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What? This doesn't satisfy you?

Start up/shut down times are nominally much improved due to hardware states not having to be reinitialized from scratch every single boot. This also assists with a higher function, low power sleep mode.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/...
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/arc...

Cleaned up timing core meaning that where Windows 7 is hard-locked to a timer cycle, Windows 8 is not and can scale down processor usage accordingly. It is also more efficient in memory usage, reducing the footprint in memory considerably. http://www.engadget.com/2011/0...

Hyper-visor core technologies using Hyper-V (supporting 32 and 64 bit guests) rather than that lackluster Virtual PC. (no link, this is just a 'duh' observation)

Problems with the ugly start menu can be resolved in part using the Windows 8.1 free upgrade, the Update 1 (adding more desktop-friendly features back into the UI) and use of the Windows-S search feature to quickly locate programs you frequently use. I don't often go to the start menu myself, I open the Search utility and find my app in as few keystrokes as possible. It isn't perfect, but it (combined with the core re-architecture mentioned before) makes Windows 8 very usable.

Did _you_ know that your wireless router was using OpenSSL to manage EAP? Or did you just assume that having SSH blocked and not serving HTTPS would be enough?

And even if you did, is it even possible for you to upgrade a single library on your access point?

Try going back to the original CVE, the plethora of vulnerability checkers, or any of the press surrounding it. Every reference to Heartbleed pointed to HTTPS or, rarely, TLS and VPN services as being vulnerable to the bug. Now pretend that you don't know the implementation details of WPA and EAP. Based on all of that, why would you even consider updating or replacing every wireless device you have which don't use HTTPS unless the manufacturer told you?

Moreover, when have manufacturers of popular wireless equipment _ever_ produced timely and relevant updates without at least eight months lead time and court cases in at least three countries?

We do not need concrete information.
When a major encryption project like this closes shop, without any explanation, duress should be assumed.
The current climate requires it.

The problem is, it doesn't make sense.

First of all, Lavabit is a bad example because they used one encryption key for everything - hence the FBI's request for all user's email because it's impossible to isolate just one mailbox. That was a Lavabit fault (one would reasonably assumed there was no master key involved).

TrueCrypt though doesn't have a "master key" - there is no one key that when disclosed will unlock every TrueCrypt volume out there. (At least, that's what the preliminary audit reports say).

And given the nature of TrueCrypt, it would be a challenge to implement such a backdoor - the audit verified that it's possible to recreate the binaries from the source.

And there's no real update in over 2 years. A NSL that forces them to implement something that sends the master key to the NSA would be known - it's not like people won't diff the source code or build and compare to see if there were holes.

And the audit itself didn't reveal anything big or major.

A more likely reason cropped up when someone claiming to be a TrueCrypt developer stepped up and claimed boredom as the reason. Basically the developers were burned out and didn't want to do it anymore. Perhaps some of the minor flaws in the audit would be too boring to fix, for example.

So why the announcement? Because unsupported it IS less secure - eventually more holes and vulnerabilities will turn up and it might be fatal. Better to get everyone off it rather than believing their data is secure against unknown future attacks.

And other people are trying to resurrect/fork it, trying to get all the legal ducks in a row to meet the requirements of the license.

HP consumer laptops consistently worst in reliability tables. Why would you buy one.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/1...

The ITWorld article also claims that OS X Tiger had 86 million lines of code (they are referencing to an Engadget article). However, that's hard to believe. Has that number actually been 8.6 million, for example?

Did i though? http://www.engadget.com/2014/0... Its nothing but a really bloody accurate accelerometer.

I am not sure. It's possible there aren't any competing cars that are compatible with the Tesla. They could easily enough put into place some DRM-style stuff.

You're in luck. They just got rid of the gold account requirement for streaming media (netflix and others): http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

But the fact you can access internet services such as Netflix without having to pay a monthly fee, to access data you are already paying for.

Funny you should mention this.. that's another thing they just did a reversal on.

because according to the google agreement the manufacturers can't build any non-google android phones.

https://cyngn.com/products/n1/
http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...
Whoops, i guess that makes you 100% wrong.

They dont sell them because theres a small market. But theres no reason you cant do it, and Oppo is doing it.

