This and That
Ken Bone’s Disturbing Reddit History Shows He’s Not Nearly as Adorable as We Thought – The Daily Beast
well, well, well… ah the internet!!!
@BlackBerry licensing #BB10
I was supposed to write about this last week but then got distracted with other things. I had this clear path I was going to take with this post but then I listened to the usual weekly BlackBerry related podcast and got enlightened. They touched on the subject of BB10 licensing and the potential and now I don’t know that my path is clear anymore.
Anyway, here goes nothing. I was excited for a split second over the thought of BB10 being licensed. Then after that full split second I started to think about who the target audience would be? It can’t possibly be the consumer. Sadly BB10 didn’t catch on like it should have so how would licensing it out be any different ? However, through different articles and this podcast I came to understand that I have to look past the handset and that BB10 may and can be reincarnated in other areas. One such area is IOT. Well let’s hope this path BlackBerry has taken is clearer than this post’s path!! I still feel that we are getting mixed signals though…
So? Support for BB10 will continue until some future date? Doesn’t that imply that at one point that support will end? Maybe this future date is sooner than we expect?
On a side note.. kind of… BlackBerry will also be licensing out their physical keyboard. I saw this photo in one of the channels I follow… it was captioned ‘makes sense?’
Maybe this is just some mock up or bad photoshop job but nonetheless this could be the future of the BlackBerry pkb on other devices. Basically, the gorgeous pkb that is BlackBerry on ugly handsets. Let’s hope not.
Does This Video Show Bigfoot? The Internet Thinks So
But it could just be, you know, a man
Source: Does This Video Show Bigfoot? The Internet Thinks So
BlackBerry’s Alex Thurber discusses upcoming handsets and company future | CrackBerry.com
I, for one, am excited to see what’s in store for the future!!!
via BlackBerry’s Alex Thurber discusses upcoming handsets and company future | CrackBerry.com
The Future of BlackBerry Devices | Inside BlackBerry
It’s all very promising and of course right after i wrote my post on 10.3.3 this article (https://www.wired.com/2016/10/blackberrys-not-going-disappear/) from wired has Pini talking about potential licensing of BB10 to others.. go figure.
@BlackBerry 10.3.3 is coming. Soon.
It was good to see @BlackBerry put out a small blurb about the state of 10.3.3.
Finally. I think the silence on this topic was deafening to many. I guess BlackBerry wanted a little distraction from all the hoopla that was caused after their ‘exiting hardware’ announcement. It’s great to read that it’s in the ‘final stages’ but does that even mean anything? Final stages? That could still be months away! Lol. I don’t know how to feel about it. I mean, we were all told from day one that this update was strictly security based. Last I read there would be some update to the browser but that’s about it. Or is it? This little gem cropped up a few days ago…
https://tun-technologie.blogspot.com/2016/09/blackberry-1033-what-is-new_27.html?m=1
Could it be possible that even though we were told that the update is strictly security that we will get surprised with all the changes mentioned on this site post? Could it be? Maybe this is the real reason behind the delay? I think it’s wishful thinking on my part. Some folk in the BlackBerry community are already calling bullshit on the post. Some are saying that it’s a wish list and not what will be in the update. I tend to agree. I love BlackBerry 10 but as difficult as it is to write I know it’s going away. Guys like UTB ‘I will never use a BlackBerry android’ Brad while sporting his #Priv Android device preaches that if BlackBerry 10 does go away the fault will rest on the shoulders of the BlackBerry community. Those black sheep of the community that are creating FUD, trashing on John, whining over the lack of anything on the BlackBerry 10 side, etc that are going to be responsible for the potential demise of BlackBerry 10. I don’t know. Should I even put any weight on anything this guy says? On the flip side of things Brad keeps reiterating that BlackBerry 10 isn’t going anywhere…It’s easy to preach that BlackBerry 10 isn’t going anywhere. I agree, it isn’t going anywhere. NOW. Because it can’t now. U just can’t drop an OS that is being used by very important and crucial entities.. but everything that seems to be happening around BlackBerry 10 tells me that the plan is to phase it out eventually.
Here’s what I think BlackBerry’s game plan was once they made the decision to go to the dark side and embrace Android.
1) get former BlackBerry enthusiasts who left the brand and are now androidians to come back with the android offering
2) get newbies who are android enthusiasts to embrace BlackBerry by hopping on their offering of a more secure Android.
3) get BB10ers to convert and embrace the dark side that is Android. You know, assimilate.
Of course all three are risky business but I think it was a risk they obviously decided was worth taking. My take is that they know very well that some of the BlackBerry loyalists will not buy into item 3 but the hope Is that the combination of 1 and 2 with some of 3 will greatly outnumber the portion of 3 that will leave the brand because of their utter disgust over BlackBerry’s choice to embrace Android. I know my view seems to be on the simplistic side but why not? Right? I mean how many times did John Chen say that he would let the market dictate what happens. If you put very little effort on an OS at one point something is going to give. Those of us that make up item 3 will get fed up and will make a decision. I think that is what John is counting on. Good or bad.
Anyway – I truly hope I am wrong. I simply love BlackBerry 10. It’s so amazing. It’s really a shame it never got traction like it should have. I love my Passport SE. Just love it. Having written all this though I have decided that I will start to save up and I will target the purchase of this here:
According to the photo ‘mercury’ will be out in January of 2017.. I will not make the purchase then but rather wait until April or May of 2017. That’s how I am feeling right now. Time will tell if I will assimilate or I will continue to fight the good fight with BlackBerry 10. Stay tuned.
@BlackBerry, The end Of An Era?
