Friday, April 16, 2010
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Adope Photoshop in Iphone
The app is free of charge and offers tools such as cropping, image rotation, color controls, and simple one-touch filter effects that can change the look and feel of shots all at once. It also features undo and redo controls so that if users make a mistake, or want to revert back to the original, it takes just a few taps.
As soon as users are done editing any photo, they can either save it back to their phone or upload it to their Photoshop.com account. The app also doubles as a photo-taking tool since you can simply take a photo, then have it upload right away.
What makes the app notable (besides from being from Adobe) is that the entire editing control set works off gestures. Instead of using dials or sliders, users just need to swipe their finger across the screen to change things such as brightness or color values. The same goes for its filters, which can be whisked from one end of the screen to the other instead of taking up more screen real estate or using a drop-down menu. It's one of the more intuitive control methods I've seen on a mobile photo-editing app, and can be quite precise once you get the hang of it.
The app is available now and is free of charge, although Adobe's free Photoshop.com service has a 2GB limit, which can be expanded with an annual paid storage plan.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
google books and what do the users says
Google has the support of the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, but it faces formidable opposition. Some 400 legal objections have been filed, and the US Department of Justice has serious concerns. The dispute was due to be resolved in court next week, but at the last minute Google and its partners asked for the case to be adjourned so they could make revisions. A hearing will still take place, but only to inform the parties concerned how Google intends to proceed.
The case is the culmination of a process that got under way several years ago when Google began scanning books in research libraries to create a searchable archive. Libraries liked it; they saw it as a way to improve access, particularly to rarely used books. But authors and publishers did not. In 2005, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers filed a suit to block the scanning of copyrighted books.
Last year Google hammered out a deal with the authors and publishers which, at first sight, appeared to please everyone. Under the Google Book Settlement, the company would be allowed to scan out-of-print books still in copyright unless expressly asked not to by the copyright holder. That would greatly expand a treasure trove of information available to the serious researcher or the merely curious. Where else could I have learned that my great-great-grandfather was chief car builder for a small 19th-century railroad? Google also promised to supply every library in the US with a terminal for free public access, supported by advertising revenue.
Google also promised to come up with $125 million, partly to pay authors and publishers whose books it had scanned without permission before the settlement. On top of that, authors and publishers would receive 63 per cent of the income from the project.
Nobody would get rich, but authors would earn some money and their books would remain available indefinitely - an important concern for many. The deal would also make available "orphan works", books that are still in copyright but whose authors (or their heirs) can't be located.
Done deal? Far from it. The settlement - around 300 pages of mind-numbing legal jargon - was received with howls of protest. The justice department warned that the proposed settlement violated competition and copyright laws. Numerous groups filed objections, including the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Amazon, Microsoft and the German government.
The objections cover a range of issues. Would Google gain a monopoly on copyrighted books that would make it the sole gatekeeper to a large body of knowledge? Could the deal limit authors' rights to control their own works? Would there be any protection for non-US authors? Why should authors be forced to go to the trouble of telling Google if they do not want their works to be copied, and why should Google be absolved from identifying copyright owners? Why should the Authors Guild be considered to speak for all authors? Why should Google alone be given the right to use orphan works? The list could go on for pages. The whole thing is reminiscent of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, the interminable legal proceedings in Charles Dickens's novel Bleak House.
Perhaps the biggest concern is that the settlement in effect rewrites US copyright law - usurping the role that rightfully belongs to Congress. It would let Google keep on scanning while absolving it of liability should it fail to identify copyright owners or obtain their consent.
The plan in effect rewrites US copyright law, usurping a role that ought to belong to Congress
There are practical issues, too. Google has already bungled the job of compiling a list of every book published in the US since 1923, and thus still under US copyright. By including every record it could find, it managed to collect every data entry error made over the past 86 years.
I write technical books and short fiction in addition to magazine articles. Searching under my name, I have found a book never published and a bogus co-author, as well as editions never available in the US. Worse, Google keeps adding new entries, which authors must go through. While writing this piece, I found more than 20 new entries about me. I haven't written that many books.
It's not just me. I also found a listing for the 1924 master's thesis of a great-aunt who died long before my birth, plucked by Google from a library database. There's no evidence it was published, or that she registered the copyright. If Google can list that as an out-of-print but still in-copyright book then god only knows what else is in there.
virtual economies of Second Life, Facebook and Everquest
WHILE global economies have endured a torrid time of late, business is booming in the virtual economies of Second Life, Facebook and Everquest. As the economic boundaries between virtual and real worlds continue to blur, the supposedly liberated virtual worlds are now running up against some very real-world legal problems.
