Plus the prospects for 4K TV, some US smartphone user data, India's PC slump, and more
A burst of 7 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
*From ex-Google engineers, a device that syncs music throughout your whole house >> Co.Design*
Created by two ex-Google engineers, Beep is an audio adapter that will not only let you stream music wirelessly to any speaker in your house, but will sync that music perfectly between multiple rooms, all at a fraction of the cost of other systems, and with an aesthetic any design lover will appreciate.
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*Sandvine's Device Insights Dashboard reveals that iPhone users love iTunes more than Samsung users love Google Play >> Sandvine*
On one US regional carrier with an LTE network, the Sandvine's Device Insights Dashboard revealed that:
• iPhone 5S users consume 63% more data from the iTunes Store than Samsung Galaxy S4 users do from Google Play
• Subscribers with flagship phones from Apple, HTC, and Samsung have an average monthly usage within 10% of each other
• Tablets account for less than 1% of daily network traffic.
There doesn't seem to be any simple way to know whether it's just the downloads that are larger from the iTunes Store. Data points welcome.
--------------------
*FAA clears Surface for takeoff in US cockpits >> Engadget*
Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 has just joined the iPad on the FAA's list of approved pilot EFBs (Electronic Flight Bags) for all phases of flight. That follows Delta's recent announcement that it would deploy 11,000 of Redmond's hybrid tablets in its cockpits instead of the iPad, which it also considered. Apple's tablet is already used by American Airlines and others, but Delta said it preferred the readability, productivity apps and other features of the Surface Pro 2.
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*Rumour: Google to begin forcing OEMs to certify Android devices with a recent OS version if they want Google Apps >> Android Police*
The site reckons it has got hold of a Google document which closes the window for certification with Google Mobile Services on older Android versions; nothing older than 4.2 from now, it says.
The wording in this statement is important - "each platform release will have a 'GMS approval window'" - this implies that the window did not formally exist, at least in writing, prior to this announcement. The 9 month window Google is giving manufacturers before deprecating older releases also changes things. From later this year on out, it means no OEM can certify a device more than two versions behind the current Android release. Google typically releases two Android versions resulting in an API level increase per year, roughly 6 months apart, so that does mean there will be a small 3 month window where devices 2 versions behind the currently announced version could be certified. That is, unless Google plans to slow the release cycle of Android OS / API level updates.
--------------------
*Indian PC shipments fall 20%, Dell sees strong gains: Gartner >> NDTV Gadgets*
Declining government spending on hardware hit Indian PC shipments during the October-December quarter, as sales fell by 20% to 1.96 million units, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.
"Consumers accounted for 49% of total PC sales in the fourth quarter of 2013," said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In the absence of any government orders this quarter, the Indian PC market performed dismally, re-emphasising the fact that with current economic sentiments and the current political scenario, enterprises are deferring their purchases."
That's 2m sales per quarter in a country of more than a billion people.
--------------------
*Teach yourself programming in ten years >> Peter Norvig*
I did the following power search at Amazon.com:
pubdate: after 1992 and title: days and
(title: learn or title: teach yourself)
and got back 248 hits. The first 78 were computer books (number 79 was Learn Bengali in 30 days). I replaced "days" with "hours" and got remarkably similar results: 253 more books, with 77 computer books followed by Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours at number 78. Out of the top 200 total, 96% were computer books.
The conclusion is that either people are in a big rush to learn about computers, or that computers are somehow fabulously easier to learn than anything else. There are no books on how to learn Beethoven, or Quantum Physics, or even Dog Grooming in a few days. Felleisen et al. give a nod to this trend in their book How to Design Programs, when they say "Bad programming is easy. Idiots can learn it in 21 days, even if they are dummies.
Norvig works at Google, and might have some idea of how long it really takes to learn to program. "Ten Years Of Code" isn't as gripping, is it, though?
--------------------
*Ultra-HD off Target? >> Home Media Magazine*
It starts off with chain store Target suggesting it won't carry 4K TVs, but the reality is more grainy:
The Feb. 5 Consumer Electronics Association survey found nearly half of consumers (47%) saying that if they do get an Ultra-HD TV, it'll be at specialty electronics stores, compared with only 17% at a mass merchant (such as Walmart or Target), and only 8% at a warehouse club store. Only 10% said they would buy online.
Eighty percent of consumers said they would look for 4K displays in stores, and 77% said they would research 4K online before buying.
"Ultra-HD TV consumer adoption will be a case of 'seeing is believing,'" Rhonda Daniel, senior manager of market research of CEA, said in a statement.
"Experiencing the technology in person is a critical component to drive consumer interest in adopting Ultra-HD as their next television."
The survey saw a quarter of respondents considering a UHD TV purchase in the next year (compared with 33% who said they might purchase any TV overall during the same period). And price remains a major barrier: 75% of respondents said their chief concern was the cost of a UHD TV.
