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I want to thank Janet Keough for the following update. I have worked with Jan on some of their efforts in Cloquet Valley and I am always so impressed with her and the whole team of dedicated community leaders – especially since community leader seems to be a labor of love or necessity, not a paid position…

Some progress is being made toward better broadband in a group of townships north of Duluth known as the Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative.  In the last few months, this group of intrepid folks has completed two feasibility studies and established a new website (www.connectcloquetvalley.com), thanks to help from the Blandin Foundation, St. Louis County and Lake County, and AgStar Financial.  These efforts are starting to realize results, with modest improvements in broadband speed and efforts underway to expand the scope of improvements.

The first study was conducted by U-reka Broadband Ventures, and it provided an expert overview of internet availability in the 9-township region.  Through interviews with the regional internet providers, the U-reka team gave us an assessment of the real potential for expansion and upgrades.  U-reka worked with the townships to test actual speeds, and they gave us recommendations for next steps.  Their report can be found in the Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative website.

The second study was an engineering and business analysis by Compass Consultants, Inc., and was also a collaborative effort with the township team.  The engineering analysis was based on property locations that had been assembled by the townships and on the results of the townships’ market questionnaire (Thanks to the Blandin Foundation for help with the questionnaire!).  The study looked at FTTH and FTTN-DSL options, and included maps, technology needs, a set of best, moderate and worst case business plans, and scenarios for fulfilling capital needs.  An executive summary can be found in the CVII website.

We are taking the advice of our consultants seriously, and in fact, incremental improvements have already been realized.  Immediate improvements are coming to many citizens who are trying mobile wireless options or the upgraded satellite systems, Exede and Gen4.  Some townships are having discussions with the electric cooperative, Cooperative Light and Power, about deploying fixed wireless along with advanced electric metering systems.  We are continuing to pursue fiber-based options, but our feasibility studies have shown us the reality of cost of this technology.  We are seeking partners with interests in rural, underserved markets such as ours.  And we are continuing to learn about broadband opportunities and issues.

We have learned a great deal about the challenges to bringing high speed broadband to rural areas.  The cost of fiber projects can be daunting ($4000-10,000 per premise!).  Partnerships are critical.  And there are many dimensions to meeting these challenges in rural areas, including public policy, incentives for providers, shifting market interest, evolution in electric utilities, rapid technology development and progress in neighboring areas; all these are in play to potentially align with local strategies!

We are using our new website to educate our citizens about what broadband internet can do, and helping them connect with the state and national dialogue on broadband.  The website was made possible through the Blandin Community Resources Program who helped us get the website started and designed.  We hope the website can show regional leaders and regional broadband providers that there is a good market in our rural area!

Annette Funicello, actress and one of the original Mouseketeers, has died. She was 70 years old.

According to a statement from The Official Disney Fan Club, Funicello died at Mercy Southwest Hospital in Bakersfield, California. Her death was cause by complications from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Funicello had suffered from MS for over 25 years.

Funicello got her start on screen as one of the original cast members of The Mickey Mouse Club, which began airing in 1955. She proved to be a popular member of the cast, and went on to star in Disney films such as The Shaggy Dog, Babes in Toyland, and The Monkey’s Uncle

“Annette was and always will be a cherished member of the Disney family, synonymous with the word Mousketeer, and a true Disney Legend,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “She will forever hold a place in our hearts as one of Walt Disney’s brightest stars, delighting an entire generation of baby boomers with her jubilant personality and endless talent. Annette was well known for being as beautiful inside as she was on the outside, and she faced her physical challenges with dignity, bravery and grace. All of us at Disney join with family, friends and fans around the world in celebrating her extraordinary life.”

After leaving Disney, Funicello went on to star in several Beach Party movies, including Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Pajama Party, and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.

Last month, Facebook launched the new Timeline look with more focus on interests, and let users showcase stories from apps in dedicated collections (this is all still in the process of rolling out). Today, the company announced that it is rolling out new tools to make it easier for developers to set up their apps’ Open Graph stories and timeline collections.

“Common action and object types such as ‘video.watches’ and ‘music.listens’ no longer require configuration within Open Graph tools,” explains Facebook’s Caroline Schafer, in a post on the company’s developer blog. “To start publishing common actions, simply select the SDK that you use and paste in the sample code that we provide for each action type.”

