Quora Is Really About A Better Wikipedia, Not Robert Scoble’s Hopes & Dreams [TechCrunch]

Michael Arrington on the Scoble/Quora undo

And I certainly admire a man who’s willing to rethink his opinion after weighing new evidence.

But that’s not what Scoble did when he trashed Quora earlier today. He decided that Quora was a blogging service, or some kind of Friendfeed or Twitter-like place for conversations. And when he realized that it doesn’t do those things very well, he lashed out. Basically, he got mad that people downvoted his stuff.

“It’s a horrid service for blogging,” says Scoble.

Yup. I agree. Quora isn’t a very good place for blogging. Because other people can edit or remove your stuff. It’s the sort of place where you have to behave yourself if you want to be heard. That’s exactly not blogging.

The thing is, most of us have always known that.

Quora Is Really About A Better Wikipedia, Not Robert Scoble’s Hopes & Dreams

Android Tablets Gain on IPad in Fourth Quarter, Researcher Says - Businessweek

It’ll be interesting to see how the introduction of Android 3.0 influences this competitive context

Google Inc.’s Android boosted its share of tablet computers almost tenfold in the fourth quarter, narrowing the lead of Apple Inc.’s iPad, market researcher Strategy Analytics said.

Android devices captured 22 percent of global tablet shipments in the three months to Dec. 31, up from 2.3 percent in the preceding quarter, the Boston-based researcher said in a statement today. The iPad accounted for 75 percent of shipments in the period, down from 96 percent, it said.

Android Tablets Gain on IPad in Fourth Quarter, Researcher Says - Businessweek

Android Becomes No 1 Smartphone Platform - Canalys - NYTimes.com

Another Android milestone

Google's Android overtook long-time market leader, Nokia's Symbian, as the most popular smartphone platform in the fourth quarter, research firm Canalys said on Monday.

All phone makers sold a total of 32.9 million Android phones in the last quarter, compared with Symbian's total sales of 31 million in the quarter, the researcher said.

Android Becomes No 1 Smartphone Platform - Canalys - NYTimes.com

Narrative Science Raises $6 Million for Automated Stories | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Interesting times in the Fourth Estate

Demand Media and its peers pay lots of writers small sums in order to generate lots and lots of content, with the help of computers. But you can do it for even less if you eliminate the writers altogether.

That’s the premise behind Narrative Science, a start-up that sells technology that “generates news stories, industry reports, headlines and more–at scale and without human authoring or editing.”

Narrative Science Raises $6 Million for Automated Stories | Peter Kafka | MediaMemo | AllThingsD

Twitter Goes to Capitol Hill - NYTimes.com

A politically astute Twitter investment

Now Mr. Sharp, a 32-year-old with brown hair, glasses and a sprinkling of pale freckles across his face, is the human embodiment of Twitter, an energetic and smiling ambassador for that ubiquitous blue bird, ready and willing to answer questions, troubleshoot and offer free tips.

When Twitter hired Mr. Sharp late last year, his job was not to convince a few slow-to-adapt House members that they needed to get with the times. Instead, he is trying to help the thousands of politicians and government employees already on Twitter to use it better.

Twitter Goes to Capitol Hill - NYTimes.com

It’s Not Twitter or Facebook, It’s the Power of the Network: Tech News and Analysis « [GigaOM]

Another thoughtful technology-and-democracy reality check

But open-network advocate Dave Winer made the key point: it’s the Internet that is the really powerful tool here, not any of the specific services such as Twitter and Facebook that run on top of it, which Winer compares to brands like NBC. They have power because lots of people use them, and — in the case of Twitter — because they have open protocols so that apps can still access the network even when the company’s website is taken down by repressive governments (athough they didn’t mention Egypt or Tunisia by name, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and general counsel Alexander Macgillivray wrote a post about the company’s desire to “keep the information flowing).

In the end, the real weapon is the power of networked communication itself. In previous revolutions it was the fax, or the pamphlet, or the cellphone — now it is SMS and Twitter and Facebook. Obviously none of these things cause revolutions, but to ignore or downplay their growing importance is also a mistake.

It’s Not Twitter or Facebook, It’s the Power of the Network: Tech News and Analysis «

Spotlight Again Falls on Web Tools and Change - NYTimes.com

Concluding paragraphs of a timely technology + government reality check

In Egypt, it appears, at least some activists share Mr. Morozov’s wariness about the double-edged nature of new media. An anonymous 26-page leaflet that appeared in Cairo with practical advice for demonstrators last week, The Guardian reported, instructed activists to pass it on by e-mail and photocopy — but not by Facebook and Twitter, because they were being monitored by the government.

Then Mr. Mubarak’s government, evidently concluding that it was too late for mere monitoring, unplugged his country from the Internet altogether. It was a desperate move from an autocrat who had not learned to harness the tools his opponents have embraced.

Spotlight Again Falls on Web Tools and Change - NYTimes.com

At Apple, the Platform Is the Engine of Growth - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from an Apple-as-platform snapshot

The company is on a roll, Apple enthusiasts say, and it still holds relatively modest shares of huge markets — less than 20 percent for smartphones, and 4 percent for PC’s globally, for example.

BUT concerns lie ahead. And the biggest may be a platform challenge from Google. The iPhone redefined the smartphone, but handsets using Google’s Android software are fast attracting users and developers. In 2009, some 25 million iPhones were shipped, compared with about 8 million phones running Android. Last year, Android shipments reached 61 million, compared with about 48 million iPhones, estimates Sanford C. Bernstein.

At Apple, the Platform Is the Engine of Growth - NYTimes.com

Political News Sites See 2012 as Breakthrough Year - NYTimes.com

The next phase of politics as theater

The New Hampshire primary is over a year away, and the first major candidate has yet to formally declare. Just don’t tell that to outlets like Politico, Talking Points Memo and RealClearPolitics, which are already planning to smother the 2012 campaign trail in a way they could never have imagined four years ago when they had far smaller staffs of bloggers and shoestring budgets.

With an eye toward earning greater respectability, this crop of political Web sites is hoping for more than just page views and traffic-driving links from the Drudge Report. They want to establish themselves as the Blogs on the Bus.

Political News Sites See 2012 as Breakthrough Year - NYTimes.com

Google Finds It Hard to Reinvent Philanthropy - NYTimes.com

Google is still searching for an effective philanthropy model

Although Google gives tens of millions of dollars to charity each year and says the overall company is meeting its 1 percent giving goal, DotOrg itself is no longer making grants to nonprofit groups or financing new companies. Instead, it focuses on projects like using Google Earth to track environmental changes and monitoring Web searches to detect flu outbreaks. Most of the experts it initially hired have left, and Google, a company obsessed with numbers and metrics, struggles to measure DotOrg’s accomplishments.

Google says it has changed its approach to philanthropy, but not its scope or ambition. Ms. Smith readily acknowledges that the organization has yet to prove itself, but she says it has already had a positive impact in various areas, such as public health and the environment.

Google Finds It Hard to Reinvent Philanthropy - NYTimes.com

Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse Eisenberg, Andy Samberg Appear Together on Saturday Night Live | Liz Gannes | NetworkEffect | AllThingsD

Check the article link below for the SNL clip

Good thing Mark Zuckerberg’s got that whole other career going, ’cause he can’t hold a straight face for a millisecond.

What he can successfully do is go on “Saturday Night Live” and be a good sport, appearing alongside two men who have played and parodied him: “The Social Network” actor Jesse Eisenberg and SNL’s Andy Samberg. Here’s the clip from tonight’s show:

Without Aaron Sorkin writing his dialogue, the real Zuckerberg is lacking in zingers. His review of “The Social Network”: “It was… interesting.”

Mark Zuckerberg, Jesse Eisenberg, Andy Samberg Appear Together on Saturday Night Live | Liz Gannes | NetworkEffect | AllThingsD

Mass. group’s software helps avoid censorship - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from a Tor profile

One Internet service provider, a company called Noor, was left unaffected perhaps because it services banks or the Egyptian stock market, Toonk said. That means that it is probably being closely scrutinized by the Egyptian intelligence service, making anonymity software all the more crucial, Tor activists said.

“People in Egypt right now that are using the Internet really need to cover their tracks,’’ said Appelbaum by telephone from Seattle. “Let’s pretend that the government doesn’t fall. . . . We don’t know if they have analysts working in real time to try to find activists, and we are trying to make sure that people have access to Tor, so that people aren’t hunted down in the streets.’’

Mass. group’s software helps avoid censorship - The Boston Globe

Studied - Does Facebook Make You More Social Offline? - NYTimes.com

Some important questions

“Over the last year or so, there’s been a lot of concern and frustration expressed towards Facebook, in particular over privacy,” Dr. Watkins said. “But despite those concerns, not only do people keep using it, but the ways they use it continue to expand.”

Still, does that really mean Facebook makes people more social? Sherry Turkle, author of a new book, “Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other,” said that the study allows Facebook to define what makes for social behavior.

“I’m all for sharing photos, but you can be pro-photo sharing without being convinced that it expands our social lives,” Dr. Turkle said. “It’s a way of defining downwards what it means to be social.”

Studied - Does Facebook Make You More Social Offline? - NYTimes.com

The dark side of Internet for Egyptian and Tunisian protesters - The Globe and Mail

Excerpt from a timely reality check by Evgeny Morozov (author of  The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom)

The lesson for tyrants here is simple: The only way to minimize their exposure to digitally enabled protests is to establish full control over all telecommunications infrastructure in the country. A “kill-switch” button to turn off all digital networks in times of a crisis is a must. This explains why just a few months after the contested elections of 2009, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard acquired a controlling stake in Telecommunication Company of Iran, giving the group that is traditionally loyal to Mr. Ahmadinejad control over the country's telephone, mobile and Internet communications. It is likely that other dictators will heed the Iranian experience as they watch Tunisia and Egypt.

The events in these two countries provide grounds for optimism about the power of the Internet, but the biggest problem with studying the impact of the Internet on authoritarianism is that most often it benefits both the oppressor and the oppressed (albeit to different degrees). Thus, the Internet is an excellent platform for inciting revolutionary sentiment – and tracking down wannabe revolutionaries; it is a handy vehicle for spreading propaganda – and revealing government lies; it provides a platform that facilitates government surveillance – and helps people evade it.

The dark side of Internet for Egyptian and Tunisian protesters - The Globe and Mail

Facebook Valuation Tops Amazon.com, Trailing Only Google on Web - Businessweek

Strange days indeed

Facebook Inc.’s valuation topped Amazon.com Inc., leaving the social-networking company behind only Google Inc. among U.S. Internet companies.

Facebook is valued at $82.9 billion on secondary exchange SharesPost Inc. and has jumped by more than 40 percent since mid-December. Amazon shares dropped 7.2 percent yesterday after a disappointing sales forecast, pushing its stock market value down to $77.2 billion.

Facebook Valuation Tops Amazon.com, Trailing Only Google on Web - Businessweek

Que: Microsoft OneNote as a Distributed Information Item Database System > OneNote Database Basics

The text below is from the introduction of my latest OneNote article.  The article is the 5th in a series; you can find an index of links to other articles in the series on this page.  The next two topics in the series are OneNote’s collaboration capabilities and an Evernote/OneNote comparison.

Although people familiar with earlier releases of OneNote (i.e., OneNote 2003 and OneNote 2007) probably think of OneNote as a personal note-taking application, some subtle changes in OneNote 2010 have made it—in clever ways that are invisible to most users—a distributed information item database system. OneNote 2010 is still a market-leading note-taking application, but it also includes powerful database management services, when used in conjunction with Windows Live SkyDrive or Microsoft SharePoint.

This article provides an overview of OneNote’s database services and how they make it possible for OneNote users to work independently, optionally while network-disconnected, and to later synchronize their work. The next article in the series, “Compelling Collaboration Capabilities in Microsoft OneNote,” will explain how the database services support a broad range of useful collaboration scenarios.

Que: Microsoft OneNote as a Distributed Information Item Database System > OneNote Database Basics

Information item sharing options galore

Returning to the save-to-Evernote theme for a moment: while viewing the TNR book review referenced in the previous post, I wanted to share a link to the review via email as well as on my blog, so I clicked the “+ More” link in the TNR page:

… which uses a widget from Add This, and then saw a pop-up with a list of more than three hundred choices for sharing (including Evernote); here’s a partial list:

Why We Should Think Twice Before Curing Kids’ Dependence On Computers And IPods | The New Republic

Excerpt from a TNR review of “The Winter of Our Disconnect”

Maushart’s book is structured around what she calls “The Experiment,” a prelapsarian fantasy of returning to the predigital age. What would happen, she wondered, if she pulled the plug on her family’s media activity for six months? Inspired by Thoreau’s Walden, she decided to enact the twenty-first-century equivalent of moving to a cabin in the woods: no iPhones, no computers, no iPods, no television. (Her kids were allowed to use computers outside their home when necessary—for instance, at the library to do homework.) “Like many other parents,” she writes, “I’d noticed that the more we seemed to communicate as individuals, the less we seemed to cohere as a family.” Was the speed and intensity of multitasking worth living a life of “quiet digital desperation”?

Why We Should Think Twice Before Curing Kids’ Dependence On Computers And IPods | The New Republic

Map of scientific collaboration between researchers | Stuff I made

Check the link below for more details and a zoomable map (via James Gleick)

I was very impressed by the friendship map made by Facebook intern, Paul Butler and I realized that I had access to a similar dataset. Instead of a database of friendship data, I had access to a database of scientific collaboration.

My employer, Science-Metrix, is bibliometric consulting firm. In other words, we engineer ways to measure the impact and growth of scientific discovery (and publications) in the world. To accomplish this, we license data from scientific journal aggregators like Elsevier’s Scopus and Thomson Reuter’s Web of Science. The data we have is bibliographic in nature. We don’t have the full text of the articles but rather citation networks, authors and their affiliations, abstracts, etc.

Map of scientific collaboration between researchers | Stuff I made

Samsung Ships 2 Million Galaxy Tab Devices [ReadWriteWeb]

Impressive momentum, especially considering that the tablet-optimized Android 3.0 (“Honeycomb”) is not yet available

Samsung has announced that it has now shipped over two million of its Galaxy Tab tablet devices, surpassing the figure in just three months since the device launched.

The 7-inch tablet is now sold via 200 mobile carriers in 94 countries, with 750,000 Galaxy Tab’s being shipped to Europe, 350,000 to North America and 330,000 units in Asia.

Samsung Ships 2 Million Galaxy Tab Devices

BBC News - Egypt severs internet connection amid growing unrest

More on events in Egypt

According to internet monitoring firm Renesys, shortly before 2300 GMT on 27 January virtually all routes to Egyptian networks were simultaneously withdrawn from the internet's global routing table.

That meant that virtually all of Egypt's internet addresses were unreachable.

Egyptian authorities seem to have manged this by shutting down official Domain Name Servers (DNS) in Egypt. These act as address books and are consulted by web browsing software to find out the location of a site a user wants to visit.

Messages circulating in Egypt pointed people towards unofficial DNS servers so they could get back online.

BBC News - Egypt severs internet connection amid growing unrest

Nokia Profit Falls 21% as Its Rivals Gain - NYTimes.com

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nokia unveil new devices for both Android and Windows Phone

“Nokia faces some significant challenges in our competitiveness and our execution,” Mr. Elop said. “In short, the industry changed, and now it’s time for Nokia to change faster.”

The candid assessment from Mr. Elop, a Canadian who is the first non-Finn to run Nokia, raised expectations that he would be announcing major changes in how Nokia does business. The announcement could come at an investor conference in London on Feb. 11, when he is planning to discuss Nokia’s “strategy and objectives going forward.”

