Smart Office

Menu

Tony Ibrahim

Zuckerberg Squashes Facebook Phone Hopes

by

Facebook founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg put an end to a pervasive rumour which would’ve left fervent Facebookers gutted.


Click to enlarge

“We’re not going to build a phone,” Zuckerberg said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. “It’s not the right strategy for us to build one integrated system…Let’s say we sell 10 million units — that would be 1 percent of users. Who cares for us?”

Instead Zuckerberg intends on intimately integrating Facebook with the myriad of devices its existing users own.

“We have a billion people using our products, and we need to make Facebook really good across all the devices that they use.

“Rather than just building an app that’s a version of the functionality that you have today, I think making it so that we can just go deeper and deeper is going to be a big focus for us.”

Facebook’s mobile presence is becoming an increasingly important component for the company. The company announced 680 million people actively use Facebook on their mobiles, while revenue generated from mobile advertising accounted for 23%, up from 14% the quarter before.

Source CNet

Apple Fighting Amazon and EBay for Online Sales

by

The Apple brand has grown so strong that its products compete successfully amongst Etailers, such as Amazon and eBay, stealing a large share of their market.

A ComScore study has revealed that Apple’s online shoppers were great enough to rival the likes of Amazon and eBay, with them stealing almost 10 per cent of the online market in the month of June.

With a 134.4 million unique visitors, it is the only manufacturer to sit amidst the top five online outlets.

Of the five, Amazon has the largest online shopping audience with 20% of the global market, totalling 282.2 million unique visitors in June alone.

eBay followed closely, with 223.5 million visitors, nabbing 16.2 per cent. China’s own Alibaba.com Corp had 156.8 million visitors, scoring 11.3 per cent, of which 86 per cent of its traffic was from Asia.

June was considered a slow month for Apple, with the company releasing its OS X Lion platform in July, as Apple customers held off purchasing goods until July.

July is expected to be a stronger month for the company, having made the new OS X available solely from the iTunes store until today, the 18th of August, 2011.

Read: Hear Me Roar: Apple’s Lion Available On USB

It seems Apple’s market penetration knows no bounds, with the company recently topping off the Nasdaq stock exchange, making it the most valuable in the world.

Check out the ComScore results below:


FujiFilm’s New Compact Cam Is All About FinePix

by

FujiFilm’s FinePix F770EXR houses a _ inch 16 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor, 20 x optical zoom and a 3″ high contrast 460K resolution screen. The EXR CMOS sensor reduces motion blur by using mechanical image stabilisation, high ISO sensitivity and its new Motion Detection capability.

Cameras that rely on a flash to capture dimly lit pics tend to flush out colours. In order to avoid this, FujiFilm’s new compact cam determines if the subject is moving and then modifies settings, such as ISO sensitivity, to capture a photo, making the most of the natural lighting available.

ISO settings range from 100 to 3200, but can reach 12,800 if the image is stretched. It is also complemented by a suite of exposure modes, including aperture-priority, shutter priority and manual for creative shooting.

20 times optical zoom makes distant objects accessible to photographers without cropping the 16MP photo, but if that’s not enough, it’ll rely on an additional 20 times digital zoom. A highly sensitive gyro sensor intelligently stabilises images to prevent blur and image noise. 

 

Once the camera is turned on, it’s ready to snap photos within 1.5 seconds. It has a high speed shooting repertoire, auto focusing within 0.16 seconds, capturing full res pics at 8 frames per second and can up the pace to capture images at 11fps, (however at ‘medium’ resolution).  

The F770EXR is imbued with intelligent GPS software that identifies the photographer’s position, their distance from known landmarks and populates the map with their geo-tagged images. The inbuilt gyro sensor is put to work here by recognising when the camera is in shooting position – displaying the name of the nearest landmark and its distance – while alternating to a radar view that displays relative locations when it is pointing to the ground.  

 

When it comes to recording videos, they’re captured in 1080p (Full HD) resolution at 30 frames per second, with the option of recording high speed movies at 320 framed per second. In addition to stereo sound, these videos employ face tracking autofocus and can be replayed on a TV via its mini-HDMI output. Unfortunately the mini-HDMI to HDMI cable is not included.

Other notable features include versatile motion panorama shots, multi frame technology (which captures images with “extremely low noise”) and the option of saving images in unaltered RAW format.

When released, Fujifilm’s F770EXR will have a recommended retail price of $449.