Documentation for this is available here.

Facebook has also made it easier for developers to create custom actions and object types, enabling them to preview the stories that their apps can publish to the News Feed. Once a story’s configuration is finalized, developers can hit “Get Code” in the Open Graph dashboard, and past it into the app to publish the action with logged in users.

Documentation for this is here.

“In addition to News Feed stories, users can now add your app’s content to dedicated collections on their timeline and About page,” says Schafer. “For example, a recipe app can include collections such as ‘Recently Cooked Recipes’ or ‘Top Recipes.’ Collections can also have different layouts, such as lists, map, and gallery below.”

Documentation for this is here.

Developers must submit their app’s News Feed stories and timeline collections for approval, so Facebook can make sure they’re up to snuff with their quality guidelines. The review status can be seen in the Review Status section of the dashboard. Developers will also receive alerts when submissions are made, approved or returned for changes.

Lots of large companies in North America are expanding their data centers this year or next, and the desire to run internal private clouds is a major motivating factor, according to the results of a new survey of IT decision makers. Despite all the flak private clouds have taken, it’s clear they have a piece of the cloud market, and that piece appears to be growing.

Of the 300 IT executives surveyed, 98 percent expect to expand their data centers in 2013 or 2014, and 61 percent cited establishing internal clouds as an extremely important reason, according to the study, commissioned by data center builder Digital Realty Trust and conducted by Campos Research and Analysis. Better security, energy efficiency and new applications and services are among the other stated reasons for expansion.

The hankering for private clouds is fascinating. It shows that objections to the concept could be fading. Critics say private cloud can’t replicate the cost savings that can derive from going with massively scaled shared-resource public clouds exemplified by Amazon Web Services. Others see private cloud deployments as unduly influenced by vendors trying to parlay their dominance in the current server and software realm into cloud. But, then again, regulatory or compliance concerns still rule out the use of public clouds, as GigaOM Research analyst David Linthicum wrote in February (subscription required).

The wider availability of the OpenStack cloud platform has surely made a difference in the rise of private clouds. It’s helped plenty of companies build private clouds, including eBay, Intel and Yahoo. That trend could keep up, but so could the rise in the adoption of public clouds.

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Over the weekend we shared the news about the release of the SphereShare.net Android app that helps you find and view Photo Spheres submitted by users from around the world. If you were wondering what to do with a Photo Sphere that you find particularly nice, you might want to check out Photosphere Live Wallpaper. With this new app from Kittehface Software, you can use a Photo Sphere for the wallpaper background on your Android device with support for viewing by swiping or tilting your device between screens.

Photosphere Live Wallpaper only requires Android 2.2 or higher to run and is a free download. If you want to give it a try on your device, use one of the download links below the screenshots.

Google Play Download Link

Come comment on this article: Photosphere Live Wallpaper lands in Google Play Store

GM continues to ignore the J2807 “truth in towing” standards when it released its 2013 Twins towing ratings. Ford and Ram still won’t comply either. When will the lies stop? It seems that the truth in towing numbers belong to Toyota.

With Ford, GM and Ram locked in what looks like an adolescent battle over fictitious towing numbers, Toyota continues to deliver what it promises the customer. For example, GM’s new towing rating of 11,500 pounds is at least 1k difference more than Toyota states. However, there isn’t THAT much difference between GM and Toyota’s gear ratio, max towing package and power/torque specs to dictate a 1k pound difference.

The truth is that when Toyota adopted the J2807 standards, it’s max towing dropped by 1k pounds or so. Over the past several years, Toyota has made improvements to the Tundra that raised the maximum towing numbers back up.

Another truthful statement, in regards to towing, is that last year GM announced new ratings based on the J2807 standards. Guess what? Their maximum towing rating on some of the biggest trucks dropped by 4,800 pounds. In response, GM quickly changed their tune and rescinded those numbers.

