The crazy truth: Google+ can thrive alongside Facebook | Internet & Media - CNET News

Excerpt from a timely Google+ reality check -- I agree that Google+ can thrive alongside Facebook; tbd if there will be room for any other major players, however...

"It's easy to call Facebook the social network of the past. It's harder to build the social network of the future.
To hear Bradley Horowitz tell it, though, Google is well on its way. Google+, he says, lets people share with others in a more natural way than its competitors. Easy privacy controls, an environment free from obtrusive advertising, and highly polished mobile apps combine on Google+ to deliver a next-generation social network, as Horowitz tells it."

The crazy truth: Google+ can thrive alongside Facebook | Internet & Media - CNET News

Amazon Web Services cuts S3 prices, knocks old guard rivals | ZDNet

An AWS momentum snapshot; also see Amazon-Google cloud price war heats up (CNet)

"Among the key stats:

• AWS has hundreds of thousands of customers in 190 countries;
• 300 government agencies and 1,500 educational institutions;
• Jassy also touted AWS' ecosystem of integrators to software vendors to marketplace partners; 
• There are 1.3 trillion total objects on S3;
• AWS runs more than 835,000 requests per second; 
• Has 3.7 million clusters; 
• In 2012, AWS will launch 158 new services and features, up from 81 in 2011.
• And AWS in 2012 now adds enough server capacity to power a $5 billion global enterprise daily."

Amazon Web Services cuts S3 prices, knocks old guard rivals | ZDNet

Google reactivates Speak2Tweet for Syrian Internet cutoff | Politics and Law - CNET News

Check the full article for an overview of Google and Twitter working together to circumvent Syria’s Internet blackout

“The illustrates Google's continuing political efforts at maintaining Internet openness. It also has opposed Net censorship in China and last week launched a "free and open" public lobbying campaign to try to preserve today's Internet governance and not cede powers to a United Nations agency called the International Telecommunications Union. "Some governments want to use a closed-door meeting in December to increase censorship and regulate the Internet," Google said, exhorting people to sign a petition opposing that move.”

Google reactivates Speak2Tweet for Syrian Internet cutoff | Politics and Law - CNET News

The Browser You Loved To Hate

Some impressive viral Microsoft marketing -- check the site for a clever self-deprecating video and other IE10 resources (via AllThingsD: Microsoft’s New Browser “Sucks Less,” Says Microsoft)

"Some people are trying the new Internet Explorer and actually liking it.  Not that they would say that out loud.  Curious?  It's a new browser."

The Browser You Loved To Hate

Battle of the internet giants: Survival of the biggest | The Economist

Lead paragraph from the latest Economist cover story

“THE four giants of the internet age—Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon—are extraordinary creatures. Never before has the world seen firms grow so fast or spread their tentacles so widely. Apple has become a colossus of capitalism, accounting for 4.3% of the value of the S&P 500 and 1.1% of the global equity market. Some 425m people now use its iTunes online store, whose virtual shelves are packed to the gills with music and other digital content. Google, meanwhile, is the undisputed global leader in search and online advertising. Its Android software powers three-quarters of the smartphones being shipped. Amazon dominates the online-retail and e-book markets in many countries; less well known is its behind-the-scenes power in cloud computing. As for Facebook, if the social network’s one billion users were a country, it would be the world’s third largest.”

Battle of the internet giants: Survival of the biggest | The Economist

Nexus 10 Review - Bonnie Cha - Product Reviews - AllThingsD

The mainstream U.S. consumer tablet market = Apple iPad + Google Nexus (+ Amazon Kindle Fire + B&N Nook, for e-reader-focused tablets), at this point; meanwhile, Upstream supply chain sees Surface RT orders cut by half (DigiTimes) and Microsoft's Surface Pro Pricing Will Devastate Sales (PcMag)

"Working this time with Samsung, the Nexus 10 is a good alternative to the iPad. I’ve been using it for the past week, and I love the gorgeous display and design. The latest Android software also brings some nice extras, such as enhanced voice search and support for multiple users. Plus, it’s $100 less than the latest iPad, at $399 for the 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi model and $499 for the 32GB Wi-Fi version."

Nexus 10 Review - Bonnie Cha - Product Reviews - AllThingsD

Announcing Google Drive Site Publishing - Google Apps Developer Blog

A big week for new Google Drive features

"Would you like to programmatically publish some web content? Or let your users do so in the context of your Drive app?
This is possible now with Google Drive. Your app can now insert static web assets in a publicly shared folder, and then serve those files directly to users via file names in a relative path. Google Drive site publishing supports JavaScript, so it's even possible to run a JavaScript Drive app directly from Drive."

Announcing Google Drive Site Publishing - Google Apps Developer Blog

A Clash of Auditors in H.P. Deal and Loss - NYTimes.com

What's next: the HP lawyer full-employment act

"Autonomy was audited by the British arm of Deloitte. H.P., which is audited by Ernst & Young, hired KPMG to perform due diligence in connection with the acquisition — due diligence that presumably found no big problems with the books.
That covered three of the four big firms, so it should be no surprise that the final one, PricewaterhouseCoopers, was brought in to conduct a forensic investigation after an unnamed whistle-blower told H.P. that the books were not kosher. H.P. says the PWC investigation found “serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentation and disclosure failures.”"

A Clash of Auditors in H.P. Deal and Loss - NYTimes.com

Laptop Buyers Should Pay Some Attention to the Chromebook - NYTimes.com

Closing paragraphs of a David Pogue review

"It’s also a perfect computer for the technophobic. It’s very hard to get lost in an operating system that basically has no features.
It’s been a long, patient slot for Google to get here, but with year after year of careful tweaks and improvements — and a jaw-dropping $250 price — the Chromebook is finally ready for prime time."

Laptop Buyers Should Pay Some Attention to the Chromebook - NYTimes.com

ReadWrite – Users Average 7 Hours A Month On Facebook, Just 3 Minutes On Google+ [Infographic] [ReadWrite]

Some interesting social stats

"It's not exactly news that Facebook continues its epic reign among social media sites - but it's still surprising just how much it dominates. According to data cobbled together in a new infographic from San Francisco law firm Morrison & Foerster's Socially Aware Blog, each month, visitors spend an average of 6.75 hours on Facebook. At first gloss, that may not sound like much, but that's almost double the amount of time users spend with Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ - combined. "

ReadWrite – Users Average 7 Hours A Month On Facebook, Just 3 Minutes On Google+ [Infographic]

Amazon fluffs up cloudy data warehousing service with Redshift • The Register

More Redshift details and speculation

"The fact that Jassy's presentation says that the Redshift service also uses PostgreSQL drives to link to third party BI tools would seem to indicate that Amazon has parallelized the open source PostgreSQL database, much as EMC's Greenplum and IBM's Netezza have done for their data warehousing appliances.
While the base open source PostgreSQL database does not support columnar storage, Yahoo! whipped up a columnar variant of PostgreSQL and out it into production more than five years ago, and if Yahoo! can do it, Amazon can, too."

Amazon fluffs up cloudy data warehousing service with Redshift • The Register

Windows 8 Is Dead! No, It’s Thriving! | MIT Technology Review

Excerpt from a timely Windows 8 market reality check

"Things got even worse when many Windows 8 reviews said the learning curve was “steep.” And when Windows boss Steven Sinofsky stepped down from his post, some wondered if the wheels were falling off Microsoft’s OS train.
And yet, the actual raw figures seem to indicate things are actually going pretty well.
So, why is there such a discrepancy in the earlier reports and Microsoft’s own data?
Perhaps Windows 8 reviews really didn’t matter as much as the pundits expected. And despite several fan sites on the Web touting Windows 8’s virtues, there appears to be a growing contingent of people that like to believe that Microsoft, the once-dominant giant, is crumbling."

Windows 8 Is Dead! No, It’s Thriving! | MIT Technology Review:
'via Blog this'

Jeff Hawkins Develops a Brainy Big Data Company - NYTimes.com

Numenta and big data

"Much of this will be a relic within a few years, according to Mr. Hawkins. “Hadoop won’t go away, but it will manage a lot less stuff,” he said in an interview at Numenta’s headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. “Querying databases won’t matter as much, as people worry instead about millions of streams of real-time data.” In a sensor-rich world of data feeds, he is saying, we will model ourselves more closely on the constant change that is the real world.
Mr. Hawkins thinks that the human neocortex, that part of the brain that includes the perception and reasoning functions, itself works as a kind of pattern-seeking and predictive system. Brain cells, starting at some of their most elemental components, work together to build expectations, initially about things like light and dark, or near and far, that they gather from sensory organs."

Jeff Hawkins Develops a Brainy Big Data Company - NYTimes.com

HP Credit Rating Cut by Moody's, Put on Negative Watch - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Meanwhile, HPQ has a market cap of ~$25B

"HP does have pretty ample cash reserves, and Moody’s even says as much in its announcement: $11.3 billion in cash and equivalents as of the end of the most recent quarter, and it said it expects that level to remain north of $8 billion for the forseeable future. Add to that an expected $4 billion in free cash flow in 2013, and it makes it unlikely that HP will need to borrow anytime soon."

HP Credit Rating Cut by Moody's, Put on Negative Watch - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

To Save H.P., Break It in Two - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from an HP reality check

"In its current form, Hewlett-Packard is a wasting asset, whose value to customers, employees and shareholders is steadily declining. It is time for the board to move quickly to restore its former status as a company everyone can admire, one that can compete successfully in two very different global markets.
If it does so, Hewlett-Packard’s beleaguered shareholders will finally benefit from a substantial jump in the combined market valuation of the separate companies."

To Save H.P., Break It in Two - NYTimes.com

Expanding the Cloud – Announcing Amazon Redshift, a Petabyte-scale Data Warehouse Service - All Things Distributed

Big data analytics a la AWS; check the post link for pricing and other details

"Today, we are excited to announce the limited preview of Amazon Redshift, a fast and powerful, fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service in the cloud. Amazon Redshift enables customers to obtain dramatically increased query performance when analyzing datasets ranging in size from hundreds of gigabytes to a petabyte or more, using the same SQL-based business intelligence tools they use today. Customers have been asking us for a data warehouse service for some time now and we’re excited to be able to deliver this to them."

Expanding the Cloud – Announcing Amazon Redshift, a Petabyte-scale Data Warehouse Service - All Things Distributed

Gmail Is Now Letting You Send 10GB Files - Business Insider

*Box bummer

"Users don't have to do anything to take advantage of this new feature. When you attach a file, Gmail will double-check that your recipients have permission to view the files in Google Drive.
ReadWrite says that if the person you're sending a file to doesn't have permission to view the file, then Gmail willprompt you to change the sharing settings without having to leave your email."

Gmail Is Now Letting You Send 10GB Files - Business Insider

iPhone Overtakes Android in the U.S - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

See the full article for additional stats

"New metrics released today by research outfit Kantar Worldpanel ComTech show that for the 12 weeks ended Oct. 28, iOS accounted for 48.1 percent of U.S. smartphone sales, surpassing Android, which accounted for 46.7 percent. The engine of Apple’s resurgence? The new iPhone 5, which helped the company more than double its share of the U.S. smartphone market year over year, and put it within reach of its all-time high."

iPhone Overtakes Android in the U.S - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Facebook Gift Store Urges Users to Shop While They Share - NYTimes.com

More friendly investors for Facebook

"Those efforts seem to have brought some relief to Wall Street. Analysts issued more bullish projections for the company in recent days, and the stock was up 49 percent from its lowest point, closing Tuesday at $26.15, although that is still well below the initial offering price of $38. The share price has been buoyed in part by the fact that a wave of insider lockup periods expired without a flood of shares hitting the market."

Facebook Gift Store Urges Users to Shop While They Share - NYTimes.com

Out of the Autonomy Frying Pan and into the OpenText Fire? < Real Story Group Blog

Another timely Tony Byrne reality check

"Perhaps a bigger issue is that OpenText suffers from many of the same underlying diseases as Autonomy.  To be sure, OpenText has not been run by a megalomaniac, and I've never heard any hint of financial or stock manipulation at the Canadian ECM vendor.  Nonetheless, like Autonomy, OpenText is fundamentally a roll-up company, focused more on buying smaller vendors than developing and integrating those systems into a more coherent whole.  This can bring short-term returns, but I believe is a highly suspect long-term strategy for customers. "

Out of the Autonomy Frying Pan and into the OpenText Fire? < Real Story Group Blog

Is “Deep Learning” a Revolution in Artificial Intelligence? : The New Yorker

Excerpt from another "deep learning" snapshot (in part in response to the related recent NYT article); by Gary Marcus, who, tangentially, also recently reviewed Ray Kurzweil's latest book

"Realistically, deep learning is only part of the larger challenge of building intelligent machines. Such techniques lack ways of representing causal relationships (such as between diseases and their symptoms), and are likely to face challenges in acquiring abstract ideas like “sibling” or “identical to.” They have no obvious ways of performing logical inferences, and they are also still a long way from integrating abstract knowledge, such as information about what objects are, what they are for, and how they are typically used. The most powerful A.I. systems, like Watson, the machine that beat humans in “Jeopardy,” use techniques like deep learning as just one element in a very complicated ensemble of techniques, ranging from the statistical technique of Bayesian inference to deductive reasoning."

Is “Deep Learning” a Revolution in Artificial Intelligence? : The New Yorker

Fake Google Acquisition Announcement Was Likely a Stock Pump and Dump Scheme | MIT Technology Review

A timely information integrity/literacy reality check; I'll be more diligent when skimming information items citing PRWeb headlines in the future; also see How PRWeb Helps Distribute Crap Into Google & News Sites (Search Engine Land)

"You are what you link to.
Several news organizations earlier today repeated information from a phony press release that circulated after 10 a.m., claiming Google was acquiring a tiny Rhode Island firm, ICOA, that installs public Wi-Fi nodes. The release first circulated on PRWeb, a free service operated by a public relations company called Vocus."

Fake Google Acquisition Announcement Was Likely a Stock Pump and Dump Scheme | MIT Technology Review

Google’s Searches for UnGoogleable Information to Make Mobile Search Smarter | MIT Technology Review

Google in proactive mode

"Contextual information provided by mobile devices—via GPS chips and other sensors—can provide clues about a person and his situation, allowing Google to guess what that person wants. “We’ve often said the perfect search engine will provide you with exactly what you need to know at exactly the right moment, potentially without you having to ask for it,” says Wiley.
Google is already taking the first steps in this direction. Google Now offers unsolicited directions, weather forecasts, flight updates, and other information when it thinks you need them (see “Google’s Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead”). Google Glass—eyeglass frames with an integrated display (see “You Will Want Google’s Goggles”)—could also provide an opportunity to preëmptively answer questions or provide useful information. “It’s the pinnacle of this hands-free experience, an entirely new class of device,” Wiley says of Google Glass, and he expects his research to help shape this experience."

Google’s Searches for UnGoogleable Information to Make Mobile Search Smarter | MIT Technology Review

Facebook makes it official — an external advertising network is coming soon — Tech News and Analysis [GigaOM]

Facebook updates: you lose your (essentially meaningless anyway...) "vote" on Facebook features/policies, and Facebook reserves the right to use information you provide more broadly than in the past, for advertising purposes

"There’s been a lot of discussion over the past few days about the recent changes to Facebook’s privacy and governance policies — including the revelation that (gasp!) Facebook is not actually a democracy — but one element of the new rules has gotten less attention than it probably should: namely, the fact that the giant social network is going to use the data it has about your likes and dislikes to show you ads outside of Facebook. This is the first real confirmation that the company is going to roll out an advertising network that extends beyond just its own walled garden, and it could turn out to be one of the biggest factors in the success or failure of Facebook’s revenue-growth strategy."

Facebook makes it official — an external advertising network is coming soon — Tech News and Analysis

Google acquires wireless Internet network provider ICOA for $400 million - The Next Web

[Update: undo; see Why Google's False Acquisition Made Sense]

I'm guessing wide-area wireless service providers are not thrilled to see this

"ICOA provides wireless and wired networks in high-traffic public locations in the US, adding WiFi hotspot zones to airports, restaurants, universities, travel plazas, and many other public venues. As part of the deal, Google is set to pick up 1,500 of ICOA’s broadband access installations across 45 US states."

Google acquires wireless Internet network provider ICOA for $400 million - The Next Web

Tablet display shipments jump, top laptops in October | Mobile - CNET News

A sign of the tablet times

"Only days after a report anticipating a surge in tablet shipments, it's official: Tablet display shipments topped laptops in October, said NPD DisplaySearch today.
"In a milestone for the global industry, in October tablet PC panel shipments exceeded those of notebook PC panels," NPD DisplaySearch said today in a research note.
Because display panel shipments are always the leading indicator for device shipments, "it can be seen that tablet PCs are threatening to overtake notebooks," DisplaySearch said."

Tablet display shipments jump, top laptops in October | Mobile - CNET News

Scientists See Advances in Deep Learning, a Part of Artificial Intelligence - NYTimes.com

Everyday AI

"The technology, called deep learning, has already been put to use in services like Apple’s Siri virtual personal assistant, which is based on Nuance Communications’ speech recognition service, and in Google’s Street View, which uses machine vision to identify specific addresses.
But what is new in recent months is the growing speed and accuracy of deep-learning programs, often called artificial neural networks or just “neural nets” for their resemblance to the neural connections in the brain."

Scientists See Advances in Deep Learning, a Part of Artificial Intelligence - NYTimes.com

Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC Windows Phone 8X Are Great, and Yet - NYTimes.com

Bought an HTC 8X for one of my kids yesterday (at her request); she is very impressed with it so far.  After several days of "We have no idea when they'll be available," the Windows Phone 8 devices (along with a Surface-based wall display) suddenly and prominently appeared at a local Verizon store Tuesday (although Verizon doesn't sell the Surface).  Two of the Verizon salespeople seemed sincerely impressed, and had requested Windows Phone 8 devices for their own next smartphones.  This was a major improvement relative to a year ago, when I visited the same Verizon store with another one of my kids, who had decided she wanted a Windows Phone (7) smartphone; at that point, when we told the Verizon salesperson we wanted to look at a Windows Phone device, we were flatly told "No you don't.  You want an iPhone or an Android phone..."  (My daughter then selected the HTC Windows Phone 7 device anyway -- the only Windows Phone Verizon offered at that time -- and has been very happy with it.)

"Unfortunately, as a Microsoft product manager told me understatedly, “We have an awareness problem.” Translation: Nobody is buying Windows phones. And since nobody’s buying them, nobody’s writing apps for them. And since nobody’s writing apps — well, you can see where this is going.
Still, Microsoft isn’t giving up. This month, Windows Phone 8 arrives aboard two fascinating new phones: the Nokia Lumia 920 ($100 with a new AT&T contract) and the HTC Windows Phone 8X ($200 from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile)."

Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC Windows Phone 8X Are Great, and Yet - NYTimes.com

What Technology Customers Can Learn from the HP-Autonomy Debacle < Real Story Group Blog

Tony Byrne on the Autonomy disaster; check the full post for more insights

“The short version of my argument is this: I believe Autonomy's impressive financial results (at least those reported) served to conceal key warning signs about its aging flagship search technology, doped-up sales strategies, warped internal culture, and growing disdain for its own customers.

The savvy technology customer ignores what equity markets consider "hot" -- and digs deeper to find the right fit.”

What Technology Customers Can Learn from the HP-Autonomy Debacle < Real Story Group Blog

The HP Way, and How It Completely Screwed HP | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Excerpt from a longer-term HP software reality check

"It’s the latest in a string of failed high-profile acquisitions by a mismanaged company, but it’s more than that. Autonomy was also supposed to be HP’s big shot at moving into the high-margin software business that’s kept its two biggest competitors — IBM and Oracle — chugging along. But it shouldn’t be a big surprise that the acquisition has proved to be a colossal failure. If HP has proved anything over the past decade, it’s that it doesn’t do software, at least not the sort of enterprise software that big companies pay lots of money for so they can manage their data and corporate assets."

The HP Way, and How It Completely Screwed HP | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Hewlett-Packard’s Explanation Just Makes No Sense - Bloomberg

Perhaps the fundamental HP/Autonomy mistake: goodwill wishful thinking

"The goodwill figure is especially telling. Goodwill is the bookkeeping entry that a company records when it pays a premium to buy another company. More precisely, it’s the difference between the purchase price and the fair market value of the acquired company’s net assets. Goodwill can’t be sold by itself. The goodwill in this instance tells you that HP paid $6.9 billion more than it believed Autonomy’s net assets were worth.
Now HP is writing down some of that goodwill and blaming it on supposed financial-reporting improprieties by Autonomy. This also doesn’t make sense. HP didn’t record the goodwill because it was lied to by Autonomy. HP recorded the goodwill because it knew Autonomy’s identifiable assets were worth much less than it paid."

Hewlett-Packard’s Explanation Just Makes No Sense - Bloomberg

Microsoft vs. Google trial over patents finishes up | Reuters

Perhaps Google will use the royalties to subsidize Android device makers forced to pay Microsoft royalties

"The week-long trial in a Seattle federal court examined how much of a royalty Microsoft Corp should pay Google Inc for a license to some of Motorola's patents. Google bought Motorola earlier this year for $12.5 billion, partly for its library of communications patents.
Motorola had sought up to $4 billion a year for its wireless and video patents, while Microsoft argues its rival deserves just over $1 million a year."

Microsoft vs. Google trial over patents finishes up | Reuters

Mind-blowing Idea: Free Transportation for Life - LAUNCH -

Drive different

"Let's forget the politics and get back to the narrative:
1. Supercharging stations cost very little to install
2. They are solar powered
3. They can dump 150 miles of drive time into your car in an hour
4. They're popping up all over California, and Tesla is going to install them across the USA and Canada
5. They are free to use if you own a Tesla Model S
6. They're underutilized today, so they actually put more energy into the grid than they use
Is your mind blown yet? If not, read that list a couple of times and think to yourself, "How much do I spend on gas a month? A year? A decade and in a lifetime?" "

... and also think about the ecological implications, while you're at it.

Mind-blowing Idea: Free Transportation for Life - LAUNCH -

Nokia's Maps App for iPhone Gets a Cool Reception - NYTimes.com

A discouraging start for Nokia Here

"After Nokia’s Here app was released on Monday, it quickly climbed to the No. 4 spot on Apple’s list of most downloaded apps. By Tuesday afternoon, the app already had 378 reviews in iTunes with an average rating of 2.5 stars. The majority of users rated it one star.
Some of the complaints were similar to those that greeted Apple’s map service: some locations are mislabeled, and some information, like street maps for Japan, is missing. Others complained that the maps were ugly and sluggish to load. People who rated the app five stars said the location data was more accurate than Apple’s."

Nokia's Maps App for iPhone Gets a Cool Reception - NYTimes.com

Evernote 5 Launches With Atlas for Notes Feature Powered by MapBox | MapBox

Some Evernote Atlas insights from MapBox, which created the underlying geocoding service

“The geocoder is powered by 100% public domain data. We are using Natural Earth for countries and provinces, Flickr Shapefiles for cities, and U.S. Census TIGER for zip codes. We combined these sources into a database of nearly 200,000 places that the MapBox geocoder uses to quickly return accurate results.

In addition to the existing data, we are working with others in the OpenStreetMap community to establish guidelines that ensure the ODbl does not virally infect users’ data when using OpenStreetMap for geocoding. Once finalized we can add OpenStreetMap point and polygon data to the geocoder and work with the larger community to improve the entire system.”

Evernote 5 Launches With Atlas for Notes Feature Powered by MapBox | MapBox

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 will help it compete against iPhone, Android | MIT Technology Review

Excerpt from a net-positive Windows Phone 8 review

"If Microsoft wants to be taken seriously by consumers and app developers, it will have to make serious strides with its Windows Phone Store, which for now includes just a fraction of the apps available for Android and iOS. But Microsoft is an old hand when it comes to wooing developers, and Windows 8—its operating system for desktops and tablets—is designed to make it easier for developers to create software components that work on both mobile and conventional computers. So I’m going to bet they can do it, even if it may take some time."

Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 will help it compete against iPhone, Android | MIT Technology Review

Hewlett-Packard Loses Billions on Sketchy Buyout of Autonomy - The Daily Beast

Perhaps this deal debacle will lead to HP losing its autonomy – i.e., to HP being acquired and selectively dismantled, e.g., by Oracle.  An excerpt from The Daily Beast article, which suggests both Deloitte and KPMG have some explaining to do (along with HP’s board…):

“Autonomy, a software and institutional services company, was one of HP’s main British rivals before the acquisition—the logic was that HP could expand beyond its ailing hardware business and start competing in the software sector. But even at the time, many investors (and bloggers) slammed Autonomy as overpriced. Moreover, in September 2011, Oracle accused the British company of lying, after it denied approaching the American software giant in an attempt to sell itself. “After the sales pitch was over,” the company said, “Oracle refused to make an offer because Autonomy’s current market value of $6 billion was way too high.” Lest there be any doubt in how much Autonomy had angered Oracle, it even put the company’s sales pitch slides online at Oracle.com/PleaseBuyAutonomy.”

And yes, the slides are still there…

Hewlett-Packard Loses Billions on Sketchy Buyout of Autonomy - The Daily Beast

H.P. Takes Huge Charge on 'Accounting Improprieties' at Autonomy - NYTimes.com

If not a world leader in search, Autonomy was evidently at least very good at hiding information

"Hewlett-Packard said on Tuesday that it had taken an $8.8 billion accounting charge, after discovering “serious accounting improprieties” and “outright misrepresentations” at Autonomy, a British software maker that it bought for $11.7 billion last year."

H.P. Takes Huge Charge on 'Accounting Improprieties' at Autonomy - NYTimes.com

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Teardown: A Samsung Tablet By Another Name? [Gizmodo]

It's apparently a win/place/show tablet world, for Samsung (e.g., buy a tablet directly from Samsung, an OEM'd unit such as the Nexus 10, or a tablet with lots of Samsung parts, e.g., Kindle HD 8.9 or iPad...)

"Powerbook Medic has torn the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 apart for the world to peer inside. It seems Samsung has done well out of the tablet, as it's supplying—at the very least—the display, RAM, and flash memory. The processor is courtesy of Texas Instruments, though."

Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Teardown: A Samsung Tablet By Another Name?

Microsoft Global Foundations Services Blog : Microsoft Recycles Waste to Provide Clean Power for Data Center R&D

Check the full post for extensive details

“Microsoft is excited to announce its research and development of the first zero carbon data center - called the Data Plant - that will be completely independent of the grid and will recycle common waste bi-products to sustainably power cloud services. Microsoft has been committed to developing more efficient and sustainable data center infrastructures that support our customers' growing demand for online services since 1994. With this Data Plant pilot project, we are taking another step in that important journey, while also working to address some of the global challenges facing us all regarding energy, waste, and water resources today.”

[…]

Microsoft Global Foundations Services Blog : Microsoft Recycles Waste to Provide Clean Power for Data Center R&D

Meet Your Match: Microsoft Launches Follow-Up To Smoked By Windows Phone Challenge | TechCrunch

tbd if the comparison also includes reboot timing

"Now, Microsoft is following this up with a new set of challenges under the “Meet Your Match” moniker. According to Microsoft, this is a different take on the “Smoked” challenges. The focus now isn’t just on how Windows Phone 8 on devices like the Lumia 920 allows user to finish tasks faster than on other operating systems, but also on “why it’s better, easier, more useful, and more fun. The soul of Smoked – a side-by-side comparison of us vs. the other guys – hasn’t changed, but now it’s about why our phones and features are a better match for you, no matter who you are or what you’re into.”"

Meet Your Match: Microsoft Launches Follow-Up To Smoked By Windows Phone Challenge | TechCrunch

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (8.9-inch, 4G LTE) [Engadget]

Final paragraph of a detailed super-sized Kindle HD review

"In general we're quite fond of 7-inch tablets and so, of these two, we'd still take the more portable 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. However, those who need just a bit more workspace, or who can't stand to ever be offline from any location, might want to consider the 8.9. Meanwhile, if you're a more serious tablet user who wants access to the full power of the Android operating system, the decision is still simple: go with something else."

Amazon Kindle Fire HD review (8.9-inch, 4G LTE)

Google wants to take on Apple with an open AirPlay alternative — Online Video News

tbd if fast-follower + more-open will be sufficient

"Google took a page from Apple’s playbook when it rolled out its own AirPlay-like remote control feature for YouTube on Google TV last week. The company has since launched a dedicated micro-site to promote the feature, showing how serious it is taking second screen control. But it is not stopping there. Drayson told me that Google is “actively working with other companies” to turn this into an open standard, which could be used on other platforms and for other apps as well.
[...]
And it’s not just about remote control functionality and beaming a video from your mobile phone to the TV we are talking about. The new protocol makes it possible for data to flow in both directions, Drayson explained, which would enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what’s happening on live TV as well. Also on the roadmap: beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen."

Google wants to take on Apple with an open AirPlay alternative — Online Video News

How the Music Industry Explains the Weird Economics of the App World - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

Excerpt from another timely app-onomics reality check

"The App Economy isn't merely delightful, it's also an economic juggernaut that's created more than 400,000 jobs and a multi-billion-dollar business where there was, very recently, nothing. That's the good news. The bad news is that in the App Economy, as in every hit-making business, there is the top 1% and there is everybody else. For a taste of the App Economy's inequality: Of the $6.5 billion that Apple has paid to app developers, only 25% made more than $30,000 and 4% made more than $1 million. "

How the Music Industry Explains the Weird Economics of the App World - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

IBM simulates 530 billon neurons, 100 trillion synapses on world’s fastest supercomputer | KurzweilAI

A thoughtful cognitive computing milestone?…

"IBM says it has now accomplished this milestone with its new “TrueNorth” system running on the world’s fastest operating supercomputer, the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LBNL) Blue Gene/Q Sequoia, using 96 racks (1,572,864 processor cores, 1.5 PB memory, 98,304 MPI processes, and 6,291,456 threads).
IBM and LBNL achieved an unprecedented scale of 2.084 billion neurosynaptic cores* containing 53×10¹⁰  (530 billion) neurons and 1.37×10¹⁴ (100 trillion) synapses running only 1542 times slower than real time."

IBM simulates 530 billon neurons, 100 trillion synapses on world’s fastest supercomputer | KurzweilAI

Windows 8 — Disappointing Usability for Both Novice & Power Users (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

Another vote for the toaster/fridge hypothesis

“I have great hopes for Windows 9 on mobile and tablets. Just as Windows 7 was "Vista Done Right," it's quite likely that the touchscreen version of Windows 9 will be "Windows 8 Done Right."

The situation is much worse on regular PCs, particularly for knowledge workers doing productivity tasks in the office. This used to be Microsoft's core audience, and it has now thrown the old customer base under the bus by designing an operating system that removes a powerful PC's benefits in order to work better on smaller devices.

The underlying problem is the idea of recycling a single software UI for two very different classes of hardware devices. It would have been much better to have two different designs: one for mobile and tablets, and one for the PC.

I understand why Microsoft likes the marketing message of "One Windows, Everywhere." But this strategy is wrong for users.”

Windows 8 — Disappointing Usability for Both Novice & Power Users (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)

Amazon Web Services Certified to Run SAP Business Suite for Production Applications - Bloomberg

Enterprise IT forecast: increasingly cloudy

"Enterprises running SAP Business Suite can now leverage the on-demand,
pay-as-you-go AWS platform to support thousands of concurrent users in
production without making costly capital expenditures for their underlying
infrastructure. SAP Business Suite certified for use on AWS follows the
announcement made last month that the SAP HANA One platform is certified for
production use on AWS and available on AWS Marketplace. For more information
on deploying SAP solutions on AWS, visit http://aws.amazon.com/sap"

Amazon Web Services Certified to Run SAP Business Suite for Production Applications - Bloomberg

Yahoo and Facebook Not in Search Alliance Discussions - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

A timely search market reality check, after some breathless speculation about Facebook and Yahoo search partnership permutations (e.g., see this Business Insider article)

"Could the pair do more in terms of sharing among its users? Sure! Could they more tightly integrate services? Yep! Could they do something jointly related to advertising? Why not! But will they build a search engine together? Not likely.
Indeed, I am not even sure what such a thing means, since it would now be nearly impossible to execute, given Yahoo has outsourced its core search technology long ago to Microsoft and has been largely focused on improving search experience since then."

Yahoo and Facebook Not in Search Alliance Discussions - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Which Tablet to Buy Among Dozens Confuses Shoppers - NYTimes.com

I suspect the Q4 2012/Q1 2013 numbers will suggest that, for most people not primarily interested in an e-reader tablet (i.e., Kindle or Nook), the tablet decision is coming down to 1) Apple iPad or Google Nexus and 2) ~7" or ~10"

"By keeping its tablet prices so high, he said, Apple could lose its place as the biggest tablet seller, just as it did with smartphones when it lost the first-place position to Samsung, which makes less expensive phones using Google’s Android software. The iPad still dominates the market with a 50 percent share, according to third-quarter figures from the research firm IDC, but that is down from 60 percent a year ago. Samsung is in second place with an 18 percent share, Amazon is third with 9 percent, and Asus, which makes Google’s Nexus 7 tablet, is in fourth with 8.6 percent of the market."

Which Tablet to Buy Among Dozens Confuses Shoppers - NYTimes.com

How Google's Kansas Internet Service Could Serve as a Blueprint for Delivering Blazing Fast Data Across the United States | MIT Technology Review

More Google networking adventures

“The actual service is a bargain compared to many services that provide much slower speeds. Google’s gigabit Internet service is priced at $70 per month. When bundled with TV, the price rises to $120—and Google is certainly pushing that additional service (see “Searching for the Future of Television” and “Google Launches a Superfast Internet and TV Business”). Users subscribing for a TV service get a two-terabyte storage box for recorded shows and a Nexus 7 Android tablet to use as a remote control. (As a budget alternative, Internet at five megabits per second is available for a one-time fee of $300.)”

How Google's Kansas Internet Service Could Serve as a Blueprint for Delivering Blazing Fast Data Across the United States | MIT Technology Review

Apple & Google: Tech Leaders in Harnessing Solar Energy - Patently Apple

Some very bright ideas

“It's a known fact that Apple has spent nearly $3 million to buy more than 200 acres of property in Catawba County for another solar farm. It's just another step in Apple's pledge to have its Maiden data center running on 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the year. A TV station in North Carolina snapped aerial photos of Apple's solar which is quite impressive. Yet Apple isn't alone in this race to embrace clean power for its data centers. Not in the least. It was reported on just this past week that Google backs an Iowa wind farm which puts Google's investments in solar energy close to the billion dollar mark. On the very day of that report, the US Patent Office revealed that Google had invented a new stronger designed Heliostat mirror to harness solar energy against strong winds and hail.”

