Google rumor puts focus on ITA - The Boston Globe

See the full article for more details

A low-profile software company in Cambridge may be worth $1 billion to Internet search giant Google Inc.

ITA Software Inc. makes sophisticated software for major online travel services such as Orbitz.com and Kayak.com and airlines such as Continental Airlines Inc. and Air Canada. They depend on ITA software, which allows them to organize complex airfare information for online shoppers.

[…]

Neither company would comment yesterday on reports by Bloomberg News that they are discussing an acquisition by Google. The report said that ITA was seeking “around $1 billion.’’

Google rumor puts focus on ITA - The Boston Globe

INTRODUCING DOCS… for FACEBOOK « Docs.com Blog

Check the full post for more on a new Microsoft/Facebook collaboration for … collaboration

This exploration exposes yet another facet of Ray Ozzie’s broad and long-held vision of social productivity.  Although quite simple (and fun!), docs.com integrated with the Facebook experience bring together the best of ‘software’ with the best of ‘services’.  Documents can be created directly within the app, or can be uploaded from your PC.  After starting work on a document alone, you might then choose a few others with whom to share it.  Or you might instead share it with all your friends, or you might share it with the world.  Documents can be viewed and edited directly within a web browser – or, with a single click, you can edit them more richly and powerfully through the Microsoft Office software on your PC or Mac.

INTRODUCING DOCS… for FACEBOOK « Docs.com Blog

Just put the iPhone on the ground and back away slowly | Good Morning Silicon Valley

See the full article for a summary of some of the laws that are likely to part of the next chapter in this saga

Gizmodo’s cheery tone is understandable, for the moment anyway. The scoop on the next-gen iPhone and the follow-up with more backstory and the identity of the Apple employee who lost the device have garnered the site millions of page views. And Nick Denton, head of Gizmodo parent Gawker Media, acknowledging he paid $5,000 to the finder of the phone, was reveling in reinforcing his reputation as a renegade, saying, “A story is a story. We’re not squeamish about the means. And the paroxysms of the j-school ethicists add to the satisfaction.”

But as a general rule, you don’t cross the mob, the IRS or Apple without suffering some consequences, and it’s likely that Apple’s legal team and perhaps other authorities are looking at the potential criminal and civil ramifications of all this.

Just put the iPhone on the ground and back away slowly | Good Morning Silicon Valley

How To Set Social Networking Policies for Employees - www.esecurityplanet.com

A timely security reality check from Diana Kelley

But what about the policies related to grey areas, like employees that are required to blog or socially network as part of their job? Or independent bloggers and Tweeters that have been given products to review?  And how far should corporate policies extend to cover personal blogging and social networking? These are fairly complicated questions, but companies that consider the issues in advance and create clear policies for their employees can save themselves and their employees a lot of headaches.

How To Set Social Networking Policies for Employees - www.esecurityplanet.com

FT.com / Europe - Ash boost for video conferencing

Interesting times

Cisco Systems could hardly have picked a better moment to complete its acquisition of Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg as some of the world’s biggest companies sought ways to keep in touch with their stranded board members.

As the US technology group completed the deal on Monday, its executives trumpeted a surge in demand for Tandberg’s services. “Watching one volcano disrupt flights around the world provides an incredible example of how powerful this technology can be,” said Marthin De Beer, head of emerging technologies at Cisco.

Considering the following graphic, let’s hope the shift to Web conferencing is habit-forming for many people…

FT.com / Europe - Ash boost for video conferencing

Business & Technology | Netflix founder sees hit in DreamBox | Seattle Times Newspaper

One to watch

Hastings, a Microsoft board member, said his goal is "to fuel the movement of e-learning and help millions of students."

"I have evaluated many companies in the K-12 e-learning marketplace and DreamBox Learning clearly stood out," he said. "They have already shown strong results in a short period of time, and the DreamBox Learning Platform has the best underlying adaptive technology, giving every student the opportunity to thrive through innovative online learning," Hastings said in a news release.

Business & Technology | Netflix founder sees hit in DreamBox | Seattle Times Newspaper

A Switch for the Google Age - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

More strategic competitive challenges for Cisco.  Given Andy Bechtolsheim’s track record, it’s probably just a matter of time before Arista is acquired – perhaps by Cisco.

And so, Arista, Mr. Bechtolsheim’s latest venture, has built a networking switch (the Arista 7500, 10 Gigabit Ethernet switch) that is five times faster than Cisco’s competing product while taking up half the space of rival equipment, consuming only a fraction of the power and costing only a fraction of the price, as Mr. Bectolsheim sees it.

[…]

“The other switches just weren’t designed right,” Mr. Bechtolsheim said.

A Switch for the Google Age - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Google buys chip start-up from ex-Apple designers | Relevant Results - CNET News

Hmm…

Google and Apple continue to find themselves on opposite sides of the world, as Google has apparently agreed to buy a chip-design start-up populated by former Apple employees.

