Target, Home Depot, Sony, etc: Why put all eggs in one basket!?

I can’t be the only one to see the pattern lately.

Large retailers are getting their customer data and credit information hacked/stolen at an alarming pace and if we have learned anything, its that future successful attacks are inevitable.

So why do these Fortune companies trust all their customers privacy and data to one system?

Doesn’t it make sense to diversify their customer data into smaller chunks so that the inevitable next hack will bot grow exponentially?

People do this with their stock portfolio, we do this with out email addresses; people have been using this technique for centuries – even the Romans and Egyptians did it.

So why don’t the top retailers, e-commerce, and financial institutions do it!?

It might be because they don’t know anything about technology and not if you will be hacked, but when.

If the “best and largest” financial and retail institutions don’t take these common sense precautions to limit the theft of our personal and financial data, then each user must take the matters in their own hands and limit the data we trust with these retailers.

Maybe we need to go back to an all cash system, maybe we need to conduct our financial transactions via the US Mail, use our local notaries, call our brokers on the phone.

Because I the end, it’s our money, our data and our peace of mind which we need to protect and value – not theirs.

Satya Nadella: The Answer is Xbox One Media Center

Microsoft currently has two multimedia platforms, one is full featured and one if floundering.

• Windows Media Center
• Xbox 360 Media Center Extender
• Xbox One

What is Windows Media Center:

Windows Media Center is a Microsoft add-on for Windows 8.x that brings advanced DVR and multimedia capabilities to your windows PC.  This is not the same as what your “geek” brother, friend, co-worker swore about in 1999 as being the greatest thing ever!  No this is real, it is well designed, simple to use, easy to navigate and like all great things from Microsoft, has a 3rd party API so that hardware and software vendors can build on top of it and make it better.

There are a few “requirements” your Windows PC needs to possess in order for it to record HDTV from your cable company on your Windows PC. 

1. It must have a dual core CPU at 2.5GHz or faster
2. It must have at least 4 Gigabytes of memory
3. A hard disk big enough to store 1080/720 HDTV

So, assuming you purchased your computer with Windows Vista already installed on it, all you would need is to purchase add one device to your existing home network.

1. Internal (PCIe) or External (Ethernet) CableLabs certified Tuner
2. (rent) A CableCard supplied by your Cable Company

A quality no-fuss HDTV cable tuner that supports recording 6 simultaneous shows can be purchased from Ceton Corp for about $240 or you can opt for a 3 tuner model from SiliconDust for under $150.  Once you have one of these cable tuners, just run the Media Center setup, select your cable provider and turn on your Xbox 360.

Add to that a CableCard from your Cable Company and you are ready to record!

Monthly Cable Bill

If you have 3 televisions at home, you likely have 3 cable boxes and or DVRs, you also have your monthly premium tv subscription.  Si many cable companies charge you the following monthly fees:

• Cable Box rental (x3)
• DVR upgrade fee (x3)
• TV Basic and Premium Channels

With Windows Media Center on your Windows Computer recording between 3 or 6 channels with ONE cable card, you pay one fee for all your televisions.

• Cable Card rental fee (1 card supports up to 6 simultaneous premium hdtv recordings)
• TV Basic and Premium Channels

So if your premium television package costs $50 a month, and your Media Center CableCard costs you $6 a months you pay $56 a month, vs over $140 a months for your 3 DVRs plus subscriptions.

Heck, I can control my Media Center and it’s recordings from my Phone with the Ceton My Media Center App for anywhere in the world!

But what if you don’t want to watch television on your PC!?

That’s where the Media Center Extender comes in.  Media Center Extender comes on every Xbox 360 (no, it’s not available on the Xbox One) and allows your networked home PC running Windows Media Center to extend it’s screen/user interface to your television — how many televisions?  Well, as many as you can afford, because an Xbox 360 is required for each television.

This Media Center Extender (MCX) functionality comes one every Xbox 360 and isn’t quite what it at first appears to be.  You see, MCX is actually running on your home PC and not on the Xbox 360, the 360 is used to extend your Windows Media Center to external screens — in this case an HDTV.    Just use the $20 Multi Media Remote control from Microsoft, don’t worry, you don’t have to use your “joystick,” to navigate your recorded shows, television guide/listings, DVD movies, music, photo slideshows and videos stored on your computer — on any Xbox 360 on your network.

Since all the content is recorded and technically played securely behind Microsoft and CableLabs developed DRM on the PC it was recorded on, you can record as many shows as you like in once central location in your home and play those shows back anywhere in your home.

The Xbox 360 can even act as a DLNA receiver to play other content form your PC, tablets or smartphones too.

That brings us to the Xbox One:

The Xbox One does have the MCX interface built into it. In fact, you can only use the Microsoft “Play To” or “Share To” feature to push video or music from your computer to your television.  That means, if you want to share a video on your PC in your den with your family in the living room, you have to rush back and forth to start the playback of the video.

To be fare, the Xbox does have an HDMI pass-through port to pass through television recorded on your cable operator supplied DVR through your Xbox One — you know, so your Xbox One can be on your televisions “Input 1” – ROTFL! However, that interface leaves much to be desired.  To watch television through your Xbox One you must not only navigate the Xbox One menus and guides, but you must also navigate the menus and guides from Xfinity, Time Warner, Cox etc.  There is no bypassing it and it gets messy really fast. (the team lead must have suffered a brain hemorrhage when he thought of using this tired and broken in/out video past hrough – HDMI doesn’t make it any better than 8 analog cables for video and audio, it still pass through!)

If you thought having a remote control for your DVD player, TV and cable box was messy, it aint nothing compared to this!  Oh, but I can “talk to my TV” instead, yea. right. do so and you’ll see your cable box put channel numbers on your screen seconds before the channel changes.

ITunes and Apple Store

So why did Microsoft not include Media Center Extender in the Xbox One?  Because the age of getting your content from whomever you choose is going away.  Ever since Apple tied the purchasing of music to their iTunes for the iPod, our choice to shop for content has been going away.

