Apple CEO Tim Cook Apologizes for Apple Maps, Suggests You Download Bing
Its a kinder, gentler Apple under Tim Cook, an Apple which is in fact able to apologize to their users for messing up big time.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has apologized for “falling short of their commitment” to “deliver the best experience possible to our customers” but promised things will get better, and in the mean time recommended users use alternate applications, mentioning specifically Bing Maps and Nokia web maps, amongst others.
Bing Maps is considered by many to be even better on iOS than Windows Phone, and has already been recommended by many as a free alternate to the mess that Apple Maps has been.
Now he only needs apologize for scuff-gate and purple-haze gate not to mention just for stretching out the iPhone 4S.
Here's the Full Letter:
To our customers,
At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.
We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.
There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.
While we're improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.
Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.
Tim Cook
Apple's CEO
You may get call from Facebook if profile identity is suspect
Social networking giant Facebook is making a "huge effort" to weed out fake profiles to prevent misuse of such identities, a senior company official has said.
"Absolutely, there is a huge effort," Facebook India business manager Pavan Varma told PTI when asked about the company's action on this front.
If Facebook doubts the ownership of an account, it will ask the user to identify himself/herself, he said.
The doubt about the authenticity of the account will arise if an account has a generic name instead of a proper name, uses images of celebrities/ cartoon characters as display pictures, or does not have "enough friends", Varma said.
"It could even be that Facebook comes back to you saying, `could you help us identify yourself if you don't have enough friends, because we don't want fake identities," he said.
"We are worried about the experience we deliver....It's not about protecting our brand identity so much," he said.
Recently there were reports of fake accounts being created by computer programs, which are used for inflating the number of "likes" on Facebook page for a brand.
Facebook had recently said it would be taking out fake "likes" generated by spammers, malware and black marketers.
Varma said advertisers must also shed the obsession with numbers. "How does an advertiser today treat a Facebook page? It is treated as a place where they just come with a number of people who are there. But that is a wrong way of doing it," he said, stressing that the conversations around the brand should assume importance rather than the numbers.
Mere "likes" on the page do not help a brand, he said. Companies generally pay Facebook for a dedicated page on its platform that helps them connect with the target audience.
IDBI Bank claims it has over five lakh fans on Facebook, Varma said, who was speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a banking summit.
He added that Facebook, as a medium, is completely secure and cited the case of ICICI Bank, which now offers basic services over the Facebook page by integrating its net banking platform with the social networking site.
Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820: Wireless charging, PureView camera and more
Microsoft and Nokia held a joint press event in New York City on Wednesday. During the event, the two companies announced their latest and greatest Windows Phone 8 devices.
"This is Lumia. And it's time to switch," declared Nokia's executive vice president Jo Harlow as she held up a Lumia 920, the latest Windows Phone 8 flagship device.
As rumored, the device offers built-in wireless charging to help keep what Harlow describes as the "largest battery ever installed on a Nokia phone" running all day long.
The Lumia 920 also brings a PureView camera system, meaning that you should get crisper, clearer images than ever. The technology within the Lumia 920's camera supposedly responds to the tiniest changes in the environment in order to take the best images possible, without triggering the flash.
The new device's 4.5-inch curved glass display should show off those photos quite well, as the Lumia 920 has enhancements which respond to glare from sunlight and other environmental factors. It's a "display that you could even see in the desert," says Harlow.
Additionally, Harlow emphasized that the Lumia 920 will include Nokia's best navigation tools. "This is the real thing," she says, describing the device's offline map feature, explaining that it is not the typical offline caching seen in some competing apps. An additional app called "City Lens" will allow you to point the smartphone's camera at any nearby landmark or business to view an overlay which includes information about the location. (Yes, augmented reality is leaking into more and more apps.)
This is a phone that you'll want to use constantly, according to Harlow. Microsoft corporate vice president Joe Belfiore took about 15 minutes to demonstrate some of the scenarios in which you might indeed reach for the Lumia 920. It was a basic walk-through of the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem and Belfiore earned a few awkward chuckles as he demonstrated how easily he could add Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer to the Windows Phone 8 start screen, which is dedicated to "the humans you want to keep in touch with."
Nokia senior vice president Kevin Shields took to the stage after Belfiore, to describe how the device "feels so good in your hand that it begs to be picked up." He emphasized the quality and durability of the Luma 920's design. It'll look good, "even throughout the abuse of everyday life."
If the Lumia 920 is a bit too much for you, there's its little brother, the new Lumia 820. The device has most of the Lumia 920's features, but a slightly smaller 4.3-inch display and no built-in wireless charging. It does have some exchangeable back covers though, which can indeed enable wireless charging.
Since no Windows Phone 8 event would be complete without Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the executive did indeed step on stage to wrap things up and reiterate the advancements the mobile operating system has made.
Zune Desktop features changed once again, App Marketplace not in sight
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If you've launched your Zune Desktop lately, you've probably seen the pop-up message alerting you that features have changed. When you re-launch Zune you will find that there is no longer a Zune HD marketplace listing.
The only options available under the Zune Desktop Marketplace listing are Picks, Music, Videos and Podcasts. The option to view Apps, both Zune and the resurgent Windows Phone 7 apps, have vanished. We know that Microsoft is in the process of renovating the Zune services over to Xbox Music and this change could be part of that process.
While the Zune Desktop is still used for music, video play and syncing with your Windows Phone, Microsoft shifted the app marketplace for Windows Phone to the web Marketplace back in May. Citing that more used the web option more, Microsoft shut down the Zune avenue.
For those of you who want the desktop Marketplace back, you can re-enable with a registry editor and 30 seconds of your time:
- Open registry editor, go to HCU\Software\Microsoft\Zune
- Create a key with the name "FeaturesOverride"
- Inside this key create a DWORD value with the name "Apps" Set "1" to created value
- Close registry editor, start Zune and if it works
Not sure what the next feature change will be with the Zune Desktop. Maybe change the change the "Marketplace" listing to "Xbox Music"?
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