I don't know one XP user that would pay for a subscription.

Allow me to introduce you to one...

http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

In the smartphone market, the US still comprises a decently large slice of the pie

The US numbers show iOS at 42%, and Android at 51%. The worldwide numbers show iOS at 15.5%, and Android at 78.9%. So, there's your difference. Links stolen from above:

http://www.comscoredatamine.co...
http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

Those worldwide numbers are from 2013 though, so I expect that iOS would have continued to shrink over the past 4 months, there's no reason it would have gone up.

particularly at the high end of the market where the more valuable users tend to reside.

News flash: there are more high-end smartphones that run Android then there are that run iOS. Welcome to 2012.

Saying that more malware targets Android than does iOS is the same as saying more targets Windows than MacOS. It's a market share issue, again.

Not even close.

Try 78% and 15%, in favor of Android.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

I suspect that's how every over-priced, over-budget research project is considered at the start.

No, there's always some Pollyanna type who thinks it can't possibly be done for less out there.

Then reality intrudes, and unforeseen circumstances (like bureaucratic meddling) cause the actual costs to increase.

Well, of course, you can always make the problem worse (three orders of magnitude is the next step up this particular ladder). But if you were trying to say that the cheaper approach isn't actually cheaper, then you picked a mighty peculiar way of trying.

Also, I actually have experience with a project that did something for less than a government funded project by at least three orders of magnitude. Lockheed Martin was paid $150 million to launch the HALE-D, an airship allegedly capable of reaching 60k feet, but which actually only reached 32k feet before it came down prematurely.

My non-profit group, JP Aerospace took a much simpler though far less capable airship to 95k feet - which is for now better than the current world record for airships at a cost well, more than three orders of magnitude less.

This demonstrates the typical differences between a government project and a private one. The government one doesn't have to work. The government project adds features and such willy nilly. And there's less control of costs.

These factors all play out with ITER. There's no blowback if ITER doesn't work or it is fundamentally broken due to misdesign. It's all a learning experience that was totally worth the tens of billions of dollars we put into it. LOL.

Similarly, it wasn't enough to make ITER a focused, break even prototype. We have to add the fig leaf of fusion research so that gobs of useless functionality could be indiscriminately tossed in to the project. The vast project that does everything is a huge failure mode of publicly funded research.

And of course, they have to use stuff that is beyond state of the art even though it wouldn't be used in any commercial fusion power plants. It has built in irrelevance to anything of value we might try over the next few decades. This is how you can take copious funding (yes, I know fusion power research is not as well funded as the fusion research community would like) and turn it into shit.

so you can switch them on and off without even reaching for the wall switch ;-)
http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

More than one year before the Pebble there was Metawatch [metawatch.org] (which uses exactly the same display type), and ages before the Pebble there were much, much more advanced "smartwatches".

Like the inPulse watch? You know, made by Allerta, who became Pebble?

Modern technology has solved this problem, there's a drill bit linkage made for drilling a hole in your skull without damaging your brain.

of boot loaders and Microsoft's more recent history and their standard practices I think someone would have to be extremely ignorant of Microsoft's history and their standard practices or a shill for Microsoft to state that this is somehow unfair to Microsoft.

Folks, I don't think Microsoft is just misunderstood. I don't think we have to worry about poor little Microsoft surviving its treatment by the "big bully" Google. I think Microsoft is getting exactly the sort of response that it has earned for its behavior.

Sooo, because Microsoft has a history of jackassery, Google gets a pass?

How's the Google-aid taste?

of boot loaders and Microsoft's more recent history and their standard practices I think someone would have to be extremely ignorant of Microsoft's history and their standard practices or a shill for Microsoft to state that this is somehow unfair to Microsoft.

Folks, I don't think Microsoft is just misunderstood. I don't think we have to worry about poor little Microsoft surviving its treatment by the "big bully" Google. I think Microsoft is getting exactly the sort of response that it has earned for its behavior.

Windows RT is dead. It died the minute places like Dell started selling Windows 8.1 tablets with Intel x86 processors in them that can run the full Windows 8.1 for $300. Why would ANYBODY buy a crippled ARM tablet when a tablet that will run all their classic Windows applications is available for the same price or less? Why anybody would buy a crippled iPad is also weird. Apple, it's time for you to sell a low-cost OS X tablet.

