Foul Tech Sours

In a recent article by Gregg Keizer, a blogger for Computerworld, there was a discussion about why apple needs a $700 MacBook Air . The idea behind this is that several of Apple's competitors have already taken this step, therefore, to maintain it's profits the company should look to sell cheaper models. Although this would not necessarily be a "dumb move" on the company's part, I do not feel like it would be a necessary one. Every company, especially the top competitors in the technology sector, has their benefits, competitive strategies, and trade-offs. For as long as Macintosh (formerly McIntosh - like the apple) and Microsoft computers have existed, it has been a constant battle about which machines and devices are superior. Both Apple and Microsoft, since their start in the 1970's to 1980's, have been forerunners for the industry for hardware and operating systems, and overall leaders in innovation and technology. Both companies have continued to ex...

This is a topic that excited me and scares me at the same time. Anyone that is familiar with me and my taste already knows that I love to come up with occasions to stay at a hotel. For the last few years I have been celebrating birthdays, new years, anniversaries, Valentine's Days, and whatever other days I can deem appropriate in hotel rooms. My absolute favorite family is the Starwood Hotel family. From Aloft, to the Westin, The W Hotel and Four Points, to Sheraton, I can't say that I have ever had less than exceptional service. I have always been a fan of the ambiance of these boutique hotels: They are clean, the service is awesome, as a preferred guest I feel like I matter, and most of all, Starwood hotels are modern. Starwood hotels are known for innovation. Aside from having an application that allows users to keep up with membership points and book stays are hotels and resorts worldwide, Starwood will soon be releasing and iPhone application that will allow guests to...

Since the release of the new BlackBerry Z10 in late March, BlackBerry (formerly known as Research In Motion or RIM) has taken a huge leap back into the competitive world of smart phones. While the BlackBerry Z10 has several new features that are considered foreign on previous BlackBerry devices, there are several features that remain on the device that are unique to BlackBerry.  Specifically, BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, is a popular messenger tool used by millions of active users everyday.  I personally believe that it was probably one of the best features provided on older BlackBerry devices. It has been announced that BBM will become a multi-platform, stand alone application on iOS 6 and Android Ice Cream Sandwich devices beginning this summer.  The improved BBM application on the new BlackBerry 10 platform is rather impressive, offering new modern features such as video chat, screen sharing, voice capability over wifi connections, and social application integration...

In one of my previous blog posts, Android: The New Home for Facebook , we learned that the company Facebook planned to host a media/press event on April 4th. Distributing invitations that only said "Come see our new home on Android", this stirred up several resources and Facebook fanatics.  People (again) got amped up about the possibility of a Facebook phone. That time has come and gone, and Facebook unveiled it's "new home" on the Android OS. While is it not a cell phone, it is a major leap in Facebook's mobile capability. If you own an iPhone, an older Android phone, or Blackberry, I am sure you know the feeling of frustration that is stemmed from the limited capability of the Facebook mobile app. The new launcher (called Facebook Home) is a home screen application that will sit on top of, not replace, the Android OS. It is designed to work with apps already installed on your device, and also features a family of associated applications. The goal of the...

With the recent release of Windows 8, there has been both positive and negative feedback. While personally, I have found no major functionality differences between Windows 8 and the latter (Windows 7), I think that it is exciting the Windows is making a move towards a more mobile-friendly operating system. If you have seen or heard about the new Windows 8, it is clear that this operating system was created for mobility.  This OS was designed for phones, tablets, and hybrids.  Not that you can't use it on your desktop or laptop computer but, an upgrade to Windows 8 on any machine that is not or cannot be mobile is a waste of time. Unfortunately, though being the creators of this new, metro operating system, Microsoft is not seen as a large competitor in the mobile world especially when it comes to tablets.  I'm sure several of us had a Windows phone at some point (I've had the Motorola Q and the Samsung Omnia). My concern is not that Microsoft cannot compete in the wor...

Here we go again. More speculation about Facebook getting their hands dirty in hardware.  This is a subject that people should not get their hopes up for.  Last year, consumers hoped for a Facebook phone and forced Mark Zuckerburg to shut that idea down during an interview. He clearly stated that "he couldn't emphasize enough that there will be no Facebook phone".  Then consumers got excited again January of this year when Facebook held a press conference. The mysterious invite simply said "Come and see what we're building". After all the excitement and speculation about a Facebook phone, consumers and tech geeks got a search tool.  The search tool (referred to as Graph search) allows the nearly 1 billion Facebook users to search data and metadata about photos, people and other things of interest. This is impressive, but it is still not a Facebook phone. Today Facebook has done it again. Facebook sent out ...