Microsoft see’s this trend and has watched as consumers quickly gave up the ability to buy products from an open market.  Why should Microsoft create a TV platform where they make no monthly revenue when they can charge you to rent or buy movies from Xbox services?

There is still time to turn things around.  There is nothing on the Xbox One preventing it from becoming a Media Center Extender.  It has DRM built in.  It has a more than fast enough processor, it supports HDTV 1080p output, supports explainable hard disk storage via USB 3.0, it has gigabyte Ethernet and Wifi — there is nothing stopping Microsoft from adding the existing MCX architecture to the Xbox One, and there isn’t anything preventing Microsoft from at least adding live TV streaming from a networked TV tuner directly to the Xbox One and thereby bypassing the cable supplied DVR and HDMI pass through, (just like the Xbox 360 to 360 Slim, or the PS3 to PS3 Slim, these non-used ports can be removed as needed).

How would Microsoft benefit from re-launching Windows Media Center?

Look no company is going to introduce something, anything if they are not going to benefit from it. Either directly or indirectly.

The simple math shows that Microsoft can not only make lots of money by selling the software, but they can once again, easily and quickly, have domain over the biggest screens in ones homes and apartments — the TV.  Microsoft makes money on Windows upgrades, not on new PC sales.  If people are doing more and more of their computing on their phones, tablets and laptops, they no longer feel the need to upgrade the operating system of their aging computer….  Give them a reason to upgrade, give them value they have already committed to — such as the high cost of cable.

With gazillions of users still on Windows 7 its obvious they are not in a rush to upgrade and Windows 8.2 or Windows 9/Threshold, isn’t going to encourage them to upgrade either — why upgrade the PC when it works well enough for web surfing or banging out a document in Word? 

Apple is rumored to be coming out with an Apple TV, Google has their Chromecast and Android TV. One of the three is vaporware and nothing more than a dream or an idea, and the others from Google play on the ignorance of consumers that they have been able to stream/push videos to their smart televisions and bluray players since Windows Vista and it’s only got better with Windows 7, Windows 8 and now 8.1!   

If Microsoft was able to give users a reason to re-purpose their aging computers and upgrade them with $300 worth of hardware and $xx for a Windows Media Center 8.1 “Upgrade” then Microsoft would again make money on current and future upgrades.  In addition to the simple math of upgrading the operating system, Microsoft could make money that is now going to cable pay-per-view, and streaming movie rentals and purchases — they just need to add it to the existing Extender interface and everyone wins.

Why do I think this is possible?

Because everything I have stated above already exists.  The licenses with the cable companies are already in place, the cable television guides are already procured by Microsoft around the world, “everyone” has a PC already, everyone already commits a large portion of their monthly cable tv bill to rental fees and dvr fees.  Customers want “new features” brought to them by fancy new DVRs such as the Xfinity X1 and X2 — these “new devices” barely scratch the surface of what I can do with Windows Media Center Today.

Go Retro!

First there was Windows XP Media Center 2005, it was complex and could only be sold on new specially designed personal computers. They were big, ugly and nobody wanted to put a tower PC under or next to their television — no one.

Now even the thinnest and lightest tablet computers running Windows 8.1 can record and stream live cable HDTV to a tablet — I can get my Dell Venue 8 Pro to stream recorded HDTV flawlessly, and live HDTV nearly as flawlessly on my home network.  You don’t need a huge powerful box or a geek to install a TV tuner card and set up the system.  My 80 year old mother has set her Windows 7/8 Media Center with Ceton tuner herself!!! 

The first Windows Tablet PC was big and clunky and wasn’t well received. Then Apple enlarges their iPhone and turn it into an iPad and the world falls quickly in love. 

Don’t allow this to happen again and allow Google and Apple to come out with their television based products.  They are no doubt working very hard behind the scenes to get favorable licensing deals with the television and cable networks.  Who know when they will launch, but they will launch and they already have the momentum needed.

If Microsoft were to play the Media Center hand now they would win the game

1. Launch the Windows 8.1 Media Center w/Bing operating system as a free or cheap upgrade
2. Add Media Center Extender support to the Xbox One
3. Simultaneously add support for live HDTV via networked cable tuners for the Xbox One (no HDMI cable box needed)
4. Work with OEM partners, VARs and Geek Squad, etc to create bundled packages of hardware and software

This is all very possible and within Microsoft’s grasp.  It is a shame that Microsoft owns every piece of the puzzle to enter the living room, they have it TODAY and yet, they are handing over any lead currently held to Apple, Google and likely Sony.

Laptop to a Tablet Fight

It was June 18^th when Microsoft surprised the world with what it deemed, their new Surface tablets; the problem is, tablet sales are skyrocketing and no one was looking for a tablet that did more.

What Microsoft introduced was not a tablet, but a new device soon to be called a “2 in 1” or in other words, Microsoft released two laptops with removable keyboards.

It’s clear that Microsoft spent a lot of time working on these two new computing devices and even when announced, still required another 6 months of backing before they would be ready to ship.

Do Microsoft’s Surface “tablets” do more than tablets from Apple, Samsung and others? Yes, they do, they have keyboards and operate in a more “PC like” horizontal, widescreen fashion. Tablets from other vendors are held in a portrait fashion and are squarer than widescreen.

Holding any Microsoft Surface in this portrait fashion is not only gives pages a “too tall feeling” but the all of the Surface devices are too heavy to hold in this upright fashion.

Again, the Surface is a laptop and not suitable as a dedicated tablet.

So while other vendors were working with Google to design tablets that users were craving, Microsoft was working internally as well as with their OEM partners to develop the “non-tablet” or what we now call a “2 in 1” device. A laptop with a removable keyboard.

Anyone who has ever tried holding a Surface in front of them for more than a few minutes knows that the designers never intended the Surface, either of the Surfaces to ever be used as a mobile tablet. It was clearly designed as a laptop where it’s weight would anchor it to a table and provide a firm location for their flexible keyboards.

