October 6th, 2011
Richard H
Earlier today, Steve Jobs passed.
Even if one didn’t particularly care for his ideas or the products that Apple made, the fact is, without Steve Jobs the tech world would have never gotten to this point.
He thrust the ideas that high quality industrial design should be a core part of technology, and that technology should be easy to use for the common man into the public consciousness, making the world as a whole a better place.
Competitors picked up their game with every game changing product that was released under Steve Jobs’ watch. From the iMac copies that came out shortly after the world famous AIO desktop’s introduction in 1998, to the current smartphone wars….without Apple running the way Steve Jobs intended, things wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as they are now.
Rest In Peace Steve. You’ll be missed.
~ All of us at GadgetSurge
September 9th, 2011
Richard H
At 2 AM eastern time, we found that the Apple store was down in the US and Canada, who knows what it’s down for but interesting nonetheless.
May 18th, 2011
Richard H
On May 10th, Microsoft announced that they would be purchasing Skype for $8.5 million dollars in cash, sending shockwaves throughout the tech community. What would change? How would Skype be integrated into the Microsoft product strategy? Many tech enthusiasts began worrying about whether the inroads that Skype made on competitors to Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform would be all for naught. Users of Skype on Linux wondered if they’d ever get a proper new version of the service, even though Microsoft and Skype insisted that they’d continue to develop applications for multiple platforms. People began to assume the worst, that Microsoft’s seemingly bumbling and sloth like corporate culture would kill what made Skype the audio-video chat solution of choice for 170 million users. See how I feel about the deal, and what my humble suggestions are for Microsoft after the break.
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May 10th, 2011
Richard H
Like clockwork, Google unveiled it’s Music Beta product at their Google I/O developer event today in California. As predicted by pundits across the Internet, Music Beta will allow users to upload their personal music to Google’s servers so they could be played from any device that supports Music Beta. This functionality is similar to Amazon’s Cloud Drive service. While it was expected that Google would be able to round up deals from record labels for music purchases directly to Music Beta, users will be able to store and stream 20.000 of their own uploaded songs for free during the trial period. They will get a new version of the Android music player that supports Music Beta. On a related note, Google will now offer movie rentals through the Android Market starting at 1.99 per movie. The Verizon version of the Motorola Xoom tablet will get the Android 3.1 upgrade that allows this functionality first.
At I/O, Google also spoke about Ice Cream Sandwich. This next version of Android will unify the tablet-centric Honeycomb 3.0 and phone-centric Gingerbread 2.3 releases into one, with phones getting many of the features of Honeycomb. Importantly, they also announced a pledge between device makers to come up with shared guidelines for updating devices. One of the first key tenets of that promise? All new devices from makers in the pledge (nearly all the major players you expect) will get Android version upgrades for at least 18 months. Hopefully, this will address the growing cries of “fragmentation” from users and developers.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Google I/O without free swag, and Google didn’t disappoint. Samsung and Google teamed up to release a special edition of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. With a white plastic body (complete with special patterning) and stock Honeycomb, it should be a great collector’s item.
April 27th, 2011
Johnny T
Today, the long over due Google Docs application for Android has been released on the Android Market. It is only available for devices with version 2.1 or higher. The Docs app allows you to sync with multiple Google accounts; it also lets you edit text documents and spread sheets as you would expect. Hit up the Market link after the break!
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April 9th, 2011
Alex R
The FCC and SamKnows have launched the Test My ISP program offering you a free Wireless Router, compliments of NetGear, in exchange for information about your broadband connection. In essence, the Test My ISP initiative is determined to provide US consumers with accurate statistics on their broadband connections. So whether you hate your ISP for flakey performance and want the FCC to know or you simply want a free router the opportunity is here.
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March 29th, 2011
Fara E
March 22nd, 2011
Johnny T
Travelling from A to B is part of everyone’s daily routine. More and more people are opting for notebooks instead of desktops, due to their portability. Whether you are taking it to work, class, or a LAN party, how you carry your notebook along with its accessories is an important consideration during and after the notebook purchasing process.
This guide will aim to help people pick a suitable notebook “carrier’’ and to give you a few useful hints on the do’s and don’ts when travelling with your precious investment.
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March 21st, 2011
Richard H
T-Mobile and AT&T, sittin’ in a tree.. k..i…s…s…i….n…g. In a somewhat surprising move (many had pegged Sprint as a potential suitor) AT&T and T-Mobile USA’s parent company Deutsche Telekom announced Sunday afternoon that T-Mobile USA would be sold to AT&T for 39 billion dollars, pending regulatory approval. The combined company would become the largest carrier in the United States.
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