I know identity of Bitcoin's SECRET mastermind, says Ted Nelson • The Register

Deeply intertwingled

"Sociologist, philosopher, computer industry pioneer and inventor of the term “hypertext” Ted Nelson is claiming that he knows the identity of Bitcoin inventor “Satoshi Nakamoto”.
In a rambling – and, let's face it, odd – 12-minute post on YouTube, Nelson spins out the suspense, throws in a dialogue with himself as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, and finally ends with the statement that the mystery developer of the cryptocurrency is Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki, research professor of mathematics at Kyoto University."
[...]
Australian writer Stilgherrian told The Register that while it'd be easy to dismiss the claims, in spite of his eccentricities, Nelson "has the annoying habit of being right."

I know identity of Bitcoin's SECRET mastermind, says Ted Nelson • The Register

Editorial: Apple's billions are building an empire for the future [Apple Insider]

From an extensive and insightful Apple reality check

“Given that Apple now sits on well over $144.7 billion in liquid resources, there's lots of discussion about how the company could or should be spending it. What Apple is already doing with its cash is actually more interesting.”

Apple's growing cash, cash equivalents, and securities, via Asymco.

Editorial: Apple's billions are building an empire for the future

I/O Announcement: Google Analytics Premium data in BigQuery is coming soon - Analytics Blog

Check the full post for some example usage scenarios

"The upcoming BigQuery integration, happening later this year, is a planned feature for Google Analytics Premium that allows clients to access their session and hit level data from Google Analytics within Google BigQuery for more granular and complex querying of unsampled data. For those unfamiliar with Google BigQuery, it’s a web service that lets you perform interactive analysis of massive data sets—up to trillions of rows. Scalable and easy to use, BigQuery lets developers and businesses tap into powerful data analytics on demand. Plus, your data is easily exportable; you own it."

I/O Announcement: Google Analytics Premium data in BigQuery is coming soon - Analytics Blog

Wordpress' Mullenweg Says 72,000 Blogs Imported From Tumblr in 1 Hour - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

Evidently some Tumblr users are not Yahoo fans

"Despite largely anecdotal media speculation, it’s not clear how the acquisition of Tumblr by Yahoo for $1.1 billion will be greeted by users of the New York blogging service.
But rival blogging service WordPress’ co-founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg posted a blog last night that said that imports from Tumblr to his service on Sunday had risen from a typical 400 to 600 blog posts an hour to over 72,000."

Wordpress' Mullenweg Says 72,000 Blogs Imported From Tumblr in 1 Hour - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

Google TV: silent but not forgotten at I/O 2013 | The Verge

Final paragraphs of a Google TV reality check

"Despite its slightly awkward presence, like the nerdy kid that snuck into the school dance and hid in the corner hoping no one would notice, Google TV isn't gone. And Google believes it may be heading toward a comeback: we’re told to expect a steady drumbeat of Google TV products, from partners like LG, TCL, and others. But a steady drumbeat is what got Google TV where it is today.
What Google TV needs is a makeover, and a splashy re-launch. It needs to shows us why it’s different now, why it’s better. Google needs to convince users, developers, and manufacturers that the Android they love on cell phones can work on the big screen in their living room as well. Then Google needs to prove it, fast."

Google TV: silent but not forgotten at I/O 2013 | The Verge

Yahoo Deal Shows Power Shift - WSJ.com

The search for a Tumblr business model continues, under a new owner

"There are several risks for Yahoo. A popular venue for teens, Tumblr includes many Web pages of racially insensitive, pornographic and other sexually oriented content. Such pages wouldn't be attractive to advertisers. There is also the risk of diminishing Tumblr's appeal among some users with too-aggressive a push to bring in advertising revenue. Writing on his Tumblr blog Saturday, John Saroff, a former Google executive, estimated Tumblr could generate $108 million or more a year based on the rates advertisers generally are willing to pay for graphical ads online.
But he said Tumblr was "correct" to resist filling its site with advertising since doing so could upset its core audience. He added that Tumblr, as a blogging platform, would likely have to get permission from Tumblr blog writers like him before it could place ads on the blogs and share revenue. He compared the business model to that of Google's YouTube video site, where the company shares revenue with video creators."

Yahoo Deal Shows Power Shift - WSJ.com

Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets - NYTimes.com

Digital diplomacy

"In a report to be issued Wednesday, a private task force led by Mr. Obama’s former director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair, and his former ambassador to China, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., lays out a series of proposed executive actions and Congressional legislation intended to raise the stakes for China.
“Jawboning alone won’t work,” Mr. Blair said Saturday. “Something has to change China’s calculus.”"

Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets - NYTimes.com

Android has become a hedge against Microsoft and Windows | Microsoft - CNET News

HP now offers both Android and Chrome OS devices

"Hewlett-Packard rolled out another Android device this week. This could become a pattern as PC makers hedge against a world that's less about Microsoft and more about Google.
On Tuesday, the largest PC maker in the world -- a dubious distinction these days -- added a laptop-tablet hybrid to its growing stable of products based on Google operating systems.
The $479 HP SlateBook x2 is an Android first for HP. It's "powered by Android, the world's most popular mobile operating system...100 percent tablet, 100 percent notebook, 100 percent Android," according to the company's ad copy."

Android has become a hedge against Microsoft and Windows | Microsoft - CNET News

If Yahoo Buys Tumblr, What Will It Do With All That Porn? - Businessweek

A delicate digital decorum dilemma for Yahoo, if it is, as rumored, planning to acquire Tumblr

"But considering that Yahoo is ostensibly interested in Tumblr for the advertising, it’s hard to see the environment getting any friendlier for pornographers on the network. On the other hand, Yahoo may have to tread carefully with suggestive content. There are reasons why Tumblr is popular with young people. Prudishness is not high on that list."

If Yahoo Buys Tumblr, What Will It Do With All That Porn? - Businessweek

Tableau and Marketo Create Whopping Piles of Money With IPO Debuts - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Irrational exuberance redux?

"Tableau Software started trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DATA. Its shares were priced yesterday at $31 and closed today $50.75. Its biggest shareholder is New Enterprise Associates, which invested a combined $29 million in three rounds between 2004 and 2010 for about 37 percent of the company.
It sold two million shares at $31 in the offering, but still has 17.6 million shares remaining, making its combined gain on Tableau, by my math, worth $955.2 million. On paper that amounts to a one-day gain of 3,194 percent.
Now are you convinced the IPO market is back?"

Tableau and Marketo Create Whopping Piles of Money With IPO Debuts - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

NEA-backed Tableau Software soars as much as 60% in biggest tech IPO of year - Puget Sound Business Journal

An impressive way with numbers (DATA closed up 63.7%)

"Shares of digital charting software company Tableau Software Inc. surged by as much as 60 percent on Friday after it raised $254.2 million in an initial public offering.
[...]
Tableau began trading with the stock symbol of DATA on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, jumping to as much as $50 in morning trading"

NEA-backed Tableau Software soars as much as 60% in biggest tech IPO of year - Puget Sound Business Journal

Schumpeter: Microsoft blues | The Economist

More from the toaster-fridge zone

"This is why Windows 8’s poor performance matters. It was an attempt to solve the innovator’s dilemma by creating an operating system and a user interface for both PCs and mobiles. Mr Ballmer hoped that consumers would want to move effortlessly from PCs to tablets to smartphones—and that Microsoft would be able to invade the mobile markets while simultaneously reigniting demand for its core PC products. But so far the reverse has happened: Microsoft has reinforced suspicions that it does not understand hand-held devices while simultaneously alienating its core PC users. It is possible that Microsoft will be able to solve this problem with future iterations of Windows 8. But it is looking likely that the two types of device need different operating systems. Microsoft’s biggest rival, Apple, has kept the two devices separate. That bodes ill for Mr Ballmer’s strategy."

Schumpeter: Microsoft blues | The Economist

Windows 8 won't hit critical mass in enterprises, Forrester says | PCWorld

So Microsoft will have to settle for first (Windows 7), second (Windows XP), and third (Windows 8) place enterprise desktop finishes, for now...

