The Google Glass feature no one is talking about — Creative Good

Excerpt from a dystopian Google Glass perspective; think Snow Crash-styled gargoyles, all feeding the Googleplex...

"Just think: if a million Google Glasses go out into the world and start storing audio and video of the world around them, the scope of Google search suddenly gets much, much bigger, and that search index will include you. Let me paint a picture. Ten years from now, someone, some company, or some organization, takes an interest in you, wants to know if you’ve ever said anything they consider offensive, or threatening, or just includes a mention of a certain word or phrase they find interesting. A single search query within Google’s cloud – whether initiated by a publicly available search, or a federal subpoena, or anything in between – will instantly bring up documentation of every word you’ve ever spoken within earshot of a Google Glass device.
This is the discussion we should have about Google Glass. The tech community, by all rights, should be leading this discussion. Yet most techies today are still chattering about whether they’ll look cool wearing the device."

The Google Glass feature no one is talking about — Creative Good

Apple’s monolithic beauty vs. Google’s chaos: What new HQs reveal about their personalities - Quartz

Excerpt from an architecturally intriguing comparison

“Brian Schermer: Google’s business is somewhat sprawling and disheveled. They started off with search, and now they are getting into hardware, like Pixel and Google Glass. Similarly, their next campus is a thicket of ideas and places to be.

Apple’s is an architecture that [one] is meant to behold. The company is shooting for timeless beauty.”

Apple’s monolithic beauty vs. Google’s chaos: What new HQs reveal about their personalities - Quartz

Tim Cook and Apple Versus Wall Street: Don't Pity the Hedgies : The New Yorker

Final paragraph from an Apple-versus-the-velociraptors perspective

"Rather than resorting to financial engineering, Apple is concentrating on coming up with new products that will expand the firm’s markets and restore its reputation as a peerless innovator. In the first category, Apple is widely expected to launch a cheaper version of the iPhone targeted at the fast-growing markets in the developing world. In the second category, it is rumored to be working on an Apple watch and an Apple television set. Given the difficulties inherent in coming up with anything that could match the iPhone or the iPad, I am a bit skeptical of these efforts, but, given their record, Cook and his colleagues deserve the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. And if that means Einhorn and Tepper are forced to sit on their losses for a while longer, it won’t be a national calamity."

Tim Cook and Apple Versus Wall Street: Don't Pity the Hedgies : The New Yorker

Google’s Chromebook Pixel: A Very Nice Machine for a Very Small Market | TIME.com

Concluding paragraphs of a Timely Pixel reality check

"Just as I can admire a $100,000 electric sportscar without contending that it’s a practical machine for the masses — or even craving one myself — I’m happy that Google built the Chromebook Pixel, even though the market for it is likely going to be negligible. If you’re a Chromebook believer, aren’t fazed by paying $1299 or more for one and can live with around five hours of battery power, the chances are good that you’ll be delighted by this computer. (I’ll bet a meaningful percentage of folks who buy and like it will be satisfied owners of previous Chromebook models.)
For everybody else, it’s a curiosity. But it’s also proof that Google can design and ship an outstanding piece of hardware. Here’s hoping it plows some of what it learned from building the Pixel into gizmos for the rest of us."

Google’s Chromebook Pixel: A Very Nice Machine for a Very Small Market | TIME.com

"We Need a Plan B for the Internet," Warns Danny Hillis at TED - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD

Maybe we should ask Watson for a plan B

"“The Internet is actually an emergent system. We don’t fully understand it, like the weather and like the economy,” said Hillis, the founder of Thinking Machines and Applied Minds, whose work on the Google-acquired Metaweb helped start the company’s “Knowledge Graph.”
“It’s changing so quickly that even the experts have no idea what’s going on. It’s different now than it was an hour ago,” Hillis said at TED.
“We don’t know the consequences of what an effective denial-of-service attack on the Internet would be. So what we need is a plan B.”"

"We Need a Plan B for the Internet," Warns Danny Hillis at TED - Liz Gannes - News - AllThingsD

Samsung Armors Android to Take On BlackBerry - NYTimes.com

Another big BlackBerry bummer

"But over the last year, Samsung, the South Korean manufacturer, has been quietly beefing up the Google Android software that runs on its smartphones to give businesses a phone with more security.
It introduced that software, named Knox, as in the fort, at an international cellphone industry trade show here this week. Samsung said its new version of Android protected users from malware."

Samsung Armors Android to Take On BlackBerry - NYTimes.com

Gates, Zuckerberg, Other Tech Icons Promote Youth Coding in New Film - NYTimes.com

Check the full article and/or the Code.org site for more details on other participants including Will.i.am

"The organization, founded by Hadi Partovi, a tech entrepreneur and startup adviser and investor, is part of an intensifying effort among technology companies to address a serious shortfall in programming talent. Few schools offer programming classes. Code.org is encouraging people to sign a petition on its Web site stating that every student should have an opportunity to learn to code, and to use that response to advocate for greater availability of computer science classes in schools."

Gates, Zuckerberg, Other Tech Icons Promote Youth Coding in New Film - NYTimes.com

Pebble Smart Watch Tells When Phone Calls, Emails Arrive - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

See the full review and the Pebble site for more details

"Pebble is part of what may be a nascent revival for the idea of a wrist computer, something that has failed many times in the past, because older attempts have looked clunky and have been hard to use. A company called Basis has begun shipping a fitness watch with sensors on the back and Apple is reportedly testing a watch that would work with the iPhone.
This wrist computer comes in five colors and is only a bit bigger than a more standard watch. However, it definitely works better on a man’s typically larger wrist. The Pebble may pose a fashion and comfort challenge for women."

Pebble Smart Watch Tells When Phone Calls, Emails Arrive - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Yahoo Issues a Statement on Work-at-Home Ban - NYTimes.com

tbd if Maureen Dowd will publish a clarification on her "Get Off of Your Cloud" condemnation; also see Marissa Mayer’s No-Working-From-Home Rule Is Stupid — Or It Could Save Yahoo (Wired)

"“This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home,” the statement said. “This is about what is right for Yahoo right now.”
A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the statement, saying, “We don’t discuss internal matters.”
But based on information from several Yahoo employees, what that statement means is that Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s new chief executive, is in crisis mode, and she believes the policy is necessary to get Yahoo back into shape."

Yahoo Issues a Statement on Work-at-Home Ban - NYTimes.com

Microsoft’s IE 10 browser coming to Windows 7 PCs - Business - The Boston Globe

I'm guessing we're not going to see IE10 on Android, iOS, or Mac OS anytime soon, and that IE thus won't regain much competitive ground lost to Chrome over the last few years

"More than 670 million PCs rely on Windows 7. In addition, more than 60 million PCs and other devices have licensed Windows 8.
Microsoft is counting on Internet Explorer 10 to reverse recent trends in the Web browser market. By some estimates, Google Inc.’s Chrome browser has supplanted Internet Explorer as the world’s most popular browser."

Microsoft’s IE 10 browser coming to Windows 7 PCs - Business - The Boston Globe

The Chromebook Pixel Is The Most Brilliant Laptop You’ll Never Buy | TechCrunch

Excerpt from an insightful Pixel review; on balance very positive, imho, for a version 1.0 high-end device

"All it took was holding it for about five seconds to realize that this Chromebook was very different. It was actually well made. My tweets that evening sent some people into a tizzy. Yes, I really liked this thing. A Google product! (Of course I have plenty of times before and have always said I would if it was a good product.)
But the true test came the past few days. I have not used my MacBook since I got this Chromebook. No, I’m not making some grand statement there — I simply wanted to see if I could possibly use a Chromebook as my primary machine.
There’s good and bad news:
Yes, I could.
No, I won’t."

The Chromebook Pixel Is The Most Brilliant Laptop You’ll Never Buy | TechCrunch

SQL is what’s next for Hadoop: Here’s who’s doing it — Tech News and Analysis

Check the full article for an overview of a dozen or so Hadoop + SQL initiatives. I used to semi-facetiously suggest that "NoSQL" would eventually stand for "New Opportunities for SQL;" perhaps we have reached that milestone...

"More and more companies and open source projects are trying to let users run SQL queries from inside Hadoop itself. Here’s a list of what’s available and, on a high level, how they work."

SQL is what’s next for Hadoop: Here’s who’s doing it — Tech News and Analysis

Why Hadoop Is the Future of the Database | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

At some point it's not Hadoop anymore; Drill might be a more accurate description...

"What’s more, Greenplum is revamping Hadoop to operate more like a relational database, letting you rapidly ask questions of data using the structured query language, or SQL, which has been a staple of the database world for decades. “When we were acquired [by EMC], we really believed that the two worlds were going to fuse together,” says Greenplum co-founder Scott Yara. “What was going to be exciting is if you cold take the massively parallel query processing technology in a database system [like Greenplum] and basically fuse it with the Hadoop platform.”"

Why Hadoop Is the Future of the Database | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Why Google Glass is fascinating; Chromebook Pixel just puzzling - Chicago Sun-Times

Concluding paragraphs of an Andy Ihnatko Glass + Pixel perspective piece

"The defining characteristic of an A-list tech company is its ability to develop and pursue their own vision of the future, regardless of what today’s consumers think they want. Apple has that ability so long as they keep designing hardware that people love. Microsoft has it, so long as the rest of the industry continues to fail to produce an alternative to Windows or Office that makes sense to the majority of businesses and consumers.
Google’s ability to pursue its own destiny is fueled by their search product. Google Search makes Glass, Android, and Chrome better, but its fortunes aren’t tied to these other products the same way that Apple and Microsoft’s cash cows are affected by the rest of their product lines. This gives Google the freedom to produce something as exciting, as risky, and as unproven as Glass."

Why Google Glass is fascinating; Chromebook Pixel just puzzling - Chicago Sun-Times

Hands on with Chromebook Pixel: Google goes after the MacBook | PCWorld

Excerpt from another Pixel perspective

"In fairness, the $1300 Chromebook Pixel does seem pretty crazy on the surface. You can get many of the same specs in a Windows PC for a lot less money, and without sacrificing the ability to install desktop software. You can also spend $200 more and get a Macbook Pro with Retina display. And for the same money as the Pixel, you could buy no fewer than five Series 3 Chromebooks from Samsung and still have $50 left over.
But none of those options would give you quite the same experience as the Chromebook Pixel, with its 12.85-inch touchscreen and Retina display-esque 2560-by-1700 resolution. You’d also have a hard time finding anything with this build quality. The Pixel is one of very few laptops that stands toe-to-toe with a MacBook in fit and finish."

Hands on with Chromebook Pixel: Google goes after the MacBook | PCWorld

HP emerges as big winner in webOS sale, and LG doesn't rule out a phone | The Verge

In other OS news...

"But where HP appears to be confidently moving forward from the client side of webOS and investing in services, LG seems extremely hesitant, and even confused about its future plans for the OS. Asked how webOS could be used to create "disruptive" smart TV products absent any of the content deals that have thus far stunted TV innovation, LG CTO Dr. Skott Ahn simply said that he believes "the environment will change from an app environment to a web environment." Further asked to name the core benefit of the webOS platform for smart TVs, Dr. Ahn simply remained silent for 10 seconds, prompting LG's North American VP of smart TV Samuel Chang to add that "we're at the nascent stage" of smart TV development."

HP emerges as big winner in webOS sale, and LG doesn't rule out a phone | The Verge

Sony jumps on the Mozilla bandwagon, will launch Firefox OS device in 2014 - The Next Web

On a related note, see "OMG! Google's Andy Rubin worries Samsung may become a threat" (CNet); tbd if Firefox OS device manufacturers will have to pay Microsoft royalties...

"Following the news yesterday that LG and Huawei have committed to launching new smartphones running Mozilla’s Firefox OS platform, Sony today announced it too wants a piece of the HTML5 pie, committing to launching a Firefox OS device in 2014."

Sony jumps on the Mozilla bandwagon, will launch Firefox OS device in 2014 - The Next Web

Google Hits the ‘Glass’ Pedal as Apple Falls to Earth | TIME.com

Also see Eying Apple (The New Yorker), for more Apple stock price analysis

"Much of the movement happened in the last few months of 2012, as large investors, including hedge funds, pulled money out of Apple and, in some cases, poured it into Google, in order to maintain exposure to the “large-capitalization” technology sector, according to Colin Gillis, senior technology analyst and director of research at BGC Financial.
“As Apple started selling off, Google started taking off,” Gillis said in a phone interview. “If you’re an investor and you want exposure to large cap tech stocks, there aren’t that many places you can go.”"

Google Hits the ‘Glass’ Pedal as Apple Falls to Earth | TIME.com

For Autodesk, a Step Into a Nanoscale World - NYTimes.com

Sign of the times

"For the last two years, a small group of software engineers and molecular biologists have been developing a software system for designing at the molecular level at the company’s research laboratory in downtown San Francisco. At the TED conference, Autodesk will introduce “Project Cyborg,” a Web-based software platform for delivering a range of services like molecular modeling and simulation.
The company has quietly begun working with a small group of molecular biologists in the last year. It has not announced when it will commercialize the technology, but it envisions that scientists, engineers and even students and “citizen scientists” will soon be able to use the system on individual projects."

For Autodesk, a Step Into a Nanoscale World - NYTimes.com

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Headed to U.S. This May - Bonnie Cha - Product News - AllThingsD

If you're shopping for future-collectors'-item tablets, you might also consider the new HP Android tablet

"Sony is claiming it to be the world’s thinnest 10.1-inch tablet at 0.27 inch thick, and it weighs just over a pound. It’s built to look similar to the Xperia Z smartphone both in physical design and user interface — something Sony wants to achieve with all of its Xperia-branded devices going forward.
The company is also trying the waterproof thing again. The Xperia Tablet Z can be submerged in up to 3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. The display will also respond to touch even if your fingers are wet."

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Headed to U.S. This May - Bonnie Cha - Product News - AllThingsD

Barnes & - Noble Weighs Its Nook Losses - NYTimes.com

Unhappy news for Nook Media investors including Microsoft ($600M) and Pearson ($90M)

"The problem was not so much the extent of the losses, but what the losses might signal: that the digital approach that Barnes & Nobles has been heavily investing in as its future for the last several years has essentially run its course.
A person familiar with Barnes & Nobles’s strategy acknowledged that this quarter, which includes holiday sales, has caused executives to realize the company must move away from its program to engineer and build its own devices and focus more on licensing its content to other device makers."

Barnes & - Noble Weighs Its Nook Losses - NYTimes.com

Google Glass V1 will be an iPhone Accessory & Google Glass V2 will double your Fun - Patently Apple

Version number for the cranial implant option still tbd

"And just as we're getting ready for Google Glass for Q4 2013, a new Google patent was discovered by Patent Bolt today that reveals Google Glass Part 2 is already in the works. Google Glass 2 is all about Binocular Vision. Google Glass part one is about the famed monocular design for a single computerized lens and camera while their future Binocular design will be for dual lenses and cameras to double your fun.
You know that Google Glass V2 is a serious project when Google's Co-Founder Sergey Brin is listed as the lead inventor on their published patent."

Google Glass V1 will be an iPhone Accessory & Google Glass V2 will double your Fun - Patently Apple

Samsung's New 8-Inch Tablet Takes on the iPad Mini - NYTimes.com

Note > Tab; also see Samsung Takes Aim at iPad Mini With Galaxy Note 8.0 (AllThingsD)

"Samsung Electronics is taking yet another swipe at its longtime partner, Apple. The South Korean manufacturer on Saturday introduced a new 8-inch tablet, intended to compete directly with Apple’s 7.9-inch iPad Mini.
Like Samsung’s other tablets (and unlike the iPad), the Galaxy Note 8.0 includes a stylus, runs Android software and is capable of showing multiple apps on the screen at the same time."

Samsung's New 8-Inch Tablet Takes on the iPad Mini - NYTimes.com

Dell Shareholders Look Hard at Takeover Effort - NYTimes.com

Not yet a Dell done deal

"The issue of fairness is a hazard of management-led buyouts, of course. Are insiders, who have an enormous information advantage owing to their deep knowledge of a company’s operations, trying to get control of an enterprise when its shares are perhaps temporarily depressed? Over the last year, Dell’s stock has lost 19 percent of its value.
Some investors wonder if Mr. Dell, who owns 14 percent of the shares outstanding, might have a hot new product on the drawing board that has the potential to make the company a highflier again."

Dell Shareholders Look Hard at Takeover Effort - NYTimes.com

More Evidence That Tablets Are Slowly Killing the PC - Businessweek [GigaOM]

Check the full article for more details and links to the source IDC report

"So it turns out this tablet market isn’t quite a fad after all. Research firm IDC has numbers to prove it, publishing on Thursday the reported 2012 shipment figures for smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. It won’t surprise you that smartphones continue to be tops among these devices, but it may surprise you that shipments of tablets have nearly caught up with those of desktops."

More Evidence That Tablets Are Slowly Killing the PC - Businessweek

Are Smart Gadgets Making Us Dumb? - WSJ.com

Evgeny Morozov on things that make us smart -- or not

"Truly smart technologies will remind us that we are not mere automatons who assist big data in asking and answering questions. Unless designers of smart technologies take stock of the complexity and richness of the lived human experience—with its gaps, challenges and conflicts—their inventions will be destined for the SmartBin of history."

Are Smart Gadgets Making Us Dumb? - WSJ.com

I used Google Glass: the future, with monthly updates | The Verge

Concluding paragraphs of a detailed hands-on review; also skim the extensive comment thread for some insights, images, and analogies (e.g., I knew the Opti-Grab was going to show up sooner or later...)

"Is it ready for everyone right now? Not really. Does the Glass team still have huge distance to cover in making the experience work just the way it should every time you use it? Definitely.
But I walked away convinced that this wasn’t just one of Google’s weird flights of fancy. The more I used Glass the more it made sense to me; the more I wanted it. If the team had told me I could sign up to have my current glasses augmented with Glass technology, I would have put pen to paper (and money in their hands) right then and there. And it’s that kind of stuff that will make the difference between this being a niche device for geeks and a product that everyone wants to experience.
After a few hours with Glass, I’ve decided that the question is no longer ‘if,’ but ‘when?’"

I used Google Glass: the future, with monthly updates | The Verge

Office Web Apps - 4 new ways to edit Office documents in your browser

Some new Office Web Apps features you can explore on your new Google Pixel (or any other device with a modern browser…)

“If you've been using Office Web Apps for a while, you know that we continually make improvements to them, even since our big update last October. And now that you don't have to sign in, you can try out the 4 latest updates right here, right now.

[…]

View comments and do more with touch in Excel Web App

Excel Web App now opens workbooks that contain comments. You might notice that workbooks open faster too, because we worked to make the web app snappier.

If you use Excel Web App on a touch device, now you can move and resize charts, and you can select multiple cells by tapping a cell and then dragging a selection handle.

This sample budget has a chart you can work with, as well as comments and sample data. Click Edit in Browser and then give it a try.”

Office Web Apps - 4 new ways to edit Office documents in your browser

Tongue-tingling interface lets you taste data - tech - 15 February 2013 - New Scientist

For those who prefer data in good taste that taste good

"CAN YOU imagine feeling Earth's magnetic field on the tip of your tongue? Strangely, this is now possible, using a device that converts the tongue into a "display" for output from environmental sensors.
Gershon Dublon of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology devised a small pad containing electrodes in a 5 × 5 grid. Users put the pad, which Gershon calls Tongueduino, on their tongue. When hooked up to an electronic sensor, the pad converts signals from the sensor into small pulses of electric current across the grid, which the tongue "reads" as a pattern of tingles."

Tongue-tingling interface lets you taste data - tech - 15 February 2013 - New Scientist

No One Is More Excited For Google Glass Than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - Forbes

Check the full article for an overview of an unusual Facebook/Google encounter

"The Facebook CEO was undeterred, constantly reminding Brin of how excited he was to get his own pair. Unlike the handful of early adopters, however, Zuckerberg will not have to submit any application or pay any fee. Brin said he was excited see what the Menlo Park, Calif.-based social networking company had to offer.
“I’m not a social media expert,” he admitted to Zuckerberg.
“I’m not a Glass expert,” the Facebook cofounder replied, smiling."

No One Is More Excited For Google Glass Than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - Forbes

Google Chromebook Pixel Laptop: a $1,300 Web Browser! - Forbes

An example of the conventional wisdom challenge Google faces; in reality, especially with Quickoffice included, I expect many people would have most of their everyday app needs met with modern Web-centric apps (including, e.g., Evernote Web), and I assume it'll also be possible to use QuickOffice on <= $250 Chromebook devices, for Web-centric people who don't need a touchscreen laptop with higher pixel resolution than a MacBook Pro Retina display. Also, according to this page, Office Web Apps work on Chromebooks...

"So who is Google really targeting with Pixel? That’s a tough question, because nobody on its right mind should spend that kind of money on a laptop – which isn’t really one – that does so little. But don’t get me wrong. I really like the concept of an inexpensive, instant-on web browser that updates itself automatically like the $199 Acer C7 Chromebook. But I’m flabbergasted to see that Google spent precious engineering talent and resources to come out with something that is simply “out of touch” from the reality of the market."

Google Chromebook Pixel Laptop: a $1,300 Web Browser! - Forbes

SAP Speeds Up With Its Hana Database Software - Businessweek

Evidently some data mining required to determine the real SAP HANA results picture, according to the second page of this article

"But the most dramatic change ushered in by Sikka is Hana, a new type of database software SAP released in June 2011. Typically, SAP has competed in the business applications portion of the software market, leaving databases and hard-core analytics to other companies such as Oracle (ORCL) and IBM (IBM). Hana, though, is a so-called in-memory database that’s turned SAP into a serious data-crunching contender. Instead of keeping a company’s prized data—be it sales numbers, inventory, or customer information—on a slow, spinning hard disk, Hana stores data on high-speed memory chips. This approach costs a bit more, but the result is a system that can sort through huge volumes of data in seconds rather than hours."

SAP Speeds Up With Its Hana Database Software - Businessweek

Chromebook Pixel Reveals Google's Master Plan for QuickOffice [Mashable]

Another Pixel feature

"Now we know what Google's plan was for QuickOffice when it acquired the company last summer. The search giant is hard-wiring it into Chrome OS, and the new Chromebook Pixel will be the first Chromebook to run QuickOffice via the browser.
When Google swallowed up QuickOffice it said it was buying the software because of its interoperability features. QuickOffice — which has apps on iPhone, iPad and Android but no full browser version until today — can open and edit documents in many different formats, including those for Microsoft Office."

A NYT reviewer adds:

"With the help of Quickoffice, a start-up Google acquired last year, a way to seamlessly open, edit and send Word or Excel files was created on the Chromebook.
These features are an acknowledgement that Google Docs is nowhere close to taking on Microsoft Office.
“All of us deal with Word files, Excel files,” Mr. Pichai said. “It’s here to stay.”"

Chromebook Pixel Reveals Google's Master Plan for QuickOffice

Google Makes Its Own High-End Laptop, the Chromebook Pixel - Liz Gannes - Product News - AllThingsD

No toaster-fridges from Google...

"At the same time, this is very much a first-generation device. Some of the Pixel’s hardware capabilities — like the third microphone, and gestures on the touchscreen — aren’t even supported by Google’s own services yet.
And that’s not the only awkwardness. The Pixel brings Google back to the perpetual question of why Google is building two operating systems, Chrome and Android, that are converging on each other.
“What we are showing here is once you build a touchscreen laptop, the lines blur,” Pichai allowed. But he added, “We’re comfortable at Google with two viewpoints, and we are doing both.”"

Google Makes Its Own High-End Laptop, the Chromebook Pixel - Liz Gannes - Product News - AllThingsD

Google Debuts Pixel, a Premium Touchscreen Chromebook | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

More Pixel perspectives – and, unlike the case with the Nexus 4/7/10 devices (built by LG, ASUS, and Samsung, respectively), Google apparently designed and built the Pixel on its own (PCMag.com notes “The Pixel is the first Chromebook that Google commissioned itself, although it used a small, undisclosed ODM partner to manufacture it.”)

“Whether or not the Pixel can actually sell in any significant numbers is an, as yet, unanswered question. Pichai wouldn’t disclose specific sales numbers for any Chromebooks, but he said he believes that the appetite for a high-end Chromebook is there, noting that since Google and Samsung launched their $250 Chromebook 125 days ago, that specific computer has been the best selling laptop on Amazon every single day.

“This is targeted for a segment of users who have committed to the cloud,” he said of the $1,300 Pixel. “We believe we’ve built the best laptop from a hardware standpoint.””

Google Debuts Pixel, a Premium Touchscreen Chromebook | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Google Chrome Blog: The Chromebook Pixel, for what’s next

The rumors about a touchscreen Google Chromebook laptop were right, and Google is aiming for the high-end of the laptop market – check the full post for more details and an overview video; available for order now at $1,299 on the Google Play store (32 GB flash, WiFi; $1,499 for 64 GB and LTE; also available at some Best Buy stores)

“So what’s next? Today we’re excited to announce our newest laptop—the Chromebook Pixel—which brings together the best in hardware, software and design to inspire the next generation of Chromebooks. With the Pixel, we set out to rethink all elements of a computer in order to design the best laptop possible, especially for power users who have fully embraced the cloud. The philosophy of Chrome has always been to minimize the “chrome” of the browser. In much the same way, the goal of the Pixel is to make the pixels disappear, giving people the best web experience.”

Google Chrome Blog: The Chromebook Pixel, for what’s next

Sony Bets On The Past, Forfeits the Future | Forrester Blogs

Excerpt from a stark Sony PS4 reality check

"Gaming, gaming, everywhere, and not a drop for Sony to drink. It's a painful irony of digital disruption that even as something becomes more popular, the companies that built their businesses around it falter. Today we listen to more music in more ways than ever before, yet music labels are half the size they were a decade ago. We read more news than we ever have, yet newspapers are going out of business right and left. By aiming for the glorious past of gaming Sony might as well be announcing the launch of a 24-hour cable news channel or a slick, new weekly newsmagazine."

Sony Bets On The Past, Forfeits the Future | Forrester Blogs

The Most Terrifying Drone Video Yet [Mashable]

Recommended reading in this context: Kill Decision

"Air Force officials declined a request to observe flight tests at a "micro-aviary" they've built, he reported, but they did let him see a video dramatization "starring micro-UAVs that resemble winged, multi-legged bugs. The drones swarm through alleys, crawl across windowsills, and perch on power lines. One of them sneaks up on a scowling man holding a gun and shoots him in the head.""

The Most Terrifying Drone Video Yet

I.B.M. to Take Big Step Into Mobile - NYTimes.com

Mobile market diversity presents a strategic opportunity for IBM

"For I.B.M., mobile computing has come of age. At least, smartphones and tablets may be popular enough to make I.B.M. several billion dollars.
The company is announcing a major initiative into mobile, involving software, services and partnerships with other large vendors. I.B.M. plans to deploy consultants to give companies mobile shopping strategies, write mobile apps, crunch mobile data, and manage a company’s own mobile assets securely."

I.B.M. to Take Big Step Into Mobile - NYTimes.com

With PlayStation 4, Sony Aims for Return to Glory - NYTimes.com

No baloney?...

"The console itself was never shown during the two-hour presentation. No release date was given, although before the Christmas holidays is a good possibility. No price was mentioned."

With PlayStation 4, Sony Aims for Return to Glory - NYTimes.com

Windows 8: Design over Usability | MIT Technology Review

Final paragraph from an extensive Simson Garfinkel review

"Microsoft seems determined once again to promote a single user interface for screens of all sizes, but whereas its historical mistake was putting a big-screen interface on a small computer, its new error is putting the small-screen interface on a big one. This may not be a losing strategy: I predict that Windows 8 will be a winner in today’s competitive phone, tablet, and convertible-laptop markets. Apple shows no interest in licensing its operating system; Windows 8 lets phone and tablet manufacturers give their users a choice other than Google Android. Back at the office, Microsoft will continue to sell its desktop applications, and those applications will run on the legacy Windows desktops until IT departments see a version of Windows 8 more appropriate to their needs. That future version will probably add back the Start button and give users a few more status bars and menus. Perhaps Microsoft will even allow applications to run in overlapping windows."

Windows 8: Design over Usability | MIT Technology Review

Two principles to avoid common data mistakes - Sunlight Foundation Blog

Excerpt from a timely data analysis/transparency/information responsibility perspective

"For many people, data can quickly overwhelm and confuse. It’s easy to misinterpret data, or to use it irresponsibly. We as humans are not particularly good at intuitively grasping large numbers, and our educational system generally does a poor job of helping us to counter this problem.
For that reason, I want to offer two basic principles that I think could prevent a majority of the data mistakes that I observe:

• Cherry-picking works better with fruit than data
• Correlation provokes questions better than it answers them"

Two principles to avoid common data mistakes - Sunlight Foundation Blog

Apple’s Jonathan Ive talks design—on a beloved kids’ show - Quartz

Take ~6 minutes and watch the interview

"“Heartwarming” isn’t a word you normally associate with industrial design, but I dare you to watch this clip from beloved UK children’s show Blue Peter without cracking a smile."

Apple’s Jonathan Ive talks design—on a beloved kids’ show - Quartz:

Multi-model databases: neither fish nor fowl but maybe a jigsaw puzzle? | Cloud Database | NuoDB

Excerpt from a timely NoSQL/NewSQL/etc. reality check

"Basically there is no technical or architectural reason that a single system should not be very good at the various things that we currently think of as different segments of the database market.  A well-designed database engine can do an excellent job of SQL, NoSQL, OLTP, analytics and various niche things.  Of course Mike Stonebraker is right that a specialist engine can do a narrow thing very well, but the question is whether specialist engines will ultimately be generally interesting or confined to very narrow niches (possibly very high value niches)."

Multi-model databases: neither fish nor fowl but maybe a jigsaw puzzle? | Cloud Database | NuoDB

Apple hacked, and Java is the weak spot - Chicago Sun-Times

Check for software updates immediately, if you're using Mac OS; check the link below for more details on Java's latest security nightmare

"Yes. It’s official. Just as the Pinto is inextricably linked to getting covered with gasoline and burning to death in a minor collision, so does the public link the Java browser plugin with systems getting hacked. High-profile systems. Apple was just the latest victim to make the national news. In a statement Tuesday, the company reported that a “small number of systems” used Apple were infected with malware that exploits a previously unknown hole in Java security. These Macs were infected after their owners visited a website for software developers. Apple says that they’ve found no evidence that any data left Apple due to the malware, and they’ve already released a software update that patches the vulnerability. Apple users: Select “Software Update” under the Apple menu and then click on the “Updates” button to find and install it."

Apple hacked, and Java is the weak spot - Chicago Sun-Times

Google shows what it’s like to use Project Glass in new video and expands preorders - The Next Web

Check the full post for a new Glass video and additional details; if you're a "bold, creative" (and articulate) individual with $1,500 to spare, you might be allowed to preorder

"It’s been almost a year since Google first unveiled its vision for Project Glass, but today the company has expanded preorders and released a new overview video, demonstrating how the glasses display interactions and services when they are in use."

Google shows what it’s like to use Project Glass in new video and expands preorders - The Next Web

Why Amazon Hired a Car Mechanic to Run Its Cloud Empire | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Excerpt from a James Hamilton profile

"But with this enormous success comes a whole new set of computing problems, and James Hamilton is one of the key thinkers charged with solving such problems, striving to rethink the data center for the age of cloud computing. Much like two other cloud computing giants — Google and Microsoft — Amazon says very little about the particulars of its data center work, viewing this as the most important of trade secrets, but Hamilton is held in such high regard, he’s one of the few Amazon employees permitted to blog about his big ideas, and the fifty-something Canadian has developed a reputation across the industry as a guru of distributing systems — the kind of massive online operations that Amazon builds to support thousands of companies across the globe."

Why Amazon Hired a Car Mechanic to Run Its Cloud Empire | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Elusive big data: The thing, and not the thing | The Economist

A big data reality check; also see What Data Can’t Do (NYT)

"HOW to define big data? At a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development last week, about 150 delegates were asked to raise their hands if they had heard of the term—all had. How many felt comfortable giving a definition? Only about 10%. And these were government officials who will be called upon to devise policies on supporting or regulating big data."

Elusive big data: The thing, and not the thing | The Economist

Social Networking for the Soul - Businessweek

Sign of the times

"Jamie Coughlin believes in the power of prayer. So much so that he’s built a website called PlusGrace that lets people pledge to pray for others online or donate money electronically to those requesting prayers. The website gets a small slice of the collection plate. “A lot of people say, man, there’s so much negativity in the news, and I can’t do anything about it,” he says. “Well, you know the one thing you can do to be proactive and affect the outcome? Pray.”"

Social Networking for the Soul - Businessweek

China’s Army Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S. - NYTimes.com

Delicate digital diplomacy

"An unusually detailed 60-page study, to be released Tuesday by Mandiant, an American computer security firm, tracks for the first time individual members of the most sophisticated of the Chinese hacking groups — known to many of its victims in the United States as “Comment Crew” or “Shanghai Group” — to the doorstep of the military unit’s headquarters. The firm was not able to place the hackers inside the 12-story building, but makes a case there is no other plausible explanation for why so many attacks come out of one comparatively small area.
“Either they are coming from inside Unit 61398,” said Kevin Mandia, the founder and chief executive of Mandiant, in an interview last week, “or the people who run the most-controlled, most-monitored Internet networks in the world are clueless about thousands of people generating attacks from this one neighborhood.”"

China’s Army Is Seen as Tied to Hacking Against U.S. - NYTimes.com

Bill Gates: Windows Phone strategy was 'a mistake' • The Register

An unusual acknowledgement

"In an interview with CBS This Morning's Charlie Rose on Monday, Gates admitted he wasn't pleased with Microsoft's performance in the mobile market, going as far as to characterize the company's smartphone strategy as "a mistake."
"We didn't miss cell phones," Gates said. "But the way that we went about it didn't allow us to get the leadership, so it's clearly a mistake."
Mind you, to say that Microsoft isn't leading with Windows Phone is a bit of an understatement. According to recent research from comScore, Microsoft's share of the smartphone market actually shrunk during the three months ending December 2012, leaving it with a paltry 2.9 per cent."

