Google Should Drop Its New Google +1 Social Network and Stop Trying to Compete With Facebook - The Daily Beast

Dan Lyons on +1

Really, Google? Are you serious? Because, what—you figure the experience of doing a Google search isn’t bad enough already, so you need to clutter it up with a bunch of little buttons all over the place?

Worse yet, you’re not only going to splatter these +1 buttons all over your search page, you’re also hoping they’ll get used on other Web sites, too. Just like Facebook does with its crappy little buttons. Doesn’t it ever occur to either of you guys to just leave the goddamn Web alone?

Google Should Drop Its New Google +1 Social Network and Stop Trying to Compete With Facebook - The Daily Beast

Bill Gates vs. "Idea Man" Paul Allen: the sad autobiography problem | TG Daily

Closing paragraphs of a timely Paul Allen reality check by Rob Enderle

In a way, Paul Allen's autobiography reflects why he hasn't been successful since Microsoft and why Microsoft was more successful without him. He just didn't grasp what is important about an book like this, namely, that it should convey experiences which can prevent others from making the same mistakes you made.  

It could have also entertained, because sometimes the funniest stories are the ones where you screwed up. Although Paul has quite a lot of those stories, they simply prompted many of us to highlight errors about issues that otherwise wouldn't even be interesting.  

In the end, Paul never seemed to get the age-old motto: if you are going to do something, do it right or not at all. Unfortunately, based on early reviews, Allen and his book seemed to have utterly ignored such advice.

Bill Gates vs. "Idea Man" Paul Allen: the sad autobiography problem | TG Daily

Where Microsoft went wrong – by Paul Allen | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

More Paul Allen book excerpts

Ultimately, he concludes, Microsoft forgot what put it on top in the first place: how to build software platforms that take best advantage of the latest generation of silicon. Google and Apple “have beaten Microsoft to the punch because they’ve been more alert in developing new and innovative platforms. They’ve done a better job of following the chips.”

He still professes some hope: that Microsoft has woken up to the danger, that it can deploy its deep cash reserves, and that smartphone users will be willing to switch to something new that “catches their eye” in a fragmented market. With a quicker development cycle and a “return to its cutting-edge roots” (no small feat) Microsoft might just make it.

But one way or another, according to the man who claims much of the early technology vision behind Microsoft’s success, the PC era on which Microsoft’s fortune was founded is over: “Here’s what the death knell for the personal computer will sound like: Mainly I use my phone/pad, but I still use my PC to write long e-mails and documents. Most people aren’t there yet, but that’s where we’re headed.”

Where Microsoft went wrong – by Paul Allen | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Apps for Taking Inventory at Home - NYTimes.com

Heading toward ERP for the home/hobbyist?  Check the article link for related app snapshots

The answer: not really. There are lots of bad, a few so-so, and some great computer programs to help you create an inventory. Unfortunately, even the best ones require some work — too much work, I imagine, for all but the most organized people. In other words, not me.

But if you are a neat freak — if you look forward to cleaning your closets on weekends, or rejoice at the prospect of alphabetizing your DVDs — then consider investing in a good home inventory manager. Creating and maintaining an inventory might take a few weekends, but it will help you better understand what you own — a first step toward getting rid of unnecessary things, like those three extra copies of “The Great Gatsby.”

Apps for Taking Inventory at Home - NYTimes.com

Do Not Anger the Alpha Android - BusinessWeek

A busy week in the Googleplex for lawyers and corporate communications people

This is the new reality described by about a dozen executives working at key companies in the Android ecosystem. Some of those affected include LG, Toshiba, Samsung, and even Facebook, which has been trying to develop an Android device. There have been enough run-ins to trigger complaints with the Justice Dept., according to a person familiar with the matter. The Google that once welcomed all comers to help get its mobile software off the ground has become far more discriminating—especially for companies that want to include Google services such as search and maps on their hardware. Google also gives chip and device makers that abide by its rules a head start in bringing Android products to market, according to the executives.

Do Not Anger the Alpha Android - BusinessWeek

Google Settles Data Privacy Complaint With FTC on ‘Buzz’ Social Network - Bloomberg

Probably not the type of buzz Google was hoping for

Google Inc. (GOOG) agreed to settle U.S. Federal Trade Commission claims that it used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy policies when it introduced the Buzz social-networking service last year.

The proposed settlement bars Google from misrepresenting how it handles information, obliges the company to follow policies that protect consumer data in new products and requires periodic reviews to ensure the policies are followed, the FTC said in a statement today.

Google Settles Data Privacy Complaint With FTC on ‘Buzz’ Social Network - Bloomberg

James Harkin: The iPad is a badge, not a product - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent

An Apple reality check via All Things Digital; a quote from Fake Steve’s book follows below

Whoever said religion was dying never saw the queues that snake round Apple's stores when a new product arrives. On Friday night thousands of Britons, some having queued for three days, gathered to pay homage to the second coming of the iPad.

Many emerged holding their products aloft and punching the air. Never mind that iPad 2 was a modest and slightly disappointing upgrade on iPad 1, and that the uninitiated would scarcely be able to tell the difference. The rapturous way it was received had all the air of a revivalist meeting.

From Fake Steve’s Options (p. 187), with a young (fake) Steve Jobs seeking wisdom from a guru:

"America is all about commerce. That's what America is good at. Someone is going to figure out a way to create material things and to imbue them with a sense of religious significance. I don't know how this will happen. But it will happen, because it needs to happen." He held up his hands. "God on the one hand," he said, "and products on the other." He brought his hands together, and interlaced his fingers. "Whoever weaves these together will become more powerful than you can imagine."

James Harkin: The iPad is a badge, not a product - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent

Adding our Voice to Concerns about Search in Europe - Microsoft on the Issues - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Excerpt from a blog post statement by Brad Smith, Microsoft Senior Vice President & General Counsel

How does it do this?  Google has built its business on indexing and displaying snippets of other organizations’ Web content.  It understands as well as anyone that search engines depend upon the openness of the Web in order to function properly, and it’s quick to complain when others undermine this.  Unfortunately, Google has engaged in a broadening pattern of walling off access to content and data that competitors need to provide search results to consumers and to attract advertisers. 

On PCs it is usually not difficult for people to navigate to any search engine.  Google in fact makes this point virtually every time someone raises antitrust concerns about their practices.  Their defense ignores the hugely important fact that there are many other important ways that search services compete.  Search engines compete to index the Web as fully as possible so they can generate good search results, they compete to gain advertisers (the source of revenue in this business), and they compete to gain distribution of their search boxes through Web sites.  Consumers will not benefit from clicking to alternative sites unless all search engines have a fair opportunity to compete in each of these areas. 

Our filing details many instances where Google is impeding competition in these areas.  A half-dozen examples below help illustrate some of our concerns. 

Adding our Voice to Concerns about Search in Europe - Microsoft on the Issues - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Microsoft Accusing Google of Antitrust Violations - NYTimes.com

A major milestone for both Microsoft and Google; check the article link below for details

Though it is making an antitrust claim, Microsoft is also claiming a bit of hypocrisy on Google’s part. In an interview, Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, cited Google’s stated mission to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

“That is a laudable goal,” Mr. Smith said. “But it appears Google’s practice is to prevent others from doing the same thing. That is unlawful and it raises serious antitrust issues.”

Google’s strategy, he adds, seems to be to “wall off content so that it cannot be crawled and searched by competing companies.”