The Follow-Up To Last Year’s Best Selling Receiver

by

Last year, Yamaha’s RX-V371 was the bestselling receiver in Australia. If you were after a budget receiver that valued high fidelity audio, without neglecting your beloved iPhone/iPod library, it was the go-to option. Today the company has released its follow up, the RX-V373

The V373 comes with future-proofing 4K compatibility. Although the notion of video playback in quality 4 times more detailed than the current Full HD standard, it’s only a matter of time before the new 4K standard makes its way into living rooms and condemns the rest of your electronics out-dated.


Click to enlarge

On the front, Yamaha has kept the USB port which makes it easy to replay digital music. It’s even easier managing the music library stored on your Apple iPhone/iPod as you can navigate songs directly from the receiver.

The 5.1 channel receiver is dedicated to high fidelity audio through a slew of software. This includes access to Yamaha’s 17 proprietary DSP programs, Yamaha’s Compressed Music Enhancer utilities and its beloved parametric acoustic room optimiser, which analyses a room’s acoustics and configures the sound accordingly.

Other new features to note include high speed HDMI switching and an ECO mode which reduces the power consumption by up to 20% with minimal loss in audio quality at volumes lower than -20dB.

The RX-V373 is available now at a recommended retail price of $499. There’s also a home theatre option with bookshelf speakers at RRP$649 or a full sized home theatre alternative at RRP$1,199.

Dick Smith Holds Massive Sale Amidst CE Price Erosion

by

In what appears to be the start of a major price war, Dick Smith has rolled out massive discounts across multiple products in the CE and IT space.

On Saturday the 26th of May, Dick Smith stores are holding “a special XXXL sale”, discounting CE and IT products by up to 50%. Laptops will be discounted by up to 30%; headphones, and computer keyboards, mice and webcams by 40%; and GPS units by 30%.


Click to enlarge
Even Apple computers are 15% off, despite rival companies discounting them by no more than 10%.

The aggressive discounts come at a time when the electronics industry is trying to uphold product prices in a bid to remain profitable. The rampant discounting of new electronics products has seen margins slip, affecting the bottom line of companies the likes of Harvey Norman.

The move to discount comes as Woolworths struggles to find a buyer for the Dick Smith chain. The Woolworths group announced Dick Smith’s sale in January, but analysts struggled to “identify any logical buyers for Dick Smith.

They will also be closing up to 100 of its 386 Australia and New Zealand DSE stores. At present, it isn’t know which stores will be closed down but the process will be “done over two years,” with Woolworths allocating $300 million for company restructuring.

 

The last major sale Dick Smith had was coined a ‘scam’ by customers who were promised $7 million dollars of discounted gaming consoles and games, only to be greeted by empty shelves as employees grabbed the hottest items.

A consumer backlash ensued, with memes mocking the sale online within hours and even a YouTube parody. To appease customers, the company’s General Manager issued an apology and repeated a similar sale the following week.

Kogan Slashes Apple iPad 2 Price, Undercutting JB HiFi & Harvey Norman

by

In house electronics company Kogan will begin selling Apple, Nikon, Samsung and Canon products at heavily discounted prices, including a top of the range iPad 2 at $789.

Kogan, who up until now has only sold in-house products, will begin offering some brand name products without the heavy price tag.

Apple’s top of the range iPad 2, with 3G connectivity and 64GB of internal memory, is being sold at $789. That’s $160 less than Harvey Norman who sells the same iPad variant at $949.

Canon and Nikon cameras are also cheap, with Canon’s EOS 1100D being offered for $479, $219 less than discount retailer JB HiFi. The savings are even greater on Nikon’s D3100, selling for an almost double $949 at Harvey Norman, while Kogan offer it for $489.

Kogan claim their cut-throat pricing is made possible by “cutting out the middleman.”

The company’s founder Ruslan Kogan said on his website the move “is a natural extension of the existing business,” and they were inspired by computer company Dell.

“We have learned from our friends at Dell, who decided to add to their existing core range of computers with a whole host of complementary products, including Kogan TVs. Just as Dell has become synonymous with best value in computers, Kogan is becoming synonymous with best value in other technology products.”

The company believes its prices will help it in the electronics ‘war’ against JB HiFi and Harvey Norman, explicitly singling them out.

 

“Today’s expansion will take another massive chunk of Harvey Norman’s and JB Hi-Fi’s market share by offering the World’s best prices on Apple, Motorola, Samsung, Canon and Nikon products.

