A brave new world for tablet and other tech consumers

When HP first announced its TouchPad, I was taken aback by how similar it looked to Apple’s iPad. I therefore quickly suggested that Apple should sue HP. Apple didn’t do that, because it became clear early enough that the TouchPad wouldn’t be real competition. It was, in fact, a very cheap and lousy knock-off, which HP has now pulled off the market.

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A prediction about tablet computers in 2016? Really?

A few days ago, I noticed a story that made its rounds through all the various news outlets: Android tablets will outsell iPads in 2016, with the iPad seeing its market share reduced to around 30%. Honestly, no matter which system you favour, but this is one of the silliest predictions anyone could ever make. Even sillier: those who actually believe it.

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The app wars have started

The e-book apps Kobo and Kindle both released new updated apps for the iPad over the last 24 hours. In each case, the biggest “innovation” was the removal of the integrated shop. Under new App Store rules, digital content, such as e-books, must be purchased through Apple’s App Store, and providers like Amazon or Kobo are therefore not allowed to offer users a shop that would allow them to purchase content from outside the App Store.

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You want privacy? Stay off the grid entirely!

The sanctimonious crowd is after Apple again. Apparently, iPhone and iPad devices keep a log of users’ locations through what is known as “Location Services”. Calls have been issued, such as to the privacy commissioner in Canada, to investigate – as if we were dealing with a major crime of genocidal proportions.

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An Apple a day …

My father-in-law was at a hearing clinic recently to be fitted for new hearing aids, and what he encountered there, on two separate visits, was yet more testimony to the flawed nature of Windows-based computers. The computers at the clinic would repeatedly freeze up and fail, wasting everyone’s time and costing the clinic a fair amount in lost productivity.

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