GLENN’S SHOWNOTES
iPhone 5 Sales “Record-Breaking”: Telstra
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Telstra sold out of the iPhone 5 in just 18 hours after the pre-orders kicked off on Friday 5:30 pm, marking a new sales record for the telco.
“Tens of thousands pre-registered interest in the new Apple and we sold out within two working says” smashing all Telstra previous online sales records, even the iPhone 4S which also sold out within a few days.
Optus has sold out of its first pre-order batch of iPhone 5 models, five days
The 4G device sold out on pre-orders on Apple’s online store just one hour after it became available on Friday, smashing records set by both the iPhone 4S and before that, the iPhone 4.
All plan guide
http://www.mactalk.com.au/55/110673-australian-iphone-5-plan-comparison-spreadsheet-all-carriers-compared-one-place.html
Apple smashes iPhone sales record
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Apple booked orders for over two million iPhone 5 models in the first 24 hours, reflecting a higher-than-expected demand
Apple shares rose in extended after-market trading to touch $US700 per share for the first time. They have gained nearly 22 percent in the past 3-1/2 months in the build-up to the launch of the iPhone 5.
Analysts have forecast that Apple will have sold more than 30 million iPhones, including older models, by the end of September.
guide to iOS 6
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iOS 6, a release that will arm iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users with what Apple claims to be over 200 new features.
The new operating system is free and can be downloaded in iTunes starting today. It’s not able to run on the iPhone 3G or first-generation iPad
including its homegrown Maps app, which replaces the Google Maps application featured in earlier versions of the software.
Apple said the new app includes vector-based map elements for an overall smoother experience when panning or zooming into specific locations. Turn-by-turn navigation is also included, and is available in Australia, along with a Flyover feature that lets users view what Apple refers to as “photo-realistic” and 3D maps from an aerial perspective.
Siri, the voice-activated assistant that debuted with the iPhone 4S, also gets a makeover in iOS 6
Users will now be able to synchronise tabs that are open on their desktops with those that are open on their iPads and iPhone via integration with iCloud. Also new is the ability for users to snap photos and record videos without having to leave the Safari app.
FaceTime over mobile, a new capability that lets users make video calls over 3G networks, rather than just over Wi-Fi.
TPG launches unlimited NBN plan
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initially offer a single plan with unlimited downloads for $69.99 per month at the network’s base speed of 12 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload on a 12-month contract.
It comes in at $10 more per month than the equivalent standalone ADSL2+ unlimited plan TPG currently offers, but is effectively $20 cheaper as line rental is no longer required.
It also makes unlimited quotas more widely available to regional premises for the first time, outside of the 379 Telstra exchange areas where TPG currently offers its DSL plan.
TPG general manager of marketing and sales Craig Levy said the plan was “very much a starting point” for the telco, with plans to offer the NBN’s faster speed tiers once the company is happy with take-up.
The announcement came as part of the company’s annual results reporting to the Australian Securities Exchange
Stop using dangerous IE, web users warned
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Computer security experts are urging PC users to temporarily stop browsing the web with Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer, saying a newly identified bug in the software makes computers susceptible to attack by hackers.
“Bad guys can use this vulnerability to do bad things to your computer. They can access all the files you have access to on your computer,” said Tod Beardsley, an engineering manager with the security firm Rapid7.
“There are other browsers that people can use temporarily until the problem gets fixed. Or they can gamble,” said Paul Ferguson, senior threat researcher with Japanese anti-virus software maker Trend Micro Inc
“Why take the risk? I’d stay the heck away,” said Jeff Bardin, chief intelligence officer with Treadstone 71, a cyber security consulting firm
*Where are the big ones – Symantc, Mcafee, Kaspersky etc
Samsung Galaxy S4 to drop in Feb
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Samsung is reportedly planning to unveil its fourth-generation Galaxy S smartphone in February
Samsung “company officials” have confirmed that the new Galaxy S IV smartphone will be launched at next year’s Mobile World Congress event, taking place February 25-28 in Barcelona, according to the Korea Times
Sources told the Korea Times the new Galaxy S IV will have a 5-inch display, arming users with more screen real estate compared to the 4.8-inch design of the Galaxy S III.
Like all mobile devices in Samsung’s Galaxy line, the Galaxy S IV is projected to run Google’s Android OS and Samsung’s Exynos processor.
