The ACSI study for the second quarter of this year indicates an
increasing frustration of users with Windows Vista. Users mostly
complain about poor usability, compatibility problems, slower
performance compared to Windows XP and substantial hardware
requirements. The dissatisfaction with Vista also affected most major
Windows-PC vendors. Apple continues to improve its reputation while
Google and Yahoo lead the e-business satisfaction index.
GraphOn, a software company that offers remote application access
software, said it has filed a patent infringement suit against Google.
If GraphOn is right, the Google’s Google Base, AdWords, Blogger, Sites
and YouTube services could be colliding with four patents, forcing the
search giant to pay GraphOn damages as well as license fees for past
and future usage.
Application development for Google’s Android cellphone platform is
entering a more serious stage as the company releases version 0.9 beta
to its developer community. Scheduled for a September or October
release, the final version appears to be on scheduled and perfectly
aligned with HTC Dream smartphone, which also made a first showing
yesterday. Android carries the hopes to become an iPhone like platform
that is not tied to just one company, but we already know that the
platform will not be complete when it launches and lack key features –
such as Bluetooth.
A new service offered by Google enables publishers to inject contextual
text or image ads into individual feeds distributed by FeedBurner, the
world's largest RSS distribution service that was acquired by Google
more than two years ago. Content creators will certainly welcome this
new revenue source, but RSS subscribers have to realize that the era of
ad-free feeds is coming to an end.
Apple’s iPhone will see its first serious competitor soon: T-Mobile
preps HTC "Dream" for an October release and is expected to launch its
own application store alongside the handset. However, the Dream faces
an uphill battle, since first reports claim that the device lacks
Apple's appealing design and, if we believe these sources, the
operating system is not as elegantly integrated with the handset as
Apple’s OS X-based OS with the iPhone.
Google's online translation service is one of the most valuable free
translation tools available today. However, it did not work very well
on mobile platforms until recently, forcing travelers to bring their
pocket translators along. That scenario, however, could change with a
Google Translate version that is optimized for the iPhone.