It also seems like Google is working on something, so it isn't exactly the case that noone else is doing this right now.

Apple is late to the game, because Google is working on something. Oh, the irony. Are they gonna drop it when everybody uses it like Reader?

It's cool stuff. It should have been pushed out 2 yrs ago, but I don't think anyone else is doing this right now.

There is nothing new here. It was pushed out more than two years ago, under the name iPod-Out. A few auto manufacturers started to adopt it, and first products were appearing around the time the iPhone 5 came out and dropped all support for it. And before Apple introduced iPod Out, Nokia was already pushing MirrorLink, and now there's Miracast aimed at this space as well. It also seems like Google is working on something, so it isn't exactly the case that noone else is doing this right now.

It is simple enough... the interface needs to be operated without looking. But why touch screen? Touch is necessary, but screen? If you are keeping your eyes on the road, you are not looking at it.

The illumination led on the environmental controls on my 8 year old car burned out a while ago. Guess what, I don't care. It is three dials that you can blindly reach and turn where you need them to go. if I want to check the setting, I just run my finger along the indicator of the dial... never taking my eyes off the road.

Does anyone remember the joke about the "Apple iWheel" controller? Perhaps they are on to something here. Make the edge dynamically textured so you can feel what settings you are on and a simple turn-and-click to select settings.

Alternatively if we want to keep a flat screen so it can show info during times when it is safe to look... whatever happened to this technology?

...because in 2006, Samsung clearly copied the design of Apple's 2010 iPad. Maybe Apple should buy them just for their time travel technology.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/0...

Same thing happened to Samsung. Here's a digital picture frame they made in 2005 and sold in 2006. Long before Apple even came out with the iPhone much less the iPad. (Yes the back doesn't look like a tablet - that's beside the point since it wasn't a tablet.) After you've seen the picture frame you realize Samsung didn't copy the iPad's appearance when they made the Galaxy Tab 10.1. They just took their old digital picture frame design (black face, silver/white trim, and yes rounded corners) and repurposed it as a tablet. Even their name/logo is in the same location.

But because almost nobody saw/bought their digital picture frame, they just assume the iPad was first and anything that looked like it must be a copy. I'm of the opinion that with minimalist designs like this, pretty much everyone will come up with the same design. But if you insist there was copying, it's far more likely that it was Apple who lifted Samsung's digital picture frame design when they were settling on the iPad's appearance.

You're not typically connecting to ground based cell towers, and this report seems to indicate that at least some carriers can provide data over the ocean.

LG announced one, the chromebase:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/06/lg-chromebase-hands-on/

No details on pricing yet. What I like about it is that it has an HDMI input, so it can be a family computer, but if I need more power I can hook up my laptop.

Just as Google has been evangelizing with its Chromebook notebook initiative, the pitch for these Chromebox systems is that they're capable of doing everything you need to do in today's connected world. While not everyone will totally agree with that marketing pitch — gaming, 3D modeling, and a host of specialized tasks are better suited for a PC with higher specs — there's certainly a market for these types of devices.

Wasn't one launched by Samsung a few years ago and utterly flopped?
http://www.engadget.com/2012/0...

If Pwn2Own has taught us anything, its that all systems have driveby exploits

This is simply not accurate. First, pwn2own has been focused on browsers, rather than the whole OS the past few years. The last time they focused on OS was in 2008. Linux was the ONLY operating system that was not cracked. http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/29/linux-becomes-only-os-to-escape-pwn-2-own-unscathed/

Second, the ONLY browser and OS combination that was not defeated in the most recent contest in 2013 was Chrome on linux-based Chrome OS. A Windows based Chrome install was defeated. The OS very clearly made a difference in security. http://www.zdnet.com/linux-triumphant-chrome-os-resists-cracking-attempts-7000012331/ $3.14 million dollars is a lot of incentive, a hell of a lot more than a free macbook.

Sorry to sound like a fanboy, since obviously no system is entirely secure. But pwn2own's very small sample set specifically shows that linux is more secure.

I'm already creeped out by how much a Nest Thermostat looks like HAL 9000.

