Xiaomi’s path to the West gets a little easier with Microsoft patent deal | Ars Technica

Xiaomi’s path to the West gets a little easier with Microsoft patent deal | Ars Technica: "Xiaomi and Microsoft have announced a deal that will move the companies a little closer together, while giving Xiaomi a slightly less treacherous path for expansion into Western markets. Xiaomi is buying some Microsoft patents, and the two companies have inked a cross-licensing deal for patents, and, like many vendors, Xiaomi is committing to bundle Microsoft apps on its Android phones."

Could be a big win. Maybe a Xiaomi Windows phone is next!

WeChat is more than a messaging app, it might be a mobile OS

WeChat is more than a messaging app, it might be a mobile OS: "China's WeChat is a messaging app tha offers just about everything, from text messaging to instant payments. It's a monster, with mote than 1 billion registered users. "

His kung fu is very strong.

In China, you pay with cash or Alipay

In China, you pay with cash or Alipay: "App name: Alipay (Zhifubao) What it is: Almost-universal Paypal Owned by: Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma What it does: Allows you to pay for anything, anywhere. Special sauce: No transaction fees and an escrow service to verify goods before you pay"

This escrow "business" is the future of ecommerce.

The Windows Phone story: From hope to dusty abandonware • The Register

The Windows Phone story: From hope to dusty abandonware • The Register: "Spring cleaning the other day, my wife found a Windows wristband. It was in a box where ten year old 4MB MMC cards went to die, along with paperclips, odd screws and a lot of dust. Keep or chuck? Chuck, I said, before looking closer, and realising that it was a time capsule buried in another era: a USB drive with press materials on it.">

Windows Phone is dead, you know, just like how Apple was pronounced dead by Rolling Stone back in the late 1990s. Not only does Microsoft now have a Phone OS and a phone hardware division, they also have the best cross-platform mobile tools in existence: Xamarin. Windows Phone is dead, long live Windows Phone.

Anticipating WWDC 2016: What's in store for Apple's Macs and OS X

Anticipating WWDC 2016: What's in store for Apple's Macs and OS X: "Apple has sold far more iOS devices than Macs over the past several years, but as a $20 billion business, the Mac platform remains extremely important to the company. "

More importantly, it's important to me. This is all about me, me, me!

Op-ed: Oracle attorney says Google’s court victory might kill the GPL | Ars Technica

Op-ed: Oracle attorney says Google’s court victory might kill the GPL | Ars Technica: "If that narrative becomes the law of the land, you can kiss GPL (general public license) goodbye. "

No wait, I'm the defender of the GPL! This was a pro-bono case from top to bottom.

Google staves off Oracle code copyright claim

Google staves off Oracle code copyright claim: "Putting an end to a contentious trial, a jury on Thursday found that Google's implementation of 37 Java APIs in Android represented fair use — rebuffing complaints by Java's nominal owner, Oracle."

Giving a tentative yay for this but not because I like Java. Without the ability to re-implement declared APIs, there would be no Mono Project, no GNU LIBC and a whole host of other reimplementaions of pre-existing library code.

Apple supplier Foxconn replaces 60,000 workers with robots

Apple supplier Foxconn replaces 60,000 workers with robots: "Apple's primary manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has replaced 60,000 people with robots at a single factory in Kunshan, China, a report said on Wednesday."

Hello Skynet! Robots building always-connected UNIX devices. Need I say more?

Adonit ships new Pixel stylus to compete with Apple Pencil

Adonit ships new Pixel stylus to compete with Apple Pencil: "One of the most important improvements is predictive touch, which should boost accuracy and reduce latency, two of the main perks of choosing Apple's stylus. The Pixel also has 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity, offset correction, and palm rejection in supported apps. Full feature support must be implemented by app developers using a provided SDK — compatible apps so far include titles like Astropad and Autodesk SketchBook."

Tough sailing ahead, good luck guys!