Last year was a good one for Microsoft, they passed the $50 Billion mark ($51.12) in revenue and the Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD) reported a 28 percent increase in revenue to just over $6 Billion. Microsoft's mobile and embedded devices (MED) software platforms revenue, which comprise Windows Mobile, Windows CE, and Windows XP Embedded, and Windows Automotive, are not officially broken out of the EDD revenue numbers. However WindowsForDevices.com estimates the revenue for the full year was about $631, a 28% increase over last year. The big disappointment for the EDD was the $1.06 Billion charge related to the XBox 360 warranty issues.
Semsons & Co. Inc. (via pocketnow.com and MoDaCo) has released mini USB multi adapter which lets you plug in a standard 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack and a mini USB jack for power/data for $4.99. The other choice I reported on a while ago is from JAVOedge, but at $11.95 is no bargain. For now, with my Bluetooth headphones, I personally have not needed to plug in a set of headphones.
It looks like APC is dumbing down their firmware for PC and Workstation UPSs. The RS1300 UPS I just bought does not provide the level of information that my BP650S did and does not work out of the box with their Powerchute Business Edition software. If you want to use Powerchute Business Edition you need an SUA series UPS which is almost double the price. The recommendation is to use the Powerchute Personal Edition software, which give you limited capability. The feature I really like with Powerchute Business Edition is the ability to email alerts. I will have to research to see if there is some other solution that will meet my needs.
T-Mobile's HotSpot@Home is working well, the call quality is good although there have been some call disconnects which seem related to WIFI disconnections. Once the disconnection occurs the phone reverts to cell coverage. T-Mobile transfer desk called me this weekend to confirm the port of my Sunrocket number. It is scheduled for tomorrow. I just need the UMA client for Windows Mobile to make this an outstanding solution. It looks like Dock-N-Talk is not working out, the 2.4GHZ frequency sharing between WIFI and Bluetooth seems problematic. I have read that you need Bluetooth devices which can hop frequencies, I doubt the Dock-N-Talk can do this.
This week:
- I am working on a review of the Sunny solar charger.
50 billion. Geez. Microsoft is so huge, you'd think they'd do a better job of competing with Google in the search engine space, lol.
Posted by: Samuel Rogers | August 15, 2012 at 05:10 AM