In an already crowded and growing market segment Dell launches its own smartphone in China. However base specs indicate that it could be missing some key features such as wifi and 3g.

See the full article here:

Image courtesy of bestofmicro.com

Apple is apparently applying for patent that will allow its products to detect and record if they are damaged by water / heat / dropped etc for the purpose of Apple determining whether warranty claims are due to manufacturing defect or lack of customer care of their devices.

Full story here:

Image courtesy of timesbusiness.typepad.com

You may find it useful that one blogger over at ZDNet has posted his own version of the Windows 7 upgrade chart after the official Microsoft one looks complex with over 66 options in the chart

See the whole story here:

Simplified Windows Upgrade Chart (Not MS Official) courtesy of ZDNet

There is still a lot of discussions in the corporate workplace about the appropriateness of Social Networking sites with heated discussions in both camps. There are those that say it's completely non-work related and that FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter and the like should be flat out banned while others see it as a new opportunity to open up new ways of communication. As with any new technology there are those that are early adopters and embrace it while others will hang back and let the technology mature some more before diving in. Social Networking Sites have really spawned from Web 2.0 where the web is becomming more and more interactive and I think many corporates have concerns around about how do we control the types of information that corporate users are transmitting through these sites if we allow it.... or is it easier to just flat out block access to the sites so we have control but the end-user is kicking and screaming saying that blocking it will make them less productive...

We have all read news articles or been forwarded emails about employees bitching about their employer behind their back or chucking a sickie...and then the employer finding out they were actually partying hard by viewing photos on Facebook.

Personally I see it as a challenge for corporates to strike a balance for acceptable use of these sites in the workplace and perhaps have some form of technical control in place to ensure company confidential information is not leaked by users to the web.

PicNet sees social networking sites as a new form of communication for our customers and potential new customers to keep track of what we are doing as company.

We have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia & PicNet Blogs:

FaceBook - PicNet

Twitter - twittpicnet

Linkedin - Nicholas White

Linkedin - Marco Tapia

Linkedin - David Booth

Linkedin - Guido Tapia

PicNet Blogs

Wikipedia - PicNet

What's your opinion on the topic? Post back and let me know.

Image Courtesy of boxblu.com

Image courtesy of bestofmicro.com

Just as Google has bought many of its apps out of beta this week it has announced it is working own its own Google Chrome Operating System!

Is this the new golden bullet operating system for Netbook PC's????

It looks as if Google is entering more and more into Microsoft's domain in many areas.

You can read more about the new OS here on Google's own blog:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

Image courtesy of www.slipperybrick.com

Unless you have been hiding under a rock you would know that Microsoft has set an official release date of Windows 7 on October 22. Other websites are even saying that a Release to Manufacture (RTM) could be ready as early as July 13.

PicNet has been a keen follower of Windows 7 having tested some of the betas and release candidates of this new OS which is basically Windows Vista with all the bug fixes! In a nutshell its what Vista should have been. During the testing process we have found this new OS to be less resource hungry resulting in a better user experience. Its also quick to install, runs faster and has a smaller footprint.

Microsoft is going to want to push this OS hard to businesses and consumers by making Release Candidates free to the general public and already marketing the prices and versions of the OS at a cheaper price than the Vista equivalents.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner PicNet will gain access to the final version of Windows 7 when it goes to RTM. I know I will be keen to roadtest the final version of this OS after holding back on rolling out Vista across the company like many other companies out there.

Microsoft has announced that mainstream support of Windows XP ended on April 14th 2009 and now is entering the "extended support" phase, however security fixes will continue to be issued through Windows Update until April 8th 2014.

Image courtesy of www.tothepc.com

There is much more competition in the browser market these days. Long gone are the days when Internet Explorer ruled. Many people are ditching the empire's browser in favour of others such as Mozilla's Firefox, Google Chrome & Apple's Safari. So what does this mean for the corporate organisations out there? Are we going to see similar pressure put on them much like social networking sites and personal smartphone devices. Should you be able to choose which browser you use at work? Or should the IT department dictate that it is going to continue to rollout and support Internet Explorer only.

Lets face it some of these new browsers just offer better browsing speed and customization compared to the juggernaut's browser.

So we have 4 main players in the browser market each releasing a new version of there browser.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 8
• Mozilla Firefox 3.5
• Google Chrome 2
• Apple Safari 4

So which browser do you use and why?

Personally I'm using Firefox 3.5 at home and work because of its speed, simplicity and customization by way of plugins.