Windows 8 was designed for Tablets (and works great with the Surface too)

So it’s surprising to see all the things Microsoft’s Operating Systems design team got right, when their top secret hardware group got so much wrong.

Microsoft Windows 8 and 8.1 are great touch oriented operating systems as well as solid platforms for developers and has all the 21^st century features a developer could want. Windows 8.x has open APIs for 3^rd party devices, solid programing languages, solid user interface cues and design metaphors that are clean, efficient and a pleasure to use.

Google’s Android OS which is found on most all smartphones and tablets in the world doesn’t share these strengths and has developers, OEMs and users all clamoring for some consistent rules to follow, design ques that don’t change and require developers to re-wright their apps every six months.

OEMs can’t upgrade their current and previous device models at a fast enough pace, nor can they or do they upgrade their devices because the cost to update their designs is too costly.

By the same token, Google doesn’t have the maturity required to develop standards which continue from current generation devices to the next and the next after that.

Windows Phone 7 led to Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 and now today we have Windows 8.1. With very few exceptions, all apps written for Windows Phone as far back as 4 years ago all could still exist or co-exist with today’s more matured operating systems.

Another strength Microsoft has is again in its software. I can turn on my Surface RT or Surface 2 and out of the box, can print to my Epson or HP all in one devices that were released and end of life long before Microsoft announced Windows 8. In Windows 8 RT I could scan from my scanner too via the Windows Control Panel and today with Windows 8.1 I can use a Modern App to Scan photos or documents directly to my SkyDrive, Email or Fresh Paint.

Google’s Android and Chrome can print, but must to the “cloud first” which means you must have a) a network connection and b) an internet connection, but Google does let you use your devices camera to “scan” in documents and photos.

Apple invites vendors into its walled garden with licensing its AirPrint API, but only for customers who are big enough to afford the steep prices for these APIs. I for one, don’t like that I am paying money to Apple for their AirPrint license when I buy a new printer.

Will the Real Tablet Please Stand Up?

So, while Microsoft is still busy confusing the market with their “2 in 1” Surface devices, which I love, I am still waiting for Microsoft to release their first true tablet.

They don’t have to look too far for examples of great Windows 8/8.1 tablets, there are a multitude of new 8 inch tablets with quad-core Intel parts, and crisp IPS LED displays. They even come in 10 and 11 inch models too.

So when will Microsoft release their first tablet? I’m guessing they will release their new tablet(s) in the first half of 2014 and it will be thin, light and have a 16×10 more squarer display like the tablets running Android and iOS.

These tablets will run a version of Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8, but it won’t really matter which, because neither of them has enough market penetration for it to matter.

But what will matter is that now Microsoft will have brought a tablet to a tablet fight and with the support of Windows Modern Design language these new tablets will now have both the hardware and the software to take over the consumer market – a market that wants stability.

One last prediction: When these new lighter tablets are released, they will be compatible with Microsoft’s Surface keyboards, but the difference will be that the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 will now include the keyboard in its base price.

Tablet Distraction

So the question is, was Microsoft’s Surface enough of a “tablet distraction” for consumers and analysts while Microsoft developed their first tablet?

Surface 2 Sneak Preview (sad)

I attended Microsoft’s Surface 2 Sneak Preview event tonight in Sam Francisco.

I’ll write about the preview and post it tomorrow, October 2.

If you already think you know what I’m going to say, you are in for a surprise. 

There will be no pompoms or fireworks.

Windows Phone Start Screen

What is the Start Screen?

The Start Screen in Windows Phone 8 is just like the Start Screen in Windows 8, it is a “home screen” where you place “tiles” of your most commonly used and accessed apps and phone functions.

What are Live Tiles?

Put simply, Live Tiles can be thought of as ADVANCED widgets or gadgets similar to the ones you find on Android or like the ones you can place on your Windows Vista desktop.

These Tiles are square or rectangular in shape. Most but not all Tiles on the Start Screen can be made “Live” and show you status updates, notifications, appointments, etc, but many of them can also be turned off so they just have a static Tile which does not update in the background.

How many Tiles/Apps can you place on your Start Screen?

While I don’t know of any “limit” set by Microsoft for how many apps you can have on your Start Screen at any one time, there is a limited number of Tiles which can be displayed on your Start Screen without scrolling downward. The most frequently checked and less personal Apps get Tiles placed at the top of my Start Screen, and the Apps which are more private or less frequently checked are placed at the bottom where they are out of view from casual onlookers, but easy to see with the scroll of the screen.

What apps can I place on the Start Screen?

ALL APPS! Unlike other platforms, all apps can be “pinned” to the start screen and moved around freely without disturbing other apps and Tiles.

Simply long-press on the app name in your list of apps, and select Pin to Start.

Many apps also support pinning content to your Start Screen from inside the app. For example, you can pin your hotel location on your Start Screen so your phone can always get you back to your hotel the fastest and quickest way. Pin your favorite web page, a recipe or review on your Start Screen and have access to what you need, when you need it.

Windows Phone 8 Features

Here are the apps I have pinned to my Start Screen

From top to bottom:

Phone (Microsoft): History of calls, voicemail, visual voicemail (not Verizon), dial-pad, contact search, history search Phone Tile Description from MS Windows website

Messaging (Microsoft): Text/sms messages, mms messages, Facebook messages (chatting), set “online status” for Facebook, set Messaging Settings such as Group Chat, Facebook Chat on/off, text message backup to cloud, chat backup to cloud, etc.

Mail (Microsoft): View, create, edit and reply to emails. Swipe function allows quick access to your Inbox/Folder, unread messages and flagged messages. These features are very helpful for people with large inboxes and/or folders.

Searching emails stored on your phone as well as on your email service are also supported, as well as many other advanced email features. (varies by email hosting service) Email Description from MS Windows Phone website

HERE Transit (Nokia): HERE Transit makes it easier for you to get anywhere by bus, train and subway. Quickly compare routes, departure and arrival times and even how far you need to walk for each route option. Available in over 740 cities globally, this is the only transit app you’ll ever need. Store Description

Key Features

• The new start experience lets you plan a trip in advance, access your favorite places, your history and nearby transit stations with a swipe
• Now you can easily create, access, and manage all your favorite destinations from the new dedicated favorites screen
• See door-to-door walking directions that take you all the way there
• Compare route options, arrival and departure times, transfers and even walking distances
• See a detailed view of each segment on the map, and station by station details
• View nearby stations and stops both on a map and in a list
• Access favorites from other HERE apps and here.com
• Pin frequent destinations to your Start screen
• Stay current with over-the-air updates of transit information
• Switch from HERE Maps to HERE Transit with one tap

Calendar (Microsoft) Windows Phone Calendar Description

The Forecast (RIPETUNGI) THE FORECAST is a beautiful colour driven weather app. Store Description

Using colour to display weather type, THE FORECAST is a uniquely simple weather app. Providing daily along with 5 day forecast for locations worldwide across 3 stunning screens, the weather never looked this gorgeous.

People Hub (Microsoft) The People Hub is more than just an address book on your phone. It’s a one-stop shop that keeps you up to date with your social networks and helps you stay in touch with the people you care about most. People Hub

Here’s a quick rundown of the different sections of your People Hub.

• What’s new – Here’s where you can check out all your contacts’ latest updates, pulled together from Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Bracing for an avalanche of posts, tweets, and pics? No worries—you can filter the info you see in the People settings.

• Recent – Here you’ll see—and get quick access to—the contacts you’ve viewed or communicated with most recently.

• Together – Get to your Rooms and Groups and create new ones from here. Tap into a room to start a chat or see what’s new in the calendar, notes, and photo album. Or open up a group to see the members’ latest posts and pics.

• All – This is your contact list. Just tap a name to call, text, chat, email, write on the person’s Facebook Wall, or see their latest social updates and photos. The History view shows your recent calls and conversations with a contact—handy!

Tip: If you pin a contact, room, or group to Start, its Live Tile will show new updates and messages.

 

Nokia Smart Camera (Nokia) here is an exclusive app only for Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices: Shoots a sequence of photos, making it easier to capture great moments. Choose your Best Shot or combine the photos into one picture, make a strobe effect to emphasize motion, remove unwanted objects or choose the best faces for great group shots. Nokia Camera

Internet Explorer 10 (Microsoft) Open multiple tabs, get search suggestions as you type, and share a web link in just a couple of taps. Plus SmartScreen Filter helps protect you from dicey websites.

Me Tile (Microsoft) Your one-stop shop for posting to social networks and taking a quick peek at who’s writing on your Facebook Wall, tweeting about you, and liking your posts.

Settings Tile (Microsoft) This isn’t an actual app, but it is a central location for ALL of the settings for your Windows Phone. Separated into two separate swipeable menus for System Settings and Application Settings.

Here is where you can give or deny access to accessing the internet, changing system colors, backups, location detection, and much, much more.

Some unique features of the deep settings integration on Windows Phone 8 and are not found on other phone platforms or are not as deep rooted are, Kid’s Corner, Cloud based Child Settings and rules, Do Not Track, as well as the usual.

Music + Videos (Microsoft) essentially this is Xbox Music and is only one of the many music and video players available for Windows Phone 8. The Music + Videos Hub is where you can play and manage your media. It’s also home to Xbox Music, where you’ll find millions of songs to stream or download.

It’s even where you can tune into your favorite FM radio stations – provided you have corded headphones connected to you phone which acts as the FM antenna.

Microsoft Office Hub (Microsoft): The Office Hub on your phone is the place to go to work on your Microsoft Office documents. Go there to find documents, open them, and make last-minute changes to them, or even start new documents. In the App list, tap Office icon to get started. In there, you’ll see a couple of different ways to find and open your documents.

Windows Phone Central app: The official app of wpcentral.com, your guide to everything your Windows Phone can offer. Read news, tips, comments, app & game reviews wherever you go.

With live tile support, you can be up to date on the latest Windows Phone news when pinned to your start screen.

Wikipedia app (Rudy Huyn): All Wikipedia on your windows phone.

 

 

 

OneNote (Microsoft): Keep on top of things at home, work, or school using text, pictures, or audio in Microsoft OneNote Mobile. Whether you need to pick up a few things from the grocery store on the way home, review notes from a meeting or class, or plan something, you can stay organized and get things done from your phone using OneNote.

ABC News (ABC) See The Whole Picture with the new ABC NEWS App for Windows Phone

 

 

Engadget
(AOL) news reader

 

 

 

My Media Center (Ceton Corp): If you love Windows Media Center you’ll REALLY love My Media Center (formerly Ceton Companion). Manage and control your Media Center experience from your Windows Phone, whether you’re inside or outside the house. Works with ANY tuner!

 

WordPress (Automattic): WordPress for Windows Phone is an Open Source app that empowers you to write new posts, edit content, view stats, and manage comments for your WordPress site.

 

 

Facebook (Microsoft): Facebook for Windows Phone makes it easy to stay connected and share information with friends. You can post status updates, receive Live Tile updates, check your news feed, review upcoming events, check in to places, manage your inbox, upload photos, publish notes, accept friend requests, pin Places and Messages as Tiles, and look at your friends’ photos, walls and info.

***And don’t forget about Facebook Chat – it’s built into the Messaging app on your Windows Phone.

Photos Hub (Microsoft) The Photos Hub houses your collection, including online albums, and even shows a feed of your friends’ latest pics.

 

Wallet (Microsoft) Keep your reward cards, coupons, credit cards, local deals, and memberships in one convenient place on your phone. I have my MS Wallet linked to my Walgreens Rewards and Rx app, AMC Stubs rewards and app as well as others including PayPal.

SBUX Card (Denham Software Solutions): Starbux Card (unofficial Starbucks App) allows you to make payments at Starbucks and check your rewards status, find the closest Starbucks location, enter multiple cards with custom names, check card balances, check Starbucks reward information including how many free drinks are available, pay for purchases

 

HERE City Lens (Nokia): Nokia City Lens is now HERE City Lens giving you an entirely new way to reveal what’s around you. Simply hold up your phone as though taking a photo, and HERE City Lens overlays the best shops, restaurants and points of interest right on your display. Tap a place icon to call ahead or get more information such as hours, reviews and directions. You can even save a place for later or share it with friends. Tilt your phone and HERE City Lens brings up additional view options like list and map views. No more wandering around for a café. No more looking for street signs. With HERE City Lens, you see what’s around you from your point of view, so finding something great has never felt more natural.

Windows Phone Store: name says it all

Hipstamatic Oggl Pro
(Hipstamatic): A Community For Creative People To Capture & Curate Their Lives Through Photography. ** the Pro version adds support for the Lumia 1020 41 megapixel sensor as well as Nokia Lumia exclusive features such as their award winning 3-way optical image stabilization.

Oggle Pro also allows me to post to

 

Flashlight (Tony Sakariya): NO ADVERTISEMENTS (no network data used, no tracking) FREE

 

 

 

So while these are the apps I have pinned to my Start Screen, they are only a small sample of the apps I have installed on my Lumia 1020. J

Pinch to Zoom is Dead – Introducing Zoom Later by Nokia

At the end of the month, Nokia will introduce a new smartphone that can replace your point and shoot camera – No, really!

The Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone has a 41 megapixel camera element along with a six lens design – all of which were designed with ZEISS as well as a true shutter for blur free motion/action shots.

This new flagship smartphone from Nokia isn’t just a bigger sensor on your phone, no, it’s a new way to take photos.

Zoom Later

With Nokia’s Pro Camera softbeware which is also being made available to current Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8, takes the time consuming task of setting up the shot before you shoot.

Take a photo with the 1020’s huge sensor and it takes a wide area shot of what ever is in front of you. After you have taken all the shots you want, you re-open the ultra large photos, zoom, rotate, and crop your image ‘just so’ and it saves a more sharable 5 megapixel of your edited photo that is suitable for sharing immediately on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Videos that you record with the Lumia 1020 are shot in either 720p or 1080p at 30 frames per second. With these two camera modes and the 41 megapixel sensor in the smartphone, you can zoom between 6 and 4 times respectively without compromising the videos quality. A nice side effect of this very unique zoom capability is that your microphone does not pick up the sound of your lens zooming in and out, making for a more finalized product.

To really cement this smartphone as more than a phone, Nokia also is shipping a camera grip which gives your Lumia 1020 a larger form factor with a grip for one handed use, attaching to a tripod and additional battery for the all the extra use you will be getting from your smartphone and camera.

Even if you don’t buy the optional camera grip accessory, the smartphone comes with a wrist strap so you don’t accidentally drop your camera over the side of your boat or into the sandy beach.

So, if you want to always have a great camera or video camera with you for all those moments you want to share, this is the only device many people will ever need or want.

Also, check out videos on youtube from Nokia showing their uniqie and simple camera settings that pros, semi pros and novices will use with ease.

Why Windows RT needs to survive and Why you need one as your next tablet or laptop

Microsoft Window RT is more than just a version of Windows for tablets running ARM processors, RT is a platform rich in user experience, simplicity and highly functional platform.

First let’s look at some of the reasons why ARM tablets and laptops running operating systems from Google and Apple are so popular. When you purchase these products, they work out of the box, they are light to hold and carry, they can operate about twice as long between charges as laptops built upon the Intel/AMD x64 architecture, but that’s not the “killer feature” of these devices, it’s that they are nearly maintenance free.

Maintenance Free

Three words, System on Chip, or SoC. You see, unlike desktop computers based around ALL Intel or AMD computers, ARM based products are built around a single chip that has everything you need to build a computer. A SoC includes the CPU, video chip, the I/O and nearly everything needed to build a light and efficient computer, networking etc. Designs from Intel and AMD (more on AMD later) currently rely on many chips to build one computer or tablet and since every computer is designed slightly different or very different with thousands of possible configurations, you are always playing a game of updating each component and inevitably, updating one component will break another component and will not only require another update, but likely will cause the user a lot of grief until they figure out what is making their system operate wonky.

A system based around the ARM architecture is built around one design, one chip with all the basics as well as many advanced features. No more driver updates from multiple vendors, because now EVERY driver and update is designed and certified by the Tablet and computer manufacture.

IPad popularity

I don’t think Apple’s iPads are popular because they are thin and light although I do think that is the initial attraction, but the reason why people love their iPad and why they recommend them to others is because unlike a Windows PC, which many people already own, there are no complicated drivers, or updates. Nothing breaks down and every app works as expected.

Does the iPad have a USB port? Expandable storage? Or can it print to your existing printer or scan in a photo or document from a scanner? No, you can’t connect your digital camera to your ipad to upload yor photos, you can’t connect an external hard drive or USB thumb drive to back up, restore or transfer files. Do people want these features? Yes, they do and many people turn to the many cheap and bountiful Android tablets so they can have these features.

Android isn’t an iPad

Android on the other hand does give users the ability to attach external hard drives and thumb drives and there are many choices to choose from. Small and light, big and powerful and everything in-between.

The problem is that with such broad proliferation of devices and newer models arriving every 4 to 6 months, vendors tend not to support the models beyond their ship state – the Android tablet you purchase on 2012 or 2013 will never be upgraded to newer versions of Android, no security fixes will be released to protect your investment or your data.

There is another aspect of Android tablets which is different from iPads, it’s that every Android tablet manufacture can and usually does add their own propriety features and user interface, making each product different from every other one. This may seem to be a benefit, but when every time you switch between operating system to Android app from the Play Store has a different look, different feel and more often than not they cannot share information between each other, you start to see how this open and “free” platform isn’t all its promised to be.

Windows RT and Surface RT

Windows RT takes the very best of Apple’s iPad and adds in the very best of Windows for an easy to use platform, feature rich, standards and best of all, most printers and scanners you already own can be used directly without downloading drivers. Connect a printer or scanner to your full sized USB port or connect directly via your wifi connection, print and scan just as you would with a laptop from Apple or Hewlett Packard, Acer, etc.