[…]

Little is known about Agnilux other than the fact that it was founded by former employees of P.A. Semi, the chip start-up Apple bought in 2008. The New York Times attempted to track down details about the company in February and didn't get very far, but was able to confirm that several former P.A. Semi and Apple employees were among the co-founders, as well as Scott Redman, a former software architect at TiVo.

Google buys chip start-up from ex-Apple designers | Relevant Results - CNET News

Apple should sue Gizmodo over stolen iPhone prototype | Betanews

A timely Joe Wilcox reality check 

Gizmodo was wrong to acquire a lost iPhone prototype -- quite likely a nearly finished version 4 design -- let alone pay to obtain it. Perhaps this marks the distinction between bloggers and journalists. I would have contacted Apple about returning a device so obviously stolen. There is grave difference between obtaining secret information for the public good and what Gizmodo did: Obtain property containing trade secrets belonging to a public company. Gizmodo has violated the public trust and broken the law. Free speech isn't a right to pay freely for something clearly stolen.

Apple should sue Gizmodo over stolen iPhone prototype | Betanews

IBM profits out-climb sales in Q1 • The Register

A couple interesting IBM perspectives

IBM is mostly a services company with hardware and software pretensions - or a systems company that makes a fortune selling services that ought to be part of the system but are not, depending on how you want to look at it - and the Global Services behemoth accounted for $13.7bn in sales, up 4 per cent as reported in US dollars but down 2 per cent at constant currency.

[…]

Software Group, which sells operating systems, middleware, and other system and application software that is used by companies and ISVs to support their own applications software, grew by 10.6 per cent year-on-year, to a hair over $5bn, and with gross profit margins of 84.6 per cent, this business has IBM feeling downright ecstatic. Nearly all of that extra money does right to the bottom line, which it can use to buy back shares to prop up EPS numbers, which in turn pump up the stock and make IBMers who have lots of stock richer.

IBM profits out-climb sales in Q1 • The Register

Microsoft TownHall: Building Public Online Communities - Microsoft On The Issues

See the full press release and the TownHall link below for more details

As social media tools have matured, the Web has enabled more and more two-way conversations between leaders and the people they serve, as well as between candidates and voters. The result is a more participatory process that gives citizens new ways to be heard.

To facilitate an even greater level of engagement, Microsoft has built a tool called TownHall, which is designed to maximize the benefit of online discussions. TownHall is part of Campaign Ready, a broader set of technologies for campaigns announced today at the Politics Online Conference in Washington, D.C. These resources will enable candidates and their staffs to use a rich set of familiar and emerging Microsoft technologies to identify and engage citizens on the Web as part of their campaign efforts.

[…]

TownHall is a cloud-based solution hosted on Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform, and can be accessed in real-time through any mobile device. It’s easy to get started, and the code can be downloaded here for free - http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/TownHall.

Microsoft TownHall: Building Public Online Communities - Microsoft On The Issues

Global Strategy Stabilized I.B.M. During Downturn - NYTimes.com

A timely IBM snapshot 

The American postmultinational’s center of gravity has shifted outside the United States, not only in terms of sales, but also its strategy and major operations.

I.B.M., for example, now makes two-thirds of its revenue abroad. Its revenue in new growth markets like China and India, but also smaller ones like Vietnam, the Czech Republic and the Philippines, jumped 20 percent in the first quarter, the company reported on Monday.

More earnings details, from an IBM press release (emphasis mine):

Revenues from the Software segment were $5.0 billion, an increase of 11 percent (5 percent, adjusting for currency) compared with the first quarter of 2009. Revenues from IBM’s key middleware products, which include WebSphere, Information Management, Tivoli, Lotus and Rational products, were $2.8 billion, an increase of 13 percent (8 percent, adjusting for currency) versus the first quarter of 2009. Operating systems revenues of $499 million increased 1 percent (down 3 percent, adjusting for currency) compared with the prior-year quarter.

Revenues from the WebSphere family of software products, which delivers capabilities that enable clients to integrate and manage business processes across the organization, increased 13 percent year over year. Revenues from Information Management software, which enables clients to integrate, manage and use information to gain business value, increased 11 percent. Revenues from Tivoli software, which helps clients manage technology and business assets by providing visibility, control and automation across the organization, increased 23 percent, and revenues from Lotus software, which connects people and processes for more effective communication and increased productivity through collaboration, messaging and social networking software, increased 1 percent. Revenues from Rational software, which supports software development for both IT and embedded system solutions, increased 7 percent.

Global Strategy Stabilized I.B.M. During Downturn - NYTimes.com

Cyberattack on Google Said to Hit Password System - NYTimes.com

See the full article for more on the sequence of events in the Google security system infiltration

The intruders do not appear to have stolen passwords of Gmail users, and the company quickly started making significant changes to the security of its networks after the intrusions. But the theft leaves open the possibility, however faint, that the intruders may find weaknesses that Google might not even be aware of, independent computer experts said.