Apple & Google: Tech Leaders in Harnessing Solar Energy - Patently Apple

IBM Drops Lotus Brand, Takes Notes and Domino Forward [eWeek]

Check the full article for additional analyst perspectives on #lotusdead

""This is quite a historic moment, the end of an era for an iconic 20th century brand," said Tony Baer, an analyst at Ovum. "IBM's been laying the groundwork for retiring the Lotus name for several years. But don't forget that in its lifetime, Lotus was already reinvented when it went from spreadsheets to 'groupware,' the first real collaborative application—if you're not counting email. Today, collaboration is no longer an app, but a capability that is baked into applications, devices, messaging systems and social networks. Maybe it's not obvious from today's perspective, but Lotus became a victim of its own success.""

IBM Drops Lotus Brand, Takes Notes and Domino Forward

Big Data News of the Week: BYOD - Forbes

Excerpt from a weekly round-up of big data developments

"One way to find and experiment with data while avoiding politics and addressing resource availability is to create and participate in a big data Petri dish. A case in point is the recently-opened Hack/Reduce, a non-profit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, offering space and computing resources to individuals and organizations interested in developing big data applications.
About 100 big data enthusiasts were expected today at the Hack/Reduce kickoff hackathon. Participants were encouraged to BYOD or bring their own data, co-founder Frederic Lalonde told Xconomy’s Gregory T.  Huang.  “If they work for a company or organization that has a public dataset,” said Lalonde, “the best thing they can do is come in and make that available to the community.”"

Big Data News of the Week: BYOD - Forbes

Big data gets its own book: 'The Human Face of Big Data' | Internet & Media - CNET News

A crowdsourced big book of big data

"The book, which has a planned publication date of December 4, is packed with powerful portraits of how life is changing in a world filled by a never-ending stream of data -- from constant Facebook updates to signals from our smartphones to new data-driven ways to predict heart-attacks in real time. There's an ongoing data-collecting component of the project as well. Smolan released accompanying mobile apps in September and, with permission, has been recording data of people's lives from around the world that he'll publish in a couple of weeks."

Big data gets its own book: 'The Human Face of Big Data' | Internet & Media - CNET News

As Boom Lures App Creators, Tough Part Is Making a Living - NYTimes.com

An app market reality check

"Despite the rumors of hordes of hip programmers starting million-dollar businesses from their kitchen tables, only a small minority of developers actually make a living by creating their own apps, according to surveys and experts. The Grimeses began their venture with high hopes, but their apps, most of them for toddlers, did not come quickly enough or sell fast enough.
And programming is not a skill that just anyone can learn. While people already employed in tech jobs have added app writing to their résumés, the profession offers few options to most unemployed, underemployed and discouraged workers."

As Boom Lures App Creators, Tough Part Is Making a Living - NYTimes.com

How Google Nexus 7 with mobile data changes connected tablets | TechHive

Connect different

"In this always on, always-connected world, it's increasingly difficult to give up mobile broadband while traveling, even when overseas. The beauty of GSM networks and the SIM card has always been the relative universality of the networks, and the interchangeable nature of SIM cards. Granted, some regions don't use GSM; and to enjoy this flexibility, one needs to have a phone or tablet that's "unlocked"—meaning, not tied to a carrier. Until now, all of the tablets shipped with mobile data in the U.S. were tied to a carrier. The Google Nexus 7 with WiFi + Mobile Data breaks free of that paradigm, and in so doing literally opens up the world for those on-the-go."

How Google Nexus 7 with mobile data changes connected tablets | TechHive

Excel Blog - Excel Surveys

An Excel + Skydrive scenario – interesting that everything except step 5 below can be done for free with SkyDrive + Excel Web App (used in the image below); for more SkyDrive news, see  Announcing new .NET and Windows Phone SDKs for SkyDrive, plus IFTTT, DocuSign and SoundGecko integrations (Inside SkyDrive)

“To recap:

1. Create surveys directly in Web Excel, with results stored inside a table in the workbook.
2. Share your survey with anyone – no Microsoft Account required.
3. Your surveys will always look sleek, modern, and professional.
4. See survey responses added to the workbook in real time.
5. Use the full power of Excel on the desktop to analyze and chart your new data once it’s all there.”

Excel Blog - Excel Surveys

Anonymous takes down over 650 Israeli sites, wipes databases, leaks email addresses and passwords - The Next Web

History in the making

"When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) this week began taking military action in the Gaza strip against Hamas (as the IDF announced on Twitter), Anonymous declared its own war as part of #OpIsrael. Among the casualties are thousands of email addresses and passwords, hundreds of Israeli Web sites, government-owned as well as privately owned pages, as well as databases belonging to Bank Jerusalem and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Anonymous takes down over 650 Israeli sites, wipes databases, leaks email addresses and passwords - The Next Web

Windows 8 Sales Well Below Projections, Plenty of Blame to Go Around | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Check this page for Paul Thurrott's detailed list of eight market factors that could be stalling Windows 8

"The net effect of all this stuff, I think, contributes to a wait-and-see approach with Windows 8. And that is exactly the opposite of what Microsoft and even the broader industry should want at this time. In this way, the Windows 8 launch is much like that of Vista, where a nagging (and in that case, tech blogger-led) cabal of disappointed voices dominated the discussion at launch and torpedoed the product before it had a chance. Windows 8 is no Vista, in many ways. Until it is.
All of this was avoidable."

With all due respect to Paul Thurrott, I'm not sure it was all avoidable, if PC market saturation, contentment with Windows 7 PCs, and a widespread shift to tablets and smartphones together represent the ultimate Windows 8 challenge.

Also see Forrester finds mixed prospects for Windows 8 in the enterprise (ZDNet)

Windows 8 Sales Well Below Projections, Plenty of Blame to Go Around | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Windows 8 sales 'well below' projections, report claims | Microsoft - CNET News

Another potential "culprit" combination: PC market saturation, with most people reasonably satisfied with their current and good-enough Windows 7 (or Mac) PCs, and planning to invest in tablets and/or smartphones as their next computing/communication purchase.  A quote from Paul Allen's Idea Man: "Here’s what the death knell for the personal computer will sound like: Mainly I use my phone/pad, but I still use my PC to write long e-mails and documents. Most people aren’t there yet, but that’s where we’re headed. If Microsoft fails to catch up in mobile, in other words, it’s in for a long, slow slide."

""Sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below Microsoft's internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing," Paul Thurrott wrote on his Supersite For Windows today, citing a source inside Microsoft.
The culprit? "Lackluster PC maker designs and availability," according to Thurrott."

Windows 8 sales 'well below' projections, report claims | Microsoft - CNET News

Apple Now Owns the Page Turn - NYTimes.com

Patently obvious

"If you want to know just how broken the patent system is, just look at patent D670,713, filed by Apple and approved this week by the United States Patent Office.
This design patent, titled, “Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface,” gives Apple the exclusive rights to the page turn in an e-reader application."

Apple Now Owns the Page Turn - NYTimes.com

Rebranding - to the faintly ridiculous... - Stuart McIntyre

Another snapshot from IBM's Lotus branding purge -- #lotusdead

"Today I received this email from IBM:
Early in 2012, IBM announced rebranding of our service, from LotusLive to IBM SmartCloud for Social Business. This quarter, we are announcing the next phase of the rebranding — changing the service domain itself. From: *.lotuslive.com To: *.collabserv.com"

Rebranding - to the faintly ridiculous... - Stuart McIntyre

Google's Investment in Renewable Energy Approaches $1 Billion [Mashable]

Leading by example

"Google announced a $75 million equity stake in an Iowa wind farm on Thursday, bringing the company’s total investment in renewable energy to “more than $990 million.”
The wind farm is located in Rippey, a small town in Greene County, about an hour outside of Des Moines, according to a Google blog post. The project was developed by RPM access and is expected to provide power to more than 15,000 homes in the area via the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, a utility. Google operates a data center in Iowa and entered a long-term contract to purchase wind energy from NextEra Energy Resources’ Story County II wind farm in 2010."

Google's Investment in Renewable Energy Approaches $1 Billion

Evernote 5 for Mac is Here Packed with Over 100 New Features | Evernote Blogcast

Now available on the Mac App Store – check the full post for upgrade details

“The Evernote desktop experience has evolved significantly over the years. We’ve changed things in response to new features, new device capabilities and to meet the expanding needs of our users. But no previous update has matched the scope of what we’re launching today.”

