Google, Microsoft go head to head in Santa-tracking tech race Competition between Google and Microsoft keeps heating up, and this Christmas Eve children will be caught in the crossfire as the two tech giants battle to see which can keep the tightest tabs on Santa Claus as he pilots his sleigh around the globe. Since 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has tracked …
"Colonel Harry Shoup, who was manning the hotline that night, eventually realized why he was getting so many wrong numbers..."
WOW! A Colonel manning the phones on Christmas Eve? I find that hard to believe. A Sgt, possibly, but a Colonel? I don't think so. Things must have been really different back then.
... Microsoft's experience supporting NORAD's day-to-day activities during the rest of the year was what gave the agency the confidence that Redmond could pull off a project as important as the Santa Tracker.
So America's first line of defense appears to be a Microsoft based solution...
"Google is being a downright Grinch on the mobile front. While NORAD has released Santa Tracker apps for Android and iOS in addition to Windows Phone, the Chocolate Factory's tracker app is for Android only."
Yep - and Microsoft is being a Grinch for only releasing a map component, unless i'm missing something about the Android, iOS and Windows Phone applications being developed by VisionBox (perhaps they had some assistance from Microsoft with the Azure integration ?).
That said - hey, it's Christmas and all these trackers are free - so how about less of the un-necessary, snidey comments and more mulled wine and mince pies.
and in other news......android has another spam/hacking issue to go along with its plethora of useless apps but droid users still want to point to the fact that they have hundreds of thousands of apps more than on windows phone. 75 Fart apps for your christmas stocking anyone?
Santa tried to visit me last year and got stuck in my chimney. He's still there.
Even the neighbours kids know that.
So whom are they kidding? Mostly the Yanks, I believe who are equally dumb, if not clued up!
There, sorted. Can you now report something more interesting & Meaningful?
A guy for which "Military Intelligence" wasn't an oxymoron!!!
By a strange coincidence, a facebook friend of mine lives in Rovaniemi, Finland where Santa lives. She'll tip me the wink when he leaves. But, I've been a bad boy this year, so not expecting anything more lobbed on the balcony (no chimney) than a pair of used Salvation Army socks...
I always have this rather scary image in my head of a thousand warheads swivelling across North America taget locked on the old fella, with a nameless military wonk just a finger away from hitting the red fire button if he shows any hint of hostile intent!
As to the colonel manning the hotline, well maybe he was just in charge of the team who manned the line? If it's a 'hotline' then it may be for something fairly important?!
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