For a few years, there have been any number of rumors about a "Facebook phone." Finally today, the big rumor came to fruition. Well, sort of. In fact, there is no Facebook Phone. Instead there is an application called “Home” that will run on Android phones (some new ones, anyway).
Facebook Home, is a home screen interface (or "a family of apps") that can be installed by users on top of Android. Facebook says that the purpose of Home is to shift attention away from tasks and apps to their friends instead. OK. Let’s see if people buy into this. You can read more about “Home” in our first story.
In the last edition, I blasted Microsoft for their update of Outlook.com’s calendar app. It seems I am in the minority. Most critics gave it decent praise. They loved the modern Metro colors that replace the pastel colors of the old Hotmail calendar. I must be getting old. Oh, wait, I am.
I liked the old pastel colors. I also liked the tabs on top where I could easily move the views from year, to month, to week, to day, and even to tasks. Now, I have to use a drop down menu to choose. In effect, an extra step. The tasks menu, which was never really great, is even worse.
I am not going to stop using Outlook.com. First, there is nothing better for me. Second, I really like the e-mail and contacts interface. They did a really outstanding job here. And the mail, calendar and contacts still sync well with the corresponding Apple apps on my iPhone and iPad. Oh yea…Apple still uses pastel colors…for senior citizens like me.
I have a word of advice for all the folks out their younger than me…just because something is a few years old, it doesn’t mean it needs to be changed. If it works well, don’t change it. If it doesn’t, by all means, change it. And changing colors doesn’t make it better.
I am now off my soapbox…and I hope you find today’s stories to be useful. Yes, there are once again stories that put Microsoft in a bad light. But, they are just the facts. Be sure and check out the story on how to get 100 GB of free cloud storage. I signed up. Let’s go!! - JRC
Facebook unveils 'Home' for Android mobile gadgets
With its new "Home" on Android gadgets, Facebook aims make its social network the hub of people's mobile experiences. The question, now, is whether people want all their Facebook content greeting them every time they look at their phones.
Prices Of Windows 8 Machines Are Falling. Wow, Demand Must Be Red Hot!
Notebook manufacturers appear to be lowering the prices of some Windows 8 notebooks and tablets. Six out of the fourteen Windows 8 notebooks or tablets sold by Microsoft via its Windows Store now come with discounts attached...one of them dropped 30%!
A Not-So-Warm Welcome for Windows 8.1
We now know that Windows Blue will be called Windows 8.1 and is expected to be distributed in August. But we still don't know why Microsoft seems to be pushing the "Metro" aspects of the OS rather than backing off when it is clear nobody likes it.
Analysts say Windows RT tablets price drop means OS has failed
Though Microsoft has not publicly acknowledged the failure of Windows RT, there is already growing concern about the fate of the OS. IDC earlier this month said that Windows RT tablet shipments have been poor, and that consumers have not bought into "Windows RT's value proposition."
Microsoft's next Patch Tuesday to include critical IE and Windows 7 updates
Nine security bulletins will be issued on that day, and two of them will be labeled as "Critical".
Where can you find a PC running Windows 7?
Some of my readers are complaining that they want to avoid Windows 8, but they can't find Windows 7 PCs. Really? I just surveyed the market and found plenty of Windows 7 choices. The secret is knowing where to look.
Why some U.S. homes and businesses still don't have cellular service
While large portions of the U.S. are looking forward to faster wireless broadband, some regions don't have even simple cell phone service. What is being done to help?
Arthur Frommer reacquires travel book brand from Google
Travel expert plans to resume publishing of the travel books, which the Web giant acquired but killed last month.
What to Do with a Hung or Unresponsive Windows 7 Program
Sooner or later it happens to all of us – a Windows program gets hung up and just sits there frozen. You can open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and try to close the hung program or use the command line to kill it. But there is more to this story.
Want 100GB Of Free Cloud-Based Storage?
A new player in the cloud storage market is offering 100 GB of space to the first million people to sign up to its service. However, there's clearly a waiting list for the service, so you won't get your free space right away.
Freeware Chess
Do you like to play chess? Would you play chess against your computer? Here is a simple free chess application. The handling of this program is easy. There is no need to read a manual.
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