Amazon Files Patent for Dual Screen Tablet - The Digital Reader

Hmm…

“While Apple, Asus, Lenovo, et al, are looking at designing the best single screen tablet, Amazon has been thinking outside the box. Today they received a new patent for a dual screen tablet.”

Check the full post for some speculation.  The abstract from the patent application:

“An electronic device including two or more display elements can provide enhanced functionality with improved rates of power consumption. A user can cause information that does not change rapidly to be provided or moved to a relatively static display element, such as an electronic ink display, which enables that information to be displayed for a period of time with little additional power consumption. Similarly, content (e.g., video) that changes rapidly can be displayed on a relatively dynamic display element, such as and LCD or OLED display. Each display can be touch sensitive, such that a user can move content between the displays by pressing on, or making a motion in contact with, at least one of the displays. Various modes can be activated which cause certain types of content to be displayed on the dynamic and/or static display element.”

Amazon Files Patent for Dual Screen Tablet - The Digital Reader

Stephen Wolfram Blog : Wolfram|Alpha Personal Analytics for Facebook

Free and deep personal social analytics from Wolfram|Alpha

“And today I’m excited to announce that we’ve developed a first round of capabilities in Wolfram|Alpha to let anyone do personal analytics with Facebook data. Wolfram|Alpha knows about all kinds of knowledge domains; now it can know about you, and apply its powers of analysis to give you all sorts of personal analytics. And this is just the beginning; over the months to come, particularly as we see about how people use this, we’ll be adding more and more capabilities.

It’s pretty straightforward to get your personal analytics report: all you have to do is type “facebook report” into the standard Wolfram|Alpha website.”

A couple excerpts from my personal Facebook report:

Stephen Wolfram Blog : Wolfram|Alpha Personal Analytics for Facebook

Exclusive: Amazon teams with Nokia, snubs Google for maps - sources - Yahoo! Finance

Some Kindle++ rumors and speculation

"Cooperating with Nokia may help Amazon develop integrated, or "native," mapping functionality for the Kindle Fire without relying on Google Maps. Nokia is one of the world's largest mapping companies, through its 2007 acquisition of Navteq.
Apple took a similar step earlier this year, when it dropped Google Maps in favor of its own mapping features for its next mobile operating system, known as iOS 6. As part of the switch, Apple signed a global licensing deal with TomTom NV, another leading mapping company, for its map content and related information.
In July, Amazon agreed to buy mapping startup UpNext, which specializes in detailed 3D maps of cities and some sporting stadiums."

Exclusive: Amazon teams with Nokia, snubs Google for maps - sources - Yahoo! Finance

Google Gets Some Rare Good News in China - Businessweek

Interesting times for Google in China

"Now, with the help of a recent acquisition, Google has managed to carve out a market niche where it’s the mainland leader: ads aimed at mobile phones. Mobile-search advertising goes beyond generating ads related to searches and automatically sends ads to users playing games, viewing videos, or using other apps on their smartphones and tablet computers. Google’s AdMob unit, which it bought for $750 million in 2010, says it has more than 10,000 registered developers in China and that its servers now get 7.9 billion requests a month to show ads to mobile-app users in the country."

Google Gets Some Rare Good News in China - Businessweek

FinSpy Software Is Tracking Political Dissidents - NYTimes.com

George Orwell would have been impressed

"The software has been identified as FinSpy, one of the more elusive spyware tools sold in the growing market of off-the-shelf computer surveillance technologies that give governments a sophisticated plug-in monitoring operation. Research now links it to servers in more than a dozen countries, including Turkmenistan, Brunei and Bahrain, although no government acknowledges using the software for surveillance purposes.
The market for such technologies has grown to $5 billion a year from “nothing 10 years ago,” said Jerry Lucas, president of TeleStrategies, the company behind ISS World, an annual surveillance show where law enforcement agents view the latest computer spyware."

FinSpy Software Is Tracking Political Dissidents - NYTimes.com

Could Apple and Google Be Headed for Detente Instead of Nuclear War? - By Ina Fried and John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

The long-term losers in this context include the competitors that don't have $Bs to invest in acquiring patent portfolios to facilitate favorable cross-licensing agreements (and potentially consumers, if the platform oligopolists don't stay focused on customer priorities)

"With the Apple-Samsung trial having raised the stakes in the mobile patent wars, it appears that the two major combatants are at least willing to talk about how the hostilities might end.
As first reported by Reuters earlier today, the chief executives of both companies recently met to at least broach the subject. "

Could Apple and Google Be Headed for Detente Instead of Nuclear War? - By Ina Fried and John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Settlement may mean lower e-book prices - Business - The Boston Globe

Undo(book publisher pricing collusion)

"The $69 million deal to settle charges that publishers conspired to fix prices of electronic books could mean that digital volumes sold by Amazon.com and other online retailers will become much less costly for consumers.
The settlement sets the stage for retailers, rather than publishers, to determine prices for many e-books, and for the cost to consumers to drop as much as 30 percent."

Settlement may mean lower e-book prices - Business - The Boston Globe

Amazon Media Room: Kindle Fire [...] Now Sold Out

Big Kindle news from Amazon expected next week; on a related note, the Kindle Touch is listed as "Currently unavailable" on Amazon's site

"Less than one year ago, Amazon introduced Kindle Fire—combining 15 years of innovation into a single, fully-integrated, end-to-end service for customers. Kindle Fire quickly became the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon.com, earning over 10,000 5-star customer reviews, and is the #1 best-selling product across the millions of items available on Amazon since its introduction 48 weeks ago. Today, Amazon announced that Kindle Fire is sold out, and that in just nine months, Kindle Fire has captured 22% of tablet sales in the U.S.
“We’re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “This has been a big year for digital products on Amazon—all of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com since Kindle Fire launched just less than a year ago are digital products. Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem.”"

Amazon Media Room: Press Releases

Google Reportedly Looking to Unload Motorola Set-Top Box Unit - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

tbd if there will ever be new Motorola Mobility hardware from Google, beyond reference design devices

"The process is still in the very early stages, but sources familiar with it say Google is hoping Motorola’s home business will command a price of $2 billion.
That’s about half what Motorola was asking for it when it attempted to sell the division in 2009. Light Reading first reported Google’s interest in Barclays as banker on August 6."

Google Reportedly Looking to Unload Motorola Set-Top Box Unit - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Hands On With the Samsung Galaxy Note II | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Check the article link for details on the new 5.55" "phablet" Note II

"The original Galaxy Note was a beautifully crafted, powerful device that initially struck us as simply too large for general use as a phone. It turns out that's just fine with over 10 million people to date, in a world where voice calls are quickly losing their luster in favor of messaging and social networks, and where having a huge, roomy screen pays dividends in productivity throughout the day."

Hands On With the Samsung Galaxy Note II | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Bringing Google+ to work

Google+ for business, in "full preview" mode for now

"As part of this trend, we’re witnessing how web-based collaboration and social tools have dramatically changed the way people connect. Whether you’re across the street or across the world, you can hold face-to-face meetings, share updates with colleagues and friends and work on a presentation together in real time. Like Google Apps, we think Google+ can help colleagues collaborate more easily and get things done—and get to know each other along the way.
So today we’re launching an initial set of Google+ features designed specifically for businesses, and we’re excited to move into a full preview mode for Apps customers. During this preview period, organizations that have gone Google will be able to use the business features of Google+ for free through the end of 2013 while we continue to add more features and administrative controls designed for organizations. "

Official Google Enterprise Blog: Bringing Google+ to work

Samsung Announces First Windows Phone 8 Smartphone, Ativ S | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Not a happy development for Nokia

"Windows Phone 8 is here. Samsung today announced the Ativ S, the world's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone, thus beating even Microsoft's key partner Nokia to the punch.
Unveiled tonight at a "Samsung Unpacked" event at the IFA trade show in Berlin, the Ativ S is part of an entire Ativ Windows 8 product line from Samsung, including two convertible Windows 8 tablets and a Windows RT tablet, the Samsung Ativ Tab."

Samsung Announces First Windows Phone 8 Smartphone, Ativ S | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Apple Wins Key iPhone Patent Relating to Editing & More - Patently Apple

The recent Apple/Samsung trial was just one chapter in a very long story

"Apple has received another major Granted Patent today relating to iDevices. This particular patent covers methods and graphical user interfaces that generally relates to conducting edits (e.g., cutting, copying, or pasting user-selected content) on such multi-touch displays. Humorously, one of the patent figures noted below that are describing the editing process, is editing a document called "Copycat" wherein the revolutionary iPhone is being described. Hmm, I wonder who Apple was thinking of at the time - (Ha!)."

