a Silly Little Poll. (Note: The fact that this stuff is legal doesn’t mean that Apple, Google, or your wireless carrier is going to help you do it…)

Facebook Tests “Delete Account” Option

It appears that Facebook is finally getting the picture that when you want off the social networking service, you really want off. It appears that they’re finally getting the point — somewhat.

One of privacy advocates biggest gripes with Facebook is the fact that once you’re on the service, you’re pretty much locked in the service for life. That’s because instead of letting users delete their accounts directly, you could only “deactivate.”

(To be fair, there is a delete process in place currently for all users, but it was somewhat cumbersome.)

What this does is put the account in limbo — not deleting it, but making it invisible. If at a point in time you decide to come back, you simply reactivate and its like nothing ever changed.

The company has confirmed that is now testing a new feature called “Delete Account,” which is exactly what it says. Once you delete, everythings gone. As Brad McCarty at The Next Web points out however, Facebook’s terms of service still allow for the company to hold this information as it sees fit.

I’ll give Facebook the benefit of the doubt and say that it probably doesn’t want to hold this information, given doing so would likely create yet another negative backlash against the company who has already been raked over the coals for its actions.

Let’s hope I’m right.

Google Introduces Google Apps for Government

At a press event at its headquarters this morning, Google announced Google Apps for Government–a new version of its Google Apps productivity suite that’s been certified by the US government as meeting its security requirements.

The new version is a variant of Google Apps Premier edition, and includes the same core apps: Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sites, Groups, Video, and Postini. Pricing is the same as for Google Apps Premier: $50 per user per year.

Continue reading this story…

Google Gets Snakey in YouTube Easter Egg

As if watching YouTube wasn’t already a good way to procrastinate, now you can play Snake right inside many of YouTube’s videos.

YouTube user BikdipOnABus gets credit for documenting the Easter Egg, whose simplicity is astounding: On videos with the new playback style (the one with the thick red progress bar that narrows when you move the mouse away from it), click on the video window, then hold left on your keyboard. The video can be paused or playing when you do this.

To try it yourself, I recommend the YouTube video of a plain black screen, which should become pretty popular with this discovery.

YouTube Snake is not a particularly good version of the classic dot-eating game. I’m actually partial to Gmail’s take, which you can activate in Gmail Labs and play by typing “&” on the main screen, as long as you have keyboard shortcuts enabled. Unlike the YouTube version, Gmail’s “Old Snakey” saves high scores, has obstacles and speeds up as your snake gobbles more pellets.

Still, YouTube Snake is worth keeping in mind next time you’re watching something that drags on, but isn’t quite boring enough to stop watching entirely. I won’t read into it much further than that — I already had my fun interpreting Google Pac-Man — though it is interesting how the occasional game has cropped up on YouTube lately.

Copy Protection: A Good Sign (Maybe) for Consumers

Don’t get too too excited just yet, but a New Orleans circuit judge has ruled that General Electric didn’t violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when it worked its way around the security dongles on some power supplies it owned in order to fix the power supplies. The judge says that GE is in the clear because the action it was trying to undertake–fixing its own property–isn’t illegal.

Until now, the notion has been that any attempt to override copy protection violates the DMCA–which means that the DMCA itself essentially overrides the notion that consumers have the right to make copies of content they’ve bought for personal use. Here’s hoping that this new ruling proves to be influential; the fact that a judge thinks it’s okay to defeat copy protection in certain circumstances is kind of shocking, in a good way….

[RELATED GOOD NEWS: The Copyright Office has declared that it's legal to jailbreak and unlock phones, as well as override other security measures imposed on consumer electronics gadgets in certain circumstances.]

Dave Gibbons Draws Digitally

I had a very good time over the past few days at San Diego Comic-Con International–an event I’ve been attending off and on since 1988. One of the highlights was meeting Dave Gibbons, the artist of Watchmen and other exceptional examples of comics storytelling. Gibbons was at the booth of Smith Micro Software, the publisher of an application called Manga Studio. He told me that he does almost all his cartooning digitally these days, using a Wacom Cintiq tablet.

I have mixed feelings about the notion that pencils, pens and brushes may be growing obsolete–hey, I collect good old fashioned original artwork–but Gibbons’ enthusiasm for digital tools, and the work he produces, makes me feel better about the whole idea.

