It appears I am among the 4%, except I actually bought one..

Sorry, Microsoft (MSFT) — consumers just aren’t that interested in your tablet. Ipsos conducted a poll for Thomson Reuters last week showing that just 4% of people in the United States interested in buying a tablet were considering buying a Surface. This compares to a whopping 42% of prospective tablet buyers who were interested in an iPad mini, 16% who wanted a Kindle Fire and 14% who were interested in one of Samsung’s (005930) Galaxy tablets. Reuters reporters also anecdotally found that Apple (AAPL) stores got vastly more traffic than Microsoft’s pop-up stores during the holiday shopping season and that employees in Microsoft stores said that they had “plenty” of Surface tablets still in stock. Reuters also talked with one man who was returning his Surface tablet to a Microsoft store and who explained that “with the iPad, it’s one step, and with this (Surface), it’s two or three steps to do the same thing.”

Geez, and I really like it too.

Why did Apple take away the find duplicates.....oh, they fixed it already?

Apple released a tiny update for its recently launched iTunes 11 that restores the functionality showing duplicate items in your library. And that's not the only fixed bug: the 11.0.1 update, available for both Mac and Windows, also fixes a bug that causes the AirPlay button to disappear. (That's an annoyance that is already driving some of the Ars staff mad.)

The full description of the update, according to Apple:

"This update to the new iTunes addresses an issue where new purchases in iCloud may not appear in your library if iTunes Match is turned on, makes iTunes more responsive when searching a large library, fixes a problem where the AirPlay button may not appear as expected, and adds the ability to display duplicate items within your library."

Apple released iTunes 11 to the public at the end of November, one month later than its original release date. Though iTunes' new UI has its high points (especially in the form of the mini player), Ars Technica's Chris Foresman found it to be buggy and confusing for users. Today's update will undoubtedly help fix some of that, but we're holding our breath on final judgment until the masses start reporting back about 11.0.1.

Apple Care is definitely worth it.

I always knew this, but this week I had the need to actually use it.  My five year old had an accident in which resulted in my iPad taking an unscheduled trip down the basement stairs.  As a result, the screen was fractured in one corner.  Off to the Apple Store.   It was very impressive.  In less than a half hour, I was walking out with a new iPad and I will forever recommend Apple Care to you all.  The only thing more impressive was the sheer amount of Apple employees in the store, actually doing something.  I counted upwards to 30 employees on the sales floor walking around assisting people.  Amazing.

Google Maps is back...and better than before

Yesterday my prayers were answered.  Google Maps is back on IOS.  This rendition of it is even better.  You can log into your google account and go to your saved locations, something that was not particularly made available with the original Maps.  I can sleep easier now...

Finally 911 texting is coming....well, in 2014

The Federal Communications Commission says the nation's four largest wireless carriers have agreed to relay text messages to text-enabled 911 call centers by May 2014.

The four carriers – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – cover 90 percent of the population. However, only a handful of call centers are able to receive texts today, and it's unclear how many will be able to receive them in 2014.

Brian Fontes, CEO of the National Emergency Number Association, said the agreement and the associated deadline help call centers plan their technology upgrades and training. NENA organizes state and local agencies that operate such centers.

One 911 call center in Iowa started accepting texts in 2009, and trials of 911 texting are going on in Vermont. In other areas, there is no response to texts sent to 911.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, texters will get an answer, whether their call center is able to receive texts or not. If it can't, they'll get an automated response telling them to call instead.

The FCC said texting to 911 could be useful when a phone call could put the caller in danger. Texting could also aid a person with disabilities who is unable to call.

However, the FCC says people should always call 911 during an emergency if they can.

No, we do not want our televisions watching us!

The U.S. Patent Office has delivered a "non-final" rejection of a Verizon patent application for a controversial technology that would serve targeted ads to TV viewers based on what they're doing or saying in front of their sets.

In what is known formally as an Office action, the Patent Office sent the application back to Verizon, which must now decide whether it wants to pursue the technology further or abandon the patent claims.

The patent has been the subject of intense media scrutiny since FierceCable uncovered it last week. Verizon somewhat laboriously titled the patent application "Methods and Systems for Presenting an Advertisement Associated with an Ambient Action of a Use."

The application says the technology would be capable of triggering different advertisements based on whether viewers are eating, playing, cuddling, laughing, singing, fighting or gesturing in front of their sets. Specifically, the patent covers technology that can serve ads "...targeted to the user based on what the user is doing, who the user is, the user's surroundings, and/or any other suitable information associated with the user."