"Windows 8, the most significant upgrade to Microsoft’s operating system since Windows 95 and one of the most important products in the company’s history, will not achieve enough adoption in enterprises to be considered a standard, according to Forrester Research.
By the time the next major Windows upgrade is released, Windows 8 will be in less than 50 percent of workplace PCs, unable to overtake its predecessor Windows 7.
“I have to believe Microsoft expected better enterprise adoption for Windows 8,” said Forrester analyst David Johnson, the lead author of the report “IT Will Skip Windows 8 As The Enterprise Standard,” released Thursday."

Windows 8 won't hit critical mass in enterprises, Forrester says | PCWorld

Windows Phone Overtakes BlackBerry in Smartphone Shipments, Says IDC - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Another smartphone market snapshot

“And, as I’ve noted before, third place in the current smartphone OS rankings doesn’t mean much. According to IDC, Google and Apple captured 92.3 percent of all smartphone shipments with their Android/iOS duopoly (Android: 59.1 percent; iOS: 23 percent). In other words, Windows Phone and BlackBerry are so far behind the two leading mobile platforms that their ranking is really just a moot point, anyway.”

Windows Phone Overtakes BlackBerry in Smartphone Shipments, Says IDC - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

The Tragic Beauty of Google+ | TIME.com

Closing paragraphs of a Timely Google+ reality check

"Therein lies Google+’s great challenge. Even if it’s good — even if it’s great — it’s not going to displace Facebook as the world’s primary social network. And most people don’t need a second social network. (Or at least a Facebook-like social network: Twitter, Pinterest and others that don’t take Facebook on directly can and do thrive.)
Mind you, there are worse fates than being the world’s second biggest general-purpose social network. After less than two years since Google+’s debut, Google says, 190 million people are active members. A total of 390 million take advantage of its features across Google, such as video calls in Gmail. Google+ isn’t going anywhere. But it has little mindshare among normal everyday folks, and it’s not clear what Google can do to change that. Unless Facebook implodes — hey, it’s not utterly unthinkable — Google’s service might never be more than what it is now: a beautiful disappointment."

The Tragic Beauty of Google+ | TIME.com

Google Makes Android, but Samsung Makes All the Money - Businessweek

Evidently design, marketing, and vertical integration skills are still valuable

“According to Neil Mawston at Strategy Analytics, Samsung captured almost 95 percent of all Android profits in the first quarter of 2013. It pulled in $5.1 billion, leaving only $200 million for LG (066570), Motorola (which, let’s not forget, is owned by Google (GOOG)), HTC (2498), Sony (SNE), Huawei, ZTE (763), and several others to fight over.”

Google Makes Android, but Samsung Makes All the Money - Businessweek

The Easiest Way to Automate Your Home With the Web - Businessweek

IFTTT meets the Internet of Things

"This week, the service jumped into the physical world, thanks to Web-connected bracelets, light bulbs and other devices. Now with a few minutes online and a Philips Hue light bulb, you can program an alert to have the lights turn on in your house at sunset each evening, or set them to flash every time you get an e-mail. (No one said these ideas would all be good ones.)"

The Easiest Way to Automate Your Home With the Web - Businessweek

New Apps Arrive on Google Glass - NYTimes.com

User discretion is advised

"So far on Glass, photos are shareable only through Google Plus. With the Facebook app, Glass users will be able to share photos taken with Glass on Facebook. Twitter’s Glass app lets people tailor their stream to only receive posts from certain people and transcribe new posts using voice. Tumblr’s app shows a user’s full feed or just select updates.
When people are using Evernote on the Web, they will be able to send notes, like a grocery list, to Glass, so it’s accessible when they need it."

New Apps Arrive on Google Glass - NYTimes.com

Google+: New Google+: Stream, Hangouts, and Photos

See the full post for more Google+ news, e.g., what Google did with the huge white space that used to be in the middle of the Google+ user interface; for more on Google's consolidated real-time tools, see Exclusive: Inside Hangouts, Google's big fix for its messaging mess (The Verge)

"Today’s real-time communication products make conversations difficult. Some require everyone to use the same operating system. Others support video calls, but not photo-sharing. And still others enable mobile messaging but ignore the web entirely. Patchy solutions (including our own) preclude meaningful connections online, and we aim to fix this.
Today we’re launching a stand-alone version of Hangouts that combines text, photos and live video across Android, iOS and your computer."

Google+: New Google+: Stream, Hangouts, and Photos

Google Introduces New Search Tools to Try to Read Our Minds - NYTimes.com

Apparently we need "the 'Star Trek' computer" to remind us when it's time to buy milk; also see OK, Google: Now app offers glimpse of hands-free future of search (CNet)

"Google Now, the service that sends you information on traffic and weather before you even ask for it, is also digging deeper into our minds. Google is adding more entertainment alerts, like new music based on videos watched on YouTube, and turning Google Now into a robotic to-do list and a stronger competitor to Apple’s Siri. Tell Google to remind you to buy milk next time you are in a grocery store, for instance, and the alert will automatically pop up when you step in a Safeway."

Google Introduces New Search Tools to Try to Read Our Minds - NYTimes.com

Coming Soon from Google, a $649 Galaxy S4 Running Stock Android - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

In other Google I/O device news, from Google I/O: Music, Maps, Messaging and More (AllThingsD), "Sundar Pichai is giving out Chromebook Pixels to everyone at I/O, which they are rather stoked about."

"While not a new Nexus phone, Google said on Wednesday that it plans to start selling an unlocked version of Samsung’s Galaxy S4 through its Google Play store.
Like Nexus devices, the unlocked Galaxy S4 will be able to get Android updates as they are released, rather than having to wait for the carrier and device maker to customize and approve the new software."

Coming Soon from Google, a $649 Galaxy S4 Running Stock Android - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Google CEO Larry Page Takes the Stage, Touts New Software - WSJ.com

A 21st century coopetition snapshot; also see Microsoft’s Anti-Google Campaign Gets a Boost, From Google (AllThingsD)

"During Mr. Page's appearance, he lamented the "negativity" surrounding press coverage of competition among technology giants such as Google, yet criticized companies such as Microsoft Corp. for integrating a Google messaging service into its Outlook email service but not allowing Google to integrate Microsoft into Google's email service. "The Web is probably not as advancing as much as it should be" because of such actions by Microsoft, he said.
A Microsoft spokesman said Wednesday in a statement: "It's ironic that Larry is lending his voice to the discussion of interoperability considering his company's decision—today—to file a cease and desist order to remove the YouTube app from Windows Phone.""

Google CEO Larry Page Takes the Stage, Touts New Software - WSJ.com

Google Escalates the Competition in Map Services - NYTimes.com

A couple unifying themes

"On Wednesday, Google unveiled a new Google Maps, by far the biggest redesign since it introduced Maps eight years ago. Google announced the maps at its annual I/O developers conference, where it also showed off new tools for search, photo editing and to-do lists, along with a music service and features for Android and Chrome apps. Many of the announcements had an undercurrent — one-upping Apple. From its new music and photo services to maps to voice commands that rival Siri on the iPhone, Google seemed to be offering alternatives to Apple products.
But the new maps service was the biggest announcement."

Google Escalates the Competition in Map Services - NYTimes.com

Google Buys a Quantum Computer - NYTimes.com

A new Google/NASA joint lab; see this Google Research Blog post for more details

"The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, as the entity is called, will focus on machine learning, which is the way computers take note of patterns of information to improve their outputs. Personalized Internet search and predictions of traffic congestion based on GPS data are examples of machine learning. The field is particularly important for things like facial or voice recognition, biological behavior, or the management of very large and complex systems."

Google Buys a Quantum Computer - NYTimes.com

Siri tells users: Get to the point | Apple - CNET News

You're saying it wrong

"If you're the type of person who asks long-winded questions, Siri would like to change your ways.
Apple's server-powered software assistant is now telling users to trim down questions that are too long or otherwise complicated -- a move that iLounge suggests is to retrain how users interact with the service versus an actual human being."

