Author: Sal McCloskey

There are many who are holding off on buying a tablet until the Microsoft Surface is released. If Microsoft doesn’t clear the air about the pricing of the mobile devices, they may see some of those who are waiting for it go out and buy an iPad, Kindle Fire, Google Nexus 7, or any of the other already-available tablets because the ludicrous pricing that is circulating now is too high to keep their attention. If the pricing is correct, they are already in trouble. Swedish website Webhallen is displaying pricing for the Microsoft Surface starting at 6,990kr for the basic 32GB RT version. 1 Swedish krona…

Most gamers would agree the size and quality of the display plays an important role in both the competitive capabilities of the gamer as well as the overall experience. Big screens, loud speakers, and a proper environment can improve on the fun as well as keep from hampering one’s gaming prowess. For F1 racing fans, there’s really only one way to go: a 160-inch curved screen accompanied by a Thrustmaster T 500 RS racing wheel. Total cost: $114,285. Check out the video with a drool rag in hand. …

The news of Google’s purchase of the 5-person Sparrow team struck me as a bit odd. Sure, they’ve done some great things in email with their native iPad app, but the concept that they were purchased “to bring polish, ‘beauty’, and ease of use to all of its Gmail experiences” isn’t jiving. Google has been in email for a long time now and they have a lot of really smart people working on it. It wouldn’t be hard to reverse-engineer anything that anyone is doing in email (it’s not rocket science, after all). Why buy a team? Some would say it’s a value-buy; $25 million is a drop in the bucket for the Mountain View…

If there’s one thing that’s clear about this summer’s blockbuster movie lineup, it’s that superhero movies have gone from terrible homages as they’ve been in recent years to full-blown blockbusters that any geek can enjoy (as well as non-geeks alike). The Avengers and The Amazing Spiderman have done exceptionally well and The Dark Knight Rises is right around the corner. Two movies that are getting some buzz out of Comic-Con are Captain America: The Winter Soldier, due out in 2014, and Thor: The Dark World, due out in 2013. Personally speaking, Cap was my favorite of the Avengers and I felt that…

When the credits rolled on “The Dark Knight” I was saddened because I knew there was no way the conclusion to the trilogy could match it. After years of mediocrity coming out of comic-book-movie-land, here was finally the type of movie that was loaded with quality at multiple levels and was more than an homage to the source material. It stood on its own and Heath Ledger’s performance was legendary. Now, the talk of the next couple of weeks will be about whether or not “The Dark Knight Rises” can match or surpass its predecessor. Rarely is the third part of a trilogy the best, but for once there is hope and…

One of the biggest risks with drugs such as antibiotics that chemically attack bacteria and other harmful organisms is that a tolerance or immunity can be developed over time. There are also side-effects that can debilitate patients treated chemically. IBM hopes to have solved both issues through nanotechnology by developing “ninja polymers” that attack deadly bacteria such as Staphylococcus physically rather than chemically. When in the bloodstream or in contact with water, these polymers self-assemble into microscopic structures that target bacteria based upon their electrostatic…

It happens to every journalist who is willing to go out on a limb and take a chance with reporting. We all make bad predictions, listen to the wrong experts, or report on something that turns out to be false, such as when we predicted a year ago that Facebook would be the worst tech IPO in history (wait, that one came true). This one by stalwart and venerable The Guardian turned out to be a doozy on many levels. Check out the original article on this, the five year anniversary of the first iPhone sold….

There is buzz in both directions surrounding the Microsoft Surface. On one hand, it has some nice functionality reported that will make it appealing to many. On the other hand, it’s just a small laptop with a touchscreen. Some say that they got in too late. Other say they got in when they were ready to make a difference. Regardless of which side of the buzz you’re on, there’s one major mistake that they are rumored to be making. Bloomberg reports that the first release of the device will be WiFi-only. If that rumor turns out to be a reality, then Microsoft will be missing a huge opportunity to actually…

When all considerations are tallied, it’s possible that Salesforce has invested over a billion dollars into social media through the purchase of Buddy Media and Radian6, not to mention the smaller companies they bought such as Rypple and Jigsaw. Is all of this an ego play to be the biggest and baddest in social media, or is this a series of great moves for the CRM company? [caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via CrunchBase"][/caption] Social media is extremely hard to predict and the numbers involved are staggering, but the buzz that will surround the company in 2013…

Very few people would miss the answer to the question, “What’s the most valuable tech brand in the world?” Sure, some might say Google, Microsoft, or IBM, but most are familiar with Apple’s domination. It holds true in a recent study as part of WPP’s Millward Brown annual study of “BrandZ” that documents the most valuable global brands. Of note is that nearly half of the brands in the top 100 list fell this year, something that hasn’t happened since the worldwide recession of 2009. You can download the infographic below as a PDF or view it online thanks to Connecticut Ford. Via: BrandZ Related articles…