That's Four Plusses!

Paul Thorrott, on his Supersite for Windows:

I’ve often described Windows 8 as Windows 7++, because — and contrary to a peculiarly widespread belief — it’s really just a combination of everything that’s great about Windows 7 plus a ton of new desktop improvements, all tied to a new mobile OS I still call Metro. On that note, Blue is Windows 8++: It’s Windows 8 plus a ton of improvements

So, if we're doing the math correctly, Windows Blue is just Windows 7++++.

And you wonder why...

Mike Woodward, President of HTC North America, speaking about the Samsung Galaxy S4:

We're pleased to see no innovation in the design itself

This would explain why HTC has been losing money and market share hand over fist the last few years.  Innovation is not changing the way a device looks.  It's changing the way people use it.  

iPhones have looked basically the same since 2007, but every year Apple changes the way people can use them.  Samsung is doing the same with the Galaxy line, and I think it's a good move.

Google Reader is Dead

Google announced that they're killing their Reader.

For those non-nerds out there, Google Reader is a cool little web app that takes all your RSS feeds and lets you read them.

Wait, you don't know about RSS feeds?  Ugh.  You should read this.  But come back when you're done.

At first glance, someone who loves Google Reader like me is now clamoring for a new way to collect the articles from all the Web sites I enjoy into one place.  It's HORRIBLE!!

But then I think about it.  It's NOT horrible at all!  First, I don't like Google all that much.  I don't use gMail for anything other than when I need to sign up for something I know is going to spam the shit out of me.  I try to use Apple's less-than-stellar Maps app so I don't have to run all my location searches through El Goog, who I know logs all of them in a secret file to give the government after I win the lottery and disappear.  Google Docs is a joke, and Google+ gets spammier by the minute.

Long story short, I'm trying to get away from Google, but Reader was locking me in. It syncs to all my RSS readers, like Byline on my iPad and iPhone.  On any device or any web browser, I can pick up where I left off, because Google Reader syncs everything.  I will miss that.

But, now I can leave the Google Machine.  I will convert my RSS list into an OPML thingy and import it into Byline.  Other people will have to find their own solution.

This is a fantastic boon for app developers on all platforms.  Now they will build new and better apps to replace Reader, just as Reader displaced the likes of NetNewsWire and Gator on the desktop years ago.

The Fixer

Eddy Cue, the new sheriff in Apple Town.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) has fired the manager responsible for its troubled mapping software, seeking to win back the trust of users disappointed after the program debuted in September, according to people familiar with the move.

Happy Birthday, Macintosh!

The Macintosh ( /ˈmækɨntɒʃ/ mak-in-tosh),^[1] or Mac, is a series of personal computers (PC) designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface rather than acommand-line interface.

I know Macs have been my computer of choice since the beginning.  Like many, I strayed into the Windows world during the early 90's when Macs were damn near unusable, especially in "real world" jobs.  Since OS X was released in 2002, I've been all Mac, all the time.

Except when I'm on my iPad...