Amazon, the Company That Ate the World - BusinessWeek

Excerpt from an extensive Bloomberg BusinessWeek cover story on Amazon

Unlike a wave of other tablets that have emerged hopefully only to flop, such as the HP TouchPad, the Motorola Xoom, and the RIM PlayBook, the Kindle Fire has a good shot at turning the newest theater of war in high-tech into a two-tablet battle. With a 7-inch display, the Fire is about half the size of the iPad. At $199, it’s also less than half the price of the cheapest Apple model. Amazon has painted over the rough surfaces of Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system with a fresh and easy-to-use interface and tied the device closely to its own large and growing content library. Kindle Fire owners can watch the film Rio, scroll through magazines such as The New Yorker or Esquire, and access their music collection on Amazon’s servers.

Amazon, the Company That Ate the World - BusinessWeek

Amazon, Facebook and the evolution of privacy - Ideas@Innovations - The Washington Post

Excerpt from a critically important reality check

Privacy advocates have been busy this past week.

Facebook’s announced changes, including the Facebook “Timeline” and Amazon’s Silk browser, which is slated to be offered on its new Kindle Fire when it’s released in November, have raised a number of privacy concerns. The objections raise the question of whether we can continue to innovate digitally without releasing more of our personal information. Should the Web be an inherently private or public place — or should we refrain from entering further into the cloud until each of us is guaranteed a padlock for our personal information? (Full disclosure: The Washington Post Co.’s chairman and chief executive, Donald E. Graham, is a member of Facebook’s board of directors.)

Tangent: I first ran across this article in the new Facebook Washington Post Social Reader (if you’re one of my Facebook friends, or subscribe to my activity in Facebook, perhaps you already noticed that in your Facebook ticker…), but I was unable to excerpt-and-post to Blogger using Windows Live Writer (WLW), from the Facebook Social Reader app: the default source link wasn’t helpful; readers would probably need to link their Facebook accounts to the Washington Post Social Reader app, in order to access the source article (as is the case for the Yahoo News app in Facebook, at least as of a week ago); WLW crashed (very unusual, in my years of using WLW), when I tried to copy/paste from the source Facebook page (which I needed to do because WLW didn’t pick up my content selection, as it normally does)…

Amazon, Facebook and the evolution of privacy - Ideas@Innovations - The Washington Post

Facebook in smartphone apps move - FT.com

There’s a simple – albeit slightly user-inconvenient -- work-around for this, as in the Kindle iOS client: buy your stuff (content and/or apps) on another device platform and have it automagically sync’ed to your iOS devices

Facebook is in the advanced stages of developing mobile applications that will for the first time bring games and other apps that work on its web platform to smartphones.

The move is likely to cause controversy for Apple as Facebook’s “apps within an app” model could break Apple’s rules for software on its iPhone and iPad. 

Facebook in smartphone apps move - FT.com

Profound change for Facebook set to 'lock in' users - Yahoo! News

This is going to be an eye-opening weekend for many long-term Facebook users (and their friends)

The overhauled "Timeline" profile pages, as users will see as it opens up to the world Friday, with access further expanded in coming weeks, shows that the social network behemoth has saved everything that's ever been uploaded.

[…]

Yet apart from a relatively small number of industry geeks who followed the Zuckerberg announcement last week, the vast majority of 800 million users have little idea of the extent of the changes afoot the next time they log on.

Profound change for Facebook set to 'lock in' users - Yahoo! News

Moods on Twitter Follow Biological Rhythms, Study Finds - NYTimes.com

Unsurprising, in the grand scheme of things, but still fascinating data analysis

Drawing on messages posted by more than two million people in 84 countries, researchers discovered that the emotional tone of people’s messages followed a similar pattern not only through the day but also through the week and the changing seasons. The new analysis suggests that our moods are driven in part by a shared underlying biological rhythm that transcends culture and environment.

Moods on Twitter Follow Biological Rhythms, Study Finds - NYTimes.com

Amazon has Palm in its shopping cart — will it click Buy? (exclusive) | VentureBeat

More Palm permutation perspectives

Indeed, after yesterday’s announcement of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, no other company seems as fitting a home for Palm and its webOS software. It’s worth noting that former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, who now holds a vague “product innovation” role at HP’s Personal Services Group, joined Amazon’s board late last year.

Amazon has Palm in its shopping cart — will it click Buy? (exclusive) | VentureBeat

10-inch Kindle Fire production by holiday season tip insiders - SlashGear

Dear Santa…

Amazon’s 10.1-inch Kindle Fire tablet is expected to hit production before the end of the year, with shipments potentially in time for the 2011 holiday sales season, according to the latest rumors. Although the larger Kindle tablet was initially tipped for release in early 2012, DigiTimes‘ sources reckon Amazon is pushing ahead with a more aggressive timescale for the Foxconn-produced 10-incher.

10-inch Kindle Fire production by holiday season tip insiders - SlashGear

Chrome poised to take No. 2 browser spot from Firefox [Computerworld]

And this was probably before the Lady Gaga Chrome commercial (check here for a list of other Chrome commercials)…

Google's Chrome is on the brink of replacing Firefox as the second-most-popular browser, according to one Web statistics firm.

Data provided by StatCounter, an Irish company that tracks browser usage using the free analytics tools it offers websites, shows that Chrome will pass Firefox to take the No. 2 spot behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) no later than December.

Chrome poised to take No. 2 browser spot from Firefox

Amazon Looking to Buy Palm [REPORT]

This is the first post-HP Palm permutation I’ve seen that makes sense to me (via Lance Ulanoff); Kindle Fire customers won’t be OS-aware anyway, and owning WebOS could make it possible for Amazon to avoid paying Microsoft for every Kindle sold, and would also provide a handy patent portfolio

Amazon wants to buy Palm and its smartphone/tablet platform WebOS, VentureBeat reports citing a well-placed source.

There are other interested parties, but Amazon is nearest to completing the deal, the same source claims.

After HP gave up on the tablet business, rumors started swirling about possible buyers for Palm and WebOS – a platform which showed a lot of promise even in its early days, but was never given a chance to shine as Palm changed hands.

Amazon Looking to Buy Palm [REPORT]

IBM Tops Microsoft to Become Second-Most Valuable in Technology - Businessweek

Meanwhile, in mkt cap math, AAPL = ~94.4% of MSFT and GOOG combined, and ~85% of MSFT and IBM combined

IBM’s market value rose to $214 billion yesterday, while Microsoft’s fell to $213.2 billion, the first time IBM has exceeded its software rival based on closing prices since 1996, according to Bloomberg data. IBM is now the fourth-largest company by market value and, in technology, trails only Apple Inc., the world’s most valuable company.

IBM Tops Microsoft to Become Second-Most Valuable in Technology - Businessweek

RIM, Maker of BlackBerry, Debates Its Target Market for PlayBook Tablet - WSJ.com

Excerpt from an extensive WSJ RIM profile

RIM's foray into a new market, tablet computers, has been disappointing. It shipped just 200,000 PlayBooks in the three months ended in August. That was less than half the number shipped in the preceding quarter and a small fraction of the 9.3 million iPads Apple Inc. shipped in the three months ended in June.

Retailers have begun cutting the price of the PlayBook. Office Depot and Staples cut the price of the tablet to $399 and threw in $100 gift cards on top of that discount, while Best Buy was selling the tablet for $299.

RIM, Maker of BlackBerry, Debates Its Target Market for PlayBook Tablet - WSJ.com

Research In Motion Cuts PlayBook Price at Best Buy - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Probably lots of buyer’s remorse for both HP TouchPad and RIM PlayBook customers

Quite a discount. Question is, will anyone care? At $299, the 16GB PlayBook is still $100 more than Amazon’s new $199 Kindle Fire. And as I noted here earlier this morning, the Fire is a pretty compelling proposition for consumers looking at 7-inch tablets like the PlayBook.

Research In Motion Cuts PlayBook Price at Best Buy - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

New Fire Leads an All-Kindle Amazon Top 10 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

On Fire

Amazon’s Kindle Fire won’t ship until November 15th, but already it’s the retailer’s top-selling gadget. Buoyed by a surge of pre-orders, the $199 upstart tablet is No. 1 on Amazon’s list of the 100 most popular electronics items. Numbers 2 through 10? All Kindles in different configurations.