Apple Wins Key iPhone Patent Relating to Editing & More - Patently Apple

SkyDrive for Android phones now available [SkyDrive blog]

Looks great on my Nexus 7, but no Android Office Web Apps support at this point

"A few weeks ago we announced our intention to release an official SkyDrive app for Android phones. Today we’re excited to announce that the app is now available for download. We want to ensure that you’re able to have your files accessible across the various devices you use—so it’s important that we continue to extend the SkyDrive experience to the devices you use every day. This new app for Android is similar to our mobile apps for Windows Phone and iOS and is a key part of making sure your SkyDrive files are accessible and shareable from all your devices."

SkyDrive for Android phones now available

Should Your Company Just Say "No" To Dropbox? [ReadWriteWeb]

Excerpt from a timely cloud storage/sharing reality check

"But increasing use of these tools in the workplace, even for legitimate business reasons such as collaboration, puts a lot of private information at risk. And companies are starting to notice.
How bad is the situation? According to the Ponemon study, 60% of organizations have employees who frequently or very frequently put confidential files on services like Dropbox without permission. And just about that same percentage (59%) reported that what controls they do have in place were inefffective at managing who has access to sensitive files."

Should Your Company Just Say "No" To Dropbox?

Google Uses Its Home Page to Push Nexus 7 Tablet - NYTimes.com

"I'm feeling plucky" clarification

"Though it is rare, this is not the first time that Google has advertised its products on the valuable ad space of its home page, which 183 million people see every month. It did so for the Nexus S cellphone and the Google Plus social network, for instance, and has used the home page for causes, like directing people to the remembrance of Steven P. Jobs on Apple.com after he died.
For people who use browsers other than Google’s Chrome browser, the company also shows ads for Chrome on the homepage."

Google Uses Its Home Page to Push Nexus 7 Tablet - NYTimes.com

TiVo Stream Gets Viewers Off the Couch - Katherine Boehret - The Digital Solution - AllThingsD

A big advance in a little TiVo box

"For the past week, I’ve been testing a device that solves a lot of my problems: TiVo Stream. The $130 box, available Sept. 6 from TiVo.com and in Best Buy soon after that, streams content from your TiVo to up to four mobile devices in your home at high-definition quality. That lets me watch prerecorded shows while doing other things, like cooking or getting ready for work.
Stream also turns mobile devices into TVs of their own: You can scan the channel guide, select a show and watch it live. It also lets people wirelessly download content to their mobile devices for watching anytime, like on planes or during road trips."

TiVo Stream Gets Viewers Off the Couch - Katherine Boehret - The Digital Solution - AllThingsD

Samsung's Smart TV Isn't As Smart As It Thinks It Is - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Not yet worthy of an Apple lawsuit...

"But I found the new Smart Interaction—voice, gesture and facial recognition—unreliable and awkward. Many of the key apps, including Facebook, Twitter and the Web browser, seemed crude and hard to use without a keyboard, which Samsung sells for about $100. The Smart Touch Remote was disappointing. I focused my testing on the Smart Interaction, the new remote and the latest version of the Smart Hub, Samsung’s built-in interface for apps and Web content. I wasn’t evaluating the ES8000 as a standard TV, though it handled regular TV just fine."

Samsung's Smart TV Isn't As Smart As It Thinks It Is - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Facebook: The Real Presidential Swing State - Technology Review

Sign of the times

"So don't be surprised—especially if you live in a state that is considered up for grabs, such as Ohio or Florida—if you hear from an old college friend with a political pitch based on what the campaign thinks is important to you, as suggested by your Facebook data. If you've "liked" a page blaming Obama for high gas prices, you might be reminded about his pro-drilling positions. "

Facebook: The Real Presidential Swing State - Technology Review

Google Inc. (GOOG) Posts Rare Ad on Its Homepage [Insider Monkey]

Google implicitly says "I'm feeling plucky..." especially since new tablets from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple are expected over the next few weeks

"At least it wasn’t for some other company’s product. It was for its own – Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is selling up is Nexus 7 tablet, which it is planning to sell for $199. It is the first time that Google has posted an advertisement on its home page, except for the occasional link to the company’s proprietary Chrome browser. Considering that Google has resisted the temptation to place advertising in the past and now is doing so for its own product, it seems pretty apparent that Google is determined to make some inroads in the burgeoning – nee, exploding – tablet market, of which the Nexus tablet has yet to really take hold."

Google Inc. (GOOG) Posts Rare Ad on Its Homepage

Apple vs. Samsung verdict: A win for Microsoft, Nokia, and Research in Motion and a loss for Google, telecoms, and consumers. - Slate Magazine

From a mobile device market reality check

"Nokia, Microsoft’s key partner on Windows Phone, is a double winner. Nokia benefits from the boost to the Windows ecosystem and also from the fact that as a mobile phone pioneer, it owns a lot of potentially relevant patents. Blackberry maker Research in Motion is also a winner on these same grounds, which is why both companies’ shares started Monday sharply up. The verdict was essentially confirmation that under contemporary conditions, if you want to get in the technology game, a product people want to buy isn’t good enough. You’ll also need an arsenal of patents that you can use in countersuits to force a cross-licensing agreement with the incumbents you’re trying to challenge"

Apple vs. Samsung verdict: A win for Microsoft, Nokia, and Research in Motion and a loss for Google, telecoms, and consumers. - Slate Magazine

Struggling AOL Defies Gravity Again - Businessweek

At least nine lives

"Shares of AOL (AOL) hit a high of $34.10 today—returning a blistering 136 percent during the past year—after the company announced plans to pass along to shareholders more than $1 billion, via a $600 million stock buyback and a one-time dividend. The money comes from the April sale of a bunch of old patents to Microsoft (MSFT), and it’s the latest example of Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong’s ability to keep Wall Street interested in his company even as critics pound away at its weaknesses."

Struggling AOL Defies Gravity Again - Businessweek

I.B.M. Mainframe Evolves to Serve the Digital World - NYTimes.com

Interesting to see this juxtaposed with the Amazon cloud snapshot

"The death of the mainframe has been predicted many times over the years. But it has prevailed because it has been overhauled time and again. In the early 1990s, the personal computer revolution took off and I.B.M., wedded to its big-iron computers, was in deep trouble. To make the mainframe more competitive, its insides were retooled, using low-cost microprocessors as the computing engine.
Like any threatened species that survives, the mainframe evolved. It has been tweaked to master new programming languages, like Java, and new software operating systems, like Linux."

I.B.M. Mainframe Evolves to Serve the Digital World - NYTimes.com

Active in Cloud, Amazon Reshapes Computing - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from an AWS market snapshot

"The efficiency of this hyper-aware environment is already remaking jobs for many and will most likely dislocate more. “You can now test a product against millions of users for just a few thousand dollars, or start a company with just one or two people,” said Graham Spencer, a partner at Google Ventures, which invests in data-heavy start-ups that rely on such cheap computing. “It’s a huge change for Silicon Valley.”"

Active in Cloud, Amazon Reshapes Computing - NYTimes.com

Book Reviewers for Hire Meet a Demand for Online Raves - NYTimes.com

A discouraging information responsibility reality check

"Mr. Liu estimates that about one-third of all consumer reviews on the Internet are fake. Yet it is all but impossible to tell when reviews were written by the marketers or retailers (or by the authors themselves under pseudonyms), by customers (who might get a deal from a merchant for giving a good score) or by a hired third-party service.
The Federal Trade Commission has issued guidelines stating that all online endorsements need to make clear when there is a financial relationship, but enforcement has been minimal and there has been a lot of confusion in the blogosphere over how this affects traditional book reviews."

Book Reviewers for Hire Meet a Demand for Online Raves - NYTimes.com

Apple Gets $1 Billion From Samsung—Nothing Changes - Businessweek

Excerpt from a bigger-picture Apple/Samsung perspective piece

"It is not a struggle, however, in which any one company is going to get destroyed or put out of business in court. Competitors are using the courts to figure out the terms of cooperation—whose intellectual property is worth what. Eventually they will get back to ordinary competition in the marketplace. Indeed, Samsung is one of Apple’s main component suppliers for mobile devices; these  companies are quietly collaborating, even as their lawyers bash one another’s brains out."

Apple Gets $1 Billion From Samsung—Nothing Changes - Businessweek

What Me, Worry? Google Finally Reacts to AppSung Verdict. - Kara Swisher - Mobile - AllThingsD

Kara Swisher "translates" Google's comments on the Apple/Samsung ruling

"Good lord, let’s hope Samsung wins on appeal, because if Apple prevails it might be coming for us next. We hope our massive patent-buying splurge in mobile will protect us, but the there-is-nothing-new-under-the-sun defense is our fall back position."

What Me, Worry? Google Finally Reacts to AppSung Verdict. - Kara Swisher - Mobile - AllThingsD

Confirmed: New Apple iPad in Oct., After iPhone's September Bow - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Unclear who the "sources" are (and there's a skeptical comment thread on the post), but it's unlikely Apple would opt to focus on more than the new iPhone during its 9/12/2012 event

"Apple’s next generation iPhone and its so-called “iPad mini” will debut at two separate events this fall, rather than a single one as has been widely speculated, according to several sources."
[...]
With a new iPhone and a new, diminutive iPad in the pipeline, Apple has two opportunities to commandeer the tech news cycle ahead of the annual holiday shopping binge, and it’s going to take them both."

Confirmed: New Apple iPad in Oct., After iPhone's September Bow - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Amazon looks at book purchases to size up presidential race | Webware - CNET

Amazon joins Twitter, Google, and Microsoft in tracking election-related information and trends

“Amazon is culling sales data to determine what the election season conversation might be about in each of the 50 U.S. states.

The e-retail giant yesterday launched the Amazon Election Heat Map 2012. The map lists all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, and assigns either a red or blue color to each, depending on the number of conservative- or liberal-minded books purchased by citizens. If a state has purchased more liberal books, it'll be shaded blue. States with more conservative book purchases will be shaded red.”

A snapshot of the Amazon map:

Amazon looks at book purchases to size up presidential race | Webware - CNET

Think Evernote’s Interface Could Be Better? So Does Evernote | Techland | TIME.com

More changes ahead for Evernote

"When I talked with Libin, I congratulated him on the conference and asked him a few polite questions. Then I summoned up my courage and explained that I’d noted the interface oddities and inconsistencies and while I was an avid Evernote user, I wasn’t as happy as I might be because, because, because…
“Because the interface sucks?” he asked, presumably channeling me to cut to the chase rather than announcing that he thinks it sucks personally.
Libin told me that Evernote understands that its products could be a lot easier to use. He said that at the moment, the company is happiest with its Android version — which is, indeed, not bad overall — and that it intends to release a much-improved iOS version within the next couple of months.
The company’s goal, Libin told me, isn’t to reduce the experience down to one perfect interface that’s identical on a bevy of gadgets: “We want to make them all great, so that you won’t even notice they’re different.”"

Think Evernote’s Interface Could Be Better? So Does Evernote | Techland | TIME.com

Near-total victory for Apple stifles phone, tablet design - Chicago Sun-Times

Excerpt from an Andy Ihnatko perspective

"Thus, the most ironic winners on Friday were Nokia and Research In Motion. These two companies, driven to their knees by the stagnated dowdiness of their products and intense competition from the iPhone, are now attractive companies to own, thanks to their large and longstanding portfolio of mobile device patents.
Google spent $12.5 billion to acquire Motorola’s mobile division last year. If they wanted Motorola for its design and manufacturing savvy, isn’t it interesting that Google’s successful Android tablet bore a prominent ASUS logo?"

Near-total victory for Apple stifles phone, tablet design - Chicago Sun-Times

One Year After Jobs Stepped Down, Karma's a ... Patent Win for Apple - Kara Swisher - Mobile - AllThingsD

A happy one-year anniversary as Apple CEO for Tim Cook

"If anyone had any question what irony is exactly, consider this: Today is the one-year anniversary of the day Steve Jobs stepped down from his job as the charismatic and legendary leader of Apple, as well as the very moment that the company he co-founded has largely won an epic legal battle with Samsung over patent infringement."

One Year After Jobs Stepped Down, Karma's a ... Patent Win for Apple - Kara Swisher - Mobile - AllThingsD

Apple versus Samsung: Copy that | The Economist

Not over yet...

"The case will also stir up further debate about the way America’s patent system operates. Its fans are already hailing the California ruling as proof that the patent system protects inventors and that its benefits outweigh the costs. But critics will seize on it to claim that the litigation frenzy and a proliferation of software patents are having a chilling effect on innovation, leaving society worse off. If Samsung pursues its appeal all the way through the America's legal system, the Supreme Court may end up having to decide which camp is right."

Apple versus Samsung: Copy that | The Economist

Big win for Apple in patent fight against rival Samsung - Business - The Boston Globe

It's going to be fascinating to see how this alters the Android/iOS/Windows Phone market landscape, since Windows Phone suddenly looks like a much safer bet (than Android) for device manufacturers, considering the Apple/Microsoft agreement that includes cross-licensing and anti-cloning provisions

"“It appears to be a total victory for Apple,” said Michael J. Belliveau, a patent attorney with the Boston law firm Clark & Elbing LLP. “All its patents survived and most, if not all, of Samsung’s devices were found to be infringing. A lot of smartphone companies are going to be thinking about how they can redesign their phones, starting tonight.”"

Big win for Apple in patent fight against rival Samsung - Business - The Boston Globe

Evernote introduces Evernote Business, updates iOS application to version 4.4 -- Engadget

Evernote expands its market focus to include SMB business domains; more details here and here

"Having already conquered the general consumer market on multiple platforms, Evernote's now taking its handy software tools to a more biz-oriented audience. Earlier today, the company proudly introduced Evernote Business, which, according to CEO Phil Libin, is "the same Evernote that's great for individuals, except now it's optimized so that you can use it in your small and medium-sized business environment." "

Evernote introduces Evernote Business, updates iOS application to version 4.4 -- Engadget

Yes, a Microsoft Store wows a naysayer | Microsoft - CNET News

Excerpts from a favorable Microsoft store perspective

"The Microsoft Store that opened in Boston today was Microsoft's 23rd. They are already in cities ranging from Palo Alto, Calif., to Austin, Texas. It expects to open 44 by next June and 75 total. I say, open even more. Microsoft fans like 34-year-old Michael Hayes of Boston, who was standing in line to get into the store this morning, think these stores allow Microsoft to better connect with its customers.
[...]
No doubt, this is just a start for Microsoft. Apple has more than 370 stores, it has all the momentum in the world, and it (did you ever think this was possible five years ago?) even has far more money than Microsoft."

Yes, a Microsoft Store wows a naysayer | Microsoft - CNET News

Facebook's Is Bigger Than Yours - Businessweek

Some examples of what Facebook's 955M+ users are up to

"Here’s a recap of some of the latest and greatest figures that capture the staggering volume of data Facebook handles:
• Every day, people share 2.5 billion different items (which includes such things as status updates, wall posts, photos videos, and comments).
• People “Like” 2.7 billion things every day. [...]
• Remember all those photo-sharing sites around before Facebook? No? Well, that’s because people upload 300 million photos to their Facebook pages each day.
• As for that big, old, Hadoop cluster that Parikh celebrated? Well, Facebook’s largest cluster—or collection of data-center computers—can handle more than 100 petabytes of information. One petabyte is the equivalent of about 250 billion pages of text.
• Facebook has a homegrown system called Hive that it uses to collect and keep track of all its data. Every 30 minutes, the Hive system combs through 105 terabytes of data. More than 500 terabytes are sucked into the database each day."

Facebook's Is Bigger Than Yours - Businessweek

South Korean Court Says Apple and Samsung Infringed on Patents - NYTimes.com

Perhaps an important precedent, despite the bizarre fine amounts

"The Seoul Central District Court ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad 1 and iPad 2 in South Korea, saying they infringed two of Samsung’s patents. The court also ruled that Samsung infringed one of Apple’s patents and banned sales of the Galaxy S2 and other products in South Korea.
Sales of devices recently released by Samsung and Apple, including the iPhone 4S and the Galaxy S3 smartphones, were not affected.
The court also ordered the two parties to pay monetary compensation to each other. Samsung must pay Apple about $22,000, while Apple must pay its rival about $35,000."

South Korean Court Says Apple and Samsung Infringed on Patents - NYTimes.com

Amazon Announces September 6 Press Conference; Mum on Details - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

September is going to be a device-ive month

"Because the event is being held in L.A., I’m thinking that we’ll continue to see a heavy emphasis on content, including video, music and other forms of entertainment, like games.
We will also likely see improvements on some of the company’s original Kindle devices that have the black-and-white E-Ink screens, including ones with backlit displays. But don’t get your hopes up for an iPhone-killer — it’s probably too soon for that."

Amazon Announces September 6 Press Conference; Mum on Details - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

"I'm Feeling Lucky" Button Becomes a Showcase for Google Properties - Mike Isaac - News - AllThingsD

Google is apparently feeling like a vertically-integrated monopolist…

“Ever willing to add cutesy “Easter egg” features to its properties, on Thursday Google tweaked the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button on its front door, the option that fetches immediate results based on your search queries. Now, scrolling over the button leads to other types of “feelings,” which return various nerdy results.

