Boot up: tablet forecasts, who's streaming?, YikYak banned, and more

Plus the XP numbers mystery, the bad idea of QR codes on bills, privacy for sale, and more

Music streaming is like this, but drier, and binary. Photograph: Alamy

 A burst of 7 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team

Worldwide tablet growth forecast to slow as new and replacement purchases in mature markets begin to level off >> IDC

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, the total tablet market, inclusive of both tablets and 2-in-1 devices, is forecast to grow 19.4% in 2014, down from a growth rate of 51.6% in 2013. IDC reduced the 2014 forecast by -3.6% from its previous projection to 260.9 million units worldwide. The reduction in the short-term forecast was due to slowing consumer purchases as hardware iterations slow and the installed base—particularly in mature markets—continues to grow.

Over the course of the past two years average selling prices (ASPs) have declined rapidly in the tablet market, but this too appears to be slowing. In 2012, ASPs declined -18.3% from the previous year, and in 2013 prices dropped another -14.6%. Price erosion has started to slowly bottom out, with ASPs forecast to drop a modest -3.6% in 2014. IDC believes ASP declines will slow for several reasons; chief among them are the growth of higher-priced commercial shipments and a consumer movement away from ultra-low cost products.

Notable that it's not offering a sales split between "tablets" and "2-in-1 devices". But it's still heavily skewed towards consumers, which won't help Microsoft.

Chart: Pandora maintains lead In crowded audio streaming space >> Statista

According to the 2014 edition of Edison's annual audio report "The Infinite Dial", Pandora remains the most popular music streaming service in the United States. 31% of those polled for the report stated to have used Pandora within the last month. That puts the ad-supported online radio healthily in front of iHeartRadio and iTunes Radio which were used by 9% and 8% of the respondents, respectively. Ranked fourth, Spotify was the first on-demand streaming service on the list with an adoption rate of 6%.

Google Play All Access at 3%. It's taken only six months for iTunes Radio to go from zero to pass Spotify, which launched there in July 2011. The survey was of 2,023 Americans aged 12 and older (see the original report which has some very interesting insights). MIA: Xbox Music.

QR codes on energy bills - aka "technologists make lousy decisions" >> The Platform

Given that the sector of society that has the greatest sensitivity to energy costs is that which is at the less affluent end of the spectrum, QR codes are a horrendously expensive barrier to entry for this information. Firstly, you need to have a smartphone, and either a cellular data contract or access to the internet. Secondly, you need to have a QR app, and such things are not a standard feature on any mobile OS platform. Thirdly, you have to know how to use it.
Fourthly, the fact this is being done with QR codes precludes PCs from having access to this information. Imagine you don't have a smartphone and/or internet access, and you go into a library to use a PC. You can't scan the QR code

How app companies are turning privacy into a commodity >> Motherboard

Omlet, a new privacy-based social media platform launching today at SXSW, has an idea. They call it the "privacy economy." It's a notion that could really only be incubated in Silicon Valley's minor league, but it emerges from deep within the American capitalist psyche: find a problem, then make some money off of it. But, should we really be thinking of a human right as some sort of economy to be exploited for profit?

Only Microsoft knows the true Windows XP numbers - but isn't telling | Microsoft windows >> InfoWorld

Galen Gruman, ahead of the XPocalypse:

Here's what I want to know: When Microsoft rolls out its final set of XP patches next month, how many "real" bought-and-paid-for copies of Windows XP will be updated?
If we're looking at 500 million PCs headed to the rubbish heap of patching history, then there's no question Microsoft has a huge problem on its hands. Keizer's options for Microsoft redeeming its security reputation should be mandatory.
But what if we're only looking at 10 million? Or even 5?
Yes, it's possible that the estimates of exposed, upgradeable "genuine" PCs is off by an order of magnitude - or two.
First, the volume of pirated XP machines boggles even my imagination. Estimates put the number of XP machines in China alone at 300 million. I hate to sound cynical, but in my experience, maybe 1% of those machines have "genuine" bought-and-paid-for versions of XP.

Yik Yak banned as schools grapple with toxic anonymous social chat >> Naked Security

Graham Cluley: 

Described as a cross between SnapChat and Twitter, Yik Yak is a location-based app that creates an anonymous social chat room of up to 500 nearby users who connect through GPS tracking on their mobile phones.
One of its co-founders, Brooks Buffington, told CNN that Yik Yak has, within its first four months, already racked up a few hundred thousand users - mainly in Southeast/East coast college campuses.
In fact, the application supposedly restricts use to those over the age of 17, in acknowledgement of the idea that it takes a bit of maturity to post comments anonymously about the people and things around us without it turning into a YouTube-comments-like toxic waste dump.
I say "supposedly" because there's no way to prevent somebody under the age of 17 from signing up, as parents have pointed out.

iOS 8: Apple polishes Maps data, adds public transit directions service >> 9to5Mac

Thanks to extensive engineering work and acquisitions of several companies such BroadMap, Embark, and HopStop, Apple's database for iOS Maps will be upgraded with enhanced data so it is more reliable, according to sources. The new application will also be injected with new points of interests and new labels to make places such as airports, parks, train stations, bus stops, highways, and freeways easier to find, the sources added. Sources also say that the mapping application's cartography design has been tweaked to be slightly cleaner and to make streets more visible.
In addition to the mapping data changes, Apple will add one of the most important mobile features to Maps this year: public transit directions.

Overdue.

Apple is also working on unique ways for integrating indoor mapping views and enhanced car integration for future versions of iOS. Sources say that Apple has also begun work on augmented reality functionality that leverages the iPhone's compass hardware to visually see nearby points of interest

Apps such as Localscope already do this - but its usefulness is limited.

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