Laser link over 600 Mbps tested

If you want command line access, Android - which runs on top of the Linux kernel which has been 'accused' of being excessively command-line 'friendly' by many a Windows-supporter - is your best bet. If you want to connect to just about any filesystem worth connecting to - and then some - the same is true. USB ports? Look no further than most low price tablets which, incidentally, usually run Android. Switching between apps? Ehhh... you do realise that Microsoft was rather late at this stuff, don't you? Even Apple got around to allowing multitasking on their iThings by the time Microsoft re-re-re-lauched their latest attempt at mobile. Just about the only thing you'll have to skip are those Microsoft apps you mention. Oh the horror of not being able to use Microsoft Works, Outlook or Excel on my phone or tablet... (guffaw, snicker...)

Just don't be to sad when Microsoft decides Surface needs to go the way of all their previous attempts and you're left with a sub-par skateboard deck.

The CIA has had a remote control dragon fly since the 70s. It was guided by laser and relayed audio and video by the same laser. The things friggen insane given the time period it was designed in.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/30/cia-dragonfly-drone-uavs-40-years/

In theory it's possible to provide more bandwith if there's more revene coming in topay for the infrastructure.

In theory AT&T should be using some of their $3+ Billion per quarter profits to pay for infrastructure upgrades rather than claiming they don't have enough money so they can justify throttling services, applying ridiculous caps and ensuring consumer prices remain high.

Why? They're a for-profit business and they have a legal responsibility to maximize shareholder return. They don't claim they don't have enough money -- they're under no obligation to offer unlimited services. They're under one and only one obligation -- maximize profit. You, as a consumer, can choose to buy their service or not. If enough people end up in "not" then maximizing their profits will mean doing something different.

That's the way business works.

1) They built their business as a regulated monopoly with guaranteed profit margin. They had a subsidized head start on would be competitors.
2) They are using the public airwaves. Even though they pay for them, they are subject to regulation.
3) They were given large government subsidies to build out internet access which they used for wireless rather than the intended wired build out.

Other than that, I agree that private companies primary responsibility is to their stockholders, not the public. This is natural and right. ATT and Verizon want to have their cake and eat it too.

In theory it's possible to provide more bandwith if there's more revene coming in topay for the infrastructure.

In theory AT&T should be using some of their $3+ Billion per quarter profits to pay for infrastructure upgrades rather than claiming they don't have enough money so they can justify throttling services, applying ridiculous caps and ensuring consumer prices remain high.

Why? They're a for-profit business and they have a legal responsibility to maximize shareholder return. They don't claim they don't have enough money -- they're under no obligation to offer unlimited services. They're under one and only one obligation -- maximize profit. You, as a consumer, can choose to buy their service or not. If enough people end up in "not" then maximizing their profits will mean doing something different.

That's the way business works.

In theory it's possible to provide more bandwith if there's more revene coming in topay for the infrastructure.

In theory AT&T should be using some of their $3+ Billion per quarter profits to pay for infrastructure upgrades rather than claiming they don't have enough money so they can justify throttling services, applying ridiculous caps and ensuring consumer prices remain high.

The optimal pitch and angle of the keys can be easily found using a structured search.

A structured key pitch and angle search wouldn't have resulted in Blackberry's keyboard.

The (marginally) non-obvious innovation here was the realization that people type on mobile devices differently than on a full keyboard. If you hold a mobile device like the original Blackberry with two hands, you notice the base of the thumbs are towards the lower end of the device (closer to the body). Consequently, the thumbs point upward at an angle as they rest on the keyboard. By angling the keys as Blackberry did, the keys present the largest target perpendicular to the thumbs, but can be slimmed down in the other axis so as to reduce the keyboard's width without increasing the chances of inadvertently hitting two keys (check out their earlier devices - the keys are not square).

For your search to have stumbled upon Blackberry's keyboard design, it would've needed to search key pitch, aspect ratio, and angle. I'm not sure if this is patent-worthy, but it's pretty clear Blackberry put a lot of thought into creating a functional keyboard design. A helluva lot more than rounded corners. A full-size keyboard analogue would be the natural keyboards, where the left and right halves are angled to meet the diagonal caused by your elbows. I'm pretty sure someone has a patent on that as well.