Microsoft Accusing Google of Antitrust Violations - NYTimes.com

XML Prague 2011 - Doug Mahugh - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

Check the post link below for an event/trip report by Doug Mahugh

As you can see from the conference agenda, there were presentations on a wide variety of XML topics over the two days. As noted in the closing keynote (more on that below), there was a general theme of “XML in the browser” that cut through many sessions, as well as sessions on other topics such as EPUB, JSON, DITA, and others. The room was packed, with nearly every seat taken and extra chairs lining the aisle, for the opening session by Norm Walsh (above) that covered the history of HTML and XML and some of the use cases that have been considered by the W3C TAG HTML/XML Task Force. And the room stayed packed, all weekend long, with none of the drop-off in attendance many conferences experience.

XML Prague 2011 - Doug Mahugh - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

Skype In The Classroom: An International Social Network For Teachers [TechCrunch]

Check the article link below for more details and an overview video

Skype realizes full well its software is used by many school teachers and students from around the globe, and today announced that it has built a dedicated social network to help them connect, collaborate and exchange knowledge and teaching resources over the Web.

This morning, the company launched a free international community site dubbed Skype in the Classroom, an online platform designed to help teachers find each other and relevant projects according to search criteria such as the age groups they teach, location and subjects of interest.

Skype In The Classroom: An International Social Network For Teachers

Firefox for Android: Desktop-Like Browsing for Your Phone [Technologizer]

Hmm – OneNote Web App works well in Firefox 4 for Android on my Samsung Fascinate, at least from an initial glance

That’s one reason why I’m in favor of browser competition being as healthy on smartphones and tablets as it is on computers. On iOS, that’s not going to happen anytime soon–Apple doesn’t permit full-blown browsers with their own rendering engines in the App Store. (Ones that use the Safari engine, such as the excellent Atomic Web Browser, are permissible; so is Opera Mini, which does most of its work on Opera’s servers, not on your phone.) On Android, however, there’s nothing stopping other companies from competing with the OS’s built-in browser. Opera announced new versions of both Opera Mini and Opera Mobile for Android a couple of weeks ago. And now Mozilla has released the final version of Firefox 4 for Android.

Firefox for Android: Desktop-Like Browsing for Your Phone

Evernote gets a real Web app | Rafe's Radar - CNET News

Another take on the new Evernote Web client and related Evernote news

For me, the Evernote apps on Windows, OS X, iPhone and iPad are critical productivity tools that I use every day. The new Web app, which I tried last night, significantly reduces the penalty for working in a browser when that's the only option--or you're in too much of a hurry to open up an app. Libin also said it will be the key platform for building Evernote out on new Web-only tablets and TV-based browsers.

Evernote has over 8 million users and is adding 26,000 a day, Libin said. Most use only Evernote's free service, but Libin said the conversion from free to paid accounts is better than planned. The company still has $30 million of its $42 million funding in the bank.

Evernote gets a real Web app | Rafe's Radar - CNET News

Cross-check: Poetic masterpiece of Claude Shannon, father of information theory, published for the first time [Scientific American]

See the article link below for the poem (and ten footnotes)

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Shannon's death, I'm publishing his poem, "A Rubric on Rubik Cubics," which captures Shannon's legendary playfulness. (Shannon once told me, proudly, that "financial value, or value to the world," never motivated him and that he had "spent lots of time on totally useless problems.") Here is the poem's provenance: In a letter dated December 1, 1981, Shannon wrote to Dennis Flanagan, then editor of Scientific American, concerning an article that Shannon was supposed to be writing about the physics of juggling.

Excerpt:

The issue's joined in steely grip:
Man's mind against computer chip.
With theorems wrought by Conway's eight
'Gainst programs writ by Thistlethwait.
Can multibillion-neuron brains
Beat multimegabit machines?
The thrust of this theistic schism—
To ferret out God's algorism!

Cross-check: Poetic masterpiece of Claude Shannon, father of information theory, published for the first time

Over one billion Active Views served; LinkedIn, Netflix, Posterous, and LivingSocial on the way [The Windows Blog]

Check the post link below for another example of Web page/app boundary blurring

In the past, you’ve heard us talking about the many different types of email and how this creates an opportunity for us to transform Hotmail in ways that help you do more right in your inbox. Over 90% of all email contains a link to some deeper content that isn’t being surfaced in the email, and we know from our research that for most of these messages, there are a few common responses – viewing a slideshow, playing the video, checking shipping status, or accepting an invitation. To help solve this problem, we created Active Views – a platform that reinvents email by making your inbox more interactive and helping you get tasks completed.

Over one billion Active Views served; LinkedIn, Netflix, Posterous, and LivingSocial on the way

Microsoft Co-Founder Hits Out at Gates - WSJ.com

Excerpt from a preview of a provocative new Paul Allen book

Mr. Allen's unflattering account of Mr. Gates in the book is already making waves within the tight circle of early Microsoft alumni, with several people who know both men privately expressing confusion about Mr. Allen's motivations for criticizing his old business partner and questioning the accuracy of Mr. Allen's interpretation of certain events. Mr. Allen, for instance, puts himself in meetings that people familiar with the meetings say he never attended. In one case, Mr. Allen visits Palo Alto, Calif. to help woo a computer scientist who would later become one of the Microsoft's most important programmers. People familiar with the meeting said it was Mr. Gates who made the visit. Mr. Postman said that he isn't aware of any errors in the book.

Microsoft Co-Founder Hits Out at Gates - WSJ.com

PC Downloads as Easy as an App | Katherine Boehret | The Digital Solution | AllThingsD

Or, with apps such as the Amazon Cloud Player on PCs, you could just skip the entire installation step and run modern Web apps that look and feel like native client apps

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a way to buy an app for your mobile device while you’re on your PC, Amazon offers a hybrid approach by using the PC browser to sell apps for Android mobile devices. The Amazon Appstore for Android is accessible through the Amazon.com website, and can be installed on Android devices by entering a phone number or email, which sends a link to devices for downloading the Amazon Appstore. On the PC, people can click “Test Drive Now” to try apps on a simulated Android device before downloading the apps. A different free app is offered daily in the Amazon Appstore for Android.

It’s clear that stores selling apps are a hit on mobile devices, and the migration of these stores to the personal computer is a great help for consumers who want simpler methods of downloading free and paid apps for news, social networking, productivity, games, and education.

PC Downloads as Easy as an App | Katherine Boehret | The Digital Solution | AllThingsD

The Shiny New Evernote Web: Redesigned Interface, Expanded Note Sharing Options and More « Evernote Blogcast

A major revision to the Evernote Web client – maybe using it in iPad Safari will make it possible to work around the lack of a tab key when creating Evernote outlines on the iPad native Evernote client [update: nope; see note appended below]…

Over the past several months, we’ve released major updates to our four most popular versions: Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android. Today, we’re excited to unveil the fifth newly redesigned member of the Evernote family, Evernote Web.

All of our recent redesigns have had several key ideas in common:

• Improving the user experience
• Optimizing performance
• Getting the most out of each platform’s native capabilities
• Incorporating as much user feedback as possible

Each one of these core concepts played a critical role in our decisions around the new Evernote Web. Take a look for yourself.

[…]

Our focus is on your memory–helping you save and find all of your ideas, projects and inspirations wherever you may be. As you add more and more stuff into Evernote, you’ll likely want to share bits and pieces with family, friends and colleagues. That’s why we’re excited to announce a major expansion of our sharing capabilities to include quick sharing of individual notes through Facebook, email and your instant messenger.