The new details seem likely to increase the debate about the security and privacy of vast computing systems such as Google’s that now centralize the personal information of millions of individuals and businesses. Because vast amounts of digital information are stored in a cluster of computers, popularly referred to as “cloud” computing, a single breach can lead to disastrous losses.

Cyberattack on Google Said to Hit Password System - NYTimes.com

For Apple, Lost iPhone Is a Big Deal - NYTimes.com

More on the lost iPhone saga

Some wondered whether the phone was planted by Apple’s formidable publicity machine.

“For the sake of the person who dropped it, I hope this is a devious marketing scheme,” said Paul Saffo, a veteran Silicon Valley forecaster. “But I think it is unlikely. There is no one else on the planet whose shoes I would less like to be in it at the moment.”

[…]

Late Monday night, Gizmodo said that it received a letter from Bruce Sewell, Apple’s senior vice president and general counsel, requesting the phone back. "It has come to our attention that Gizmodo is currently in possession of a device that belongs to Apple," Mr. Sewell wrote in a letter that Gizmodo published.

"This letter constitutes a formal request that your [sic] return the device to Apple," the letter said.

For Apple, Lost iPhone Is a Big Deal - NYTimes.com

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone - Leak - Gizmodo

Oops… 

The Gourmet Haus Staudt. A nice place to enjoy good German ales. And if you are an Apple Software Engineer named Gray Powell, it's also a nice place to make the honest mistake of losing the next-generation iPhone.

The 27-year-old Powell—a North Carolina State University 2006 graduate and talented amateur photographer—is an Apple Software Engineer working on the iPhone Baseband Software, the little program that enables the iPhone to make calls. A dream job for a talented engineer like Powell, an Apple fan who always wanted to meet Steve Jobs.

How Apple Lost the Next iPhone - Leak - Gizmodo

Google Attackers Gained Access to Computer Code - WSJ.com

Hmm…

Attackers who breached Google Inc.'s systems last year gained access to computer code for the software that authenticates users of Google's email, calendar and other online programs, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The code was contained in a repository that contained code for Google's online applications and was also breached, this person said.

The disclosure comes as much about the nature of the attacks and the perpetrators behind it remain unclear. Google, which disclosed the attacks in January, opted following the incident to shut down its censored search service in China.

Google Attackers Gained Access to Computer Code - WSJ.com

After complaints, Nook is updated - The Boston Globe

It’ll be interesting to see if B&N follows Amazon’s lead and offers compelling Nook client software apps for leading non-e-reader platforms

The company does not disclose sales figures for the Nook.

Hundreds of Nook owners have posted complaints online.

“It freezes almost daily,’’ Stacey Hendricks, a student in Louisiana said in an e-mail to Bloomberg. “Assuming Barnes & Noble doesn’t whip this situation into shape pronto, I’ll likely be switching over to the iPad.’’

Barnes & Noble has updated Nook software twice before.

After complaints, Nook is updated - The Boston Globe

Consumer Reports Electronics Blog: E-reader faceoff: Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle

Via A Kindle World Blog; click here for the full review

The iPad is vastly more versatile than the Kindle, with a growing range of apps, including those for interactive magazines and newspapers, to exploit its almost unlimited possibilities. If e-book reading will be just one of a number of activities you plan to do regularly on your new device, and your budget runs to $500 or more, consider an iPad.

If, on the other hand, you want only a device for reading e-books, the Kindle is smaller, a little easier on the eyes, and a whole lot easier on your wallet. For now at least, it's the better choice for most e-bookworms.

Consumer Reports Electronics Blog: E-reader faceoff: Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle

Hacking: How not to print from an iPad | The Economist

A timely snapshot

So what can iPad owners do? There are a few apps that support printing, though none seems to be ideal. You can e-mail stuff (including a screen-grab) to a PC or Mac and print from that. Or you can simply try to do without printing.

This is all very silly, but it does raise a wider point. The iPad can't print directly (yet) and it doesn't work out of the box until it's been docked with a PC or Mac running iTunes. It is, despite all its cleverness, still a companion device for a "proper" computer. If Apple wants the iPad and its successors to be taken seriously as alternatives to existing desktops and laptops, rather than occasional adjuncts, then those things will have to change.

Hacking: How not to print from an iPad | The Economist

FT.com / Europe - Networking sites help rescue those stranded

Sign of the times…

Others were simply passing on information about which airports were expected to re-open next.

US television reported that Jen Stoltenberg, the Norwegian prime minister, was using an Apple iPad mobile device and wireless hotspot in an airport executive lounge to run his country from New York.

