Skype and Facebook: When Social Media Collide
Back in October when Skype 5.0 client software appeared, it was heralded as a good thing all round. It integrated Skype's audio and video conferencing into Facebook's social media management, allowing Skype users to view and comment on Facebook friends' posts, and to communicate with them via SMS and Skype's voice service.
So far so good, but just over a month ago, a strange quirk emerged at many companies and schools that cast a shadow over the whole thing. As of the aftermath of Presidents' Day, that shadow is still looming. Read more...
All Apple Products Should Be Cheaper: 10 Reasons Why
Numerous reports have been swirling over the past few weeks saying that Apple could be planning to launch a cheaper iPhone later this year. Originally, rumors suggested the device would also be smaller, but as of late, reports suggest it will be the same size as previously released versions of the smartphone.
In either case, a cheaper iPhone is nice to hear. For years, Apple has been the premium provider of premium products at a premium price. Even talk that the company is just thinking about selling its marquee device at a reduced rate speaks to the changes that must be going on in Cupertino.
But what about its other products? A cheaper iPhone is great, but most would agree that Apple's other products tend to be overpriced. Wouldn't it be a good idea for Apple to reduce the price of all of its products?
Yes, it would.
Read on to find out why: Read more...
Microsoft offers free Azure trial
Recalling all those AOL disks promising hundreds of hours of free usage (minus the disks), Microsoft is offering up to 750 free hours of use on its Azure service as an enticement for developers to try cloud computing, the company announced Tuesday.
"This extended free trial will allow developers to try out the Windows Azure platform without the need for up-front investment costs," a Microsoft blog entry explained.
The offer arrives but a few weeks after Microsoft promoted Satya Nadella to head its $15 billion server and tools business, which includes the Azure offering. The company extolled Nadella's experience in ramping up large-scale consumer-focused cloud services like Bing and hoped he could bring the same magic to getting Microsoft cloud services into the enterprise as well. Read more...
Windows to suffer fewer attacks as it loses ground to mobile
According to Kaspersky Lab's prediction, there's a silver lining for Microsoft as it struggles to gain a foothold in the mobile space against Apple iOS and Google Android: Over the next decade, the company's oft-targeted Windows platform won't be quite as juicy a target for certain breeds of cyber criminals as it has been.
That's not to say that Windows will fall out of bad guys' sights entirely. In business environments, the platform will continue to feel the brunt of highly focused attacks, such as the advanced persistent threats that have already started to hurt organizations. Read more...
Mozilla ices Firefox 4 beta 12 release to nail final bugs
Mozilla looks set to miss its February deadline for the release of its forthcoming browser Firefox 4.
The open-source outfit delayed building beta 12 of Firefox 4 late last week, because Mozilla wanted to stamp out the few remaining hardblocker bugs found in the browser, before releasing the latest test build.
Earlier this month, Mozilla seemed pretty confident that the 12th Firefox 4 beta would be the final test iteration, after originally mulling the prospect of a pushing out a 13th beta.
"As of now, beta 12 is the last planned beta," Mozilla's Christian Legnitto wrote last week. Read more...