Check the post link below for more details and screen shots.  Looks like it’s not quite out of beta yet, from a quick visit; e.g., I ran into the following problem:

• Create bulleted outline in Evernote Web (in IE9)
• Update same note outline in Evernote full PC client; sync
• Revisit original note via Evernote Web (IE9); note display not updated
  • Although the added text did show up in the note index summary, weirdly, and displays correctly in the Android Evernote client
    • And the full note outline appeared when I switched browser clients
• Updating the note in IE9 then deletes the content added via the PC Evernote client; not good…
  • But the full sequence of steps works as expected in Chrome, so it is apparently an Evernote Web + IE9 problem

Update – never mind, on the iPad hypothesis; the Evernote Web toolbar, which includes the following in PC browsers

… does not appear in the Evernote Web client when using iPad Safari, so, unless there is a magic gesture/whatever combination I haven’t read about yet, you can’t use Evernote on the iPad for outlines.  Go figure…

The Shiny New Evernote Web: Redesigned Interface, Expanded Note Sharing Options and More « Evernote Blogcast

The problem with Microsoft... - Fortune Tech

Excerpts from a stark Microsoft reality check

To some longtime Microsoft veterans, Ballmer's swift termination of Courier symbolizes a shortsightedness that has plagued the company's top management in recent years -- and has left the company eating Apple's dust. (And Google's. And Amazon's (AMZN).) Ballmer, a preternaturally optimistic man not inclined to second-guess himself, has been forced to publicly acknowledge many of the company's biggest misses. The Vista operating system frustrated users. The MP3 player, the Zune, has proved a dud. And then there's Microsoft's costliest blunder, its also-ran status on the device that is emerging as the personal computer of the 21st century, the mobile phone. "We were ahead of this game, and now we find ourselves No. 5 in the market," Ballmer said at a tech conference in June. "We missed a whole cycle." Or two. Or three.

The article also notes that Apple’s stock is worth more than 20 times its 2002 price.

The problem with Microsoft... - Fortune Tech

RIM: The inmates have taken over the asylum | Monday Note

Concluding paragraphs of an extensive RIM reality check by Jean-Louis Gassée (via Louis Gray, via Buzz)

RIM succeeded because word of mouth, not advertising, sold the Blackberry. Proud users begat more proud users. What will happen when users “share” the true value of the “running Android apps” claim?
No one could fault RIM for the “iPad surprise”. After decades of misbegotten tablets, no one was prepared for the rise of the new genre.
Reacting quickly, not wanting Apple to gain too much of a market stronghold makes business sense. But launching what is clearly an immature product and trying to compensate for a dearth of applications with a misleading claim of compatibility with the wrong version of Android is insane.

Those whom the gods would destroy, they first render mad…

RIM: The inmates have taken over the asylum | Monday Note

Dorsey Named Twitter’s Executive Chairman Amid Facebook Fight - Businessweek

Expectations now set at ~infinity…

Twitter Inc. co-founder Jack Dorsey will become executive chairman and head of product development as the company aims to narrow Facebook Inc.’s lead in online advertising and get users to be more active on its site.

The move means Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter’s chief executive officer and became chairman in 2008, will play a more hands-on role at the San Francisco-based provider of microblogging. He will also remain CEO of Square Inc., the mobile-payments provider he co-founded in 2009.

Dorsey Named Twitter’s Executive Chairman Amid Facebook Fight - Businessweek

EBay to Buy GSI Commerce - WSJ.com

In other Amazon-related developments…  Check the article link below for more on the expanding Amazon/eBay competitive landscape

EBay Inc., seeking to tip the balance of power in the surging Internet retail industry, is making a $2.4 billion acquisition that will intensify its rivalry with Amazon.com Inc.

The online auction pioneer is buying e-commerce service company GSI Commerce Inc., extending its reach into several businesses that have helped Amazon build its product selection and win customer loyalty. GSI, like Amazon, has the infrastructure in place to help merchants of all sizes conduct e-commerce.

A handy summary table:

EBay to Buy GSI Commerce - WSJ.com

Amazon Introduces a Digital Music Locker - NYTimes.com

Check the article link below for more details, including potential legal challenges

The service, known as a music locker, was made available to Amazon account holders early Tuesday. Amazon will offer a Web-based hard drive backup service called Cloud Drive, where people can store documents, photos, videos and music.

[…]

Amazon is offering five gigabytes of free storage and 20 gigabytes free if a customer buys an album from Amazon.

Amazon Introduces a Digital Music Locker - NYTimes.com

Facebook Wants to Add Friends in Washington - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a Facebook snapshot

Facebook’s political operation remains quite small when compared with those of its competitors. The company spent just $350,000 in lobbying in 2010, far less than the $5.1 million spent by Google, according to OpenSecrets.org. Still, the company is building up its Washington operation, which now has 10 people. On Monday, the group moved into new offices with plenty of room for growth. In a nod to Beltway humor, the conference rooms have names like the Rose Garden, Camp David, An Undisclosed Location, Smoke-Filled Room and Kissing Babies.

Facebook Wants to Add Friends in Washington - NYTimes.com

Java founder James Gosling now working for Google | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD

I suspect we haven’t seen the final chapter in this story yet

Java founder James Gosling, who left Oracle after its acquisition of Sun Microsystems last year, has a new job: Working for Google.

[…]

And a dash of litigation as well. Gosling’s hiring at Google comes as the company faces an Oracle lawsuit accusing that it “knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle’s Java-related intellectual property.” I imagine having on your payroll the father of the programming language at issue in the suit will come in handy when it goes to trial.

Java founder James Gosling now working for Google | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD

AT&T Plans to Support Amazon, Other Third-Party Android Stores | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

More Amazon AppStore momentum

“AT&T plans to offer the Amazon application store for Android smartphones and we’re working to give our Android customers access to third party application stores,” the company said in a statement. “This requires updates to our systems and finalizing arrangements with Amazon.”

AT&T Plans to Support Amazon, Other Third-Party Android Stores | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Amazon Launches Cloud-Based Music Service, Edging out Google and Apple | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

The Amazon consumer cloud expands; meanwhile, RealNetworks’ CEO resigns

“Amazon allows you to securely store your entire digital music collection using Amazon Cloud Drive and play it on any Mac, PC, or Android device using Amazon Cloud Player,” the company said in a question-and-answer page on its Web site. “Any new Amazon MP3 Store purchases can be saved directly to your Amazon Cloud Drive for free. You can also upload your existing music library to Amazon Cloud Drive so you have all your music in one place, accessible from anywhere.”

Amazon Launches Cloud-Based Music Service, Edging out Google and Apple | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Six Reasons Google Books Failed by Robert Darnton | NYRBlog | The New York Review of Books

Check the article link below for a succinct summary by domain expert Robert Darnton; he analyzes what went wrong for Google Books and describes a Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) alternative

Judge Denny Chin’s opinion in rejecting the settlement between Google and the authors and publishers who sued it for infringement of their copyrights can be read as both as a map of wrong turns taken in the past and as an invitation to design a better route into the digital future. Extrapolating from the dense, 48-page text that accompanied the judge’s March 23 decision, it is possible to locate six crucial points where things went awry:

Six Reasons Google Books Failed by Robert Darnton | NYRBlog | The New York Review of Books

SharePoint Tries to Keep Up - Technology Review

Excerpt from a SharePoint snapshot

The collaboration tools discussed this month in Business Impact all have one thing in common. One way or another, they will run up against the market leader: Microsoft's SharePoint software, which is used by more than 100 million people around the world.

SharePoint's success can be attributed to several factors. One, it does a lot: among other things, it lets employees share documents, search internal files, coördinate tasks, and send each other instant messages through a central portal. Second, customers like the fact that it works well with other widely used Microsoft products, such as Exchange e-mail and the Office software package. Third, Microsoft offers a basic version of SharePoint free to companies that run servers with Windows software.