Siri tells users: Get to the point | Apple - CNET News

Facebook Mobile Misadventures Continue - Businessweek

For a different perspective, see Facebook Home Will Be ‘a Huge Flop’ Until It’s Not (Wired)

"But Home’s problems go deeper than a simple design fix. Facebook may be a large part of a user’s mobile experience, but it may not be the only experience people want to have. Evans refers to the launch event back in April: “Think about the photo stream they showed at the demo: All pictures of twentysomething Facebook engineers who’ve been attractively photographed at the beach.” The average user’s reality, Evans says, is far different. “Most people’s Facebook photo feeds are full of murky shots of half-eaten plates of food, so they may not want that crawling across their screen.”"

Facebook Mobile Misadventures Continue - Businessweek

Adobe Angers Users With Its Savvy, Reckless Photoshop-Subscription Plan - Businessweek

Perhaps Adobe's biggest contribution to the open source community -- inadvertently (via increasing market interest in open source + free (or relatively inexpensive) alternatives to Adobe's Creative Suite tools)...

"Not surprisingly, the announcement sparked a heated debate and no shortage of vitriol on design blogs and social media platforms. “For those of us who only buy what we need, and only update every few versions, this is a huge price increase,” wrote a blogger identified simply as David. “For small shops and part-time freelancers, it feels like Adobe is saying ‘You don’t matter.’” On TechCrunch, commenters called for alternatives like Gimp—or GNU Image Manipulation Program—a Photoshop-like program for Linux. Meanwhile, angry users are circulating an online petition asking the Obama administration to investigate Adobe’s business-model shift and accusing the company of grabbing a monopoly position via “backroom deals” and “predatory pricing.”"

Adobe Angers Users With Its Savvy, Reckless Photoshop-Subscription Plan - Businessweek

iPad Apps to Boost the Tablet's Productivity Level - WSJ.com

From a Walt Mossberg review of four iPad productivity suite offerings

"There's a major gap, though: Microsoft Office. The software giant doesn't yet offer a tablet-optimized version. So there are iPad apps that attempt to emulate the features of Office and can import and export files in Microsoft's Office formats. They generally don't offer all of the features of Office and don't always offer perfect fidelity with PC and Mac versions of Office. But I have found they are fine for the basic documents most people create or edit. And all can open and edit Office-type files attached to email, using the iPad's "Open In..." command. You just touch the attachment icon for a bit longer than usual and a grid of compatible apps to use for editing appears."

iPad Apps to Boost the Tablet's Productivity Level - WSJ.com

Microsoft Takes a Swipe at Gmail by Embracing Google Talk - Digits - WSJ

Meanwhile, Google is expected to unveil a consolidated and refined communications tool/service suite today

"It’s interesting if only because Microsoft is trying to lure users of Gmail, one of the widest-used email services on the Web, by using one of Google’s services. Microsoft has loudly railed against its rival in the past — sometimes the saber-rattling can get comical, like Microsoft’s big “Bing It On” campaign.
But a big organization employing an open service that happens to be run by a competitor — that happens. Even if Microsoft is a little louder when it comes to its fighting words with Google."

Microsoft Takes a Swipe at Gmail by Embracing Google Talk - Digits - WSJ

U.S. Now Paints Apple as ‘Ringmaster’ in Its Lawsuit on E-Book Price-Fixing - NYTimes.com

Price different; also see Apple tells U.S. of tough talks, not collusion, with publishers (Reuters)

"According to the Justice Department, that e-mail is part of the evidence that Apple was the “ringmaster” in a price-fixing conspiracy in the market for e-books, a more direct leadership role than originally portrayed in the department’s April 2012 antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five publishing companies.
In its suit, the government said that Apple and the publishers conspired to fix e-book prices as part of a scheme to force Amazon to raise its e-book price from a uniform $9.99 to the higher level noted by Mr. Jobs in the e-mail, which publishers wanted. That, the department said, resulted in higher prices to consumers and ill-gotten profits for Apple and its partners."

U.S. Now Paints Apple as ‘Ringmaster’ in Its Lawsuit on E-Book Price-Fixing - NYTimes.com

Subscribers Fear Bloomberg Is Becoming Their Rival - NYTimes.com

A week of data dilemmas for Bloomberg and its customers

"Long thought of as a company that serves the needs of Wall Street firms, Bloomberg L.P. is quietly becoming more like them, moving recently into businesses that have been the domain of the largest banks.
This relatively unheralded expansion by Bloomberg helps explain Wall Street’s consternation at recent disclosures that some customer data was freely available to reporters and others inside the company. The fear inside banks is that Bloomberg could use that data not only to write negative news articles but also to compete directly."

Subscribers Fear Bloomberg Is Becoming Their Rival - NYTimes.com

Snooping and the News Media - It’s a 2-Way Street - NYTimes.com

Final paragraph of recap of recent AP and Bloomberg incidents

"So, we have discovered anew that government will do what it needs to in a vain, but chilling, attempt to plug leaks. But best to keep in mind that the most ubiquitous threats to our privacy do not originate in some secret government bunker. In the media, in the general public, in business realms, we are keeping an eye on ourselves."

Snooping and the News Media - It’s a 2-Way Street - NYTimes.com

Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon hands-on [Engadget]

In other not-dead-yet news, see BlackBerry Live 2013: After Promises, Progress (AllThingsD)

"The Lumia 928's set to go on sale this Thursday at a very competitive $99 on-contract price (with mail-in rebate). If the only thing holding you back from a dance with a high-end Lumia was Verizon LTE, well, now's your chance to dive in. But no numerical name change can erase the fact that this is still a six month-old device, albeit made-to-order for Big Red. Surely, the next big thing's always around the corner and rest assured Nokia's cooking up yet another top shelf Lumia successor in its labs. For now, this is as good as Lumia gets on Verizon."

Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon hands-on

HTC's Facebook phone: Not dead yet | Internet & Media - CNET News

Still tbd if the First will not last

"The HTC First may not be dead, but it's still a big dud. Though considered AT&T's flagship smartphone for spring, the First seems to be the last device consumers actually want to buy. Last week, in an unusually swift move, AT&T drastically reduced the First's price tag from $99 to 99 cents with a two-year contract.
With unremarkable hardware and a software package that Android users don't want to make their home, the faltering Facebook phone could be on its last breath."

HTC's Facebook phone: Not dead yet | Internet & Media - CNET News

Amazon rolls out Cloud Player app for PCs | Internet & Media - CNET News

Sort of like a multi-platform iTunes app (Windows, Android, iOS, Mac soon)...

"Amazon quietly released a Cloud Player app for PCs as an extension of its music streaming service.
While PC users could already use the player through the Web, the new app, noted by Mashable on Monday, also allows for offline storage. [...]
The app automatically syncs your music library with any files on your computer that you haven't added to the cloud yet and exports your Amazon MP3s to iTunes and the Windows Media player."

Amazon rolls out Cloud Player app for PCs | Internet & Media - CNET News

Confirmed: Amazon Bought Liquavista - Color Kindle to Follow? - The Digital Reader

Amazon vertically integrates for next-gen/color Kindle devices?

"Liquavista got its start way back when battery life was still a serious issue for mobile devices.  This was one of a number of screen technologies that traded screen quality for battery life, but now that battery life is not such a serious problem for most devices there isn’t really much of a market for Liquavista’s screens.
The only market left for Liquavista screens is the ereader market, and I’m pretty sure that is why Amazon bought Liquavista."

Confirmed: Amazon Bought Liquavista - Color Kindle to Follow? - The Digital Reader

Web Browsers Are Reinvented - WSJ.com

From a timely browser market snapshot

"Mobile phones, wearable devices and self-driving cars are generating buzz as the future of technology. But the old Web browser is being reinvented too, in a trend with implications for how consumers work and entertain themselves online.
Companies from Google Inc. to small startups are introducing new features, such as taking and syncing notes and files within the browser, voice-recognition, video calls and messaging. They are also reinventing the browser for newly connected devices like cars."

