Some months ago, before the company was worth a billion dollars, I shared some thoughts on Airbnb. Specifically, in what some mischaracterized as an attack on the company, I criticized those whose worship at the altar of Disruption is so unconditional that they don't think Disruptive companies should be hidebound by the law. If Disruptive entrepreneurs are so clever, I argued, they'll find a way to either work within the law, or to lobby to have it changed, rather than simply flouting it.
When OmmWriter appeared on the Mac, I wondered what the fuss was about. OmmWriter is one of those “distraction-free” writing apps which block out everything except the text you’re working on. OmmWriter went one step further than the usual full-screen mode, adding in calm, meditative background music to the mix. The app was fine, but if [...]
We've already fiddled with ViewSonic's two new tablets at Computex's pre-show event, but we decided to hit the booth earlier today to get a closer look at the ViewPad 10Pro'sBlueStacks Android virtualization on Windows 7, as well as the ViewPad 7x's funky UI. Starting off with the bigger slate, you'll see in the above video that the Android implementation isn't as good as it sounds -- ViewSonic says it wants to offer an Android experience "similar" to that of actual Android devices, but alas, we beg to differ with the virtual Android's laggy performance plus its odd bugs. The reps assured us that the final product will be much smoother, but then we were further let down by the fact that Android Market is absent. The reason? It's simply because from ViewSonic's point of view the 10Pro's focus is on Windows 7, so the company decided that it wasn't worth all the hassle to obtain a Google Mobile Services license. To sum it up, this whole Android "feature" is very much just a gimmick, and it doesn't look like running native Android on Oak Trail soon will do much good, either.
On a brighter note, the dual-core ViewPad 7x fared way better than its bloated brother. This world's first 7-inch Honeycomb tablet ran surprisingly smooth, and we were glad to see SPB's contribution here with its Shell 3D Android launcher (which we reviewed with much praise a little while back). We managed to get ViewSonic director Max Liu to give us a brief demo of the 7x after the break, and to be frank, the more we look at it, the more we want it. Here's hoping that this tablet will be priced right.
Oh, and did we mention that ViewSonic had a few real Gouldian finches on the show floor? Check out them birds after the break.
Twitter announced an official "Follow" button that will replace all those generic Twitter "follow me" links. Just like the Facebook Like button which lets you "like" anything quickly and easily, the Follow button will let you follow a Twitter user in one simple click. Now that we have gotten over our dislike of the Facebook Like button and now simply ignore it, are we ready for the Follow button to appear in every nook and cranny of the web? [Twitter] More »
Just before Intel's keynote at Computex, we decided to stop by at the chip maker's busy booth to see what it has up its sleeves. Luckily, we spotted a couple of Keeley Lake proof-of-concept convertible laptops, which are here to demonstrate what can be achieved using Cedar Trail processors. As you can see, the 12.1-inch screen sits on a swivel hinge, thus allowing users transform this fairly slim laptop into a tablet within seconds. Oh, you can also use the built-in Wireless Display technology to stream some sweet HD action over the air, provided that you have compatible devices. Alas, Intel says there are no commercial plans for this particular device, so hopefully someone will pick up this design.
Update: We now have a quick video of Keeley Lake after the break. Enjoy!
We're hearing from multiple sources that Twitter is in talks to acquire Y Combinator-backed key word bidding platform�AdGrok for a deal that is less than $10 million. It's still unclear where exactly the deal is in the closing process or whether this is a tech acquisition or an acqui-hire. AdGrok itself automates the process of bidding on contextual keywords on Google AdWords, perhaps Twitter could find some use in this for their own promoted trends?
AMOLED displays may be in relatively short supply nowadays, but Samsung is doing its best to bridge the gap. Today, the company's Mobile Display unit announced that its 5.5th-generation AMOLED production line is now open, some two months ahead of schedule. The line uses glass substrates that are substantially larger than those found in its existing factories, allowing Samsung to increase output, while lowering costs. This increase in production comes in response to growing demand for the Galaxy S II and an AMOLED market that, according to DisplaySearch, should triple in value this year to $4.26 billion. For now, the production line is focusing on smartphone displays, since that's where demand is growing fastest, but will eventually turn its attention to tablet PC displays, as well. The new factory assembling the displays can currently churn out about three million screens per month, but is capable of ramping that up to 30 million, at full capacity. No word yet on when it will achieve this rate, but if SMD continues to boost its output, we may even see that market surplus we've been hearing about.
Sure, all your friends are rocking Android 2.3. But hey, quit complaining AT&T Xperia X10 owners, everyone knows that Eclair is way better than vanilla Froyo.
As part of its keynote at Computex today, Intel unveiled a pair of new sleep-related technologies, though funnily enough, neither of them is particularly boring. Smart Connect checks up periodically on web apps you have open while your computer is in sleep mode -- meaning that email clients and in-browser web apps like Twitter and Facebook will update themselves without the need for you to flip the computer on in full. Updates will be ready and waiting for you when you get back. Rapid Start is a new hibernation mode that can resume within 5 to 6 seconds and can remember your computer's state with zero power. Though, admittedly, the zero-power operation doesn't look like it can be maintained for too long, the hibernation itself can keep your computer going for up to 30 days. Pretty neat stuff. It's all coming to Sandy Bridge laptops with Windows 7 soon, with widespread availability promised by the holidays.
Some months ago, before the company was worth a billion dollars, I shared some thoughts on Airbnb. Specifically, in what some mischaracterized as an attack on the company, I criticized those whose worship at the altar of Disruption is so unconditional that they don't think Disruptive companies should be hidebound by the law. If Disruptive entrepreneurs are so clever, I argued, they'll find a way to either work within the law, or to lobby to have it changed, rather than simply flouting it.
We're hearing from multiple sources that Twitter is in talks to acquire Y Combinator-backed key word bidding platform�
