First Week OS X Yosemite Adoption Rates Slightly Outpacing Mavericks
Six days after being made available to the public, OS X Yosemite was installed on approximately 12.8 percent of Macs in North America, according to adoption numbers released by Chitika. That’s just a slight bit higher than the 12.4 percent of Macs Mavericks was installed on six days after its release in 2013.
Ahead of its launch, Yosemite adoption by beta testers and developers was more than 33 times higher than the adoption of Mavericks, and as measured by Chitika, its one percent share of North American Mac OS X-based Web traffic on the first day after release was double the day one adoption rate of Mavericks and Mountain Lion.
OS X Yosemite may be seeing slightly faster adoption rates as the operating system introduces a complete visual overhaul along with several features that allow it to deeply integrate with iOS 8. While Mavericks focused heavily on under-the-hood updates that improved battery life and responsiveness, OS X Yosemite brought revamped apps, Continuity, Notification Center improvements, iCloud Drive, and more. Chitika also speculates that the OS’s public beta may have positively impacted its adoption numbers.
Apple had previously made a public beta of the OS available for the first time in the company’s history, and this seems to have helped boost initial adoption rates slightly beyond what was observed for OS X Mavericks back in 2013.
Chitika’s numbers are drawn from millions of U.S. and Canadian Mac OS X-based online ad impressions from the Chitika Ad Network. Chitika measured ad impressions from October 16 to October 22 to acquire its data. Similar but somewhat higher numbers are being reported by GoSquared, which offers real-time analytics that measure OS X traffic.
Yosemite installation numbers from GoSquared
According to the site, Yosemite is installed on approximately 16 percent of Macs, though numbers fluctuated up to 10 percent over a seven day period as GoSquared measures real-time visits to more than 50,000 sites.
Yosemite installation rates over the past 7 days, measured by GoSquared
Released on October 16, OS X Yosemite is available from the Mac App Store as a free download. It is compatible with all Macs that were previously able to run Mountain Lion and Mavericks. [Direct Link]
Nest owns Revolv’s home automation tech now, too
Google’s adding another member to its household family that includes Nest and Dropcam, and this time its home automation outfit Revolv. The firm’s website lists it as “a Nest company” now, and goes on to to assure existing customers that they’re still taken care of and that their year-long warranties will be honored. The thing is, it isn’t accepting any new users for its services that tie everything from Sonos wireless speakers, WeMo light switches and Hue lightbulbs from Philips together, as VentureBeat points out. For the privacy minded, Revolv is keen to note that its user data will stay separate from that of Nest’s thermostats and smoke detectors, and Google as a whole. What’s it all mean? That Mountain View has a new toy in an old box that its hoping will compete with challengers like Apple’s HomeKit and Samsung + SmartThings. Whenever those fully launch, of course.
Filed under: Household, Google
Via: VentureBeat
Source: Revolv
Engadget Daily: Nexus 9, Google VP sets new space-jump record, and more!
It’s Friday, ya’ll. But before you checkout for the weekend, check out all our news highlights from the last 24 hours, including our hands-on with the Nexus 9, a new high-altitude jump record, the best gaming mice you can buy right now, and more.
Playdate: We’re livestreaming ‘Fantasia: Music Evolved’ on Xbox One!
The developers at Harmonix Music Systems know a thing or two about music. And we’d hope so, it is in the company name, after all. The studio’s latest Kinect game, Fantasia: Music Evolved, is quite a bit different than anything they’ve done previously, though: it puts players under Mickey’s wizard cap from the classic animated movie of the same name and has them remixing pop songs and classical tracks from the likes of Beethoven and Dvorak with rhythmic gesture controls. Sounds pretty neat on paper, right? But, it’s natural to be skeptical of the title considering the general hit-or-miss nature of Microsoft’s motion sensor. Well, you can come back here at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific and see for yourself as we broadcast live gameplay from the Xbox One. We even have a download code to give away during the stream, too!
[For the record, I’m playing Fantasia: Music Evolved on an Xbox One, using a retail copy (download) provided by Harmonix. I’m streaming the game over wired internet using the Xbox One Twitch app. All that to say, “This game will likely look prettier and run more smoothly on your home equipment. Streaming conditions vary!”]
http://www.twitch.tv/engadget/embedWatch live video from Engadget on www.twitch.tv
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Twitch
Sundar Pichai takes control of Google’s crucial products
Well, we guess congratulations are in order. According to Re/code, Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president at Google who used to just be in charge of the Chrome, Android, and web apps teams now basically has control of almost every other Google product division of note. Search? Google+? Ads? Even the company’s infrastructure? All of that has been apparently moved off of CEO Larry Page’s plate and onto Pichai’s — not a huge surprise considering his heightened prominence within Mountain View over the past months. Pichai, a nine year Google veteran, was even rumored to be one of the leading choices for Microsoft’s new CEO, though the role eventually went to longtime company insider Satya Nadella.
Anyway, that’s a lot of power in one man’s hands, especially considering that the advertising division Pichai inherited basically pays for all the other weird, amazing things Google gets to do. It’s worth noting that not every Google product falls under Pichai’s newly opened umbrella, though. There’s YouTube, for one; that still remains under Susan Wojcicki’s control, which she took over earlier this year. Oh, and all the really neat stuff — Nest’s growing internet-of-things team, the biotech innovations in the works at Calico, the moonshots under construction at Google X — are all still firmly in Page’s pocket. In fact, his love for the latter may be what caused this seismic leadership shift in the first place. Re/code notes that Page has expressed an interest in focusing on the “bigger picture” stuff that’ll define what the Google of tomorrow will look like, lining up with earlier reports that he’s been tapping internal talent to figure out what big, world-changing problems Google should really be trying to fix.
Source: Re/code
Amazon launches App Store in main Android app
Before now, the only way to download apps from the Amazon Appstore was to download the apk for the Appstore online, and then download apps. Last month, however, Amazon launched the functionality to download apps through the official Amazon app. All you have to do is head to “Shop by Department,” and you’ll find a new category called “Apps & Games.”
Source: TeleCrunch
Come comment on this article: Amazon launches App Store in main Android app
Samsung Galaxy S 5 to get Android 5.0 Lollipop in December
When Android 5.0 Lollipop launches soon, Nexus devices will be the first to receive the latest version of Android. From there on out, it is up to hardware manufacturers to work on updating devices. Owners of flagship devices should expect to see a software update before anyone else. HTC is committed to pushing Android 5.0 to within 90 days of its launch, but Samsung has not given a timetable.
A new report claims that the Galaxy S 5 will get the software update in December. This would be for the global version of the device; therefore, United States owners of the Galaxy S 5 should expect it early in 2015. If you are eager to know what Samsung has in store for TouchWiz with Android 5.0, take a look at this leak.
Source: SamMobile
Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy S 5 to get Android 5.0 Lollipop in December
Sony reportedly launching 12-inch tablet in 2015
According to sources to DigiTimes, Sony will be launching a 12-inch tablet in quarter 1 of next year. Several other vendors are also developing large-size tablets for launch in the first or second quarters, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers. The sources say that Sony’s tablet will be high-end and come with a stylus.
Large-screen tablets are all the rage these days, with Samsung releasing its 10.1-inch Pro series earlier this year, and Microsoft releasing its Surface Pro 3.
Source: DigiTimes
Come comment on this article: Sony reportedly launching 12-inch tablet in 2015
MetroPCS offering entry-level Alcatel Onetouch Pop 7 tablet
If you’re a MetroPCS customer and in the market for a new, cheap tablet, there’s a pretty good deal available available for you right now.
The prepaid carrier (through T-Mobile) is offering the Alcatel Onetouch Pop 7 tablet for $149 (plus tax) on a pretty inexpensive data plan. For $10/month, you can get unlimited data, which siphons off 1GB of data to the Pop 7 tablet. If you add the device to an existing plan, you’ll get a $5 monthly discount off your bill. Here are the rates for current subscribers, straight from MetroPCS/T-Mobile’s press release..
- $10 / month: Unlimited data with first 1GB of high-speed data at up to 4G speeds
- $20 / month: Unlimited data with first 3GB of high-speed data at up to 4G speeds
- $30 / month: Unlimited data with first 5GB of high-speed data at up to 4G speeds
The tablet itself isn’t much in itself — a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor, 7-inch display, 8.9 mm thin, Wi-Fi/4G/Bluetooth and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean — but it still isn’t a bad deal for prepaid customers looking to expand their tech arsenal.
Hit the break for the link to the press release.
Source: MetroPCS/T-Mobile
Come comment on this article: MetroPCS offering entry-level Alcatel Onetouch Pop 7 tablet
Nest thermostats add compatability with third-party home automation products
It was only a matter of time before the now Google-owned Nest Learning Thermostat (and smoke detector) became even more integrated in the “Internet of things.”
Now, the device can be paired and controlled with other home automation products, including Pebble smartwatches (to check and control the temperature in your home), ivee (voice-controlled home manager) and Life360 (an app used to check the location of family and friends and can adjust the temperature when people enter and leave your home).
WallyHome, a device that checks for water leaks, is also on the list of compatible products, as is Rachio, which controls sprinklers in the house for fires. Expect more and more products to become compatible with Nest, as Google is looking for more partners to expand the capabilities of its device.
Source: Engadget
Come comment on this article: Nest thermostats add compatability with third-party home automation products
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