IDC is projecting Windows tablets to occupy 10.2 percent of the market by 2017, growing from a projected market share of 3 percent this year. By comparison, tablets based on Android and iOS will register slight dips in market share.
via Windows tablet shipments to grow, but won’t challenge Android, iOS | PCWorld.
According to the site, approximately 44 percent of Twitter’s 947 million accounts or so have never sent a single tweet. Of the number that have — approximately 550 million — just under half of these accounts are reported to have sent their last tweet more than one year ago (43 percent). Only 126 million have sent any kind of tweet at any point in the past 30 days.
via 44 Percent of Twitter Accounts Have Never Tweeted | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.
What Twitter has said, however, is that the service had a count of 241 million average monthly active users as of December 31 last year – a 30 percent increase over the same time period one year prior.
Forget taco-copters or same-day shipping — drones are the perfect companion for off-roaders. They can scout locations, keep tabs on terrain, and when you’re back on paved roads, give you a heads up about that tool that flipped his pickup on your morning commute. And that’s exactly what the Renault Kwid concept is promising.
The French automaker is looking to get back into the Indian market, where high-riding compact crossovers are the norm, and the Kwid is Renault’s attempt at getting up-and-coming younger buyers into the fold.
via Renault’s Off-Roader Concept Launches a Drone Out of Its Roof | Autopia | Wired.com.
On Thursday, Barnes & Noble announced that “device and accessories sales” plummeted to $88.7 million during the October through December 2013 holiday period, a drop of 66.7 percent. The company attributed the drop to “lower unit selling volume and lower average selling prices.” Of course, that’s prime shopping season, when most retailers see a spike in sales. The company added that “digital content sales” were $36.5 million during the same time frame, a drop of 27.3 percent.
via Nook sales crashed by over 66 percent during 2013 holiday season | Ars Technica.
Facebook, on the other hand, has become the link with older family, or even older siblings who have gone to university. To prevent overgrazing as others beasts have occupied its terrain, Facebook has to feed off somewhere else. It has thereby evolved into a very different animal.
via Facebook’s so uncool, but it’s morphing into a different beast.
The top key finding of the 451 Research report: “Cloud computing once promised simple, usage-based charging for resources, similar to other utilities such as electricity; unfortunately, the current reality is far from this ideal.”
The vendors further muddy the water by not being out front about their pricing; 451 Research found that only 64 percent of providers publish their pricing online.
via Confirmed: Cloud infrastructure pricing is absurd | ITworld.
The goal is to put physical shops on a similar playing field as e-commerce stores, which already have a wealth of data about customer buying habits. According to the website, Swarm treats smartphones like “offline cookies,” so stores can personalize the experience for new and repeat shoppers. Swarm does this through its cloud-based platform that integrates into a store’s public Wi-Fi network.
The top-rated reasons for preferring physical to digital products were: “I like to hold the product” (51%), “I am not restricted to a particular device” (20%), “I can easily share it” (10%), “I like the packaging” (9%), and “I can sell it when used” (6%).
via Young adult readers ‘prefer printed to ebooks’ | Books | theguardian.com.
The holiday hasn’t always been about shopping. Five years ago, only about two dozen companies were offering discounts on Singles’ Day, also known as “Double 11.”
Then Alibaba entered the game in 2009 and within three years, Singles’ Day had become the biggest 24-hour shopping event in the world.
via Singles’ Day Is China’s Cyber Monday – Business Insider.
The social network may start collecting data on minute user interactions with its content, such as how long a user’s cursor hovers over a certain part of its website, or whether a user’s newsfeed is visible at a given moment on the screen of his or her mobile phone, Facebook analytics chief Ken Rudin said Tuesday during an interview.
via Facebook Considers Vast Increase in Data Collection – Digits – WSJ.
As the head of analytics, Mr. Rudin is preparing the company’s infrastructure for a massive increase in the volume of its data.