Some analysts are expecting Nokia to drop its Symbian mobile operating system, seen by some as a major cause of its problems, for systems made by Google or Microsoft. Malik Kamal-Saadi, an analyst at Informa Telecoms in London, said Nokia should discard Symbian for either Microsoft’s Windows 7 Mobile or for Google’s Android operating systems.

Nokia Profit Falls 21% as Its Rivals Gain - NYTimes.com

Retail Report | Amazon sales hit new high, but investors feel let down | Seattle Times Newspaper

Amazon continues to make strategic investments for growth, but misses quarterly revenue expectations

Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak said Amazon's rising costs partly reflect the addition of 13 new distribution centers in 2010, giving it a total of 52.

"If you look at the returns that we've gotten on ... previous fulfillment centers that we've launched, they've been great uses of capital," Szkutak told analysts on a conference call.

BGC Partners analyst Collin Gillis said he rates Amazon stock a "sell" because he sees it as overvalued.

He wrote in a research note to clients that Amazon's market capitalization, at roughly $82 billion, exceeds the combined market cap of Barnes & Noble, Borders, Macy's, Nordstrom, Best Buy, Staples and Dell.

Retail Report | Amazon sales hit new high, but investors feel let down | Seattle Times Newspaper

Complete Internet Blackout in Egypt [ReadWriteWeb]

Has this type of tactic ever worked as hoped?

After blocking Twitter on Tuesday and, intermittently, Facebook and Google on Wednesday, the Egyptian government has upped the ante, throwing a complete Internet access block across the whole of the country. Additionally blocked are Blackberry service and SMS.

Reports are pouring in, many to Twitterers via landline, that the country has been "cut off" and is now a "black hole."

Complete Internet Blackout in Egypt

Engadget and TUAW iOS apps add “Save to Evernote” feature « Evernote Blogcast

An interesting trend; my6sense (a handy Android and iPhone app that has contributed to my iPad’s increasing loneliness lately) also has a “save to Evernote” action (in the my6sense “Share” menu, to be precise)

We’re huge tech fans here at Evernote. When a new product or gadget comes out, we head straight to our go-to blogs, read the reviews and immediately clip those posts into Evernote with a “WANT” tag. This is why we’re excited that two of our favorite blogs have added Save to Evernote options into their iOS applications: TUAW for iPhone and Engadget for iPad.

Engadget and TUAW iOS apps add “Save to Evernote” feature « Evernote Blogcast

The Unlikely Story of Apple's iPad, One Year In–BusinessWeek [GigaOM]

A review of iPad year one

Jan. 27 marks one year since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad at a special event at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. At the event, Jobs repeatedly referred to the device as both magical and revolutionary. It seemed hyperbolic at the time, but does it still, after a year of living with the iPad?

For me, the answer is no. The iPad has changed every aspect of my life, from how I do my job to how I communicate with others, and it accomplished all that in a way so natural it left me virtually unaware it was even happening.

The Unlikely Story of Apple's iPad, One Year In - BusinessWeek

Salesforce.com To Plug Chatter.com During The Super Bowl | Arik Hesseldahl | NewEnterprise | AllThingsD

Salesforce social innovation through imitation

I got a quick look at Chatter.com today with the folks at Salesforce. At first glance it looks a lot like Facebook. Almost identical. Kraig Swensrud, VP of marketing at Salesforce, told me that’s deliberate. Facebook, he says, has trained people to collaborate in a certain way, and was always in mind as Chatter was being built. “The fundamental mantra was, ‘Why isn’t collaboration software more like Facebook?’” he said. Now apparently it is.

Salesforce.com To Plug Chatter.com During The Super Bowl | Arik Hesseldahl | NewEnterprise | AllThingsD

LinkedIn offering could prod other Internet firms to go public - The Boston Globe

LinkedIn seeks to connect with more investors

LinkedIn Corp., the company behind the largest website for professional networking, plans to raise at least $175 million in an initial public offering of stock that could open the IPO floodgates for other widely used online services that connect people with common interests.

The IPO papers LinkedIn filed yesterday put the 8-year-old company on a path to make its stock market debut in the next three to four months, barring any major stumbling blocks.

LinkedIn offering could prod other Internet firms to go public - The Boston Globe

Q4 2010 comparisons revisited: Apple, IBM, and Microsoft

	Apple	IBM	Microsoft
Revenue	$26.74B	$29.02B	$19.95B
Revenue change	70%	6%	15%
Net income	$6B	$5.26B	$6.63B
Net income change	78%	9%	28%

Notes: percentage changes from year-earlier quarter; Microsoft percentages exclude year-ago deferred revenue recognition

Still Strong: Microsoft Beats Estimates as Quarterly Sales Neared $20 Billion | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Microsoft stays on top, in terms of profits, for Q4 2010

With the results from the past quarter, Apple passed Microsoft slightly in quarterly revenue, but did not–as some analysts thought might happen–surpass Redmond in profits as well. The company also noted it bought back $5 billion in shares during the quarter and handed out $1.3 billion in dividends to shareholders.

The gaming unit wasn’t the only part of Microsoft going strong. Redmond said its Office unit also had a big quarter, growing 24 percent from a year earlier, and that Windows 7 license sales have now passed 300 million.

Still Strong: Microsoft Beats Estimates as Quarterly Sales Neared $20 Billion | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

25 Years of Digital Vandalism - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a timely and important William Gibson reality check

Any hobbyist worth his or her salt will, in turn, be admiring the Stuxnet code that shut down the Iranian centrifuges, looking to imitate and improve on it. And non-state players, from digital vandals to terrorists, will be casting an appraising eye, if they haven’t already, at the computers that monitor and control more ordinary but nonetheless critical systems: water treatment and distribution, sewage, oil and gas pipelines, electrical transmission lines, wind farms and nuclear power plants.

25 Years of Digital Vandalism - NYTimes.com

Schmidt: We Worry More About Microsoft Than Facebook (GOOG, MSFT) [SFGate]

I think these competitive perspectives help to explain why Eric Schmidt will soon be “former Google CEO Eric Schmidt”

In an interview with Fortune's Adam Lashinsky, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that Microsoft is Google's top competitor, and questioned why everybody is so obsessed with Facebook and Google.

Schmidt, who is stepping down from the CEO spot in April to focus on the company's relationships with partners and regulators, told Lashinsky "Microsoft has more cash, more engineers, more global reach. We see competition from Microsoft every day." He also noted that Facebook has never stated ambitions to get into search, and that Facebook ads don't displace Google's ads.

Schmidt: We Worry More About Microsoft Than Facebook (GOOG, MSFT)

Facebook news feed: Hacked one day, more secure the next, plus more | Good Morning Silicon Valley

Facebook hits the 600M user milestone; see the article link below for more Facebook updates

It might be purely coincidental that the day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page seemed to have been hacked, Facebook announced this morning that it has taken steps to make Facebook more secure for its users. In a blog post, security engineer Alex Rice writes that Facebook users — which now number more than 600 million — can choose to enable HTTPS, which means viewing encrypted pages on the social networking site. In addition, Facebook is rolling out what it’s calling social authentication, or captchas based on identifying your friends by their pictures. (Good luck remembering which of your friends is using Strawberry Shortcake as her profile photo this week.)

Facebook news feed: Hacked one day, more secure the next, plus more | Good Morning Silicon Valley

Honestly, Whoever Hacked Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Page Should Have Been More Creative About It | VF Daily | Vanity Fair

A sign of the times…

Facebook has since deleted the message from Zuckerberg’s Wall. And soon, the cloyingly interrogative missive will fade from public memory. While we admit we are impressed by the technical prowess of the unidentified hacker, we must call into question his or her creativity, or lack thereof. This person was able to write on Mark Zuckerberg’s wall, as Mark Zuckerberg, and chose to post an allusion to some obscure nerd-thing and ask a bunch of rhetorical questions about nothing, basically? To speak a bit of Internet, “EPIC FAIL.”

