Google Now On Tap Looks Sweet With Marshmallow

  And when Android 6.0 Marshmallow arrives in force Now On Tap could prove to change smartphone interaction for some time to come. With Google Now we got a glimpse of what would become Now On Tap but it seems the difference is striking. Google Now gave the Android user a different kind of control and personalization and still allows for returning to what had been default. According to Google's Android website "Now on Tap anticipates what you need in the moment. With a simple tap, you can get cards with useful information and apps that feed your need to know". Now On Tap has far more than that and could prove to outsmart other smartphone manufacturer's options.

Microsoft's Build 2016: Big News For Live Tiles, Bash, And Bots, Not Phones

  Microsoft's Build conference for 2016 revealed many new things as it generally does. Some of these things were rather impressive, in fact some might say groundbreaking at least to an extent. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella made every effort to emphasize and illustrate what he believes Microsoft can do to improve our lives in the near future and in years to come. This of course was part of the keynote speech at the beginning of Build 2016 and may well seem to be a lofty ideal, or a stretch, or even literally a "pie in the sky" dream. Here's the thing - he made some very good points regarding AI, Bots, integrating Bash (as in Linux, Ubuntu) as a native function within Windows 10, and the general advancement of the everyday PC user's environment and experience. The key here is progress, progress fired by technology, progress not only within Windows 10 or all of Microsoft's products for that matter, but potentially progress in many facets of human existence. Microsoft's CEO came on stage with a clear mission, and that was to make it clear that part of Microsoft's future was not just their own betterment but the betterment of society as a whole. Let's be clear - this conference is supposed to be a selling point for Microsoft's products and it is - however, is it possible that Microsoft is so far ahead of the curve that they can use technology to improve society as a whole by improving their own products and imparting that knowledge to everyone? Microsoft begins by empowering developers (this is a developer conference after all) with the latest advances in technology. Let's look at what came about in Microsoft's Build 2016 conference.

The Microsoft Product Lifecycle Is Evolving

  So what happened between then and now?

  Microsoft's Product Lifecycle is evolving and not all about that is glaringly obvious but the changes should not be considered trivial. Let's start with Windows XP simply because there are so few systems running any earlier versions of Microsoft Windows. Windows XP became available to the general public December 31, 2001. The end of sales for PCs with Windows XP preinstalled was October 22, 2010. Quick math: that's about 106 months. What is also noteworthy is the length of time between release and end of extended (essentially all) support for Windows XP. From December 2001 to April 2014 we're talking essentially 148 months. In the case of Windows Vista, less than 124 months. Many people like Windows 7 for instance and want to stick with it. That too has a support lifetime of roughly 124 months. Maybe that's not scary or even concerning however, those facts are not exactly what it's all about.

D-Wave Makes Quantum Progress In Computing

The D-Wave 1000Q Processor. Image Courtesy of D-Wave Systems Inc.

  Quantum computers have been in development for quite some time, dating back to at least as early as the 1980s when theories regarding quantum computing and quantum bits (qubits) began to evolve. Quantum mechanics and Quantum computing are still met with much public disregard and even ridicule, but that is likely due to the fact that these are complex subjects and most people consider "Quantum Anything" to be perhaps unattainable. This begs a question: What may have been considered "unattainable" by the general public in 1980? The list is not short and although different the list today is not short either. It could logically be said that Apple, Microsoft, IBM and others made Quantum Progress throughout the latter part of the 20th century and into the 21st. Who in 1980 expected most households in the developed world would own a PC (or a Mac or a cellphone) in 2000? Some people did. That would include people such as Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak (Apple), Bill Gates (Microsoft), John Opel (IBM), and of course many others who recognized the potential of currently emerging technologies. So what might now be attainable? Who might recognize the potential of currently emerging technologies at this (2016) time? Two probable answers emerge: Quantum Computing and D-Wave Systems.