New Fire Leads an All-Kindle Amazon Top 10 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Windows Phone: You should be overjoyed about Microsoft’s latest entry in the smartphone derby. - Slate Magazine

Concluding paragraphs of a net-positive Windows Phone review

If Windows Phone is so great, then why has it been such a bust? I suspect that part of the reason is its awful name. Windows, as a brand, evokes everything we hate about computers. Windows Phone looks nothing like Windows on your Dell, but folks who’ve never seen the phone are likely to picture a desktop, a Start Menu, and My Computer—and then head to the Apple Store for relief. Then there’s Microsoft’s timing. Windows Phone is competing against two juggernauts that have been in the market for years and that have gained a great deal of exposure over that time. If you want a new smartphone, you can always look at a friend’s iPhone or Android to see if it will work for you. You can’t do that with a Windows Phone.

Let me urge you to give it a chance. If you have your heart set on the new iPhone or an Android, go to a store and try out a Windows Phone first. You’ll find a lot to like.

Windows Phone: You should be overjoyed about Microsoft’s latest entry in the smartphone derby. - Slate Magazine

The Other, Other Tablet - Technology Review

Actually, yes, let’s forget the Motorola Xoom, especially since it looks like the GOOG/MMI acquisition review process is going to be protracted

All eyes may be on Amazon this week, but let's not forget the Motorola Xoom 2.

Yes, it's coming. Yes, it's exciting. The Amazon tablet, which many are hailing as the first real iPad competitor, is on its way. But there are other contenders for Tablet Champion of the World (or at least, runner up) in the wings. And we've also got eyes for the Xoom 2.

We're still in the realm of speculation and rumor--most of Engadget's stories on the Xoom 2 end with a question mark--but it's worth keeping an eye on this forthcoming tablet from Motorola Mobility, Google's favored son.

The Other, Other Tablet - Technology Review

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Beyond words: the Kindle Fire and the book's future

A snapshot from hypertext hater Nicholas Carr

With the Fire, as with its its whizzy-gizmo predecessors, the iPad and the Nook Color, we are seeing the e-book begin to assume its true aesthetic, which would seem to be far closer to the aesthetic of the web than to that of the printed page: text embedded in a welter of functions and features, a symphony of intrusive beeps. Even the more restrained Kindle Touch, also introduced today, comes with a feature called X-Ray that seems designed to ensure that a book's words never gain too tight a grip over a reader's consciousness: "With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers." The original Kindle, now discounted to $79, is beginning to look like a dusty relic - something for the rocking-chair set.

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Beyond words: the Kindle Fire and the book's future

Amazon's new tablet: On Fire | The Economist

Excerpt from another Kindle Fire perspective

Perhaps the Fire’s biggest advantage is access to Amazon's oodles of digital content, including over 100,000 movies and TV shows, over 17m songs and more than 1m e-books, all held in Amazon’s computing “cloud”. This cloud will also be helpful in other respects. The Fire has just eight gigabytes of memory (which helps keep down costs) because Amazon is assuming that people will keep most of their stuff in its free cloud service. And the Fire will take advantage of a novel technology called Amazon Silk, which uses the power of Amazon’s cloud-computing infrastructure to help make web-browsing faster, by reducing the amount of processing that needs to be done on the device itself. None of this makes the Fire a sure-fire success. But it does make it a credible pretender to the iPad’s throne.

Amazon's new tablet: On Fire | The Economist

PlayBook gets 40 percent price cut in wake of Amazon's Fire tablet unveiling - Yahoo! News

What’s the emoticon for “moment of silence”?…

Just hours after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced news of the new Kindle Fire tablet, Research In Motion (RIM) executives have given the green light for a substantial price cut for its PlayBook device. The tablet price war has begun.

The 16GB PlayBook was, until a few hours ago, selling on the Best Buy website for $499. Amazon’s unveiling of the 8GB Fire tablet on Wednesday for $199 suddenly made the 16GB PlayBook look way overpriced. So RIM has knocked it down to $299. That’s a hefty 40 percent price cut, but will it be enough to make any difference?

PlayBook gets 40 percent price cut in wake of Amazon's Fire tablet unveiling - Yahoo! News

Google And Samsung Announce October 11 Event: Nexus Prime Imminent | TechCrunch

Be sure to get to the event early, before Apple and Microsoft intellectual property lawyers take all the seats

It looks like the wait for the elusive Nexus Prime may soon be over. Samsung has just started sending out invites for a special Samsung/Google event that’s being held on October 11 at 11:30 AM in San Diego. The topic isn’t listed, but the invitation says we’ll see “what’s new from Android”.

The Prime, which has been rumored for months but is still unconfirmed, is expected to be the first device running Ice Cream Sandwich — the next major Android update, which will unify for ‘mobile’ Gingerbread OS with ‘Tablet’ Honeycomb.

Google And Samsung Announce October 11 Event: Nexus Prime Imminent | TechCrunch

Facebook Users Beware: Facebook's New Feature Could Embarrass You [Mashable]

To be more precise, Facebook is making it easier for you (and your “friends”) to embarrass you, with the new timeline features (which go live today); check the article link below for some guidance on how to effectively use Facebook’s info item sharing capabilities

If you didn’t watch Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook announcements last week — and of course the vast majority of Facebook users did not — you may be in for a surprise. Aside from the dramatically redesigned Facebook Timeline profile pages, which roll out in the coming weeks (and which I’ve grown to love), Facebook’s new system to auto-share what you do around the web may catch many Facebook addicts off guard.

In fact, even those people who know exactly how this new feature works may need to be on guard against sharing some seriously embarrassing updates.

Facebook Users Beware: Facebook's New Feature Could Embarrass You

Marc Andreessen: The "Clock Is Ticking" On Oracle [Business Insider]

HP board member Marc Andreessen’s perspective on Oracle

Marc Andreessen thinks that the clock is ticking on Oracle and other old-line software and infrastructure companies.

His evidence: not a single one of Andreessen-Horowitz's startup investments use Oracle software. They all use cloud-based alternatives instead.

Marc Andreessen: The "Clock Is Ticking" On Oracle

Fire - cdespinosa's posterous

Amazon Kindle Fire perspectives from early Apple employee Chris Espinosa (referenced in the previously-linked NYT article); I think most would argue Amazon’s move is not the “first shot” in this context, however

And all of this on Google’s dime. They use a back-revved version of Android, not Honeycomb; they don’t use Google’s web browser; they can intermediate user click through on Google search results so Google doesn’t see the actual user behavior. Google’s whole play of promoting Android in order to aggregate user behavior patterns to sell to advertisers is completely subverted by Amazon’s intermediation.

Fire isn’t a noun, it’s a verb, and it’s what Amazon has done in the targeted direction of Google. This is the first shot in the new war for replacing the Internet with a privatized merchant data-aggregation network.

Fire - cdespinosa's posterous

HEARD ON THE STREET: Android No Longer a Free Agent - WSJ.com

From an Android reality check

Android partners likely want to diversify their device portfolios anyway. With Motorola Mobility in hand, Google becomes a rival device maker. Samsung will throw more resources behind developing Windows models, argues Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics.

Ultimately, handset makers will sell the devices consumers want to buy, and Android along with Apple's iOS are likely to remain the dominant mobile operating systems powering them. But Microsoft has given Windows an opening.

HEARD ON THE STREET: Android No Longer a Free Agent - WSJ.com

Amazon Unveils Kindle Fire - WSJ.com

Another Kindle Fire reality check (although I think e-books are still an important part of the story)

"Consumers want email, Web access, games, video and music, and that's exactly what Amazon is delivering for a very reasonable price," said Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research. "The Kindle Fire is all the tablet that most consumers will need."

Amazon Unveils Kindle Fire - WSJ.com

Amazon Introduces Tablet That Undercuts iPad’s Price - NYTimes.com

Beyond the Kindle hardware and software

Because Amazon sells its family of Kindle devices through its own Web site, it does not need to share revenue with another retailer. And in most states, customers do not have to pay sales tax on those devices.

