Tag Archives: ics

Motorola ICS Tweet Fail

Android, google, smartphone, tablet, , , , , ,

Motorola AndroidRegular readers of GNC will recall that I posted recently regarding Motorola’s inability to get Android Ice Cream Sandwich onto its devices. Ironically, yesterday Motorola tweeted:

Motorola Mobility @Motorola
My favorite thing about ICS is _________. Learn all the ICS ins and outs here: http://moto.ly/icslearn

In the 24 hours since that original tweet there have been around 60 replies.

  • about 8 responded with a feature of ICS that they liked.
  • over 50 people tweeted back with less than positive comments, mainly that ICS wasn’t yet available on their phone or tablet.

That’s a big fat #FAIL, Motorola.

Motorola, Where’s My Ice Cream Sandwich?

Android, google, HP, tablet, , , , , , , , , , ,

Motorola AndroidHere’s a quick quiz for tablet fans…here in the UK I have access to three tablets: a Motorola Xoom, a Motorola Xoom 2 Media Edition (Xyboard 8.2 in the US) and an HP Touchpad. Which one of these is running the Ice Cream Sandwich variant of Android?

Did you chose one of the Motorola devices? Sorry, you’re wrong. The only tablet running ICS in my house is the HP Touchpad, courtesy of the CyanogenMod team. How embarrassing is that, Motorola? Here’s all the talk about preventing Android fragmantation and a Google subsidiary can’t even get Ice Cream Sandwich onto its own tablets in a timely fashion. It’s been over six months since ICS was released.

ICS has been available on the Xoom in the USA since January but as yet it’s not made it to the UK. ICS should have been released in Q2 of 2012 according to Motorola’s own documentation but a week into July and still no sign. And before anyone starts apologising that it’s to do with the carriers, these are all pure wifi devices. Does it really take six months for language customisation?

As for the Xoom 2 (aka Xyboard), it’s frankly an embarrassment that the current product doesn’t have ICS running on it now, although it’s promised for Q3 in both US and UK. I’m delighted to hear that Google Motorola is going to deliver Jelly Bean for the Xoom in July, but why not for the newer devices? Flagship software on flagship device would seem to be the way to go.

Google Android fragmentation needs to be addressed and minimised. Latest Android versions need to be showcased. Motorola’s tablets are popular. Motorola Mobility is a Google subsidiary. Do I have to join the dots?

Phones 4u Gets Xperia S in White

Android, ces, mobile, MP3, smartphone, Sony, , , , , , , ,

Phones 4u LogoWhile the Sony Xperia ion might have been getting much of the attention at CES, the Xperia S was running a close second. A flagship Android phone, it’s the full HD experience with a 4.3″ 1280 x 720 pixel TFT screen, 12 megapixel 1080p video recording rear camera, 720p front-facing camera and HDMI TV out. PlayStation-certified, 3D support, DLNA certified, Sony Entertainment Network, 1.5 GHz dual core processor, 32 GB memory; this is the mutt’s nuts as they say.

At launch, the OS will be Android 2.3, but Sony has promised Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) for the Xperia S in the second quarter of 2012. Most excellent.

Sony Xperia S smartphone

For the fashionistas out there, the Xperia S will come in two versions, a black one and a white one. (I hesitate to say “colours”, as all the pedants will weigh in with their view as to whether black and white are colours). Anyway, defectors from Apple will feel right at home.

In the UK, Phones 4u has managed to snaffle the exclusive rights to the white model, which will be available along with the black one from March onwards. Pricing and exact launch date will be confirmed nearer the time. In the meantime you can see a hands-on review of the new Xperia S and pre-register your interest in Sony’s new flagship device.

Scott Hooton, Trading Director at Phones 4u said: “The Xperia S takes the mobile HD experience to a whole new level and packages it all up in a slick new innovative design for Sony. Being the only retailer to offer both the white and black variants, along with free 4u Wi-Fi, we’re expecting the Xperia S to be a popular smartphone of choice at Phones 4u as we enter the New Year.”

With luck, Geek News Central will be able to provide you with a hands-on review close to the launch.

The Big Gorilla Project

Commerce, Crime, Dave's Muse, Information, Security, Services, Software, Technical, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spam is an ever-increasing annoyance for e-mail users. Most people have some form of spam filtering application that reduces the instances of the frequently offensive unsolicited commercial messages. Many of these filters seek to identify spam based on the address from which the message is sent, but spammers are already wise to this trick, and spoofing is now commonplace. By hiding or misdirecting their transmission source, spammers make it exceedingly difficult for most users to determine from where the spam message actually came.

But there’s some hope for spammer identification. An loose alliance formed by large e-mail services (Microsoft, Yahoo, America Online, and Earthlink), the Anti-Spam Research Group (ASRG), and Intelligent Computer Solutions (ICS) is working on an e-mail sender-authentication system that’s been dubbed the Big Gorilla Project.

Using an identification system based on public key encryption, ISPs who have control over outgoing e-mail can include a piece of encrypted code in header of each outgoing message. The code snippet can be used by receiving ISPs to confirm the identity of the outgoing e-mail server and the authenticity of the e-mail message’s return address.

By confirming the identity of the transmission site, it’s a simple matter to blacklist and block known offenders.

Dave’s Opinion
I use a combination of anti-spam filtering applications, both on our incoming mail servers and our client workstations. So far I’ve been able to drop my daily spam tally from over 600 messages to about a dozen, maybe double that on a bad day. But that’s still not good enough. It’s not just receiving junk mail that bothers me, it’s the offensive content.

I’m all for proposals, both legislative and technical, that help kill off spam.

Call for Comments
What do you think? Leave your comments below.

References
Anti-Spam Research Group
Intelligent Computer Solutions