Bill Gates: Windows Phone strategy was 'a mistake' • The Register

Miguel Nicolelis Says the Brain is Not Computable, Bashes Kurzweil’s Singularity | MIT Technology Review

Concluding paragraphs of a singularity reality check

"Recently, Nicolelis’s Duke lab has been looking to put an exclamation point on these ideas. In one recent experiment, they used a brain implant so that a monkey could control a full-body computer avatar, explore a virtual world, and even physically sense it.
In other words, the human brain creates models of tools and machines all the time, and brain implants will just extend that capability. Nicolelis jokes that if he ever opened a retail store for brain implants, he’d call it Machines“R”Us.
But, if he’s right, us ain’t machines, and never will be. "

Miguel Nicolelis Says the Brain is Not Computable, Bashes Kurzweil’s Singularity | MIT Technology Review

Google launches 2 Hour Recruiting Video Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn | The Recruiters Lounge

Sign of the times

"Okay, so its not REALLY a recruiting video, per se. It is actually a regular movie that takes place on the campuses of Google. It showcases what its like to work there and gives you a real feel for the great and wonderful things that take place there. Oh, wait a minute! Isn’t that a recruiting video?
Curiously enough, Google does not have a financial stake in the movie. (The LA Times said so.) But it did give the film crew access to their Googleplex campus and consulted with them on creating a Google-like set."

Google launches 2 Hour Recruiting Video Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn | The Recruiters Lounge

How Google Retooled Android With Help From Your Brain | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Jeff Dean strikes again

"Jeff Dean says that Google is now using neural network algorithms in a variety of products — some experimental, some not — but nothing is as far along as the Jelly Bean speech recognition software. “There are obvious tie-ins for image search,” he says. “You’d like to be able to use the pixels of the image and then identify what object that is.” Google Street View could use neural network algorithms to tell the difference between different kinds of objects it photographs — a house and a license plate, for example.
And lest you think this may not matter to regular people, take note. Last year Google researchers, including Dean, built a neural network program that taught itself to identify cats on YouTube."

How Google Retooled Android With Help From Your Brain | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Tesla Model S owners debunk the NYT - Crave - Car Tech - CNET Asia

The saga continues

"CNN had earlier recreated the trip (and successfully reached the destination) using a different Tesla Model S, but a few owners of the electric car attempted a similar drive to add more evidence that the NYT's experience was not the norm. Seven Tesla Model S cars started out on the journey, and while one of the cars encountered technical issues that led to a hour's delay, all of them were able to finish the trip on their own power.
The owners even coined a term, "brodering" to describe running out of power due to human error. These early adopters also admitted that the car wasn't completely error-free, though they were willing to tolerate the bugs that are almost inevitable in new products. You can read more about the trip at Strassenversion's blog. "

Tesla Model S owners debunk the NYT - Crave - Car Tech - CNET Asia

To get products into more hands, Google will open its own stores by the end of the year | 9to5Google

Check the full post for details about current "store-within-a-store" models

"An extremely reliable source has confirmed to us that Google is in the process of building stand-alone retail stores in the U.S. and hopes to have the first flagship Google Stores open for the holidays in major metropolitan areas.
The mission of the stores is to get new Google Nexus, Chrome, and especially upcoming products into the hands of prospective customers. Google feels right now that many potential customers need to get hands-on experience with its products before they are willing to purchase. Google competitors Apple and Microsoft both have retail outlets where customers can try before they buy. Google’s retail move won’t be an entirely new area, however."

To get products into more hands, Google will open its own stores by the end of the year | 9to5Google

Paul Maritz Wants to Sell You 'Google in a Box' | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

Excerpt from a timely EMC/VMware/big data snapshot

"Over the years, Google has built several sweeping software platforms that operate across a worldwide network of dirt-cheap computer servers. With names like the Google File System, Spanner, and Dremel, these platforms allow Google to juggle, use, and analyze an unprecedented amount of online information — and readily accommodate still more data as the web continues to grow.
In recent years, these tools have also inspired similar platforms at web giants such as Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter, including an open source platform known as Hadoop. “These web giants have the ability to store and process very large amount of data…. They know how to deploy and operate [software] atop of an underlying giant computer they call the cloud,” Maritz says. And now he wants to push this expertise to the rest of the world."

Paul Maritz Wants to Sell You 'Google in a Box' | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com

That Tesla Data: What It Says and What It Doesn't - NYTimes.com

A direct response to Elon Musk and his telemetry data (see the link below for point-by-point rebuttals); also see Elon Musk's Data Doesn't Back Up His Claims of New York Times Fakery (The Atlantic)

"Elon Musk , the chief executive of Tesla Motors, has now responded in detail to the account of my test drive of his Model S electric car, using the company’s new East Coast Superchargers, that was published in The Times on Feb. 10. His broadest charge is that I consciously set out to sabotage the test. That is not so. I was delighted to receive the assignment to try out the company’s new East Coast Supercharger network and as I previously noted in no way anticipated – or deliberately caused – the troubles I encountered."

That Tesla Data: What It Says and What It Doesn't - NYTimes.com

Randi Zuckerberg Says Her Book Will Be a 'Crazy' Look at the 'Front Lines' of Facebook - Technology - The Atlantic Wire

Definitely complicated...

"Randi worked at her brother's company until she quit in 2011 because of what The New York Times then reported as an increasing difficulty with fitting in at Facebook after a series of embarrassing stunts. The memoir will likely shine a different light on her time there, which the Times painted as, well, drunk and irresponsible. If Zuckerberg's book is anything like her newsletter, we can also look forward to learning about "untangling your complicated modern life." "

Randi Zuckerberg Says Her Book Will Be a 'Crazy' Look at the 'Front Lines' of Facebook - Technology - The Atlantic Wire

Salesforce Is a Cloud Computing King - Businessweek

A Bloomberg BusinessWeek interview with gravity-defying cloud king Marc Benoiff

"Salesforce.com (CRM), No. 2 in this year’s Bloomberg Businessweek 50 ranking, has been outpacing rivals Oracle (ORCL), Microsoft (MSFT), and SAP (SAP) in the business software market by exploiting companies’ desire to stop managing programs for thousands of their employees and outsource the job instead. The company’s stock has climbed more than 170 percent in the past three years and Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff is expanding his portfolio of cloud computing software for sales, customer service, and online marketing by branching into new areas like human resources. Benioff spoke with Bloomberg News reporter Aaron Ricadela from his home in San Francisco about the competitive landscape and his plans for the coming year."

Salesforce Is a Cloud Computing King - Businessweek

Opera Buying Rival Mobile Browser Skyfire in Cash and Stock Deal - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

A big week for Opera

"Norweigian browser maker Opera Software said Friday it is buying rival Skyfire Labs in a deal that could be worth upwards of $150 million.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Skyfire has software that allows carriers to deliver optimized video and other content to mobile devices. Skyfire said three large U.S. operators are using its technology and 10 operators around the world are in trials."

Opera Buying Rival Mobile Browser Skyfire in Cash and Stock Deal - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

An offer for Tim Cook | Paul's Down-Home Page

A sincere and timely offer from Paul Robichaux; see the post link below for more details

“We’ve never met. You’ve almost certainly never heard of me. But I’m going to make you an offer that I hope you’ll accept: I want to help you quit making such a mess of the world’s Exchange servers. More to the point, I want to help the iOS Exchange ActiveSync team clean up their act so we don’t have any more serious EAS bugs in iOS. The meeting hijacking bug was bad enough, but the latest bug? the one that results in Exchange servers running out of transaction log space? That’s bad for everyone. It makes your engineers look sloppy. It makes Exchange administrators into the bad guys because they have to block their users’ iOS devices.

These bugs make everyone lose: you, Microsoft, and your mutual users. They’re bad for business. Let’s fix them.”

An offer for Tim Cook | Paul's Down-Home Page

Google engineers found over half the bugs in Microsoft's latest security update | The Verge

Strange days indeed

"Google engineers often find and report security vulnerabilities in Microsoft products, but they outdid themselves this month. Mateusz "j00ru" Jurczyk, a self-described "Windows hacker" and security engineer at Google, is credited for reporting 32 issues with Windows which Microsoft deemed "important," or one step below "critical." A second Google security engineer, Gynvael Coldwind, collaborated on reporting five of those bugs.
Google engineers are regularly credited in security updates, but this month's count is unusually high. (Google engineers reported a bug a month in October, November, and December, and none in January.) The total number of bugs Microsoft fixed this month is close to the all-time record of 64."

Google engineers found over half the bugs in Microsoft's latest security update | The Verge

HP to make Android tablets, report says | Mobile - CNET News

If at first you don’t succeed, …

“Hewlett-Packard is doing an Android tablet too, according to a report from ReadWrite.

HP's first Android tablet will be a "high-end" affair based on Nvidia's upcoming Tegra 4 chip, according to the blog.

"It could be announced soon," the report said.

This would come about two years after HP's WebOS tablet debacle. In August of 2011, the company terminated its TouchPad only a month and a half after the device's introduction.”

HP to make Android tablets, report says | Mobile - CNET News

A Most Peculiar Test Drive | Blog | Tesla Motors

Excerpt from a detailed NYT article reality check; tbd if the NYT reporter's career will stall out

"The logs show again that our Model S never had a chance with John Broder. In the case with Top Gear, their legal defense was that they never actually said it broke down, they just implied that it could and then filmed themselves pushing what viewers did not realize was a perfectly functional car. In Mr. Broder’s case, he simply did not accurately capture what happened and worked very hard to force our car to stop running."

