Monthly Archives: February 2012

[CORRECTION] Skype for Windows Phone beta available. But, there’s a trick to get it

[CORRECTION]
My old friend Don Sorcinelli (@DPSJ) pointed out a trick to get the Skype for Windows Phone beta to download and install. First, here’s what does not work.

  1. Going to the Zune Marketplace on a desktop PC running Windows using the link provided by the Skype blog announcement
  2. Searching for Skype in the Windows Phone Marketplace app on the phone

What does work is following the link provided by Skype for the beta from the Windows Phone’s browser itself. This takes you to the app product page (that cannot be found using search within the Marketplace app) where you can install the Skype beta app. Here’s the link:

Skype for Windows Phone beta < - View this blog item in a Windows Phone browser and click on this link. Thanks to Don for pointing out my error. Continue reading →

And, the winner is and isn’t ABC’s Oscars iPad App

A somewhat unique circumstance has a poorly rated (2 stars out of a possible 5) iPad app at the top of the free apps list. ABC Digital’s free Oscar app only has a two-star rating for both its current and past versions because it reportedly crashes a lot and does not have interestingn information. However, tonight is the night of the Academy Awards presentatins on ABC TV. So, the app shot up to number 1 on the free iPad app list (it is nowhere to be found on the iPhone list despite the fact it works on the phone too). Comments by frustrated users indicate that problems present last year are still not addressed. Maybe next year?

Investigative reporting at its best: OtterBox seeks iPad 3 info in Cupertino (video)

I see a lot of tech rumors on the net. But, it is rare to see real investigative reporting in action. OtterBox, which makes highly protective cases for mobile devices, sent a crack team into action to track down information about the iPad 3 before its announcements and release. Watch the video above to see investigative reporting at its best 🙂

Honolulu K-12 school announced all of their students will get an iPad 3 (prior to any iPad 3 announcement)


Photo courtesy of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

My local newspaper ran a story today that a local private school is giving all of their students iPads. This is not too surprising except the article specifically says they will be iPad 3 devices: In the 2012-13 school year, the private school will launch a program giving each student in grades 3 through 12 use of anApple iPad3.

Mid-Pacific to integrate iPad use throughout school’s curriculum

This could simply be:

  1. A typo
  2. A reasonable assumption
  3. Or the school actually has gotten briefed on the iPad 3 which at this point in time has not been announced by Apple

Mobile displays in 2012 vs. imagined future in 1997: PADD tablets treated like sheets of paper on Star Trek Deep Space 9

I always find it interesting to look at future history – that is what people imagined the future would look like years ago. The two screenshots here came from Star Trek Deep Space 9 season 6 episode 9 (Statistical Probabilities) which first aired on November 24, 1997. In 1997, the touch screen Newton was on the wane while the Palm Pilot and Windows CE Handheld PCs were on their way up. Apple’s Newton was probably the closets thing we had to a tablet device.
Continue reading →