Financial analyst Piper Jaffray estimates that US citizens will spend $621 million in 2009 in virtual worlds; estimates of the Asian market are even larger. Research firm Plus Eight Star puts spending at $5 billion in the last year.
Over in Second Life, trade remains robust. The value of transactions between residents in the second quarter of this year was $144 million, a year-on-year increase of 94 per cent. With its users swapping virtual goods and services worth around $600 million per year, Second Life has the largest economy of any virtual world - which exceeds the GDP of 19 countries, including Samoa
i Phone Allows New Voip application
This follows FCC inquiries into AT&T’s practices regarding its policies on allowing or restricting certain applications on its data network in the wake of Google Voice being rejected for the iPhone while other VOIP applications were restricted to Wi-Fi.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Next Year New computers , New Generations Incomming For Desktop Pc
Windows smartphones , the new technology from microsoft
Around 30 types of "Windows phones" with various designs will be available by the end of the year in more than 20 countries.
Seven phone-makers, including Sony, Samsung and Toshiba, and 16 operators including Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile, are involved in the launch.
The phones, which combine the ability to make calls, surf the Internet and view videos, carry Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.
"We have done a lot of work on the user interface, we simplified the user interface," Ballmer told a news conference at Microsoft's new French headquarters near Paris in Issy-les-Moulineaux.
"We have taken the Internet Explorer browser technologies, and we rebuilt them for the first time for these Windows phones. So you can get the same experience on these phones that you will get on your windows PC," he said.
The new mobile operating system was launched simultaneously in France and New York on Tuesday.
With Tuesday's launch Microsoft hopes to reassert itself on the smartphone market, where it has lost ground. The sector is considered especially promising, with 29 percent jump in sales expected this year.
But in the second quarter only 9.0 percent of all smartphones sold were equipped with Microsoft's operating system, against 12 percent a year earlier, according to the Gartner research group.
At the same time, Apple's iPhone has seen its share jump from 2.8 to 13.3 percent.
Google, which launched its Android system in early 2008 and is provided free to phone-makers, managed to secure a share of almost 2.0 percent in a few months and could gain further ground in the fourth quarter this year.
Fifa announced the start of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2010
Soccer's global governing body FIFA, gaming software-maker Electronic Arts and Sony Corp's PlayStation announced the start of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2010 (FIWC10) season on Tuesday.
The sixth edition of the world's largest football gaming tournament allows virtual athletes the unique opportunity of competing in an official FIFA World Cup, FIFA said in a statement.
The champion will be decided at the final in Barcelona, Spain on May 1, 2010, for which players can qualify online or at live qualifier events.
The winner will receive $20,000 and "a money can't buy" experience of attending the FIFA World Player Gala, where he or she will mingle with the best football players in the world.
"More than half a million players vied for a spot in the Grand Final of last year's FIFA Interactive World Cup," said Chuck Blazer, a member of the FIFA Executive Committee.
"This makes it the FIFA tournament with the most competitors."
Over the next seven months, players will compete against each other online or at one of the 10 live qualifier events that will be held in Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Africa and Britain.
For the first time, the online qualification will be split into two separate seasons, the first running from October 2 through to December 18 2009, and the second from January 4 to March 31, 2010.
Players interested in participating in either the online qualifiers or one of the live qualifier events will find all information on how to register as well as reports and stories around the tournament on the official website, www.fifa.com/FIWC.
The 31 players to successfully qualify for the grand final will come up against last year's FIWC champion -- Bruce Grannec from France -- who has automatically qualified for the final and will be aiming to become the first player to retain his title.
(Reporting by Paul Casciato, editing by Steve Addison)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Dell's newest addition to the Latitude line, the Z600
This is way out of the Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) 
dude's league.
Dell's newest addition to the Latitude line, the Z600, is designed as a sleek envy item for high-ranking corporate executives, entrepreneurs and other style leaders, and bears the stats to prove it, beginning with its US$1,999 starting price tag.
Technical Details
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Dell bills the 4.5-pound , 0.57-inch thick unit with a "black cherry" finish as the lightest, thinnest 16-inch unit on the market, as well as the world's first laptop with wireless docking as an optional accessory. It also features inductive charging, eliminating the need for power cords with use of a charging stand.
