Costa Living

Apple's Patently Absurd HTC Suit

Apple's claim that HTC's Android phones violate at least 20 of its patents seems, at a glance, like simple corporate maneuvering. Android is, arguably, the iPhone OS's strongest competitor, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that Apple would throw up some legal hurdles. But the suit, ultimately, shows how our patent system protects large, veteran companies and punishes upstart contenders. Continue reading...

Google' s Brave New Approach to China

Lines have been drawn, lines have been crossed, and now there is no way Google can ethically continue to operate Google.cn under the "laws" set down by the Chinese government. For that matter, Microsoft and Yahoo had better start doing some soul-searching of their own, or prepare to yield much more than just the moral high-ground.

For Google.cn to succeed, either Google needed to accept the Chinese government's control of its core business, or that government had to allow Google to deliver the world's knowledge to its citizens. Google played along for a while, but recent events show that even the tempting lure of a billion new consumers isn't worth playing the role of the Chinese government's toady.

Read the whole column at PCMag.com..

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3D TV Requires Rose-Colored Glasses

Photo by @kir

So far the big story at CES 2010 is the seemingly inevitable march toward 3D TV. Nearly every major manufacturer is announcing a high-end 3D HDTV at the show, including Sony, Vizio, and LG. (Sharp is an exception.)

And there is going to be new 3D content, too: Sony and the Discovery Channel will partner on an all 3D channel, and ESPN started plugging the upcoming ESPN 3D on SportsCenter yesterday. Add in the good timing that number one movie in the country—+$640 million and counting—is Avatar, also available in 3D. There's just one little problem, which no one here at CES seems to want to discuss: 3D TV just doesn't look very good.

Continued at PCMag.com...

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Google's Creepy New Social Search

There is a point in any columnist's career when he or she simply draws a blank. I had planned to write about Windows 7, but honestly, I think PCMag.com has done enough Win 7 coverage for this week—enough for this lifetime, really. At times like these,technology writers reach into a big bag of editorial tricks and tropes: I love Apple, I hate Apple, I love Microsoft, I hate Microsoft, etc. One of my personal favorites is "What scary thing did Google do now?" And Google always delivers. Right on cue, Google released Social Search, which prioritizes results from your friends' Twitter feeds, FriendFeed updates, Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, and Picasa libraries. Very cool. And very creepy.

Read my full column on PCMag.com...

E-mail Isn't Dead, But it Is Broken

PCMag.com's managing editor for software, Sean Carroll, just got back from that rare place few of us can imagine these days: a two-week vacation. We got by without him, his reviews posted, and he only lost one staffer (his senior editor, Matt Murray, just took the reins at ExtremeTech.com). He returned refreshed and reenergized, only to discover an inbox box of 2,200 messages! E-mail, that revolutionary advance in human productivity, is sucking our time. E-mail is, to be blunt, broken. And it is going to take some new technologies, and some changes in human behavior, to save it.

Read the full column at PCMag.com.

FTC Guns for Blogger Shills—and Misses

The FTC released guidelines designed to crackdown on blogger payola—the risible practice of paying people to write favorable things about your products or company. As the editor who runs the Reviews team here at PCMag.com, I thought it would be worth my time to wade through the 81-page guide of regulations. After all, the penalty could be $11,000 per violation. Near as I can tell, the regulation will require every blogger to disclose payments, gifts, and professional interests for every tweet, post, or email that supports a given company. In other words, this mess of regulations misunderstands media, creates unenforceable rules, and, quite possibly, violates our First Amendment right to free speech.

For the rest of this column...

To Apple, Mind Share Matters Most

Apple unleashed Snow Leopard, the latest version of the Mac OS, late last night. PCMag's early testing proves it's a solid operating system—and at $29, something of a bargain. With Microsoft's "Vista" nearing dirty-word status and Windows 7 ($120!) still months away, you might think this stellar new OS will have months, if not years to steal market share from Windows. You'd be wrong. In terms of market share, the Mac is going to stay a minor player in the PC world. But that is OK, because Apple is way out in front where it really matters: mind share.

Continued...

Six Things I Learned at SXSW 2009

The South by Southwest Interactive Festival is as much about meeting people as it is about its exhaustive, eclectic panels and keynotes. Although the current economic crisis may have dampened the party scene a bit, this year's show was predictably focused on making money, making connections, and making deals. While the conference didn't feature anything as dramatic or as sensational as Sarah Lacy's controversial interview with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg from last year, there were some important takeaways. If you couldn't make it to Austin, here's what you missed:

The Complicated Case of magicJack

In the tech biz, selling a good product isn't nearly enough. A solid company also supports its customers.
About a year ago, PCMag.com's networking analyst walked into my office, put a small plastic box on my desk, and told me that we had a new Editors' Choice VoIP solution: the YMax magicJack. The value proposition was obvious: clear calls anywhere in the U.S., dead simple operation, and best of all, the box cost only $40 (plus another $20 a year for service). Sure, it sounded too good to be true, but after a great deal of testing we found that the product actually worked as advertised. Fast-forward a year, and even though the magicJack's network and firmware have been upgraded, our opinion of the product is considerably lower. The magicJack's story should serve as a cautionary tale for the entire technology industry. read full article...

Five Trends to Bet On at CES

Hard economic times will hurt attendance this year, but the Consumer Electronics Show is still the best place to trend-spot.
Seems like there's barely enough time to take down the tree and recover from the New Year's celebrations before packing the suitcase and heading to Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. With the Dow struggling to stay above 9000, venture capitalists looking for secure government jobs, and most tech companies slashing budgets across the board, this is a strange time to be bringing together the entire industry. In recent years the show has been a festival of marketing excess, but judging from the number of party invites I've received, this year will likely be very different. Even so, the year's tech road map is drawn at CES. So here's what I expect to see in Vegas. read full article...