MOBODOJO

I’m sure you’ve already read this elsewhere seeing as how every other news outlet has already mentioned it, but I felt that you might enjoy The Dojo’s spin on the subject. In case you haven’t seen this already, Microsoft has announced that it has dropped the prices of Windows Vista in 70 countries, including the US. This price drop only affects retail copies, so it won’t make your PC any cheaper. Additionally, Microsoft is contractually required to make 90% of its sales to its OEM buyers to make only 10% of its stock available to retail. Vista Ultimate originally retailed for US$399 and is now available for US$319 (£169).

This is a ridiculously huge drop for a product which was in development for five years and is less than a year old. Microsoft claims to have already sold 100 million retail copies of Windows Vista but does not reveal the version breakdown and how many of those have actually been activated, or even more telling how many of those activated copies are still being regularly updated. Its not even clear of the 100 million refers to all distributed copies of Vista or just retail sales.

This is a very unpleasant time to be Microsoft. Apple is surging in the markets, Bill Gates is gone, Steve Ballmer is a wack job, Vista is a bomb, the European Commision has ordered Microsoft pay fines of 2.5 billion, and the Redmond giant is seemingly actively joining the open source commmunity. These are interesting times.

Exaktime has come up with an ingenious solution for tracking not only worker’s time on the clock, but also their location, the PocketClock/GPS system. Note that this is software and not an actual device, but it works on Windows Mobile devices (check the extensive compatibility list before buying). Using a combination of time tracking software, GPS positioning functions, and its ability to send data to the companies TimeSummit software, a PocketClock/GPS-enabled device can tell where a worker is and how long they are there. This will either improve time tracking or cause all of your employees to get really, really paranoid. Big brother is now Pocket Brother.

Trolltech, the software shop which has recently been acquired by Nokia, has announced that they have made their popular QT development framework available for Windows Mobile and Window CE. This release allows all applications developed for QT to work on devices which run compatible versions of WinMo and WinCE. Traditionally, the QT framework has been run under Linux environments. This release not only expands Trolltech’s reach towards its QT Everywhere goal, but also raises questions about Nokia’s plans for handset operating systems.

Otterbox, the makers of seriously strong cases for all manner of mobile devices, has announced the availability of new daily lugabouts, dubbed the Defender Series, for RIM’s popular Blackberry Pearl handsets. Okay, at least the 8120 and 8130 models. The cases feature high impact polycarbonate skeletons, silicone skin, a belt clip holster, and they claim that sound even goes through the case, so you probably won’t miss a call. They are priced at US$49.95, come in black and yellow, and are available now.

Nothing all that interesting, just incremental upgrades. Of note, the new MacBook and MacBook Pro models get new multi-touch trackpads, the ability to use up to 4GBs of RAM, more LED backlights to go around, bigger drives, and 2.4-, 2.5-, and 2.6GHz Penryn-based processors. Incidentally, Apple is also now taking orders on the 2GB iPod Shuffle.

In case you didn’t know, Fastap lives! If you don’t know what Fastap is, its a mobile handset keyboard design which creates a full keyboard experience in the space of a traditional 12-key layout. It does this by grouping the letter keys so that when they are pressed together they enter a number, but when pressed individually they enter the letter. Fastap has a number of different layouts, and they are starting to roll out with handsets, built by OEMs, in China, Mexico, Canada, and even with AllTel in the US. The handsets looks quite snazzy, too. More details when we get them.

Cisco, like any other player in the market, has its own proprietary functionality which it offers up to customers as a bonus over their competition. In the case of wireless (802.11a/b/g/n/etc…) they have the Cisco Compatible Extensions or CCX, which have jumped to version 4.0 and offer a range of security options specific to Cisco WLAN installations. Admins like them because they’re easier to manage and work better than WPA (WEP isn’t a player any more). Socket Mobile has released their new Enhanced Wi-Fi Companion (e-WFC) for Windows Mobile 5.x and 6.x and Window CE 5.x which allows these devices to use Cisco’s LEAP and related wireless security protocols. For some reason, Socket isn’t indicating price or which Wi-Fi radio chipsets it will work with.