It's also the first Dell to fully implement Latitude ON, a hardware-based instant-on technology that can access Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) 
Exchange servers to deliver a constant stream of emails, calendar items and other basic information services without waiting for the laptop to boot up. The company is comparing the feature to having a built-in smartphone inside the laptop.
The technology includes a second motherboard with its own processor and operating system to run the instant-on service. Run times for the feature can stretch as long as two days, according to Dell.
It also features an integrated 2 megapixel camera with software that allows users to use the camera to scan and save business cards to Microsoft Outlook contacts, as well as to "scan" and copy documents.
On sale as of Monday in select countries in Europe, as well as the U.S. and Canada, it also comes with custom-designed bags by Cole Haan and Timbuk2.
But Will It Sell?
It might seem counterintuitive to come out with a pricey full-sized laptop in the apparent era of the cheap netbook, especially in the middle of a recession when IT budgets are at their leanest.
However, this move is about Dell reasserting its ability to create sophisticated design as well as value computing, and giving executives who want a sleek, impressive computer an option beyond the Sonys and Apples that have dominated that market, said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of strategy and analysis with Interpret.
"That executive walks into a meeting and takes out his Dell instead of a Sony (NYSE: SNE) or an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) -- that makes a difference," he told TechNewsWorld. "They're not going to sell a lot of these, but the ones they do sell will matter."
Designed for the IT Team, Too?
The move is a clever way for Dell to help IT departments meet the needs and wants of C-level executives who demand fancy computers, Gartenberg said. They can satisfy them without having to tear up existing vendor relationships or re-engineer their networks to make a Mac work with corporate IT assets.
It makes perfect sense for Dell to target high-end corporate clients, said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for the NPD Group.
"If you're looking for a cool, high-tech product like this from a business standpoint, Apple doesn't have nearly the cachet it does among consumer power users," he told TechNewsWorld.
Dell did not respond to questions about its marketing strategy by deadline for this publication, but in a blog posting, the company noted the product is part of a line dedicated to "purpose-engineered" products, which include ruggedized laptops and machines designed for educational use.
In the end, what Dell appears to be offering is less about substance and more about style, said Baker.
"Dell has been pretty aggressive over the last few years about upping their design DNA," he said. "This is just part of that
Microsoft released version 1.0 of Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) released version 1.0 of Microsoft Security Essentials, a free basic anti-malware service from Redmond, on Tuesday.
This replaces Microsoft's discontinued Live OneCare Security-as-a-Service offering.
Live OneCare customers can move to Microsoft Security Essentials once their subscriptions expire.
About MSE
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is a lightweight application that runs in the background and takes up few CPU and memory resources, the vendor said.
It is the first Microsoft security product to use the company's new Dynamic Signature Service, which ensures users are protected by the most current virus definitions available. Most other antivirus applications download the latest virus signatures one or more times daily.
MSE will run on Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or SP3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.
Only users of genuine versions of these Windows operating systems will be able to install MSE. The application will be available in eight languages and in 19 countries including the United States; Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore.
Technical Stuff
MSE monitors the file, registry, network and kernel mode actions taken by unknown programs to look for suspicious behavior , according Microsoft. When a program initiates unexpected network connections, tries to modify privileged parts of the system, or downloads known malicious content, this triggers MSE to request updates from the Dynamic Signature Service.
Further, MSE uses the Microsoft SpyNet telemetry system to monitor the quality of definition updates. When users detect and remove malicious files, information on that is sent to Microsoft in real time, and that information is used to identify abnormal patterns and assess the potential impact of an incorrect or misbehaving signature.
If a false positive is detected, the Dynamic Signature Service fixes the signature in real time and prevents users from being affected, according to the company.
Despite this, MSE lacks the personal firewall, backup and PC tuning features offered in Windows Live OneCare, which it replaces. "Microsoft Security Essentials is a no-cost core antimalware service that provides real-time protection to address the ongoing security needs of a genuine Windows PC," Microsoft spokesperson Mac Brown told TechNewsWorld.
The Nitty-Gritty
MSE may be lightweight, but it does what it's supposed to do, Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said. "I've been using Security Essentials for the past little while," he told TechNewsWorld. "It's a base-level antimalware tool that gets antivirus signature files updated and runs very efficiently."
Windows Live OneCare subscribers have to go to the MSE Web page and download the application once their subscriptions expire.