--------------------
You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on Pinboard
To suggest a link, either add it below or tag it with @gdntech on the free Delicious service. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
A burst of 7 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
*From ex-Google engineers, a device that syncs music throughout your whole house >> Co.Design*
Created by two ex-Google engineers, Beep is an audio adapter that will not only let you stream music wirelessly to any speaker in your house, but will sync that music perfectly between multiple rooms, all at a fraction of the cost of other systems, and with an aesthetic any design lover will appreciate.
--------------------
*Sandvine's Device Insights Dashboard reveals that iPhone users love iTunes more than Samsung users love Google Play >> Sandvine*
On one US regional carrier with an LTE network, the Sandvine's Device Insights Dashboard revealed that:
• iPhone 5S users consume 63% more data from the iTunes Store than Samsung Galaxy S4 users do from Google Play
• Subscribers with flagship phones from Apple, HTC, and Samsung have an average monthly usage within 10% of each other
• Tablets account for less than 1% of daily network traffic.
There doesn't seem to be any simple way to know whether it's just the downloads that are larger from the iTunes Store. Data points welcome.
--------------------
*FAA clears Surface for takeoff in US cockpits >> Engadget*
Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 has just joined the iPad on the FAA's list of approved pilot EFBs (Electronic Flight Bags) for all phases of flight. That follows Delta's recent announcement that it would deploy 11,000 of Redmond's hybrid tablets in its cockpits instead of the iPad, which it also considered. Apple's tablet is already used by American Airlines and others, but Delta said it preferred the readability, productivity apps and other features of the Surface Pro 2.
--------------------
*Rumour: Google to begin forcing OEMs to certify Android devices with a recent OS version if they want Google Apps >> Android Police*
The site reckons it has got hold of a Google document which closes the window for certification with Google Mobile Services on older Android versions; nothing older than 4.2 from now, it says.
The wording in this statement is important - "each platform release will have a 'GMS approval window'" - this implies that the window did not formally exist, at least in writing, prior to this announcement. The 9 month window Google is giving manufacturers before deprecating older releases also changes things. From later this year on out, it means no OEM can certify a device more than two versions behind the current Android release. Google typically releases two Android versions resulting in an API level increase per year, roughly 6 months apart, so that does mean there will be a small 3 month window where devices 2 versions behind the currently announced version could be certified. That is, unless Google plans to slow the release cycle of Android OS / API level updates.
--------------------
*Indian PC shipments fall 20%, Dell sees strong gains: Gartner >> NDTV Gadgets*
Declining government spending on hardware hit Indian PC shipments during the October-December quarter, as sales fell by 20% to 1.96 million units, research firm Gartner said on Tuesday.
"Consumers accounted for 49% of total PC sales in the fourth quarter of 2013," said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In the absence of any government orders this quarter, the Indian PC market performed dismally, re-emphasising the fact that with current economic sentiments and the current political scenario, enterprises are deferring their purchases."
That's 2m sales per quarter in a country of more than a billion people.
--------------------
*Teach yourself programming in ten years >> Peter Norvig*
I did the following power search at Amazon.com:
pubdate: after 1992 and title: days and
(title: learn or title: teach yourself)
and got back 248 hits. The first 78 were computer books (number 79 was Learn Bengali in 30 days). I replaced "days" with "hours" and got remarkably similar results: 253 more books, with 77 computer books followed by Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours at number 78. Out of the top 200 total, 96% were computer books.
The conclusion is that either people are in a big rush to learn about computers, or that computers are somehow fabulously easier to learn than anything else. There are no books on how to learn Beethoven, or Quantum Physics, or even Dog Grooming in a few days. Felleisen et al. give a nod to this trend in their book How to Design Programs, when they say "Bad programming is easy. Idiots can learn it in 21 days, even if they are dummies.
Norvig works at Google, and might have some idea of how long it really takes to learn to program. "Ten Years Of Code" isn't as gripping, is it, though?
--------------------
*Ultra-HD off Target? >> Home Media Magazine*
It starts off with chain store Target suggesting it won't carry 4K TVs, but the reality is more grainy:
The Feb. 5 Consumer Electronics Association survey found nearly half of consumers (47%) saying that if they do get an Ultra-HD TV, it'll be at specialty electronics stores, compared with only 17% at a mass merchant (such as Walmart or Target), and only 8% at a warehouse club store. Only 10% said they would buy online.
Eighty percent of consumers said they would look for 4K displays in stores, and 77% said they would research 4K online before buying.
"Ultra-HD TV consumer adoption will be a case of 'seeing is believing,'" Rhonda Daniel, senior manager of market research of CEA, said in a statement.
"Experiencing the technology in person is a critical component to drive consumer interest in adopting Ultra-HD as their next television."
The survey saw a quarter of respondents considering a UHD TV purchase in the next year (compared with 33% who said they might purchase any TV overall during the same period). And price remains a major barrier: 75% of respondents said their chief concern was the cost of a UHD TV.
--------------------
You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on Pinboard
To suggest a link, either add it below or tag it with @gdntech on the free Delicious service. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.