Honestly, Whoever Hacked Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Page Should Have Been More Creative About It | VF Daily | Vanity Fair

Facebook unveils security tools after Zuckerberg’s page hacked [Network World]

Interesting privacy times for Facebook; see this page for more on the “hacker posting”

Coincidence or not, Facebook today announced two new security measures -- wider use of HTTPS and the introduction of "social authentication" -- less than 24 hours after the Facebook page of company founder Mark Zuckerberg was defaced by a hacker.

A blog post by Facebook's Alex Rice ties the security announcement to Friday being "Data Privacy Day," but the press and bloggers are having a high time connecting the news and Zuckerberg's victimization, whether or not there is actually any connection.

Facebook unveils security tools after Zuckerberg’s page hacked

Exclusive: BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphones to run Android apps? | BGR | Boy Genius Report

RIM rumored to be considering Dalvik; Oracle lawsuit timing tbd…

As crazy as that sounds, we have been told by multiple trusted sources that RIM is seriously considering a feature that will allow BlackBerry devices to run Android apps. Here is what we know… Research In Motion has been trying to figure out the path it wants to take as far as how the existing Java environment will work on its upcoming QNX tablet and smartphones. The company has publicly stated that it is looking at getting a Java virtual machine running on the PlayBook  — not so much for app development going forward, but for legacy support, custom apps corporations have deployed and don’t want to recreate, etc — but RIM hasn’t yet decided what kind of Java VM it will use.

Exclusive: BlackBerry PlayBook and smartphones to run Android apps? | BGR | Boy Genius Report

Larry Page's Google 3.0 - BusinessWeek

Final paragraph from an extensive (~4,000-word) BusinessWeek cover story article

How social media will and won't change Google's world is an ongoing conversation at Google's weekly Execute meetings—and it underscores Larry Page's biggest problem as Google's new CEO. Page values strong, idiosyncratic leaders who know their domains and have their own aggressive agendas. All these rising stars have to work together. The mobile team has to coordinate with the nascent local and e-commerce groups. Rubin's app-based Android vision of the future has to square with Pichai's push for the wide-open Web of Chrome OS; and Singhal's search division has to find common ground with Vic Gundotra and the new czars of social. Can they integrate their plans while satisfying Larry Page's need for speed? At some point, Page may have to dispense with the philosophical discussions, put some limits on the open atmosphere of geeky experimentation, and make some tough decisions. It's not very "Googley." But it's the central challenge of Google 3.0.

Larry Page's Google 3.0 - BusinessWeek

Netflix Plans to Use Facebook to Split Households Into Personal Accounts | Liz Gannes | NetworkEffect | AllThingsD

Perhaps a new option for being alone together…

In addition to helping identify discrete people within a household, Facebook integration would presumably allow Netflix to help users to do things like share their personal viewing history in their news feed and recommend videos to friends. Understanding social networks could improve Netflix’s famously honed recommendation algorithm. It might also be an opportunity for Netflix to create social viewing experiences.

Netflix Plans to Use Facebook to Split Households Into Personal Accounts | Liz Gannes | NetworkEffect | AllThingsD

What’s on the Table for Tablets This Year | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

A 2011 tablet/slate round-up

So here’s a guide to what to expect in the tablet market in 2011, and some key factors that could affect your choices. As it’s early in the year, the road map is necessarily incomplete. For instance, prices aren’t generally known, though many rivals will be trying to undercut the iPad’s $499 base price. Some will be sold on a subsidized basis through phone carriers, others won’t. And there will surely be surprises as companies adjust their strategies.

What’s on the Table for Tablets This Year | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

Amazon.com: Kindle Singles

Also in the e-book innovation domain: Kindle Singles went on sale yesterday

Each Kindle Single presents a compelling idea--well researched, well argued, and well illustrated--expressed at its natural length. From an elaborate bank heist in Lifted, to Congolese rebel camps in The Invisible Enemy, to Jodi Picoult’s moving portrayal of family in Leaving Home, they offer nuanced journeys of both fact and fiction. This first set of Singles was selected by our team of editors, and includes works by Rich Cohen, Pete Hamill, Darin Strauss, and Ian Ayres. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have.

Amazon.com: Kindle Singles

Times to publish WikiLeaks e-book - The Boston Globe

Unclear if this e-book will be a collection of content already published, such as this extensive Bill Keller essay on Wikileaks

The newspaper said yesterday it will publish its first e-book on Monday.

“Open Secrets: WikiLeaks, War and American Diplomacy’’ will chronicle last year’s WikiLeaks saga, in which the group released State Department cables and other documents. The Times was among five publications that reviewed the material with WikiLeaks before its release.

Times to publish WikiLeaks e-book - The Boston Globe

Apps let your phone be a credit card terminal - The Boston Globe

In case you don’t want to wait for NFC

A couple of new products could democratize the credit card industry, by enabling pretty much anyone with a smartphone to accept plastic. I’ve been experimenting with these new devices — Square and PayAnywhere — and I’m happy to report that not a lot of tinkering was required. With either of them you can quickly begin collecting credit card payments from friends and neighbors — or more likely, from clients and customers.

Apps let your phone be a credit card terminal - The Boston Globe

Remarks of President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address | The White House

An encouraging accountability and information transparency excerpt

In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people’s faith in the institution of government.  Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online. 

Remarks of President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address | The White House

Apple’s website gets an HTML5 facelift [The Next Web]

Leading by example (very selectively…); check the article link below for more details

The Apple website was down earlier today and, while some rumours claimed that a white iPhone 4 might finally be about to surface, it appears that the actual reason for the downtime was a rather snazzy, if subtle, HTML5 revamp of the website.

Works nicely for me in Chrome, but the animations, e.g., on the Mac page, don’t appear in Firefox, and when I visit the site with IE8, I see

I look forward to a Web world without QuickTime, and to when “actual results may vary…” isn’t an issue when using different browser clients

Apple’s website gets an HTML5 facelift

Business & Technology | Google's hiring spree means 6,000 new jobs | Seattle Times Newspaper

Google is going to need a bigger Googleplex

Extending a surge that began last year, Google says 2011 will be its largest hiring year ever, plans that would mean the Internet giant will add more than 6,000 new workers over the balance of this year.

With the hiring plans, Google will have more than 30,000 employees by the start of 2012, a work force still significantly smaller than Silicon Valley giants like Intel, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, but more than double the size of rivals like Yahoo, and more than six times the size of Facebook.

Business & Technology | Google's hiring spree means 6,000 new jobs | Seattle Times Newspaper

Facebook CTO: Mobile Is 2011 Priority - Digits - WSJ

Facebook everywhere

At the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Facebook Chief Technology Officer Bret Taylor dropped a hint for what’s coming next: bringing more Facebook to cellphones.

“Mobile is our primary focus for our platform this year,” Taylor said in an on-stage interview. “Mobile usage has been the fastest growing part of the Facebook experience,” he said, noting that Facebook has 200 million people using it on a mobile device, and that those people are more than twice as active as people who use Facebook just on a desktop computer.

Facebook CTO: Mobile Is 2011 Priority - Digits - WSJ

A year later, Microsoft picture looks very different | Reuters

Strange days indeed – from the second page of the article:

One uncomfortable fact for Microsoft: unless it posts blowout numbers, it will have lower quarterly profit than Apple for the first time in recent memory. The last time Apple produced more profit in a year than Microsoft was 1990.

Last week, Apple announced a record $6 billion quarterly profit on strong-selling iPhones and iPads over the holiday shopping season. Analysts expect Microsoft to post profit of $5.93 billion for the same quarter. Two years ago, Microsoft's profit was almost double Apple's.

It could be a painful moment for Microsoft, which effectively saved Apple from extinction with a $150 million investment in 1997.

A year later, Microsoft picture looks very different | Reuters

Games on Facebook must take credits - The Boston Globe

Meanwhile, in the non-virtual world, Apple plans mobile payment system

Although game developers won’t have to use Facebook Credits as their only in-game currency, those who do will get special incentives, such as early access to new product features and more desirable targeting for ads, the company said.