FT.com / Europe - Networking sites help rescue those stranded

Microsoft Hohm + Social Networking = Community of Energy Savers: Updates via blog, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter help users find the most useful tools and techniques for their own homes.

Check the full post for more Hohm info

Microsoft Hohm is an online application that lets homeowners and apartment dwellers track their energy use and receive personalized recommendations for saving energy. Using advanced analytics licensed from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy, Hohm lets users set up a free account and enter details such as a home’s size, age, and type of heating and cooling, and then offers a tailored list of potential changes based on those details — for example, how to insulate an electric water heater. Several utility providers are also participating in Hohm, enabling their customers to automatically track actual usage and costs through the site.

Microsoft Hohm + Social Networking = Community of Energy Savers: Updates via blog, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter help users find the most useful tools and techniques for their own homes.

Facebook Looks to Extend Its Presence - NYTimes.com

Apparently this is going to be a milestone event week for Facebook; see the full article for more details

Facebook’s strategy, in some ways, follows an approach taken by Google nearly a decade ago. The Internet search engine, after establishing itself as a destination for Internet queries, began syndicating its search box, and later its advertising system, across the Web through toolbars and partnerships. As Facebook becomes an ever more important source of traffic to other Web sites, the two companies’ rivalry is certain to sharpen.

Facebook declined to comment on its coming announcements. But people familiar with Facebook’s plans say the company will introduce a series of products and technologies to deepen its presence across the Web.

Facebook Looks to Extend Its Presence - NYTimes.com

Entertainment Trumps Politics on Chinese Web Sites - NYTimes.com

Another timely China snapshot 

Frustrated with media censorship, bland programming on state-run television and limits on the number of foreign films allowed to be shown in China each year, young people are logging onto the Web and downloading alternatives. Homegrown Web sites like Baidu, Tencent and Sina.com have captured millions of Chinese youths obsessed with online games, pirated movies and music, the raising of virtual vegetables, microblogging and instant messaging.

Even though Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked by censors here, Chinese social networking sites like QQ Zone, Tianya.cn and Kaixin001.com are flourishing in surprisingly inventive ways.

Entertainment Trumps Politics on Chinese Web Sites - NYTimes.com

Companies Slowly Join Cloud-Computing - NYTimes.com

See the full article for a corporate cloud computing reality check

Still, Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, has predicted that its cloud computing division will one day generate as much revenue as its retail business does now. For that to happen, Amazon and other cloud providers will have to convince big business.

Almost every big company is cautiously testing the waters these days. 3M, the St. Paul, Minn., conglomerate, is using Microsoft’s new Azure cloud service to allow advertisers and marketers to tap into a service that mathematically analyzes promotional images and evaluates how visually effective they are likely to be. “It took a lot of the risk out of whether to commercialize it or not,” said Jim Graham, a technical manager at 3M.

Companies Slowly Join Cloud-Computing - NYTimes.com

Apple's iPad Struggles at Some Colleges - WSJ.com

Hmm…

Cornell's information-technology director Steve Schuster said via email last week that the school is seeing networking and connectivity issues and is "working to ensure the iPad does not have devastating consequences to our network." Mr. Schuster added that when the iPhone arrived on campus it overwhelmed the network's bandwidth capabilities.

The colleges all say they are trying to find fixes to the problems. George Washington has said it could take until next spring before the iPad operating system is fully supported on its network.

Apple's iPad Struggles at Some Colleges - WSJ.com

Microsoft finalizes Office 2010 | Beyond Binary - CNET News

A major Microsoft Office milestone – Office 2010 is a very significant update

Microsoft said Friday that it has wrapped up development work on the next version of the Office family, including Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Visio 2010, and Project 2010.

The products were "released to manufacturing," which is the final engineering step. The products are slated to be available for businesses next month and Microsoft is holding a launch event on May 12 in New York.

Microsoft finalizes Office 2010 | Beyond Binary - CNET News

The PowerPoint Team Blog : OneNote 2010 and PowerPoint 2010: Easy note-taking while reading presentations

Check the full post for an overview of a useful OneNote 2010 feature.  I plan to be blogging regularly on OneNote 2010 topics, over the next few months.

Hi everyone,  we've built a new feature in OneNote 2010 that allows you to take more meaningful notes while reading in other applications.  We call the feature Linked Note Taking, an automatic feature when OneNote is docked to the desktop.  For supported applications, like PowerPoint, you never have to worry about remembering the context of your notes; OneNote will capture the context for you automatically. This frees your brain in a meeting to think less about the software and lets you focus on what really matters, the material that is being presented to you.

The PowerPoint Team Blog : OneNote 2010 and PowerPoint 2010: Easy note-taking while reading presentations

Pulitzer Winner Gets Apple’s Reconsideration for iPhone - NYTimes.com

Oh – that’s all it takes?…

Apple alone determines what is objectionable for its online app store, a practice that has come under close scrutiny. In its message to Mr. Fiore in December, the company cited his cartoon’s allusions to torture and to last year’s White House party crashers as examples.

