Video History of Windows OS ...in 77 Min.

Let's all be thankful that he skips 'Windows ME'

Ah, Microsoft's Windows™ -- love it or hate it, we've all been forced had occasion to use it. If you're older than the age of consent, then you likely grew up doing 100% of your computing in a Windows PC environment. Even after Apple Computer entered their renaissance period, anyone engaged in serious commerce -- anywhere in the world -- still needed ready access to the Windows Office™ Suite, on occasion.

Of course, nothing lasts forever. MobilePhonesFan kicked the Microsoft habit a few years back, after a disturbing experience with the black sheep of the Windows family, Vista. Still, we do have fond memories of PCs past. Assembling your first Windows box from scratch is a character-building experience. And we were plenty excited about the release of Windows 95, especially after the Rolling Stones commercials.

So this YouTube "History of WIndows" video by thePatrickMonroe takes MobilePhonesFan back...

XDA: Get Any Android App in Any Country

XDA: ...for when an app absolutely, positively has to be there, overnight right now.

A new, modified version of Google's Play Store lets you install any Android app in any country. You read that correctly: get any app, regardless of the country in which your Android phone was sold. No more annoying "This application is not available in your region" messages...

Vintage Cell Phones, from Cool to Crap ...

Yes, kids, once there were giant mobile handsets. And pay phones.

...a photographic tour through 20 years of portable cellular mobile phone history.

You'll see a mixed bag of phones, phone users and use-cases, many of which older readers are bound to recognize. MobilePhonesFan's reactions ranged from warm nostalgia to abject horror ('People actually paid money to carry that hideous...thing!?').

Good times.

The overall effect is very entertaining, with enough factual content in the captions to qualify for continuing education credits. Once you forget that you're watching yet another !@#$% Web slideshow, you'll have a ball. Hit the source link (below) or click here.


via: TPM

Apple 3D Navigation App Replaces Google?

Here it is, gentlemen, your target for tonight...

One thing MobilePhonesFan knows about tech: Apple, Inc., makes a lot of money.

A big part of why they're so profitable is that they hate paying others to do work they could do as well, in-house. Ok, sure, they'll pay outside vendors to make stuff that could explode. Just about everything else gets done by trusted Apple employees.

And then there's Google. Under a longstanding deal, they work with Apple to produce a custom Google Maps app for iPhone. But for some reason -- arguably, due to Apple's jealous control of the iOS platform -- iPhone has no Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation.

Which brings us back to money...

Socialmatic: Instagram for an Analog World

Looks familiar and yet it doesn't...

This my friends is 'Socialmatic', the as-yet-unreleased creation of Italy's ADR Studios; certain to delight the eye and tantalize the senses, as well as maybe giving your brain a wedgie. Oh, I know what you're thinking; you've never before seen or heard of this pretty thing and yet it seems so very, very familiar...

Want Free WiFi with That? (War-Driving Tips)

...in which our intrepid correspondent shows road warriors how to get free WiFi just about anywhere. It's a fun video with lots of tips, but we have doubts about the concept as well as some of the methods on display. Watch it for yourself, after the break.

Wait ...Google Cares About Web Design? :sigh:

Not pretty, but memorable.

With all the reports about Google's new focus on design and user-friendly appearance, we are oddly comforted by obsolete examples like the one shown above. It's a good example of those classic Googley webpages where the design is what you might call 'low-concept'. Ok, maybe the 'design' is simply non-existent.

Or just downright fugly.

So, let's celebrate how Google pages looked, back when User Experience Group (UX) didn't fuss over every pixel. Sure, we're talking about pathetic zombies, shambling toward deprecation. But knowing they haven't long to live intensifies our nostalgia. It's like saying goodbye to an old, faithful (and homely) friend...

Smart Car Co. Has Smart Twitter Ad

You've got to see the brilliant tweet-stream advertising by the smart folks at SmartCar of Argentina.

Think 'flip card animation'. Try it for yourself, right after the break...

APK Rip: Google Play Store 3.5.19

Here it is: Google Play Store 3.5.19

APK is freshly ripped from a donor-phone. No word on what's new, but some users (including us) report marginally faster loading and operation...

Lithium Cells Banned from US Mail. Batteries Deny Charge.

The United States Postal Service has banned overseas shipments of lithium cell batteries.

This means batteries coming into the USA as well as batteries going out. And there's no exemption for military addressees, so we hope our brave troops can find room to stow a Super Holiday Mega Pack of Duracells.

Why? Blame it on whiny pilots who can't handle a little in-flight fire, plus the actions of some nanny state UN bureaucrats. Apparently, they find the charming nighttime scene depicted here a little disturbing...

Siri Says: Lumia 900 'Best Cell Phone'

"Whoops...did I mistakenly print that to screen?"

Well, we guess it's official: Nokia's Lumia 900 is 'best cell phone'. Apple's Siri says so.

Despite arranging her (its?) program so that Siri has snappy comebacks to dozens of clever questions, looks like the know-it-alls in Cupertino forgot one. Whoopsie...

No More Tweets from Windows Phone?

'Windows Live' falls, can't get up.

Probably a sad day for some marketing people in Redmond.

Their latest Windows Phone firmware signs tweets 'via Microsoft', dropping the 'via Windows Live' signature they've been using since Windows Phone's introduction, in 2010...you know, way back when Microsoft had a sense of humor about WP.

Paper Touchpad Is Flexible, Disposable

(image: RSC)


MobilePhonesFan will never look at bottled beer the same way, again.

Chemistry World reports that a team of US and French researchers have developed a capacitive touchpad interface made from foil-coated paper.

They say the paper is an inexpensive, industry-standard material. By using a laser cutter to create tiny, bridgeable gaps in the foil, they can produce a simple, flexible touch-interface suitable for even disposable applications.

Disney Magic Turns Water into Touch Screen

What if the water could tell who is touching it?

Disney Research: any electrically conductive material can a be touch-interface.

Watch this video demonstration, in water...

FREE CoPilot GPS for Android, iPhone

Hoping to avoid extermination at the hands of no-cost competitors Google Maps and Nokia Drive, ALK Technologies have decided to follow the old if you can't beat 'em, join 'em rule.

That's why CoPilot GPS navigation is now free for Android and iOS devices. More accurately, CoPilot GPS is being offered as a freemium app, with a list of free features plus some noteworthy 'premium' options available via handy, in-app upgrade...