Tech News Today 439

Tech News Today Episode 439

Tech News Today 439: A Delicious Dish Of Spectrum

Mountain Lion OS X comes to Mac devs, is Android 5 coming? Facebook verifies famous people, and more.

Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com

Hosts

• Tom Merritt (@acedtect)
  • TomMerritt.com
• Sarah Lane (@SarahLane)
  • SarahLane.com
• Iyaz Akhtar (@Iyaz)
  • ThisOldNerd.FiniteComedy.com
• Jason Howell (@RayGun01)
• Martin Giles (@martingiles)
  • theeconomist.com

Top Stories

• Next version of OS X to be more iOS-like than ever with Mountain Lion
• Hands on with Apple's new OS X: Mountain Lion
• Mountain Lion and Windows 8’s Common Aim: Make Desktop More Like Mobile
• Mac OS X 10.8 restricted to App Store, signed apps by default
• Apple officially renames Mac OS X to OS X, drops the 'Mac'
• Download Messages Beta
  • OS X Mountain Lion available Summer 2012. Developer preview available today
  • Messages app replaces iChat - Messages will continue to support AIM, Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, and Google Talk. A beta version of Messages is available to all Lion users starting today
  • Mac versions of Notes, Reminders, Game Center, Notification Center, Share Sheets, OS-wide Twitter integration, and AirPlay Mirroring. s Notes, Reminders, and Messages, will sync seamlessly with iOS devices and other Macs connected to your iCloud account.
  • Game Center will enable live multiplayer gameplay between Macs, iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches
  • Gatekeeper: Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion can only run Mac App Store or Apple-signed applications by default. There is a master switch to switch between App Store-only, App Store+signed, and unrestricted (the current behaviour). In addition, you can force-install an application even if it violates the master switch.

• Google may launch Android 5.0 in 2Q12, say Taiwan makers
• Making Sense of the Android 5.0 "Jelly Bean" Timeline
• Android 5.0 launching in Q2/ We're more than a bit skeptical
  • Digitimes sources say that Android 5.0 known as Jelly Bean will launch in the 2nd quarter of this year
  • Citing Taiwan-based supply chain makers - 5.0 will be more tablet friendly and should "integrate its Chrome system functions to push dual-operating system designs."
  • Brand vendors can either choose to adopt only Android 5.0 or add Android 5.0 to Windows 8 devices with the ability to switch between the two OSes without the need to shut down the computer.
  • ReadWriteWeb wrote a post wondering about the timing. 4.0 was announced in 2011 Q2 and this year's Google I/O is scheduled for June 27-29th.
  • AndoridAndMe.com also expects to see 4.1 or 5.0 at I/O as an announcement and says devices with the next version will land in Sept/Oct.

• Facebook Launches Verified Accounts and Pseudonyms
• Facebook Launches Verified Accounts, Allows Nicknames for Some
• Facebook's Subscribe Suggestions page
  • now allowing prominent public figures to verify accounts & opt to display a nick instead of their birth name. Verified accts get prominent placement in Facebook’s “People To Subscribe To” suggestions.
  • birth names will still be shown on profile's About page. Ensures people don’t subscribe to public updates of impostors.
  • starting today some users with many subscribers will be notified through their profile of the option to verify their identity. chosen by FB, no way to opt-in
  • if chosen must submit gvmt-issued photo ID, deleted after verification. May enter an “alternate name” that can be used to find them through search, displayed next to real name, or replace real name
  • Unlike Twitter or Google+’s verification programs, verified Facebook accounts won’t show any sort of badge or denotation
  • maiden names or name in an alternate language already viewable on profile and via search, but not across the site like a verified alternate name.
  • In 2010 FB stopped allowing the use of special characters in names.
  • FB user base 8x Twitter's... subscribe numbers growing rapidly.
  • FB statement to PC Mag: "This update makes it even easier for subscribers to find and keep up with journalists, celebrities and other public figures they want to connect to."