Web Browsers Are Reinvented - WSJ.com

When Computer Games May Keep the Brain Nimble - WSJ.com

Puzzling

"A government-funded study published this month found that playing Double Decision can slow and even reverse declines in brain function associated with aging, while playing crossword puzzles cannot. The study builds on an earlier large trial which found that older people who played various cognitive games had better health-related outcomes, driving records and performed better at everyday tasks such as preparing a meal.
Such research has led groups like AARP, the big seniors group, to jump on board and offer discounts for certain games that have shown proven benefits."

When Computer Games May Keep the Brain Nimble - WSJ.com

Elon Musk’s Sweet Revenge | Monday Note

Excerpt from a Jean-Louis Gassée Tesla snapshot

"The numbers point to a future where Tesla can leave its niche and become a leading manufacturer in a too-often stodgy automotive industry. And, of course, we Silicon Valley geeks take great pleasure in a car that updates it software over the air, like a smartphone; that has a 17″ touchscreen; and that’s designed and built right here (the Tesla factory is across the Bay in the NUMMI plant that was previously occupied by Toyota and GM).
A last dollop of honey in Elon’s revenge: Coinciding with the Car and Driver screed, Consumer Reports gave the Model S its top test score. After driving a friend’s Model S at adequate freeway speeds, I agree, it’s a wonderful car, a bit of the future available today."

Elon Musk’s Sweet Revenge | Monday Note

Julie Larson-Green Talks about “Blue” and the Future of Windows | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

In other words, don't bother reading the Windows "Blue" rumor mill until the June conference

"Blue is not a major release. “There aren’t major changes, some things are wildly inaccurately reported [flips her hand, fan-like, in the air], some things are wildly accurately reported [flips the hand again], so somewhere in the middle [again with the hands]. We’re working hard on … enabling new kinds of hardware and new kinds of software and doing some innovations in the product, continuing on the things we started AND responding to customer feedback.”
When will Blue ship? “[Blue] comes out at the end of the year. In fact, you can get your hands on it [at the] end of June … at our developer conference [BUILD]."

Julie Larson-Green Talks about “Blue” and the Future of Windows | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Bill Gates on Steve Jobs on "60 Minutes" - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

The second video on the page, ~5.5 minutes long, focuses on the Gates/Jobs relationship over the years

"This week CBS news program “60 Minutes” had an interview with Microsoft co-founder and now major philanthropist Bill Gates called “Bill Gates 2.0.”
It also included some discussion of his longtime relationship with the late Apple legend Steve Jobs."

Bill Gates on Steve Jobs on "60 Minutes" - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

How Facebook Ruined Comments (at Least for Me) | TIME.com

Perhaps Facebook is shifting to comments minus context in order to more directly compete with Twitter...

"Facebook says it’s doing this so that “the most active and engaging conversations among your readers will be surfaced at the top of your posts ensuring that people who visit your Page will see the best conversations.”
The problem is that all the comments on an item — whether or not they’re threaded — add up to a conversation. That’s particularly true now, since Replies are new, not active on all areas of Facebook and aren’t supported by Facebook’s mobile versions. That means that many people — the vast majority, at least on my page — leave a top-level comment even if they’re responding to another comment. Which means that Facebook can’t shuffle the order without destroying context."

How Facebook Ruined Comments (at Least for Me) | TIME.com

Personal Prediction Apps Google Now, Grokr, and Osito | MIT Technology Review

Check the full article for a snapshot of anticipatory system options

"But still, it represents a milestone in computing, she adds: “Google Now is kind of a sucky product, but I use it anyway. It’s important because it’s the first time Google has taken all they know about us to make a product that makes our lives better.”"

Personal Prediction Apps Google Now, Grokr, and Osito | MIT Technology Review

Documentary Film Investigates the (Alleged) Death of Books - Businessweek

From an interview with the director of a new documentary

"Out of Print frames one of the central cultural questions of our time: If books are the foundation of society, as the film’s narrator, actress Meryl Streep, asks in a voice-over, how does their gradual evolution change the world of ideas—and how does it change us?"

Documentary Film Investigates the (Alleged) Death of Books - Businessweek

The Evolution of the Web, in a Blink : The New Yorker

From a browser market dynamics historical review

"Chrome’s recent move to Blink undercuts the primary olive branch it promised to Web developers upon Chrome’s release in 2008; those developers now need to test their Web sites in an additional rendering engine. But there is an argument in favor of the change: WebKit is now very widely used, especially in mobile devices, in much the same way that Internet Explorer 6 dominated the market and brought a near-halt to real innovation in the look and feel of the Web a decade ago. “Fundamentally, the belief is that having multiple rendering engines—just as there are multiple browsers—will spur innovation and help ensure the long-term health of the open Web,” said Alex Komoroske, a Google product manager."

The Evolution of the Web, in a Blink : The New Yorker

Analysis - Google+ Struggles to Attract Brands, Some Neglect to Update - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a Google+ advertising reality check

"An informal survey by Reuters showed that of the 100 most valuable global brands in 2012 ranked by Millward Brown, a media research firm owned by ad giant WPP, 72 have a presence on Google+, compared with 87 on Facebook.
However, roughly 40 percent of the brands with pages on Google+ have either never posted any content, or do so infrequently. Seventeen brands, including Nike and Pepsi, had not posted to their Google+ page in more than a week.
The McDonald's Google+ page did not have a single posting. A spokeswoman for the fast-food chain said only that the company was "not active" on Google+."

Analysis - Google+ Struggles to Attract Brands, Some Neglect to Update - NYTimes.com

Why The Onion Is Awesome for Publishing Details of Its Twitter Hack - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

No joking matter

"What The Onion has disclosed is that the attackers in this case used a sophisticated multilayered attack, using information gleaned in the first round to then launch a second that gathers more information, and so on, until at last they had penetrated the target: The Onion’s Twitter account, with a healthy five million followers.
This is by far the most detailed account of any of these attacks that I’ve read. And the more people who read it the better, because eventually the methods used will stop working."

Why The Onion Is Awesome for Publishing Details of Its Twitter Hack - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

For $300, a Utah Company Can Recover Vanished Snapchats - Businessweek

A timely reminder: verba volant, scripta manent (often translated as "The spoken word evaporates; the written word remains")

"For the millions of people who use Snapchat to send sexy messages and whatever else with impunity, this news should make them very, very nervous.
On May 8, researchers at Decipher Forensics, a company in Orem, Utah, announced that they have figured out how to retrieve the supposedly self-destructing photos from the popular now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t photo-sharing app Snapchat. And will do so for a fee."

For $300, a Utah Company Can Recover Vanished Snapchats - Businessweek

Box to Acquire Web Document Company Crocodoc - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Bummer for Dropbox, which was a Crocodoc partner/customer; see Box CEO Aaron Levie's blog post, Box is Acquiring Crocodoc to Reimagine Documents in the Cloud, for more details; also see By Acquiring This Company You Never Heard Of, Aaron Levie Just Punched Dropbox In The Gut (Business Insider)

"CEO Aaron Levie just announced the deal in a corporate blog post. Crocodoc is a seven-person team hailing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its technology has powered the document sharing and embedding capabilities of Yammer, LinkedIn and SAP."

Box to Acquire Web Document Company Crocodoc - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Salesforce Acquires Bookmarking Startup Clipboard for More Than $10M - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD

Salesforce acqhires a new VP of Engineering (Gary Flake; see this FAQ for details); hopefully it will also continue to invest in bringing Clipboard's founding vision to full fruition

"All but one of Clipboard’s five-person team will join Salesforce’s Seattle office, but they will be shutting down their own tools in favor of integrating similar functionality into Salesforce products.
Clipboard CEO Gary Flake is a respected tech research executive with history at Microsoft, Yahoo and Overture.
Clipboard told users about the shutdown today, saying the service would end on June 30 but users could download their data.
Calling the news “bittersweet,” the company disclosed it had 140,000 users over the past two years."