After Mr. Fiore received the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning — and after he mentioned his app’s rejection in an article published on niemanlab.org on Thursday — he was encouraged by Apple to resubmit it. Mr. Fiore did so on Friday morning and is awaiting a response.

Pulitzer Winner Gets Apple’s Reconsideration for iPhone - NYTimes.com

Please note: new blog URL for one week only

Until 2010/04/17, please see http://pok.spaces.live.com/blog/ for updates. I'm in China this week and am unable to access my Blogger-hosted blog. Sorry for the inconvenience.

What to do with 57 billion photos - Inside Windows Live - The Windows Blog

Check the full post for updates on Windows Live software + services for digital memories

A lot has changed in the three years since we launched the first Windows Live Photo Gallery. For starters, there are a lot more people taking photos. About 10 billion more photos will be taken in the US in 2010 than in 2007—rising from about 47 billion to 57 billion photos.

That’s a decent jump in three years, but it’s nothing compared to the number of pictures taken with mobile phones, which will double from 8 billion to just over 16 billion this year. Built-in mobile phone cameras just keep getting better. In 2007 the average mobile phone camera was one megapixel—now it’s two or more. By 2014, it’s estimated to be at least five megapixels. As our phones keep getting better, we expect ever more photos to be taken on them. After all, the best camera you own is the one you have with you! (Source: Infotrends, 2009)

What to do with 57 billion photos - Inside Windows Live - The Windows Blog

Time to move on... : On a New Road

Java creator James Gosling checks out of Oracle and starts a new blog

Yes, indeed, the rumors are true: I resigned from Oracle a week ago (April 2nd). I apologize to everyone in St Petersburg who came to TechDays on Thursday expecting to hear from me. I really hated not being there. As to why I left, it's difficult to answer: just about anything I could say that would be accurate and honest would do more harm than good. The hardest part is no longer being with all the great people I've had the privilege to work with over the years. I don't know what I'm going to do next, other than take some time off before I start job hunting.

Time to move on... : On a New Road

Microsoft Web Apps Will Force Google's Hand -- Google versus Microsoft -- InformationWeek

A timely reality check, although the full article contains some errors (e.g., you will be able to use Office Web Apps with Windows Live Skydrive; you won’t need an Office 2010 license or access to a SharePoint server, although the Office Web Apps are even more useful when used in conjunction with SharePoint and Office 2010).

With Microsoft's 2010 portfolio of Office products coming out shortly, Google is under the gun. It has to figure out how to head off Microsoft before the company closes the gap on browser-based applications (which it fully intends to do).

Google's battle cry for much of the last year was, "The Web has won." Yet it was a premature declaration of victory. Web applications still don't get the respect accorded to their desktop counterparts.

Microsoft Web Apps Will Force Google's Hand -- Google versus Microsoft -- InformationWeek

Everybody’s Business - How Apple Has Rethought a Gospel of the Web - NYTimes.com

A timely Steven Johnson reality check – read the full article 

Those of us who have championed open platforms cannot ignore these facts. It’s conceivable that, had Apple loosened the restrictions surrounding the App Store, the iPhone ecosystem would have been even more innovative, even more democratic. But I suspect that this view is too simplistic. The more complicated reality is that the closed architecture of the iPhone platform has contributed to its generativity in important ways.

The decision to route all purchases through a single payment mechanism makes great sense for Apple, which takes 30 percent of all sales, but it has also helped nurture the ecosystem by making it easier for consumers to buy small apps impulsively with one-click ordering. People don’t want to thumb-type credit card information into their phones each time they download a game to distract the kids during a long drive in the car. One-click purchase also supports lightweight, inexpensive apps, the revenue from which can support small software teams.

Everybody’s Business - How Apple Has Rethought a Gospel of the Web - NYTimes.com

Et tu, Twitter? Here comes developer ire | The Social - CNET News

Interesting times for Twitter “platform” tool developers

But unrelated, and more surprising--OK, not really that surprising since we'd been able to augur the entrails of this one for some time now--is Twitter's decision to launch proprietary BlackBerry and iPhone apps. The former was built for Twitter by BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, while the latter will come through Twitter's acquisition of Tweetie manufacturer Atebits, which was announced Friday. Many third-party developers building applications for corporate and individual Twitter use are now alarmed: is Twitter eating up their business models in an attempt to build its own?

Et tu, Twitter? Here comes developer ire | The Social - CNET News

Why is Steve Jobs trying to convince us that iAd is good for Apple customers? - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

See the full post for more details

Jobs says that iAds will fix what he considers the main problem with today's mobile ads—people don't like to click on them because the ads usually load up the Web browser, taking you out of the app you're using. Apple's iAds don't take users out of their favorite apps. Instead, iAds place the full-screen ad inside the app; when you're done "interacting" with the ad, you can go back to the app. To recap: Apple has solved the problem of users finding today's small ads too annoying to click on by making it easier for developers to create bigger, more-interactive ads that we'll likely have no choice but to click on.