It’s cute, yes. But it’s also a clever way Google is showing off the various projects it has cooking.”

"I'm Feeling Lucky" Button Becomes a Showcase for Google Properties - Mike Isaac - News - AllThingsD

TR35: Shishir Mehrotra, 33 - Technology Review

Something to see

"Mehrotra’s gamble paid off. YouTube will gross $3.6 billion this year, estimates Citi analyst Mark Mahaney. The $2.4 billion that YouTube will keep after sharing ad revenue with video content partners is nearly six times the revenue the streaming video service Hulu raked in last year from ads and subscriptions. And that suggests Mehrotra has helped Google solve a problem many fast-growing Web companies continue to struggle with: how to make money off the huge audience that uses its service free."

TR35: Shishir Mehrotra, 33 - Technology Review

Facebook’s iPhone and iPad app goes native to boost speed - GeekWire

A discouraging decision for HTML5 fans

"Facebook today rolled out new versions of its iPhone and iPad apps, moving away from web-centric HTML5 code and instead using the native programming language for Apple iOS, resulting in greater overall speed, according to the company."

Facebook’s iPhone and iPad app goes native to boost speed - GeekWire

Where we’re all headed with Windows RT [Windows Secrets]

Maybe "RT" is for "restart time," as in a legacy-app-free and app-store-based version of Windows with a new user experience and a new version of Office (bundled, albeit with only one new Office app, OneNote for Windows 8, fully optimized for the new not-called-Metro user experience model).  RT's consumer success will in part come down to support from other vendors; e.g., if there is no iTunes client for Windows RT tablets, that will be a big blocker for many people.  (Check the link below for more Windows RT analysis.)

"Windows RT doesn’t have Win8′s split personality. It’s aimed directly at the tablet sweet spot — the iPad. If Metro apps rise to the same quality and appeal of the iPad’s built-in apps (a huge “if” at this point), Microsoft should do well in the consumer market. Then it’s only a matter of time before Windows RT tablets move into business, as users haul their shiny new machines to the workplace and demand “bring your own device” support. If that eventually leads to corporate sales, Microsoft has a huge win."

Where we’re all headed with Windows RT

Barnes & Noble’s Nook: Did Microsoft make a bad bet? - GeekWire

Excerpt from a B&N/Nook reality check

“Microsoft’s decision to invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader business earlier this year was a fascinating move that aligns the Redmond company with Amazon.com’s archrival in the digital reading industry.

But was it a smart bet by Microsoft?

An analysis by media news site PaidContent.org suggests that it wasn’t, at least not based on the Nook’s direction.”

Barnes & Noble’s Nook: Did Microsoft make a bad bet? - GeekWire

Excel Blog - Introduction to the Data Model and Relationships in Excel 2013

Check the full post for an overview of new multi-source data model capabilities in Excel 2013

"I have highlighted a new option in the create PivotTable dialog which is to “Add this data to the Data Model”. So what is this Data Model I speak of?
“A Data Model is a new approach for integrating data from multiple tables, effectively building a relational data source inside the Excel workbook. Within Excel, Data Models are used transparently, providing data used in PivotTables, PivotCharts, and Power View reports“. Read more here…
In other words, the new Data Model allows for building a “model” where data from a lot of different sources can be combined by creating “relationships” between the data sources. For those of you with some database knowledge this is similar to creating joins between tables, except all the tables live in Excel."

Excel Blog - Introduction to the Data Model and Relationships in Excel 2013

App.net tries to be alternative network - SFGate

Tweet different

"Caldwell believes Twitter wouldn't have to make those moves, and could be "more powerful than Facebook," if its executives hadn't made a decision to become more of a media company relying on a Google-style ad revenue model rather than continue as a simple messaging platform that connected online services.
"If you are building an advertising/media business, it would then follow that you need to own all of the screen real-estate that users see," he wrote. "The next logical step would be to kill all third-party clients and lock down the data in the global fire hose in order to control the 'content.' ""

App.net tries to be alternative network - SFGate

Tumblr Next Property After Instagram to Remove Twitter Friend-Finding [TheNextWeb]

More on Twitter's identity crisis

"Tumblr has confirmed the removal, and says that it is ‘disappointed’ by Twitter’s decision to make them remove the feature despite being one of its partners for the new Twitter Cards features:
To our dismay, Twitter has restricted our users’ ability to “Find Twitter Friends” on Tumblr. Given our history of embracing their platform, this is especially upsetting. Our syndication feature is responsible for hundreds of millions of tweets, and we eagerly enabled Twitter Cards across 70 million blogs and 30 billion posts as one of Twitter’s first partners. While we’re delighted by the response to our integrations with Facebook and Gmail, we are truly disappointed by Twitter’s decision."

Tumblr Next Property After Instagram to Remove Twitter Friend-Finding

When Freemium Fails - WSJ.com

From a freemium market reality check

"Phil Libin, co-founder of four-year-old Evernote Inc., said "freemium needs time to work." Fewer than 1% of users of the company's free note-taking app become paying customers within a month, compared with 12% after two years, he said. Evernote's premium app—which costs about $5 a month, or $45 a year—features more editing and file-sharing capabilities than the free version.
"You can't use it for something that's a very hit-driven business," added Mr. Libin, who is CEO of the Redwood, Calif., company, with 250 employees. The company has raised more than $100 million in venture capital."

When Freemium Fails - WSJ.com

Samsung’s new Galaxy shoots for iPad, misses - Business - The Boston Globe

Concluding paragraphs of a Hiawatha Bray review

"With so many strong features, Samsung may hope that it has finally developed a serious threat to Apple’s dominance in tablets. But for the same price, you can get an entry-level iPad with the splendid Retina display.
And Samsung’s got an even bigger problem: Android. The software just doesn’t have the elegant, intuitive look and feel of the iPad. Besides, relatively few of Android’s hundreds of thousands of apps have been optimized to run on tablets; Google won’t say exactly how many, but it is surely not nearly as many as Apple, which boasts 225,000.
Samsung is already drawing blood from Apple in the vital smartphone market, with superb handsets like the Galaxy S III. Perhaps it can attain equal success in tablets. But not yet."

Samsung’s new Galaxy shoots for iPad, misses - Business - The Boston Globe

A 'Superior' Galaxy Nexus? Rumored specs for refreshed flagship appear online | The Verge

Check the link for details; there will be lots of compelling flagship smartphone options over the next couple months (assuming the myriad related lawsuits don't completely freeze the market...)

"With the Galaxy S III on the market, Google's eight-month-old Galaxy Nexus is already feeling a little long in the tooth. However, a spec sheet spotted by SamMobile suggests that Google's developer device could see a spec bump in the not-too-distant future. The current GSM Galaxy Nexus, the GT-I9250, would be replaced by the GT-I9260, codenamed "Superior.""

A 'Superior' Galaxy Nexus? Rumored specs for refreshed flagship appear online | The Verge

Verizon to give Windows phone another chance? | Mobile - CNET News

A critical success factor for Windows Phone 8 and Nokia, in the U.S.

"The carrier is plans to offer a new Windows 8-powered Nokia smartphone this year, its first Windows device since May 2011, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Nokia and Microsoft have scheduled a press event for September 5 in New York, and although Verizon won't be participating in the event, the top U.S. carrier intends to roll out a Nokia Windows 8 phone later this year, the source said."

Verizon to give Windows phone another chance? | Mobile - CNET News

Zoom.us Group Video Chat Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Business model unknown

"Now, there is a new, independent, service called Zoom.us, launched on Tuesday, that offers free, high-definition, group video calls for up to 15 people simultaneously (Skype maxes out at 10.) It works over wired and Wi-Fi Internet connections, or cellular 3G and 4G networks. It comes from a small Silicon Valley start-up called Zoom Video Communications.
This new service not only features group video chatting, but also has text chatting and even allows any member of the group to share a computer screen with the others. It works on Macs, Windows PCs, iPhones and iPads, and any group call can be made with a mix of these devices. An Android version is planned for the fall."

Zoom.us Group Video Chat Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

How Todd Akin Became a Moneymaker for Twitter - Peter Kafka - Social - AllThingsD

Another sign of the Twitter times

"But the Missouri congressman isn’t just fodder for my fellow Twitterers. He’s a moneymaking opportunity for Twitter, too.
If you searched for “Akin” on Twitter earlier today, you would have seen that the first result on the service’s search page was a “Promoted Tweet,” paid for by Claire McCaskill, Akin’s Democratic opponent in the upcoming election for Missouri’s Senate seat."