Salesforce Acquires Bookmarking Startup Clipboard for More Than $10M - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD

Amazon Is Building TWO Smartphones — WSJ - Business Insider

View different?

"One of the two smartphones Amazon is developing will reportedly have a 3D screen that can track your eye movements. The 3D screen on this high-end smartphone would not require glasses. Images would appear to float on the screen like a hologram, says Bensinger.
You never want to pre-judge a product that doesn't exist, but this sounds really bad. It sounds like a mess of horrendous gimmicks.
There is no value in a 3D screen. HTC made a phone with a 3D screen, the EVO 3D. It didn't come out with a second 3D phone, which tells you all you need to know."

Amazon Is Building TWO Smartphones — WSJ - Business Insider

Facebook Is Said to Be in Talks to Buy Waze - NYTimes.com

Acquisition probability high; winning acquirer tbd -- could be Apple, Facebook, or Google; also see A Waze Buy Would Put Facebook on Yet Another Collision Course With Google — This Time in Mapping (AllThingsD)

"If the sale is concluded, it would give Facebook the ability to better deliver locally tailored ads and content to its 1.1 billion users.
The potential purchase price, which some news reports have said could run as high as $1 billion, would rival what Facebook paid last year to buy Instagram, a fast-growing mobile photo-sharing service."

Facebook Is Said to Be in Talks to Buy Waze - NYTimes.com

F.C.C. Advances Plan for Faster In-Flight Wi-Fi - NYTimes.com

Probably still a let-down for Kansas City and Provo residents...

"The commission’s proposal is the first step toward a goal that it is likely to take a couple of years, at least, to reach: providing in-flight Internet service that can match or exceed the capabilities that most Americans have at home or can find in coffee shops.
The new format would use a more reliable system of contact between a plane and the ground, agency officials said, and should allow providers to offer more consistent service that is some 30 times faster than the service that many Americans have in their homes."

F.C.C. Advances Plan for Faster In-Flight Wi-Fi - NYTimes.com

Facebook Demonstrates New Features for its Home App | MIT Technology Review

Restoring home on Home, to an extent; see the source for some early Home usage stats

"Ondrejka admits that some things were clearly missing at launch. He said users have complained about those things, and Facebook is now working on them. These include a launcher that makes it easier to see your non-Facebook apps and doesn’t reorganize them, and a way to create folders of apps within the launcher. Also lacking was a dock at the bottom of the screen that gives you quick access to your most important apps (such as the phone dialer, maps, and e-mail).
“We want you to be able to use Home and not feel like the apps you’ve spent time curating have been moved around,” Ondrejka said."

Facebook Demonstrates New Features for its Home App | MIT Technology Review

Boston goes Google as its drops Microsoft e-mail services - Business - The Boston Globe

Gone Google

"Boston officials said they vetted Google and are satisfied with the security protections that come with Google Apps for e-mail and document storage. Also, Boston isn’t completely cutting ties with Microsoft, as it will continue to use its other products, such as the Windows operating system on its PCs.
Boston is not alone in making the change. The US Department of the Interior, the state of Colorado, and Princeton University have, too. (The New York Times, owner of the Boston Globe, is also planning to move to Google software from Microsoft Exchange.) Google said that some 5 million businesses around the world are now using its cloud applications."

Boston goes Google as its drops Microsoft e-mail services - Business - The Boston Globe

Use These Secret NSA Google Search Tips to Become Your Own Spy Agency | Threat Level | Wired.com

You can find the ~650-page (PDF) guide via the article link below; it might be a better return on your time investment to explore the Google Power Searching self-paced courses

"“Nothing I am going to describe to you is illegal, nor does it in any way involve accessing unauthorized data,” the authors assert in their book. Instead it “involves using publicly available search engines to access publicly available information that almost certainly was not intended for public distribution.” You know, sort of like the “hacking” for which Andrew “weev” Aurenheimer was recently sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for obtaining publicly accessible information from AT&T’s website."

Use These Secret NSA Google Search Tips to Become Your Own Spy Agency | Threat Level | Wired.com

AOL Is Still the Weirdest Successful Tech Company in America - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

Not dead yet

"The financial press often equates short-term stock performance with the quality of a company and its leadership. Facebook was considered a pretty sensational invention led by a tech visionary, until it went public and its stock sank and the argument over its value could be reduced to a stock price figure and its quarterly decline. AOL is perhaps the opposite: a company treated with derision that has, in the past 18 months, outperformed most of its peers. It's done so by limiting losses in a terribly unattractive business (massive digital advertising paired with expensive original journalism) while holding on to inevitable and demographically determined losses in online subscriptions, its only money-making sector. "

AOL Is Still the Weirdest Successful Tech Company in America - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

Microsoft's Office Web Apps moving ahead with 'Gemini' wave | ZDNet

Mary Jo Foley speculates about potential Office Web Apps + Nook (and B&N college book division) synergy

""The (Office) Web Apps organization is at the center of Office’s Software + Services transformation," the job posting noted. The job post also noted that the Office Web Apps team owns "vertical end-to-end scenarios related to collaboration and authoring in the Word Web App."
One of the vertical scenarios the Office honchos have said they would like to address with Office is education. I wouldn't be surprised to see Barnes & Noble figure into the equation here, given Microsoft's investment in the Nook Media subsidiary."

Microsoft's Office Web Apps moving ahead with 'Gemini' wave | ZDNet

Microsoft Mulling Nook Media LLC Purchase For $1 Billion | TechCrunch

tbd if the "third-party partner" devices will be branded "Cranny"

"The documents also reveal that Nook Media plans to discontinue its Android-based tablet business by the end of its 2014 fiscal year as it transitions to a model where Nook content is distributed through apps on “third-party partner” devices. Speculation about the plan to discontinue the Nook surfaced in February. The documents we have are not clear on whether the third-party tablets would be Microsoft’s own Windows 8 devices, tablets made by others (including competing platforms) or both. Third-party tablets, according to the document, are due to get introduced in 2014."

Microsoft Mulling Nook Media LLC Purchase For $1 Billion | TechCrunch

3 Ways Feedly Outdoes the Vanishing Google Reader - NYTimes.com

An overview of the tool domain in general along with some fruitful Feedly features

"They needn’t mourn. Google Reader has plenty of rivals and satisfying replacements. In fact, I fully intended to offer capsule reviews of each of them, until I realized that six presidential administrations would pass by the time I finished.
[...]
The one everybody keeps saying is the natural heir to Google Reader, though, is Feedly.com. In fact, Feedly says the ranks of its four million users have swelled to seven million since Google’s Reader death sentence was announced."

3 Ways Feedly Outdoes the Vanishing Google Reader - NYTimes.com

Fwd.Us Raises Uproar With Advocacy Tactics - NYTimes.com

Discouraging

"Vinod Khosla, a venture capitalist who finances clean energy companies and who was once a major partner at Mr. Doerr’s investment firm, said on Twitter over the weekend: “Will Fwd.us prostitute climate destruction & other values to get a few engineers hired & get immigration reform?”"

Fwd.Us Raises Uproar With Advocacy Tactics - NYTimes.com

Google Now knows what we want before we do - Business - The Boston Globe

Concluding paragraphs of a Hiawatha Bray review

"Google itself is certainly a data hog, a repository of detailed data on millions of us. This has mainly benefited Google, which earns its billions by targeting us with personalized ads. But with the new version of Google Search, users get the payoff.
Google Now’s customized information feeds know our wants before we want them ourselves; Google’s voice search feature captures our questions the moment we speak them and responds almost as fast. Combined, they smarten up our smartphones in ways that Siri can’t match."

