News

For some time we have said that companies that file bad lawsuits or that continue to make obviously incorrect claims in the market should have consequences. Apple is probably one of the worst with their continuous stream of allegations against Google, Samsung,  HTC, LG, and pretty much everyone else that they “slavishly copy” Apple and do not invent their own technology. This has been repeated so often that it is boring and even cursory glance at the any two products (go ahead and pick two) will show significant differences. There is almost no chance of the wide spread consumer confusion that Apple is trying to claim on a daily basis.

Does anyone remember the format wars for video tapes? How about Blu-ray? In both of these there were two competing technologies each with their own pros and cons.  In the end both of these were settled by one industry. In the “PC” industry there we have competing operating systems that are all vying for your attention and support. Although we have more than two in competition for your business the winner (believe it or not) is also still picked by one industry. Here that industry is gaming.

Microsoft is in a bit of trouble over their decision to grant users in the EU the right to choose their browser upon the installation of the Windows operating system. Now I know you are thinking that they have already been in trouble for this before, so why are we bringing it up again? Well the issue is that with the launch of Windows 7 Service Pack 1… Microsoft just stopped allowing for the browser election. Yup, any new system shipped with Windows 7 SP1 would boot up just like the good old days (for Microsoft). Well the European Union would like to talk to them about it.

It looks like Google is finally stepping up to the plate when it comes to security in their Android Smartphone OS. For a number of years now opponents of Google’s desert themed mobile OS have complained Android does not have sufficient security. This makes it an unsuitable operating system. The fact that a large portion of these complaints come from the competition (Apple and Microsoft) meant that they were ignored by the large majority of people. It is also noteworthy that the openness of Android has allowed for mobile phone makers to highly individualize their Android offerings instead of relying on the stock version. Consumers have eaten this up and now you can see people defending their favorite version (HTC’s Sense UI over Samsung etc.) It is a great feature to the OS and one that has helped in in the market.