“If you price your products in such a way that no one can compete with you, that has to be a good thing in the end,” said Scott Devitt, an analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Amazon Introduces Tablet That Undercuts iPad’s Price - NYTimes.com

Oracle Challenges Autonomy CEO's 'Bad Memory' - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

You’d think Autonomy would be a bit more circumspect about its content…

The full Oracle statement is below.

“After HP agreed to acquire Autonomy for over $11.7 billion dollars, Oracle commented that Autonomy had been ‘shopped’ to Oracle as well, but Oracle wasn’t interested because the price was way too high. Mike Lynch, Autonomy CEO, then publicly denied that his company had been shopped to Oracle. Specifically, Mr. Lynch said, “If some bank happened to come with us on a list, that is nothing to do with us.” Mr. Lynch then accused of Oracle of being ‘inaccurate’. Either Mr. Lynch has a very poor memory or he’s lying. ‘Some bank’ did not just happen to come to Oracle with Autonomy ‘on a list’.” The truth is that Mr. Lynch came to Oracle, along with his investment banker, Frank Quattrone, and met with Oracle’s head of M&A, Douglas Kehring and Oracle President Mark Hurd at 11 am on April 1, 2011. After listening to Mr. Lynch’s PowerPoint slide sales pitch to sell Autonomy to Oracle, Mr. Kehring and Mr. Hurd told Mr. Lynch that with a current market value of $6 billion, Autonomy was already extremely over-priced. The Lynch shopping visit to Oracle is easy to verify. We still have his PowerPoint slides.”

Oracle Challenges Autonomy CEO's 'Bad Memory' - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Amazon Kindle Fire explodes onto tablet scene - Chicago Sun-Times

An excerpt from an extensive Andy Ihnatko review, highlighting some of the reading-related advances in the new Kindles

The Touch includes a nifty-looking new feature for exploration. “X-Ray” is a view of the book that allows for slightly deeper analysis. Search your copy of “Code Of The Woosters” for “Madeline Bassett” and the Kindle’s X-Ray view will put up a timeline of the story, marking the patches of the story in which the character appears. X-Ray also lets you access supplemental info that Amazon side-loads onto books when you download them to the device. No longer will a mention of a location or a character or a historical event that you barely recognize send you diving towards Google. If Amazon imagines you might need a refresher course on the Boer Wars, there’ll be a couple of paragraphs lurking in the data somewhere, to help you out even if you’re not near an Internet connection with content harvested from Amazon subsidiary Shelfari.com.

Amazon Kindle Fire explodes onto tablet scene - Chicago Sun-Times

Amazon New Kindle Fire Versus Apple iPad - The Daily Beast

Excerpt from a Dan Lyons overview of the Amazon news; also see his Kindle Fire, and the tricky business of chasing scoops reality check

Amazon in the past has downplayed its rivalry with Apple, saying that Kindle and iPad were meant for different kinds of users.

But now the battle has shifted into open warfare, with Bezos even mocking Apple for forcing users to sync their iPads by connecting the device to a computer with a cable, calling that “a broken model.”

In other words, make no mistake: this is war. And the stakes could not be higher. Amazon and Apple are fighting to see who will control the world of digital media.

Amazon New Kindle Fire Versus Apple iPad - The Daily Beast

Microsoft Signs Mega-Patent Deal With Samsung - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Somehow I suspect subsidizing Windows Phone was not on Google’s goal list for Android

Microsoft is announcing today the biggest Android-related patent deal to date, signing a broad cross-licensing agreement with Samsung.

With the deal, Microsoft will get royalty revenue on every Android smartphone and tablet that Samsung sells. Redmond already has a deal with another major handset maker — HTC — that sells both Android and Windows Phone devices.

[…]

While much of the focus around the Samsung agreement is likely to concern patents and Android, the deal also calls for the companies to continue to work together on Windows Phone.

“Microsoft and Samsung see the opportunity for dramatic growth in Windows Phones and we’re investing to make that a reality,” Windows Phone unit president Andy Lees said in a statement.

Microsoft Signs Mega-Patent Deal With Samsung - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Blogger Buzz: Dynamic views: seven new ways to share your blog with the world

From the Blogger Buzz blog:

As we said a few weeks ago when we launched a completely rebuilt, streamlined authoring and editing experience, we’re in the process of bringing you a much improved and modernized Blogger. The next phase of these updates starts today with seven new ways to display your blog, called Dynamic Views.
Built with the latest in web technology (AJAX, HTML5 and CSS3), Dynamic Views is a unique browsing experience that will inspire your readers to explore your blog in new ways. The interactive layouts make it easier for readers to enjoy and discover your posts, loading 40 percent faster than traditional templates and bringing older entries to the surface so they seem fresh again.

Here’s what I saw when I tried to view a new Blogger view page in IE9:

The “continue unsupported” option seems to work

Blogger Buzz

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Larry Page’s Manhattan Project - Cringely on technology

Excerpt from a Google reality check

Think about it. A lot of the criticism of Google here and elsewhere has been about lack of focus, lack of standardized interfaces, oddly positioned products that sometimes conflict with or oppose each other. Google was run as an insurgency. And now Larry Page is determined to turn Google into an army. Each conflict to come will be approached with a Manhattan Project development effort.

Social is the first battle to be fought this war but I am sure Larry has others planned. He’s promoting a new class of generals (vice presidents, I guess) and giving them the power and resources to get their jobs done with thousands of developers and billions of dollars each. Instead of doing a hundred things and making money from two of them, Google will soon be doing a dozen things and making money from 10 of them, or at least that’s the plan. And it’s a good one, because even geeks grow up sometime.

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Larry Page’s Manhattan Project - Cringely on technology

Oh, one more thing about the Amazon tablet: the second, better version is coming very soon - gdgt

It’ll be interesting to see if/how this gets spun during the Kindle announcement today

Well, this delay to get the "stopgap" Kindle tablet out in time for the holiday season this year may have pretty serious consequences for early adopters and holiday shoppers: my sources tell me the second-gen Kindle tablet (or Kindle Fire, as it's now been dubbed) will be out in Q1 of 2012 -- yes, that soon. That was always the plan, but the delays of the v1 product have messed up Amazon's release cycle.
And what's worse, the second tablet -- which Amazon didn't just take more or less off the shelf from ODM manufacturer Quanta -- seems to be the device Amazon really believes in.

Oh, one more thing about the Amazon tablet: the second, better version is coming very soon - gdgt

No, You Aren't Going to Quit Facebook [Mashable]

Excerpt from a timely Facebook reality check

That broad social reach means cutting the service out of your life is easier said than done. Sure, it’s fun to say “I’ll delete my account and never log in again,” but as soon my cousin posts photos of her new baby and makes those photos only visible on Facebook… well, that kind of kills my resolve.

It’s more than just our social ties that keep us connected to Facebook. Many apps and services are reliant on the network too. When Spotify integrated itself with Facebook last week, the popular streaming music service also added a new requirement for new sign-ups: Facebook membership. We can argue whether that approach is right or wrong, but Facebook as a login identity is something that is only going to increase with time, not decrease.

No, You Aren't Going to Quit Facebook

Toshiba Thinks Smaller With Second Android Tablet - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Pricing and Apple lawsuit timing tbd

It’s not the 7-inch tablet that many people are waiting to hear about, but Toshiba on Tuesday is announcing the Thrive 7-inch, a smaller screen follow-up to the 10-inch Android tablet it introduced earlier this year.

Toshiba Thinks Smaller With Second Android Tablet - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Owen Prater - Google+ - #googleplusupdates Starting today you can actually share circles…

More precisely, you can share static snapshots of circles

Starting today you can actually share your favorite circles with others! So if you’ve got a great Photographers or Celebrities circle, for instance, then you can share a copy with your friends.
To get started, just click on a circle from your Circles page, and click Share.
(Importantly: when you share a circle, you’re only sharing its members at that time. Also: the circle name is always private to you, and any changes you make afterwards are private as well.)