SharePoint Tries to Keep Up - Technology Review

louisgray.com: What iTunes Needs to Take on Spotify, Rdio & Google

A digital music reality check from Louis Gray

Ever since I gained early access to Spotify in late 2009, I've practically abandoned iTunes for purchasing music. A once-addicted iTunes user who racked up thousands of paid downloads, the only time I ever launch the multipurpose entertainment application these days is to synchronize iOS apps to the iPod Touch, or do a futile search of its TV library to see if Season 5 of Dexter has shown up (it hasn't). But with the widespread expectation that iTunes will eventually launch in the cloud alongside a streaming subscription option, the update has the potential to directly take on Spotify before the fledgling service gets its US land legs, leaping well ahead of Rdio in brand recognition, and doing battle with the still unavailable Google Music - whenever that arrives.

louisgray.com: What iTunes Needs to Take on Spotify, Rdio & Google

AOL Tries for Some Silicon Valley Cred - BusinessWeek

AOL: an odd landlord

Nothing is less cool than professing one's coolness, of course, especially if you're an Internet dinosaur evoking a bygone era of dial-up modems. AOL was a hot stock in the 1990s, only to become half of AOL Time Warner in one of the worst mergers in U.S. history. The company spun off in 2009 and has a market cap of $2 billion; that's a fraction of its value on the day the Time Warner merger was announced. Yet AOL's quest for cred may actually be working. There's a waiting list of startups that want to move in. "We really have tried to make our offices into centers of creativity where we can invite other people to come in and work with us," says Tim Armstrong, chief executive officer of the New York-based company. "The opportunity is to take some of the world's best entrepreneurs and technologists and have them work in a deeply engaging place."

AOL Tries for Some Silicon Valley Cred - BusinessWeek

Steal This E-Book - Forbes.com

From a Tim O’Reilly interview (via All Things Digital):

People who don't pay you generally wouldn't have paid you anyway. We're delighted when people who can't afford our books don't pay us for them, if they go out and do something useful with that information.

I think having faith in that basic logic of the market is important. Besides, DRM interferes with the user experience. It makes it much harder to have people adopt your product.

Steal This E-Book - Forbes.com

‘On call’ all night can leave texting teens tired out - The Boston Globe

Excerpts from a scary snapshot

With teenagers sending and receiving an average of 3,276 texts per month in the last quarter of 2010, according to the most recent statistics from the Nielsen Co., it’s no wonder that Michael Rich, director of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Center on Media and Child Health, is starting to see young patients who come in exhausted by being “on call’’ or semi-alert all night as they wait for their phones to vibrate or ring with a text.

[…]

A Pew Research Center study from 2010 reported that more than four out of five teens with cellphones sleep with the phone on or near the bed, sometimes falling asleep with it in their hands in the middle of a conversation. Pew researchers did not ask whether the phones were on, but Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist, said “many expressed reluctance to ever turn their phones off.’’

‘On call’ all night can leave texting teens tired out - The Boston Globe

Fake tweets by 'socialbot' fool hundreds of followers - tech - 23 March 2011 - New Scientist

A new Turing quiz (not quite a Turing Test)?…  (Via ACM TechNews)

THREE anonymous teams have let loose software that pretends to be human, and used it to manipulate a group of Twitter users.

Over a two-week period, the three "socialbots" were able to integrate themselves into the group, and gained close to 250 followers between them. They received more than 240 responses to the tweets they sent.

This sinister-sounding effort was in fact part of Socialbots 2011, a competition designed to test whether bots can be used to alter the structure of a social network.

Fake tweets by 'socialbot' fool hundreds of followers - tech - 23 March 2011 - New Scientist

HTML5 Is Breathing New Life Into the Web - NYTimes.com

An HTML5 market snapshot

The technology, by all accounts, is an innovative achievement. HTML5 represents the “next big step in the progress of the Web,” says Jeffrey Jaffe, chief executive of the World Wide Web Consortium, which guides the development of technical standards. Paul Mercer, a veteran Silicon Valley software designer, says the technology will make it possible to “achieve the dream of expressive, interactive applications on the Web that are Cupertino-class,” a reference to the headquarters of Apple, where Mr. Mercer worked for years.

There are also potentially sweeping business implications, executives and investors say. The technology could alter the playing field in the emerging market for digital media and mobile applications, creating new market opportunities.

[…]

Most major publishers are experimenting with HTML5 today. (The New York Times version, using the new technology, is at nytimes.com/skimmer.)

HTML5 Is Breathing New Life Into the Web - NYTimes.com

New iPad most expensive in Denmark, cheapest in U.S. | Reuters

More pricing information from the reality distortion field (via Slate); check the article link below for more iPad 2 pricing stats

Prices in the United States, where the iPad 2 has been on sale since March 11, start at $499 for the most basic model -- with 16 gigabytes of storage and Wi-Fi only connectivity -- while the same model in Denmark costs the equivalent of $702.

Customers lined up in their hundreds outside Apple stores in Europe and Asia, many waiting overnight or longer, to get their hands on an iPad 2 amid fears of shortages.

In Hong Kong, where the iPad 2 will not officially go on sale until next month, enterprising Chinese businessmen were already selling devices bought in the United States for up to HK$ 15,000 ($1,900).

New iPad most expensive in Denmark, cheapest in U.S. | Reuters

The Wisdom of Friends (and Others Too) [The Facebook Blog]

Check the post link below for more details and some screen shots

Friends are often the best source of advice when you're trying new things: Where should I go to dinner? How do I go buy a car? What new music should I check out? Friends know your tastes, and you have confidence in their opinions.

Like many of our products, Questions originated as people began using Facebook in a new and unexpected way. People would update their status with a question, and their friends would answer in the comments. We saw this and began thinking about how we could make this interaction more useful. Over the summer, we began testing Questions with a small group of people, and today we are beginning to roll it out to everyone.

FYI from the Facebook Questions Help Center page:

The Wisdom of Friends (and Others Too)

LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman Personally Thanks First Million Members For Being Early Adopters [TechCrunch]

LinkedIn’s population was smaller than that of my childhood hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota, when I joined…  LinkedIn has been an exceptionally useful resource for me, over the years.

LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman Personally Thanks First Million Members For Being Early Adopters

The Book Deal May Be Dead, But Google Is Still Right: Tech News and Analysis « [GigaOM]

Check the article link below, and the comment thread therein, for a lively debate

The Google book settlement — which the search giant signed with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers in 2008, after a dispute over the company’s scanning of books — was struck down by a judge this week as too far-reaching, which is arguably true (although Google would undoubtedly disagree). But the fact that the arrangement has been rejected might not be such a bad thing, because it puts the spotlight back where it should be: on the fact that Google is doing nothing wrong — legally or morally — in scanning books without the permission of the authors or the publishers of those books.

The Book Deal May Be Dead, But Google Is Still Right: Tech News and Analysis «

Will the Web have a place in a world full of apps? - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

Excerpt from a timely app/Web reality check

In other words, the fight between apps and the Web will be rendered moot. The two modes of getting online will become indistinguishable—you'll reach for the Web or apps or both, depending on the device you're using. The more relevant issue is that we'll all be getting online more, and for all kinds of tasks—listening to music, watching movies, reading books, playing games, doing office work, and communicating with friends and colleagues. Sun Microsystems' old slogan, "the network is the computer," gets truer every day. (It's telling that the slogan outlived the company.)

Will the Web have a place in a world full of apps? - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

At Google, Page Seeks to Cut Red Tape - WSJ.com

No more traces of a triumvirate at Google

As Mr. Page has become more visible at Google, Mr. Schmidt, 55, who will become executive chairman, has been shopping around a book about technology and has been traveling more as part of his new role handling government affairs and partnerships, said a person familiar with the matter. Google's other co-founder, Sergey Brin, 37, said earlier this year that he is working on special projects at the company.