Facebook gets a 30 percent cut when developers use credits to sell virtual goods and other items. Although Facebook relies mostly on advertisements to make money, the payment system lets Facebook broaden its revenue sources.

Games on Facebook must take credits - The Boston Globe

Oracle makes a fresh run at SharePoint - Computerworld

WebCenter Suite is Oracle’s strategic SharePoint competitor, but Beehive lives on – for no apparent reason (other than being a parts farm for WebCenter, evidently); check the full article for more context-setting

The suite includes a content management infrastructure along with components for building portals, websites and composite applications.

Oracle has also packaged capabilities from its Beehive collaboration suite specifically for use with WebCenter. Contrary to some recent indications, Beehive is still alive as an independent product, according to MacMillan.

Oracle makes a fresh run at SharePoint - Computerworld

State of the Union address goes Web 2.0 - Computerworld

An encouraging leading indicator – check the article link below for more details, and tune in tonight at 9:00 ET

The White House will be using Web 2.0 technology to reach out to Americans during and after the president's State of the Union address tonight.

While President Barack Obama makes his annual address starting at 9 p.m. ET, the official White House Web site will have a live stream of the speech, along with charts and statistics to provide context and emphasize key points, according to the Obama administration.

State of the Union address goes Web 2.0 - Computerworld

Salesforce shares set to tumble-Barron's | Reuters

It’ll be interesting to see how far Salesforce falls before Oracle moves to acquire it

Insiders like Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff are selling- rather than buying- shares and tech giants Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Google (GOOG.O), Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) and SAP AG (SAPG.DE) are growing into serious competitors.

"No doubt Salesforce shares will continue to fly high, as long as the company -- which boasts a solid balance sheet with $1.3 billion of net cash and investments -- continues to boost its revenue at a 20% to 25% annual clip . . . but any hiccup now could send the shares tumbling hard, especially if investors analyze the company's sharp rise in expenses and the continuously growing number of diluted shares outstanding," Barron's wrote

Salesforce shares set to tumble-Barron's | Reuters

The Java Ecosystem [Infographic] [ReadWrite Enterprise]

A handy summary of companies now depending on Oracle’s mercy for Java

The infographic [source: Forrester Research] shows the deep relationships that companies have due to Java's maturity in the market. Oracle has created a new structure for Java and its effects are being widely felt

The Java Ecosystem [Infographic]

The Inside Story of How Facebook Responded to Tunisian Hacks - Alexis Madrigal - Technology - The Atlantic

Check the link below for a detailed report

For Tunisians, it was another run-in with Ammar, the nickname they've given to the authorities that censor the country's Internet. They'd come to expect it.

In the days after the holiday, Sullivan's security team started to take a closer look at the data, but it wasn't entirely clear what was happening. In the US, they could look to see if different IP addresses, which identify particular nodes on the network, were accessing the same account. But in Tunisia, the addresses are commonly reassigned. The evidence that accounts were being hacked remained anecdotal. Facebook's security team couldn't prove something was wrong in the data.  It wasn't until after the new year that the shocking truth emerged:

Ammar was in the process of stealing an entire country's worth of passwords.

The Inside Story of How Facebook Responded to Tunisian Hacks - Alexis Madrigal - Technology - The Atlantic

Oracle will confine Java to enterprise, Forrester says - Computerworld

Speculation about the implications of Oracle’s Java strategy

"Sun had a very broad focus for Java, including enterprise middleware but also PCs, mobile devices, and embedded systems. Oracle's focus will be on enterprise middleware first and foremost, because that's where the money is," concluded the report, authored by Forrester analysts Jeffrey Hammond and John Rymer.

As a result, Java may lose some of its prominence among the general worldwide development community, as it becomes more regarded as a specialized server-side language for Oracle and IBM enterprise customers, the duo warn.

Oracle will confine Java to enterprise, Forrester says - Computerworld

New York Times Prepares Plan to Charge for Online Reading - WSJ.com

A sign of the Times

Under the new system, expected to be rolled out next month, the Times will sell an Internet-only subscription for unlimited access to the Times site, as well as a broader digital package that bundles the Times online with its application on the iPad, according to a person familiar with the matter. Subscribers to the print edition of the paper will get full online privileges at no additional cost, Times executives have said.

[…]

Times Co. executives have said that only about 15% of the paper's online readers are "heavy users," meaning the vast majority probably won't trigger a payment requirement. And half or more of the site's traffic in some months comes through the "side door," or from search engines, social-networking sites and other sources.

New York Times Prepares Plan to Charge for Online Reading - WSJ.com

IPhones, iPads to Gain NFC Payment Features - BusinessWeek

A big boost for NFC

Apple Inc. plans to introduce services that would let customers use its iPhone and iPad computer to make purchases, said Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group.

The services are based on "Near-Field Communication," a technology that can beam and receive information at a distance of up to 4 inches, due to be embedded in the next iteration of the iPhone for AT&T Inc. and the iPad 2, Doherty said. Both products are likely to be introduced this year, he said, citing engineers who are working on hardware for the Apple project.

IPhones, iPads to Gain NFC Payment Features - BusinessWeek

Private Funerals Now Streamed Online - NYTimes.com

No multitasking during the service, please…

But now the once-private funerals and memorials of less-noted citizens are also going online.

Several software companies have created easy-to-use programs to help funeral homes cater to bereaved families. FuneralOne a one-stop shop for online memorials that is based in St. Clair, Mich., has seen the number of funeral homes offering Webcasts increase to 1,053 in 2010, from 126 in 2008 (it also sells digital tribute DVDs).

Private Funerals Now Streamed Online - NYTimes.com

Study Finds More Young Kids Can Work a Smartphone Than Tie Their Shoes | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Sign of the times

That’s why this new one from AVG is especially close to our heart. As part of the company’s Digital Diaries research on children and technology, the security firm polled a couple of thousand mothers with kids from 2 years old to 5 years old in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Among the findings was that more of the young kids could play with a smartphone app (19 percent) than could tie their shoes (9 percent).

Study Finds More Young Kids Can Work a Smartphone Than Tie Their Shoes | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Google Joins Mozilla With Opt-Out Plug-In for Chrome | Arik Hesseldahl | NewEnterprise | AllThingsD

Interesting times

Not to be outdone by its rivals at Mozilla, Google released an add-on for its Chrome Web browser that allows users to opt out from ad-tracking cookies.

The move is a response to a call by the Federal Trade Commission for a “do not track” mechanism to let users decide not to allow advertising cookies to track their online movements for the purposes of personalizing the ads they see on the Web.

Google Joins Mozilla With Opt-Out Plug-In for Chrome | Arik Hesseldahl | NewEnterprise | AllThingsD

Pope Weighs In on Social Networks - NYTimes.com

A fascinating sign of the times

Pope Benedict gave a qualified blessing to social networking Monday, praising its potential but warning that online friendships are no substitute for real human contact.

The 83-year-old pontiff, who does not have his own Facebook account, set out his views in a message with a weighty title that would easily fit into a tweet: "Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age."

He said the possibilities of new media and social networks offered "a great opportunity," but warned of the risks of depersonalization, alienation, self-indulgence, and the dangers of having more virtual friends than real ones.

(Check the link below for more details)

Pope Weighs In on Social Networks - NYTimes.com

Official Google Blog: Your questions, your State of the Union

New opportunities to get involved and informed

It’s the biggest speech of the year, and next Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET, people across the country and around the world will sit down to watch. But as President Obama delivers the 2011 State of the Union Address, which will be streamed live on YouTube along with the Republican response, you can do more than just watch the speech: you can also submit your questions for the President for an exclusive YouTube Interview that will take place just two days later, on January 27.

[…]

This interview is the first in a series of world leader interviews coming to YouTube in 2011 as part of YouTube World View. These interviews will give people around the world the chance to engage in conversation with their elected officials and other influential people from the world of business, philanthropy, technology, media and the arts. Check back on the channel in the next few months for more opportunities to participate.