Why is Steve Jobs trying to convince us that iAd is good for Apple customers? - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

A Change at Apple Causes Trouble for Adobe - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Looks like Apple aims to disallow Adobe’s Flash transcoding model (Packager for iPhone OS) for the iP* OS

As it previewed the new version of its iPhone OS on Thursday, Apple also updated the agreement that developers must adhere to if they want to create applications for Apple devices. Amid the more than 21,000 words in the agreement, there are 83 that are sure to set off a brush fire at the headquarters of Adobe Systems.

A Change at Apple Causes Trouble for Adobe - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Microsoft End-to-End Platform Powers Next-Generation Silverlight and IIS Media Experiences Across Multiple Screens

Check the full press release for more details

Microsoft Corp. today announced that at the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show next week, it will showcase new products and initiatives that make it easier for content owners and broadcasters to reach consumers across multiple screens with the highest quality Microsoft Silverlight media experiences, using a single runtime platform, server infrastructure and free programming frameworks. The company announced it is working with system-on-chip (SOC) partners Intel Corporation and Broadcom Corp. to deliver support for reference designs that will provide the complete Silverlight platform to set-top boxes, connected TVs, Blu-ray Disc players and other consumer devices. Microsoft also unveiled details about Internet Information Services (IIS) Media Services 4 and announced the upcoming release of Silverlight Media Framework 2.0.

Microsoft End-to-End Platform Powers Next-Generation Silverlight and IIS Media Experiences Across Multiple Screens: Announces plans to deliver Silverlight experiences to the living room via support on Broadcom-and Intel-powered set-top boxes and connected TVs; provides first look at IIS Media Services 4.

The Answers to Your iPad Questions - WSJ.com

An excerpt from what is, at this moment, the most popular wsj.com article in Asia

Can you print from an iPad? Apple didn't build in a printing function, so you can't just tap a menu button to print an email, photo or Web page. But a few third-party apps allow printing of some items from an iPad to a networked printer. One is Print Online. It costs $5 and I tested it successfully. But these apps are complicated and limited workarounds—inadequate substitutes for built-in printing.

The Answers to Your iPad Questions - WSJ.com

Apple’s iPhone OS Event: Ads, Multitasking, Swipes at Google - Digits - WSJ

See the full article for more details.  A couple highlights: multitasking coming to the iP* OS, including the iPad; Apple’s bookstore coming to the iPhone; Apple and Google to battle in mobile advertising...

In answer to a question about multi-tasking, Jobs says: It's like the iPad. If you see a stylus, it's the wrong product. In multi-tasking, if you have to use a task manager, they blew it. Jobs thanks everyone for coming, and the event comes to an end.

Apple’s iPhone OS Event: Ads, Multitasking, Swipes at Google - Digits - WSJ

How to Turn an iPhone Into a Wireless iPad Camera - Ipad camera - Gizmodo

I also saw a Citrix video yesterday in which an iPhone was used as a touchpad for an iPad…

All you need to do is download the Camera A and Camera B apps onto your iPad and iPhone respectively—note that Camera A will set you back a buck while Camera B is free. Once you've got the apps on your devices, make sure bluetooth is switched on, and open the apps. Ta da! You'll see everything your iPhone's lens sees on your iPad.

How to Turn an iPhone Into a Wireless iPad Camera - Ipad camera - Gizmodo

The iPad’s value? It’ll depend on its apps - The Boston Globe - end

A timely Hiawatha Bray iPad reality check 

Lots of the new apps are good at what they do, but what they do isn’t exactly vital. You could perform the same functions just as well, though not as elegantly, on a cheap netbook computer. And while the netbook is capable of running several programs at once, the iPad, like the iPhone, runs just one app at a time. That means no listening to NPR music streams while reading your e-book, although that could change as soon as today. Apple is holding a press event to announce new iPhone software, and rumor has it that multitasking is on the table.

But it’ll take more than multitasking and magazine apps to sell the next 300,000 iPads. What’s needed is the next VisiCalc. We’re waiting.

The iPad’s value? It’ll depend on its apps - The Boston Globe - end

Screw You, Benioff [Steve Gillmor’s new job at Salesforce.com]

Congrats, Steve.  Check the full post for a brief exit interview. 

It’s late Tuesday evening and the TechCrunch office is mostly deserted. I was finishing off a few things and preparing for tomorrow when Steve Gillmor, my friend, mentor and the founding editor of TechCrunchIT walks in.

“I’ve got some news and I had to talk to you in person about it.”