Evernote 5 for Mac is Here Packed with Over 100 New Features | Evernote Blogcast

Microsoft's worldwide smartphone share at about 2 percent | Microsoft Pri0 | The Seattle Times

Tangentially, I can’t find a single local retailer (including Verizon and Microsoft stores) that has a clue about when the new (and officially available as of this week) HTC 8X will be on display/available at their store; it’s going to be a challenge to raise Windows Phone market share, if the retail channel isn’t supporting it

“The drop in the third quarter is most likely due to the fourth-quarter launch of Windows Phone 8. Windows Phone 7 devices are not upgradeable to Windows Phone 8.

The big leap from a year ago comes from Android, which now holds about 72 to 75 percent of the market, up from 53 to 58 percent a year ago, according to the two research firms.

Here's IDC's chart:”

Microsoft's worldwide smartphone share at about 2 percent | Microsoft Pri0 | The Seattle Times

Google modifies Android SDK to battle platform fragmentation | Internet & Media - CNET News

Better late than never?...

"The company has modified its legal agreement with developers working on Android apps to specifically prohibit them from any action that could contribute to further fragmentation of the mobile platform. The anti-fragmentation clause was recently added to the Android SDK licensing terms and conditions, which developers must accept in order to build Android apps."

Google modifies Android SDK to battle platform fragmentation | Internet & Media - CNET News

HP PC chief: Surface is 'kludgey,' not really competition | Microsoft - CNET News

Some Surface perspectives from someone who knows a lot about flawed products, based on my personal experience with HP laptops...

"Speaking in an interview published yesterday with IDG Enterprise, HP PC business chief Todd Bradley said that his company could "hardly call Surface competition," adding that the Microsoft-branded tablet is quite flawed.
"One, very limited distribution," Bradley said, listing what he feels are the Surface's greatest flaws. "It tends to be slow and a little kludgey as you use it....It's expensive. Holistically, the press has made a bigger deal out of Surface than what the world has chosen to believe.""

HP PC chief: Surface is 'kludgey,' not really competition | Microsoft - CNET News

Anonymous Attacks Israeli Web Sites - NYTimes.com

Sign of the times

"After Israel killed a top military commander of Hamas on Wednesday, Anonymous, the loose affiliation of hackers, retaliated with a series of attacks on Israeli Web sites.
In a coordinated action that began at 3 a.m. New York time Thursday, hackers attacked Web sites belonging to the Israel Defense Forces, the prime minister’s office, Israeli banks, airlines and security companies by flooding them with Web traffic, in a campaign they called #OpIsrael."

Anonymous Attacks Israeli Web Sites - NYTimes.com

Data Bartering Is Everywhere - Businessweek

Do you know where your personal data has been lately?...

"Bardin’s Waze and other companies are at the forefront of a new trend called data bartering, where companies exchange databases like baseball cards, with no money changing hands. App makers are pursuing all manner of targeted consumer data—from restaurant ratings to store hours—but it’s often expensive to acquire. Data swapping can be a win-win if both sides have complementary proprietary research. “We live in an age where the ability to capture data has never been greater,” says J.P. Rangaswami, the chief scientist for Salesforce.com (CRM). “It’s a commodity now.”"

Data Bartering Is Everywhere - Businessweek

Google Launches Ingress, a Worldwide Mobile Alternate Reality Game - Liz Gannes - Mobile - AllThingsD

Interesting times

"What’s the wackiest thing you can imagine Google launching? How about a game to fight for control of the minds of everyone on earth?
Or maybe that’s not so wacky.
Meet Ingress, a new free mobile app and alternate reality game made by Google launching today (on Android first, available as soon as it makes it through the Google Play release process)."

Google Launches Ingress, a Worldwide Mobile Alternate Reality Game - Liz Gannes - Mobile - AllThingsD

Facebook Jobs App Takes On LinkedIn - The BrainYard - InformationWeek

Facebook unfriends LinkedIn?

"Launched Wednesday, the new Social Jobs application is a partnership among Facebook, the Department of Labor and several career websites, including Monster.com and the Facebook utility BranchOut.
The new app is part of Facebook's Social Jobs Partnership (SJP), launched last year, in which the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and Facebook joined forces to create a social platform to connect job candidates with jobs."

Facebook Jobs App Takes On LinkedIn - The BrainYard - InformationWeek

Android Dominating in China as It Passes 90% Smartphone Market Share [TNW]

Unfortunately for Google, as noted later in the article, it is unable to fully capitalize, since many of its services are blocked or constricted in China

“Google’s mobile OS soared to 83 percent last quarter, and it has continued its run, capturing an estimated 90.1 percent of the market. It’s possible Android’s overall share is even higher than estimated, as the firm doesn’t count knock-off phones, many of which are powered by the platform.”

[…]

Android Dominating in China as It Passes 90% Smartphone Market Share

Sinofsky speaks, denies he tried to take over Windows Phone division at Microsoft | The Verge

Another innovative application of social media

"In a blog post by Hal Berenson, a former Microsoft distinguished engineer, Sinofsky has replied in the comments section to dispute some facts around rumored internal battles. Berenson claimed in his post that Sinofsky had lost recent attemps [sic] to control Windows Phone and Microsoft's developer division. "I never initiated any discussions to bring together the organizations/products you describe," says Sinofsky. "No one ever approached me to manage them as part of Windows 7 or 8."”

Sinofsky speaks, denies he tried to take over Windows Phone division at Microsoft | The Verge

Using advanced search - Gmail Help

Some new and useful options for searching Gmail content (see the full page for search operators and examples)

"Advanced search operators are query words or symbols that perform special actions in Gmail search. These operators allow you to find what you're looking for quickly and accurately. They can also be used to set up filters so you can organize your inbox automatically. Some of the most useful operators are listed below.
You can also refine your search by clicking the arrow in the search box."

Using advanced search - Gmail Help

Israel Live-Tweets Its Military Campaign Against Hamas - Mike Isaac - Social - AllThingsD

Extreme antisocial networking

"The Israeli Defense Force, the official military arm of the state of Israel, has launched a full-scale combat campaign against Hamas, the Islamist party that governs the Gaza Strip area of the Middle East. But instead of holding an official press conference, as is protocol for events as major as these, the IDF took a different tack.
It announced its campaign via Twitter."

Israel Live-Tweets Its Military Campaign Against Hamas - Mike Isaac - Social - AllThingsD

IBM kills Lotus brand, readies beta of Notes/Domino Social Edition - Computerworld

Sign of the times

"This beta also signals the point where Notes and Domino will join IBM's other software products in sporting only the IBM name, which the company feels is a stronger brand than Lotus, according to Brill.
The Lotus brand became part of IBM when the company acquired Lotus Development Corporation in 1995."

IBM kills Lotus brand, readies beta of Notes/Domino Social Edition - Computerworld

Amazon App Suite for Android: Kindle Phone Preview? | Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

I'm guessing the Google Play team is not thrilled to see this

"No, it’s not the Kindle Phone. Not quite.
Instead, Verizon will be preloading something called the Amazon App Suite for Android on the HTC DROID DNA, an Android handset that will ship soon. A Verizon leak from September suggested that the wireless carrier would be adding this suite to “all newly launched Android devices.” And while some bloggers misreported this as bloatware—I’d love a Kindle Phone, Amazon, if you’re listening—I think this is a potentially fantastic idea."

Amazon App Suite for Android: Kindle Phone Preview? | Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Steven Sinofsky: Microsoft just lost its Steve Jobs. How will it ever catch up with Apple now? - Slate Magazine

Excerpt from a think-different perspective on Steven Sinofsky's Microsoft exit

"But now Sinofsky is suddenly gone. And while I bet his departure will make Microsoft a nicer place to work, I’m not sure that harmony is what the company needs now. Under Ballmer, Microsoft has long operated like it doesn’t care about the future, missing the rise of the iPod, touchscreen smartphones, and modern tablets. Now, thanks to Sinofsky, it’s finally got a chance to break with that sorry past. So he was a jerk. So what? With Sinofsky’s departure, Microsoft is rudderless at a time of intense competition. He was the firm’s most thoughtful executive, certainly more perceptive about technology than Ballmer. Sinofsky had a firm vision about where the PC industry should go. Ballmer does not. As Michael Pusateri quipped on Twitter, “The wrong Steve is leaving Microsoft.”"

Steven Sinofsky: Microsoft just lost its Steve Jobs. How will it ever catch up with Apple now? - Slate Magazine

Verizon to offer free Windows Phone 8 smartphone before the end of the year | The Verge

Arguably necessary to compete with the (free-with-contract) iPhone 4, but likely to curtail HTC and Nokia Windows Phone 8 sales on Verizon, if there aren't very significant feature/function differences between free and >= $99

"Verizon Wireless recently announced availability of its first Windows Phone 8 devices, the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 822, both of which are shipping before the Thanksgiving holiday this year. The 8X and the 822 are priced at $199 and $99, respectively, but Verizon is apparently looking to fill the "free on contract" price point with another Windows Phone 8 device by the end of 2012. Concerning the carrier's Windows Phone 8 lineup, Verizon Wireless CMO Tami Erwin told The Verge that "there will be a $99 and a $199 [option] and ultimately before the end of the year we will have a device that comes in at the free [price] point.""