Official Google Blog: Your questions, your State of the Union

The Competition Myth - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a Paul Krugman op-ed column

But even if he proposes good policies, the fact that Mr. Obama feels the need to wrap these policies in bad metaphors is a sad commentary on the state of our discourse.

The financial crisis of 2008 was a teachable moment, an object lesson in what can go wrong if you trust a market economy to regulate itself. Nor should we forget that highly regulated economies, like Germany, did a much better job than we did at sustaining employment after the crisis hit. For whatever reason, however, the teachable moment came and went with nothing learned.

The Competition Myth - NYTimes.com

Economic Forecasting in Alternative Universes | Platformonomics

Check the link below for a stark macroeconomics + politics reality check

My purpose in writing this is not to score partisan points (one can easily argue that Obama’s core economic policy differed little from Bush’s, and both were paltry in impact compared with the Federal Reserve), but rather to indict the whole macroeconomic-industrial complex (a sentence which to me evokes this clip starting at about 1:45).  What set me off is the implication in the article that the administration is looking not just to rejuvenate the economy, but also to salvage the reputation of government management of the economy.

Economic Forecasting in Alternative Universes | Platformonomics

Twitter’s Ad Revenue May Triple to $150 Million, EMarketer Says - Businessweek

Excerpt from a Twitter snapshot

Twitter, which has more than 175 million registered users globally, is competing for advertising dollars with larger companies such as Google Inc. and social-networking rival Facebook Inc. The company will need to boost its user base while demonstrating that ads posted on its pages are effective, Williamson said. A December Pew Research Center report said only 8 percent of U.S. Web surfers use Twitter, she noted.

“The company is definitely attracting brand advertisers,” Williamson said. “The difference is going to be whether Twitter can prove itself to advertisers as delivering results. I think this will be the year that we know a lot more.”

Twitter’s Ad Revenue May Triple to $150 Million, EMarketer Says - Businessweek

Business & Technology | New '.jobs' network may doom for-profits | Seattle Times Newspaper

An interesting case study in information value-add

A massive network of employment websites — where any company can list job openings for free — launched last week over the protests of newspapers and online recruitment companies, who fear billions of dollars in lost revenue.

The 40,000 sites, with Web addresses that all end in ".jobs," have the potential to upend companies such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, which only a decade ago set up for-profit jobs classifieds online that roiled the media companies that printed the listings on paper. The initiative is being backed by nearly 600 industry titans such as Google, American Express, IBM, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

Business & Technology | New '.jobs' network may doom for-profits | Seattle Times Newspaper

With Schmidt out as CEO, Google can stop copying Microsoft | VentureBeat

Excerpt from a timely Google reality check (via seattlepi.com)

In the end, there is really no point of copying Microsoft on its own turf; as Schmidt has now found out three times, it is a lost cause. Google’s enterprise business — Google Apps and the like — have scored some wins, but are far from achieving Microsoft’s scale.

No wonder why: Imagine you are a typical business running Microsoft Outlook, Office, Exchange, SharePoint, .Net, and such. Google comes in and says, “We can rip some of this stuff out, it will be very painful to migrate your data, and you have to retrain all of your users.” And Microsoft comes in and says “we will migrate all of your servers to our cloud over the weekend, you guys can come back on Monday and everything will look exactly the same, except now it’s hosted and you can fire your IT department.” Which way do you think most businesses are going to go? It’s a nice business. It’s just not the future. Why bother competing for it?

With Schmidt out as CEO, Google can stop copying Microsoft | VentureBeat

BBC News - Harvard researcher rejects Google's 'personal attack'

Considering the fact that Google VP Marissa Mayer has acknowledged Google engages (or at least used to engage) in favoritism (see, e.g., 2007 quotes in this page), it seems rather hypocritical of Google to accuse a Harvard Business School researcher of being biased

Ben Edelman, an associate professor at Harvard Business School, published a study this week claiming Google boosts its own products in search results.

The Californian company responded by suggesting he was actually working on behalf of its rival, Microsoft.

But Mr Edelman told the BBC that Google was launching "personal attacks" to distract people from its own behaviour.

BBC News - Harvard researcher rejects Google's 'personal attack'

Book Review - Alone Together - By Sherry Turkle - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a review of Sherry Turkle’s latest book

In Turkle’s latest book, “Alone Together,” this optimism is long gone. If the Internet of 1995 was a postmodern playhouse, allowing individuals to engage in unbridled expression, Turkle describes it today as a corporate trap, a ball and chain that keeps us tethered to the tiny screens of our cellphones, tapping out trite messages to stay in touch. She summarizes her new view of things with typical eloquence: “We expect more from technology and less from each other.”

Book Review - Alone Together - By Sherry Turkle - NYTimes.com

EMC Wants R-E-S-P-E-C-T - BusinessWeek

Excerpt from an EMC reality check

EMC executives say that outsiders fail to grasp the magnitude of the company's turnaround. EMC flew high during the 1990s, when it became synonymous with the Internet build-out and ended the decade as the New York Stock Exchange's best performer. Then it crashed hard following the dot-com bust, as corporate tech buyers turned away from the company's pricey, specialized storage system. EMC looked like it was heading toward an ugly, drawn-out demise.

Thanks to dozens of acquisitions over the past few years, EMC has undergone a radical, if quiet, transformation. Where it once relied on a single hardware product—the Symmetrix storage array, essentially a black cabinet full of hard drives—for more than 80 percent of its sales, EMC now gets about 60 percent of its revenue from software and services, estimates Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein. This shift has occurred under the stewardship of Joseph M. Tucci, EMC's chief executive officer, who has set the company's sights on the booming market for cloud computing. Despite the shift, EMC's share price has languished for much of Tucci's tenure. "There are times you get frustrated," Tucci says. "But who am I to second-guess the market?"

EMC Wants R-E-S-P-E-C-T - BusinessWeek

Can Employers Fire Over Facebook Gaffes? - WSJ.com

Check the story link below for some current case examples

Part of the problem is that social networks are brimming over with personal information of employees and job applicants. Along with various suits that have grabbed media attention, the potential for further litigation is broad, lawyers caution. For example, a worker could file a sexual-harassment suit after a manager repeatedly tries to "friend"”her on Facebook. Or an applicant might accuse a hiring manager of reneging on a job offer after learning the candidate's religious affiliation on Twitter.

"Social media is about communicating all the no-nos"”of office life, such as political views, says Shanti Atkins, an attorney who is chief executive of ELT Inc., a San Francisco firm selling online training services in workplace-compliance areas such as social media.

Certainly, many of these types of disputes may never get far, and new laws may arise that change the landscape. Still, numerous cases have made it to court—or are on their way.

Can Employers Fire Over Facebook Gaffes? - WSJ.com

Google Offers: Taking Out Revenge Against Groupon? - Deal Journal - WSJ

“Revenge” makes for a melodramatic headline, but I suspect it will be easy for Google to establish that it was working on a service similar to Groupon long before its rumored bid for Groupon, and was attempting the acquisition to accelerate an already-active initiative, much as it did with YouTube (relative to Google Video).  I predict “groupon” will be used as a verb in the future, as in “To arrogantly walk away from <= $6B”…

Mashable broke the news that Google is planning to launch a service similar to Groupon, the deals-of-the-day website that recently spurned a $6 billion takeover offer from Google. Apparently revenge is a dish best served quickly.

Google Offers, Mashable reports, is being pitched as a “new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email.” Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s what Groupon does, too.

Google Offers: Taking Out Revenge Against Groupon? - Deal Journal - WSJ

New CEO Larry Page Seeks More Agile Google - WSJ.com

I expect the Steve Jobs theme will be most widely-discussed Larry Page analogy, and that there will be future business best-sellers on leadership by autocratic technocrats (bonus points if they’re also company founders)

But several of Mr. Page's former colleagues describe him as having similarities to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, whom Mr. Page has said he admired. Both men are strong willed, sometimes impolite and push engineers hard to execute their ambitious projects. 