At this past Wednesday’s earnings call @BlackBerry made it official that they are exiting the hardware business. That is they will no longer design and manufacture phones. For anyone paying attention, even remotely, to the goings on with BlackBerry this should not come as a surprise. The first glaring clue should have been the #Dtek50. That was BlackBerry telling us without telling us. One other piece of item that should not be forgotten is that John Chen is a software guy so should the path BlackBerry is on really surprise anyone?
BlackBerry will continue to put out phones only they won’t be the one making them. Let’s not forget the #Dtek60 is around the corner and the ‘mercury’ I assume at some point in early 2017. This of course means nothing because after their announcement all you could read were headlines with ‘quit’,’bailed’,’ending’,end of an era’,’no longer’ and on and on and on.. why? Because haters gonna hate.
This announcement certainly garnered a lot of reaction and emotion… some of it even anger. I am a proud Canadian and proud to support a Canadian icon like BlackBerry. I am first and foremost a BlackBerry supporter. It’s a business and I have come to terms and understand that John Chen had to do what he had to do to ensure BlackBerry didn’t go away. Am I angry that BlackBerry will no longer manufacturer the phones? No. Am I sad? Yes. It does make me sad. Interestingly enough I think BlackBerry has always been about software but let’s face it when u hear ‘BlackBerry’ your first reaction will always be hardware; the cell phone. For me BlackBerry has always been about gorgeous ‘look and feel’ and quality phones. Name me a BlackBerry phone that didn’t have quality behind it? That’s what I worry will happen with outsourcing. Take a look at the #DTEK50.. I had a chance to look at one up close and personal and in hand I don’t feel that quality. I understand it’s a low end phone but still. The ‘powers in the know’ are reassuring the BlackBerry faithful that BlackBerry will continue to have a say and QA input with these future outsourced phones. Let’s hope so.
The Passport SE one of the best examples of what quality is..
So is it the end of an era? Well ya I kinda think so… but is it a new beginning as John Chen put it? It certainly is.
http://crackberry.com/john-chen-its-start-new-chapter-rather-end-era
http://crackberry.com/john-chen-blackberry-keyboard-will-live
Is @BlackBerry #BB10 Barb from #StrangerThings?
Over the weekend i watched the final episode of #StrangerThings. Last weekend i watched the first seven episodes and i waited an entire week to watch the last one. I mean, who does that? lol.
Anyway – as i always do every week, i listened to the UTBBlogs podcast. They now have a segment where they answer questions from viewers. Again, there are folks out there wondering about the status of BB10 and 10.3.3 and whether there will ever be another BB10 device. You can tell that Brad and company are tired of answering these questions. It’s the same old, same old. BB10 isn’t going anywhere and it was made clear that in the next couple of years BB10 would be given very little attention. One update supposedly now in September (10.3.3) and one some time in 2017 (10.3.4).
Yes, John Chen and company have stated this a few times but i can’t help but feel like BB10 is Barb.
This poor kid was snatched up by the Demogorgon and she was barely on anyone’s radar. I mean, outside of Nancy who was concerned, noone really went out actively looking for her. Incredibly strange, no? Then later in the movie while chief Hopper and Joyce were in the upside down looking for her son, Hopper sees Barb and it was like “nothing to see here, let’s move it along”… This poor girl!! Nobody cared!
On more than one occasion, John Chen, while re-iterating that BB10 isn’t going anywhere has also mentioned that he “will let the market tell BlackBerry what to do”. This, in my opinion, is very important. You see, while BB10 is getting very little love, Android is getting tons. As a consumer who loves and uses BB10 i have taken notice of this. My son rolls his eyes when i say this but i consider myself a power user and i love how BB10 allows me to be that. So is BB10 an awesome OS? Yes it is. Having said that though i am feeling the pinch in areas where i think it’s lacking. i am not a heavy app user but i do like some social media apps. I am big on Twitter and Instagram and to a lesser degree FaceBook. For the most part the native apps give me what i need and when they don’t i use the android version. Still though at times, the experience on the android side isn’t ideal. For example, android instagram allows me to enjoy viewing “stories” but for whatever reason when i record a story it is transmitted and saved all garbled. Only photos work. Same goes with Snapchat. Android Periscope can’t be installed because of the version of the runtime we have (too old). Facebook live? i won’t even bother installing Android FB as i think it will be the same result as Snapchat. I volunteer at a soccer youth club as their social media guy and certainly some of the features i can’t have/get would come in handy. As you can see there is a struggle within that is happening. I know that if i go BlackBerry Android i can get all this. I am obviously not the only one and that’s what John Chen is counting on. As the Android side gets updated frequently, we the BB10 user, will start to feel “we are missing out” and we will ultimately transition over because nothing is really happening or will happen on the BB10 side. It’s almost like a waiting game. BlackBerry is dragging their feet on the BB10 side in the hopes that BB10ers will get fed up with the lack of “anything” and jump to BlackBerry Android. If this does happen and in a large scale then BlackBerry can come back and state the the market has spoken and they will no longer support or expand on BB10. All you have to do is take a look at the likes of UTB “i will never go android” Brad. Here’s a guy who keeps telling everyone to relax about BB10 and that “it’s going nowhere” while he sports a #Priv and can’t stop talking how great an android it is. The poster boy of what BlackBerry is counting on. For me, the reality is simple. Once my Passport SE goes (and hopefully it will be a long time before it does), i will go the way of BlackBerry Android unless some shocking revelation happens on the BB10 side.
btw I googled the cast of #StrangerThings.. take a look at this:
No respect at all.. where is the actress that played Barb? Even “Will” who was snatched up in the first episode and was seen a few times here and there is listed!!!
My Random Thoughts 