Mr. Page's presence has been felt at Google's headquarters and through emails. About a month ago, he sent an email to product and engineering managers asking them to write to him about what they were working on in 60 words or less, said people familiar with the matter. Mr. Page said in the email that he wanted managers to "pitch" him on their projects, these people said.

At Google, Page Seeks to Cut Red Tape - WSJ.com

In Silicon Valley, a Lack of Engineers - NYTimes.com

Another profile of the selective nature of post-90s prosperity

Then there are salaries. Google is paying computer science majors just out of college $90,000 to $105,000, as much as $20,000 more than it was paying a few months ago. That is so far above the industry average of $80,000 that start-ups cannot match Google salaries. Google declined to comment.

Two executives at a small start-up who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it recently lost an intern when one of the biggest start-ups offered the candidate a 40 percent bump in stock options, potentially worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — but only if the candidate accepted the job before hanging up the phone.

In Silicon Valley, a Lack of Engineers - NYTimes.com

Greatest fans of iPad 2: Scalpers - The Boston Globe

A snapshot of the iPad 2 economy

Two weeks after the iPad 2 went on sale, the competition to buy it remains brutal. Online orders face a wait time of three to four weeks (down from four to five weeks just a few days ago), and Apple Stores around the country are experiencing epic lines for the few devices that are released each morning.

At the Galleria yesterday, 22 people were in line by 4:35 a.m., and 21 of them shared something in common: They were there to buy and then resell the devices overseas, where they said the tablet computers can fetch more than triple their retail price.

Greatest fans of iPad 2: Scalpers - The Boston Globe

BBC - Newsbeat - MySpace loses millions of users in a few weeks

Plenty of extra space on MySpace

Tech industry analysts comScore say figures show MySpace lost more than 10 million unique users worldwide between January and February.

There were almost 63 million users of MySpace in February 2011, down from more than 73 million.

Year on year the site has lost almost 50 million users, down from close to 110 million in February 2010.

[…]

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp bought the company for £330 million back in 2005.

If they were to sell today, they might get as little as £50 million for it.

BBC - Newsbeat - MySpace loses millions of users in a few weeks

The Freight Train That Is Android « abovethecrowd.com

Excerpt from timely and insightful Google analysis by Bill Gurley (via Tim O’Reilly)   

So here is the kicker. Android, as well as Chrome and Chrome OS for that matter, are not “products” in the classic business sense. They have no plan to become their own “economic castles.” Rather they are very expensive and very aggressive “moats,” funded by the height and magnitude of Google’s castle. Google’s aim is defensive not offensive. They are not trying to make a profit on Android or Chrome. They want to take any layer that lives between themselves and the consumer and make it free (or even less than free). Because these layers are basically software products with no variable costs, this is a very viable defensive strategy. In essence, they are not just building a moat; Google is also scorching the earth for 250 miles around the outside of the castle to ensure no one can approach it. And best I can tell, they are doing a damn good job of it.

The Freight Train That Is Android « abovethecrowd.com

Steve Jobs vindicated: Google Android is not open • The Register

An interesting open* milestone; check the article link below for some speculation about potential reasons and ramifications

"Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization," a company spokesman told us. "While we’re excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we’ve decided not to release Honeycomb to open source."

Speaking with Bloomberg, Google's Andy Rubin, who oversees the Android project, made similar noises. "To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs," he said. "We didn't want to think about what it would take for the same software to run on phones. It would have required a lot of additional resources and extended our schedule beyond what we thought was reasonable. So we took a shortcut."

Steve Jobs vindicated: Google Android is not open • The Register

A Facebook Cofounder Tackles Workplace Collaboration - Technology Review

Excerpt from an Asana snapshot (from the 2nd page of the article)

That product seeks to fill a gap in the current market for collaboration software, he says: "There are tools that are really good for sharing already, like Google Docs and e-mail, but they're extremely bad at structuring information about tasks and updates." On the flip side, he adds, tools like Microsoft Project provide plenty of structure but are poor for sharing. "Our chief mission is to find a better balance between the two," he says. "We have structure and more flexibility."

Some 100 organizations use Asana today, in an invitation-only beta trial set to become more open later in the year. So far those organizations have been small startups that are testing Asana against more established competitors such as Basecamp, Pivotal Tracker, or Salesforce.com's Chatter.

A Facebook Cofounder Tackles Workplace Collaboration - Technology Review

Sun finally shines under Oracle | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Another perspective on Oracle’s latest quarterly results

In its last full year as an independent company, Sun Microsystems suffered an operating loss of $775m. Now, less than two years later, Oracle says it’s well on the way to making a $1.5bn profit from the same businesses.

So did Sun shareholders make a big mistake in selling out too soon, or has Oracle really pulled off an overhaul in record time?

A bit of both, to judge from Oracle’s latest earnings.

[…]

There’s some way to go. Due to the profit dilution from hardware (which only accounts for a fifth of its revenues), Oracle’s pro-forma operating margin has dropped to 44 per cent, from 49 per cent in the quarter before the Sun deal. If Oracle’s management really can claw their way back, it will provide strong evidence that the company’s amazing takeover machine is still firing on all cylinders.

Sun finally shines under Oracle | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Oracle Advances as Forecast Tops Estimates on Cloud Demand - Businessweek

This probably disturbs HP more than the endless Oracle taunting

Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison is phasing out lower- margin products from Sun, acquired last year, to wring more profit from high-end hardware. A boom in demand for Oracle’s databases used in cloud computing -- the delivery of software and storage over the Internet -- also contributed to a 29 percent gain in new license sales, an predictor of revenue.

[…]

When Oracle, the largest supplier of database software, purchased Sun, analysts fretted that its margins would be squeezed by the addition of less profitable hardware. Oracle Co- President Safra Catz took pains to allay that concern on the conference call, saying gross margin in the hardware unit rose to 55 percent last quarter from 53 percent the previous quarter. It will continue to rise in coming periods, she predicted.

“It’s becoming clear that we’re going to be able to ultimately bring the margins very close, if not even more than they ever were when we were just a software business,” Catz said. “We still think there’s actually quite a bit of room.”

Oracle Advances as Forecast Tops Estimates on Cloud Demand - Businessweek

Microsoft just scooped up 666,624 IPv4 addresses for $7.5 million [The Next Web]

Supply and demand (via Louis Gray)

Microsoft has purchased 666,624 IPv4 addresses from the bankrupt networking vendor Nortel Netorks after a period of competitive bidding.

The 7.5 million dollars that Microsoft spent on the IPv4 addresses roughly breaks down to a per-unit price of $11.25. In perspective, that is cheaper than the price of registering a domain name, which usually costs around $10 depending on the registrar used.

[…]

Why was Microsoft interested in the IPv4 addresses? Because as a commodity they are nearly gone. In fact, the last batch has been issued, meaning that they are now, in effect, a scarce resource. There will be a nearly infinite number of IPv6 addresses available in the future, but complications with the transition to IPv6 has put a premium on the value of extant, and unused, IPv4 addresses.

Microsoft just scooped up 666,624 IPv4 addresses for $7.5 million

Facebook Unveils New Version of Questions Tool [Mashable]

Now you can go to Facebook for questions and answers as well as updates (and ads…)

Facebook released a new version of its Questions feature on Thursday, the result of nearly a year of beta testing.

The new version of Questions takes the focus off public inquiries (a service already dominated by Q&A sites like Quora) and instead focuses on soliciting recommendations from friends.

“There are a lot of places you can go on the internet to ask questions of people who you don’t know, but there are very few places you can go to get responses from your friends,” said Adrian Graham, a project manager for Questions. “We thought that this is where we should focus.”