Some former colleagues said Mr. Page is likely to try to pierce through the sometimes "paralyzing" bureaucracy that product managers and engineers have faced when trying to launch some Google products in recent years.

Another excerpt from the NYT source in the previous post:

Google employees said they hoped Mr. Page’s biggest impact would be in providing a jolt of inspiration. He gave a glimpse of that, along with a rare public display of emotion, in a commencement speech at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, last year.

“I think it is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams,” he said. “I know that sounds completely nuts. But, since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition.”

New CEO Larry Page Seeks More Agile Google - WSJ.com

Larry Page Prepares to Take Reins at Google - NYTimes.com

Meanwhile, Facebook completes $1.5B billion fund-raising round, with an implied valuation of $76B

“Google is a product company, so there’s a number of elements obviously involved in running the day-to-day operations of Google, but at its heart, we are a product and technology company,” Mr. Page said.

The two said they wanted to focus on introducing real-time information and social networking features into their Web search products. Google has been criticized for being slow to embrace the social Web. Mr. Brin said that what Google had done so far, like incorporating Twitter posts into search results, “is really just the tip of the iceberg.”

Larry Page Prepares to Take Reins at Google - NYTimes.com

Que: Web-Centric Microsoft OneNote Usage Scenarios

An excerpt from another entry in my OneNote article series.  The Web-centric article is the fourth in what’s currently a series of seven articles; check this page for an index of links to the previously-published topics

Microsoft OneNote has been primarily known, since its initial release in Office 2003, as a client application for note-taking. However, with OneNote 2010 and its companion OneNote Web App client, used in conjunction with Windows Live SkyDrive or SharePoint, Microsoft has significantly expanded the range of web-centric scenarios OneNote can usefully address. While still straightforward and simple for note-taking needs, OneNote has evolved to also serve as a powerful and web-centric hypertext information management and collaboration solution.

The previous article in this series, “Microsoft OneNote: Complementing Other Office Applications,” included a review of several options for integrating OneNote with other Office applications. In general, the same options apply for content accessed through web browser clients, especially Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). In this article, we’ll review options for sending web content to OneNote, linking OneNote and web pages, and web-centric content authoring in OneNote.

Que: Web-Centric Microsoft OneNote Usage Scenarios

A Better Mobile Experience for More People [The Facebook Blog]

Facebook focuses on feature phones

We want people to have a great mobile experience no matter what type of phone they carry. Smartphones have offered better features for sharing with friends but aren't used by most people around the world.

Today, we're launching a new mobile app to bring Facebook to the most popular mobile phones around the world. The Facebook for Feature Phones app works on more than 2,500 devices from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and other manufacturers, and it was built in close cooperation with Snaptu. The app provides a better Facebook experience for our most popular features, including an easier-to-navigate home screen, contact synchronization, and fast scrolling of photos and friend updates.

A Better Mobile Experience for More People

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Bring me the head of Eric Schmidt! - Cringely on technology

An intriguing Cringely snapshot; note that the financial incentive suggestion below is not far off from what LivingSocial recently offered ($10 for a $20 Amazon.com gift card), shortly after Amazon invested in LivingSocial

But the real killer for Eric Schmidt — the bonehead move that would have gotten him fired had I been on the board — was that $6 billion offer for GroupOn.

Here’s what Google could have done — should have done. First, take four top engineers and set them up like a startup in a rented apartment, denying them any access to the Googleplex. No free massages and definitely no unlimited Fruit Loops. Google has grown to the point where it is virtually impossible to get anything done. So just like IBM did with the PC, a GroupOn clone would have to be done as a completely separate renegade operation. Four engineers, two months, and GoogleOn would be ready to go.

Then simply pay every adult in America $10 to join.

That’s about 100 million members or $1 billion. See, I saved Google five billion dollars.

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Bring me the head of Eric Schmidt! - Cringely on technology

Eduardo Saverin, Facebook Co-Founder, Backs Start-Up - NYTimes.com

Apparently he wants to be known for something other than serving as the primary “insider” source for The Accidental Billionaires

Mr. Saverin is one of the handful of Harvard students who became embroiled in a series of disputes over the founding of Facebook and whose stories were dramatized in the film “The Social Network,” which on Sunday won the Golden Globe for best drama. Unlike Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose fight with Mr. Zuckerberg has remained in the headlines, Mr. Saverin has kept a low profile. And unlike the Winklevosses, whose ownership claim over Facebook has never been recognized, Mr. Saverin was a founder of Facebook and its first business manager. He was later sidelined, but remains one of the primary shareholders with an ownership stake of about 5 percent, valued at roughly $2.5 billion.

Mr. Saverin was not willing to talk about Facebook, the movie that made him something of a celebrity or even much about his current life. He said he has been making a number of angel investments, adding, “I would love to focus on Qwiki.”

Eduardo Saverin, Facebook Co-Founder, Backs Start-Up - NYTimes.com

Google’s Revenue Rose 17% - NYTimes.com

Another way in which Google is now like Microsoft: despite very solid financial performance, most of the press will accentuate the negative

The upheaval at the top may have overshadowed the earnings report, but the numbers were good. Google benefited from the best online holiday shopping season since 2006, as Web users increasingly began their shopping sprees at the search engine.

“Whenever e-commerce improves, we see more advertisers competing for the same keywords, and that means more revenue for Google,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, an Internet analyst at Caris & Company.

Google’s Revenue Rose 17% - NYTimes.com

Google Co-Founder Takes Over as Chief Executive - NYTimes.com

The beginning of a  pivotal chapter for Google

The unspoken fear within Google is that it could become like Microsoft, a once-dominant technology company that seems past its prime and perceived as stodgier, despite successes like XBox and Kinect. Indeed, for all its financial success, Google, which has 24,400 employees, is no longer considered by many top engineers as the most desirable place to work in the Valley; a new generation of start-ups has taken that place.

And in recent years, Google has lost scores of engineers and a string of high-profile senior executives, including Sheryl Sandberg, now chief operating officer at Facebook, and Tim Armstrong, now chief executive of AOL.

Google Co-Founder Takes Over as Chief Executive - NYTimes.com

Is Larry Page the Consummate Anti-Social CEO? | Liz Gannes | NetworkEffect | AllThingsD

Check the full article for more Page analysis

In a way, part of the reason Page took control seems a response to the rise of Facebook (though surely there are many factors at play). Page has now reinstated himself in a sacred position in Silicon Valley: the founder CEO.

One of the most impactful things the social Web has done is raised a new founder CEO to the tippy top of the tech industry: Mark Zuckerberg. And according to sources, the rise of Zuckerberg has been especially hard for Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to watch.

Zuckerberg was just named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, an honor Page and Brin have never received. His company also just arranged a deal to raised money at a $50 billion valuation, making his own stake worth $15 billion, which happens to be the approximate net worth of both Page and Brin.

Is Larry Page the Consummate Anti-Social CEO? | Liz Gannes | NetworkEffect | AllThingsD

Digital music sales slowed in 2010 - The Boston Globe

Big challenges remain for music publishers

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said in its annual report that digital sales increased by 6 percent in 2010 — only half the growth rate in 2009 and far from the explosive expansion seen in earlier years. The federation values the market in legal digital music at $4.6 billion, but says the trade in unauthorized content remains much more important.

“As an industry we remain very challenged,’’ federation chief executive Frances Moore said before the report’s publication. “Something like 95 percent of downloads are still unlicensed.’’

Digital music sales slowed in 2010 - The Boston Globe

BBC News - Web images to get expiration date

I’m guessing people who post stupid images of themselves aren’t likely to stop and think about expiration dates, or to be willing to pay an extra fee for self-destructing images; perhaps if the service were made available to spouses or parents…

Help is at hand for anyone who has ever forgotten about embarrassing images they posted to a social network or website.