Damnit. I knew right then I wouldn’t like the “news.” And sure enough, he’s taken another job. Starting monday he’ll be on the senior team (senior as in high level, not as in old) at Salesforce. Founder Marc Benioff recruited him directly.

Screw You, Benioff

Can Net Neutrality Be Salvaged? Should It? « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

Steve Wildstrom’s perspective 

A unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals appears to have dealt a severe blow to Federal Communication Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski’s to codify and expand the FCC’s enforcement of network neutrality on the Internet. The idea of expanding non-discrimination rules, especially extending them to cover the wireless Internet, isn’t dead, but the FCC is going to have to work a lot harder to make it happen. But strangely enough, its best chance may be to save the most controversial part of Genachowski’s program, net neutrality requirements for wireless carriers.

Can Net Neutrality Be Salvaged? Should It? « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - US internet reform plan hit by court ruling

An important net neutrality reality check

The Obama administration’s ambitious plans to expand broadband services and open networks were dealt a blow on Tuesday when a US appeals court ruled that the Federal Communications Commission did not have the authority to regulate the high-speed internet systems.

The ruling raised the possibility that the FCC would seek jurisdiction to regulate companies such as Comcast, AT&T and other broadband providers.

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - US internet reform plan hit by court ruling

AOL Plans to Sell or Close Bebo, a Social Network - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Another dismal AOL ROI case study

Two years after AOL bought the social networking site Bebo for $850 million, the company plans to sell or shutter the site.

AOL sent a memo to employees on Tuesday saying it would no longer pump money into Bebo and was seeking a buyer for it.

“It is clear that social networking is a space with heavy competition, and where scale defines success,” the memo said. “Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social networking space.”

AOL Plans to Sell or Close Bebo, a Social Network - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

AT&T to Offer at-Home Mini-Towers for Improved Cell Signal - NYTimes.com

More femtocell fun

Faced with withering criticism for its spotty iPhone service, AT&T blames in part a shortage of cellphone towers near homes and businesses. But it has a solution: put a miniature cell tower in your living room.

There’s a catch, though. You have to pay for it. And that is making some customers angry.

AT and T to Offer at-Home Mini-Towers for Improved Cell Signal - NYTimes.com

FTC May Be Preparing to Challenge Google's AdMob Deal - WSJ.com

Interesting times for Google

The Federal Trade Commission appears to be laying the groundwork for an antitrust challenge to Google Inc.'s proposed purchase of mobile-advertising company AdMob.

The FTC has assembled an internal litigation team to prepare for a possible effort to block the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. It also sent letters to AdMob's competitors asking them to testify in sworn statements about the potential impact of the purchase, according to several other people with knowledge of the effort.

FTC May Be Preparing to Challenge Google's AdMob Deal - WSJ.com

Kindle on iPad vs. Kindle on Kindle « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

Check the full post for more analysis

So comparing Kindles to Kindles, how does the iPad stack up against the Amazon device. It depends of what you are reading and where you are reading it. Reading straight text–a novel or a non-fiction books that doesn’t depend on illustrations, my preference is the Kindle as long as the light is good. The bigger page of the iPad is nice, but you pay for it with a device that is a lot heavier and harder to hold for long periods of time. Swiping to turn pages is natural, but the Kindle’s buttons let you move forward and back without moving your hands.

After a few days with an iPad (and several months with a Kindle 2), I agree with the conclusion:

The bottom line is that I really want to have both and be able to use the one best suited to the book and the situation. Fortunately, Amazon makes this simple to keep you Kindle library on both devices and even keep bookmarks and the last point read in sync. It’s not the most economical solution, but it sure does work.

Kindle on iPad vs. Kindle on Kindle « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

HP Slate to cost $549, have 1.6GHz Atom Z530, 5 hour battery? -- Engadget

See the full post for more details and an iPad comparison table

We just got our hands on what looks like an internal HP Slate presentation given to cool down some of the iPad hype amongst HP employees, and it just happens to have specs and pricing details on the elusive Windows 7 tablet. As we'd heard, the Slate will run $549 in its base configuration, which has a 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 capacitive multitouch display, a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor with UMA graphics and an accelerator for 1080p video playback (we're assuming it's a Broadcom Crystal HD chip), 32GB of flash storage and 1GB of non-upgradeable RAM.

HP Slate to cost $549, have 1.6GHz Atom Z530, 5 hour battery? -- Engadget

Apple iPad: The Early User Complaints Are In - Digits - WSJ

A WSJ snapshot

As with almost any first-generation gadget, there were bound to be reports of trouble with the iPad early after its release. And here they are.

Michael Arrington at TechCrunch is reporting on “scores of complaints” over at Apple’s support site about trouble with the tablet’s WiFi reception. The problem appears to involve spotty or weak reception.

And asks: “Readers, if you have an iPad, have you had any trouble, or has it been smooth sailing?”