What’s the deal with the lies from GM, Ford and Ram? GM told Pickuptrucks.com on a conference call that:

GM did follow the J2807 towing standards in regard to performance and procedures but will not fully comply until the industry (meaning competitors) decides to follow the same guidelines. As stated earlier, GM does not want to put its customers in a situation where they need to figure out how to compare GM’s apples to the competition’s oranges. When all manufacturers use the same standard, so will GM. Unfortunately, Ford and Ram Truck could say the same thing.

Blah, blah, blah… It might be time for the often-criticized Federal Gov’t to step in and mandate a rating. The reality is that this issue is really becoming a safety issue with ill-informed consumers towing well beyond what the true towing capacity is on the light-duty, 1/2 pickups.

What do you think? Will we ever have truthful numbers from GM, Ford or Ram?

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The post Bloated Ford, GM, Ram Towing Numbers Continue appeared first on Tundra Headquarters Blog.

On last week’s Celebrity Apprentice, Donald Trump spared Dennis Rodman because of the redemption story forming around the athlete, and fired reality star Omarosa Manigault instead. This week, the basketball star was back in the boardroom, but didn’t fare quite as well with Trump as he did last week.

Rodman, as the leader of a team tasked with creating a promotion for a beauty product, was pulled into the boardroom with country music singer Trace Adkins. At issue during the boardroom meeting was a misspelling on an ad Rodman’s team published. In the end, Trump brought up the fact that Rodman has been in the boardroom multiple times, though the business mogul did say he was “proud” of Rodman.

Rodman is now the sixth celebrity to have been fired from the current season of Celebrity Apprentice. He was also part of the eighth season of Celebrity Apprentice in 2009. During that series, Rodman was the fifth contestant fired.

As Android smartphones become more powerful with each successive generation, more people are finding them capable of running games they enjoy playing. Depending on a device’s capabilities, it is easily conceivable that it can serve in the same role as a traditional game platform like a PlayStation, complete with a connection to a flat screen TV and dedicated controllers for players. We have seen many companies come to market with controllers for Android devices that replicate the controllers found with leading game systems in pursuit of such a setup. It appears that Sony has decided to get in on this market with the introduction of native support for their PlayStation DUALSHOCK 3 controllers on some devices.

Over the weekend a video surfaced showing a new setting on a Sony Xperia SP that allows for the connection of a “DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller.” Initially, a USB-OTG cable is needed to make the first connection, but once mated, the devices can connect using Bluetooth. Once the controller is connected and running, the smartphone functions as the display and the controller can be used as expected to navigate menus and then control the action.

As mentioned, the discovery of this built-in function was found on a Sony Xperia SP. It seems likely that Sony would want to add this to the rest of their PlayStation Mobile compatible devices as well, especially a top device like the Sony Xperia Z. Sony is mum on the subject, but now that the news has leaked it probably won’t be long before an official statement is issued.

Click here to view the embedded video.

source: Xperia Blog

Come comment on this article: Native DUALSHOCK 3 support may be coming to Sony Xperia devices

Mad Men returned to AMC on Sunday night after much anticipation from die hard fans of the popular series. For those of you who haven’t gotten to see the episode yet, you don’t have to have cable or a satellite package to enjoy the show.

AMC announced today that it has made the episode available to watch for free online at AMCTV.com. Watch it soon though, because it will only be available for free for a limited time (though you shouldn’t have any trouble finding it elsewhere online for a price).

Here’s the link.

The episode is two hours long.

If you’ve already seen the episode, you might be interested in watching this short behind-the-scenes video:

The next episode premieres this Sunday at 10/9c.

Over the weekend, a high-profile iOS app for promoting other iOS apps, AppGratis, was removed from the iOS App Store, Apple has just confirmed to GigaOM. The reason: two rule violations, including one that prohibits displaying or promoting other apps, and another that prohibits using push notifications for advertising. It’s the second time in six months a popular app like this has been removed. And AppGratis is very likely not going to be the last of its kind to suffer this fate.

AppGratis ran afoul of this broad rule in the iOS developer’s guide, known as guideline 2.25: “Apps that display apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected.” AppGratis does, in fact, mimic a feature of the App Store: it points users to apps it recommends. It also offers them for free or at steep discounts.

The second rule violation concerns guideline 5.6: “Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.” AppGratis uses push notifications to let users of its app know when a new app of the day it is promoting is ready for download.