How Kogan can sell the iPhone 5 cheaper than Apple
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Kogan’s iPhone 5 is a grey import from Hong Kong, meaning the retailer is bringing the devices over through non-official Apple channels. Hong Kong’s 4G networks use the same spectrum, 1800 MHz, as Australia, so the imported products will still be compatible with local 4G networks.
Buying products in bulk from overseas at a likely discount means savings in both purchase price, as well as through exchange rate differences for Kogan. The high Aussie dollar makes purchasing the smartphone from Apple in Hong Kong cheaper than it does in Australia. Kogan has since said it will be able to resolve any issues with devices imported from Hong Kong locally.
For example, the 16GB iPhone 5 sells for around $A690 in Hong Kong compared to $A799 locally
Kogan lists 50 employees on its books
Rather than partnering with one single courier, Kogan gets several couriers to bid against one another for the cheapest delivery, Ruslan Kogan toldLeading Company.
As it is offering the iPhone 5 under its “Kogan HK” business rather than “Kogan Australia”, the device could require shipment back to Hong Kong for service
Apple confirmed Kogan’s iPhones are still serviceable at Apple stores under its global one-year warranty.
30 years of emoticons
goto web page for slide show
emoticon turns 30 on 19 September. On that day in 1982, Scott Fahlman, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, wrote: “I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: :-)”
Sony to sell slimmer PlayStations to help boost sales
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One version will feature 12 gigabytes of flash memory, allowing it to become the cheapest PS3 to date.
The other has a 500GB hard disk and will be sold for roughly the price of the previous 320GB model.
The PS3 has been outsold by Microsoft’s Xbox 360 for 20 months running in the US
Sony says the revised models are less than half the size and weight of the original PS3 launched in 2006, and a 20-25% reduction on the previous models.
ERIK’S SHOWNOTES
The verdict on the Apple iPhone 5
IT DOESN’T go on sale until Friday but it already has a new nickname and more than 2 million committed users.
The iPhone 5, comically dubbed The Longphone, is the revamped Apple smartphone users have longed for since the iPhone 4 started to show its age.
It promises faster downloads and response times, a significantly lighter, rugged body, plus camera, software and speaker upgrades.
But the iPhone 5 may not please everyone with its screen that is no wider, battery that is no larger, and demands for a new SIM card and fresh cables.
I’ve tested the new iPhone for seven days, loading it with more than 300 apps, testing each new feature, filling its memory with photos, and trying very hard not to drop it.
Below is an account of life with an iPhone 5 to help make your smartphone choice easier.
THAT BODY
You’d think Apple’s first four-inch screen would make the biggest first impression. Nope.
Pick up an iPhone 5 and you’re likely to first notice its unlikely lightness. This handset is just 112g; so light you’ll have to adjust your grip to keep hold of it.
It also looks like it’s been made by a jeweller: the slender sides have been finely sanded to a shiny edge and the anodised aluminium back cover is reassuringly solid. No more glass sandwich to protect.
WHY THE LONG SCREEN?
It’s the most obvious iPhone 5 upgrade: a screen that is 18 per cent bigger than before.
Websites now stretch further, revealing three Google results rather than two. Three appointments appear in the monthly calendar view (not one), and a new row of apps fits on each screen. I immediately reorganise my home screen accordingly, following an Australian Idol app audition process.
The long screen is surprisingly practical. Apart from allowing thumb-typing, widescreen movie and TV downloads can now be viewed without a letterbox border, making them more comfortable to watch.
Impressively, Apple hasn’t stretched resolution to fit the screen. It retains the 326ppi Retina Display by adding more pixels. The screen is as sharp as ever, even when eyeball-close.
Apple has also boosted screen contrast, which is particularly obvious in photos. Side-by-side with an iPhone 4S, colours look bolder and less washed out. Blacks looks darker and reds richer.
This contrast boost comes with a downside, however: whites also look more yellow. It’s only noticeable when compared to another phone’s screen, but there is a very slight tint to the iPhone 5 display.
DUDE, WHERE’S MY CHARGER?
Having stared at the screen for hours, restored more than 100 apps and downloaded several photo albums, the iPhone 5’s battery says no. I reach for my old cord and think again: the new iPhone has a new connection.
This becomes more frustrating with each charge. Where did I leave that one white cord, different to all the other white cords?
Yet more problems arise when mobile. No one else has an eight-pin Lightning adaptor for me to borrow. I become a battery scrooge to keep to the phone alive.
The smaller connection paved the way for a more slender phone and Apple says the pain of adapting will subside. This transitional period is bound to be awkward and frustrating, though.
HOW MUCH FASTER?