Google Now knows what we want before we do - Business - The Boston Globe

Office 365 - Office Web Apps: More Office, more collaborative, more devices

Check the link below for more details (e.g., editing from Android tablets) and a video of co-authoring in PowerPoint Web App; BTW you can freely use Office Web Apps in conjunction with a SkyDrive account

"Our goal is to deliver Office Web Apps that people can rely on to create polished Office documents from start to finish, all from the Web. Since we first launched Office Web Apps, browser technologies and speeds have advanced and the development infrastructure has matured, making the Web a better platform on which to build Office and more quickly innovate on the Web. With these improvements, we're better able to deliver a comprehensive productivity experience with the Office Web Apps.
To realize our goal of a great Office experience on the Web we’re investing in three areas: user experience, social and collaboration, and broad cross platform browser support. You’ll see us introducing a collection of authoring features that make it easier to collaborate in the cloud, a new real time co-authoring experience and editing capabilities from more devices."

Office 365 - Office Web Apps: More Office, more collaborative, more devices

Unlike Adobe, Microsoft won't abandon packaged software | Microsoft - CNET News

Apparently Microsoft doesn't find the traditional software product distribution model too "taxing," unlike Adobe

""However, unlike Adobe, we think people's shift from packaged software to subscription services will take time," Patterson wrote.
How much time? Patterson wrote that "within a decade," Microsoft's customers will subscribe to its Web services. That echoes comments Office president Kurt DelBene made in an interview with CNET in January.
"In the meantime, we are committed to offering choice--premier software sold as a package and powerful services sold as a subscription," Patterson wrote."

Unlike Adobe, Microsoft won't abandon packaged software | Microsoft - CNET News

FTC warns data brokers on privacy rules - The Washington Post

Their actions will be tracked...

"Federal officials have intensified their scrutiny of the data brokerage industry by issuing a series of formal letters in recent days alerting companies that they may be violating federal restrictions on the collection and sale of personal information.
The letters to 10 companies — ranging from firms that compile consumer lists for credit offersto a Web site that helps parents screen potential nannies — amounted to warning shots at a large and fast-growing industry that gathers personal information and markets it to a variety of customers."

FTC warns data brokers on privacy rules - The Washington Post

SAP Takes It All to the Cloud - NYTimes.com

A cloud co-opetition shift for SAP

"On Tuesday SAP said it would offer HANA as a cloud-based product, providing companies with access for the cost of a license. Prices were not disclosed. SAP has established a network of seven data centers around the globe to support the endeavor, a company official said, and will begin by deploying 30,000 computers for the network.
“We will do cloud-based ERP on a massive scale,” said Vishal Sikka, a member of SAP’s executive board and one of the people who oversaw the project. Of SAP’s regular product, he said, “At some point in the future, complex implementations should go away. All of our products are moving to HANA.”"

SAP Takes It All to the Cloud - NYTimes.com

Yahoo Struggles to Find Way Out of Microsoft Web-Search Deal - WSJ.com

Searching for a more lucrative deal

"Yahoo's revenue per search has been worse under the Microsoft deal than when it operated its own Web-search technology and advertising system. Unlike the prior revenue guarantees from Microsoft, the extension announced Tuesday affects only the U.S.
Meanwhile, Google had indicated to Yahoo over the past year that it is willing to enter into a potentially more lucrative partnership to provide Web-search and search-advertising technology to Yahoo, according to people familiar with the matter. Google and Yahoo in 2008 tried to reach a similar pact but faced resistance from Justice Department antitrust officials and ultimately chose not to proceed."

Yahoo Struggles to Find Way Out of Microsoft Web-Search Deal - WSJ.com

From Journalism to Churnalism : Stephen E. Arnold @ Beyond Search

Perhaps you've seen this before

"The browser extension will be available for Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox (full approval pending). The process works by enabling Churnalism to extract article text from a whitelist of common news sites. When it finds a match, it lets you know when the text you are reading might have been copied from another source. The capabilities of this extension are driven by open-source text analysis technology."

From Journalism to Churnalism : Stephen E. Arnold @ Beyond Search

Financial Times: Microsoft Pulls Windows 8 U-Turn [Gizmodo]

Another Windows 8 perspective

"In an interview, Tammy Reller, head of marketing and finance for the Windows business, apparently told the newspaper that some of the most fundamental aspects of Windows 8 will be changed in the updated version of the OS. Sadly, she refused to go into detail about exactly what the changes might be. She did, however, admit that, during the development of Windows 8, "the learning curve is definitely real".
The Financial Times claims this is "one of the most prominent admissions of failure for a new mass-market consumer product since Coca-Cola’s New Coke fiasco nearly 30 years ago"."

Financial Times: Microsoft Pulls Windows 8 U-Turn

Microsoft's Gates: iPad Users Really Just Want a Surface - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Doing fine with Chrome + Evernote + Google Drive + Quickoffice on my iPad and Nexus 7...

"“With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to gain share in what has been dominated by the iPad-type device,” Gates said. “A lot of those users are frustrated. They can’t type. They can’t create documents. They don’t have Office there. So we are providing them something with the benefits they have seen that have made that a big category, without giving up what they expect in a PC.”"

Microsoft's Gates: iPad Users Really Just Want a Surface - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Windows Blue: Microsoft promises changes based on feedback and a holiday release | The Verge

Still tbd if it'll be a successful new Start for Windows 8.x

"Reller stopped short of confirming the Start button will return, but sources close to Microsoft's Windows Blue plans have previously revealed the company will include this in the final version. Reller's open approach on Microsoft's plans to act on feedback is a stark contrast to the company's previous efforts under former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky. It appears the company is preparing how to best communicate its upcoming Windows changes in the coming weeks. Reller says Microsoft has also received a lot of feedback from businesses on what they'd like to see in Windows Blue. Microsoft is also believed to be adding an option to boot to desktop in Windows Blue. "I would say we've looked at a broad set of options as we've made decisions on where we take the product going forward, "explains Reller, while not discussing specifics."

Windows Blue: Microsoft promises changes based on feedback and a holiday release | The Verge

Google services survive if they make money, aren’t social | Ars Technica

Google offering post mortem analysis

"A few characteristics of survivor products: they aren’t acquisitions, they directly make money, they aren’t related to social networking, and theywere released early in Google’s lifetime (successful examples: search, AdWords, Groups). This is partially due to the fact that Google became very experimental and heavily ramped up the number of products it launched starting in 2005. Only in 2011 did it decide to put “more wood behind fewer arrows.”
But the newness of a service doesn’t necessarily mean users should hold back from using it. Per a gwern.net message to The Atlantic, the recently released Evernote-like Google Keep has a five-year survival estimate of 60 percent. Based on the shutdown data of 350 products, some current products the analysis shows to be at risk include Unofficial Guides, Cloud Messaging, and Correlate."

Google services survive if they make money, aren’t social | Ars Technica

Syrian Hackers Turn Tables, Hack The Onion's Twitter Account - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

No laughing matter

"The Syrian Electronic Army, the pro-Assad propaganda group known for attacking Twitter accounts operated by numerous Western media outlets including National Public Radio, the BBC, CBS, the Associated Press and numerous others, has notched another paragon of journalistic virtue on its belt: The Onion."

Syrian Hackers Turn Tables, Hack The Onion's Twitter Account - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Adobe Is Moving Its Best-Known Products to Subscription-Only - Ina Fried - Enterprise - AllThingsD

So tax customers instead...

"So why is Adobe going subscription-only with products such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign?
According to the company, it was just too hard on its engineering ranks to support products that get upgraded constantly as well as separate, packaged versions that only get upgraded roughly every two years.
“It’s actually very taxing on us internally to be maintaining two different code bases,” Adobe senior director Scott Morris told AllThingsD."

Adobe Is Moving Its Best-Known Products to Subscription-Only - Ina Fried - Enterprise - AllThingsD

Adobe kills Creative Suite, moves software entirely to cloud - San Jose Mercury News

Pretty bold

"Adobe Systems said Monday that it will not release new versions of its Creative Suite software package. Instead, the maker of Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat, is shifting focus to Creative Cloud, which makes its software available through a monthly subscription that starts at $50 for an individual if they sign up for at least a year.
Adobe's move is part an industry trend toward selling software as a subscription service rather than as a one-time sale item. Microsoft, for example, makes the new version of Office available as an online subscription. The company, however, still gives consumers and businesses the option of purchasing Office as packaged software."