MSE is essentially targeted at users who don't really pay attention to security but do want some basic form of defensive line. "We still see far too many consumers worldwide that do not have up-to-date protection either because they cannot afford it, are concerned about the impact the suites will have on the performance of their PCs, or because they simply do not realize their AV (antivirus) software is not up to date," Microsoft's Brown explained. MSE will help them because it's free, consumes few systems resources and updates itself automatically, he said.
New computers often have antivirus software pre-installed, so is this argument valid? "Most preloaded antivirus applications are trial offers that run out after 30, 60 or 90 days, or perhaps after a year," Directions on Microsoft's Cherry said. "A surprisingly high number of people don't pay to have them renewed after that because they don't understand why they have to pay for it, and don't understand that, even though it's still running, it's not updating the virus signatures."
With MSE, Microsoft joins the ranks of vendors like AVG in offering free, basic antivirus software. AVG also sells more advanced security packages.
Users do need to do some work. The MSE help page has videos on how to install the application; how to scan for viruses on demand; and how to fix a threat once it's been detected. After that, they're on their own, though Microsoft's Brown said MSE users can get free community and e-mail support.
Why Offer MSE Free?
Microsoft loses nothing by giving away MSE, said Peter Christy, cofounder of Internet Research Group.
One factor leading to the decision to give MSE away for free was the failure of Redmond's Live OneCare Security as a Service product to take off. "The launch of Live OneCare was problematic because it was not as good as antivirus vendors' solutions and because they could make a case that there could be a conflict of interest with Microsoft selling both the operating system and security," Christy explained.
Another factor was that Live OneCare competed with offerings from antivirus vendors, who simultaneously have strong business ties with Microsoft, Christy told TechNewsWorld. Meanwhile, Redmond was improving its operating system security and Windows update patch system.
"I believe they decided to continue delivering a base system, which they may not have to invest as heavily in as if they were competing with the antivirus vendors, but which helps them control malware," Christy said.
"Malware is a huge problem for Microsoft, and we see that even in Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) ads, so with Microsoft Security Essentials they're walking the fine line between competition with partners like Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) , which is bad, and protecting their customers, which is good," he said.
Google sent shock waves through the Android community
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) sent shock waves through the Android community late last week by launching a cease-and-desist order at well-regarded modder Cyanogen for bundling some of its closed-source applications with his CyanogenMod ROM.
CyanogenMod is a free, heavily optimized build of Android 1.5r2 that focuses on performance and reliability. Its developer -- Steve Kondik, also known as "Cyanogen" -- claims some 30,000 users for the firmware product, which bundles closed-source Google apps such as Gmail, Market, Talk and YouTube .
"Google just cease and desisted me," wrote Kondik in a short chat transcript uncovered by Android and Me last Thursday. "Cyanogenmod is probably going to be dead. I'm opening a dialogue with them."
Kondik did not respond in time to LinuxInsider's requests for comment on Monday. The official CyanogenMod site, meanwhile, has been unavailable due to the controversy's "Slashdot effect," Kondik wrote in a Twitter post.
'Nurturing' the Platform
CyanogenMod enhances the Android platform with extra functionality including multitouch capabilities and an improved user experience -- such as by providing five home screens instead of the usual three, according to reports.
Kondik's product has also reportedly spurred innovation in the development community.
"Countless other developers have sourced his work to breathe new innovation into their own creations and making it more stable or functional or both," wrote Mobility Site blogger Tariq Bamadhaj, for example. "In short, if Google gave birth to Android, Cyanogen was the one who nurtured and continues to nurture this growing baby."
'These Apps Aren't Open Source'
Google, for its part, attempted to respond and clarify its position through a post from Android developer Dan Morrill on Friday.
"I've noticed some confusion around what is and isn't part of Android's open source code," Morrill wrote.
Android apps for Google services like YouTube, Gmail and Google Voice "are Google's way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself," Morrill explained.
"These apps aren't open source, and that's why they aren't included in the Android source code repository," he asserted. "Unauthorized distribution of this software harms us just like it would any other business, even if it's done with the best of intentions."
Google spokesperson Carolyn Penner declined to provide additional comment.
"We don't have much more to say beyond what was included in the blog post," she told LinuxInsider.
'I Intend to Respect That'
On Monday, Kondik posted an update on the situation on the CyanogenMod site, which was viewable in Google's cache.