Like all new iPhones, this model feels faster than the last.
Reach for the camera app and you can shoot two photos before the iPhone 4S snaps one. Apps also open faster, games load quicker and menus respond with greater speed. Apple claims it’s up to twice as fast.
Surprisingly, benchmarking tests support this claim. The Geekbench app placed this iPhone 5 handset just below the Samsung Galaxy S III’s benchmark even though that phone has a quad-core processor to this phone’s dual-core model. Touche.
4G THAT WORKS HERE
It takes a moment for me to recognise it. It’s not the 4G symbol I expected. This iPhone calls its faster internet connection by its more accurate name: LTE.
With just three out of five 4G bars showing, and connected to Telstra’s network, this phone tears through megabytes. It downloads 12 per second, on average, and can upload 6mbps: fast enough to download email attachments without consideration and upload Instagram photos before you reconsider.
Apple’s decision to add Australia-friendly 4G to this device was a wise one and is sure to help spread 4G coverage.
And remember that “Grip of Death”? It doesn’t affect this phone. I tried it.
DO MEGAPIXELS MATTER?
The iPhone 5’s front-facing camera is undoubtedly better – self-portraits and FaceTime video chats are clearer – but the rear camera’s upgrade is more subtle. It’s still an 8-megapixel camera but one that features digital tweaks.
Digital noise reduction and low-light modes have been added to make indoor photos crisper, users can capture photos while shooting video, and a Panorama option lets you capture 270-degree vistas.
This last offering is perhaps the most notable and it’s well executed. Capturing Brisbane’s Story Bridge at night was initially challenging _ you must strive to keep a virtual arrow on a line while slowly spinning _ but the results impressed. Cropped and colour-boosted afterwards, they became worthy desktop backgrounds.
Does anyone need a greater resolution than 8 megapixels? Sony and Nokia think so. Apple’s new camera is not groundbreaking but delivers valuable improvements.
ANNOYANCES
Want bigger apps for that bigger screen? You’ll have to wait.
Each app-maker must update their creation to use the iPhone 5’s longer display. View the web in Google Chrome and it looks smaller than in Apple’s own Safari, for example. This is bound to be a very short-term problem. Expect a weekend rush.
Want to slip your SIM into an iPhone 5? You’ll have to swap it for a Nano-SIM. SIM surgery won’t work this time – you can’t cut a Micro SIM down to size – and you’ll have to find an adaptor if you want to switch to another phone. Apple is asking users to commit.
Don’t expect a lot of extra battery life from this phone, either. The iPhone 5 battery is no larger, though it will last a touch longer than an iPhone 4S between charges while delivering more screen and a faster internet service.
VERDICT
The iPhone 5 is a compelling package and certainly enough to keep Apple’s many fans hooked. By introducing a 4G internet connection, bigger screen, faster processor and modest camera upgrades, users will find plenty of reasons to upgrade.
Committed Google Android users, however, are less likely to be swayed. Big screens, fast processors and 4G connections are not new to them.
Apple’s newest iPhone is revolutionary, it’s just a modest, modern revolution.
Real time map shows planes in the air now
WANT to know where that plane flying over your house is going? Or how many flights there are in the sky above New York? A new website makes it possible to track flights from all around the world from commercial airlines to private jets and even military aircraft.
Flightradar24’s air maps are updated every couple of seconds. They allow you to track a specific flight across the globe and you can even see the plane’s altitude and speed.
Wondering whether your loved one’s plane will be delayed? No problem. You can log on and see which flights will land at any given airport in the next two hours. Stay at home until you see it on the map.
For really serious plane spotters, the website’s data include aircraft model type, serial numbers and airline affiliation.
So how does it work?
Flightradar24 pulls data from the Federal Aviation Administration in the United States and the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system in other countries.
Then they simply upload that data onto user friendly maps.
And if you think there are a lot of planes in the sky, well, there are even more than you see here. Only 60 per cent of airplanes that carry passengers are equipped with ADS-B, so the map isn’t even showing every flight there is.
Internet privacy a major worry for readers
Proposed data retention laws, increased surveillance and the leaking of private information are some of the biggest concerns among readers who have taken part in The Age’s series on privacy.
About 20 per cent of readers’ concerns related to a controversial proposal being considered by the federal government that would force telecommunications companies to store the data of all Australians’ internet activity for two years.
Many respondents said their data could be misused under the plan. One, Sean Fremder, described any move by the government to retain data as a “perpetual fishing expedition”.
