By Greg Mills

In recent articles I attributed the embarrassingly flubbed Ken smartphone Microsoft  launched as being a product of Mattel, when actually  Sharp produced it. I was frankly deceived by the toy like quality of the Kin/Ken, thus never attributing the toy phone to a serious manufacturer like Sharp.  

Actually, I am joking at the expense of Mr. Ballmer and the copycat software firm responsible for the Ken's release. Those folks, instead of being fired, were put to work building the (too late to be relevant) Windows 7 Mobile OS. I can't wait to see what wonders they can perform.

Microsoft has lost half its market cap since Mr. Ballmer took over the company from the other Steve. To their credit, Mattel never sued me for defamation or some other legal theory for embarrassing them with my insinuation they had anything to do with the Ken Phone.  (I never seem to spell "Kin" the same way Microsoft did). The dilution of the "Barbie" brand...

By Greg Mills

As I mentioned in this column in the past, the biggest problem Android will face in its attempt to be the "iPhone killer" that actually cuts into Apple's pie is being open source. In the debate over closed vs open software platforms, the issue that comes to the top, in terms of business success, is security for developers.  

Android's app store is much smaller: 100,000 compared to Apple's 250,000 apps. What's more, while free apps in both stores are common, far and away the best paid apps are in the Apple App Store. There are a number of good reasons why this is -- and why it matters.

First of all, every app was written by someone called a developer. These people work hunched over a computer keyboard all day, consuming pizza and coffee in mass proportions. It is hard work, and there is a steep learning curve to writing apps that are professional in quality. These apps are more likely to be sold than given away.  

There are...

Apple has been granted patents for a variety of items, including the design of the original iPod and iPod touch. Summaries of each are below.

Patent number 7782337 involves multi-conic gradient generation. Disclosed is a technique for computing a complex gradient using multiple conics. In connection with a computer system having a graphics processing unit (GPU) in addition to the normal central processing unit (CPU), gradients can be computed in real time. The conics may be rendered and adjusted in a number of ways, providing a rich palette for creation of gradient graphics. The computational efficiency of the algorithms disclosed herein, when executed on typical GPU hardware, allows rendering frame rates high enough to provide animated gradient images. The inventors are Mark Zimmer and Ralph Brunner.

Patent number 7783589 is for inverted index processing. Systems and methods for improving indexing are described. In one exemplary...

By Greg Mills

Clear, the new 4G wireless Internet provider "Clear" (associated with Sprint), provided me with a test unit of their new portable WiFi router.  I tried it out in Kansas City, Kansas, and when I was able to actually hook up with their new 4G network, it worked fine and is fast. The problem is not with the cool looking 4G device, but with the limited radio coverage available at this time.

As AT&T users can testify to, the wireless device is only as good as the network that supports it.  Clear is still building out their 4G network; when it is built out, it will be state of the art.  There are a number of devices Clear offers that hook up to the faster 4G network cellular and then pump out a WiFi signal that will run up to eight iPhones, iPads or laptops at pretty much at full Wi-Fi speeds within Wi-Fi range. 

The device they loaned me is very cool, something Apple's design guru, Johnny Ives, might have created. It is slick, jet...

I'm a Comcast subscriber. I have their "Triple Play" bundle, but the cable company's creep up every month (and, in fact, leapt up instead of creeping last month), so I'm considering making a change. Perhaps the future Apple TV would be my impetus to switch.

Silicon Alley Insider (http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-itv-metered-broadband-2010-8?utm_so...) says the rumored rev of the Apple TV (which some think will be redubbed iTV should at least make a lot of people excited about the idea of using their TVs as living-room computers, especially...

If you like video and computer games, the years ahead could be good ones for you as there'll be more and more folks working on 'em.

Approximately 300 American colleges, universities, art and trade schools will offer degrees in video game design, development, programming and art during the 2010-11 academic year, according to new research from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The degrees offered at 300 institutions represent an almost 20% increase over 2009-10.  

The growing number of educational programs comes as no surprise to Rich Taylor, senior vice president for communications and industry affairs at the ESA (http://www.theESA.com), which represents computer and video game publishers.