It’s true that the iOS App Store is full of similar apps that curate and promote other apps to potential downloaders, but it appears that Apple is continuing an enforcement it began in October 2012, when another popular app for finding iOS apps, App Shopper, was pulled from the store (and hasn’t returned). Apple wouldn’t comment on the reason then, but at the time I was hearing that App Store reviewers were simply continuing an earlier effort to discourage “pay-per-install campaigns” and incentivized downloads that basically game the App Store rankings by running up download numbers somewhat artificially. It now appears that App Shopper’s violation of guideline 2.25 was also an issue.

Somewhat ironically, one of the app developers that spoke up to defend Apple’s actions at the time was the CEO of AppGratis, Simon Dawlat. He told PocketGamer.biz that AppShopper’s removal was about minimizing low-quality apps:

“My take is that Apple is shooting for the highest quality possible – just as always,” said Dawlat.

“Since the inception of companies like AppGratis back in December 2008, many low-quality copycats have emerged in the App Store, trying to make some quick bucks out of poorly engineered apps and content.

“With [clause] 2.25, Apple is probably trying to prevent the App Store from being spammed with too many app-promoting apps. But for us, it has always been about app curation at a very high level.”

In that same interview, he spoke of how AppGratis was different from apps like App Shopper because his company was adding “significant value” to the App Store by promoting apps (it makes money from developers that pay to have their apps promoted) and by sending 100 million users to the App Store each year.

Dawlat has not responded to a request for comment.

It now appears that App Store gatekeepers and rule enforcers just hadn’t gotten around to AppGratis yet; Apple’s reviewers aren’t known for enforcing immediate and consistent, across-the-board policy due to the sheer number of apps they have to look at. But other apps like App Shopper and AppGratis have also been removed, including Free App of the Day.

It’s easy to see why Apple doesn’t want the competition from app marketing and curation apps; it also may not want companies like AppGratis profiting off the less-than-ideal search functions of the App Store. One of the reasons apps like AppGratis popped up and continue to thrive, as I wrote for GigaOM Research last year (subscription required), is that they promote developers who couldn’t get noticed in a vast marketplace of 800,000 apps. In many ways, these kinds of app promoters are helping Apple; but they may also be confusing users.

The takeaway is that other apps the use push notifications for marketing, and those who simply promote other apps will likely be getting a good look from Apple’s app reviewers pretty soon.

Update, 12 p.m. PT: You may be wondering, as I was, whether an app like Facebook is in danger of being removed for similar reasons. Turns out, it’s not. Facebook does have an App Center that features iOS apps for download within its app, and it also tells users when a friend has downloaded a particular app through push notifications. Both of those technically violate guidelines 2.25 and 5.6. But, as I’m told by people familiar with Apple’s app review process, the company isn’t in the same category as AppGratis because promoting apps is not the sole purpose of Facebook. That puts it in the clear. This is good news for developers, because it indicates that Apple is taking a nuanced approach to its enforcement of these rules.

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When I talk to organizations about how they are using data visualization tools I am often struck by the fact that they use these tools mostly to generate charts and graphs that really aren’t all that different from what they could have created with standard business intelligence or desktop tools. However, people get very excited about their output nonetheless. At first this surprised me, but then I realized what was going on.

I would like to suggest that data visualization tools such as Tableau and Spotfire, to name just a couple, offer two great value propositions — which are often intertwined into a single value proposition. Understand these differences and you’ll create more value for your organization.

The first value proposition is the obvious one, which is enabling users to create better visuals that bring their data and their analysis to life. This is the value proposition that most people focus upon and that gets the most attention. It is also the primary reason organizations invest in visualization tools.

The second value proposition, which is often either overlooked or vastly under-credited, is that visualization tools democratize big data by giving users wide flexibility to analyze data within a self-service business intelligence environment. Visualization tools allow users to explore, summarize, and visualize data in the way they see fit as opposed to the way someone else saw fit to allow them. By having the flexibility to join different data sources as desired, view patterns on the fly, and iterate, users can discover important insights and trends more easily and more rapidly.