Verizon to offer free Windows Phone 8 smartphone before the end of the year | The Verge

Android 4.2 rolling out for Nexus 7 tablet | Internet & Media - CNET News

Among other new features, Android 4.2 includes what was otherwise considered a key differentiator for the new Nook (multiple user accounts) and a Swype-like keyboard option; see this page for Android 4.2 highlights

"Android 4.2 offers several benefits over its 4.1 predecessor.
People who share a single device among themselves can log in with their own separate accounts. The latest version supports multiple users, so each person can have a unique home screen, background image, and apps."

Android 4.2 rolling out for Nexus 7 tablet | Internet & Media - CNET News

Nokia to Offer Its Maps for iPhones and Android Phones - NYTimes.com

Another big bet for Nokia

"The company said on Tuesday that in the coming weeks it would release a maps app called Here in Apple’s App Store. It will be a free download for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners. Nokia also said it would release a toolkit for programmers to make Nokia-powered mapping apps for Android phones. And it is forming a partnership with Mozilla, the browser company, to develop location features for its new operating system, called Firefox OS."

Nokia to Offer Its Maps for iPhones and Android Phones - NYTimes.com

Dropbox Becomes a 'Feature' for 100 Million People - Businessweek

Dropbox differentiation as it hits a major milestone -- although the competitive-closed-ecosystem theme would play better if, e.g., Amazon, Google, and Microsoft didn't support a wide range of client OS platforms for their respective cloud storage/sharing services

"The new strategy will put Dropbox in direct conflict with Box, its similarly named competitor that has gone after businesses before pursuing consumers. Dropbox also faces plenty of competition from the various online storage products offered by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.com. Microsoft, in particular, has just launched its file-syncing offensive via Windows 8, which rather vigorously encourages people on PCs, tablets, and smartphones to store their files in SkyDrive.
No matter, says Houston. “All of those companies have the same problem,” he says. “They want to put all your life into their ecosystem. It’s more and more places where all of your stuff can get stuck.”
Ah, the Switzerland Gambit. Well played, Houston. Well played."

Dropbox Becomes a 'Feature' for 100 Million People - Businessweek

Barnes & Noble Nook HD Tablet Review - Katherine Boehret - The Digital Solution - AllThingsD

Perhaps enough to stay in the game until the anticipated Windows 8-based Nook arrives; tangentially, see B&N Launches New Nook App for Windows RT, Windows 8 (The Digital Reader)

"Barnes & Noble’s Nook HD makes up for its ho-hum physical build with a remarkably good screen, and it does a nice job of helping users discover more content. But to play in prime time, it needs more apps that matter and fewer quirks."

Barnes & Noble Nook HD Tablet Review - Katherine Boehret - The Digital Solution - AllThingsD

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Laptop/Tablet Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

An innovative $1,000 Lenovo Windows 8 hybrid strikes out with Walt Mossberg -- excerpt:

"I also found some significant downsides to the Yoga. Despite its hefty price, it has limited storage, only fair battery life and lacks a backlit keyboard. In tablet and stand modes, the exposed keyboard is on the bottom, raising the possibility that it could attract moisture or dirt when on a sticky, dusty or wet surface. The keyboard is recessed slightly to mitigate this risk, and it is disabled in these modes. But I still worried about a naked keyboard being the bottom surface of a computer."

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 Laptop/Tablet Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Using Windows RT but hate Bing? Google finally has the fix | VentureBeat

Still no Chrome for RT, however

"The app joins the identical one Google released for Windows 8 in October. And, like that app Google Search for Windows RT offers a bit more than what its name suggests. With the app installed, users are taps away from a variety of Google products, including Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Maps. The app is a veritable Google Trojan horse."

Using Windows RT but hate Bing? Google finally has the fix | VentureBeat

My Secret Strategy™ for Avoiding Petraeus-Style Email Pitfalls - James Fallows - The Atlantic

Email insights from James Fallows; see the link below for more details

"Here is the secret plan:
Never put anything in an email message, to anyone, that would cause you serious problems if it fell into the wrong hands.

That's the plan™. All of it. Never do this. Ever."

My Secret Strategy™ for Avoiding Petraeus-Style Email Pitfalls - James Fallows - The Atlantic

Here’s the e-mail trick Petraeus and Broadwell used to communicate [Washington Post]

For additional email etiquete tips, see Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Is Linked to Petraeus Scandal (NYT)

"They wrote their “intimate messages” as draft e-mails in a shared Gmail account, according to the AP, allowing them to see one anothers’ messages while leaving a much fainter data trail. When messages are sent and received, both accounts record the transmission as well as such metadata as the IP addresses on either end, something the two seemed to be seeking to avoid.
[...]
The trick has achieved notoriety as a tactic of terrorists who are rightly wary of espionage."

Here’s the e-mail trick Petraeus and Broadwell used to communicate

Microsoft Drops Yammer Prices, Sends Message To The Market That It Is All In On Social | TechCrunch

Probably not a happy leading indicator for Jive and other social business players

"Yammer has historically offered four different options. Microsoft has reduced them to two: a free version called Yammer Basic and a paid version called Yammer Enterprise. Yammer Enterprise, which will be offered with Office 365 Enterprise, will drop from $15 per person per month to $3 per month.
Like Salesforce.com and others, Microsoft is talking about unified identity. That’s a fancy way of saying Microsoft will make Yammer, Sharepoint and other tools accessible through a single identity. We heard a bit about this at Build. The idea is to make it possible to log in, use Yammer as an activity stream, Skype for calls, and Office365 to manage documents."

Microsoft Drops Yammer Prices, Sends Message To The Market That It Is All In On Social | TechCrunch

Sources inside Microsoft say a clash of personalities led to Sinofsky's departure | The Verge

More Sinofsky exit speculation

"Critically, Sinofsky was not ousted because of any issues with the launch of Windows 8 or the Surface, sources tell us; in fact, it's possible that his departure was already planned, but his ability to execute on Windows 8's retail release was seen as an asset worth keeping him around long enough to see it through. But his attitude (and skill set) as an aggressive, tightly-siloed Windows boss — not a holistic Microsoft boss — may have done him in. Given that the future of Microsoft's ecosystem would require tight collaboration between disparate divisions, Sinofsky's future path as an executive at Microsoft was essentially at an end."

Sources inside Microsoft say a clash of personalities led to Sinofsky's departure | The Verge

Yahoo Also Set to Launch a "Gmail-Like" Email Reboot - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

A snapshot of the consumer email service market

"Unfortunately, since then, Google’s Gmail has became the most popular email service in the world, passing Microsoft’s Hotmail (which is now called Outlook.com after a recent rejiggering), according to recent stats from comScore. That has added up to Gmail’s 287.9 million monthly unique visitors worldwide, 286.2 million for Microsoft’s email product and 281.7 million for Yahoo Mail.
Still, in the U.S. at least, Yahoo is holding onto its longtime — though dwindling — lead, with 76.7 million using Google’s email product and 35.5 million using Microsoft’s."

Yahoo Also Set to Launch a "Gmail-Like" Email Reboot - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

The Leader of Windows Exits Microsoft - NYTimes.com

Perhaps he'll next co-found a start-up with Scott Forstall

"In a surprise announcement late Monday, Microsoft said that Mr. Sinofsky, the president of its Windows division, would leave the company immediately after a 23-year career there. His departure was a mutual decision by Mr. Sinofsky and Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, according to a person briefed on the situation who was not authorized to speak on the matter."

The Leader of Windows Exits Microsoft - NYTimes.com

Google ad revenue tops entire US print media industry [Slate]

Sign of the, er, Times…

“In the first six months of 2012, Google raked in more ad revenue than U.S. print newspapers and magazines combined.

Statista / Creative Commons

[…]

The chart above, from Statista's Felix Richter, plots Google's digital advertising revenue against the print advertising revenue of all U.S. newspapers and magazines. If Google and content providers are indeed "partners," it's pretty clear that one partner is getting a lot more out of the deal than the other. And as for that stake Google had in helping newspapers monetize online? Well, The Guardian's Roy Greenslade estimates that Google's total revenue also now exceeds that of the entire U.S. newspaper industry even when you count digital ads.”

