Geekly Update - 19 July 2012

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

"Not Cool = Not a Problem" - Apple sued Samsung in the UK, claiming that the Galaxy Tab was an iPad ripoff. The judge ruled against Apple, allowing Samsung to continue selling their tablet. His judicial rationale? The Galaxy Tab is "not as cool" as the iPad.

Microsoft has announced that Windows 8 will become available to consumers on October 26. If you buy a Windows 7 laptop before January 2013, you can upgrade to Windows 8 for $19. Others who have a valid XP, Vista or Win7 license will be able to upgrade for $40.

Beginning this week, AT&T will prevent stolen devices from connecting to its network. After launching a website that helps consumers guard against theft by encouraging mobile insurance and reporting missing devices, this blocking will keep their customers' accounts intact while keeping a separate database for the stolen phones.

"Does the name 'Anthony Weiner' mean nothing to you?" After surveying about 1,000 students from southeast Texas schools, a University of Texas Medical Branch sexting study found that 28% of the teens sent a nude picture via email or text, 57% have been asked to do so and 31% have asked for one.

Ouva was barely more than a rumor last week, but now it looks like the $99.00 Android video game console may become reality thanks to Kickstarter, which managed to raise over $3 million for the project. Designed by Yves Behar and his company fuseproject, the system encourages free/low cost game design by including a development kit.

"Now you can WATCH where you're going..." In order to stay competitive with smartphones that include GPS, Garmin has come up with the Fenix, a waterproof wristwatch with a GPS receiver with track logging, altimeter, compass, barometer and Bluetooth connectivity. It's due out in August with an MSRP of $399, which means they'll sell exactly three of them.

Amazon's latest competitive service is GameCircle, similar to Apple's GameCenter. Designed for the Kindle Fire, gamers can save in-game progress in a cloud and see how they stack up on a leaderboard.

The Galaxy S III finally hit shelves at AT&T stores this week. At a cost of $200 with a two year contract, features include voice recognition, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor and a camera with a burst shot option that can take 3.3 shots per second.

Sony has purchased the game streaming company Gaikai for $380 million and will offer it as an interactive cloud service. Unlike subscription and on-demand sales, Gaikai allows free gaming demos before purchase.

The never-shy Google claims in its blog that the company contributed $80 billion to the US economy during 2011. Margo Georgiadis, VP of sales, says that the impact of this shows up in local industry when companies use Google Ads to promote their own businesses or services.