If you’re looking for an orb-like streaming media player, Google’s new Nexus Q may fill the void. Introduced at last week’s I/O conference and reportedly even made here in the USA, the $300 black sphere connects to your audio and video system to music and video right from the cloud to your home entertainment center. (Catchy name, eh? Sorta make you think of this Nexus and this Q…)
The Q of Star Trek: The Next Generation liked to meddle — something Facebook is still being accused of after last week’s “let’s-change-everyone’s-default-email-address” incident. Seems the address swap messed up a few smartphone contact lists and The People are not happy about it.
Amazon has apologized for major outages to clients using its Amazon Web Services cloudware after power-disrupting massive thunderstorms and pesky software bugs knocked a few sites offline. The Leap Second of June 30 also tripped up a few sites, although Google smartly planned ahead for that extra tick on the clock.
MobileMe went down for good this past weekend, but that was intentional, as Apple retired the service for good in favor it its big puffy iCloud. Apple also kept up the patent lawsuit heat on Samsung, which still can’t sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the U.S. Off to appeals court, we go!
Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to tout its new Windows 8 system that’s due out later this year. A Windows Team blog post reports you can even upgrade your existing Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC to the spiffy new Windows 8 Pro for a mere $40 when the new system lands.
Twitter is marking American Independence Day this week by releasing its first Twitter Transparency Report detailing international government requests for both user information and requests received to remove content DMCA takedown notices were also noted. As a post on the Twitter blog notes: “Beyond the fireworks and barbecue, July 4th serves as an important reminder of the need to hold governments accountable, especially on behalf of those who may not have a chance to do so themselves.”
Happy American Independence Day for those who celebrate it! And for our beloved international listeners, party on anyway.