Dell is releasing a set of 4k monitors - 32 and 24" are already with us, a cheaper 28" version coming soon.

So you get 3,840 x 2,160 res on all of them, 99% AdobeRGB colour space, and 60Hz over Displayport 1.2.

'course I'll need a new graphics card :(

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/02/dell-ultrasharp-4k-monitors/
3,840 x 2,160 resolution, HDMI, DisplayPort, USB 3.0, US$1,399 for the UltraSharp 24?
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7563/dell-24-uhd-up2414q-gets-a-price-28-uhd-4k-3840x2160-announced

Until they start producing devices with matte screens, I'm absolutely not interested in tablets.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/hands-on-with-panasonics-toughpad-tablet/ a quick search produces a matt screen. google is quite easy to use.

Now Android laptops are starting to show up.

I haven't seen them but again, a phone OS is a poor fit for a computer.

Android laptop.

Not much stands between Android as it is and a traditional windowing UI, it just needs a way to drag and resize windows and more consistent keyboard support. When customer demand convinces Googlers this is worth doing it will be done, or Googlers are idiots which is also a possibility.

Presumptive, tangential conclusions...

Perhaps you're taking about consumer level support?

I've worked with MS Enterprise Support many times in my career...and they're nothing like Apple support. They aren't perfect but they WILL troubleshoot an issue until they can provide a resolution. I've gotten beta or custom-modified patches from them before. I've gotten engineers who will dig into multi-platform systems without the immediate finger-pointing or "stop using xyz product." Oh, and everything they're troubleshooting is on someone else's hardware. Let me know when Apple will do that.

On the consumer level, Apple's typical advice is 'you're doing it wrong' (yes, this meant to be funny, not trolling)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/apple-responds-over-iphone-4-reception-issues-youre-holding-th/

Forking/Fragmenting is good when it solves a problem. Not when the differences are between using different conventions.

For a hilarious example, see this Android:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/07/visualized-the-real-android-fragmentation/

LSB came a long way, more work needs to be done.

Full disclosure: I work for the company that JetBlue is partnered with to provide the satellite link, and I work on this project specifically.

There was a media flight yesterday morning that had a bunch of aviation press on it, all trying to push the system to its limits. Here's what one blogger had to say: "Speedtests proved that the WiFi remained fast, registering between 12-28 Mbps, even with over 60 devices connected and pushing activities like Netflix Instant, Google Video Hangouts, Ustream live streaming, and Skype calls." Engadget also has more details about the media flight.

There are obviously a lot of posts about the service, but out of the ~10 that I read those had the most details about Wednesday morning's actual flight.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/valve-steam-machine-hands-on/

"Anyone who uses Steam's Big Picture Mode is already intimately acquainted with SteamOS, as they're very similar. SteamOS looks and acts like Big Picture Mode, except it's the basis for the entire hardware system. It's controller-friendly and easy to navigate. The same Steam splash page washes across the screen when it launches, and the same tile-based layout of games and the Steam store are visible at launch. As promised, the OS is built on Linux (not based on Ubuntu, we're told, but entirely custom), though you'd never know it as the only interactive layer is all Steam.

That means it also has the limitations of Steam: SteamOS is not the replacement for Windows 8 you've been waiting for. Beyond basics like browsing the web, there's little in the way of standard OS functions."

http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/valve-steam-machine-hands-on/

"Anyone who uses Steam's Big Picture Mode is already intimately acquainted with SteamOS, as they're very similar. SteamOS looks and acts like Big Picture Mode, except it's the basis for the entire hardware system. It's controller-friendly and easy to navigate. The same Steam splash page washes across the screen when it launches, and the same tile-based layout of games and the Steam store are visible at launch. As promised, the OS is built on Linux (not based on Ubuntu, we're told, but entirely custom), though you'd never know it as the only interactive layer is all Steam.

That means it also has the limitations of Steam: SteamOS is not the replacement for Windows 8 you've been waiting for. Beyond basics like browsing the web, there's little in the way of standard OS functions."

You mean like CV dazzle makeup?

It might be popular in Ibiza clubs, but I don't see it walking down Main Street, Anytown, USA.

or go pick up your paycheck from samsung for astroturfing