Hasta La Gadget!

Mobile handset maker Samsung is not happy with just churning out new phones. The company is making a play for a bigger position in the mobile ecosystem with the launch of a new platform.

Called Samsung bada, the platform will allow developers to create applications for more commonly used feature phones, says the company. To that effect, Samsung will offer developers a Software Development Kit (SDK) to program apps for the platform.

“By opening Samsung’s mobile platform, we will be able to provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible phones,” says Hosoo Lee,  executive vice president at Samsung Electronics.

Details about bada are sketchy and Samsung hasn’t made it clear if bada–which means ‘ocean’ in Korean– will be a new mobile operating system based on a Linux kernel or if it will just be an extension of the company’s proprietary OS.

Samsung, also, did not offer any details on how the bada platform will fit into its existing app store. In August, Samsung launched a mobile app store for Europe.

With more than 60 million phones sold worldwide in the third quarter, Samsung is the second largest mobile handsets maker. But most of the company’s sales come from less expensive handsets known as feature phones. Currently all app stores are focused on powerful smartphones.

For software developers, bada’s SDK could offer an easy way to tap into the installed base of Samsung phones through native apps instead of using Java (for GSM phones) or BREW (for CDMA devices). Bada is expected to make its debut on Samsung phones in 2010.

See Also:

• Samsung’s Flexible OLED Screen Goes Under the Hammer
• Review: Samsung NC20
• Samsung Blue Earth Phone Made From Old Plastic Bottles
• Samsung Fields Green, Ultra-Slim LCD TVs

Photo: (Cyrillicus/Flickr)

Windows 7 is out today! Huzzah! But wait; if you’re still rocking Windows XP, you might want to think twice before upgrading. Here are some reasons to stick with an old OS.

1. Updating will be a huge pain

You do realize that you can’t just pop in the disc and install the OS, right? Coming from XP, you’re going to need to backup all of your data, format your hard drive, install a clean version of Windows 7, and then start from scratch, reinstalling all of your old programs—and that’s assuming Old Faithful even meets the system requirements. Sounds delightful!

2. Software investment

How many programs do you have installed? You’re going to have to reinstall all of them. Do you have all of your install discs handy? And I hope you haven’t lost any CD Keys! Do you still have all of your downloaded installer executables? Feel like finding them or redownloading them? Because that’s what you’re going to have to do. And as far as new programs go, you do realize that almost all new software is still compatible with XP, right?

3. Most of what you use your computer for doesn’t need an upgrade

What do you do on your computer? Surf the internet, maybe use some office programs? I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that Windows XP has been handling such duties just fine for you. So why upgrade? For shiny new aesthetics? For a fancier taskbar? For juggling 22 devices? You don’t need that.

4. It’s expensive

Do you have $120+ to burn? Because that’s how much upgrading will cost you unless you use the $30 college-kid discount. Why not put that money in savings or use it to pay off a credit-card bill, like a grown up?

5. You can wait for SP1

Every OS has bugs when it’s first released, and even if 7 isn’t the shitshow that Vista was, it’ll surely need some patching up once the masses get their hands on it. You won’t get any bonus points for being an early-adopter. Why not play it safe and, if you do decide to upgrade, hold out for Service Pack 1?

6. Microsoft will keep supporting XP for a while

Tons of people (including you) still use XP, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Because of that, Microsoft has no choice but to continue supporting it, releasing security patches and the like. You don’t need to upgrade in order to get such benefits.

7. You’ll buy a new computer eventually

You won’t have your current computer forever, especially if you bought it long enough ago to come pre-loaded with XP. Since installing a new OS is one of the most risky and frustrating things you can do with your computer, you might as well just hold out until you buy a new one. It’ll have Windows 7 pre-installed on a clean drive, allowing you to start from scratch.

If you’re running Vista, however, you should by all means upgrade. What are you, crazy? Upgrade!

Continue reading Android 1.6 retrofitted onto Samsung Q1 UMPC (video)

Filed under: Handhelds, Software

Android 1.6 retrofitted onto Samsung Q1 UMPC (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Dell’s “highly experimental” Mini 10v with Ubuntu Moblin Remix may not be ready for the mainstream just yet (though it is on sale to everyone who dares), but it’s more than ready for the enthusiasts over at ArsTechnica. After purchasing a $299 base unit, they proceeded to take a closer look at just how Moblin fared on a netbook — probably because the actual hardware specifications are the same as always. Reviewers noted that the UI they were graced with looked an awful lot like the shell they saw back in May, though this build was decidedly more stable and “complete.” That said, they still managed to uncover a few bugs, and they were indeed saddened to find that the integrated web browser was downright “weak.” All told, critics were impressed with the progress on Moblin, but they still proclaimed that it has a long ways to go before it’ll be “ready for regular users.” If you’ve been thinking about exiting your comfort zone and picking one of these up, you owe it to yourself to give that read link a tap.

Filed under: Laptops

Dell Mini 10v reviewed with Ubuntu Moblin Remix originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Think your Snow Leopard woes are finally over? Don’t go logging into that Guest account, then. A flurry of reports have surfaced around the web explaining that even an accidental login to one’s Guest account within Snow Leopard could lead to mass deletion of all user files on the primary account, and when we say “mass deletion,” we mean “mass deletion.” The problem goes something like this: if one clicks on the Guest account after upgrading their machine to OS X 10.6, and everything hangs, there’s at least a decent chance that all of your data will be evaporated whenever you surf back over to the main profile. Apple has yet to address the issue (at least publicly), but we’d probably recommend disabling Guest accounts on your rig(s) until all of this gets sorted. You know, unless you actually enjoy watching your data vanish.

[Via Neowin]

Filed under: Software

Snow Leopard ‘Guest Account’ bug deleting user files, terrorizing children? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments