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It’s Official: Microsoft Is Burger King, Apple Is McDonalds

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With hordes of fans flocking to the nearest Apple store to pick up their shiny new iPhone 4’s (provided that you didn’t pre-order yours of course), it looks like Microsoft has opened a store right next to their biggest rival.

Today is the grand opening of the Microsoft Store in Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, California. The San Diego store marks Microsoft’s fourth foray into the retail space and opens later this morning at 10 a.m. PST.

The Microsoft Store is just yards away from the Apple Store, which means it’s competing for attention with the massively long line of people hoping to get their hands on the new iPhone 4. (Mashable)

While the tactic may seem cheesy (pun not intended), building a store next to your rival is actually a strategy perfected by Burger King, who is (in)famous for building stores next to every McDonalds within sight (at least in the US). [Read more…]

Originally posted on June 24, 2010 @ 6:38 pm

Google Makes TV Relevant Again

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Google, known for taming the digital universe and organizing the chaos known as the “interwebs,” may soon bring their expertise to make your television relevant again.

Google TV is a new experience made for television that combines the TV you know and love with the freedom and power of the Internet. Watch an overview video below, sign up for updates, and learn more about how to develop for Google TV. (Google TV)

The search engine giant has thus far partnered with Sony, Logitech and Intel in order to help make this dream a reality.

While the marriage between PC and TV is nothing new (after all Hulu and TiVO are “in a way” doing this right now), Google’s upcoming entrance into the market could force competition to either innovate or become extinct. [Read more…]

Originally posted on June 15, 2010 @ 6:02 pm

Bing To Twittersphere: Lets Save The Gulf

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With the Gulf of Mexico fiasco spilling out of control (pun intended), the boys and girls at Bing have offered to help CNN raise funds for the media network’s telethon.

Bing’s fundraising attempts mimic Tumblr’s previous efforts, the latter who became famous for changing their dashboard from blue to black unless a user donated to a specific charity. [Read more…]

Originally posted on June 21, 2010 @ 9:28 pm

Google Earth Makes Hiking Geek Friendly (Again)

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The search engine giant has released another update for Google Earth users that should please those who enjoy hiking, biking and running in the out doors (especially over long distances).

With Google Earth 5.2, you can now import existing GPS data as a new kind of “track.” With a track, you can move the time-slider to animate time and retrace your journey. Google Earth will draw an icon so that it is properly positioned for the given time that you are viewing. As you move through time, the icon will animate along your path. You can also select a window of time which will highlight the corresponding section of your trip.

In Google Earth 5.0, we introduced Tours: cinematic, narrated flights around Google Earth. With one click you can make a tour based on your track, which will fly you along your journey from a bird’s-eye view. You can play back the tour like a video and share it with friends. (Official Google LatLong Blog)

By integrating tracks with their 3D software, Google Earth will once again become a highlight among bikers, runners and hikers (who often like to brag how far and fast they have traveled on a particular route or trail, this author included). [Read more…]

Originally posted on June 14, 2010 @ 7:14 pm

Video: Windows 7 Smartphone Copies iPhone (Still Ugly)

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Despite being late to the smartphone game, it looks like Microsoft’s Windows 7 smartphone could make a strong entrance into the smartphone arena, despite the crowded field.

While the mobile OS looks highly functional (in some ways more than Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, especially in the social networking department), the overall layout of the OS remains an eye sore as one can tell from the video below. [Read more…]

Originally posted on June 23, 2010 @ 10:58 am