Brad Reed, Author at BGR India

Google’s Wi-Fi balloons get mistaken for UFOs

If you see an unidentified flying object with a Google logo on it, don t worry too much the company isn t planning to abduct you and subject you to invasive probes, especially since its own algorithms are capable of probing you more thoroughly than any aliens ever could. Space.com reports that two years ago, some residents in Pike County, Kentucky reported seeing what they thought were UFOs from outer space but that turned out to be some of Google s balloons that the company plans to use to bring Wi-Fi connectivity to rural parts of the world that lack Internet service.

Author
Brad Reed

06:12 PM
May 30, 2014

News

One reason the Beats deal could be a huge mistake for Apple

Apple s plan to buy up Beats has left many analysts scratching their heads and wondering why Tim Cook and the crew at Cupertino are spending $3.2 billion to acquire an audio hardware and software company. Writing over at Techpinions, Jackdaw analyst Jan Dawson explains that many people are worried that the Beats deal might be a sign that Apple has started to listen too much to the outside noise from Wall Street investors demanding that it make flashy, aggressive moves to reignite its growth.

Author
Brad Reed

03:28 PM
May 24, 2014

News

Forcing Steve Jobs out was a mistake: Former Apple CEO John Sculley

It s safe to say that former Apple CEO John Sculley has some regrets in his career. In an interview with The Times of India, Sculley admits that ousting Apple cofounder Steve Jobs as CEO way back in 1985 was a mistake that cost the company dearly and set it on the path toward near-oblivion. However, Sculley says that the decision was much more justifiable at the time it was made because Jobs always-difficult personality was even tougher to rein in during his younger years.

Author
Brad Reed

03:15 PM
Apr 20, 2014

News

Fingerprint scanners from both Apple and Samsung mere gimmicks, says Biometrics expert

It's pretty safe to say that computer science Professor Willy Susilo won't be relying on a fingerprint scanner to keep his mobile phone secure. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Susilo says that the fingerprint scanners used by Apple and Samsung are mere "gimmicks" that hackers can easily fool and that don't give users and real biometric security.

Author
Brad Reed

11:29 AM
Apr 19, 2014

News

An inside look at Google X, the top-secret lab where Google makes its craziest products

Google Glass, self-driving cars or weather balloons that deliver Internet connectivity. These are just some of the wild and crazy projects that have come out of Google X over the past five years. For those who don t know, Google X is Google s top-secret lab where teams of engineers are tasked with thinking way, way, way outside the box for solutions to some of the world s biggest problems. Not coincidentally, many of these projects also have the potential to boost Google s bottom line but there s certainly no guarantee they ll do so. In fact, as a new profile of Google X in FastCompany makes clear, there s a very good chance they ll crash and burn.

Author
Brad Reed

04:07 PM
Apr 16, 2014

News

How to safely run Windows XP in the post-XPocalyptic world

A lot of people are having trouble saying goodbye to Windows XP even after Microsoft has cut off support for the ancient operating system. For those hardy souls, The Guardian has put together a handy guide for XP stragglers who still can t let go but who also don t want to be open to the barrage of malware that will now run completely rampant on their machines without Microsoft s support.

Author
Brad Reed

11:38 PM
Apr 12, 2014

News

Smartphones may have gotten ‘boring’ but they’re still the most interesting tech around

It s become fashionable lately to whine about how boring smartphones have become, especially among Wall Street analysts who insist on telling us that Apple/Samsung/Microsoft/Everyone is doomed if they don t come out with the Next Big Thing soon. This sort of absurdity reached amazing new heights recently when Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry said that Apple only had 60 days left to release an iWatch before the company disappeared forever.

Author
Brad Reed

05:44 PM
Apr 10, 2014

News

All of a sudden, Microsoft is making a lot of the right moves

I didn t expect to get excited about anything Microsoft announced at its BUILD conference on Wednesday, but the company more than exceeded my expectations with several announcements that show it s going in the right direction.

Author
Brad Reed

01:20 PM
Apr 04, 2014

News

Does anyone actually care about smartwatches?

Tech companies are always looking to create the "next big thing" that will completely upend the industry as we know it and make them insanely profitable as early adopters rush to snap up their new, exciting and never-before-seen products. This sort of disruption happened with smartphones just after Apple launched the iPhone back in 2007 and to a lesser extent with tablets when the iPad came out three years later. However, there are also times when the tech industry can significantly overestimate how much consumers are actually interested in their innovative new products as anyone who remembers the 3D TV craze that never materialized can tell you, being innovative doesn't being successful.

Author
Brad Reed

04:40 PM
Apr 02, 2014

News

Samsung secretly can’t wait for Apple to launch a bigger iPhone

Most companies would be worried to see Apple release a new product that has the potential to steal away their customers. According to Bloomberg, however, Samsung is secretly going to be thrilled when Apple finally launches a bigger iPhone. Why, you ask? Because Samsung is getting sick and tired of being tagged with the copycat label and it wants to give Apple a taste of its own medicine after it releases a phone that takes its cues from Samsung s Galaxy Note series of phablets.

Author
Brad Reed

11:54 AM
Apr 02, 2014