​At a recent Microsoft event, there was an interesting new option that will be added to an upcoming update of Windows 10, which is currently being tested (not ready for primetime yet).  It's called "incoming Android call notifications."  What the feature will do is send a notification to your Windows PC that a call has come into your Android phone, and you'll have the choice of either declining the call or sending a text from your PC to the caller.  (For this to work, you'd need to have Microsoft's Cortana app installed on your Android phone, and enable the "cross-device" feature in your phone's Settings.)  

​Obviously, if your phone is at hand, this isn't a critically necessary feature, but people often leave their phones in random rooms around their house while working or playing at their computer.  And besides, typing a text on a full keyboard is far easier than from a phone.

As you likely recall, I was in Lisbon last month attending the IFA Global Press Conference, put on by the group that runs that big tech show in Berlin I write about.  I posted a few general overviews of the event, but for this month's The Writers Workbench column, I took a more specific look at the show.

As always, because I write the column for the Writers Guild of American website, and it gets coded there what with all the graphics and such, it's a whole lot easier to just link to the article so that you can read it there.

It's a long piece, but happily not remotely at the level of my CES or IFA Berlin articles so you can rest easy.  It's also not especially techie, just more of a round-up of the press conferences and a handful of the few products that were presented.  Just click here and you're on your way.

You may have seen headlines today about an announcement by Microsoft for a new operating system called Windows 10 S, and wondered, "Say what???!!  Is this something I need???"

Since I figure that most people won't read past the headlines, I figure that I'd chime in with some basic explanations.  Please know that I don't know all that much about it, haven't seen it, and have questions myself.  But that aside, here we go --

The simplest answer:  Windows 10 S has value, and no, you don't need it.  For most people, you can stop reading right here.  But if you want to know more, read on, MacDuff.

To explain what Windows 10 S is in a bit more detail than that... -- it's a version of Windows 10 that offers more security, ease of updating and fewer options, mainly made to compete in the low-end systems for the education market.  There are other uses for it, but the education market (which is right now ruled by Chromebooks) is the Holy Grail.

Why it's so secure and easy to upgrade is because Windows 10 S requires that a user ONLY get its system's software downloaded from the Windows Store.  Everything is checked there for security, and so you know that anything downloaded from it is safe.  And this also allows the software there to be automatically updated and pushed to the users systems.  If this sounds draconian, though protective, keep in mind that in many ways this is like how the Apple Store operates.

There are a great many apps in the Windows Store now, but many programs that aren't.  Microsoft offers third-party developers software that eases conversion of their apps so that they will fit in the Windows Store, so the number of programs that exist will grow.  But there will still be major programs that aren't available.  At the moment, for instance, the Chrome browser and Quicken don't exist in the Windows store.  Microsoft's own Edge browser is the default browser in Windows 10 S, and is basically set to remain the default browser.  Though if Chrome adapts its browser for the Windows Store, then it will at least be available.

If this sounds like Windows RT, that misguided effort from Microsoft...in many ways, it is like Windows RT.  Though with improvements.  More on that in a moment.

A few random thoughts based on very little information about Windows 10 S, and a great deal of ignorance about the education market:
 
This seems a poorly named product.  While I personally like the clean name, I think most consumers will be bewildered by it.
 
Despite Microsoft’s insistence to the contrary at the launch of the product, it seems like this is of value almost solely to the education market.  That’s not inherently a bad thing at all, but it seems like Microsoft should be more forthright about it – not as a matter of honesty, but rather because of marketing and clarity.
 
Windows 10 S seems like a great concept that’s incredibly limited to most of the public, and until there are more apps in the Windows store – most-especially including the Chrome browser – it is indeed (despite the different name) Windows RT.
 
Having said that, being Windows RT today doesn’t appear to be the problem it was when Windows RT was introduced.  At that point, Microsoft put out two near-identical products (Windows 8 and Windows RT), each of which were very different from what was then the norm, while each being similar to one another.  It totally confused the public.  Today, however, Windows 10 is pretty well-established, so introducing a new piece of software based on it seems less a confusing issue.  It will still be confusing, but not at the monumental level that Windows RT was.
 
Because I don’t know the education market very well, the value of creating this product has me scratching my head somewhat, but since I accept that the education market must be massive, I can see value if they handle it right (see above…)  and get more apps in the Windows 10 store.  

But again, for most people, you can totally, completely, utterly ignore it.  It's not meant for you.