Owen Prater - Google+ - #googleplusupdates Starting today you can actually share…

How Amazon's Tablet Perpetuates Apple's Stranglehold on Media App Distribution - Technology Review

More Amazon tablet speculation

On Wednesday, Amazon will unveil its new 7-inch tablet, which is rumored to be based on the now-defunct BlackBerry Playbook.

The good news is that a major player in both the media distribution and hardware space will finally drop a device that could be competitive with the iPad by virtue of price alone. The bad news is, Amazon is using the same leverage Apple possesses to give publishers of content on its tablet basically the same terms that Apple arrived at, namely, a 30% commission on all sales.

How Amazon's Tablet Perpetuates Apple's Stranglehold on Media App Distribution - Technology Review

Zynga's CityVille spreads to Google+ - Yahoo! News

Perhaps no longer Facebook’s best friend in games

Zynga on Monday added its most popular title -- CityVille -- to games that can be played at the Google+ social network recently launched in a challenge to Facebook.

"It's no secret we're big fans of Google+ here at Zynga," the San Francisco-based startup said in a blog post.

Zynga's CityVille spreads to Google+ - Yahoo! News

Autonomy C.E.O.: We Are Still H.P.'s Future - NYTimes.com

Destined to remain autonomous?

If Hewlett-Packard’s ouster last week of its chief executive means software is no longer front and center in the company’s future, no one told Mike Lynch, the chief executive of Autonomy.

H.P. said in August that it was buying Autonomy for about $10.3 billion. “The Autonomy deal is very significant for H.P.,” says Mr. Lynch. “It will transform the H.P. software business. That has to go hand in hand with hardware.” He met with Ray Lane, H.P.’s executive chairman, and Meg Whitman, the company’s new chief executive. “They said ‘We’re still completely supportive of the strategy,’” he says.

Autonomy C.E.O.: We Are Still H.P.'s Future - NYTimes.com

Facebook iPad App Still Snagged in Negotiations - NYTimes.com

Check the article link for more Apple/Facebook history.  I’m guessing Apple won’t announce an expanded Google relationship around Google+…

In June, I reported that the Facebook iPad application had been in the works for almost a year and was essentially complete. According to people briefed on Facebook’s plans at the time, the app was scheduled to be available in the Apple iTunes store a couple of weeks later.

It never appeared. No big announcement. No shiny new iPad application. Just silence.

The app, it turns out, had become the hostage of a tense negotiation between Facebook and Apple executives for a deal to further integrate Facebook into the next version of Apple’s operating system, iOS 5.

Facebook iPad App Still Snagged in Negotiations - NYTimes.com

In Turn to Politics, Facebook Starts a PAC - NYTimes.com

Sign of the times

Facebook wants more friends. And it is willing to pay for them.

The Silicon Valley social media company has for the first time formed an old-fashioned political action committee and will use it to distribute cash to candidates in the coming elections. It is just one indication of how social media companies are integrating with the political landscape in a season in which these businesses are growing presences in the campaign conversation.

In Turn to Politics, Facebook Starts a PAC - NYTimes.com

Facebook's iPad app launching with new iPhone, report says | Apple Talk - CNET News

Fixing a hole

The long wait for Facebook'siPad app could coincide with the long wait for Apple's nextiPhone, a new report claims.

Citing anonymous sources, Mashable today says Facebook plans to release its iPad app at an event held next week by Apple--the same rumored event that is expected to bring the next version of the iPhone, and release of iCloud and iOS 5.

Facebook's iPad app launching with new iPhone, report says | Apple Talk - CNET News

Nielsen: Android Outsells iPhone 2-to-1 - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

The smartphone duopoly expands

Twice as many consumers purchased Android phones over iPhones in the past three months, according to new data from Nielsen. 56 percent of the consumers who purchased a smartphone in the past 3 months opted for an Android device, while 28 percent picked an iPhone.

Nielsen: Android Outsells iPhone 2-to-1 - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Google+ Approaches 50M Users - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

Final paragraphs from a timely Google+ reality check

Consider the context. Competitive pressures without a doubt contributed to some recent Facebook feature launches, but Mark Zuckerberg and company successfully exorcised their Googley demons at f8, where the new Timeline self-expression features and Open Graph auto-sharing tools were announced.

Google+ wasn’t even mentioned once at the press conference following Zuckerberg’s keynote — which was a stunning omission, given the recent tech punditry focus on the Google-Facebook war.

Google+ Approaches 50M Users - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

White House Petition to End Software Patents Is a Hit - Technology Review

The petition now has more than twice the minimum number of required signatures (the article was published 3 days ago)

At this moment, on the White House's official website for petitioning the government, the only thing as popular as legalizing marijuana and separating church from state is a petition to "Direct the Patent Office to Cease Issuing Software Patents."

[…]

Anyway, if you agree that this madness must stop, you'd better get yourself over to WhiteHouse.gov, because as of the last time I reloaded that site, the petition still needed 531 more signatures in order to merit an official response.

White House Petition to End Software Patents Is a Hit - Technology Review

An App to Track Your Heart Pressure - Technology Review

But can I integrate it with my Facebook ticker?…

A smart-phone app under development for heart-failure patients allows them to keep track of the pressure inside their heart as measured by an implanted sensor. That data could help patients adjust their medication to maintain a healthy pressure, much as diabetics do with insulin and blood sugar readings.

An App to Track Your Heart Pressure - Technology Review

Mexico Turns to Twitter and Facebook for Information and Survival - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a stark snapshot

“Social media is filling the gap left by the press,” said Andrés Monroy-Hernández, a doctoral candidate from Mexico at the M.I.T. Media Lab. “In different regions of Mexico, both the state and the press are weak, while organized crime is becoming stronger and, in some places, replacing the state.”

Many Mexicans now say they trust Twitter more than local news outlets, and in some areas, parents and grandparents are being taught by their children how to get online — specifically so they can be safe.

Mexico Turns to Twitter and Facebook for Information and Survival - NYTimes.com

B&N may be prepping new Nook device | TG Daily

Now would be good timing, if B&N wants to try to leverage the expectation that Amazon won’t release a larger form-factor tablet until next year

Just in time to correspond with Amazon's expected tablet reveal, new rumors are popping up about Barnes & Noble's tablet strategy.

According to a new report on the e-book blog Digital Reader, the brick-and-mortal retail chain will launch a new version of its Nook device by the end of the year.

This one will be a pricier, more feature-rich gadget and is likely to look and feel more like a tablet than a traditional e-reader. The report suggests the new B&N product may carry a name other than 'Nook' and could be priced at around $349.

B&N may be prepping new Nook device | TG Daily

Anticipated Amazon Tablet to Take Aim at Apple iPad - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a preview of the anticipated Amazon tablet/slate

All that makes Amazon “a nasty competitor,” Ms. Epps wrote in a recent report, and leaves Apple vulnerable among those who want a tablet solely for entertainment and not for professional uses. Since that is about two-thirds of tablet users, Apple’s product strategists will finally have to take a competitor seriously, she concluded.

Apple is not the only vulnerable one. The Amazon tablet will sell for the same price and offer many of the same things as Barnes & Noble’s successful color Nook e-reader. The once-mighty book retailer is staking its future on making the transformation to digital; otherwise it will end up like its one-time competitor Borders, now vanquished.

Anticipated Amazon Tablet to Take Aim at Apple iPad - NYTimes.com

The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out - Peter Kafka - News - AllThingsD

Could be worse; could be AOL or Yahoo…

The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out - Peter Kafka - News - AllThingsD

samsung build | eBay

Price trending down (although some offers are still listed for much more)

samsung build | eBay

Why Apple Needs a Real Social Network | Cult of Mac

Check the article link below for a timely Apple reality check

In a single week, Facebook has become not just a competitor to Apple, but the Mother of All Apple Competitors.

Facebook this week announced a series of initiatives and partnerships that the New York Times says makes Facebook a “primary entertainment hub.”

[…]

Facebook is now more directly threatening to Apple’s business model than Microsoft, Google and Sony combined.