Google ad revenue tops entire US print media industry (CHART)

Text Messaging Declines in U.S. for First Time, Report Says - NYTimes.com

I expect this trend (a decline in text messaging from wireless service providers) is likely to accelerate, e.g., as Facebook continues to get its mobile act together, more people use Apple iMessage, and Microsoft seeks to leverage Skype

"Though that’s a small dip, the change is noteworthy because for several years, text messaging had been steadily growing in the United States. Mr. Sharma said it was too early to tell whether the decline here would continue, but he noted that Internet-based messaging services, like Facebook messaging and Apple’s iMessage, had been chomping away at SMS usage. He said the decline would become more pronounced as more people buy smartphones. A bit more than 50 percent of cellphone owners here have smartphones."

Text Messaging Declines in U.S. for First Time, Report Says - NYTimes.com

Which Polls Fared Best (and Worst) in the 2012 Presidential Race - NYTimes.com

Bottom line from a detailed Nate Silver survey of the presidential election polls

"Perhaps it won’t be long before Google, not Gallup, is the most trusted name in polling."

Which Polls Fared Best (and Worst) in the 2012 Presidential Race - NYTimes.com

Review: Despite flaws, iPad Mini more than just small iPad - Chicago Sun-Times

Concluding paragraphs of an extensive and insightful Andy Ihnatko review

"Yes, at the end of the day (and at the end of the column), only an iPad is an iPad. An Android compact tablet will have completely defined its role in your life after about a month. An iPad, even a small one, continues to find new roles beyond its immediate and obvious functions. That’s what makes it worth the extra cash.
The iPad Mini is a smaller iPad . . . but by no means is it a lesser iPad. That’s what makes it such an exciting product."

Review: Despite flaws, iPad Mini more than just small iPad - Chicago Sun-Times

David Petraeus Was Brought Down by ... Gmail - Megan Garber - The Atlantic

Verba volant, scripta manent

"The relationship might have concluded as so many others do -- temporarily clandestine, permanently concealed -- were it not for the technology that helped to ignite it in the first place. The FBI, the Wall Street Journal reports, began to suspect that Petraeus's personal Gmail account had been hacked -- so it launched an inquiry to determine whether someone else had been accessing his email messages. In the process, the agency discovered what Google's servers had known all along: that the head of the CIA, the keeper of the country's secrets, had been keeping a secret of his own."

David Petraeus Was Brought Down by ... Gmail - Megan Garber - The Atlantic

Does HTC Deal Mean End to Apple's Patent Dispute With Android? - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Perhaps a pivotal patent poker play

"Apple may also be playing a bit of “the enemy of the enemy is my friend” here. Though Apple and HTC have hardly been chummy, the company’s biggest strategic battles are against Samsung and Google (which now owns Motorola). By making peace with a struggling HTC, Apple could boost the Taiwanese phone maker in its battle with those two larger rivals."

Does HTC Deal Mean End to Apple's Patent Dispute With Android? - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Biometric Data-Gathering Sets Off a Privacy Debate - NYTimes.com

An emerging identity crisis?

"No longer the province of security services and science-fiction films, biometric technology is on the march. Facebook uses facial-recognition software so its members can automatically put name tags on friends when they upload their photos. Apple uses voice recognition to power Siri. Some theme parks take digital fingerprints to help recognize season pass holders. Now some hospitals and school districts are using palm vein pattern recognition to identify and efficiently manage their patients or students — in effect, turning your palm into an E-ZPass.
But consumer advocates say that enterprises are increasingly employing biometric data to improve convenience — and that members of the public are paying for that convenience with their privacy."

Biometric Data-Gathering Sets Off a Privacy Debate - NYTimes.com

Why I Started FiveThirtyEight - The Daily Beast

Adapted/excerpted from his book

"The statistician and author of the new book The Signal and the Noise, who has now predicted two presidential elections with astounding accuracy, on the principles he abides by on his blog."

Why I Started FiveThirtyEight - The Daily Beast

Why Romney's Orca killer app beached on Election Day | Politics and Law - CNET News

Karma; also see Inside Team Romney's whale of an IT meltdown (Ars Technica)

"Orca was up against a tough and more seasoned competitor in the Obama campaign's technology and data analysis system. [Romney campaign communications director Gail] Gitcho said that Orca was selected as the name for Romney's data-mining and micro-targeting operation because of the name of Obama campaign's similar operation -- Narwhal, after the whale with a long, straight tusk. "Orca is the only known predator to that," she told NPR.
As Election Day played out, it was clear that Obama's Narwhal outsmarted Romney's Orca. "

Why Romney's Orca killer app beached on Election Day | Politics and Law - CNET News

You Too Can Be Nate Silver - Businessweek

Big Data R Us

"If you don’t have time to attend the soon-to-be-planned Nate Silver’s Datapalooza, you can still have a crack at becoming the big data star around the office. That’s because the data fiends in Silicon Valley have been hard at work creating software that lets mere mortals run complex information analysis jobs. Some of the best examples of this type of technology can be seen at the Alteryx Analytics Gallery, where you can find ready-made apps for poring over data ranging from census figures to how a merger between two companies may play out."

You Too Can Be Nate Silver - Businessweek

ORCA, Mitt Romney’s high-tech get-out-the-vote program, crashed on Election Day - Nation - The Boston Globe

Oops

"Mitt Romney’s online voter-turnout operation suffered a meltdown on Election Day, result­ing in a crucial 90-minute “buckling” of the system in Boston and the inability of some campaign workers across the country to use a vital smartphone program, according to campaign officials and volunteers."

ORCA, Mitt Romney’s high-tech get-out-the-vote program, crashed on Election Day - Nation - The Boston Globe

Google introduces six-month trial for Cloud SQL, ups storage 10x to 100GB, adds EU datacenter - The Next Web

YesSQL

"First up is more storage. Google has increased the available storage on Cloud SQL from 10GB to 100GB. Reads are now faster since the maximum size of instances has been increased to 16GB RAM, quadrupling the amount of data you can cache. Writes are also now faster, as Google has added asynchronous replication (Google’s way of putting it: “the write performance of a non-replicated database, but the availability of a replicated one”)."

Google introduces six-month trial for Cloud SQL, ups storage 10x to 100GB, adds EU datacenter - The Next Web

Navy SEALs leak classified info to EA for combat game -- report | Internet & Media - CNET News

A deeply disturbing sign of the times

"A handful of U.S. Navy SEALS have been reprimanded for leaking military secrets to video-game maker Electronic Arts while working as paid consultants on the game Medal of Honor: Warfighters, according to a report.
Seven of the SEALs have been disciplined, including one who was involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and four others are being investigated, according to CBS News."

Navy SEALs leak classified info to EA for combat game -- report | Internet & Media - CNET News

The Obama Campaign's Technology Is a Force Multiplier - NYTimes.com

The politics of AWS + open source

"Another truly important change was in the technology itself. “Cloud computing barely existed in 2008,” Mr. Slaby said.
This time, the Obama campaign’s data center was mainly Amazon Web Services, the leading supplier of cloud services. The campaign’s engineers built about 200 different programs that ran on the Amazon service including Dashboard, the remote calling tool, the campaign Web site, donation processing and data analytics applications.
Using mainly open-source software and the Amazon service, the Obama campaign could inexpensively write and tailor its own programs instead of using off-the-shelf commercial software."

The Obama Campaign's Technology Is a Force Multiplier - NYTimes.com

Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen Review - Bonnie Cha - Product Reviews - AllThingsD

Evernote-worthy

"Livescribe says the 2GB model offers about 200 hours of audio recording, while the 4GB and 8GB versions offer 400 hours and 800 hours, respectively. The pen’s battery life is estimated at up to five hours with Wi-Fi on, and up to 12 hours with intermittent Wi-Fi use. I’ve been using the pen for the past week with occasional Wi-Fi usage, and have not had to recharge yet.
The Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen is pricey, but for students and business users who take a lot of notes and want to be thorough, it’s a worthy investment."

Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen Review - Bonnie Cha - Product Reviews - AllThingsD

ARM CEO Warren East Says Mobile Chips Will Move into Energy-Efficient Desktops, Laptops, and Servers. | MIT Technology Review

Excerpt from a long-view interview

"But software built for Intel-compatible systems can’t be run on ARM-based systems. How are you fixing that problem?
You have to apply the pragmatism filter and say there is all sorts of legacy software out there that’s never going to be ported to a new architecture. Nobody’s going to rewrite Lotus Notes to run on ARM. We don’t believe there’s going to be a massive switch to ARM-based PCs overnight. It’s more of a gradual process as legacy applications become replaced by newer applications that are more up to date. Microsoft’s RT is a good example of that. Successive generations of Windows have been variations on a theme for the last 15-20 years, around the point-and-click-with-a-mouse form factor. They had to do a fundamental redesign if they wanted to be part of tablets. That was an opportunity for people to write new applications that are done in a different way."

ARM CEO Warren East Says Mobile Chips Will Move into Energy-Efficient Desktops, Laptops, and Servers. | MIT Technology Review