A Most Peculiar Test Drive | Blog | Tesla Motors

Common on Early Internet, GIF Files Make Comeback - NYTimes.com

Be back in a jiff

"The Internet, it seems, has found its version of vinyl chic.
Just as the LP has enjoyed a second spin among retro-minded music fans, animated GIFs — the choppy, crude snippets of video loops that hearken back to dial-up modems — are enjoying an unlikely vogue as the digital accessory of the moment."

Common on Early Internet, GIF Files Make Comeback - NYTimes.com

Tesco Monitors Employees With Motorola Armbands - Businessweek

Would it have been less controversial if they'd used Fitbits and touted health benefits?

"There’s a fine line between micromanaging and house arrest, and British grocery store chain Tesco (TSCO) seems determined to cross it. According to the Irish Independent, employees at the company’s Dublin distribution center are forced to wear armbands that measure their productivity so closely that the company even knows when they take a bathroom break."

Tesco Monitors Employees With Motorola Armbands - Businessweek

Blogonomics, Maria Popova edition | Felix Salmon [Reuters]

Economic value-add from Brain Pickings information value-add; see the full post for some controversial aspects

"Brain Pickings claims 1.2 million readers, and while they surely don’t buy as much stuff on Amazon as the Wirecutter’s readers do, even if they only spend one fifth as much, that would still work out to an income to Popova of more than $400,000 per year from Amazon alone. An anonymous blogger on Tumblr has done the math a couple of different ways: one comes out to $432,000 per year, and the other comes in at $240,000 per year. However you estimate it, Popova’s Amazon income would seem to be more than enough to keep her blogging even if all her tip-jar income dried up entirely."

Blogonomics, Maria Popova edition | Felix Salmon

Apple iWatch could be useful or completely impractical - Chicago Sun-Times

Excerpt from Andy Ihnatko analysis of a potential iWatch

"Don’t undersell Apple’s app notification system just because it appears to have been ripped off from Android and Growl. The pull-down mechanism and pop-up/fadeaway behavior are surface manifestations of a powerful infrastructure that Apple’s been shipping and improving for six years. It allows apps to push alerts and notifications wherever they need to go, even across the Internet, and to arrive at their destination whether the target device is fully awake or not. Every iOS and MacOS device already has a sophisticated switchboard for managing notifications from dozens of sources. An Apple smartwatch could simply be a new destination for those centralized alerts. Would developers even need to modify their apps to target the watch specifically? Maybe not; out of the box, an Apple watch could be a busy extension of your phone and desktop."

Apple iWatch could be useful or completely impractical - Chicago Sun-Times

Obama signs long-awaited cybersecurity executive order | Politics and Law - CNET News

Cybersecurity progress via executive order

"The executive order -- and a related "Presidential Policy Directive" updating Bush-era policies from 2003 -- drew quick praise from civil liberties groups.
The ACLU said it's "encouraged" by it, and in a not-so-subtle swipe at CISPA, added that the order shows "there are smart ways to bolster cybersecurity while protecting privacy."
Leslie Harris, president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a statement that: "Rather than having the government monitor private networks, it is better for security and privacy to have private entities protect their own systems and networks. Better sharing of what the government knows will enhance that effort.""

Obama signs long-awaited cybersecurity executive order | Politics and Law - CNET News

Opera embraces WebKit in browser brain transplant | Internet & Media - CNET News

A big WebKit vote from a leader in small browsers

"Opera Software, an independent voice in the browser market since the 1990s, will dramatically change its strategy by instead adopting the WebKit browser engine used by Safari and Chrome.
The Norwegian company announced the move today and said it will show off the first fruits of the work with a WebKit-based version of its Android browser at the Mobile World Congress show in less than two weeks. But the company will move to WebKit for its desktop browser, too."

Opera embraces WebKit in browser brain transplant | Internet & Media - CNET News

Building a Better E-Book (Than Amazon and Apple) - Businessweek

Because hypertext and interactive multimedia can't be done via open standards?...

"Inkling, started by Matt MacInnis, a former senior marketing manager at Apple, is addressing the problem by giving publishers a way to convert some of their highest-margin books into a more dynamic digital form. The San Francisco-based startup’s new Habitat software platform, which it released on Feb. 12 after a private beta test, allows publishers to add high-resolution photos, audible pronunciations of wine varietals, or videos that show how to cut an avocado. “Inkling is going at a unique, high-end interactive experience that you won’t find on many of those other platforms,” says Jerome Grant, chief learning officer in Pearson’s (PSON) education division, which has invested in Inkling."

Building a Better E-Book (Than Amazon and Apple) - Businessweek

Hating Amazon Is Not a Thing. Facebook on the Other Hand ... | Wired Business | Wired.com

Amazon continues to amaze

"Check the comments section on any tech blog: People love to hate Apple. They love to hate Microsoft. And Facebook. Each of these companies has spawned a parallel online hater community.
But Amazon? Not so much.
The Amazon haters are no doubt out there. But I contend that the intensity of that hatred just isn’t as high.
Backing me up on that is a new survey from Harris Interactive (HPOL) that found the general public respects Amazon more than any other U.S. corporation."

Hating Amazon Is Not a Thing. Facebook on the Other Hand ... | Wired Business | Wired.com

Apple Chief Hints at Shareholder Rewards to Come - NYTimes.com

Meanwhile, in Apple product engineering, rather than financial engineering news...

"Mr. Cook danced around the rumors that Apple would create an inexpensive iPhone for emerging markets, where income levels and a lack of subsidies by wireless carriers have put the company’s smartphone out of reach for many consumers. But he noted Apple’s history of coming up with creative new products, like the iPod shuffle and the iPad Mini, that appeal to budget-minded shoppers.
“The only thing we’ll never do is make a crappy product,” he said. “That’s the only religion we have.”"

Apple Chief Hints at Shareholder Rewards to Come - NYTimes.com

Unusual Moves in Confronting Apple's Mountain of Cash - NYTimes.com

Closing paragraph of a stark reality check on investor priorities; on a related note, see Dell’s Gigantic Tax Dodge (Slate)

"And that’s the oddest thing of all. Despite Apple’s growing cash pile, the company’s value is shrinking. But instead of focusing on making Apple an even better business, shareholders are trying to rescue their bubblelike bets with financial gimmickry, and Apple is engaging in its own gimmicks to defeat them. Even Apple can be consumed by the strange world of Wall Street."

Unusual Moves in Confronting Apple's Mountain of Cash - NYTimes.com

Google Pays Apple $1 Billion A Year To Be Default Search Engine on iOS | SiliconANGLE

A significant barrier to entry

"Devitt estimates that Google will pay around $1 billion to remain the default search provider on iPhones, iPads and iPods during 2014, which amounts to almost 31% of its total traffic acquisition costs. Mozilla will also benefit from Google’s largesse, receiving about $400 million over the same period in return for willfully exposing its users to the risk of being “Scroogled”. In addition, Google is expected to shell out another $3.5 billion or so to become the default search provider in a range of third-party software products."

Google Pays Apple $1 Billion A Year To Be Default Search Engine on iOS | SiliconANGLE

Elon Musk flames NYT review of Tesla Model S - SlashGear

I'm guessing the NYT reporter may not have fully understood the car's logging system

"Musk says that the car logs show that Broder did not charge the car to full capacity before leaving for his trip. The logs also allegedly show that the reporter took an unplanned detour through Manhattan while driving well above the posted speed limits, thereby reducing the batteries range. Musk says that these actions reduced the driving distance of the car rather than the cold or any range issues with the Model S. Broder and the New York Times are standing by their story saying that it is completely factual."

Elon Musk flames NYT review of Tesla Model S - SlashGear

Bill Gates on Reddit Talks Philanthropy, Steve Jobs and More - Mike Isaac - Social - AllThingsD

Excerpt from a Bill Gates "Ask Me Anything" session summary; full transcript

"Another user asked about the one Microsoft product that Gates wished had shipped but never made it to market. Gates cited WinFS, or Windows Future Storage, a “rich database as the client/cloud store that was part of a Windows release” at one point, he said, but ultimately it was too far “before its time.” (For the uninitiated: It would have been an interesting release for the data storage wonks in IT, not something consumer-facing.)"

Bill Gates on Reddit Talks Philanthropy, Steve Jobs and More - Mike Isaac - Social - AllThingsD

Relationship Science Plans Database of Names and Connections - NYTimes.com

Big data R Us

"The system shows how the searcher is connected — perhaps a friend, or a friend of a friend, is on a charitable board — and also grades the quality of those connections by identifying them as “strong,” “average” or “weak.” You will be surprised at the many ways the database finds connections.
The major innovation is that, unlike Facebook or LinkedIn, it doesn’t matter if people have signed up for the service. Many business leaders aren’t on Facebook or LinkedIn, but Relationship Science doesn’t rely on user-generated content. It just scrapes the Web."