How Todd Akin Became a Moneymaker for Twitter - Peter Kafka - Social - AllThingsD

Google Plans To Kill Its Popular Postini Spam Filtering Service - Business Insider

A forced Google Apps march?

"Google PR also told us that it doesn't consider this transistion to be the same as killing the service. "Now that there is essentially feature parity, we will be transitioning existing Postini customers over to the Apps infrastructure over the course of the next year and a half or so. Our goal is to make sure each customer makes a smooth transition from Postini to the Apps infrastructure, which offers similar functionality on a more scalable, reliable, and user-friendly platform. So, saying we're killing a service isn't quite accurate. It's more that we are consolidating the service onto the Apps infrastructure, where we'll continue offering similar features for the same price.""

Google Plans To Kill Its Popular Postini Spam Filtering Service - Business Insider

Evernote: A 0-to-60 MPH Guide [ReadWriteWeb]

A useful overview of Evernote and its essential value proposition

"Evernote is many things to many people because it’s so powerful. But for the same reason, Evernote’s purpose is vague enough that it can be hard to get started using it. First, you have to figure out what it can do for you. Here’s a guide to how to think about Evernote, so you can get better at using it."

Evernote: A 0-to-60 MPH Guide

Twitter makes clear its in charge of the apps - Chicago Sun-Times

From an Andy Ihnatko Twitter reality check

"None of this spells doom for Twitter. But it’s a reminder that we should never, ever forget that some of the services we rely on every day are indeed proprietary products. The makers of those products are free to modify, limit, or remove them at any time, for any reason, without any notice at all. We tend to forget that. We think Twitter and Facebook are public roads. They aren’t. They’re footpaths through private property. The fact that your older brother and even your father used to take this same shortcut home from school every day doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use it tomorrow, or continue to use it under the existing terms.
And that’s why I paid $50 to support App.net. In broad strokes, the goals of the App.net team is to take the social graph that’s exclusively curated by private hands like Twitter and Facebook, and turn it into a public right-of-way . . . like email."

Twitter makes clear its in charge of the apps - Chicago Sun-Times

Expanding the Cloud – Managing Cold Storage with Amazon Glacier - All Things Distributed

Check the full post for more on Amazon's suite of storage services

"Using Amazon Glacier AWS customers no longer need to worry about how to plan and manage their archiving infrastructure, unlimited archival storage is available to them with a familiar pay-as-you-go model, and with storage priced as low as 1 cent per GB it is extremely cost-effective. The service redundantly stores data in multiple facilities and on multiple devices within each facility, as Amazon Glacier is designed to provide average annual durability of 99.999999999% for each item stored."

Expanding the Cloud – Managing Cold Storage with Amazon Glacier - All Things Distributed

Apple Is Not The Most Valuable Company In The History Of The World — IBM Won The Prize In 1967 With A Value of $1.3 Trillion | TechCrunch

More market cap math

"Apple is not the most valuable company in the history of the world. It’s not even Microsoft, which was reported to have been toppled by Apple today.
It’s IBM by a long shot.
Apple’s $661 billion market share does not account for inflation.  With inflation in account, IBM remains the historic winner with a 1967 value of $1.3 trillion."

Apple Is Not The Most Valuable Company In The History Of The World — IBM Won The Prize In 1967 With A Value of $1.3 Trillion | TechCrunch

Nokia Grows its Share of Windows Phone Market, But That Market May Not Be Growing Fast Enough - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

It’d be helpful to U.S. Windows Phone market momentum if Verizon offered more than one Windows Phone device option (it currently offers only a single HTC Windows Phone device)

“The problem is that Microsoft and Nokia’s market share, even with the growth, is not enough to support either company’s broader ambitions.

Both are counting Microsoft’s next software update–Windows Phone 8–to allow the companies to make some serious inroads against the competition.”

[…]

Details on the first Windows Phone 8 devices are expected to be announced at a joint event on Sept. 5 in New York.”

Nokia Grows its Share of Windows Phone Market, But That Market May Not Be Growing Fast Enough - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Apple Becomes the Most Valuable Public Company Ever, With an Asterisk - NYTimes.com

More AAPL stats

"The Apple that Mr. Jobs left behind when he died of cancer last October had reinvented itself multiple times under his watch, first with the iPod, then the iPhone and then the iPad. At an industry conference in 2010, Mr. Jobs described seeing Apple pass the market value of Microsoft, its longtime rival and long the most highly valued of technology companies, as “surreal.”
If Mr. Jobs were still alive, he could add up the values of Microsoft, Intel and Google and still have more than $13 billion of daylight between that figure and Apple’s market capitalization, which is a company’s stock price times its outstanding share count."

Apple Becomes the Most Valuable Public Company Ever, With an Asterisk - NYTimes.com

Apple Becomes the Most Valuable Public Company Ever - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Value different

"Apple’s stock price rose more than $16 this morning, to a new high of $664.74 in late-morning trading. And with 937.41 million shares outstanding, that pushed the company’s market cap beyond $623 billion. That’s an all-time record for a publicly traded company, beating out Microsoft, which claimed the title back in December 1999, when its market value hit $616.3 billion. (Addendum: As noted below, that does not take inflation into consideration; in inflation-adjusted dollars, Microsoft was worth about $850 billion at the end of 1999.) Microsoft today is valued at about $257.6 billion."

Apple Becomes the Most Valuable Public Company Ever - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

What Really Scares Apple’s Competitors | TechPinions

A timely Apple reality check

"But the consensus from those I talked to about what really scares them about Apple is the fact that Apple sees the future and then creates products that people want even if people do not know they want them. This has befuddled them for 15 years or since Steve Jobs came back in 1997 to rescue Apple. Most of the OEMs create their products along a more evolutionary timeline. They create new desktops, laptops, smartphones and even tablets with the idea of just making them faster and better looking.
But Apple takes a very different line of attack. They approach their future products in two ways. The first thing they do is to look at an existing product and find its flaws. Then they redesign it around what they believe consumers want and then tie it to advanced software and eventually services to create complete solutions. This is the cause of Apple’s competitor’s first fears about Apple and having to compete with them."

What Really Scares Apple’s Competitors | TechPinions

Microsoft to build more than 3 million Surface tablets, says IDC | Microsoft - CNET News

When $199 != $199...

""There could be two ways to get Surface. Buy it outright for, let's say, $599. Or $199 for a two-year subscription and you can get X,Y, and Z -- which, oh, by the way, works out to more than $599," he said.
The subscription theory was explained recently in a blog by a former Microsoft manager Hal Berenson, who says, "it is completely within expectations, and in fact the $99 Xbox deal is just telegraphing it for all who are willing to listen, that Microsoft is going to offer the Surface for $199 when you sign up for a TBD (to be determined) subscription of some sort," he wrote."

Microsoft to build more than 3 million Surface tablets, says IDC | Microsoft - CNET News

OnLive explains layoffs, promises uninterrupted service | Internet & Media - CNET News

Strange days indeed; also see HTC loses $40m in OnLive 'restructuring' (ZDNet)

"OnLive said its board of directors decided to restructure the company under an "assignment for the benefit of creditors," an alternative to bankruptcy that expedites the closure of the troubled company. The company's assets, including its technology and intellectual property, were transferred to the new company in what it called "a heartbreaking transition for everyone involved."
However, under this type of transaction, no shares or employees are allowed transfer. As a result, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based said it was necessary to dismiss its entire staff but that it is in the process of rehiring many of them."

OnLive explains layoffs, promises uninterrupted service | Internet & Media - CNET News

Journalists on the Edge of Truth - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a David Carr online journalism reality check; also see A Media Personality, Suffering a Blow to His Image, Ponders a Lesson (NYT on Fareed Zakaria)

"The self-cleaning tendencies of the Web got credit for unearthing the misconduct in the first place. Then again, the Web’s ferocious appetite for content — you are only as visible as your last post, as Clay Shirky recently said to me — probably had something to do with why Mr. Lehrer tried to feed the beast with retreads and half-baked work.
Before we place all the blame on the Web, let’s remember that Jayson Blair, Stephen Glass and Janet Cooke all made stuff up for print realms. But part of the problem with journalism online is that it all seems mutable. The truth, if there is one, emerges in the wash and if there is an error, well, that’s what find and replace is for, right? Or maybe it can be finessed in the next post."