Users may be able to access massive data sources in traditional environments, but they can only do so via predefined paths. On the other hand, common desktop tools such as PowerPoint or Excel that enable charting and graphing either require data extracts, which must be small, or more complex configurations than many are comfortable with. They are too complex and the visuals they generate aren’t very robust or interactive.

While many users of the new visualization tools spend most of their time generating basic output, they get really excited about their new-found freedom to navigate the data and view it from any angle desired. While the graphics generated may be simple, users are much more confident that they contain the right content.

The implication is that many organizations may not be getting the full benefit of their big data and visualization investments. But it’d be a mistake to make those tools available only to those users with advanced data skills. Using the tools should help even non-numerate users gain greater comfort with the data (one hopes) and along with that comes growing ability to draw increasingly sophisticated insights. And that’s when the big data investments really start to pay off.

Microsoft and Ericsson announced today that Ericsson will acquire Microsoft Mediaroom, its IPTV platform. It will be integrated into Ericsson’s existing Business Unit Support Solutions.

Microsoft will now focus its TV-related efforts on the Xbox brand. In a post on the Official Microsoft Blog, Corporate VP of Marketing, Strategy and Business for the company’s Interactive Entertainment Business, Yusuf Mehdi, writes:

This acquisition is mutually beneficial and strategically aligned for both parties. Ericsson will continue to invest in the growth and success of Mediaroom to the benefit of customers, employees, and the industry. It allows Microsoft to commit 100 percent of its focus on consumer TV strategy with Xbox.

…

With the sale of Mediaroom, Microsoft is dedicating all TV resources to Xbox in a continued mission to make it the premium entertainment service that delivers all the games and entertainment consumers want – whether on a console, phone, PC or tablet. And with 76 million Xbox 360 consoles around the world with 46 million Xbox LIVE members, it is a mission that gets us out of bed in the morning.

The company indicated that it aims to form numerous partnerships in the industry, including content creators, studios, labels, networks, content aggregators, operators and distributors.

Per Borgklint, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions at Ericsson said: “Ericsson’s vision of the Networked Society foresees 50 billion devices to be connected via broadband, mobility and cloud. Future video distribution will have a similar impact on consumer behavior and consumption as mobile voice has had. This acquisition contributes to a leading position for Ericsson with more than 40 customers, serving over 11 million subscriber households. In addition, Ericsson will be powered with senior competence and some of the most talented people within the field of IPTV distribution.”

“Mediaroom is the leading platform for video distribution deployed with the world’s largest IPTV operators,” Borgklint added. “This strategic acquisition positions Ericsson as an industry leader thanks to the skills and experiences of the talented people of Mediaroom combined with Ericsson’s end to end service capabilities.”

“We are proud of the number one IPTV market position that we have achieved with Mediaroom. Ericsson’s complementary portfolio of TV and networking services will help drive the future growth and development of Mediaroom,” said Microsoft Corporate VP Tom Gibbons. “Ericsson is positioned to be a valuable strategic partner for operators and TV service providers around the world as the IPTV market evolves.”

Microsoft is planning an Xbox event for next month, when the company is expected to announced the next generation Xbox.

Google already has numerous peer-to-peer messaging and communications products, but it may not be opposed to buying another. According to Digital Trends, Google is haggling with breakout mobile messaging star WhatsApp over its acquisition price.

The site’s sources claim WhatsApp is apparently in a strong negotiating position, bargaining up a prospective deal to near $1 billion. Digital Trends only cited an unnamed inside source, so we’ll have to wait to see if anything comes of it.

Why would Google want WhatsApp? Well, it probably doesn’t need the technology. The company has already built cross-platform communications apps that provide the same intrinsic service as WhatsApp and other mobile over-the-top communications apps. But Google has admitted in the past that it’s done a poor job servicing its messaging users, and recently it’s been focusing more attention on the space, merging its Talk, Messenger and Hangouts apps into a single service.

But in the fast-paced world of peer-to-peer communications, the spoils go to those who build the biggest network. Google has got to be impressed by just how big WhatsApp has gotten in the last few years. WhatsApp doesn’t release specific numbers, but in November, App Annie found that WhatsApp was the top paid in 119 countries — including the U.S. — in Apple’s iTunes App Store. WhatsApp Messenger has also racked up more than 100 million Android installs. What makes WhatsApp even more intriguing is that it charges by the download (though the fee is only 99 cents) — it’s growing by leaps in bounds in a market where the software typically comes free.