If you want to read more about Windows 10 S from a much more knowledgeable standpoint -- yet easy to follow in human English -- I pass along two articles about it by my friend and Windows maven Ed Bott, who writes for ZDNet and wrote the official Microsoft book on using Windows 10.

This article here is "What is Windows 10 S."

And this article by Ed here looks into why Microsoft developed the software to compete with Chromebooks in the education market.

Today was (finally) the first day of the IFA Global Press Conference.  This is the same organization that runs the big tech event each September in Berlin that I write about, but it’s a very different fish.  Much smaller and it’s largely what it says it is – there are a few products displayed, but mostly is a series of press conferences and panels.  Plus one-on-one interviews for thems that wants them.
 
I didn’t since that’s not generally what I do.  In fact, I generally don’t go to press conferences, finding most of them largely self-promotion, so I prefer to focus on the products themselves.  That pretty much held here, though there were a few interesting presentations about the future of tech – mostly focused on Europe -- and a couple intriguing products. 

​I won’t go into great detail here since I’ll be getting into it in much more detail in an upcoming article for my The Writers Workbench article on the Writers Guild of America website (which I’ll link to here), but also I’m a bit rushed at the moment since, as tends to happen at this point, it’s fairly late at night here in Lisbon.
 
 One product that stood out was The Frame from Samsung.  Basically, it's a wall-mounted TV set with no cables (it makes Bluetooth connections) -- and when you're not using it as a TV it goes into Art Mode and will display your digital art or art created for Samsung by artists on assignment.  It will be available in Europe the end of May and then rolled out across the rest of the world after that.  The 55" model will cost 2,195 Euros, which is around $2,400, though sometimes products cost less here.  There will also be a 65" model.

I was also intrigued by the talk given by Paul Gray, the principal consumer electronics analyst from IHS Technologies.  One thing he was talking about was the next generation of Internet connection for mobile devices, 5G.  It's not ready yet though is currently in testing phase and is expected to be ready in 2020, if everything gets worked out.  The "if" is the operative term.  But "if" so, it will be at least 100 times faster than current speeds, with some applications as much as 300 times fast.  If.  

What this means with a massively bigger pipeline is that the whole platform for streaming is changed, which is why content and service provider companies are forming alliances.  Streaming movies to your tablet, phone or even smart TV will now be a completely viable alternative to studio and network product, even far more so than today.

This is worth noting in particular because of the current WGA-AMPTP negotiations, something I mentioned to Paul Gray after the event, and he thought it a valid point.  What I was referring to is that in the last WGA strike in 2008, one of the issues was monetizing work on the Internet, and studios disingenuously tried to claim that they didn't know if there would be money in it -- and so, they kept offering the writers zero.  It was so appalling that eventually companies like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu said, "Hey, we're not signatories to the Minimum Basic Agreement, so if you writers want to sign deals with us to make projects, we'll give you much more control over the work."

The point here is that up until then, studios and networks had no competition.  They were the only outlet for the movie and TV work.  But because they were so egregiously greedy and offered zero, they opened the door to actual competition.  And now that 5G with speeds 100 times faster (up to 300 times faster) in the possible, that door may well be flung open wide.  

​And the studios and networks only have themselves to blame.

More on IFA GPC tomorrow, the final day of the show.  I'll be home on Sunday, which I mention because it gives the elves taking care of the homestead a few days to clean up...

One of the several, very-nice people in that group I attend the annual IFA tech trade show in Berlin with is a fellow named Todd Haselton.  Todd is a major expert in mobile technology, but just an all-around knowledgeable tech guy, period.  (And stealthy -- I wrote him a couple months back that I was sorry he didn't make it to last year's show in September, but I hoped to see him this year.  He wrote back to say that, in fact, he was there!  But for five days, even though we were staying at the same hotel, I didn't have a clue -- he went in, out and around on his own, completely under the wire, didn't go to the showgrounds on the group shuttle bus, or take part in the group press events and press dinners.  He had his Todd Itinerary and got around Berlin mysteriously on his own. I told him that if he ever decided to get out of tech and into the CIA, we would all be a safer nation for it.  Though less-informed about technology.)

One year at the show, I had a big problem with my mobile phone.  I didn't know what to do -- there I was, in the middle of Berlin, and my text messaging wasn't working.  Then I realized...hey, I'm at a major worldwide technology show and, look, right over there is Ed Bott, a leading tech columnist on ZDNet who has written 25 books with Microsoft Press on how to use Microsoft products (including, last year, the official Microsoft book on how to use Windows 10) and, wait!, right there is Todd Haselton who is one of the country's experts on mobile phones.  Let me tell you:  if you're ever going to have a problem with your mobile phone...those are the conditions you want it to happen in!