Journalists on the Edge of Truth - NYTimes.com

Disruptions: The Next Wave for the Wristwatch - NYTimes.com

Coming soon: watches banned in meetings

"It is the extension of the phone that is appealing. “The wrist becomes a remote screen where you now have the ability to control your phone with a number of different applications,” said Stephen Sneeden, Sony’s product marketing manager. “By virtue of the intelligence of the smartphone, it’s going to help to redefine what goes on your wrist.”
Another reason it may catch on: Mr. Sneeden said business executives were drawn to the Sony Smartwatch because it allowed them to interact with their phones in meetings without seeming rude. (He also said flight attendants did not require people to turn off their watches during takeoff and landing.) But just offering an extra screen for the wrist might not be enough."

Disruptions: The Next Wave for the Wristwatch - NYTimes.com

Why Twitter Just Pushed Developers Aside: To Secure Its Future [ReadWriteWeb]

A timely Twitter reality check from ReadWriteWeb; the title should perhaps be "[...]: To Attempt to Secure Its Future," and Google is probably at the top of the list of candidate Twitter acquirers

"But: To survive on its own, Twitter must create a very big business, and soon. Specifically, it needs to generate about a billion dollars per year in ad revenue by the year after next. And that's just to meet the (probably conservative) internal estimate that it leaked this June. Really, Twitter should be approaching a billion-dollar ad business by next year. Or it will be at risk of falling behind schedule, and perhaps becoming a division of Microsoft or Yahoo."

Why Twitter Just Pushed Developers Aside: To Secure Its Future

And Now Facebook's Bankers Are Divvying Up The $100 Million They Made Shorting Facebook's Stock - Business Insider

Wall Street business as usual

"Right now, reports Lynn Cowan of the Wall Street Journal, while Facebook investors digest the fact that the stock has now dropped to $19 from an IPO price of $38, Facebook's bankers are divvying up another $100 million they made on the Facebook stock, this time in a much less visible fashion.
How did the bankers make this second bonanza?
By shorting Facebook's stock.
By, in other words, selling Facebook stock they didn't own and then cashing in when the price dropped."

And Now Facebook's Bankers Are Divvying Up The $100 Million They Made Shorting Facebook's Stock - Business Insider

Why Multitasking Doesn't Work - Forbes

A timely reminder

"Unfortunately, our brains just aren’t equipped for multitasking tasks that do require brainpower. Our short-term memories can only store between five and nine things at once.
When you’re trying to accomplish two dissimilar tasks, each one requiring some level of consideration and attention, multitasking falls apart. Your brain just can’t take in and process two simultaneous, separate streams of information and encode them fully into short-term memory.
When information doesn’t make it into short-term memory, it can’t be transferred into long-term memory for recall later."

Why Multitasking Doesn't Work - Forbes

Harvard Researchers Turn Book Into DNA Code - WSJ.com

A new take on book plot twists

"In the latest effort to contend with exploding quantities of digital data, researchers encoded an entire book into the genetic molecules of DNA, the basic building block of life, and then accurately read back the text.
The experiment, reported Thursday in the journal Science, may point a way toward eventual data-storage devices with vastly more capacity for their size than today's computer chips and drives."

Harvard Researchers Turn Book Into DNA Code - WSJ.com

Apple's set-top box cure: A TiVo acquisition | Apple - CNET News

Excerpt from a plausible pairing permutation profile

"What's a shorter route to TV set-top box utopia? Just buy TiVo.
Alfred Fried & Co. analyst Rich Tullo floated the TiVo idea in a research note. His reasons for arguing that Apple should buy TiVo go like this:

• Apple could acquire TiVo for $1.5 billion to $2 billion. 

• Apple could reverse engineer set-top boxes for $500 million, or buy TiVo, which would probably sue Apple anyway. 

• The TiVo box would become an iBox. 

• TiVo has valuable intellectual property for Apple. 

• Cable companies already have deals with TiVo. "

Apple's set-top box cure: A TiVo acquisition | Apple - CNET News

Google’s Motorola Files New Patent Case Against Apple - Businessweek

Raising the stakes between Google and Apple; also see The Empire Strike Back! Google's Motorola Files Patent Suit To Block Apple's U.S. Imports (Forbes)

"The complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission claims infringement of seven Motorola Mobility patents on features including location reminders, e-mail notification and phone/video players, Motorola Mobility said yesterday. The case seeks a ban on U.S. imports of devices including the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. Apple’s products are made in Asia."

Google’s Motorola Files New Patent Case Against Apple - Businessweek

Confirmed: OnLive’s assets sold to another company | VentureBeat

A transition time in the game industry; also see Electronic Arts reportedly up for sale

"Details were not disclosed. But it’s probably not the exit that OnLive expected.  The company was the flagship for cloud gaming, where users connected to and played games that were stored and executed in web-connected data centers. The advantage was that OnLive could enable gamers with low-end computers to play high-end games that normally required expensive computers. It could also enable players to enjoy “instant gratification,” Perlman said, as they could skip downloading and just play.
It was a revolutionary idea, and we certainly thought OnLive would turn the game world upside down when it came out of stealth in 2009. It was one of the most ambitious game startups ever created, and in the end it looks like it didn’t get enough traction."

Confirmed: OnLive’s assets sold to another company | VentureBeat

A Champion of the Book Takes to the iPad - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a timely e-book market reality check

"Q. When you wrote about the Internet in the late 1990s you were quite caustic.
A. I still would be. Except now I know a lot more about its virtues. Like everything else in this world, you have to fight for the value. Wikipedia is full of mistakes and stupidities, but it has its uses. In the last 10 years, I’ve seen the Internet improve. It can send us off on little voyages, like being in a library and looking down a row of books.
Q. Are Internet fans of your work different from other kinds?
A. Most of the fan mail that comes to me by postal mail is nuts. Crackpots. But Stephen on his blog flushes out people who actually like what I do."

A Champion of the Book Takes to the iPad - NYTimes.com

Twitter Changes Lead to Online Protests - NYTimes.com

Final paragraph from an overview of Twitter's latest self-inflicted PR nightmare; curious that Twitter's ecosystem-hostile policy change should coincide with the introductions of app.net, Branch, and Medium

"“Various apologists for Twitter attempt to justify it because ‘Twitter needs to be a multibillion-dollar business,’” Mr. Spivack wrote. “These kinds of statements just don’t hold water and are completely misguided.” He added, “The future market cap of the company will ultimately be orders of magnitude greater if they are stewards of the open nervous system of the planet than if they are the next Myspace trying to sell ads on their own pages and apps. It’s really that simple.”"

Twitter Changes Lead to Online Protests - NYTimes.com

Windows RT Tablets Could Carry Price Tag as Low as $300 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

As Bill Gates once observed, during the early phases of the desktop productivity application suite war,  it's not a good idea to get into price competition with somebody who has more money than you do

"If Schmoock is correct, this means we could see Windows RT tablets priced as low as $300. That’s $100 less than Apple’s iPad 2, and $200 less than the entry-level “new” iPad. So Microsoft would be seriously undercutting Apple on price — a wise move strategically, given its current position in the tablet market."

Windows RT Tablets Could Carry Price Tag as Low as $300 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Apple Soars Past $600 Billion Market Cap - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Just another day at One Infinite Loop...

"Apple’s steady march to a $1 trillion valuation continued Friday as the company’s stock hit a new all-time high.
Apple shares rose 1.85 percent today to close at $648.11 and carrying the company’s market capitalization past $607 billion."

Apple Soars Past $600 Billion Market Cap - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Confession of a Nexus 7 owner: iPad Mini will blow it away | ZDNet

Concluding paragraphs of a hands-on iPad/Nexus 7 comparison

"The smaller size of the Nexus 7 is its only advantage over the existing iPad and the iPad Mini will wipe that out. I expect the littlest iPad will own the small tablet market almost from launch.
This is my opinion and it won't be popular with Android enthusiasts. That's OK, but the difference between the iPad and the Nexus 7 hits me in the face every time I set the Nexus down and pick up the iPad.
That's not just guesswork, that is based on heavily using both the iPad and the Nexus 7. The Nexus 7 is good, but not good enough to head off a small iPad."

Confession of a Nexus 7 owner: iPad Mini will blow it away | ZDNet

How Microsoft was forced to open Office | Open Source Software - InfoWorld

Updates from the parallel universe in which Simon Phipps apparently lives, where ODF is thriving; his Microsoft-bashing is unsurprising, given his career at IBM and Sun, and his role in the open source community, but proclaiming "The triumph of ODF" is beyond surreal

"In those dry words we find echoes of a history lesson that demonstrates the power of open source to create valuable competition and innovation in software markets. File formats may not be the most obviously exciting topic, but this announcement casts light onto two important facts about open source: First, open source software can be the perfect competitive pacesetter. Second, open source innovation provides giant's shoulders upon which others can stand."