Why Apple Needs a Real Social Network | Cult of Mac

Yes, Google Drive Is Coming. For Real This Time. | TechCrunch

Big challenges ahead for Dropbox, Box.net, and other players, as Google Drive, iCloud, and Windows 8 (with Windows Live sync services) flood the cloud storage/sync market; since Facebook is already handling a lot of big image files, it probably wouldn’t be a big stretch for Facebook to also start syncing other types of personal files

And it makes a lot more sense. Few people are using Google Docs for online storage beyond the files they use in Docs. Most still probably don’t even realize they can. Something as simple as changing the name to Google Drive should help with that. There will also be a new “My Google Drive” area for various folders in Google Drive. There will be other Drive-specific tools as well.

But here’s the real key: there will also be native syncing software that you install on your various computers and mobile devices. Yes, like Dropbox.

Yes, Google Drive Is Coming. For Real This Time. | TechCrunch

Ingres deemphasized, company now named Actian | DBMS 2 : DataBase Management System Services

Sort of sad to see the Ingres brand deemphasized, but it’s a pragmatic marketing move

Ingres, the company, is:

• Changing its name to Actian.
• Deemphasizing Ingres, the product.
• Emphasizing a set of products that don’t exist yet (or at least aren’t shipping), namely lightweight mobile apps that are business-intelligence-plus-an-action, and technology for building them. These are called “Action Apps”, and are discussed on the Actian company blog.
• Positioning all this as something to do with “big data” (what a shock).

Ingres deemphasized, company now named Actian | DBMS 2 : DataBase Management System Services

Facebook Does News: What This Means for Google - International Business Times

More Facebook update analysis, with some closing speculation about what it may all mean for Yahoo

"If searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be among the most important of the next," the study's authors said.

Google should be worried. Once "Timeline" is fully rolled out, Facebook's 800 million users will be spending much more time exploring the "new-look Facebook," learning about their Timeline, testing out Open Graph, and designing their shiny new profiles. Furthermore, since updates from Open Graph applications will be displayed in the tiny Ticker instead of the larger News Feed, receiving hundreds of these updates from friends won't be a nuisance, and users can feel guilt-free about sharing them, too.

Facebook Does News: What This Means for Google - International Business Times

Facebook changes critical to site’s long-term survival - Chicago Sun-Times

Excerpt from an Andy Ihnatko Facebook perspective

It’s a shrewd survival move. Facebook has had a big problem that was only going to get worse over time: Its sole currency is the presence of people you know, and social network users are notoriously fickle. Most Facebook users would switch to a new network if their friends and family also switched. Thursday’s moves give people a reason to spend more time inside Facebook proper instead of clicking in and out; the service is becoming more like a socially-powered version of iTunes, delivering content created or recommended by people you know and trust.

The new Facebook will roll out gradually to users over the coming weeks. Facebook’s main problem remains: It’s a huge time-sink, and its ability to track and disseminate information about you has only become broader and scarier. But at least Big Brother has a prettier face, and can help you find something great on Spotify.

Facebook changes critical to site’s long-term survival - Chicago Sun-Times

LinkedIn, Twitter “should become Facebook apps” | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Facebook-as-platform got a lot more credible at F8 2011

The Palo Alto startup [Color] has been working with Facebook for the last six months on its integration and this has made Mr Nguyen a true believer in the power of the 800m-strong platform.

“If you’re Twitter or LinkedIn, you’ve got to really think: ‘Wait a minute, all those customers are already on Facebook’, and the question for them is: do you compete against Facebook or do you actually migrate all your stuff to Facebook and I think the answer is to migrate, because who professionally do I want to meet that doesn’t already have a Facebook account?”

LinkedIn, Twitter “should become Facebook apps” | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Yahoo Wants People to Share - NYTimes.com

One of many intriguing aspects of the F8 keynote yesterday: imagine a world without Google – Yahoo for news, Bing for maps, Netflix and Hulu for video, …  Facebook was clear about having multiple partners in each major media category, but some friends appeared to be closer than others.

At the top of Yahoo news pages, users will see images of their Facebook friends who are also signed up. Clicking on the images brings up a list of Yahoo news articles that those people have read. Individual articles will be stamped with names of friends who have read them, as in “Steve Smith and two others have read this.” Automatic updates on Facebook will also tip off friends to what people are reading.

Yahoo Wants People to Share - NYTimes.com

Facebook’s New Strategy to Turn Eyeballs Into Influence - NYTimes.com

Another Facebook snapshot

Facebook’s moves sharpen the battle lines between the social networking giant and Google, the search giant, because Facebook is trying to change the way people find what they want online. Searching the Web is still the way most people discover content — whether it is news, information about wedding photographers or Swiss chard recipes. Facebook is trying to change that: in effect, friends will direct other friends to content. Google has its own social network product in Google+, but it is far behind Facebook.

“This is two big rivals getting into each others’ backyards,” said Sean Corcoran, an analyst with Forrester Research. “It changes the game for what social networks have been doing. What Facebook is saying is, we are your life online, and also how you discover and share.”

Facebook’s New Strategy to Turn Eyeballs Into Influence - NYTimes.com

Facebook Boldly Annexes the Web - Ben Elowitz - Voices - AllThingsD

Excerpt from a big-picture Facebook perspective

With the new enhancements for its “custom” Open Graph, Facebook will now be wiring its Web to capture every page, every user action, and, eventually, every significant detail — all recorded and categorized.

Unlike previous notable attempts to predict, or even define, a “semantic” Web — a Web where actions and objects are identified, categorized, and have meaning — I believe that Facebook’s will succeed. At first, however, it will do this one action and object at a time, gradually adding each one into its ever-expanding repertoire.

For its semantic approach, Facebook has two incredible advantages: it knows the people of the Web intimately; and, unlike any other system in the world, it records a true timeline of activity.

Facebook Boldly Annexes the Web - Ben Elowitz - Voices - AllThingsD

Borrowing Kindle E-Books: A Hands-On Guide | PCWorld

I look forward to exploring further, if I ever catch up with all of the Kindle samples and books I’ve already downloaded…

Amazon has Kindle-fied e-lending, letting you download the books directly to your Kindle with no extra software required. What's more, you can take notes, highlight passages and so on, and Amazon will hold on to that information. If you return the book and then take it out again at some later point (or purchase a copy), all your info will still be there.

It seems like a great service, but Amazon is soft-selling it in one respect: they're not saying which 11,000 libraries they've partnered with. You have to either go to your library's website to find out if they offer the service, or check out the Overdrive site. Overdrive powers e-book lending for a number of formats, though, so it might take some digging around to find one that does Kindle books. If you're looking for a specific book you can use their Advanced Search and specify Kindle format and see what pops up.

Borrowing Kindle E-Books: A Hands-On Guide | PCWorld

Searching for New Ideas - Technology Review

A couple Google Fusion Tables (recently integrated with Google Docs) excerpts from an Alfred Spector interview

Can you give an example of some AI that has come out of this research effort?

[…]

Another example is Fusion Tables, which is now part of Google Docs [the company's online office suite]. You can create a database that is shared with others and visualize and publish that data. A lot of media organizations are using it to display information on Google Maps or Google Earth to explain situations to the public. [During the recent hurricane Irene, New York public radio station WNYC used Fusion Tables to create an interactive guide to evacuation zones in the city.]

Does Google have a particular approach to AI?

[…]

We think Fusion Tables will also help our systems learn. If there are thousands of tables that say there are 50 states in the Union, there are probably 50 states in the Union. And the Union probably has states. Don't underestimate that. It sounds trivial, but computers can induce lots of information from many examples.

Searching for New Ideas - Technology Review

Oracle Grows Software Business, Moves Away from x86 Hardware

Apparently Larry Ellison didn’t get the memo about the new Oracle Database Appliance, unveiled yesterday, being based on Intel processors

Oracle is looking to further grow its revenues and income this year by moving away from the x86 hardware businesses and focusing on hardware that leverages Oracle's intellectual property.

"I don't care if our commodity x86 business goes to zero," Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said during the company's earnings call with analysts. "We don't make any money selling those things. We have no interest in selling other people's IP, and commodity x86 includes Intel IP and Microsoft IP."