Relationship Science Plans Database of Names and Connections - NYTimes.com

IBM's Watson Gets Its First Piece Of Business In Healthcare - Forbes

Impressive progress

"Over the past two years, IBM’s researchers have shrunk Watson from the size of a master bedroom to a pizza-box-sized server that can fit in any data center. And they improved its processing speed by 240%. Now what was once was a fun computer-science experiment in natural language processing is becoming a real business for IBM and Wellpoint, which is the exclusive reseller of the technology for now.
[...]
WellPoint’s chief medical officer Samuel Nussbaum said at the press event today that health care pros make accurate treatment decisions in lung cancer cases only 50% of the time (a shocker to me). Watson, since being trained in this  medical specialty, can make accurate decisions 90% of the time."

IBM's Watson Gets Its First Piece Of Business In Healthcare - Forbes

The man behind Google Docs is now trying to reinvent the web app at Box — Tech News and Analysis

Thinking inside the Box

"“The interesting challenge is to have one foot in many worlds at once,” Schillace said — mobile, web and desktop, consumer and enterprise. ”We’re just at the beginning of this tidal wave of enterprise going from on-premise to the cloud … . I think all the boundaries and functionalities of that stack are still up for grabs.”
A debate at Box, he said, is whether to build a full suite of editing applications a la Google Docs, or whether that’s “chasing the last war.” Rather Schillace is inclined to look at what a company like Evernote is doing to enable creation and collaboration “outside of that paradigm of word processor, spreadsheet, presentation.”"

The man behind Google Docs is now trying to reinvent the web app at Box — Tech News and Analysis

Crowdsourcing innovation: Harvard study suggests prizes can spur scientific problem-solving - Business - The Boston Globe

A crowdsourced computing collaboration case study

"Faced with a tough data­ analysis challenge as he struggled to answer questions about how the immune system works, Dr. Ramy Arnaout of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center took an unusual step. He went beyond his circle of Harvard colleagues and beyond the expertise of fellow biologists; he turned to software programmers scattered around the world who had little expertise in the life sciences.
The result: A deeply biological problem — analyzing the makeup of genes that produce proteins involved in the immune system’s ability to identify microbes — could be rapidly and efficiently answered by a community of more than 400,000 computer programmers who try to solve competitive coding challenges posted on TopCoder, a platform used by big companies such as Google, Intel, and Facebook."

Crowdsourcing innovation: Harvard study suggests prizes can spur scientific problem-solving - Business - The Boston Globe

The Apple iWatch | askTog

See the askTog post for some intriguing speculation, and Disruptions: Where Apple and Dick Tracy May Converge (NYT) and Apple Testing Watch-Like Device (WSJ) for additional analysis

"The iWatch will fill a gaping hole in the Apple ecosystem. It will facilitate and coordinate not only the activities of all the other computers and devices we use, but a wide array of devices to come. Like other breakthrough Apple products, its value will be underestimated at launch, then grow to have a profound impact on our lives and Apple’s fortunes."

The Apple iWatch | askTog

After Living With BlackBerry 10, I Went Back To Android – ReadWrite

Concluding paragraphs of a stark RIM BlackBerry reality check

"Going back to Android after living with the Z10 is not a complete condemnation of BlackBerry 10. It is just a sign that while BlackBerry has made some great strides with the BlackBerry 10 operating system, it has not yet gone quite far enough. The corner-cutting with apps, the lags and bugs found in various aspects of the OS, the crashing and hanging can all be fixed.
The problem for BlackBerry is that Android used to have all these same types of problems as well - and it took years of fine tuning to eradicate them. Locked in a death struggle to stay relevant in the fast-moving mobile market, BlackBerry does not have years to smooth out the kinks in BlackBerry 10."

After Living With BlackBerry 10, I Went Back To Android – ReadWrite

Microsoft sells out of Surface Pro, just like the Zune HD did in 2009 [Apple Insider]

Scrutinizing selectively sold-out Surface

"Microsoft has announced "amazing" customer response to its tablet/notebook hybrid Surface Pro, and reports have noted that the higher end 128GB model has sold out in some locations "immediately" after going on sale, just as the Zune HD did in 2009."

Microsoft sells out of Surface Pro, just like the Zune HD did in 2009

Eric Schmidt cashing out 42 percent of his Google stock | Internet & Media - CNET News

Perhaps planning a leveraged buy-out of North Korea...

"Today, Marketwatch reported on the expected sale, suggesting that Schmidt -- currently Google's chairman -- will try to net as much as $2.51 billion from the sale of the stock. To date, he owns as much as 2.3 percent of Google's stock, and has 8.2 percent of the company's voting power."

Eric Schmidt cashing out 42 percent of his Google stock | Internet & Media - CNET News

9 things Apple could do with $137 billion - Business - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from an Apple accounting snapshot

"Based on market value at Thursday’s close, Apple could acquire Facebook, Groupon, LinkedIn, Netflix, Pandora, Research In Motion, Yahoo, Yelp, Zillow, and Zynga — and have over $2 billion to spare."

9 things Apple could do with $137 billion - Business - The Boston Globe

Beware the Big Errors of 'Big Data' | Wired Opinion | Wired.com

Excerpt from a Nassim Taleb big data reality check

"The problem with big data, in fact, is not unlike the problem with observational studies in medical research. In observational studies, statistical relationships are examined on the researcher’s computer. In double-blind cohort experiments, however, information is extracted in a way that mimics real life. The former produces all manner of results that tend to be spurious (as last computed by John Ioannidis) more than eight times out of 10.
Yet these observational studies get reported in the media and in some scientific journals. (Thankfully, they’re not accepted by the Food and Drug Administration). Stan Young, an activist against spurious statistics, and I found a genetics-based study claiming significance from statistical data even in the reputable New England Journal of Medicine — where the results, according to us, were no better than random. [...]

I am not saying here that there is no information in big data. There is plenty of information. The problem — the central issue — is that the needle comes in an increasingly larger haystack."

Beware the Big Errors of 'Big Data' | Wired Opinion | Wired.com

SkyDrive users can now share Office documents with anyone | Webware - CNET

No Passport required...

"Using Microsoft's Office Web Apps or Office 2013, you can create a URL of any document that you store online. You can then e-mail that URL to anyone who needs to view or edit your file. Previously, that process required your collaborators to sign in with a Microsoft account before they could tweak your document. Now that restriction is gone.
Users who receive the URL to your document can click on it to view the file in Office Web Apps. From there, they simply click on a link in the Web app to edit the file in the browser. The file opens in the associated Office Web App without prompting for a log-in account, where your collaborators can then edit and resave the document."

SkyDrive users can now share Office documents with anyone | Webware - CNET

Amazon Wants to Get Into the Used E-Book Business -- Or Bury It | Wired Business | Wired.com

E-nightmare for publishers?

"Last week, Amazon patented a way to sell “used” e-books, music, videos, apps and other “digital objects.” The marketplace described in the patent would let such exchanges take place by cutting off the seller’s access to a piece of digital content once the buyer paid.
If the world’s largest online retailer opens the door to digital yard sales, the result could upend the business models of already struggling book publishers and record companies, not to mention thriving digital marketplaces like iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon itself. That is, if Amazon ever really intends to make used digital sales a reality."

Amazon Wants to Get Into the Used E-Book Business -- Or Bury It | Wired Business | Wired.com

Going Pro: Replacing the Desktop | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

"Better living through lowered expectations"

"To this point, my Surface Pro experience had followed a fairly negative new technology adoption curve: An initial wave of excitement because it’s something new, followed by a nervous a round of disappointment as the device’s limitations because glaringly obvious and problematic, and then a begrudging acceptance of the compromises I’d have to make. Oddly enough, things actually got better over time as I came to appreciate that the Surface Pro, while painfully not perfect, did indeed offer some unique charms. And certainly, my expectations were quite high, perhaps too high."

Going Pro: Replacing the Desktop | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

LinkedIn eyes future as professional publishing hub | Internet & Media - CNET News

Promoted Whitepapers R Us?

"The professional network today reported earnings that blew the Street's socks off, so to speak. LinkedIn's stock is trading up close to 10 percent on the after-hours market because the company floored everyone with fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 35 cents, revenue of $303.6 million, and net income of $11.5 million.
Then in a call with investors and analysts, CEO Jeff Weiner upped the company's long-term sex appeal with this statement: "One of the things that we're increasingly focused on in 2013 is going to be the opportunity to support content marketing.""

LinkedIn eyes future as professional publishing hub | Internet & Media - CNET News

Blizzard Wireless Emergency Alerts: Why Only Some People Got Them - ABC News

Sign of the times

"Those notifications, similar to ones issued during Hurricane Sandy, were what FEMA and the FCC call Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEAs. They were designed to alert people via their phones about three types of emergencies -- imminent threats (including extreme or severe weather), AMBER alerts, and presidential alerts issued by the White House. The alerts, which are not done via text message, were launched last year in many parts of the country and in May 2012 came to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and other carriers.
[...]
Guttman-McCabe said users can disable the imminent and AMBER alerts, but not the presidential ones."