Traveling and want to back up your photos from your camera or smartphone? No problem, Windows RT will make this transfer of data easy and even help you to organize and upload these images to Facebook, Twitter or other social network, just like a PC.

Again, like Apple and like Windows, you have one user interface across all Windows RT and Windows 8 tablets. Unlike Apple’s iPad, your tablet PC also operates just like your desktop PC running Windows 8. One interface to learn, settings on your RT device will be automatically be carried over to you desktop PC. Traveling and need to install another language on your computer or need additional keyboard layouts? Install these or other Windows features on your RT tablet an for consistency they install on your home PC.

With the release of RT 8.1 and Windows 8,1, there are many more features that are synchronized between devices and all your settings can be changed all without ever going to the Desktop or Control Panel. Of course there are many options which allow these changes to be carried over to your other Windows 8.1 or be saved locally.

It’s all about the apps

But what about apps? Exactly, its all about the apps and the apps on Windows RT are for the most part top notch and follow a consistent and predictable design philosophy. These are good things because it means that you can jump from app to app or operating system to app and never feel jarred and disconnected. As a matter of fact, the new interface brought to Windows 8 brings all programs together and operate cosistantly and just as users the world over have adapted from a disconnected PC experience to a more connected online experience where we are encouraged to share our thoughts and opinions in short sound bites, Windows 8 makes this easy to do with a Share Charm accessible to every Windows 8 app.

I’m using Windows RT 8.1 Preview on my Surface RT and can tell you that not only has Microsoft expanded on the functionality of their new Charms Bar and the fast and easy access to sharing, printing, scanning, streaming video to your smart television, ect, but it now is available to more devices and has been refined to easier for the newbie as well as advanced user.

Running multiple apps at a time

Windows RT and Windows 8 allow users to split their screens in two so that they may run one app in a large window pane and a second app on the side. While this does make it easier to use one app and monitor a 2^nd, it really didn’t enhance the user experience.

What might be the “killer feature” of Windows 8.1 is its ability to dynamically share the screen between apps and logically and intuitively divide the screen into sections side by side by side. For example. You are reading an email and it has photo, pdf or document attachment or web link. Once you choose to open it, the email app snaps to the left 50% of the screen and the app which you have set to open these file types opens instantly in the right 50% of your screen. The actual app opens, not a viewer as other platforms use, but real apps so for example, you open a photo in an email and once open, you can save, edit, print, share or tag it as you would any other photo you have stored on your computer.

Microsoft’s laser focus

For all of Microsoft’s faults, both perceived, fabricated and deserved, one thing Microsoft knows how to do better than any other company in the world is their ability to support many thousands of developers and hardware original equipment manufacturers, third party hardware vendors etc with consistent and well architected standards for all to follow.

This laser focus on design and third party support is the sole reason why the computer industry has grown so rapidly and why we have so many choices of printer, scanners, monitors, video cards, network cards, keyboards, etc to choose from. The very reason why so many developers develop their apps for the Windows platform.

You can design for Windows and know that what you have developed will for years if not decades to come. This is also why so many people choose to use Microsoft Windows and Microsoft products at home as well as in their offices. You can safely invest in costly software and hardware peripherals and know you can use them for years to come – even if you purchase a new computer running a version on Windows developed 10 years after you made that costly investment and know with confidence that it will “just work.”

This is the same expertise Microsoft is bringing to Windows RT and to Windows 8. A platform designed for the future; a platform that will continue to grow and develop for years to come, a platform that brings along with it much of Windows compatibility with hardware peripherals out of the box and a platform to build upon.

Googles lack of focus

Google does not appear to have ever developed a short or long term goal for their Android platform. The Android kernel isn’t optimized to work with any one, two or three ARM SoC products, their user interface for Android changes every four to six months, they continuously develop for future products without taking the time, effort or desire to support the millions of products released into the free market.

Every time Google releases a new version of Android, it almost always necessitates app developers to rewrite their apps to work on or support the newest revision. Each time an Android vendor releases a new device with a new SoC from a new vendor, a new screen size, resolution or combination of the two not only is that version of Android highly customized to support the new device, but apps need to be changed and updated.

Customizing Android for each and every tablet is not an easy task and consumes a lot of corporate resources, for both the hardware, but also the drivers and everything that allows Android to work on the device.

Once a company has released a product the design team is onto developing and customizing Android for their next product.

So when Google releases a newer improved version of Android that adds features or fixes problems, they do not have the manpower or resources to bring that new version of Android with all the advancements to their existing products.

That leaves Android users with a tablet that is stuck in time and will not advance or improve over time.

Apple’s iPad platform

Apple has complete control over their iPads and such and unlike Google, they do want the users of their iPads to gain new features as they are released and they have designed their iOS operating system that powers the iPhone and iPad for developers to develop apps that work on all of their products. Sure, some newer features are only available on the newest products, but from a user standpoint, their apps still work, their operating systems is secure from most malicious threats and their investment in their iPad is trouble free for the life of the product.

Windows RT gains more than it loses

For these reasons Windows RT will not only succeed, but will thrive and the more people who switch to a tablet running Windows RT the more people will hear about how wonderful their experience is and how they don’t lose features found on desktop and laptop computers, but they will tell people of all the things they have gained too.

In fact, AMD is about to release an x64 based SoC and I hope that Microsoft chooses to release a Windows RT PC using this chip and not a Window 8.1 PC, because I love how my Surface RT “just works” and is trouble and hassle free.

There is no such thing as a free lunch…. There is no such thing as a free App…There is no such thing as a free Internet Service…

 

Everything has its price and we live in a world where information is valuable. When someone gives you a sandwich you may help them with chores around the house or do some yard work or a little bit of consulting on the side – this is how you are paying for your lunch.

Free apps, games, search engines, cloud storage, email hosts, etc. are not as straight forward and instead of asking you for your help in exchange for using their services, they tell you how they are helping give you better services, easier to use services, faster services without being equally as up front with you about how you are making them money in exchange.