Oracle Grows Software Business, Moves Away from x86 Hardware

Mini-Microsoft tips Steven Sinofsky as next Microsoft CEO | WinRumors

In other CEO speculation this week

The suggestion that Sinofsky could succeed Ballmer has intensified amongst Microsoft watchers and employees since BUILD. Privately, a number of Microsoft employees I spoke to off-record at BUILD last week admitted that Sinofsky is a likely choice if Windows 8 succeeds. Some mirrored Mini-Microsoft’s concerns at a Sinofsky-led Microsoft but others spoke with admiration and respect for what he has achieved for Windows and Office. Microsoft lacks a visionary leader and Sinofsky appears to fill that role very well. Co-founder Bill Gates handed over the CEO position to Steve Ballmer in January 2000 and transitioned from full-time work at Microsoft to focus on his philanthropy in June, 2008. Gates’ departure came after his vision and belief that tablet computing would be mainstream by 2012 (see video). Gates was right but Ballmer has often misjudged competitor products, he laughed at the introduction of the iPhone and branded it “the most expensive phone in the world” (see video). The iPhone went on to redefine smartphones and triggered a battle for a space that Microsoft had invested heavily in with the now defunct Windows Mobile operating system.

Mini-Microsoft tips Steven Sinofsky as next Microsoft CEO | WinRumors

Hewlett-Packard Reeling Accelerates CEO Succession Crisis: Tech - Businessweek

More HP CEO++ speculation

Apotheker’s ouster would leave the board looking for a leader who can do a better job helping Hewlett-Packard weather a personal-computer slump while pushing further into the market for products that deliver computing services over the Web. CEO candidates may also include Todd Bradley, who runs Hewlett- Packard’s PC unit, and David Donatelli, head of the business in charge of servers, storage and networking, said Jayson Noland, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. in San Francisco.

Other possible candidates that would make sense include Gary Moore, chief operating officer of Cisco Systems Inc., or Steve Mills, who runs the software unit at International Business Machines Corp., said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. in San Francisco.

Hewlett-Packard Reeling Accelerates CEO Succession Crisis: Tech - Businessweek

Hewlett-Packard Board Expected to Fire C.E.O. - NYTimes.com

tbd if Apotheker will be able to eventually land a CEO role that he’ll be able to keep for more than a year (he was co-CEO at SAP for more than a year, but lasted less than a year as SAP CEO).  In the meantime, HP shareholders may want to consider firing the HP board, which has been behind all of the exec turmoil.

With the move to fire its third chief executive in a row, Hewlett-Packard risks looking like the tech company that cannot find its way. It is one of the oldest and most successful tech companies and yet in recent years it has been surpassed by far more innovative and better-managed companies like Google, Apple and Facebook in symbolizing innovation in Silicon Valley. The question facing H.P. is whether a new chief executive can restore its leadership position.

Hewlett-Packard Board Expected to Fire C.E.O. - NYTimes.com

Windows 8 may be a little too advanced for most users - Business - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from a Hiawatha Bray review

[…]  While the coolest new Metro features in Windows 8 are optimized for touch-based devices, the overwhelming majority of users will still rely on a keyboard and mouse. That’s not going to change for a very long time. Metro will work with mouse and keyboard, but switching between apps is often clumsy and confusing. Traditional PC users may abandon Metro altogether and stick to the standard desktop.

But in that case, why rush to convert to Windows 8? Nearly half of all PC users are still running decade-old Windows XP software; Windows 7 is still young and very good. Unless you’re ready for a touchscreen machine, there’s little reason to choose Windows 8.

Windows 8 may be a little too advanced for most users - Business - The Boston Globe

Prepare Yourselves: Facebook To Be Profoundly Changed [Mashable]

I’m guessing the people already frustrated with the changes earlier this week will not be elated

But these changes are just the beginning. The changes Facebook will roll out on Thursday are designed to enhance the emotional connection its users have to each other through Facebook. These changes will make Facebook a place where nearly everything in your life is enhanced by your social graph. These changes will make it so you know your friends better than you ever thought you could.

On Thursday, developers will be elated, users will be shellshocked and the competition will look ancient. On Thursday, Facebook will be reborn. Prepare yourselves for the evolution of social networking.

Prepare Yourselves: Facebook To Be Profoundly Changed

Google evangelist warns Facebook could be the next AOL or IBM | Technology | The Guardian

I guess that helps to explain why his current title is “evangelist”

Vint Cerf, Google's chief internet evangelist, and the man who designed one of the key building blocks of the internet, warned that Facebook's 'closed' architecture meant that it was risk of eventually failing to keep up with the public who want an open standard so they can easily jump from one website to another.

Speaking at an event organised by the Guardian, Cerf said that Facebook was at risk of following the path of companies such as AOL, whose original business model became irrelevant, or being rendered obsolete like proprietary networking systems once invented by the likes of IBM.

Google evangelist warns Facebook could be the next AOL or IBM | Technology | The Guardian

Rethinking my blogging strategy, considering recent Facebook and Google+ refinements

(This started as a Facebook post; if you saw it there, you can ignore it here…)

With all of the substantive improvements to both Facebook and Google+ this week, I'm starting to seriously wonder if it's time to shift away from my current blog and to share more in Facebook and/or Google+ instead. Best-case scenario for me at this point would be if a tool such as Windows Live Writer (which already offers the ability to select from a variety of publication channel types at post time) added the option of posting to Facebook or Google+, but I’m not expecting to see those options “real soon now,” at least not in Windows Live Writer.

Overall, I believe we’re about to see a very competitive environment, in the “share box” context (a term IBM uses in Connections and Google uses in Google+), as Google+ and Facebook expand their competitive scope, Windows 8’s system-wide sharing support is explored by Windows 8 pre-beta testers, etc.  Indeed, given the central focus on sharing in Windows 8, I suspect Windows Live Writer may already be in “legacy” mode.

XQuery Survey 2011

Please consider taking a few minutes to complete this XQuery survey by Jim Fuller

I am looking for feedback on the XQuery programming language. Please answer all questions as completely as possible. This poll and other information is forming the basis of a talk I am giving at GOTO 2011 Arhus, Denmark (http://lanyrd.com/2011/gotocon-aarhus/shqhc/). I will share all results at the end of October 2011.

XQuery Survey 2011

True-blue Google wraps itself in red - Mike Zapler - POLITICO.com

Apparently time to work on political donation ROI in the Googleplex

In 2012, the search giant headquartered in bright blue Silicon Valley has wrapped itself in red, hiring a string of Republicans and even hosting a GOP presidential debate Thursday night with Fox News.

Tech observers say Google is finally wising up politically: Playing clear favorites with one party or the other was bound to backfire in Washington.

But neither the company's reputation as liberal corporate poster child nor its more recent rightward tack seem to be paying off so far.

True-blue Google wraps itself in red - Mike Zapler - POLITICO.com

Glam Media Said to Pay $150 Million for Andreessen’s Ning - BusinessWeek

A face-saving exit for Ning

Glam Media Inc., a provider of Internet-advertising services targeting women, will pay about $150 million to acquire social-networking site Ning Inc., according to two people familiar with the transaction.

Glam agreed to purchase Ning and have co-founder Marc Andreessen join its board, the two companies said today. Glam will pay mostly in preferred stock, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the terms haven’t been made public.

Glam Media Said to Pay $150 Million for Andreessen’s Ning - BusinessWeek

Oracle Hardware Sales Continue Decline, New SPARC Servers In The Wings

Increasing focus at Oracle; also see Oracle Posts Solid Gains in a Sector in Turmoil (NYT)

Those high-margin products include Oracle's Exadata and Exalogic servers and high-end SPARC servers. "We had growth in the core SPARC product line," said Co-President Mark Hurd on the earnings call. He noted that hardware gross margins in the quarter increased to 54 percent from 48 percent in last year's first quarter, a number he said Oracle focuses on more than changes in hardware sales.

"I don't care if our commodity x86 [server] business goes to zero," Ellison said. "We don't make any money selling those things. Sun sold that stuff and we are phasing out that business."

Oracle Hardware Sales Continue Decline, New SPARC Servers In The Wings

Led by Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Mobile Devices Now Dominate Airport Wi-Fi - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

A timely traveler technology reality check

Boingo notes that laptops aren’t going away — mobile devices are just proliferating much faster. There are twice as many laptops, for example, than there were in 2007. However the smartphone has taken off, fueled by the launch of the iPhone in June of 2007.