If Google is interested in WhatsApp, it could be making the same calculation as Facebook when it bought Instagram for $1 billion. While Facebook could have developed its own image-filter and sharing app, Instagram was already well on its way to becoming the dominant photo-based social network on mobile. Google may not want to risk WhatsApp eating its lunch in the exploding OTT mobile messaging market — or worse, see it bought by a competitor.

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Microsoft’s next Xbox, which could get an initial unveiling as early as next month, will use an AMD system-on-a-chip according to a new Bloomberg report. The new AMD SoC will mean that Microsoft is moving to an x86-based system architecture, which Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 is also adopting. The change is great news for AMD, and for gamers, and bad news for AMD’s chief rival Intel.

The new Microsoft console will be running a “Jaguar” CPU, which is also what’s going into Sony’s PS4, alongside a Radeon graphics processor from ATI, an AMD subsidiary. The similarity between the two SoCs employed in each next-gen console should go a long way toward silencing complaints from developers that it’s too difficult and resource-intensive to develop for each type of console. A shared x86 architecture means that it’ll be much easier to port titles, both between consoles and from the PC.

For AMD, it means gaining access to a much bigger chunk of the console gaming industry, at a crucial juncture: the desktop and notebook PC market is shrinking, facing increasing encroachment from devices like the iPad, meaning there’s less room to vie with Intel for market share in a space where Intel already clearly dominates. The console industry hasn’t exactly been a shining beacon of growth itself, but with a hardware refresh imminent, AMD is in the best position to capitalize should consumer interest once again be caught by fancy new console devices.

The problem with Microsoft’s decision to reportedly change over to AMD is that it will likely render games made for the 360 incompatible with the next-generation platform. But long-term, the decision means it’s much easier for developers to work with, which should translate to an alleviation of financial pressures on game studios that are already facing revenue crunches which are forcing cost-cutting measures. The console exclusive might be more of a rarity, but gamers benefit, and we could also see shorter development cycles leading to more frequent game releases.

Another party left out of the fun might be the Wii U, which uses a PowerPC based processor under the hood. But overall this is very good news for gamers, since it could both free up resources for developers to spend on innovation and R&D, and suggests both consoles will behave much more like home entertainment PCs based around the TV.

What shameless exploitation. I know PC sales are slow, with Windows 8 giving no lift. So Microsoft resorts to this? Today, Stephen Rose issues an ultimatum: Windows XP support ends in 365 days. From April 8, 2014, there will be no more patches and updates for you.

How outrageous! Microsoft cuts off XP users thirteen-and-a-half years after releasing the operating system. My leather jacket is older, and the clothier who made it isn’t forcing me to buy a new one. Nor does Texas Instruments demand I upgrade from the calculator purchased in college. If users want to run Windows XP forever, Microsoft should let them. Instead, it’s compute at their own risks or upgrade.

America is all about freedom and spreading the right to choose across the planet. So why is the company located here, which long had the goal of putting a PC in every home, working against choice? Actually, choice anchors Microsoft marketing. But no longer. First Internet Explorer 6, and now Windows XP. If customers choose to run both products for even a quarter century, shouldn’t Microsoft support them?

You have the right to run old, buggy software. You have the right to get more viruses and to be swooped up into the next spam-spewing, identity-stealing phishing botnet. You have the right to run PCs that should be in museums not your kid’s bedroom. You don’t need no stinking Microsoft telling you when to upgrade.

But noooo, Microsoft has to pull Windows XP’s Lifecycle Support plug and lay the operating system to rest. Windows 8 needs fixing. PC sales aren’t there. So some sneaky Microsoft marketer decides to kill off PC support, after the company extended it over and over and over again. Surely you were confident that another reprieve would come, like so many before.

Obviously profits matter more than loyal customers like you who bought Windows XP in 2001 — or 2004 with Service Pack 1 — and never gave Microsoft another dime. Or you pirated XP and paid nothing. But you’re loyal! You could have switched to Linux long ago. It’s free, too. But you used Windows XP all these years. Now Microsoft expects you to change?