“This two-year mandatory data-retention program imposed on ISPs would be tantamount to the government having required Australia Post to open and photocopy every written postage item and keep that copy of the content for two years,” he said.
Other readers feared the proposals would have a chilling effect on online communication or leave data collected by the government open to exploitation by hackers.
Increased surveillance, particularly through CCTV cameras, also cropped up as an important issue, with more than 10 per cent of responses raising this as a concern.
“I am particularly concerned about the street surveillance cameras, internet surveillance and road surveillance,” one reader said. “I fear the young will not be able to make minor errors without them being held against them for life.”
Another reader suggested new laws and licence fees to stop the spread of CCTV cameras: “Anyone with a CCTV camera or cameras that peer into public space should pay a substantial licence fee. That includes banks and speed cameras. It is an invasion of privacy and there should be a prohibitive cost to that.”
The third most common concern related to privacy breaches, with some readers detailing incidents in which sensitive information about them had been leaked and used against them.
Others were concerned that cloud computing — in which large amounts of information are stored online around the world — increased the risk of private information ending up in the wrong hands.
The Age has received more than 150 detailed responses from readers in the past two days about their privacy concerns. Other issues raised included the storage of information collected by smart meters, online medical records and targeted advertising on sites such as Facebook.
A small number of readers, such as Richard Friend, said they had no concerns about privacy. “The benefits of using credit cards, loyalty cards and having CCTV in the city far outweigh any concern that someone else might know something about me. If that’s what puts excitement in their life, who cares?”
The Age has launched a series on privacy and wants to hear from you. Email privacy@theage.com.au, visit us on Facebook at facebook.com.au/theprivacyquestion or use the Twitter hashtag #ageprivacy.
iStunt? Apple iPhone 5 ‘sell-out’ questioned
Apple’s iPhone 5.
iPhone 5 pre-orders are almost sold out ahead of Friday’s launch, leading some Apple faithful and marketing experts to question whether the sell-outs are deliberately engineered by the company for marketing reasons.
Those looking to get their hands on an iPhone 5 as soon as possible should prepare to queue at an Apple store as online shipping times have blown out to two-three weeks while carriers have mostly run out of pre-order stock.
By doing the allocations this way, Apple gets two stories – ‘pre-orders sellout’ and ‘queues around the block on launch day’. If it isn’t deliberate it’s awfully fortuitous.
Matthew Powell, founder, MacTheMag
Telstra said “pre-orders launched on Friday evening and were sold out by Saturday morning making it our fastest pre-order to date”.
Head-to-head … the Samsung Galaxy SIII, left, and Apple’s iPhone 5, right.
Virgin Mobile has also run out of stock while Optus and Vodafone still have units but expect these to run out shortly. Analysts expect Apple to sell 6 million or more units globally by the end of its first weekend and 58 million by the end of the year.
Some features will not be available to Australians at launch including turn-by-turn navigation and Siri-provided directions, restaurant reservations and movie show times.
Apple said turn-by-turn navigation and Siri directions be would switched on for Australia in October. The full list of features that will be available to Australians at launch, including Siri sports scores and traffic information, is on Apple’s website.
Cynical marketing ploy?
Australian journalist Matthew Powell, who has covered Apple for decades, said Apple CEO Tim Cook was known as one of the smartest operations guys in the business so “would have known exactly how many units were required and where they needed to be allocated”.
Powell said he would never pre-order again after he ordered an iPad 2 that was supposed to be delivered on launch day but took three weeks to arrive even though Powell ordered the device within seconds of pre-orders opening.
“By doing the allocations this way, Apple gets two stories – ‘pre-orders sellout’ and ‘queues around the block on launch day’,” he said. “If it isn’t deliberate it’s awfully fortuitous.”
Iain McDonald, founder of digital marketing agency Amnesia, previously owned by Microsoft, agreed. “Absolutely. It’s all part of the spectacle that Apple loves to create around its products and it’s in a good position to amplify this because Apple has its own stores making it a very visible specacle,” he said.
McDonald said marketers had been using the strategy for years, including nightclub owners who make people queue up outside even though the club inside is half empty. “The irony is that Apple are probably in a position where they can’t afford not to have the queues outside at launch,” he said. “It has become part of their brand and if there were no lines, that could be considered a failure to launch and may have a huge impact on subsequent sales.”
But Anthony Agius, founder of MacTalk.com.au, said there was “more risk in pissing people off with no stock” than the “vague benefits [derived by] creating some fake demand”. “They don’t need to generate false perceptions of demand, there is legit demand,” he said, adding the sell outs were more to do with Apple’s inability to make the products fast enough.