"What has become clear now is that the Android Open Source Project is a framework," Kondik wrote. "It's licensed in such a way so that anyone can take it, modify it to their needs, and redistribute it as they please. Android belongs to everyone. This also means that big companies [like] Google, HTC, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) , and whomever else can add their own pieces to it and share these pieces under whatever license they choose.
"The issue that's raised is the redistribution of Google's proprietary applications like Maps, GTalk, Market, and YouTube," he added. "These are not part of the open source project and are only part of 'Google Experience' devices. They are Google's intellectual property and I intend to respect that."
'A Bare Bones ROM'
Kondik will no longer distribute the apps as part of CyanogenMod.
Rather, "what I intend to do is simply ship the next version of CyanogenMod as a 'bare bones' ROM," he wrote. "You'll be able to make calls, MMS, take photos, etc. In order to get our beloved Google sync and applications back, you'll need to make a backup first. I'm working on an application that will do this for you."
Nevertheless, many in the open source community are now questioning Google's commitment to its open source offspring.
Not So Open?
"Google throws the 'open' out of 'open-source' by shutting down Android mod" read one headline, for example. Scores of comments on sites across the blogosphere expressed similar sentiments.
Several petitions are circulating -- on PetitionSpot and on Cyrket, for example -- urging fans to help save CyanogenMod.
An Android developer who reportedly works for Google's Morrill, meanwhile, wrote in a tweet on Friday, "To my Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) , Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) buddies: are you hiring to work on mobile stuff?"
'A Confrontational Approach'
It is surprising that Google "took a more confrontational approach rather than contacting the developer directly in order to sort out the differences," Stephen Schultze, associate director of the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, told LinuxInsider.
Google's intellectual property claims are "legitimate and understandable," but there is probably "a reasonable 'third way' solution," Schultze added.
To wit: Cyanogen's own proposed solution, "divorcing his code base from the proprietary elements," may mean the developers are "on their way to solving the legal issues by creating a simple way for end-users to patch in their legal copies of the proprietary Google apps," he noted. "I would hope that Google would consider ways in which it could facilitate this process from its end."
Terms and Conditions
Android "has spawned a plethora of individuals and companies leveraging that platform with their own products," Raymond Van Dyke, a technology attorney in Washington, told LinuxInsider. "Since Google has expended considerable sums to roll out their paradigm, they naturally wish to maintain some control over it," he added.
Cyanogen's CyanogenMod "got Google's attention" by rolling various modules of Android into a bundled and popular product, Van Dyke noted -- "hence the cease and desist letter to let them know that this behavior was not OK."
Indeed, in Android's Terms and Conditions, Google not only expressly says that it retains all intellectual property, but it "also states that 'you agree that Google may stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) (or any features within the SDK) to you or to users generally at Google's sole discretion, without prior notice to you," Van Dyke pointed out.
'Not Just Google'
Cyanogen's attempts to work around the problem will likely be permitted "so long as they avoid Google's IP," Van Dyke concluded. "Good luck!"
Looking ahead, in fact, luck may be just what Cyanogen needs.
"We are also trying to deal with the issue of htc/ti/qualcomm proprietary stuff," Kondik wrote in a tweet on Monday afternoon. "It's not just google."
Wii At War " the action begens "
For years, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 have been gut-punching each other with price cuts while the Nintendo Wii just sits on the sidelines with a smug little grin on its face. While the two bigger consoles entered the market with huge MSRPs, the Wii planted itself at US$250 and stayed there for nearly three years, easily beating the others month after month in units sold.
But now that Xbox and PlayStation have reduced each other to heaving, $300 heaps, Nintendo has finally jumped in and knocked the price of its basic unit down to $199, which still probably preserves a decent margin. The move wasn't exactly unexpected, but Nintendo has only recently verified it.
This could set the video game industry up for a pretty brisk holiday season. Everyone's fresh off a price cut, there are some nice titles coming out, and people are at least talking about climbing out of the recession, if not actually making it happen. And here's something that may remind you of cushier times, like December 2006: Soon you may not be able to find any of these consoles on retailers' shelves. Supply chain issues may translate into shortages come November or December. So let's everyone load up the truck and get that eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) account warmed up. Happy hoarding!
Listen to the podcast (12:15 minutes).Neutral Advocate
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski put on some big heavy boots and stomped right into the political mine field of Net neutrality, the controversial topic that concerns how much regulatory power the government should have over the way Internet service providers control the tubes.