Discussion Stories

• Intel to postpone mass shipments of Ivy Bridge processors
• Intel 'Ivy Bridge' chip delayed, Windows 8 in September, report claims
• Windows 8 set for 4th quarter? Fujitsu thinks so
  • According to Italian blogging site NetbookItalia, Fujitsu showed a slide in a press conference yesterday that indicated Windows 8 is coming in Q4 2012
  • The slide also suggested Fujitsu is prepping a Windows 8 tablet
  • Digitimes reporting Intel will still announce Ivy Bridge products and ship a small volume of the processors in early April, while mass shipments will be delayed until after June, according to sources from notebook players.
  • The report atributes the delay to concerns over high Sandy Bridge inventories
  • the notebook vendors still believe the PC replacement trend is unlikely to start until after September, when Microsoft launches Windows 8,
  • CNET's Brooke Crothers points out that peak production of new Intel chips typically doesn't to happen until a few months after the official technology announcement.

• Falcone, LightSquared Say Interference With GPS Can Be Solved
• LightSqured grasps at straws, slams FCC in a statement
  • Philip Falcone said his LightSquared Inc. venture remains committed to finding a solution to interference problems that led U.S. regulators to reject the proposed nationwide wireless service.
  • “This was not a decision based on science or technology but was a politically motivated decision fueled by special interest groups in the GPS and telecom industry,” Falcone said in an e-mailed statement today. “There are solutions to this problem that can and will address the needs of the GPS community.”
  • Wall Street Journal reported that firm was now making a last-ditch effort to revive hope, by attempting to exchange its wireless licenses for ones similar to those operated by the Department of Defense.
  • Philip Falcone claims that filing for bankruptcy would be off the cards, defiantly stating "there are other ways around this." As to what these other ways include we're as yet to see, but we admire the optimism.

• Apple's 4Q Global Tablet Market Share Falls To 57% From 64% In 3Q
• Amazon Passes Samsung for No. 2 Spot in Tablets Behind Apple
• iPhone 4S Impacted iPad Market Share More Than Kindle Fire
  • iHS iSuppli reports Apple's fourth-quarter iPad shipments were 15.4 million, up 39% from the third quarter, but the device's share of the global media-tablet market fell to 57% from 64% in the prior quarter.
  • Rhoda Alexander, senior manager of tablet and monitor research for IHS said "The rollout of the iPhone 4S in October generated intense competition for Apple purchasers' disposable income, doing more to limit iPad shipment growth than competition from the Kindle Fire and other media tablets"
  • Amazon shipped 3.9 million Fire tablets in the fourth quarter, giving the company 14.3% of the market, and making Amazon the world's second-largest tablet shipper, surpassing Samsung Electronics Co.
  • Samsung shipped 2.14 million tablets, a 16% rise from the third quarter, but its market share fell to 8% from 11% in the prior quarter.

News Fuse

• Library.nu and File.it closed down yesterday thanks to US Publishers and an International Alliance. The sites received court orders in Ireland over copyright infringement. In more shut down news - the U.S. Secret Service just suspended JotForm.com as a part of an investigation about content posted on the site. The site allows users to generate forms. The company says you can still access forms if you have the right URL. If you have a JotForm.com URL, change it to JotForm.net.
  • Takedowns run amok? The strange Secret Service/GoDaddy assault on JotForm

• The European Court of Justice says that social networks cannot be forced to filter their content to stop copyright infringement. Royalty collecting company SABAM asked a Belgium court to make social network Netlog to filter content. The court said that such a filter would interfere with freedom of information, personal data, and freedom of business.

• According to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T is back on the prowl for more spectrum. Instead of salivating over T-Mobile's delicious spectrum, AT&T is looking at Dish, MetroPCS and Leap Wireless. WSJ says that Leap is in the lead to partner with AT&T while MetroPCS is the least likely due to its public opposition to the AT&T/T-Mobile merger.

PATENT WARS!

• A German court found that Motorola infringed on Apple's slide to unlock image patent, which gives Apple the ability to enjoin Motorola from selling Motorola products in Germany. However, if Motorola wins on an appeal, Apple would have to pay Moto all the money it didn't make during the banning and Moto is likely to appeal. There are more battles in the Patent Wars -- Intellectual Ventures is suing T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T over telecom patents. Also, Apple was granted a patent that refers to an ornamental design for an electronic device - which looks a lot like the wedge-shaped MacBook Air.
• Patent Collector Intellectual Ventures Sues AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile for Infringement
• Apple Secures Win Against Motorola Over 'Slide-to-Unlock' Patent
• Apple MacBook Air Patented; Beware, Ultrabook Makers
• Regarding the iPad trademark dispute, Apple made a statement to China Daily saying that it bought the rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries from Proview years ago and "a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter." Proview issued its own statement saying "The root cause of the dispute is Apple's underestimation of the legal complications in China." Meanwhile, Reuters reports more Chinese retail stores in Shanghai and Qingdao are pulling iPads from shelves and two major shopping malls have halted orders of the iPad because of the trademark battle.
  • More Stores In China Being Told To Remove iPads In Apple Trademark Dispute