Pre-orders off the charts
Orders via Apple’s site opened at 5pm on Friday, around the same time telcos including Telstra, Optus, Virgin and Vodafone released details of their pricing plans.
Online comparison service WhistleOut, which has a partnership with Fairfax, publisher of this website, said the plans were “very much the same as” the telco plans for iPhone 4S.
The iPhone 5 goes on sale this Friday in Apple Stores and the first people to order online will also get their devices on that day. But within hours of orders opening on Apple’s website, shipping times increased to 2-3 weeks.
Apple Australia confirmed that regardless of online demand there will be separate stock in stores on Friday and carriers also have their own stock. Sites such as Airtasker.com are offering to hold your place in the line for $50.
Even Vodafone, the only carrier that will not offer the iPhone 5 on a 4G network, said it was experiencing heavy demand.
“If the hours following the opening of pre-order sales in-store and by phone are anything to go by – where we had to open online pre-orders five hours early due to significant call volumes to customer care – I wouldn’t be surprised if we sold out in coming days!,” a Vodafone Australia spokeswoman said.
Plans compared
Virgin Mobile, Optus and Vodafone all offer low-end users iPhone 5 plans for under $50 a month, with Virgin’s coming in the cheapest at $47 a month for the 16GB model (including handset repayments).
Telstra’s entry-level plan starts at $67 a month, but those who spend $80 a month or more will get a bonus 1GB of data for the first year of their two-year contract.
For no upfront handset cost for the iPhone 5 16GB, Optus, Telstra and Vodafone plans start at $80 a month, while Virgin’s equivalent is $89 a month. There are some, but fewer, $0 upfront options for the 64GB model.
WhistleOut’s Cameron Craig said Telstra could justify its higher prices because it offered the best 4G coverage and network speed. He said it remained to be seen how the 4G networks in Australia would withstand the iPhone 5 load once people began switching them on.
“Telstra’s 4G network is already supporting over 350,000 customers, but the Optus 4G network has only just been unwrapped,” said Craig.
Those who do not want to go on a two-year contract can buy the iPhone 5 outright from $799 for the 16GB model to $999 for the 64GB model.
Re-sale market running hot
Australian services that buy used gadgets such as Mazuma Mobile and ReGadget have been doing a roaring trade ahead of the iPhone 5’s debut. ReGadget founder Owen McCrink said he had traded in “hundreds” of iPhones – mostly iPhone 4/4S – in the past few weeks.
“Last year [with the launch of the iPhone 4S] not as many people were willing to break contracts to upgrade, while this year as it is a totally new phone, there is a lot more willingness to upgrade,” said McCrink, adding he was offering up to $243 for iPhone 4 and $383 for iPhone 4S.
Eager punters, keen for their 15 minutes of fame, have already begun lining up outside Apple Stores in London and New York from Friday. There did not appear to be anyone lining up outside Sydney Apple Stores this morning.
Independent telecommunications analyst Horace Dediu, who specialises in Apple analysis, estimated the company would sell 6 million units by the end of the first weekend of sales. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg said, on average, that they expected 58 million iPhone 5s to be sold by the end of the year, which could generate as much as $US36.2 billion in sales for Apple.
Analyst firm UBM Tech Insights crunched the numbers for the iPhone 5 and found that the components that make up the 16GB model, which sells outright for $799, cost $US167.50.
The iPhone 5 will debut in nine countries on Friday followed by 22 more on September 28. By December it will be available in 100 countries.
Some developers are worried they may not get their apps sufficiently optimised for the new longer screen in time, The Next Web reported. Apps that aren’t modified for the iPhone 5 will appear like they do on an iPhone 4 but with black strips along the top and bottom.
The iPhone is Apple’s best-selling product and makes up about two-thirds of its profit. Apple has sold 244 million iPhones since its debut in 2007.
The new iPhone is thinner (7.6mm), has a bigger 10-centimetre screen, supports 4G networks and includes an eight-megapixel camera with software that can take large panoramic shots. The new iOS6 comes with several software enhancements such as Apple’s new maps app, an upgraded Siri and Passbook for storing tickets, boarding passes, offers and loyalty cards.
Samsung was quick to launch a US advertising campaign mocking the iPhone 5. It released a feature comparison heavily weighted in the Galaxy S III’s favour above a tagline “the next big thing is already here”. Apple faithful have already doctored the ad to sling some mud back at Samsung.
Apple said in a statement to some US publications that iPhone 5 orders were “incredible” and the company had been “completely blown away by the consumer response”.
HTC unveils its Windows phones
Smartphone September rolls on as Taiwanese maker HTC unveils its range of handsets based on the new Microsoft Windows Phone 8 operating system.
This month has seen major handset announcements from Nokia, which launched a pair of Lumia smartphones that will run Windows Phone 8 and Google owned Motorola which hatched more premium Android handsets.
Apple then sucked out all the marketing oxygen mid month with the arrival of its iPhone 5, which goes on sale September 21.
Chinese maker ZTE has this month heralded both Windows 8 phones and devices based on a new operating system developed with Firefox maker Mozilla.
While HTC earlier alluded to bringing on Windows Phone 8 handsets, it has now provided some specification detail and like Nokia, will spruik, colors, cameras and big screens with its upcoming Windows handsets.
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer, was on hand for the New York launch. I’m thrilled to take our longstanding partnership to the next level,” he said, having earlier this month attended the Nokia New York launch. Microsoft has still not revealed all the features in the new Windows Phone 8 OS.
The flagship HTC Windows Phone 8X will sport a 4.3 inch HD-resolution screen using Gorilla Glass 2.The phones will come in a range of case colors including blue, red and yellow.
As the number of images shot by smartphones overtakes the number of pictures snapped by dedicated cameras, premium handset makers have all been talking up low light performance.
HTC claims the 8 megapixel main camera on its flagship has better low light performance through a back illuminated sensor as already used in the Apple iPhone 4 series and earlier HTC phones. But the humble front camera also scores goodies in the form of a wide angle, 88 degree lens that HTC claims can capture four people in a ‘selfie’ shot at once. It also does 1080p video capture – handy for video calls.
Sound is via a Beats Audio amp and Telstra, Optus and Vodafone will all carry the HTC Windows Phones when they become available in November.
Twentieth Century Fox will soon be making films available for streaming before DVD release
Twentieth Century Fox films will soon be available to buy online before the movie’s DVD release.
The studio, the cinema unit of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, will offer streaming movies for various devices through Apple’s iTunes, Google Play and other services.
The Digital HD project will allow access to new releases, across multiple devices, before DVDs are issued, News Corp announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“Whether the plan involves watching Fox movies on connected HDTVs in your living room, or on your tablet or smartphone on the run, Digital HD offers up versatility and convenience,” the statement said.
The company said more than 600 Fox films will be made available to US customers from Amazon, nemaNow, Google Play, PlayStation, iTunes, Vudu, Xboxve and YouTube.
“With almost 800 million broadband connected devices globally, and millions of people accessing entertainment on those devices, we feel the medium’s time has come,”said Mike Dunn, president of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment department.
“Digital HD redefines digital ownership in a way that presents consumers with a full range of benefits in a coherent way, and it allows them the chance to build digital movie collections that can literally be carried in the palms of their hands.”
Fox plans to offer the service in more than 50 countries.
Among the first movies to be released will be the sci-fi thriller Prometheus, which will sell for under $US15, ($A14.41) and arrive three weeks before Blu-ray, DVD and video-on-demand.
Microsoft to give all employees new gadgets
Microsoft is giving its 94,000 employees enough new devices to supply a small city, with each of them in line to receive a new computer, tablet and smartphone.
The Redmond, Washington, company is getting ready for the big launch of Windows 8 and a slew of new products, and at the company’s meeting earlier last week, Microsoft told employees they would be getting new Windows 8 PCs, Windows Phone 8 devices and the new Microsoft Surface tablet.
“Steve Ballmer acknowledged that Microsoft is on the eve of one of its greatest moments as it prepares to ship a remarkable line-up of devices and services,” said Lou Gellos, Microsoft’s director of corporate communications in an email statement.
“In order to make sure that employees have the latest and best technology to both be more productive and to be great evangelists, he announced that they would receive a new Windows 8 PC to replace their current work device, a new Windows 8 phone and a Microsoft Surface RT,” he said.
The company employs 94,000 people around the world full time, meaning it will be handing out about 282,000 Windows 8 products. Microsoft regularly counts on its employees to test new products – it did so with Bing, for example – conducting trials that are bigger than some client enterprise implementations.
“Great Microsoft company meeting, even ignoring my onstage cameo and Ballmer’s generous Oprah-style hardware giveaways to all employees. ;” tweeted one employee.
Windows 8 launches in late October, and that’s around when the employees will get their new toys.
LA Times
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