Blizzard Wireless Emergency Alerts: Why Only Some People Got Them - ABC News

In One Fell Swoop, Facebook Deep-Sixes the Web - Mike Isaac - Social - AllThingsD

Dis Connect

"Now we may know how powerful Facebook really is.
On Thursday, many major websites were taken down by an error that stemmed from Facebook, as Internet mainstays like MSNBC.com, CNN, Yelp and New York Magazine all sent users to redirect pages almost immediately upon loading."

In One Fell Swoop, Facebook Deep-Sixes the Web - Mike Isaac - Social - AllThingsD

Microsoft SharePoint faces tough future, Forrester says - Computerworld

A stark SharePoint social snapshot

"Despite strong support from IT pros, SharePoint faces increased skepticism from business leaders and it's unclear whether the collaboration product will deliver cloud, social and mobile advancements needed for future growth.
Those are some of the findings from a new Forrester Research study published on Tuesday titled "SharePoint Enters Its Awkward Teenage Years.""

Microsoft SharePoint faces tough future, Forrester says - Computerworld

Microsoft Addresses Surface Pro Concerns | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Check the link below for Microsoft responses to some of the common Surface concerns/complaints

"Microsoft corporate vice president Panos Panay and the Surface team took to Reddit today to address some of the concerns that have cropped up in the wake of the first Surface with Windows 8 Pro reviews. Panay is the person most directly responsible for Surface, so his words—and those of his team—carry a lot of weight."

Microsoft Addresses Surface Pro Concerns | Windows 8 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Burning Down the House of S. & P. : The New Yorker

For another recent case study in how to inadvertently increase business transparency via email, see E-Mails Imply JPMorgan Knew Some Mortgage Deals Were Bad (NYT)

"McGraw-Hill did this fully aware that, in handing over some twenty million pages of e-mails to government prosecutors, it presented them with some pretty damaging stuff, including a number of messages in which S. & P. employees criticize the firm’s rating process and seemingly acknowledge that it issued generous ratings to please its customers—the Wall Street banks that issued subprime bonds—and avoid losing market share to rivals Moody’s and Fitch. In one instant message, turned over by the company and included in the government’s complaint, an S. & P. analyst says the firm would have given a good rating to a deal put together by cows."

Burning Down the House of S. & P. : The New Yorker

Google Buys E-Commerce Company to Improve Shopping Search - NYTimes.com

(Google Shopping)*2

"The acquisition is Google’s latest effort to take on Amazon.com, which has become an archrival in shopping search. A third of shoppers start their searches on Amazon, compared with just 13 percent on a search engine, according to Forrester Research. That’s a shift from several years ago, when a quarter started shopping research on a search engine and 18 percent on Amazon.
It is also the latest example of Google’s moves into building vertical search engines for searching certain topics, like local businesses, flights or shopping. Google’s stiffest competition has come from these types of businesses, like Yelp, Kayak and Shopping.com."

Google Buys E-Commerce Company to Improve Shopping Search - NYTimes.com

Microsoft Attacks Google on Gmail Privacy - NYTimes.com

Following this logic (consumers creeped-out by potential privacy concerns), neither Facebook nor Twitter should exist; also see Incoming! Microsoft Launching Another Pathetic Smear Campaign Against Google (Readwrite)

"On Thursday, Microsoft plans to unveil a new print, television and online advertising campaign that attacks Google on an issue that Microsoft believes is one of its great vulnerabilities: privacy. The ads will showcase research that shows most people don’t know that Web e-mail providers like Google scan the contents of their e-mail messages to deliver personalized ads to them — and when they do find out, they don’t like it.
If Gmail was a physical product, Microsoft’s actions would amount to putting a sticker on it that said, “Warning: Google is creepy.”"

Microsoft Attacks Google on Gmail Privacy - NYTimes.com

ANDY IHNATKO: Microsoft Surface Pro review: Great tablet PC, but needs apps - Chicago Sun-Times

Because no household is complete without a Kegerator...

"One thing I’ll say for certain: Surface Pro is no “toaster refrigerator,” as Apple’s CEO good-naturedly replied when he was asked about the idea of hybrid devices like Surface. Surface Pro is more like the Kegerator of PCs...a combination keg and refrigerator. There are these two simple ideas. Microsoft put them together. And what do you know? It keeps the party going."

ANDY IHNATKO: Microsoft Surface Pro review: Great tablet PC, but needs apps - Chicago Sun-Times

Boeing 787’s problems blamed on outsourcing, lack of oversight | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

"Insourcing" is destined to become the business word of the year

"Company engineers blame the 787’s outsourced supply chain, saying that poor quality components are coming from subcontractors that have operated largely out of Boeing’s view.
“The risk to the company is not this battery, even though this is really bad right now,” said one 787 electrical engineer, who asked not to be identified. “The real problem is the power panels.”
Unlike earlier Boeing jets, he said, the innards of the 787 power distribution panels — which control the flow of electricity to the plane’s many systems — are “like Radio Shack,” with parts that are “cheap, plastic and prone to failure.”"

Boeing 787’s problems blamed on outsourcing, lack of oversight | Business & Technology | The Seattle Times

Lackluster Start for BlackBerry's New Phone in Canada - NYTimes.com

Not good, eh

"The underwhelming sales reception at the Rideau Centre’s Bell store was repeated not just later at competing outlets in the mall but throughout BlackBerry’s homeland. Rogers Communications, Bell and Telus, the country’s three major carriers, declined to provide specific opening-day sales numbers. But several news outlets reported a similar absence of lines or, in some cases even customers, at wireless carrier and cellphone stores across Canada."

Lackluster Start for BlackBerry's New Phone in Canada - NYTimes.com

Lenovo’s Diplomatic Response to Dell Buyout - Digits - WSJ

Considerate of the Lenovo exec to not add "And by the way, be sure to check out our new Chromebooks..."

"Lenovo, in its statement on the Dell deal, said that “the financial actions of some of our traditional competitors will not substantially change our outlook.” Still, the statement – which Lenovo offered as its comment on Dell’s announcement — didn’t even contain the word “Dell” in the text. “Our strategy is clear, our financial position is healthy and our business is very strong — so we are focused on our products, customers and overall execution rather than distracting financial maneuvers and major strategic shifts.”"

Lenovo’s Diplomatic Response to Dell Buyout - Digits - WSJ

Microsoft Surface Pro Is a Hefty Tablet and a Lightweight Laptop - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Excerpt from one of many Surface Pro reviews over the last 24 hours; see Microsoft Surface Pro gets tough early reviews (Reuters) and Surface Pro review roundup: fast/fat, cool/compromised (Computerworld) for review round-ups

"I like the original Surface and see it as a tablet with the extra benefit of some Microsoft Office programs. However, I am less enamored with the Surface Pro. It’s too hefty and costly and power-hungry to best the leading tablet, Apple’s full-size iPad. It is also too difficult to use in your lap. It’s something of a tweener — a compromised tablet and a compromised laptop."

Microsoft Surface Pro Is a Hefty Tablet and a Lightweight Laptop - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Dell in $24 Billion Deal to Go Private - NYTimes.com

tbd if this is a prelude to a tear-down or perhaps destined to become one of the biggest "greater fool" case studies ever

"“I believe this transaction will open an exciting new chapter for Dell, our customers and team members,” Mr. Dell said in a statement. “Dell has made solid progress executing this strategy over the past four years, but we recognize that it will still take more time, investment and patience, and I believe our efforts will be better supported by partnering with Silver Lake in our shared vision.”
Still, analysts have expressed concern that even a move away from the unyielding scrutiny of the public markets will let Mr. Dell accomplish what years of previous turnaround efforts have not."

Dell in $24 Billion Deal to Go Private - NYTimes.com

The Real Story Behind 'Super WiFi' And The Fight Over Spectrum; It's Not What You Read Yesterday | Techdirt

An information literacy reality check on the FCC/free wireless topic, but I suspect there is more to the story, when the interests of Google, Microsoft, and other companies are factored in; also see Before You Get Excited About That ‘Free Super WiFi!’ Story… (SplatF)

"All of this is ancient history. Really ancient history. So why is the Washington Post suddenly covering this? From the article, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is all new and that the FCC has plans for some amazing free "super WiFi." Except that's not true. At all. Well, except the part that caught most people's attention: that this would be about offering "free internet service" across the country. That part is new. And that's because it's not true. You still need backhaul and service. It's just about freeing up the spectrum so that it can be used to provide service. The FCC isn't suddenly planning to get into the broadband service ISP business. Nor could they."

The Real Story Behind 'Super WiFi' And The Fight Over Spectrum; It's Not What You Read Yesterday | Techdirt