"The steady increase in higher education programs is an important indicator about the expanding role computer and video games play in today's world," he says. "While computer and video games have...

I haven't bought one of the new iMacs yet. The SSD options are tempting, though solid state drives are still way overpriced. Plus, I'm waiting for Apple to add support for TRIM technology to Mac OS X.

A TRIM command allows an operating system to inform an SSD which data blocks, such as those belonging to a deleted file or affected by a format command, are no longer being used so can be wiped internally. That's important because the low-level operation of SSDs differs from traditional hard disk drives in the way operating systems handle operations like deleting and formatting. TRIM enables the SSD to handle garbage collection overhead which would otherwise significantly slow down future write operations to the involved blocks, in advance. In other words, it helps maintain optimal performance and extend the life of your SSD.

Or, as Bit-Tech (...

An Apple patent (20100211910) for sticky functionality has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. And it shows that Apple still has plans for the mouse in upcoming Macs.

The patent relates to graphical user interfaces for computer systems, and more particularly to a user interface which allows easier manipulation of elements of the user interface via a cursor control device such as a mouse. Manipulation of elements in a graphical user interface is aided by allowing the graphical user interface to treat certain mouse button actuation and releases as holding the mouse button in an actuated state.

When predetermined conditions are satisfied, the graphical user interface will treat a mouse button actuation and release as if the mouse button were held in an actuated state. A user can then manipulate elements in the graphical user interface as if the user held the mouse button in an actuated state. The types of manipulation can include the moving of a window,...

Upcoming iPhones and iPads could recognize individual users and adjust accordingly, per a new patent (number 20100207721) for systems and methods for identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

The patent is generally directed to identifying unauthorized users of an electronic device. In some embodiments, an unauthorized user of the electronic device can be detected by identifying particular activities that may indicate suspicious behavior. In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identity of the owner of the electronic device. When an unauthorized user is detected, various safety measures can be taken.

For example, information related to the identity of the unauthorized user, the unauthorized user's operation of the electronic device, or the current location of the electronic device can be gathered. As another example, functions of the...

By Greg Mills

Sometimes the tech media runs the most hysterical articles, ones that are so transparently sponsored by big money. Case in point: an MSNBC article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38741936/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/) touting the unreleased vaporware that is the Mobile Windows 7 platform that Microsoft is busy working on.  

Posting a review of vaporware is an exercise in foolishness, especially given Microsoft's lousy track record. They raise expectations to counter innovative products Apple actually releases. The failed Vista, Kin and Zune employees are hard at work putting their vast innovation skills into this coming Mobile OS, which is really Microsoft's "too late, last chance" to even be relevant in the modern smartphone market.

To understand how such...

By Greg Mills

Remember the recent flap over Apple using a patent drawing based upon the app of a developer?  It turns out if you read the fine print Apple is within its rights to use anything submitted to them.  Certainly the understanding is that Apple will play fair. See the contract for submission to Apple's iTunes Store at http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html .

Apple does try to protect trademarks and copyrights, but you do need to have a copyright to see Apple enforce it (see http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/claimsofcopyright.html)/

Apps developed for the the iOS platform are intellectual property and the authors do have rights that need to be protected by dong the right things to secure those rights. Since apps are basically written code, they are protectable by electronic copyright...

There's talk again that Apple will eventually come out with its own line of television sets. Or at least one model. I'm dubious -- but stranger things have happened.

In October 2008 Nate Lanxon of "CNET UK" started the buzz by reporting that Apple is working on a networked television. He says that these LCD HDTVs will be fully networked, with the ability to stream all your iTunes content from your Mac or PC. They would, he said, function like a standard TV with an Apple TV box, only without the need for the box. Lanxon said the TV's will be akin to Apple's 30-inch display for the Mac "only thinner, streaming iTunes movie rentals over 802.11n, controlled with the Remote app on an iPod touch or iPhone.”

Earlier this year Ezra Gottheil of Technology Business Research told "Computerworld" (http://macosg.me/2/pk) that he thinks Apple wants to be the first to successfully integrate the home office with the...