Apple’s iOS continues to dominate the mobile space, accounting for 83 percent of the mobile total. Combined, all Android devices are still a distant fourth place behind the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch when it comes to popularity on Boingo’s network.

The findings mirror a rise in mobile devices using inflight Wi-Fi, such as that offered by Gogo. In the air, iPads account for more than a third of big-screen connections, compared to about 20 percent for Macs and 41 percent for Windows PCs. Android devices trail Apple’s mobile products on Gogo’s networks as well.

Led by Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Mobile Devices Now Dominate Airport Wi-Fi - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

Google Cries Bing and Yelp Yelps, As Senate Hearings Commence Today - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Expect some energetic debate in DC today

Schmidt, according to written testimony obtained by the Politico blog, will be trotting out the company’s longtime argument that its competitors are “only one click away” from taking Google down.

And, in what can only be described as a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding furthering of that meme, Schmidt will apparently claim that Microsoft’s much tinier Bing search service could catch and pass Google by next year.

Google Cries Bing and Yelp Yelps, As Senate Hearings Commence Today - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Google flight search breaks vow, Expedia says - Business - The Boston Globe

An addition to the Google antitrust complaint collection

Google Inc. is breaking a promise it made to antitrust regulators who approved its purchase of ITA Software Inc. this year by ranking its new flight information service ahead of competitors, according to Expedia Inc.

Google, which introduced its own flight search service Sept. 13, “excludes any link to online travel agencies, which are key options for comparison shopping,’’ according to testimony by Tom Barnett, Expedia’s outside counsel, prepared for delivery today at a Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee hearing on Google’s business practices on the Internet.

Google flight search breaks vow, Expedia says - Business - The Boston Globe

The Wonderful Phone-ification of Windows 8 [Windows IT Pro]

Excerpt from Paul Thurrott Windows 8/Windows Phone analysis

Walk through that pretty Windows 8 UI and you'll see a bunch of familiar terminology, assuming you're a Windows Phone junkie like me. Live tiles sitting on a Start screen. A rich Lock screen with notification icons. A Windows Phone–like PIN password option (and an even cooler Picture password). Secondary tiles so that apps can pin "interior" functionality; an email app might let you pin a particular email folder, for example. Integrated search, for files, apps, and information inside apps. Location services. On and on it goes. The line isn't just blurring, it's disappearing.

Indeed, my sources tell me that the line really is disappearing and that the next major Windows Phone version, due in late 2012, will in fact be based on the Windows 8 code base. (Windows Phone 7.5 should ship sometime very soon and is a minor update to the initial version.) This too will have some interesting ramifications, if true, although I think it's clear that Windows Phone will evolve to pick up some of the improved Windows 8 functionality—better configurable live tiles, for example—regardless.

The Wonderful Phone-ification of Windows 8

Official Google Blog: Google+: 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... 100.

More Google+ news: into an open beta phase

100. Anyone can sign up for Google+—no invitation required.
For the past 12 weeks we’ve been in field trial, and during that time we’ve listened and learned a great deal. We’re nowhere near done, but with the improvements we’ve made so far we’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open signups. This way anyone can visit google.com/+, join the project and connect with the people they care about.
Over the next day we'll be rolling out all of these features globally. In the meantime, you can check out what's next in Google+.

Official Google Blog: Google+: 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... 100.

Google rolls out Hangouts live streaming & Hangouts mobile — Online Video News

Significant new features for Google+ Hangouts

Google added a number of key features to its Google+ Hangouts live video chat Tuesday morning: Select users can now broadcast their Hangouts, which turns the intimate chat sessions into a live stream that can be watched by an unlimited number of participants. Hangouts are also now available to mobile users through the latest version of the Android Google+ app. Other new features include the ability to share your screen with other Hangout participants, and a Hangouts API.

Other Hangout highlights from the link above:

Screensharing: for when you want to show off your vacation photos, your high score, your lesson plan or whatever else is on your screen

Sketchpad: for when you want to draw, doodle, or just scribble together

Google Docs: for when you want to write, plan or present something with others

Named Hangouts: for when you want to join or create a public hangout about a certain topic (like fashion or music or sports...)

Google rolls out Hangouts live streaming & Hangouts mobile — Online Video News

A comment on delayed comment posting

Oops – sorry for the delayed comment posting; I just realized Blogger’s comment filtering has been more conservative lately, and has been categorizing more comments as spam.  In response to the comments on my recent OOXML/ODF document (see link below for context):

• I’m afraid I can’t directly share the original Burton Group OOXML/ODF report, but you may be able to download it here
• I thought about publishing the latest document in both OOXML and ODF formats, but it’s a non-revisable format sharing context, so I considered PDF a reasonable choice

Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check: Revisiting Open Document Format and Office Open XML: The Quiet Revolution Continues

Without Jobs, Apple Shares Hit All-Time High - NYTimes.com

Evidently some people think Apple will be okay despite the introduction of Windows 8

At the end of regular trading Monday, Apple shares closed at $411.63, up 2.78 percent, with a new record-high market valuation of $381.62 billion. It is now clearly the most valuable company on the stock market, displacing Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalization of $358.34 billion.

Without Jobs, Apple Shares Hit All-Time High - NYTimes.com

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

F8ful expectations

This week, according to numerous media and technology executives, Facebook will unveil a media platform that will allow people to easily share their favorite music, television shows and movies, effectively making the basic profile page a primary entertainment hub.

Facebook, which has more than 750 million users, has not revealed its plans, but the company is widely expected to announce the service at its F8 developers’ conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

Hewlett-Packard Shows Hazard of Sharing LinkedIn Profiles: Tech - BusinessWeek

Another social sign of the times

As workers put more information about their lives online through status updates, location check-ins and resume changes, employers are more at risk of competitors watching their every move. Investigators at Kroll Inc., the 40-year-old corporate sleuthing pioneer, are known for scanning deleted computer files and monitoring surveillance cameras to help large companies uncover rivals’ secrets. Now they’re trawling the social Web.

“Social media has become a much more efficient way of getting information that could only be gotten in the past by things like surveillance,” said Kroll Senior Managing Director Rich Plansky.

Hewlett-Packard Shows Hazard of Sharing LinkedIn Profiles: Tech - BusinessWeek

Will Schmidt Show Restraint at Senate Hearing — Or Will He Need One? - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Check the full post for more Eric Schmidt history

But can Schmidt restrain himself from making them? Given his record to date, that seems unlikely. In the past year alone he’s made a string of verbal gaffes for which he and Google have taken quite a beating in the media.

Speaking about Google’s social media efforts and its growing rivalry with Facebook at the company’s Zeitgeist conference last September, Schmidt ominously said, “The best thing that would happen is for Facebook to open up its data. Failing that, there are other ways to get that information.”

That same month, he told the Atlantic, “We don’t need you to type at all. We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.”

Will Schmidt Show Restraint at Senate Hearing — Or Will He Need One? - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

The Google Wallet is Open for Business - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

The good news: you can carry fewer credit cards.  The bad news: you should probably carry a spare phone battery.

As expected, Google has launched its mobile payments service today, allowing a very few people to tap their phone to pay at the register.

As part of the announcement, Google declared that it will also be working with Visa, American Express and Discover in addition to its original partners MasterCard and Citi to bring the technology to more consumers.

The Google Wallet is Open for Business - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

Drupal's Torvalds figure gets life-sucking Android app • The Register

A different kind of linked data

"Is this for real?" the Torvalds of Drupal tweeted this weekend, before continuing: "Dries Buytaert Android App". Yes, Dries, it is real.

Buytaert, the founder and leader of Drupal, has been turned into an application for download on the Android marketplace.

