Sunday, May 31, 2015

Computex is no longer just for PC hardware

computex-2015-malaysia
Give or take but product unveilings are the fun-er part of covering technology and trade shows are on top of everything. They're always filled up with basically anything and on the trade show floor, you can end up finding quite a lot of things. In the midst of all the developers conference from companies during the Summer, we have Computex which is notably the biggest electronics trade show in Asia. At it's 35th cycle this year, Computex is onto a whole new direction.

Like every other company, mobile computing is getting popular and that includes wearables and IoT devices which are meant to be placed just everywhere. That includes Computex which has seen a significant change in direction over the years and it's no longer just a show focused on unveiling new PC hardware but mobile devices like phones and wearables are also beginning to crop up each year.

Friday, May 29, 2015

What exactly happened during the Google I/O 2015 keynote

Google is betting big on Android

This morning, the main keynote for Google I/O was held and it was full of announcements ranging from new services to hardware that'll create stereoscopic videos. It was quite an intense session and unlike Microsoft's BUILD conference which was literally developer focused for the most part, Google's keynote was quite playful. You would have definitely heard about unlimited storage for photos and GoPro's crazy camera rig but overall, what exactly can we conclude from the nearly 3 hour keynote?

First off, I want to talk about the venue and stage for the keynote. Google thought of this well and the wraparound display across both sides of the hall showed some creativity and the "fun" and cheerful part of the company. Before the keynote actually started, there was an intense game of Pong across the ultra-wide wraparound display across the hall and ultimately the champion turned out to be an asian dude.

To kickstart the keynote this year, Google didn't show an inspiring video about their products but instead the massive display was used to send everyone on a journey in the Milky Way. Ultimately, the light show ended up in planet earth and Sundar Pichai, the man which oversees nearly every product family in Google took the stage to roll out some quick update in Google's network.

Monday, May 25, 2015

6 things to expect from Google I/O 2015

Android is coming to every screen

google-io-preview-teaser-malaysia
The ecosystem wars will resume this week during Google IO. Microsoft has already dished out quite a lot of new development updates towards Windows 10 and Apple is bound to show off new software during WWDC early next month. But before that happens, Google's annual developers conference will be taking place in San Francisco this Thursday and this year it's going to be big given that the competition is as strong as it gets.
" Moscone Center is where Microsoft, Google and Apple hold their developers conference
We're expecting a lot from Google this year, they've been subtly quiet for the past few months but numerous reports have been stating they'll be reiterating lots of new services during this year's conference. There is still a lot of unanswered question about the future of various Google products like will consumers be able to buy Google Glass this year or is Google going to make a Nexus branded Android Wear smartwatch? All will be answered during the 2.5 hour keynote on Thursday morning.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Microsoft Lumia turns blue, what happened to purple?

microsoft-lumia-official-twitter-blue-purple

About a year ago this time, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Nokia's Mobile division and fresh out of the waters, the branch of Microsoft was called Microsoft Mobile or Microsoft Devices. Accordingly, the upcoming months featured new device launches which still bear the Nokia name like the Nokia Lumia 830 and Nokia Lumia 730. That didn't last long as Microsoft officially announced in October that they will be rebranding Nokia to Microsoft Lumia and the change is set to spread out onto social media accounts in the coming months ahead.

Seemingly enough, today we're quite familiar with the Microsoft Lumia branding and it does sound a little catchy but saying Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM is a mouthful.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Visual guide to installing Windows 10 IoT Core on your Raspberry Pi 2

In a blink of an eye, we're already 8 months into testing windows 10. The unfinished pre-release software from Microsoft has come a long way and lots of things have changed since it was initially released last October. During the day 1 keynote at Build 2015, Microsoft laid out the future of Windows 10 development and besides focusing mainly on the Universal Windows Platform, they briefly mention Windows IoT.

Internet of things is a pretty hot concept these days and just everyone is hitching onto it, even Microsoft. Quoting what Terry Myerson said "with Windows 10, we are targeting the largest device span ever". From the likes of HoloLens all the way to the smallest of devices (IoT), Microsoft is genuinely interested in bringing Windows 10 these devices.