Facebook Unveils New Version of Questions Tool

RIM Warns of Weak Quarter, Adds Android Apps to Tablet - WSJ.com

Confirming speculation on Android app support; I wonder if it’ll be sufficient to warrant a Microsoft lawsuit…

Research In Motion Ltd. posted a 32% jump in quarterly profit, but the BlackBerry maker warned of lower earnings and revenue in the current period. Shares fell 10% in after-hours trading.

The Waterloo, Ontario, company also said it plans to allow Android applications to run on its PlayBook tablet computer, due out next month. The move will greatly expand the number of apps available on the PlayBook. But it is a concession by RIM, as it has struggled to compete against Apple Inc. and a slew of devices running Google Inc.'s Android software.

RIM Warns of Weak Quarter, Adds Android Apps to Tablet - WSJ.com

Can Tim Wu Save the Internet? - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Excerpt from an extensive Tim Wu profile (via All Things Digital)

Apple and its chief executive, Steve Jobs, are the players "most interested in a complete paradigm shift" in computing, he says. They want to replace the chaotic freedom of personal computers with a new regime of controlled devices. (Picture the televisionlike iPad, with its strictly vetted App Store, and you get the idea.) It's a familiar rap to anyone who follows these geek debates, at least until Wu pivots to Plato.

"Plato suggested that the finest form of government was dictatorship run by geniuses," he says. "Jobs realizes that dictatorial rule, if done well, will be more popular than democracy."

Can Tim Wu Save the Internet? - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education

BBC News - Iran accused in 'dire' net security attack

Seeing a pattern yet?…

Hackers in Iran have been accused of trying to subvert one of the net's key security systems.

Analysis in the wake of the thwarted attack suggests it originated and was co-ordinated via servers in Iran.

If it had succeeded, the attackers would been able to pass themselves off as web giants Google, Yahoo, Skype, Mozilla and Microsoft.

The impersonation would have let attackers trick web users into thinking they were accessing the real service.

BBC News - Iran accused in 'dire' net security attack

How China and Others Are Altering Web Traffic - Technology Review

Check the article link below for details

Google leveled new charges against China this week, claiming that the country has interfered with some citizens' access to the Internet giant's Gmail service, disguising the interference as technical glitches.

Security experts say that China is most likely using invisible intermediary servers, or "transparent proxies," to intercept and relay network messages while rapidly modifying the contents of those communications. This makes it possible to block e-mail messages while making it appear as if Gmail is malfunctioning.

How China and Others Are Altering Web Traffic - Technology Review

Valley-backed Color’s “miraculous” new app | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Crowdsourcing surveillance?…

Warning! Everything you take using Color is public, that’s the whole idea, with your photo immediately being uploaded in the background to Color’s servers.

Once you’ve taken that first pic, Color’s patent-pending proximity algorithms go to work to pull in all the other photos taken on devices using Color in your close neighbourhood around the same time and show them to you in an attractive timeline.

Color calls this Multi-lens. Mr Nguyen showed me how other members of his team had taken pictures of us as we talked and our conversation was being pictorially displayed almost in real time from several camera angles inside the app.

From the company site (whence you can download iOS and Android Color clients):

Find someone. Take pictures together.
Party. Play date. Lunch?

Simultaneously use multiple iPhones and Androids to capture photos, videos, and conversations into a group album. There’s no attaching, uploading, or friending to do.

Share together in a new, moving social network. Just look around.

Valley-backed Color’s “miraculous” new app | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

The New York Times is testing my conviction

I recently signed up for a NYT subscription, in anticipation of its “pay wall.”  I have no doubt that there will be clever work-arounds, so I could probably save the $195/year, but I believe professional journalism is vital and should be supported.

As I noted yesterday, I appear to have the right combination of cookies and perhaps other digital fingerprints required to be a candidate for Lincoln’s advertising campaign offering a free NYT digital subscription for the rest of the year, but I see a “We cannot subscribe you due to an existing subscription” error message, when I click for free access.  Now I’m seeing the Lincoln ads every day, taunting me; should I cancel my new paid subscription and see if I still qualify for the sponsored subscription?…

Hey NYT: how about offering a paid subscription option that eliminates ads, or at least poorly executed ad campaigns?…

Textbook Renter Chegg Becomes More Social - NYTimes.com

A new type of social studies

But with increasing competition from scrappy start-ups like BookRenter.com, Chegg is now trying to get more of its customers’ attention. On Thursday, the company is unveiling a new Web site that in addition to rentals, helps students to select courses and to study.

“We aspire to be relevant to students every day of their college experience,” Mr. Rosensweig said in an interview.

The new services come from the integration of two start-ups that Chegg bought in the last year.

Textbook Renter Chegg Becomes More Social - NYTimes.com

Apple 50% Sales Growth May Continue Through 2012 on Mobile Boom - Businessweek

A couple projections from Forrester CEO George Colony

“They’ll be bigger than IBM next year, and they’ll be bigger than HP the year after that,” Colony said, citing Apple’s 52 percent sales growth last year. At current growth rates “they’re going to be a $200 billion revenue company,” he said.

Hewlett-Packard had sales of $126 billion in the year that ended in October and IBM’s revenue was $99.9 billion last year, making them the largest technology companies, respectively, by sales. Apple ranks No. 1 by market capitalization.

[…]

Google Inc.’s sales are too dependent on online advertising.

“If you’re too Web-centric right now, you’re in trouble,” Colony said. “ Google’s business model is completely based on you going to the Web and clicking on a link and seeing an ad impression. In the app Internet world, all of that goes away.”

Apple 50% Sales Growth May Continue Through 2012 on Mobile Boom - Businessweek

Google’s Next Stop May Be in Congress - NYTimes.com

Only a matter of time…

Instead, Google may take the battle from the courtroom to Congress, to promote a law that would make orphan works — books that are still under copyright but whose author or copyright owner can’t be found — widely available.

“The publishers have said, ‘We want to settle,’ but Google’s motivation to settle is quite a bit lower,” said Pamela Samuelson, an expert in digital copyright law at the University of California, Berkeley, who has opposed the settlement. Still, she said, Google, which has already scanned 15 million books, is unlikely to give up. “The next thing to do is think about going to Congress and getting legislation that would make particularly orphan works available to the public,” she said.

Google’s Next Stop May Be in Congress - NYTimes.com

Oracle: We'll Level With You About Itanium, but HP Won't | Arik Hesseldahl | NewEnterprise | AllThingsD

SPARCing another front in Oracle’s battle with HP

First came the initial announcement. Then came responses, first from Intel, indignant at Oracle’s suggestion that the Itanium processor was on a death watch, then from HP, saying it was “shocked” at Oracle’s decision. Later it went on to describe Oracle’s move to Bloomberg as a “shameless gambit” to harm competition.

Now Oracle is firing back, in a statement that just arrived. Basically Oracle is accusing HP, which sells pretty much all of the servers that use the Itanium chip, of not being straight with its customers about what it thinks is really going on: Specifically that the Itanium chip is going to be killed, sooner rather than later, despite Intel’s insistence to the contrary. It’s not an unreasonable thing to suspect.

Oracle: We'll Level With You About Itanium, but HP Won't | Arik Hesseldahl | NewEnterprise | AllThingsD

Verizon's ThunderBolt Smartphone Review | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

How long before we take this sort of speed for granted?

I have been trying out the ThunderBolt and I have found it to be a speed demon. Simply put, when used on Verizon’s LTE network—which isn’t yet available everywhere—the ThunderBolt delivered by far the fastest cellular data speeds I have ever experienced on a wireless phone. In my tests, it blew away not only common 3G phone speeds, but the 4G speeds offered by rival carriers. In fact, it was faster than many home land-line Internet connections.