Internet Advertising is a big business and from January through March of 2013 there was over $9.6 billion U.S. generated. Yes, there are many hard working people being employed by these companies, but they are just that, companies making many billions of dollars profit each year by giving you “free” apps and services.

Better disclosure and labeling of these services, apps and utilities are need today

• They are not “free”
• They track you browser use and history
• They decipher your internet patterns
• They read your emails
• They use your GPS/location to track your real world activities
• They monitor what files you store on their cloud, how and where you access them as well as what the files contain

All of this is done so that they can

• Get their app on your computing device and prevent you from using other competing services
• Send you ads based on what is in your inbox, outbox and sent folders
• Gain huge margins for direct marketing to you

Problems associated with installing these “free” apps

• Increased app and device crashes
• Markedly decreased battery life on portable computers and phones
• Increased internet browser pop-ups
• Reduce the visibility of web pages you visit
• Increased de-sensitivity to installing apps from unknown publishers
• Increased probability to installing adware, malware, virus’ and trojans

 

Misconceptions

• I don’t pay any form of currency (money) for the app, toolbar, email service, search engine, etc. and therefor it doesn’t cost me anything –
  • Consumers are paying for these services in shorter battery life on phones, tablets, laptops, ie: a free game with ads uses 3x more battery than the game itself.
  • Consumers are paying for these services and apps by time and frustration when your device or apps crash
  • Games which have ads are using your internet connection to download these ads and your cellular provider charges you based on how much internet you consume
  • Anonymous – While your name may be separate from your data, they know where you live, where you work, where you stop to get your daily coffee, have lunch 4 times a week, shop for clothes and they even know what deodorant you use.

    Each anonymous user is now using one service in their home, office, phone, tablet – in fact, they even get you to login with your personal account when you use someone else’s computer – 24/7 surveillance and monitoring

    And soon these “driverless” cars will also be collecting more data about you and what you do and will soon use this and other data to direct you to business’ not because it is best for you or what you need, no, it’s because they are getting paid to send you there.

What changes are needed?

• Consumers need to be told up front the potential risks involved with installing apps
• Consumers need to be told up front the that using their service is
• Consumers need to be given a simple and upfront method to removing the installed service back to the previous system state
• Service providers need to have reasonable method for consumers to receive technical support in the use, maintenance and removal of the service/apps
• Apps need to disclose how much internet data is being transferred to/from a device via it’s WAN connection
• Apps and services that use GPS and positioning need to have an icon which clearly shows when and for how long the GPS is being used
• When a user is not actively using said app, it needs to also halt all GPS and position tracking, internet usage and ads must also pause to conserve battery as well as privacy
• All companies and persons which generate income/revenue from a computer service, internet service, app or utility supported by ads or any type of data mining should have to fully disclose the following
  • How much revenue they expect to generate monthly and yearly by your use of the app or service
  • The percentage of revenue generated by their “free” services
  • The global revenue they generate

Alarmist?

I am not trying to start a war against free services, I think that many people enjoy the benefits they are receiving from services such as Google, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, web toolbars as well as downloadable tools and utilities.

But for these companies and business’ to call their services “free” is dishonest and devalues services and apps which truly are free or are being paid for by other operating systems, apps and services you have already purchased into.

Truly Free Services and alternatives

A majority of internet traffic and web use is generated by people using services they are not paying for directly, but they are getting paid every time you use their app or service. Collectively we call these services free, but internet business generate billions of dollars each year.

$9.6 billion was generated from January through March 2013 from internet advertising and year over year this amount is increasing by 18% year over year.

Choice

Consumers need to know they have choices each and every time they use the internet, World Wide Web, check their email, write and email, use a search engine, send a text message on their phone or update their profile on a social network play a game on their phone or tablet.

Not all services are created equal and not all services are up front with the consumers, the people, who rely on these services daily and what these companies do with your data, or how they affect the long term and short term use of your computer, your smartphone, your tablet or fancy new car.

Eyes wide open

But who’s going to teach the Geeks? The Haves and have nots – Part 1

How did you learn how to use your computer, your phone, you mp3 player?
When you were young, who taught you how to build a house with blocks, make a coffee cup out of clay, and paint a rainbow?

More than likely you learned by watching someone else, by taking lessons and to become more proficient or take things to the next level you started reading books.

Designing a building, whether it be a modest home, or the tallest skyscraper it takes skill and the ability to learn. The same goes for making a clay coffee cup or drawing the perfect rainbow, you are watching and learning and once you have learned the basics, you can then branch out on you own.

Whether you buy a Mac a PC or a smartphone, there are things that you cant do with it. You know the device CAN do it, but you don’t know how to access the specific feature, or don’t know where to put in your email address, password etc, so that you can access your email.

Chances are that you asked a friend, colleague or family member and they helped you configure your device and helped you complete the initial setup.

That worked well in the past as everyone was showing and sharing with everyone else what they had learned – we shared our experiences. While Microsoft Windows and the Macintosh both worked slightly differently since they were cut from the same cloth, it was relatively easy to apply what you learned on one platform and apply it to the other and vice versa.

The same can be applied to iPod, iPhone, iPad and the various builds of Android.

All of these operating systems as well as Linux and the like all share the same “logic.”

This is what I mean by logic:

Windows 7, Mac OSX, Linux, etc all treat everything that is not the core operating system as “add-ons.”

You add your web browser
You add your printer
You add your scanner
You add your mouse
You add your keyboard

Your iPhone or Android
Your iPad or tablet
The same way add information
Your email
Your contacts
Calendar
Messaging

Services such as
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Skype

Then you repeat this process of adding these accounts and services to all the devices you own.

So, up until now it’s all seemed pretty easy to do.

Follow the logic you learned for one of the above actions and you can keep adding services and new features one by one, by one.

Sounds good, right? Well, with the existing logic we have used and added onto since the dawn of graphical user interfaces has all been about multitasking. Work on this, cut and paste into that, print it here and scan it in there.