You want your Start button and menu. You need your ActiveX. You don’t want a browser that properly displays all websites, unlike IE6 on XP, because it’s thrilling to feel like you’re a rogue, a cowboy living in the rustic, untamed Wild West. You chuckle at all the unprompted porn popups. What service! Nudes come to you, you don’t have to search for them! And you know your buddies don’t have this benefit, because newer Windows versions prevent this kind of activity.

You’re comfortable shagging a cup of coffee, while waiting for software to download and install. It’s important me-time your Windows 7 and 8 friends never get to enjoy. They’re glued to chairs, while you’re free to roam. Now Microsoft wants to take that freedom way!

Yes, I’m being sarcastic. You thought otherwise?

In all seriousness, Rose’s explanation of Microsoft Lifecycle Support is one the best you’ll read anywhere.

If you’re using XP today, don’t wait another 365 days to upgrade. Do us all a favor and take your botnet PC offline today. Please?

Photo Credit: abd/Shutterstock

Last month, I wrote about an interesting iPhone 5 case called the Linkase. And by interesting, I mean it claims to something that most cases can’t: Boost your iPhone’s Wi-Fi signal strength by up to 50 percent. It’s made by a company in Taiwan called Abosolute Technology. The case has a few minor design flaws in my opinion — the fact that it doesn’t work with a 30-pin to Lightning adapter is one — but more important is the wireless signal claim. Does it actually work?

In this brief video, I show you how the case works in locations where my wireless network generally sucks. We have 75 Mbps FiOS broadband service with a new 802.11 a/c router and yet in a few rooms, the Wi-Fi is generally useless. And outside of the home far from the router? Same story. Yet in both of these locations, you can see the positive impact made when use the Linkase with my iPhone 5.

The magic is in the slide-out EMW, or electromagnetic waveguide element, which works with phone’s internal Wi-Fi antenna for the boost. I’ve done plenty of tests with the $49 Linkase — not just what I show on video — and it generally works as advertised. Wi-Fi signals are typically much better with the EMW element extended although it really only works in areas with poor or marginal signal reception. Don’t expect Wi-Fi to be faster where it’s already pretty solid.

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From smart watches to devices that monitor health, wearables are hot items on the market today. In the latest GigaOM Research podcast, Michael Wolf and Jody Ranck discuss wearable’s place in the fitness and medical industries, challengers to growth, and the role of data.

(download)

iTunes

Stitcher Radio

SHOW NOTES
Host: Adam Lesser
Speakers: Michael Wolf and Jody Ranck

 

Instgram’s Twit-storm, Netflix nabs Disney, GMail’s Pretty iPad App

RoadMap re-run, our talk with Instagram’s Kevin Systrom

iTunes 11, When Things Connect, Sun Volt

What Aspiring New Media Stars Should Know About Agents and Managers

Holiday Gadget Gift Guide

War Tweets, Google TV and Nexus 4

Director Jay Duplass on low-fi movies through high-tech

Election Dissection, Ditching DSL and Dumping the iPad

Sandy’s Social, Infrastructure Impact and Forstall

Windows 8 Surfaces, and disruption eruption

iPad Mini, iMac gets skinny

Boxee Cloud DVR, Apple Rumors and Chromebook

Commutist interview: Joy of X author Steven Strogatz

Commutist podcast: Patent trolls, Costco ban and Passbook’s home run

Commutist, meet Nerdist, and interview with Chris Hardwick

T-Metro, Broadband Caps, Remembering Steve Jobs

Apple’s iO-Mess, Dirty Data Centers and Tesla

News from the Mobilize Conference

Paul Tough: How Children Succeed and what you can learn from them

The iPhone 5 Event

Come on, Kindle, Light My 4G Fire

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• Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
• Analyzing the wearable computing market
• Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room

Microsoft’s (MSFT) next version of the Windows operating system, codenamed Windows Blue, will reportedly help merge its PC and mobile platforms, according to Digitimes. Windows Blue is said to currently be in development separate from the Windows 8 and Windows Phone units. Microsoft’s overall goal is said to have the operating system compete with Google’s (GOOG) Android and Chrome platforms.

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