Thursday, October 24, 2013

Microsoft Says: Apple iPad Playing Catch-up to Surface

The Redmond attack dogs are out in force. After Tuesday’s Apple announcements, Microsoft hit back hard saying the press got it all wrong…the Surface Tablets are far superior to Apple’s iPads and Apple is just trying to play catch-up. After all, MS Office is free for Surface users, Apple’s iWork apps are a joke, and the iPad is more expensive than the Surface (their words, not mine).

The truth is the original Surface RT is cheaper…now that Microsoft cut the prices because people weren’t buying it. Remember, MS had write off over $900 million dollars in the earning reports because they were stuck with clunkers that didn’t sell.

Sorry Redmond…the iPad and iOS 7 are so far superior to Windows 8 that Microsoft is not even in the same league in portable devices. I use them both so I know. If Microsoft cut the Surface price down to $50, I still would not buy one.  My opinion, of course.

Speaking of BS, the contractors for the new Healthcare Website are giving out their excuses in front of a Congressional hearing. See our first story. OK, enough BS for now…let’s get rolling. -JRC

NEWS

Contractors describe scant pre-launch testing of U.S. healthcare site

The Obama administration launched its troubled healthcare insurance website after only a minimum of crucial system-wide testing, despite contractors warning officials repeatedly about performance risks.

CryptoLocker: A particularly pernicious virus

Online attackers are using encryption to lock up our files and demand a ransom — and AV software probably won’t protect you. Here are ways to defend yourself from CryptoLocker. PS: This virus is very, very bad.

Starbucks Links Coffee Makers to Web Fueling $27B Market

Over the next year, Starbucks said it plans to double the number of its Clover coffee-brewing machines, which connect to the cloud and track customer preferences, allow recipes to be digitally updated and help staffers remotely monitor a coffee maker’s performance.

Across desktop and mobile, Chrome is used more than Firefox, IE, and Opera combined

Social analytics firm Shareaholic today released browser share data for the year 2013 so far. There are quite a lot of figures to go over, but the biggest trend that immediately jumps out is Chrome’s utter dominance.

 

TIPS AND APPS

Free MP3 Merger Software to Help You Merge MP3 Easily

Free Merge MP3 is a very efficient program that allows you to merge multiple audio files together into a big file. You will also be able to join your MP3 files while maintaining original audio quality.

NeroKwik (free) Photo App

NeroKwik is a cross-platform app that gathers all your photos from different sources into one single gallery.

Beyond Dropbox: Shopping the cloud

Is it time to drop Dropbox? My subscription is nearly up, so I'm re-evaluating four major alternatives - Copy.com, Google Drive, Microsoft Skydrive, and SugarSync - for price and features. Which is the best, and which is the best for me?

How To Use Facebook's 'Turn Off Platform' Setting

There's a setting that acts as a "kill switch" to keep Facebook apps and other websites from sharing or accessing your information. It's a useful trick that many people don't know about, especially if you want as much privacy as possible while maintaining your account.

Are you being served?

See how to build the best home media library setup. Choose the right hardware and the right file formats, and sit back and enjoy your media collection with ease!

 

MOBILE

4 Reasons Why You Should Pick Apple iOS over Android

There’s a reason why the Apple iPhone is the most popular smartphone in the country right now. And it’s not just good marketing and hype.

Best Android tablets

Unlike Apple's closed system of hardware and software, the open-source nature of Google's Android OS makes it inviting for many hardware manufacturers to try their hand at making an Android-based device.

Hands On With the Apple iPad Air

The Air's weight is its killer app. You can't see this. You have to feel it.

iOS 7 tips and tricks you need to learn

Here's how to get the most out of Apple's new mobile operating system

10 Useful and Free Android Apps for Photographers

This article is about Android apps that help a photographer in using the smartphone as a tool to aid him in photography in various different ways. All the apps listed here are free but most of them have paid versions with additional features.

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