Copy a document from your desktop computer to your laptop, edit, update and make changes. Then you need to copy the updated file to your computer. We’ve all had 2 or more files that all started out as one document but sooner than later you had large project of merging those separate versions back into one document. Maybe you even sent them to your printer and rewrote the document from scratch and took the best from each of the files you printed?

The basics
You know how to print in one program and since you know the logic to print, you can be confident that you can print from any number of programs. Print reports, photographs, spreadsheets, etc.

But what if you wanted to share what you are reading with others on Facebook, or you want to share a file with a study team, or what if you want to send the video on your computer to play on your television?

Each of the above examples still use similar logic, but they evolved over time and bits were added here and there and now we have really advanced computers, phones, tablets and smart televisions, but it’s still easier to use each one separately instead of having them work together.

People hated Windows Vista, but Vista was the first desktop general purpose operating system that allowed you to stream local video on your computer and play them on your networked blueray player – did you know that?

Four years earlier Windows XP could record encrypted cable television channels, record and watch free television from a simple and affordable antenna – and then play it on your TV with a Media Center Extender and later the Xbox 360 and now on the new low power small form factor Ceton Echo.

So while we could do all these and many more things, many people, even super involved and self-professed techies still don’t know that many of these features exist.\

How do you take Windows, Mac OSX, iOS or Android give them more features and make them easily discoverable and even easier to use. How do you design make this happen and at the same time try and plan for all the new features which will be released and re-released in the next 5, 10 or even 20 years?

The answer is that we can’t. We can certainly add these any many more feature to devices that use this logic, but we have already seen that while our new devices can do more, most people never use these new features or capabilities.

Got a new iPhone? How many times have you used your phone to lookup a barcode? How about scanned a QR Code on the bus stop, or at a store when you are checking out in line? When is the last time you used your phone while shopping for a new appliance and looked up reviews of it?

Have you used your phone as a gps? Likely, but have you used your phone to give you waking directions? Used it to see what shops or restaurants are nearby? What’s happening this weekend in your area? Street fair, carnival, parade, art show/exhibit? Yea, I didn’t think so; like most people you get home and use your computer to do those things or look at the newspaper.

How about the last time you looked at the latest photos posted online by your family or friends? If you did. I bet you used your computer and didn’t use your phone, it just takes too much time and time is something we don’t have enough of.

How does this relate to Windows 8, Windows RT or Windows Phone? It relates because in order to not only bring more advanced features to us, Microsoft also wanted to make these as well as future features easy for us to access and use. What use is having all these features if you don’t know if they are there, or more likely, you know they are there, you may even know how to do it, but for some reason you don’t and that reason comes down to convenience.

Microsoft didn’t just redesign Windows for “touch” screen, no they observed peoples usage patterns, they looked at what people currently use their computers for and also looked at what they can be used for and designed a friendly interface called the Modern Interface which takes away much of the clutter common on other platforms. Yes, they removed the nested menus, gone are the common rows of pull-down menus, also gone are the deeply nested menus needed to print or scan as well as many if not all others.

Now you glide through menus in a circular motion which always brings you back to where you started. No more opening menu after menu after menu and then go back a menu, back another menu and so on until you are back where you started. Nope, just push columns of menus to the side in either direction. Fast, simple and above all accessible. Because most things are simple once you know how to do it, but how quickly can you do them and then get back to what you were doing?

So who is teaching everyone how this new platform works? Where are the techie friends, neighbors, family members or co-worker?

Remember, these people, these techie’s who we as a society have always relied on to help us used our new gadgets CAN print, they CAN scan in photos and documents into their computers, they CAN send video from their computer to THEIR television, while we still as a society can’t do, or have trouble doing. Or we can do one thing, but are lost and since scanning is done differently than printing, or playing a video on your computer is much different than sending the video to your television we don’t do it.

So we have the haves and he have nots

I would estimate that the haves are less than 5% of the population, another 10% have more abilities and can accomplish more, but I estimate that 85% of all computer users fall into the not category and that 85% is not going to shrink and I propose that as computers do more and more the 15% of haves will shrink because while one person may know how to accomplish anything in an office environment, or someone else can use a computer to label and track shipments, and someone else may be able to edit videos, very few people will be able to do everything.

We’ve seen this before. Apple took the mp3 player, rethought the logic around how one should work and concurred the portable music business and for the first time in decades ousted the market standard who was Sony to a has-been player.

Apple did it a couple years with the iPhone. Existing phone platforms from Nokia, Erickson, Motorola, RIM and phones running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile could do many if not anything that the iPhone could do, but Apple took all the abilities of the other phones and rewrote the logic of how all those things could be easy and simple.

Fast forward and other 6 years and the iPhone can do so much more that it could when it was first released, but still, most people only use their iPhone to take a photo, keep their contacts organized, check emails and surf the web.
The iPhone, iPad and Android products can do so much more than that, but since these new features and utilities were added as separate apps, there is no easy or quick way for users to discover them, and once discovered, they are often neglected and forgotten because they are just another add-on – the logic that is used for the most basic and initial features of the iPhone doesn’t apply to these new developments.

In comes Microsoft
Many analysts are saying that Microsoft is late to the mobile market and that the desktop computer is dead or dying. While this is a twisted and biased view of Microsoft’s latest efforts, it is correct that Microsoft is the underdog in the mobile space – even if they have the most advanced mobile and desktop operating systems.

So whether you are of the opinion that Microsoft’s mobile phone platform is immature, Windows new Modern Interface was designed for touch at the expense of a billion mouse users, Microsoft’s latest products using the Modern Interface is much more than lipstick on a pig – it’s a new logic, developed so that the 85% of users can do more with the products they already own.

Adoption of Windows Phone will Explode

Adoption to Windows Phone has been slow and gradual and analysts believe that Windows Phone will takeoff the following year or next.

To date, no analyst who has predicted a strong Windows Phone uptake has been correct.

Why is Windows Phone adoption so slow?

Windows Phone is backed by one of the largest companies on the planet?

Users of Windows Phone rate their satisfaction with the platform higher than owners of iPhone and Android phones.