Here’s a video clip of him drawing with Manga Studio and a Cintiq, and explaining why he does so:

A Windows Phone 7 Tablet? It’s Possible–and a Good Idea

There is a lot of speculation about what the agreement announced today between chip designer ARM and Microsoft actually means. Some pundits predict that it is a signal that Microsoft intends to deliver Windows or Windows Phone OS tablet and slate devices, while others foresee an overdue overhaul of the Xbox’s architecture.

I’m keen on the idea of a tablet based upon Windows Phone 7. For too long, Microsoft has relied upon grafting Windows onto smaller form factors: “Oh wow, a stylus.” The success of Apple’s less feature-rich iPad proves that it was the wrong approach. Customers want an operating envrionment that works well for their devices, meaning it should be designed with the device in mind. A tablet-friendly version of Windows Phone 7 would fit the bill.

Microsoft very boldly hit the reset button and abandoned all elements of Windows with the Windows Phone OS’s “Metro” interface. I’ve used it, and like it very much. Metro was compelling enough that I was tempted to see whether I would actually give up my iPhone if I started to a use Windows Phone powered device.

If Microsoft focuses on Windows Embedded Compact instead of Windows Phone, it will be making a big, big mistake. It’s time for a consistent and quality mobile experience from Microsoft. That means apps that work across devices and an interface that works. Windows Phone uses SIlverlight; those apps should work on Windows tablets with little adjustment on the part of developers.

The glaringly obvious problem with that scenario is that I can buy an iPhone today, and Windows Phone 7 is still many months away from production. Let’s hope Microsoft learns from past mistakes,. I just hope it’s not too late .

My Computer Speakers: Old, Reliable

How old are my desktop PC speakers? When I got them, I was using Windows 3.1. On a 486. If these speakers–a pair of Bose MediaMates–were human, they could get a learner’s permit. I don’t use them as much as I once did, since I’m far less likely to sit at a desktop PC these days. But they’re the oldest piece of tech I still use (unless you count wristwatches) and it wouldn’t stun me if I used them someday with a PC with a dozen cores.

I had fun writing about them in a guest post for HP’s Reimagine ROI site. Take a look–and then tell us about the most venerable gadget(s) that you still find useful.

Still Waiting for the White iPhone

First the white iPhone was supposed to ship on June 24th, just like the black one. Then it was delayed until late July now. And now Apple says they’ll be available at some unspecified date later this year–they’ve “continued to be more challenging to manufacture than we originally expected.”

I don’t explain Apple to explain exactly why white iPhones are harder to make than black ones, but it presumably has something to do with the fact that the phones have unique glass cases. And I’m wondering: How many people who want an iPhone 4 have delayed their purchases until the white version shows up?

The $35 Tablet PC: Not Buying It Yet

How many times will we be burned by the promise of ultra low-cost computers, like the $35 touch screen PC the Indian government just announced?

India has a prototype of the cheap computer, and plans to roll the real thing out to Indian schoolchildren and higher education students in 2011. It’ll have a Linux-based operating system, a USB port, a 2 GB memory card and other unspecified specs, the Guardian reports. But as fascinating as the super cheap laptop concept may be, there’s always some snag, gotcha or fatal flaw that prevents the promises from matching up with reality.

In the case of One Laptop Per Child, the goal of a $100 laptop was never achieved. Even in the second-hand eBay market, asking prices are closer to $200. Earlier this year, a website claimed to offer $98 laptops running Windows CE, but that site is now defunct. Another company called Cherrypal has tried making a name for itself with dirt-cheap laptops, like the 7-inch model running Android for $100, but getting one can be a hassle, as one customer has documented.

The $35 tablet’s problem is already clear if you read the AP’s coverage: India wants to get the price down to around $20 in order to sell the tablet at home, but to do that, the country either needs to subsidize the cost itself — a tall order with 110 million kids targeted in the initial roll out — or convince manufacturers to set higher prices in the developed world.

In other words, the $35 tablet’s manufacturing cost alone would be more expensive outside of India. Let’s make the grand assumption that manufacturers would even want to deal with thinner profit margins than netbooks; I wonder whether consumers in the developed world would be willing to pay for a tablet with no memory, an unknown operating system and other specs that apparently can’t even be mentioned at this point in time.