Receive posts by e-mailThink you bought that DVD? Think again.
By John Klein (aka Saskboy) Imagine buying a house, and being locked out of the basement by the previous owner. That’s what digital locks do. If you’ve been following Canadian politics, particularly the new Copyright Act (Canada’s DMCA) Bill C-11, you’ve heard of “digital locks.” A digital lock, or Digital Rights/Restrictions Management (DRM), is a [...]
Letter to Steve Jobs
by Eric Pettifor Dear Mr. Jobs: I write to you on the occasion of your death to congratulate you on making a difference. As more of a technology visionary and businessman than a true geek (that was your erstwhile partner Steve Wozniak, or “Woz”), you may not recall that this was the concern of a [...]
Adobe Previews Adobe Flash Killer
By Eric Pettifor Back in March, I criticized Apple for not including support for Adobe Flash in their iPad tablet. Their reasoning seemed to be, at least in part, that Flash was going away, to be replaced by HTML 5 with support from javascript and CSS, to which I responded that may very well be, [...]
iKnow Where You Were Last Summer
by Eric Pettifor So, it turns out that phones running the iOS 4 update of June, 2010 log date and location wherever their owners take them. The data sits there on the phone. It is not transmitted to Apple, so the charge cannot be made that Apple is actively spying on its customers. But do [...]
Xoom vs iPad 2
By Eric Pettifor A couple of posts ago I wrote of the Motorola Xoom tablet, extolling its virtues while trying to convince myself that I don’t need one. And truly, I don’t. My little netbook is all the portable computing I really need. What I might want, and might actually get (if it was in [...]
I don’t need a tablet. Repeat.
by Eric Pettifor Okay, I’m starting to want a tablet. No, not the iPad for which I expressed my underwhelmedness back in February of 2010, but the Motorola Xoom to be released this quarter, perhaps even as soon as next month. What’s so great about the Xoom? Well, if you’re one of those who have [...]
The Chrome revolution has been postponed
by Eric Pettifor Last year at this time I predicted that a small revolution in web apps would occur in 2010, thanks to the introduction of Google Chrome OS, and may have implied that this would have a negative effect on the iPhone. I also expressed the opinion that, if all went well with the [...]
Hitler to Wait for HP Slate
By Eric Pettifor Apple’s iPad has been out for awhile now, long enough for tons of opinion pieces to be written, so no need for me to add to the noise, especially when so many of my reservations have been so well expressed by none other than Adolph Hitler. Apparently, for him, the final straw [...]
End Times for the iPhone
By Eric Pettifor 2010 could prove to be the year of the iPhone killer, but, if so, Apple’s bereavement will simply be collateral damage in the ever-raging battle between giants Microsoft and Google. Google’s Android on a Google phone won’t deliver the death blow, but it will be a sign of the end times. Android [...]
Yet more disappointing technologies
Shaun Nichols and Iain Thomson of pcauthority.com.au have compiled a list of top ten disappointing technologies. Drum roll please . . . Number 10: Virtual RealityNumber 09: Alternative Search EnginesNumber 08: Voice RecognitionNumber 07: Apple LisaNumber 06: 10 GB EthernetNumber 05: FireWireNumber 04: BluetoothNumber 03: ItaniumNumber 02: ZuneNumber 01: Windows VistaYes, there you have it, [...]