First, he wants to make the guidelines that the FCC already uses in managing Internet policy into official rules rather than just informal rules of thumb. Genachowski boiled those guidelines down into one succinct statement: "Network operators cannot prevent users from accessing the lawful Internet content, applications, and services of their choice, nor can they prohibit users from attaching non-harmful devices to the network."
Then he tossed in a couple more requirements for good measure: Service providers can't disfavor a service just because it competes with a similar service offered by that provider, and providers must be transparent about changes they're making to the basic functioning of the Internet. He's looking at you, Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) .
As expected, reactions were strongly divided. Consumer advocacy groups cheered the chairman's stance, saying it's a strong sign that the commission plans to protect a free and open Internet. Service providers, on the other hand, say that government intervention in how the Internet is run will hinder innovation, cripple competition and ultimately hurt the consumer.
Family First
Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) still might have high hopes for its Pre, but the launch of the smartphone earlier this summer wasn't enough to turn the company's fortunes around -- at least not overnight. For its first fiscal quarter, which ended Aug. 28, Palm's losses were four times what they were in the year-ago period. Just 500,000 Pres had been sold by the quarter's end, and Palm's revenue projections for Q2 fell short of analyst targets.
Palm predicts better news in the second half of next year. Even so, now is not the time for the company to hedge its bets. It's dropping Windows Mobile and devoting itself full time to devices running its own webOS -- the new operating system that runs the Pre and Pixi smartphones. In abandoning WinMo, Palm is putting all its eggs into one OS basket, though it will save a bit on licensing fees.
So Palm's abandoning Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) , but at this point it's pretty debatable whether WinMo is a friend worth having. It's still tight with the enterprise, and major updates are on the way, but for now, other platforms are doing much more exciting things.
Developers are bringing new applications to users of other platforms every day, while Microsoft has been very slow to get its mobile application storefront up and running. According to Greg Sterling at Sterling Market Intelligence, "Microsoft has a challenge with Windows Mobile. It needs to create a consumer identity in the marketplace for the platform. So far, Windows Mobile has been subordinate to what the carrier does."
Testing the Webby Waters
Microsoft also looks to be a little slow to the punch when it comes to productivity Web apps, something companies like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Zoho have been hosting for years. But remember that Microsoft does have an incredibly popular client-based productivity suite under its belt, so there's a lot of power behind that punch, if the company can make it connect.
Redmond recently launched a limited preview program for Microsoft Office Web Apps, the lightweight online version of Office that it plans to eventually expand to widespread availability. Early tests are by invitation only, mostly from among users of Windows Live SkyDrive. The next step will be a public beta.
This gradual testing strategy can be slow and awkward at times -- but so far, it seems to have worked alright with Windows 7. With that one, Microsoft managed to get massive amounts of feedback by letting anybody download a beta copy, then later a release candidate copy, for free. Early reviews of Windows 7 have been fairly positive, especially when it's compared to Windows Vista.
Phones From Big Pink?
Microsoft's big pink secret peeked out from behind the curtains again, this time in the form of a post on the 9to5 Mac blog, oddly enough. That's where Cleve Nettles reported that an unnamed source revealed that Microsoft is readying two new smartphones for CES next January as part of its so-called Project Pink.
What exactly Project Pink is all about is still a mystery, but last November, the word was that it involved a Zune phone. So far, there's been nothing more on that. Last year was when Microsoft bought Danger, which partners with Sharp to build the SideKick, bane of highschool teachers everywhere. So maybe these Pink things will come from Sharp's garage, if they come at all.
Whatever happens, Microsoft needs to get some kind of action happening in the smartphone realm, because not only has Palm dumped it, but HTC also looks like it's getting friendlier with Android and less interested in Windows Mobile.
Financial Power-Up
Not that it seems to need a whole lot of help lately, but Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) financial situation may start looking even better soon, at least on paper. And it has nothing to do with a new product or a new marketing campaign or a case of Redmond, Washington, being swallowed into the sea.
Instead, it's all thanks to an organization called "FASB" moving the goalposts. The Financial Accounting Standards Board does exactly what the name implies -- it sets the standards for how corporate bean counters should count the beans and draw up the financial reports they give to the public. They recently instituted a rule change that will take effect next June. It concerns how revenue is recognized for products that combine hardware and software. That could be a lot of things, but for Apple and some other consumer electronics companies, it means smartphones.