• The FBI could take several DNS servers offline on March 8th that may lead to Internet service interruptions for some. The FBI installed the servers to combat the DNSCharger Trojan, which rerouted traffic to malware infested ones. Thanks to the FBI servers, an infected machine would actually go to a safe FBI servers instead. The FBI would need a court order to extend the life of the servers beyond March 8th. If you're worried about losing access, you just need to make sure your system isn't infected at dcwg.org.

• Live streaming March Madness will be more limited this year. If your cable company has a deal with Turner Sports, you'll still get March Madness streamed for free. If a game is broadcast on CBS, only desktop browsers can access the stream - tablets and smartphones are locked out. If you want to watch any game at any time with any cable provider on any device - it'll cost you a one-time fee of $4.

• The Indian Government will require wireless carriers to provide its Department of Telecom location data about its subscribers in real time using latitudes and longitudes. The government is implementing this policy by putting amendments on operator licenses starting May 31.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has asked automakers to to make dashboards less distracting by disabling certain functions when the vehicle is not in park. GPS, navigation and warning systems would be fine, but text messaging, phone dialing and Internet browsing would be disabled. Now remember, these are just voluntary guidelines and there are no laws requiring automakers to do anything about "distracting dashboards."

Randomizer

• Goats apparently have accents, report goat experts
  • Young Goats Learn Accents From One Another

Calendar

• New Twitter web redesign, or as it's known on Twitter, #newnewtwitter, has finally rolled out to all users. Initially launched on 12/8/11

• Plants vs. Zombies has launched in Blackberry App World. $6.99

• HP's Gorilla glass-laden HP Envy 14 Spectre ships tomorrow 2/17

• European Parliament approves January 2013 deadline for 4G spectrum free up from 800mhz frequency bands, currently used for analog television. Member nations have until the 1st of January next year to switch over to digital and authorize the band for its new role. Nations can obtain an exemption if they have a good excuse.

• Clearwire CEO Erik Prusch said on their Q4 earnings call to expect LTE by June 2013!! The spectrum will take over from WiMAX.

INCOMING

Email

"Hi TNT crew just finshed watching your great show 437 and i was interested about the part about you were talking about having to use many items of hardware to get what needs doing done. The comment from Tom about not being able to multi task on mobile OS devices sparked my old grey cells in to life and i remembered reading about a company that wanted to bring that very feature to mobile OS's.

Here is the link to the company and their software solution to this problem - http://www.onskreen.com/cornerstone/ - i think it has now become an open source project which could see it intergrated in to an Android rom at some point in the future.

In fact here is a link to a story about Cyanogenmod possibly looking into using this software in its CM9 roms - http://androidcommunity.com/cyanogenmod-9-may-use-onskreens-cornerstone-multitasking-engine-20120215/

Now this idea may go the way many other projects but thought i would let you know about it in case it became a reality in the future and that you maybe able to go mobile one day.

Thanks and keep up the good work as your podcasts of the show stop me from being bored at work here in the UK.

Jason,"

"Hi y'all-

Thanks for the internet law news. Here's a link to read more about the proposed Georgia broadband legislation. http://www.peachpundit.com/2012/02/09/two-sides-on-municipal-broadband-bill/

Although the push for the law is to 'get rid of tax redundant spending' and encourage infrastructure growth by the large companies, it's a bit like killing a fly with a shotgun. In the rural areas where I've had a chance to talk to local small ISPs no one has ever said that the large companies have ever been helpful. Mostly they've tried to squash the local guys without providing a viable solution to rural ISPs issues.

In the city of Savannah (my home) I can't say the big companies have done much better. Comcast recently spent 4 days in town hall meetings because they screwed up their xfinity rollout so much the local government had to step in to quell the issues.

If you live in Georgia or anywhere that broadband laws like these are on the books take the time to write an official about it.

Sheala"

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Production Information

• Edited by: Jason
• Notes:

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