How Microsoft was forced to open Office | Open Source Software - InfoWorld

The Emerging Revolution in Game Theory - Technology Review

In other worldview back-to-the-drawing board news, see Microbes maketh man (The Economist)

"The world of game theory is currently on fire. In May, Freeman Dyson at Princeton University and William Press at the University of Texas announced that they had discovered a previously unknown strategy for the game of prisoner's dilemma which guarantees one player a better outcome than the other.
That's a monumental surprise. Theorists have studied Prisoner's Dilemma for decades, using it as a model for the emergence of co-operation in nature. This work has had a profound impact on disciplines such as economics, evolutionary biology and, of course, game theory itself. The new result will have impact in all these areas and more."

The Emerging Revolution in Game Theory - Technology Review

Interpreting some of Twitter’s API changes – Marco.org

Excerpt from critical analysis of Twitter's new plan to be anti-social with its partner community (by Instapaper creator Marco Arment)

"In other words, apps cannot interleave chronological groups of Twitter posts with anything else.
This is very broad and will bite more services and apps than you may expect. It’s probably the clause that caused the dispute with LinkedIn, and why Flipboard CEO Mike McCue just left Twitter’s board.
Closer to home for me, it affects Instapaper’s “Liked By Friends” browsing feature, which will need to be significantly rewritten if I want it to comply. (If.)
Naturally, this also prohibits any client from interleaving posts from Twitter and App.net, or any other similar service, into a unified timeline."

Interpreting some of Twitter’s API changes – Marco.org

Judge says Apple's 'smoking crack' with giant witness list | Apple - CNET News

Time to recharge the reality distortion field -- and to place some strategic bets; the judge has unsubtly warned both Apple and Samsung about possible next steps, at current course and speed

""I am not going to be running around trying to get 75 pages of briefings for people who are not going to be testifying," U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh told Apple's lawyer Bill Lee.
"I mean come on. 75 pages! 75 pages! You want me to do an order on 75 pages, (and) unless you're smoking crack, you know these witnesses aren't going to be called when you have less than four hours," Koh said."

Judge says Apple's 'smoking crack' with giant witness list | Apple - CNET News

Facebook Shares Hit New Low as a Lockup Period Ends - NYTimes.com

Interesting times for Facebook; also see Facebook Investors Cash Out (WSJ) and Facebook Now Great Value After IPO Flop, Flood Of Insider Selling (Forbes)

"The lockup expiration adds pressure to acute difficulties already facing the company, which made its Wall Street debut with an eye-popping $100 billion valuation barely three months ago. The low stock price complicates Facebook’s ability to attract and retain employees. Without prospects of the stock rising rapidly, prospective employees may choose to work at hot start-ups where they can foresee stock gains that would supplement their salary."

Facebook Shares Hit New Low as a Lockup Period Ends - NYTimes.com

U.S. Puts Big Kindle Deal on Hold While It Browses E-Reader Market - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Check the full post for related links

"The U.S. State Department is reconsidering its Kindle deal with Amazon. The agency, which earlier this summer floated the idea of a $16.5 million no-bid contract with Amazon to purchase some 35,000 Kindle Touches and content, withdrew the proposal this week. Why? That’s not entirely clear, but here’s the official explanation: The State Department feels it needs additional market research to flesh out its requirements for the program."

U.S. Puts Big Kindle Deal on Hold While It Browses E-Reader Market - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Twitter Plans to Choke Access to Apps It Doesn’t Approve - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

A classic case study in realties at the intersection of "open platform" and viable business model

"Twitter isn’t going to shut off applications that it doesn’t like, but it will restrict their access to new users.
The company today issued a detailed guide to coming changes to its platform, including lower rate limits and authentication and certification requirements.
Most importantly, Twitter said it will require large applications to get direct approval, or else."

Twitter Plans to Choke Access to Apps It Doesn’t Approve - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

Evernote: How does Phil Libin (CEO of Evernote) organize his Evernote stacks, notebooks, notes and tags? - Quora

Evernote CEO Phil Libin: more piler than filer

"One of my favorite things about Evernote is that I never feel like I'm stuck in a particular organizational scheme. I change my mind about how to organize things every few months and it's easy to move things around.
Mostly, I don't rely on organization in Evernote; I just search for what I'm looking for. There are some new features coming out soonish that'll make that really nice.
As of the time of this answer, I have about 9,000 notes in my Evernote account divided among 45 notebooks. However, the majority of these notes are in my single, default notebook. "

Evernote: How does Phil Libin (CEO of Evernote) organize his Evernote stacks, notebooks, notes and tags? - Quora

Forget Apple, Forget Facebook: Here's The One Company That Actually Terrifies Google Execs - Business Insider

Plausible, especially since Amazon has more data than anyone else on what's actually being purchased, not just searched for; tbd, tangentially, if Jeff Bezos still holds GOOG shares from his 1998 Google investment

"What Googlers worry about in private is a growing trend among consumers to skip Google altogether, and to just go ahead and search for the product they would like to buy on Amazon.com, or, on mobile in an Amazon app.
There's data to prove this trend is real. According to ComScore, Amazon search queries are up 73 percent in the last year. But it makes intuitive sense doesn't it?"

Forget Apple, Forget Facebook: Here's The One Company That Actually Terrifies Google Execs - Business Insider

Sherlund: "We do not believe that Microsoft will price Surface at $199" | Microsoft Pri0 | The Seattle Times

Excerpt from Surface RT pricing analysis

"Sherlund does say, however, that he thinks Microsoft may enter the lower-end tablet market with Barnes and Noble, with the two creating a new, 7-inch tablet. The two companies announced a partnership in April to create a subsidiary focusing on digital books.
"We would not be surprised to see Microsoft ship a 7-inch device along with Barnes and Noble, sometime in the future, which might be more appropriately priced at $199," Sherlund said in his note."

Sherlund: "We do not believe that Microsoft will price Surface at $199" | Microsoft Pri0 | The Seattle Times

Computer History Museum | Exhibits | This Day in History: August 16: 1890: Census Bureau announces results using Herman Hollerith's machine

An early Voter ID system prototype...

"The US Census Bureau announces the U.S. population of 62,622,250, determined for the first time by using an automated method, the Hollerith Census Machine. The Hollerith machine sorted returns by completing an electrical circuit wherever a hole existed in a punch card and could process almost 10 times the number of census data than a human clerk
[...]
Hollerith formed the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. This company merged with two others in 1924 to become the International Business Machines company or IBM"

Computer History Museum | Exhibits | This Day in History: August 16:

PostgreSQL is Our New Default | Engine Yard Blog

Perhaps the database meme of the last year should have been "NoMySQL" instead of "NoSQL"

"PostgreSQL’s popularity is growing, and rightfully so: it’s reliable, performant, and competes well with traditional (and expensive) enterprise databases like Oracle and SQL Server. PostgreSQL is completely community driven and has a rich ecosystem of tools and documentation.
A few months ago, we released full support for Postgres 9.1 in the Engine Yard database stack. Today we are happy to announce that we are making PostgreSQL the default database for all new Engine Yard Cloud applications."

PostgreSQL is Our New Default | Engine Yard Blog

Nokia and Microsoft holding Windows Phone 8 press event on September 5th | The Verge

One week before the anticipated "iPhone 5" event; tbd which will be available (as in taking one home, not just placing an order) first -- a Windows 8 phone from Nokia or "the new iPhone;" see Nokia to shoulder past Apple with Windows Phone 8 debut: report for more speculation

"We've been waiting to find out when Nokia would unveil its first lineup of Windows Phone 8 devices, and it looks like we'll be getting all the details on September 5th at 9:30AM in New York City. "

Nokia and Microsoft holding Windows Phone 8 press event on September 5th | The Verge

Google Maps now has schedules for more than one million public transit stops worldwide | Official Google Blog

Check the link below for ways in which Google is making the transit information more useful

"Since 2005, we’ve collaborated with hundreds of transit authorities around the world to make a comprehensive resource for millions of riders to find out which bus, train, subway or tram can take them to their next destination. Today, Google Maps has public transportation schedules for more than one million transit stops worldwide, in nearly 500 cities including New York, London, Tokyo and Sydney."

Google Maps now has schedules for more than one million public transit stops worldwide | Official Google Blog

Windows 8 Release to Manufacturing Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Check the review link for a detailed overview with several screen shots

"The good: Windows 8 embraces the future wholeheartedly. Log-in and boot times are fast, the apps look gorgeous, and the Sync feature brings seamless transition between devices.
The bad: The learning curve is steep and in-app navigation isn't obvious. There are just too many known unknowns here.
The bottom line: Microsoft makes an aggressive, forward-thinking and bold statement statement for the future of PCs with Windows 8, and vast security and speed improvements more than justify the $40 upgrade price."