Once the rule kicks in, financial statements from Apple might appear to show remarkable year-over-year improvement, even though at least part of that will be due to paper shuffling rather than some as-yet-unborn iBauble.
Vapo-Tablet, Part Deux
While it's lagging in the smartphone space, Microsoft just may be getting a jump on its competitors with a tablet PC that someone might actually want to use. The tech blog Gizmodo posted photos and video of Microsoft's upcoming entry into the tablet market, a device called the "Courier." That's according to Gizmodo -- Microsoft hasn't officially confirmed anything's in the works. If it's true that the device is in a late stage of prototype development, though, it could actually beat Apple to the market. No, Apple hasn't confirmed anything either.
But confirmation or not, consumers' imaginations have been on overdrive over tablets. The popular notion surrounding a supposed Apple tablet holds that it'll look like an overgrown iPod touch. This Microsoft Courier thing looks like it'll take different approach. It'll still be a touchscreen tablet, but it'll have two screens and fold up like a book. Also, the leaked images show a stylus -- looks kind of 2002, but it might be convenient for detail work, providing the screens also take input from fingertips.
Since it's still unconfirmed whether this thing is even going to make it to market, pricing is completely up in the air. It's also unclear what sort of software it might use. Windows 7 has been built to support touchscreen devices, but it's still mainly designed for use with a mouse and keyboard. A form factor like what we're seeing in these Courier photos might require an OS that speaks touchscreen as its native language rather than something it picked up in high school.
No One's Leaving
When Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) first announced its plan to buy up Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: JAVA) , it was a little unclear whether all of Sun's various technologies would get a seat at Oracle's table, or whether Oracle would chop it up, wrap the prime cuts and throw the rest into the dog food pile.
Of particular concern was MySQL, Sun's open source database technology that arguably competes with Oracle's own products. That's actually become a reason why European regulators aren't very enthusiastic about the acquisition as a whole.
On Tuesday, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison let shareholders in on a few insights. First, he thinks the deal will ultimately get the go-ahead, in part because a combined Oracle and Sun would be strong competitor to IBM (NYSE: IBM) . Secondly, he has no intention of spinning off MySQL, even though doing so might help soothe the EC, which has been holding up the deal while Sun bleeds losses of $100 million a month. Hanging onto MySQL does seem to match Ellison's stated goal of going head-to-head with IBM. David Boulanger of Frost and Sullivan told us, "Oracle is going to need every bit of the technology it acquires for its long-range plans."
DIY Cell Tower
For as long as there have been wireless networks, there have been customers grousing about spotty service. But AT&T (NYSE: T) has taken even more flack than usual over the last few months, perhaps in part because of its own success. The iPhone has been a big seller for it, and buyers like to use those phones -- a lot. Puts quite the strain on the network.
Well, AT&T is working to catch up by building more towers, but soon, customers who live in an AT&T black hole will be helping the carrier along by opening up their wallets and buying a tower of their very own.
The MicroCell is something AT&T is test marketing in North Carolina. It's a little gadget you hook up to your home Internet connection. Once it's set up, it gives you a nice, clear 3G signal for voice and data that spreads out over about 5,000 square feet. It goes for $150, but if you're an AT&T landline or DSL subscriber, you can get a $100 rebate then pay $20 per month for unlimited calling capabilities from the MicroCell, if you so choose.
How'm I Doing?
Do you like advertisements? They don't get all that much respect, it seems. People buy Tivos to skip them, they download ad blockers to kick them off the Web browser, and every time a commercial gets a chance to shine on prime-time TV, everyone just stands up and leaves to go to the bathroom.
But without advertisers, it would cost Web surfers and TV viewers a whole lot more money to see that content. And believe it or not, the goal of the advertisers isn't to make you roll your eyes in disgust; they honestly do want to pique your interest.
So, what exactly are they doing wrong? And on the rare occasion when your interest is successfully piqued, what was it that made that happen? That's the information that Facebook's new deal with Nielsen is designed to uncover, and it takes a pretty direct approach. Facebook users can decide to answer a one- to two-question poll about various ads they're exposed to on the site. The polls ask some pretty broad questions: "Does this ad make you want to buy the product?" "How did you like its message?" "Is it easy to remember?"
Facebook says it doesn't bundle any of these voluntary responses with personal info; it just gives the answers over to Nielsen, Nielsen does its thing with analytics, and the marketers theoretically learn how to do better next time. Hope they have thick skin.