Todd recently started a new job writing about technology for CNBC as their Technology Products Editor -- at the moment on their website, though who knows if he'll make it on the air.  You can read his articles here.  His pieces are high-tech, but very accessible -- this is CNBC, after all, not Advanced Mobile Technology Systems Today. 

In fact, even better (especially for those who don't like to read, except perhaps this site), here is a video Todd did for CNBC this week about four top tablet alternatives to the iPad.  It's informative, breezy and, as a bonus, you get to see that he is, indeed, a very personable guy.

This month's "The Writers Workbench" column marks a slight change, which if it works out will become the norm. The column itself explains in more detail what and why the change is, but the short version is that there isn't a theme tying the products together, but rather a collection of diverse products.

One of those is an interest device with an even more interest name, the Wacom Bamboo Spark.  It's a way to take handwritten notes (or draw pictures) and convert that all to digital.

As always, because it's so convoluted to format the article with links and graphics -- and because that's already done on the Writers Guild website, for which the column is written -- the link to is here.

If you're bothered by your cell phone battery running out of power too fast, and taking too long to recharge, there's hope on the horizon.

At the recent Mobile World Congress, Chinese smartphone maker Meizu demonstrated its new Super mCharge quick-charge technology that fully-charged a 3,000mAh battery in only 20 minutes.  (For comparison purposes, this is a touch larger than the iPhone 6s battery, although most Android batteries hold a capacity of 1,800mAh.)  It delivered a 60 percent charge in just 10 minutes. ​This compares favorably to Qualcomm's newly-announced Quick Charge 4.0 technology in their Snapdragon 835 processor, that can provide a five-hour charge in five minutes. 

​The downside is when that horizon nears, since the Super mCharge won't be available for the market for another one to two years.

Yes, for those who actually pay attention to my monthly tech review column, you might have figured that it was coming -- but this month we look at...portable chargers.  What can I say, for some almost-inexplicable reason, I love portable chargers.  (I do try to explain it in the article.)  But lest you think that all portable chargers are made equal, this collection has notable differences between them.  And a couple of these are thoroughly different -- not "chargers" per se, though definitely falling under the heading of portable power -- and one of them is a gem, a product that I've been waiting for years, ever since the company first announced it two years ago, but long-delayed its release, the FINsix Dart.

As always, it's too convoluted to re-code the column and photos here, but since it's already posted on the Writers Guild of America website (for whom it's originally written) and the Huffington Post, I'll just post the link to it.  You can find the WGA version here.
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So, do you remember back when the WGA last went on strike in 2008, one of the results was that the Writers Guild signed contracts with the streaming video services who were just getting into developing their own content?   (Okay, even if you or most of the general public doesn’t remember this, writers certainly do…) 

What was notable about this is that not being part of the studio system, these streaming services were offering great creative freedom and deals to entice artists to develop projects for them.  As I wrote at the time, the company-run AMPTP, by being so obstructionist and unyielding, was risking opening a Pandora’s Box by pushing writers (and eventually other filmmakers and TV craftsman) to a brand new competitor, having long had the playing field and a closed-market to themselves.  It was a sort of "We're the only game in town, and so if you don't like the nothing we're offering you, take it or leave it" attitude.  

Today, we know at this point that online streaming of new series and occasional movies is a blossoming area.  So, how did that "take it or leave it" game work out?  The thing is, if you weren’t paying close attention on Oscar night, Amazon and Netflix won four Academy Awards between them.  Amazon won two Oscars for Manchester by the Sea (for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor), and Best Foreign Language Film, The Salesman.  Netflix picked up one Oscar for The White Helmets as Best Documentary Short.

Most of the works being created have been series, since online streaming is best suited for that.  Though there have been some feature-length films -- some small, though several with big names stars.  Most have been project that wouldn't get made at a studio, even if they were good.  (Or award-winning worthy.)  Though usually even the best have generally had limited theatrical runs -- in part because a lot of movie theaters see online streaming as competition and therefore wouldn't book the movies -- before going online.

That might change.  Netflix has its first Really Big film upcoming, and may push for a full-out theatrical run.  It's called Bright and stars Will Smith.  Here's the trailer.
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