Verizon's ThunderBolt Smartphone Review | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

Android Gets No Respect | Blogs | ITBusinessEdge.com

Conclusion of a Rob Enderle Android reality check.  I’m wondering if the stars are aligning for a multifaceted Google/Amazon partnership.

Google’s Android model is under fire and may not survive.

While Microsoft is willing to license, both Apple and Oracle seem much more willing to stop the sales of the related products and all three appear to be working to make Android unprofitable to the OEMs. On top of this, the only applications that appear to be pulling decent revenue are those that are advertising-based and only a small subset of applications lend themselves to advertising. Unless this model is fixed so that licensees are better protected and products are higher quality, it seems unlikely it can survive long term.

Android Gets No Respect | Blogs | ITBusinessEdge.com

Amazon’s Appstore: Just What Android Needs « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

Excerpt from another Amazon Appstore perspective

Curation is a tricky subject, but a good opportunity. There has to be a big and profitable middle ground between the obsessiveness of Apple’s control of the iTune App Store and Google’s just about anything goes approach tro the Android Market. Google’s lack of curation has led to a vast number of apps ranging from dubious to malicious. If Amazon can walk the narrow path between vetting apps for quality while avoiding heavy-handedness, it should have a winner.

Finally, Amazon could perform a big service by sorting out apps by compatibility.  The Google world is plagued by a variety of versions of its operating system, not all of them compatible. While the core compatibility issues seem to be improving as the older 1.5 and 1.6 versions of Android slowly disappear, there will always be a gap between Android phones and larger tablets.  It appears that Amazon plans to address this, though the feature doesn’t seem to quite be working yet.

Amazon’s Appstore: Just What Android Needs « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

In The Cards: Why Amazon *Has* To Make An Android Device Now [TechCrunch]

Check the article link below for analysis/projections

When I first heard that Amazon was going to be making an app store for Android (we broke the news in September of last year), I laughed. Just what Android needs, another app store, I thought. Further, I didn’t see what Amazon could bring to the table with such a store that Google themselves couldn’t. That was stupid. I was wrong.

Now that Amazon’s Android Appstore is out there in the wild, and I’ve had a chance to play with it, I see the brilliance of the maneuver. In many ways, Amazon just came out of nowhere and beat Google at their own game — on their own devices. At the same time, some of the processes involved in Amazon’s Appstore are laughable. And they point to a very obvious fact: Amazon needs to build their own Android devices. Pronto.

In The Cards: Why Amazon *Has* To Make An Android Device Now

E-Textbooks Get a Boost From Publishers - NYTimes.com

Perhaps an Inkling of hope for digital textbooks (image from www.inkling.com)

Over the years, publishers have tried a variety of strategies to sell digital textbooks but with limited success. Most students continue to buy print books despite the inconvenience of having to lug them around in their backpacks.

Two major publishers are trying a new tactic. They have invested in Inkling, a company that makes interactive textbooks available on the iPad. They have also agreed to make dozens of their titles available on Inkling’s service.

[…]

Inkling’s business is based on collecting commissions from publishers for each sale. Students can buy an entire textbook, at up to a 35 percent discount over print, or a single chapter. Inkling’s books are customized for the iPad, and are not just an online copy of what is available in print. A book about music on Inkling, for instance, includes audio of a Mozart concerto along with explanations that scroll on the screen while the music is playing.

E-Textbooks Get a Boost From Publishers - NYTimes.com

Lincoln, New York Times Team Up to Give Readers Free Access - WSJ.com

I saw this offer via email but there was a disconnect between it and the related NYT form (the latter expected a code; the former didn’t include one)

New York Times Co.'s efforts to charge readers to read online articles will get an early boost from one advertiser—Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand.

Lincoln, an existing advertiser with the New York Times, has targeted 200,000 heavy readers of the newspaper's website with an offer to sponsor their digital subscription for 2011.

I later saw a related Lincoln ad --

… clicked it, and saw

Lincoln, New York Times Team Up to Give Readers Free Access - WSJ.com

FOSS Patents: Infographic: 37 Android-related patent lawsuits (since 2010)

An update from the Android intellectual property lawyer full-employment act (via Richard Eckel)

The infographic above leaves no doubt that Android faces more problems than any other software platform -- mobile or otherwise -- in the history of this industry. And the trend is undoubtedly that there will be even more of this before all is said and done and, hopefully, settled.

There are various reasons for all of this litigation. Let me name the most important ones.

FOSS Patents: Infographic: 37 Android-related patent lawsuits (since 2010)

Judge Rejects Google Books Settlement - WSJ.com

More on the rejected settlement

James Grimmelmann, an associate professor at New York Law School, said that the judge is clearly hinting that he would seriously consider approving the settlement if it is revised in a way that allows publishers and authors the right to opt into the settlement before Google can sell their works.

Mr. Grimmelmann said that the settlement basically consists of two parts: payment for what Google has done in the past, and the creation of an ambitious bookstore program to sell mostly out-of-print books. "If the parties can agree on an opt-in arrangement, it will give authors and publishers one more option for selling their works. This is pretty much how copyright works today," he said.

Judge Rejects Google Books Settlement - WSJ.com

US judge rejects Google’s settlement with publishers - The Boston Globe

Back to the drawing board

US Circuit Judge Denny Chin said the creation of a universal library would “simply go too far,’’ and he was troubled by differences between Google’s views and those of everyone affected by the settlement. Still, he left the door open for a deal, noting that many objectors would drop their complaints if Google Inc., the Internet search leader, lets book owners choose to join the library, rather than force them to opt out.

US judge rejects Google’s settlement with publishers - The Boston Globe

Amazon.com: Appstore for Android [an installation snapshot]

A snapshot from the frontier of Android app installation – you’ll need to enable app installation from unknown sources if you want to install the Amazon Appstore app (and any apps acquired therein)

Amazon.com: Appstore for Android

Amazon’s Android App Store Launches: Test Drive Apps Directly From Your Browser [TechCrunch]

Amazon app innovation

And while there were leaks abound about this morning’s launch, there are still a few details that Amazon managed to keep quiet.

The biggest one: Amazon will let you ‘Test Drive’ nearly any Android application in the App Store directly from your browser using some very interesting technology. Click the ‘Test Drive’ button, and Amazon will launch an emulated instance of Android on its EC2 cloud, which you’ll be able to control directly from your browser (it uses Flash). Some features won’t work right now (like functions that take advantage of the phone’s accelerometer) but you should be able to at least get the gist of what you’re buying. Amazon was unable to give me early access to this prior to today’s launch, but I’ll update with my impressions as soon as I get to try it out.

Amazon’s Android App Store Launches: Test Drive Apps Directly From Your Browser

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » AT&T needs T-Mobile most for its WiFi - Cringely on technology

Check the full post for more Cringely analysis

If hotspots and cells have comparable backhaul capability and I’m told many of them do, then T-Mobile has more than four times the broadband capability through WiFi than it has through the cell network. And remember that an urban cell can easily cover a square mile (640 acres) or more while hotspot rarely covers more than an acre, making the effective data density many times higher.

Now add to this the WiFi capability in our homes, which T-Mobile already has software to leverage — software that you can bet will be shortly used by AT&T as well.  Clever use of other people’s bandwidth can add an order of magnitude to AT&T’s connectivity and backhaul for no marginal price at all.  Suddenly the network expands, coverage gaps go away, yet backhaul bandwidth actually drops.  Look for it.

