Apple said to be working on ad-skipping tech for TV

A new report says Apple's trying to woo cable companies on ad-skipping technology for TV programs.

There's new fuel for the fire that Apple's working on technology for an updated TV set-top box or TV platform.
Citing unnamed sources, tech writer Jessica Lessin (formerly of The Wall Street Journal), says Apple's been meeting with cable companies to pitch a service that would enable TV viewers to skip commercials.
That feature would be worked into a "premium" service Apple TV owners would buy into, the report says, adding that Apple would then pay networks when it occurred.
Apple's TV set-top box remains limited to prerecorded content instead of live TV channels, though that's expected to change. Apple has dabbled in offering live programming, but only its own presentations, like keynote addresses and concerts. A series of rumors has pointed toward the company expanding from selling content a la carte to a subscription that would rival what people purchase from their cable providers. Earlier this month, Apple was said to be in late-stage talks with Time Warner Cable to add live channels to the set-top box, presumably inside an app.
Apple would not be the first company to offer users a way to skip ads on TV programming. TiVo and ReplayTV offered the feature to consumers more than a decade ago, and it's since permeated to the DVRs cable providers offer to customers. More recently, companies like Dish and its Hopper technology can skip commercial blocks, though the feature can be limited on certain programming and has raised legal ire from major broadcast networks which say it violates copyright law. (Disclosure: CBS is one of those broadcast networks, and CBS Interactive is the publisher of CNET News).
Apple declined to comment on the report, calling it rumor and speculation.

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Bill Gates says Microsoft Bob will make a comeback

Speaking Monday at the Microsoft Research event, the chairman said Microsoft Bob didn't get it right, but he thinks the personal assistant feature will reemerge with a bit more sophistication

Rick Rashid, former head of Microsoft Research, and Bill Gates take questions at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit at the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

(Credit: Microsoft) Bill Gates thinks that Microsoft Bob, or at least the concept, will come back to life as intelligent personal agents become part of everyday computing. Microsoft Bob, introduced by Gates at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 1995, provided a virtual house with rooms and doors and cartoon character assistants to help users navigate Windows and perform tasks with Microsoft applications. For example, users could log in by clicking on a door knocker or launch the calendar application by clicking on a calendar hanging on a wall. (Read Harry McCracken's fine history of Microsoft Bob.)
Speaking Monday at the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit at the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, the chairman said Microsoft Bob didn't get it right, but he thinks the concept will reemerge with a bit more sophistication. "We were just ahead of our time, like most of our mistakes," he said.

Microsoft Bob for Windows 3.1 circa 1995.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft Bob failed to impress users, who were content to live with their simple icons and folders and without cute dogs providing instructions in cartoon bubbles. Bob lived a brief, much pilloried life, exiting the stage in early 1996. But the idea persisted in the Office assistant helper, Clippy, also a subject of derision by critics and featured in Microsoft Office 97 through 2003.
The new generation of personal agents will be more adept at planning activities, such as finding a gift or organizing a trip in a certain way, Gates said. Microsoft Bob won't come back as a dog, but will morph into a disembodied voice from the cloud. Wrapped in the Windows 8 tiled interface, the new Bob will "understand" all that you do -- or are willing to share online -- as well as anticipate your needs and present relevant information anytime, anywhere, and on any device. So far, Apple's Siri and Google Now are alone in providing modestly intelligent personal assistance from the cloud. Bob needs to get back to work. In fact, he should talk to Larry at Microsoft Research.

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Microsoft cuts price on Surface RT tablets by up to 30 percent

Tech titan reduces the prices to two of its in-house tablets by $150 in apparent attempt to drum up sales.

Microsoft cut the prices on its Surface RT tablets on Sunday by as much as 30 percent as the company tries to boost lackluster sales of the in-house tablets.
The software giant's entry-level 32GB model without a touch keyboard was reduced from $499 to $349, while the 64GB model's price was also reduced by $150, now selling for $499, a price cut of 25 percent.
The price cuts come a few weeks after Microsoft reduced the price of a version of the tablet for schools and universities for a two-month window this summer. Under that program, Surface RTs without keyboards sell for as low as $199.
Before that, Microsoft was offering substantial discounts on Surface RT and Surface Pro devices to attendees of some of its recent conferences. Microsoft also tried to drum up Surface RT sales in May by kicking in a free cover.
Sales of Surface RT tablets, which debuted a year ago, have been seen as tepid. In March, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft likely sold around 1.5 million Surface tablets to date. Though 1 million of those sales were for the RT version, that number was about half of what Microsoft initially expected, according to Bloomberg.

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Moto X will sport always-on voice commands, leaked video shows

New voice command feature will allow users to initiate commands without touching a button, according to a new purported demonstration video.

If you ever get the feeling that no one is listening when you pick up your smartphone, it appears you won't have that problem with the Moto X.
Motorola's new flagship smartphone, which is expected to be released later this summer, will sport an always-on voice command feature that will allow users to initiate commands without touching a button on the handset, according to a new demonstration video that appears to come from Canadian wireless carrier Rogers. First spotted by Ausdroid, the video shows a user retrieving weather information on the handset by speaking the words, "OK Google Now."
"Your Moto X is ready to listen and respond. Talk to it and it learns your voice. With the power of Google Now, it tells you what you need to know even when you're not touching the screen," according to the video.

The video also shows off a feature called "Active Updates," a discreet notification system meant to deliver useful information automatically and instantly.
"Instead of a blinking light that doesn't actually tell you anything, information quietly appears on the screen," the video says.
The video also shows new photo features that allow users to launch the camera with a twist of the wrist and snap photos by tapping any where on the screen.
Motorola representatives declined to comment on the video.
The Moto X, the first flagship handset released by Motorola Mobility since being acquired by the Web giant a year ago, represents Motorola's best chance in years to make inroads against Apple and Samsung. Google is reportedly expected to allow the unit to spend up to $500 million marketing the highly anticipated smartphone in the U.S. and overseas.

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