“We can expect the big retailers – and their lobby groups – to run crying to the Government for assistance,” he said.

 

Study Reveals Why Gen Y Drivers Are The Most Stressed

by

With a Police survey revealing GPS Navigators distract drivers and cause accidents, Navteq have changed how their GPS units deliver information to drivers. Using a Galaxy Research study, they’ve also identified that generation Y drivers are the most stressed behind the wheel.

An Australian study conducted by Galaxy Research reveals that Gen Y drivers are the most stressed on the road. Of the 79% of drivers who are stressed behind the wheel, stress levels appear to decrease with age, revealing Gen Y drivers are twice as stressed as Baby Boomers.

According to the survey Gen Y drivers are the most prone to becoming lost on the roads, with one in three admitting they have a poor sense of direction. Additionally, 20% of Gen Y drivers claim they make impulsive decisions on the road when trying to navigate around traffic, compared to just 6% of Baby Boomers.

According to the study’s lead researcher, Mark McCrindle, the survey identifies how different generations absorb information and respond to their surroundings. With technological advancements facilitating a bombardment of information, Gen Y is suffering from an overload of info.

“Generation Y, with work, study and hectic social lives, is fast becoming over stimulated as it is the generation most bombarded by external influences,” said McCrindle.

“Growing up with the internet and social media as the norm, they are suffering information overload, which could be impacting their ability to take in information. If that is the case it could explain the higher stress they experience when behind the wheel,”

After examining the research, Navteq believes the technologically versed but stress driven youths would benefit from a GPS device that delivers information in a simple fashion. 

 

“NAVTEQ believes that these modern-day stress factors are all avoidable through the use of navigation, especially for the younger generation who are traditionally more tech-savvy,” said Kirk Mitchell, VP of Navteq sales. 

In response, Navteq have decided to veer away from traditional voice navigation content by reducing quantitative measurements. When thinking about it, trying to estimate 400 metres when driving is pretty tough, especially at speed.

Instead, technology called Navteq Natural voice guidance directs drivers through descriptive reference cues. Instead of uttering a jargon driven prompt, it will describe location landmarks and traffic icons familiar to the driver. ‘Turn left after the yellow shop’ or ‘turn right at the traffic lights’ is a much more simple approach to ‘in 500 metres, at the round-about take the third exit.’ Who wants to count exists when juggling gears?

It’s a simple and elegant solution. Reducing technological jargon can increase how receptive a driver is to voice cues, tapping into the driver’s natural habits instead of forcing them to learn road lingo.

Read: Study Finds GPS Navigators Cause Accidents

“‘Humanised technology’ helps break down traditional barriers of adoption, as it helps remove the fear or learning curve often associated with new advancements.  As more intuitive technology becomes available, these advancements will integrate more seamlessly into people’s lives,” McCrindle said.

Google Advocates Gay Marriage In Homophobic Countries

by

Google has launched a campaign advocating gay and lesbian marriage in homophobic countries.

Google’s ‘Legalize Love’ campaign aims to encourage equal marriage rights for gay, lesbian and bisexual couples in countries it has offices, beginning in Poland and Singapore.

“We want our employees who are gay or lesbian or transgender to have the same experience outside the office as they do in the office,” began Google executive Mark Palmer-Edgecumbe at the Global LGBT Workplace Summit in London.

“It is obviously a very ambitious piece of work.”

According to Mashable, the campaign targets countries that have homophobic laws and cultures by developing relationships with companies and supporting grass root campaigning.

“‘Legalize Love’ is a campaign to promote safer conditions for gay and lesbian people inside and outside the office in countries with anti-gay laws on the books,” Google wrote in a statement.

Palmer-Edgecumbe claims the ‘Legalize Love’ campaign is being introduced in Singapore as it is striving to become a global financial leader.

Although the campaign officially unifies their efforts, it isn’t the first time Google has advocated equal rights for gay and lesbian couples.

 

In Sydney’s Madi Gras, the company hosted two Queer Thinking seminars on Activism in the Internet age and Queer Careers. It has also thrown its name behind gay pride marches in Sao Paulo, San Francisco and New York.

Not afraid to lead by example, Google recently beefed up its own employee perks by enhancing transgender-inclusive benefits, including transitioning procedures and treatments.

Such initiatives have positioned Google as one of the best companies to work for. In fact, In Fortune Magazine’s ‘100 Best Companies to Work for’ 2012, Google ranked number 1.