Adobe kills Creative Suite, moves software entirely to cloud - San Jose Mercury News

"SNL" Parodies Google Glass - Beth Callaghan - Media - AllThingsD

A timely and humorous Glass reality check (video at the link below)

"And in a spot-on send-up of the new technology’s awkwardness, Fred Armisen returned to “Saturday Night Live” last night as tech blogger Randall Meeks, who brought his brand-new Glass to Weekend Update to show host Seth Meyers how “discreetly” they can be used in regular conversation. Instead, his attempts to demo Glass’s head gestures and voice commands ended up demonstrating a kind of tech-induced Tourette’s Syndrome."

"SNL" Parodies Google Glass - Beth Callaghan - Media - AllThingsD

Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom on What Really Happened When Facebook Bought Instagram | Vanity Fair

Kara Swisher paints an Instagram picture

"The sale of Instagram to Facebook for a cool billion in the spring of 2012 was the ultimate Silicon Valley fairy tale: 18 months from launch to offer. But, for co-founder and C.E.O. Kevin Systrom, it was more of a roller-coaster ride, with several missed opportunities, at least two “aha” moments, and one major reboot."

Mark Zuckerberg and Kevin Systrom on What Really Happened When Facebook Bought Instagram | Vanity Fair

‘Who Owns the Future?’ by Jaron Lanier - NYTimes.com

For a related review round-up, see Feel the Force (The Economist)

"“Who Owns the Future?” overlaps with “The New Digital Age,” Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen’s much more polished work of Web analysis. Their book focuses more on global issues, but disagrees with specific points.
“The New Digital Age” looks forward to self-driving trucks that can ease the strain on Teamsters; Mr. Lanier rambunctiously writes of “Napstering the Teamsters” out of work, and of how such technology could go terribly wrong. The books also disagree on whether surgeons’ work will be enhanced or diminished by robotics.
And where Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Cohen see promise in technology’s effect on the Arab Spring, Mr. Lanier is sick of the back-patting about social networking. Revolutions can happen without it, too, he says."

‘Who Owns the Future?’ by Jaron Lanier - NYTimes.com

Apple’s Rivals See an Edge in Using Wireless Accessories - NYTimes.com

Connect different

"Jeremy Horwitz, editor in chief of iLounge, a Web site devoted to Apple accessories, said Apple’s aggressive control over accessories for its products drove many makers to more open means of connecting devices, which helped feed the success of mobile devices made by other companies.
“At some point Apple’s obsession with having control over everything that is associated with its products may wind up biting it,” Mr. Horwitz said."

Apple’s Rivals See an Edge in Using Wireless Accessories - NYTimes.com

Enstitute, an Alternative to College for a Digital Elite - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from another college market dynamics reality check

"How did she catapult from dropping out of college to landing a plum job? She became an apprentice to Hilary Mason, chief data scientist at Bitly, through a new two-year program called Enstitute. It teaches skills in fields like information technology, computer programming and app building via on-the-job experience. Enstitute seeks to challenge the conventional wisdom that top professional jobs always require a bachelor’s degree — at least for a small group of the young, digital elite.
“Our long-term vision is that this becomes an acceptable alternative to college,” says Kane Sarhan, one of Enstitute’s founders. “Our big recruitment effort is at high schools and universities. We are targeting people who are not interested in going to school, school is not the right fit for them, or they can’t afford school.”"

Enstitute, an Alternative to College for a Digital Elite - NYTimes.com

Multitasking while studying: Divided attention and technological gadgets impair learning and memory. - Slate Magazine

Not just young people; also see Brain, Interrupted (NYT)

"Young people think they can perform two challenging tasks at once, Meyer acknowledges, but “they are deluded,” he declares. It’s difficult for anyone to properly evaluate how well his or her own mental processes are operating, he points out, because most of these processes are unconscious. And, Meyer adds, “there’s nothing magical about the brains of so-called ‘digital natives’ that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking. They may like to do it, they may even be addicted to it, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s far better to focus on one task from start to finish.”"

Multitasking while studying: Divided attention and technological gadgets impair learning and memory. - Slate Magazine

Staples begins selling Cube 3-D printers online - Business - The Boston Globe

A 3D printing mainstream milestone

"Staples Inc., the office supply giant, said Friday that it is the first major US retailer to announce the availability of 3-D printers.
3-D printing allows for the creation of shapes or objects using digital technology, and the Cube 3D Printer from 3D Systems is now available on Staples.com for $1,299.99 and will be available in a limited number of Staples stores by the end of June, the Framingham-based company said in a statement."

Staples begins selling Cube 3-D printers online - Business - The Boston Globe

Bitcoin - Overview | Bitcoins | Khan Academy

tbd if there will be a follow-up lesson on personal bankruptcy filing procedures

"An introduction to the mechanics of bitcoins and an overview of how transactions take place."

Bitcoin - Overview | Bitcoins | Khan Academy

Microsoft said to be planning next-gen Surface announcement for June | The Verge

If at first (or second) you don't succeed, ... Also see IDC: Microsoft now among top 5 tablet vendors, thanks to Surface (Seattle Times) and Asustek Beats Amazon on Tablets (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

"With Microsoft's continued insistence that it is a "devices and services" company, there has been a distinct lack of devices. Microsoft originally announced its Surface tablets almost a year ago, launching the Surface RT in October, but the company has remained silent on any further plans. Continued smartwatch and Surface Phone rumors suggest the company is investigating additional devices, but a focus on smaller 7-inch devices appears to be the more immediate plan for Surface."

Microsoft said to be planning next-gen Surface announcement for June | The Verge

Guys Like This Could Kill Google Glass Before It Ever Gets Off the Ground | Wired Business | Wired.com

Check the source for more details, including a shower photo of "Robert Scoble, king of the Google Glass dorks"

"But if you’re one of the shareholders helping to keep Google’s shares trading above $800, the dork factor of Google Glass should give you pause. Google is still trying to crack the secret of monetizing mobile technology, which so far hasn’t proven as lucrative as its desktop search business. Google Glass may be a fun experiment in building another mobile platform to attract as-yet-unimagined revenue streams.
But making money on consumer technology requires that consumers embrace that technology. If Google Glass makes you look as cool as the guys in that Tumblr, that embrace is about as likely to happen as you hugging a Segway. Or Robert Scoble in the shower."

Guys Like This Could Kill Google Glass Before It Ever Gets Off the Ground | Wired Business | Wired.com

Sony's First-Mover Disadvantage in Smart Watches - Businessweek

From a snapshot of Sony's SmartWatch struggle

"Sony’s failure to gain traction with the SmartWatch is the latest in a long line of first-mover advantages the electronics giant has squandered. The Walkman and Discman dominated the global portable music player market for decades before the advent of the iPod in 2001. A year earlier, Sony began selling the Clié, a Palm OS-based personal digital assistant that allowed users to listen to music, play games, and watch videos. The Clié didn’t catch on, and Sony pulled it in 2005. Despite owning the distribution rights to thousands of popular songs and films, Sony failed to rival Apple’s iTunes on smartphones and tablets."

Sony's First-Mover Disadvantage in Smart Watches - Businessweek

Google Has Been Working on Watch and Glass in Tandem, Patents Show - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD

Meanwhile, in the part of the market actually shipping products today, Jawbone has been bulking up on related patents

"If Google Glass freaks too many people out, the company likely has a Plan B close behind. Another Google smartwatch patent application was published today, describing a tactile user interface for a watch, similar to that of Glass.
Smart watches will likely be coming this year from Google, Apple, Samsung and others — but it’s not yet clear how ambitious the initial products will be."

Google Has Been Working on Watch and Glass in Tandem, Patents Show - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD

Twitter Music Review - Bonnie Cha - Product Reviews - AllThingsD

Crowdsourced for recommendations and iTunes-powered for song previews and purchases (and also connected to Spotify and Rdio, for subscribers of either), but apparently of limited utility for now

"Bottom line: I don’t want to be forced to follow people just to get music recommendations. I prefer something like Pandora, where I can create an artist-themed radio station and listen to a stream of their songs and musicians who are like them.
NowPlaying wasn’t particularly useful to me. If one of your followers has tweeted what they’re listening to, then it shows up in this section. I follow more than 300 people on Twitter, but only four people actually broadcasted what they were jamming to, so this section of the app was also barren. This could change as Twitter Music grows and more people use it."