Windows 8 Release to Manufacturing Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

With Creativity, the Computing Industry Can Survive Windows 8 - Businessweek

Excerpt from a stark assessment

"With Windows 8, we get to find out what the non-Apple computing industry really has left.
By this, I mean that, yes, Microsoft will sell plenty of copies of Windows 8, and, yes, the PC makers will sell plenty of computers. But let’s see which companies can take Microsoft’s software and online services and bundle them together into a lifestyle choice that rivals what Apple has on offer on all manner of devices. (Soon enough, this will go for TVs, cars, and home appliances, too.)"

With Creativity, the Computing Industry Can Survive Windows 8 - Businessweek

Missed Call: How the iPhone Conquered Japan - WSJ.com

I suppose RIM and Nokia may take some solace in this

"Today Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.'s  are enjoying record profits and are combining for some 54% of global smartphone shipments in the first quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.
The combined share for Sony Corp., Panasonic Corp., Sharp Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and other Japanese manufacturers: 8%.
In an effort to catch up, Japanese companies are redoubling their smartphone push with varying degrees of ambition."

Missed Call: How the iPhone Conquered Japan - WSJ.com

Meet Gram, HP's New Name for the Company Formerly Known as Palm - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Check the full post for a recap of Palm's disintegration

"It has been about two years since IT giant Hewlett-Packard closed on its $1.2 billion acquisition of the smartphone company Palm. And it hasn’t exactly been a happy ride.
But now there’s a glimmer of hope. A new wholly owned subsidiary has been created within HP called Gram, and it’s essentially the remaining bits of the old Palm."

Meet Gram, HP's New Name for the Company Formerly Known as Palm - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

TripAdvisor, Expedia, Yelp, Amazon: Are online reviews trustworthy? Economists weigh in. - Slate Magazine

Final paragraph from a timely crowdsourcing reality check

"So the techno-utopians were at least half right: The Internet has helped a lot of people make better decisions about which movies to watch, where to eat, and where to sleep. But on the other side of any sophisticated system designed to produce fair and honest appraisals will be equally resourceful schemers looking to game the system. In fact, given the subversive efforts of those working to undermine honest rating systems, it’s a testament to the fundamental good nature and public spiritedness of human beings that crowdsourced evaluation doesn’t unravel completely. The only way group feedback can survive is if there is a massive counterweight of reviewers taking the time to provide honest feedback despite the complete absence of economic incentives for doing so."

TripAdvisor, Expedia, Yelp, Amazon: Are online reviews trustworthy? Economists weigh in. - Slate Magazine

Samsung 10" Galaxy Note Tablet Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

An excerpt from Walt Mossberg's Galaxy Note 10.1 review; for David Pogue's take, see A Tablet Straining to Do It All (NYT)

"I’ve been testing the Galaxy Note 10.1 for the past four days and, in general, I like it. It works smoothly and quickly, and the stylus and split-screen features perform as promised. However, I found its battery life to be much lower than the iPad’s, and some of Samsung’s software to be overly complicated. Plus, even Samsung concedes that the key differentiator, the pen, isn’t likely to be used by most people most of the time.
Still, I can recommend the Galaxy Note 10.1 as a better choice than the iPad for people who value the stylus or split-screen capability, or for those who prefer Android."

Samsung 10" Galaxy Note Tablet Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Apple's New Front in Battle for TV - WSJ.com

Also see Apple Patents Reveal New Directions for Apple TV, Touch Displays (Wired) and Because That’s Where The Content Is (TechCrunch; preview: the URL for the latter includes "die-cable-companies-die")

"Apple Inc. is in talks with some of the biggest U.S. cable operators about letting consumers use an Apple device as a set-top box for live television and other content, according to people familiar with the matter.
The talks represent Apple's most ambitious crack at infiltrating the living room after years of trying."

Apple's New Front in Battle for TV - WSJ.com

A new modern SkyDrive.com, updated apps, and Outlook.com at 10 million users [The Windows Blog]

Check the link below for some screen shots of the new SkyDrive UX, including a new Android client; SkyDrive + Office Web Apps is a compelling combination

"Today, we’re updating SkyDrive with a new, more modern web design, refined SkyDrive apps for PCs and Macs, a new SkyDrive app for Android devices, and improved developer offerings. While there’s always more to do to improve our products, these updates bring SkyDrive out of preview and ready for a billion users – in time for the upcoming releases of Windows 8, the new Outlook.com, and the new Office. "

A new modern SkyDrive.com, updated apps, and Outlook.com at 10 million users

iPad mini will look like a large iPod touch with smaller side bezels [Gallery] | 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence

Check the full post and related links for details

“We received a number of tips over the last few weeks from sources that we have reason to believe hold knowledge about Apple’s plans on the upcoming iPad mini. A reoccurring theme of late is that the iPad mini will “look like a big iPod touch” with smaller bezels along the sides in portrait mode and separate volume buttons and not a “rocker” and a mic on the back.”

iPad mini will look like a large iPod touch with smaller side bezels [Gallery] | 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence

Branch, a Group Conversation Site, Publicly Branches Out - NYTimes.com

Another new Obvious communication/collaboration creation

"Branch entices people to start a longer, more in-depth conversation about a specific topic and invite others to join the discussion. Unlike most social networks, where anyone can join in and add their verbose opinions, only people involved in the conversation can invite others. This includes friends on Twitter and other social networks.

[...] 

 Branch, which has been in a private beta for several months, grew out of the Obvious Corporation, an idea incubator started by Evan Williams and Biz Stone, the two co-founders of Twitter, and Jason Goldman, a former Twitter executive."

Both Branch and Medium also use Twitter as an identity/authentication service.

Branch, a Group Conversation Site, Publicly Branches Out - NYTimes.com

New Windows Tablets: the Good, the Not-So-Bad, and the Ugly - Businessweek

Excerpt from a GigaOm RT round-up:

"Although Microsoft’s Zune player fizzled, the Surface looks to sizzle. And outside the Zune debacle, Microsoft does have some consumer-electronics wins, most noticeably with the best-selling game console of all time: the Xbox 360. Perhaps Microsoft will be the biggest surprise here and end up leading the pack when it comes to the Windows RT market."

The RT Surface will be especially disruptive if, as recently rumored, it's introduced for $199

New Windows Tablets: the Good, the Not-So-Bad, and the Ugly - Businessweek

Welcome to Medium — About Medium — Medium

The creators of Blogger and Twitter introduce a new Medium

"The Obvious Corporation decided to take on the project of building a new publishing platform from scratch, not just because it’s in our wheelhouse, but because we believe publishing—and media, more broadly—is important. It’s easy to forget this given how much pointless and destructive media is in the world. But there’s also more great stuff than ever before—and we haven’t even scratched the surface of what our smart devices and our networks that connect most of the planet might enable."

Welcome to Medium — About Medium — Medium

Groupon earnings report: The daily deals site’s crummy business model is finally dead. Hooray! - Slate Magazine

Not such a bargain

"Now, after a spectacular debut on the Nasdaq, Groupon is a public company. On Monday, it reported its second-quarter earnings results. The numbers were dismal. They paint an unmistakable picture of the future of Groupon and other similar sites: The daily deals industry is drying up. Groupon reported that its customer growth slowed substantially over the second quarter; the amount of money that each customer spends on the site tanked; and the company’s “guidance” for the current quarter suggests that things are going to get a lot worse. The spin from Groupon’s executives was not very encouraging. In a conference call with analysts, the firm’s CEO Andrew Mason kept talking up Groupon Goods, a service in which Groupon sells discounted merchandise to customers—in other words, something completely different from the coupons that earned the firm its IPO."

Groupon earnings report: The daily deals site’s crummy business model is finally dead. Hooray! - Slate Magazine

Gartner: Android Extends Smartphone OS Dominance in Q2 | PCWorld

Some big licensing checks in Apple's future, should it prevail in its Samsung lawsuit

"There is no doubt that Samsung is currently the most successful phone vendor. Samsung's overall sales were up 29.5 percent year-on-year to 90.4 million units. Growth was driven by record sales of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones which totalled 45.6 million units.
[...]
Samsung's success propelled Android to a 64.1 percent market share, compared to 43.4 percent during the second quarter last year and 56.1 percent during the first three months of 2012.
[...]
Apple sold 28.9 million iPhones to end users during the second quarter."

Gartner: Android Extends Smartphone OS Dominance in Q2 | PCWorld

Office Next - New file format options in the new Office

Check the post link below for additional details

“The following table shows the evolution of file format support in the last few versions of Office:”

Office Next - New file format options in the new Office