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » AT&T needs T-Mobile most for its WiFi - Cringely on technology

BBC News - China rejects Google claims of email interference

While Apple and Microsoft merely sue other companies, Google engages and enrages entire countries

China's foreign ministry has rejected claims by Google that Beijing is disrupting access to its e-mail service in the country.

"This is an unacceptable accusation," ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news conference on Tuesday.

BBC News - China rejects Google claims of email interference

Twitter Turns Five - NYTimes.com

An impressive milestone for Twitter

On Monday, Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday, proudly noting that it had come a long way since that first tweet. Biz Stone, one of Twitter’s co-founders, said in a blog post that more than 140 million messages are sent across the network each day; that’s up to 1 billion every eight days. Mr. Stone also said Twitter was adding nearly 500,000 new users each day.

To celebrate its birthday, Twitter has set up a new Web site called Discover Twitter, which tries to showcase how people have grown to use the service, including a number of well-known celebrities and government leaders.

Twitter Turns Five - NYTimes.com

Open Network Foundation Pursues New Standards - NYTimes.com

The dusk of the stupid network?

”This is a pragmatic solution,” said David Farber, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon who was one of the pioneers of data networking technology.

“The idea of moving intelligence to the end points of the network was one of the original design points of the Internet,” Mr. Farber said. But he noted that as the network evolved to offer sophisticated advanced services through centralized cloud computers, including the delivery of digital voice and video, it became less feasible to continue relying on decentralized network design.

Mr. Farber noted that there have been other research projects aimed at redesigning the Internet. For example, the National Science Foundation, in addition to supporting the OpenFlow initiative, has financed the Global Environment for Network Innovations, or GENI. Open Flow appears to have generated broad industry support, he said, but it must still prove itself in the market.

Open Network Foundation Pursues New Standards - NYTimes.com

Microsoft Continues Android Legal Assault, Sues Barnes & Noble over Nook | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Google Android: open source and free, except for the Microsoft license fees

However, Microsoft’s statement showed its target is the broader Android operating system.

“The Android platform infringes a number of Microsoft’s patents, and companies manufacturing and shipping Android devices must respect our intellectual property rights,” Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez said in a statement, “To facilitate that we have established an industry-wide patent licensing program for Android device manufacturers.”

Microsoft Continues Android Legal Assault, Sues Barnes & Noble over Nook | Ina Fried | Mobilized | AllThingsD

Amazon Appstore Launches Today with 3,800 Apps for Android | Tricia Duryee | eMoney | AllThingsD

Opening today at www.amazon.com/appstore, and also being sued by Apple for the use of “Appstore”

While there’s a huge number of apps in the market, customers have a hard time finding the ones they want to buy. Conversely, developers have a hard time monetizing.

Amazon will be doing four things to help with that:

• Amazon will offer one free app a day to help with promotion.
• Amazon will offer a feature called Test Drive, which will allow a customer to try an app out before they buy. The technology is using Amazon’s cloud services. Users will be able open and use the app from within their computer browser. The simulation will last for about 30 minutes at which point they’ll have to buy it.
• Lastly, Amazon will drive recommendations based on a user’s purchase history. If they are someone who purchases cook books and high-end utensils, Amazon may recommend a recipe app.
• Amazon is also enabling one-click purchasing for anyone with a credit card on file.

Amazon Appstore Launches Today with 3,800 Apps for Android | Tricia Duryee | eMoney | AllThingsD

Official Google Blog: Sprint integrates Google Voice

As AT&T/T-Mobile heads into protracted regulatory review purgatory mode, Sprint makes an intriguing move with Google; check the post link below for more details and a video overview.  While it’s fascinating to see the expanding battle between AT&T and Verizon in the US, as both strive to build out their information empires (check Tim Wu’s excellent The Master Switch for more on that topic), it’s increasingly looking like the battle for the future of voice communication is between Google and Skype

Over time, we've worked to bring an integrated Google Voice experience to your mobile device by building mobile apps, introducing Google Voice Lite, and most recently Number Porting. But we felt that ultimately, the most simple solution would be to partner with carriers to seamlessly integrate Google Voice with your mobile phone.
Today, we’d like to share that we’ve teamed up with Sprint to do just that.

Official Google Blog: Sprint integrates Google Voice

The Biggest Flaw in NYT Pay Plan: It’s Backward-Looking: Tech News and Analysis «

More analysis of the New York Times digital subscription model; see “Times’s Online Pay Model Was Years in the Making,” in today’s NYT, for more background.  I explored the NYT iPad app a bit over the weekend, found it underwhelming, and will definitely be dropping to the entry-level digital subscription level, after my 12-week new-subscriber discount on the Sunday-only dead-tree/All Digital option expires.

[…] I’ve since read most of what others have written about it, and the general consensus seems to be that it is a) confusing, and b) a sign of obvious desperation by the NYT. But while both of these things are arguably true, my big problem with the newspaper’s money grab is that it is fundamentally backward-looking. More than anything else, it feels like a defensive move to buy some time while the paper figures out what it wants to be when it grows up.

The Biggest Flaw in NYT Pay Plan: It’s Backward-Looking: Tech News and Analysis «

[Infographic] Top 5 Handset OEMs 2001-2010 | VisionMobile :: blog

Check the full post for market dynamics over the last decade (via The Next Web).  Some observations, as the feature phone/smartphone shift continues: 2010 was the first year Apple and RIM appeared in the top 5, and the first year (going back to at least 2001) Motorola didn’t.

[Infographic] Top 5 Handset OEMs 2001-2010 | VisionMobile :: blog

Amazon is best hope of a viable alternative to iPad • The Register

More Amazon slate speculation

Amazon is rumoured to be planning a scheme where it will give away free Kindle ereaders, for instance, to customers who commit to certain levels of ebook purchasing, newspaper subscriptions or the Amazon Prime service. And of course, Amazon has an established retail platform and experience that commands high levels of awareness and trust, unlike the other tablet makers. It could enhance this with its own tablet because it could take its own 30 per cent cut of in-app purchases. Forrester research found that 24 per cent of consumers would favour an Amazon tablet over other choices specifically because of its content assets in ebooks, music, video and games.

Amazon is best hope of a viable alternative to iPad • The Register

Google Accuses Chinese of Blocking Gmail Service - NYTimes.com

An interesting form of negotiation, if true

“There is no issue on our side; we have checked extensively,” Google said in a statement released Sunday. “This is a government blockage, carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail.”

Analysts who track Web developments say that the Chinese government may be intentionally disrupting access to Google and other Web services as part of a campaign to tighten Internet controls and censor material.

Google Accuses Chinese of Blocking Gmail Service - NYTimes.com

How Google Is Evolving Into a Media Company - NYTimes.com

Check the article link below for some content strategy shifts at Google

Up and down its ranks, Google executives will tell you without fail that Google is not a media company, that its organizes and manages content, but stays away from producing it. It’s an article of faith at the Internet giant. But it’s also beginning to show strain as Google moves into new territory.

How Google Is Evolving Into a Media Company - NYTimes.com

The AT&Terminator: Rise of Ma Bell | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD

A big bet for AT&T, which faces a $3B payment if the deal isn’t approved by regulators

Consumer groups echoed those concerns, with Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn calling the combination of America’s second-largest wireless carrier with the fourth-largest “unthinkable” and Bert Foer, president of the American Antitrust Institute, reminding us of AT&T’s monopolistic past. “AT&T was broken up and now it’s back with a vengeance,” he said. “We have to decide if we’re happy with the idea of going back to monopolistic treatment of the telecom industry. AT&T has come back to monopolistic power just like the Terminator.”

The AT&Terminator: Rise of Ma Bell | John Paczkowski | Digital Daily | AllThingsD