Twitter Music Review - Bonnie Cha - Product Reviews - AllThingsD

Barnes & Noble to Add Google Apps to Nook - NYTimes.com

Another way to look at the update: apparently B&N is punting on its own app store, but at least now Nook HD/HD Plus owners will be able to use the Kindle app...

"Barnes & Noble, in an effort to strengthen the digital offerings of its Nook devices, will outfit its color tablets with Google Play, the one-stop shop for Google’s applications and software services, the bookseller said on Thursday.
The move is intended to give Barnes & Noble, the nation’s largest bookstore chain, a boost in the highly competitive tablet market after a disappointing holiday season for the Nook."

Barnes & Noble to Add Google Apps to Nook - NYTimes.com

Windows 8: Microsoft's New Coke moment | ZDNet

Some room for improvement

“Numbers don't lie: Windows 8 is the New Coke of operating systems. […]

Microsoft knows they need to do something. After all, in our recent ZDNet debate, we weren't arguing if Windows 8 was a failure — it is — but whether Windows 8 could be saved.

How bad are Windows 8 sales? In April 2013's Net Applications numbers, Windows 8 barely crept up to 3.82-percent. That still leaves Windows 8 behind Microsoft's last operating system flop, Vista, after seven months in the market. Windows on tablets fared even worse with touch-screen-based Windows 8 devices and Windows RT devices coming in at 0.02-percent and 0.00-percent each. The last was not a typo. The Surface RT is now in the running for worst Microsoft launch ever.”

Windows 8: Microsoft's New Coke moment | ZDNet

Yahoo! acquires Astrid | Astrid

Yahoo picks up a to-do list manager/reminder/sync/sharing tool

"We are thrilled to announce that we have been acquired by Yahoo!. When we set out to build Astrid, we sought to help as many people as possible become happier, healthier and more productive. We’re really excited to join the mobile team and continue this work with Yahoo!’s goal of “making the world’s daily habits more inspiring and entertaining.”"

Yahoo! acquires Astrid | Astrid

Facebook Earnings: Profit Rises Amid Growth in Mobile - WSJ.com

So maybe not "Facebook fatigue"

"Facebook also tried to allay concerns about user growth Wednesday. In the wake of some recent reports citing user fatigue with the social network, Facebook said the number of its daily active users jumped 26% year-over-year to 665 million people while monthly active users climbed 23% over the same period to 1.1 billion.
Facebook continues to see "high levels of engagement globally across our whole community," said Mr. Zuckerberg."

Facebook Earnings: Profit Rises Amid Growth in Mobile - WSJ.com

Pentagon Expects to Enlist Apple, Samsung Devices - WSJ.com

Following the leaders

"The U.S. Department of Defense expects in coming weeks to grant two separate security approvals for Samsung's Galaxy smartphones, along with iPhones and iPads running Apple's latest operating system—moves that would boost the number of U.S. government agencies allowed to use those devices.
[...]
Still, the approvals are among a handful considered to be the gold standard in communications security. Passing muster at the Pentagon can go a long way in making other security-minded customers—such as bankers and lawyers—feel more comfortable using the devices."

Pentagon Expects to Enlist Apple, Samsung Devices - WSJ.com

Google to Invest in Lending Club - NYTimes.com

In other banking news...

"Google has made a number of investments in start-ups both directly and through its venture capital arm, but it has not dabbled much in the banking industry. Google Wallet, a mobile payments system, may be its most prominent financial offering to date.
The technology company will own a stake of less than 7 percent in Lending Club. And the senior Google executive who led the talks over the investment, David Lawee, vice president for corporate development, will sit as an observer on the start-up’s board."

Google to Invest in Lending Club - NYTimes.com

Samsung superphone designed to dominate - Business - The Boston Globe

Concluding paragraph of a Hiawatha Bray S4 review

"If I’m spending my own money, I’d go with the HTC, mainly due to its sheer gorgeousness. But I’d probably be in the minority. In smartphones, Samsung’s the one, with the world’s most popular brand. And the S4’s more than good enough to keep it on top."

Samsung superphone designed to dominate - Business - The Boston Globe

Wikipedia’s Women Problem by James Gleick | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

From a James Gleick perspective on a recent Wikipedia controversy

"Heated argument broke out on a page set aside for discussion of changes to Wikipedia categories. Categories are a big deal. They are an important way to group articles; some people use them to navigate or browse. Categories provide structure for a web of knowledge—not a tree, because a category can have multiple parents, as well as multiple children. Wikipedia lists 4,325 Container categories, from “Accordionists by nationality” to “Zoos in the United States.” There are Disambiguation categories, Eponymous categories—named, for example, after railway lines like Norway’s Flåm Line, or after robots (there are two: Optimus Prime and R2-D2)—and at least 11,000 Hidden categories, meant for administration and therefore invisible to readers. A typical hidden category is “Wikipedia:Categories for discussion,” containing thousands of pages of logged discussions about the suitabilities of various categories. Meta enough for you? Some categories under discussion now are Avenues, Omniscience, and “Equestrian commanders of vexillationes. 

It’s fair to say that Wikipedia has spent far more time considering the philosophical ramifications of categorization than Aristotle and Kant ever did."

Wikipedia’s Women Problem by James Gleick | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

Cloudera Impala Brings SQL Querying To Hadoop | Big Data [InformationWeek]

NoSQL => Now Optimized for SQL?

"Cloudera on Tuesday announced the general release of its Impala query engine for Hadoop after six months of beta testing by more than 40 customers.
It's the first so-called SQL-on-Hadoop product to reach general release. But with a bevy of such systems on the way -- including options from IBM (Big SQL), Hortonworks (Stinger), MapR (Drill), Pivotal (HAWQ) and Teradata (SQL-H) -- the question is whether Impala will stand out as the best fix for Hadoop's shortcomings."

Cloudera Impala Brings SQL Querying To Hadoop | Big Data

Novell offers mobile file sharing for the enterprise | PCWorld

Looks like Novell found a clever marketing campaign for a recycled iFolder; Filr has been around for a while, but the mobile client twist is apparently new

"In an effort to help enterprises get a handle on the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend, Novell has released enterprise file sharing software that it claims is as easy to use as commercial cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Microsoft Skydrive, and Google Drive."

Novell offers mobile file sharing for the enterprise | PCWorld

Guide to Buying a Laptop - WSJ.com

First and last paragraphs of a stark Walt Mossberg PC market reality check

"Welcome to my spring laptop buyer's guide. It should be an easy time for laptop buyers, now that we're six months past the introduction of Microsoft's redesigned Windows 8 operating system and laptop makers have had time to get into a new groove. Alas, I'm sorry to report, it's still pretty confusing and frustrating to buy a new laptop, and it might be best, if you can, to wait until the fall.
[...]
For a high-quality, traditional laptop without a touch screen, you can't do much better than a MacBook Air, if you have at least $999 to spend. On the Windows side, stick with touch screens and be prepared to spend nearly as much, or even a bit more. But if you can wait, come back in the fall."

Guide to Buying a Laptop - WSJ.com

To Satisfy Its Investors, Cash-Rich Apple Borrows Money - NYTimes.com

Bank different

"With a $145 billion cash hoard, Apple could acquire Facebook, Hewlett-Packard and Yahoo. Put another way, it could buy every office building and retail space in New York, according to city estimates.
But despite its extraordinarily flush balance sheet, the technology behemoth borrowed money on Tuesday for the first time in nearly two decades. In a record-size bond deal, the company raised $17 billion, paying interest rates that hovered near the low-cost debt of the United States Treasury."

To Satisfy Its Investors, Cash-Rich Apple Borrows Money - NYTimes.com