German researchers have created software called X-Pire that gives images an expiration date by tagging them with an encrypted key.

Once this date has passed the key stops the images being viewed and copied.

BBC News - Web images to get expiration date

BBC - Newsbeat - Playboy iPad app 'to show nudity', Hugh Hefner claims

I suspect Hugh Hefner’s Twitter claim in this context was premature

However, Apple has traditionally blocked any attempts to bring porn to its devices.

In April 2010, founder Steve Jobs wrote to a customer who complained about the company's stance, saying it was Apple's "moral responsibility" to keep porn off the iPhone.

"If you want porn, get an Android," he said, referring to the operating system used on rival smartphones.

BBC - Newsbeat - Playboy iPad app 'to show nudity', Hugh Hefner claims

What, Me Care? Young Are Less Empathetic: Scientific American

I just can’t relate to this…

Humans are unlikely to win the animal kingdom’s prize for fastest, strongest or largest, but we are world champions at understanding one another. This interpersonal prowess is fueled, at least in part, by empathy: our tendency to care about and share other people’s emotional experiences. Empathy is a cornerstone of human behavior and has long been considered innate. A forthcoming study, however, challenges this assumption by demonstrating that empathy levels have been declining over the past 30 years.

What, Me Care? Young Are Less Empathetic: Scientific American

Nintendo 3DS’s high price tops Wii | FT tech hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Think different – and maybe see different as well

Nintendo’s latest handheld console will cost more than the Wii home console when it goes on sale in the US and Europe in March.

At news conferences in New York and Amsterdam on Wednesday, the Japanese console maker revealed the 3DS will cost $250 in the US, with a retail price of around the same figure in euros expected in Europe and a UK price of £230. The Wii costs $200 (€190, £180).

Nintendo 3DS’s high price tops Wii | FT tech hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Amazon acquires LoveFilm, the Netflix of Europe [TechCrunch]

A move Netflix will watch closely

Amazon will acquire the remaining shares in the pan-European movie rental and streaming service LoveFilm. Terms have not been disclosed but we believe the valuation was around $312 million. Amazon already owned 42 percent of LoveFilm which acquired Amazon’s DVD rental business in 2008.

Amazon acquires LoveFilm, the Netflix of Europe

LogMeIn and iTeleport Remote Control Software for the iPad Review | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

Not so much remotely possible, according to this review [hah – I hadn’t seen “Universal Remotes: Not Remotely Possible” on nytimes.com when I created this post]

It has long been possible to control one PC or Mac from another, legally and with permission. Though the process can be tricky to set up, companies often use it as a maintenance and training tool, and some consumers use it to help others solve computer problems, or to reach back to their home or office machines while on the road to access information.

But what about remotely controlling a PC or Mac from the newest category of digital device, a multitouch tablet? Well, it turns out there are apps for that.

LogMeIn and iTeleport Remote Control Software for the iPad Review | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

Apps push parents’ buttons - The Boston Globe

Signs of the times

With the number of children’s applications for mobile devices multiplying faster than Silly Bandz on a grade schooler’s wrist, parents are reporting bedtime app-related meltdowns, disagreements over what constitutes an appropriate game, and endless requests to borrow mom’s or dad’s phone or iPad.

And it’s only likely to get worse. There are already more than 300,000 apps, according to the International Data Corp., a Framingham-based research firm. The number of downloads is expected to hit 76.9 billion worldwide in 2014, up from 10.9 billion last year. The group predicts that worldwide revenues for mobile apps will exceed $35 billion in 2014.

Apps push parents’ buttons - The Boston Globe

MobileNoter vs OneNote for iPhone

MobileNoter perspectives on how their offering compares to the Microsoft OneNote Mobile for iPhone client; see the link below for the rest of their criteria and some additional notes.  My $.02: if you want to work with OneNote notebooks on an iPad or Android smartphone, MobileNoter has some compelling capabilities, but I think the company will have a difficult time competing with OneNote Mobile for iPhone, at least for OneNote users who are primarily interested in basic note-taking and personal information management on an iPhone or iPod touch.

Microsoft has released their own OneNote client for iPhone (though it's available in USA only and can be installed only on devices with iOS 4.2) and we decided to compare it to MobileNoter.

Let's figure out what features Microsoft's app has in comparison to ours.

(Check the link below for the rest of the table)

MobileNoter vs OneNote for iPhone

Yahoo! Concedes Identity Race by Allowing Login with Facebook and Google OpenIDs [Inside Facebook]

Interesting Internet identity ideas

Yahoo! has announced that it will open its network of sites to third-party authentication through Facebook and Google OpenIDs. Users will be able to login or create accounts on the web versions of Flickr, Yahoo! News, and other services with their Facebook or Google account. By becoming an OpenID relying party, Yahoo! has conceded the race to become the premier online identity provider, and settled into its role as a content portal.

[…]

This leaves Facebook and Google to compete for the role of defacto internet identity provider. Despite Gmail’s supremacy and the wealth of Google services that integrate identity, it’s Facebook that owns the social graph. The widespread adoption of Facebook Connect and its social plugins, and the importance of their social recommendations to ecommerce and content engagement position Facebook to better control identity on the internet.

Yahoo! Concedes Identity Race by Allowing Login with Facebook and Google OpenIDs

iPhone OneNote App May Mean More Office Apps to Come: Tech News and Analysis « [GigaOM]

I believe full OneNote clients for the iPad and Mac would be the most productive next Office investments for Microsoft, along with OneNote Mobile for Android (and, if the Android slate market takes off, a full OneNote client for that device category as well).  Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are productivity application category-defining products, but OneNote is uniquely well-positioned to advance the way people interact with information items and one another through shared workspaces.

The OneNote Mobile for iPhone app is just one piece of software that helps users sync their notes to a Windows Live Skydrive account. But it may signal that potentially more Microsoft productivity apps will come to iOS. There are other third-party mobile productivity options available, like Documents To Go, but few are as popular as Word and Excel. If you listen to the words of Takeshi Numoto, corporate VP for Microsoft Office, those apps may not be far off either.

“As new pieces of technology — new browsers, mobile hardware, smart phones and social networks — become bigger parts of (people’s) lives, they expect familiar technology, like Office, to help them access their ideas wherever they are. Today’s release is another step in Office evolving to serve our 750 million customers worldwide. Whether it’s on a PC or Mac, a mobile phone, or online through the Office Web Apps on multiple browsers, we continue to bring Office to the devices, platforms, and operating systems our customers are using. It should be about the ideas and information, not the device, right?,” Numoto wrote on the Microsoft Office blog.

iPhone OneNote App May Mean More Office Apps to Come: Tech News and Analysis «

HBase: Shops swap MySQL for open source Google mimic • The Register

Another RDBMS/NoSQL snapshot

Facebook isn't the only one swapping MySQL for HBase, the open source distributed database platform based on Google's BigTable. The Hadoopian HBase is now in play at several of the web's most recognizable names – including Adobe, Yahoo!, Mozilla, and StumbleUpon – as well as smaller operations looking to climb their way to such online prominence.

HBase can't replace all MySQL installations, says HBase project chair Michael Stack, but unlike MySQL, it's specifically designed to operate at ginormous scale.

[…]

"I don't foresee StumbleUpon ever giving up on all of its MySQL instances. RDBMSs are just too useful," Stack tells The Reg. "The plan, though, is to shrink what MySQL does over time, let MySQL do what its good at and have HBase take over where MySQL is running up against limits handling ever-growing write rates, table sizes, etc."

HBase: Shops swap MySQL for open source Google mimic • The Register

A Question for Quora - Technology Review

Another Quora snapshot

Silicon Valley's most talked about new Web company, Quora, offers a novel spin on an old concept: it takes a standard Q&A site and adds Twitter-like social networking to the mix. The site has grown rapidly in recent weeks in part because of the quality of its content and community—but now its newfound popularity may jeopardize the content that made the site a success in the first place.

A Question for Quora - Technology Review