Called simply "Dries", the application claims it'll tell you everything you want to know about the founder of the popular open-source content management system that he pioneered at university

Drupal's Torvalds figure gets life-sucking Android app • The Register

Google 21st Century Robber Baron - Forbes

Excerpt from a stark Google reality check

How can all this be? A top Google lawyer tells us how: “Google’s leadership does not care terribly much about precedent or law,” per the book In The Plex. Compounding the scofflaw nature of Google’s leadership, is that Google senior management have no practical accountability to their board.  Under the Sarbanes-Oxley, the Corporate Accountability and Responsibility Act, Google’s Board, “independent” directors and audit committee are supposed to ensure that Google senior management adheres to its legal and ethical standards and that Google has sufficient internal controls. But Google’s founders ensured that that accountability could not occur. In Google’s 2004 IPO, senior management were granted 10-1 super-voting shares, to ensure that Google’s senior management would control the company and that the Google Board would have no real power or accountability over senior management’s behavior, practices or ethics.

Google 21st Century Robber Baron - Forbes

No iPad 3 Until 2012 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

An iPad market dynamics reality check

Which makes perfect sense, really. Remember, the iPad 2 launched in March of this year. Why bother updating a device that isn’t yet a year old — especially when it’s selling so well? According to the latest metrics from IDC, the iPad holds a 68.3 percent of the tablet market. With that massive a share and no true rival to threaten it, there’s little reason to expedite the next version of the device.

Says Moskowitz, “We do not think Apple needs to be in a rush to unveil a new iPad. …The other tablet entrants have stumbled so far, and that trend-line could persist deep into 2012. Motorola Mobility and Research In Motion have been recent disappointments, and we expect more stumbles from others.”

No iPad 3 Until 2012 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Political theater will follow Google's Schmidt to D.C. | Digital Media - CNET News

Interesting mimes for Google

Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group critical of Google's gathering of personal information, is planning a barrage of stunts, a video, and testimony to highlight the dangers of the Web giant's growing power. The group is particularly concerned about Google's tracking of users as they move about the Web, and its gathering of data about them.

So Consumer Watchdog has hired mimes to follow workers around Dirksen Senate Office Building, where Schmidt will testify. Those mimes will be wearing white track suits emblazoned with the words, "Google Track Team."

Political theater will follow Google's Schmidt to D.C. | Digital Media - CNET News

Google Girds for a Grilling - WSJ.com

With great power comes great lobbying investments

Hoping to fend off any antitrust action, Google has hired at least 13 lobbying and communications firms since May, when the Federal Trade Commission ramped up its probe of the Internet giant. Firms led by figures from both parties—including former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt and the son of Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar—are going to bat for the company.

Google Girds for a Grilling - WSJ.com

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

A F8ful week for media sharing

This week, according to numerous media and technology executives, Facebook will unveil a media platform that will allow people to easily share their favorite music, television shows and movies, effectively making the basic profile page a primary entertainment hub.

Facebook, which has more than 750 million users, has not revealed its plans, but the company is widely expected to announce the service at its F8 developers’ conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

Google to Face Congressional Antitrust Hearing - NYTimes.com

A big week for Google

“The similarity between Google and Microsoft years ago is the potential for harm, the risk that a dominant company uses its power to disadvantage others,” said Mitchell Kapor, a longtime Silicon Valley technologist and investor. “But Google was born on the open Internet, and things are just generally far more open to innovators and start-ups than in the Microsoft era.”

And, as proof of the rapid turn of fortunes in technology, Microsoft is now the underdog, trailing well behind Google in search and search advertising, urging government officials to take action. Microsoft has met regularly with antitrust investigators in America and filed a complaint against Google in Europe this year.

“We appreciate the irony,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said in an interview earlier this year.

Google to Face Congressional Antitrust Hearing - NYTimes.com

Online ID Verification Plan Carries Risks - NYTimes.com

This debate seems to cycle around every few years; maybe the time is right

But the White House is out to fight cyberphobia with an initiative intended to bolster confidence in e-commerce.

The plan, called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace and introduced earlier this year, encourages the private-sector development and public adoption of online user authentication systems. Think of it as a driver’s license for the Internet. The idea is that if people have a simple, easy way to prove who they are online with more than a flimsy password, they’ll naturally do more business on the Web. And companies and government agencies, like Social Security or the I.R.S., could offer those consumers faster, more secure online services without having to come up with their own individual vetting systems.

p.s. Kim Cameron’s (quoted in the article) Microsoft employment relationship has morphed (suggesting his Microsoft bio page is out-of-date)

Online ID Verification Plan Carries Risks - NYTimes.com

Windows 8 on a tablet: iPad takes on Microsoft’s last ditch gambit : Beatweek Magazine

Excerpt from an accentuate-the-negative Microsoft snapshot

Microsoft’s problem is other than the highly popular Xbox, the company hasn’t successfully entered a new market in over a decade. The Zune was a flop of embarrassing proportions, being mostly an iPod knockoff which arrived years late (in brown, no less) and didn’t offer anything which anyone cared about. MS had been expecting to be able to capitalize on Xbox success with the Zune, even designating songs in the Zune music store with the same faux-currency used by Xbox gamers. It didn’t work. Meanwhile Apple largely owns the tablet market, with the iPad 2 single handedly outselling all competing tablets combined. The multitude of Android tablets fight each other for the same minority marketshare. The HP TouchPad has been canceled. The BlackBerry PlayBook is about to be. Microsoft’s move, then, turns out to be an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Windows. It’s an odd gambit…

Windows 8 on a tablet: iPad takes on Microsoft’s last ditch gambit : Beatweek Magazine

How To Sync Evernote With Google+ [Byte]

A handy option, if you’re using Evernote and Google+ (of course, you can also clip content into Evernote browser extensions/add-ins]

Google+ is a great tool for collaborating with colleagues and staying up-to-date with your social network. Evernote is my favorite cross-platform note-taking and bookmarking tool. Combine Google+ and Evernote, and you've got something pretty powerful. Here’s how to use Google+ and Evernote together--by sending Google+ conversations into Evernote.

How To Sync Evernote With Google+

BlackBerry PlayBook price slashing begins: $249 and up for Rogers workers [BGR]

Perhaps RIM will make up the per-unit loss on volume, a la HP TouchPad

While the new price points have not yet been disclosed, it looks like the first move in carriers’ efforts to clear their shelves actually started this past Tuesday. Long-time RIM comrade Rogers has launched an internal sale on each of RIM’s three PlayBook models, and company employees are now able to purchase the slate at discounts of up to 50% off.

BlackBerry PlayBook price slashing begins: $249 and up for Rogers workers

Paul, I Accept Your Resignation | TechCrunch

The TechCrunch saga continues

Paul Carr, one of our columnists who was hired for his grandstanding ways, has decided to fall on his own sword and quit very publicly on TechCrunch. I believe this is the second or third time he’s quit in public in the past couple weeks. I keep losing count. He thinks he is somehow being loyal to Mike and standing up for the editorial independence of the site. But he is not. He is just grandstanding.

Paul, I Accept Your Resignation | TechCrunch

The next great OS could be . . . a touched-up Windows 8? - Chicago Sun-Times

Excerpt from an insightful Microsoft/Apple/Google reality check (via Dan Lyons)

But enough about Apple. There’s one clear loser in all of this: Google.

Android is a terrific OS on a phone but on tablets, it’s been a complete shambles. Every Android-based tablet released thus far has been a functional and commercial disaster, posting insignificant sales and rebuffing every attempt I’ve made to find something nice to say about it. “Nice try,” I say, sincerely hoping Google learned enough to make the next edition a lot better than this. If a friend told me he planned to buy an Android tablet I’d commit myself to stopping him, owing to the same humanist impulse that would make me seize a child’s collar and yank him from the path of an oncoming truck.

Seriously, read the full article; it’s the best Windows 8 perspective piece I’ve seen this week

The next great OS could be . . . a touched-up Windows 8? - Chicago Sun-Times

Google Launches First Google+ APIs [Mashable]

Timed to tempt F8 (attendees)?

Google has unveiled the first developer application programming interfaces for Google+, the company’s new social network.

The launch is the first step toward developers creating Google+ apps and integrating the social network into existing apps.

“I’m super excited about how the Google+ project brings the richness and nuance of real-life sharing to software, and today we’re announcing our first step toward bringing this to your apps as well by launching the Google+ public data APIs,” Google Developer Advocate Chris Chabot said in a Google+ post.

Google Launches First Google+ APIs