The Weekly: 04 July 2013
Highlights
Windows RT on sale, finally a real robot named Atlas, Thom Yorke leaves Spotify, make money from advertisements on Android, Ubuntu crowdfunds F1 of phones, new Gmail annoying, repay for iOS apps you already own.
Windows RT on Desperate Sale
So after finally admitting the Windows RT tablets are almost completely useless machines that can never amount to anything more than swatting flies, they're decided to push RT Surface tablets to students for extremely discounted rates. That's what happens when you try to build something for the sake of competing with the likes of Apple and Google. No passion la!
Would The Real Atlas Please Stand Up
I remember one of the coolest ever Mechwarrior mech was the Atlas. Boston Dynamics created this humanoid-inspired robot that does almost everything a Man can do, and called it the Atlas. Not nuclear-powered, yet. Cannot go against Kaijus, yet. They also have other robots built for different terrains like the BigDog and SandFlea.
Then Sky Net reveals that they're actually not a moving company, instead the financier behind Boston Dynamics. Then they say there hasn't been a single human employee in Sky Net for the past 5 years.
Watch this video, and do pardon the crappy techno
And check out 0:57, this fella is wearing a pair of 5.10 climbing shoes!
Thom Yorke Goes Paranoid On Spotify
Not just that, he also pulled Radiohead's music out of every music subscription service out there. He says it's because these companies haven't been coming up with business models that are fair to music makers and his strike is to protect new music makers from being severely bullied by the companies.
This is coming from the guy who released an album and told people 'Pay However Much You Wish'. I think Thom Yorke is too far beyond needing intermediaries to help promote their music, and although his intentions are good he cannot represent the voice of small-time music makers.
Locket: One More Reason To Own an Android
Outside of Malaysia that is. Locket is an app that place advertisements on your phone lockscreen and pays you for swiping left and viewing them. The figures are pretty dismal now with Locket where users can only make about US$ 20 odd bucks a month at most, but hey that's better than looking at those silly dandelions, no? And that amount can pay for your monthly Spotify subscription and buy you a few good movies on iTunes Store.
Ubuntu Edge
Ubuntu plans to raise US$ 32 mil through crowd sourcing to build the Ubuntu Edge, an Ubuntu and Android dual-boot smartphone. It will have awesomeness spewing from all of it's edgy corners from superb aesthetics to ultra-generous specs. Pledge one at US$ 600 today, and it will be out May next year.
I wish it was RM 600 instead of the 3 times more amount so I can make my pledge too. But I guess I'll just have to sit by and wait to buy the phone when it's out, for US$ 800. Sigh. Meanwhile let the video impress you
Gmail Advertisements Intrusive and Annoying
I don't care what Tech Crunch says, I hate the new Gmail advertisements hidden carefully as emails. We consumers understand the need for advertisements to keep services free to us, but masking them as emails is intrusive and annoying, and so un-Gmail-like.
It seems this only happens when a user opts into the new 'auto-organizing inbox' that splits the inbox into 3 categories. To revert do the following:
1. Hit gear icon on top left corner of screen
2. Hit 'Configure Inbox'
3. Deselect everything but 'Primary'.
Let's hope Gmail will never make this stupidity mandatory. Else the new Yahoo email will start to look more attractive.
Pay for iOS Apps Again, Maybe?
App developers are saying people who bought their apps before will need to buy them again when their iOS7 update comes out. Because iOS7 is so far departed and improved from iOS6, developers will probably need to rework apps from ground up for suit the new interface and UI. Many are already fussing over this because people were made to believe apps are and will always be a one-off purchase.
No such thing! Every update of Photoshop costs us tonnes of money. Every new Windows costs us money. Every new installment of Diablo and Star Craft costs us money. Why won't we pay that little few bucks to continue supporting developers?
