Windows out of touch as PC shipments crash

All manufacturers bar Lenovo showed a massive decline in PC sales in the second quarter of the year, with buyers continuing to purchase tablets over laptop devices, according to Gartner’s latest PC market share research.

PC shipments in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were weakened in the second quarter of 2013, with a 16.8% decline over the same period last year, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decreasing shipments, said Gartner.

Ranjit Atwal research director at Gartner, said: “The European economy has not helped. Touch on laptops today has not been as effective for consumers. Touchscreens will only come into their own at end of this year with the availability of the new Intel [Haswell] platform.”

Haswell will introduce "thin and light" laptop designs, which Atwal expects will help to stimulate the PC industry.

He said part of the problem with the PC sector is a lack of innovation, in spite of the launch of Windows 8 last year: “The PC industry has not really innovated for the last five years. Windows 8 was an evolution rather than revolution.”

But this is slowly changing, according to Atwal, with some PC manufacturers building software around their hardware platform in order to differentiate products.

“The sharp decline in the second quarter of 2013 was partly due to the shift in usage patterns away from notebooks to tablets, and partly because the PC market was exposed to inventory reductions in the channel due to the start of the transition to new Haswell-based products,” said Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner.

"Touch-based notebooks still account for less than 10% of the total consumer notebook shipments in the last quarter."

HP held the top position in EMEA, Garter said, due to better results in the professional PC market. Lenovo was the only top five vendor to exhibit shipment growth, recording a fourth consecutive quarter of growth.

“The PC market is changing, but it still represents a $200bn opportunity,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO, Lenovo.

Preliminary EMEA PC Vendor Unit Shipment Estimates for 2Q13 (Units)

SF Plane Crash: Social Media Is Key First Responder

The Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed at SFO airport
In the aftermath of the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday at 11:36 a.m., the drama unfolded on social media as witnesses relayed the initial reactions that were then amplified by cable news.

Passenger David Eun, a Samsung exec who was formerly president of AOL Media and Studios, posted his first tweets at 12:13 p.m., within minutes of the crash-landing and fire. According to the Associated Press, at least two people have died and 182 were taken to area hospitals.

Eun, a Harvard Law graduate who also has worked at NBC, calmly posted short but clear bulletins on the crash and the condition of the passengers. (His first cool-under-pressure tweet, which even included the airport's Twitter handle (@flySFO), was retweeted nearly 30,000 times. His Twitter followers grew from 2,000 to nearly 19,000 in hours.

STORY: Cable News Breaks in to Cover Boeing 777 Crash

Prospective Asiana passenger Sheryl Sandberg’s postings on Facebook also were widely quoted in traditional media. “Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened,” wrote the Facebook COO. “My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family's tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash. Our friend David Eun was on the Asiana flight and he is fine.”

Meanwhile, a young woman (@EuniceBirdRah) whose father was on board asked her followers to pray for his safety. "He is on the 777," she wrote as she headed to the airport. Awhile later she sent out another tweet -- tagged for CNN -- with a photo of the burning plane that her father (who had escaped unhurt) had sent to her via text message.

She followed up a few minutes later: "About to go on CNN.. My heart is aching for the passenger, crew, family." Then finally: "God is real."

The story’s development was the latest chapter in what has become an emerging story for the traditional news media, which has found itself ever more reliant on social media bulletins and photos for its most immediate and, often, eye-witness coverage of significant breaking news events.

Saturday, the lesson implicit in that story was dramatically reinforced when traditional news outlets with no reporters immediately on the scene were forced to rely on passengers’ Twitter postings, as well as dozens of photos posted to the Internet by passengers and those waiting inside the airport terminals.

Within a relatively short time, there were videos of the evacuation and fire up on YouTube, which were picked up by Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. By then, FNC's Claudia Cowan was on the ground reporting in SF, MSNBC aired a special report with Lester Holt and CNN's international anchor Richard Quest called in to discuss the incident.

Eun's cool-headed series of tweets made him the dominant initial observer of the crash-landing.

Among his Tweets:

"Fire and rescue people all over the place. They're evacuating the injured. Haven't felt this way since 9/11. Trying to help people stay calm. Deep breaths…"

"Lots of activity here. Friends, pls don't call right now. I'm fine."

CNN Airs Bystander's SF Plane Crash Landing Footage

Amateur footage of the crash landing taken by observer Fred Hayes
On Sunday, as investigators piece together the chain of events that lead to the crash landing of the Asiana Airlines flight at San Francisco airport that left two dead and many injured, a new video has surfaced of the plane's descent.

CNN exclusively aired amateur footage by Fred Hayes, an observer described as an "aviation buff" who had "gone to a place where you could see these planes taking off and landing," said network correspondent Dan Simon.

In the clip, the Boeing 777, which carried 291 passengers, can be seen descending onto the runway before appearing to to skid as smoke rises. Anchor Don Lemon said that the video was shot while Hayes was out walking with his wife.

The news network also aired the video in a split screen along with the National Transportation Safety Board press conference that was scheduled for 1:30 pm PT.

"Everything is on the table right now, it is too early to rule anything out," said NTSB spokesperson Deborah Hersman when asked about any potential mechanical failure on the aircraft by a reporter at the presser.

Hersman encouraged those with photos and videos of the crash to submit an eyewitness report to the agency.

Federal Safety Officials To Investigate Ohio Air Show Crash

Wing walker Jane Wicker performs at the Vectren Air Show just before crashing on Saturday. She and pilot Charlie Schwenker were killed.

Federal air safety officials say they will investigate the fiery crash of a stunt plane at an Ohio air show that killed the pilot and a wing walker.

Thousands of spectators at the Vectren Air Show near Dayton, Ohio, watched on Saturday as the biplane, with wing walker Jane Law Wicker, 46, and pilot Charlie Schwenker, 64, careened into the ground and exploded during a low-altitude maneuver. No one in the audience was hurt.

The rest of the show was canceled on Saturday, but was expected to resume Sunday.

The Associated Press reports:

"It wasn't clear Saturday what went so wrong. The biplane glided through the sky, rolled over, then crashed and exploded into flames ... A video posted on WHIO-TV shows the small plane turn upside-down as the performer sits on top of the wing. The plane then tilts and crashes to the ground, erupting into flames as spectators screamed."

The National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate the crash of the 450 HP Stearmans biplane. The Dayton Daily News
quotes Terrence Slaybaugh, the director of aviation for the city of Dayton, as saying the investigation could take months.
"Obviously, this is a tragedy for what's a very small community and our thoughts and prayers go out to those two individuals and their families," Slaybaugh told reporters. "Right now, there's no conclusive answer about why the accident happened."