From the reader comments:

I haven’t had a single problem, aside from the monthly subscription price of your newspaper application. What’s with charging more than the cost of an electronic subcriptiom AND a print edition combined!

Apple iPad: The Early User Complaints Are In - Digits - WSJ

Global demand pushes iPad on eBay - The Boston Globe

Think different…

One purchaser from the United Kingdom paid $5,500, more than 10 times the $499 asking price for the least-expensive iPad, eBay said. Almost 80 percent of iPad purchases on eBay came from outside the United States, a sign of burgeoning international demand for a product Apple plans to introduce overseas later this month.

“This happens with nearly any hot product,’’ said Carl Howe, an analyst at Boston-based Yankee Group. “Some people buy up copies and try to sell them on eBay to make a profit. There were iPhones going for $2,000 when they first came out.’’

Global demand pushes iPad on eBay - The Boston Globe

HP's slate: Watch out, iPad? [TechFlash]

Check the full post for a video and more details

This might not be enough to give those 300,000 new iPad owners any post-buyer's remorse, but Hewlett-Packard's latest teaser video for its upcoming "slate device" is clearly designed to highlight some of the biggest complaints about Apple's new device. Among other things, the HP video shows the ability to take a picture with the HP slate, and access media and devices via built-in SD and USB ports.

HP's slate: Watch out, iPad?

Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Apple iPad Hands-On First Impressions

Summary of Paul Thurrott’s first impressions 

Right off the bat, I'm glad to see that my initial reactions to this thing were accurate. Anyone who believes this thing is a game changer is a tool. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is. The iPad is nice, as we knew it would be. But it's bigger and much heavier than I'd like for a movie player or eBook/newspaper reader, and those were my own personal primary use cases. That so few early reviews called this out says a lot about those reviewers. My kids would get tired just holding an iPad. Is it made of lead?

Short version: It's an Apple product through and through. You don't need it. But I get that you might want it. Apple does have that effect on people.

Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Apple iPad Hands-On First Impressions

The 10 most surprising things about the iPad - Yahoo! News

This part of the iPad experience was a bit spooky – it was one house off, in triangulating my home address

8. Location-based services work fine in a pinch
One of the problems with the Wi-Fi-only iPad versus the upcoming 3G-embedded model is that it lacks A-GPS, a system that combines satellite data with cell-tower triangulation to pinpoint your location, even when you're indoors. That said, the Wi-Fi-only version can still attempt to find where you are using nearby Wi-Fi signals, and I was impressed when my new iPad immediately zeroed in on my apartment, within half a block. Not bad.

The 10 most surprising things about the iPad - Yahoo! News

Evernote for iPad is here! « Evernote Blogcast

See the full post for details about Evernote for the iPad

Designing the new interface was a daunting task. First, we made an advanced prototype by cutting out a roughly-tablet-sized piece of cardboard, writing “iPad” on it, and carrying it around for a few days. We would bring it to meetings, hold it in different ways, and try to imagine what Evernote would feel like on this form factor. We looked pretty stupid and people made fun of us mercilessly. We printed out Photoshopped UI screens and taped them to the “iPad” to get an idea of font sizes and finger placement. We learned a lot.

Evernote for iPad is here! « Evernote Blogcast

iPad app pricing: A last act of insanity by delusional content companies

An iPad magazine content reality check (via IP)

In terms of who is positioning themselves for the future by delivering value to their audiences and experimenting with business models, it’s clear. If any company thinks that the iPad will allow them to rebuild the monopoly rent pricing structure of the 20th Century, then you’ve really fallen prey to the Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field, and you’ve blown yet another chance to build a credible digital business. However, I’ve got a game you might want to check out, Final Fantasy.

iPad app pricing: A last act of insanity by delusional content companies

Technology Review: Blogs: TR Editors' blog: The iPad Has Not Changed My Life

See the full post for the rest of the perspective

The worst thing about the device, incidentally, is the way the software is restricted. Few ordinary users will notice or care, but I think it's a real drawback that everything has to be approved by Apple. The company used its grip over the App Store to block certain very cool apps from reaching the iPhone. Cory Doctorow wrote an interesting post about this over at BoingBoing. Perhaps most importantly, unless the iPad proves a massive hit, the need to clear the App Store is going to discourage a lot of developer innovation and experimentation.

I think the iPad has received so much press attention in part because many in the industry hope it will have a transforming impact. Danny O'Brien of the EFF offers a dose of realism for those folks, comparing creating content for the device to the trend in putting interactive CD-ROMs on the front of magazines. And we all know how revolutionary those were.

Technology Review: Blogs: TR Editors' blog: The iPad Has Not Changed My Life

The future of publishing: E-publish or perish | The Economist

Another timely Economist reality check 

Quite how big is the subject of much debate. PricewaterhouseCoopers, a consultancy, reckons e-books will represent about 6% of consumer book sales in North America by 2013, up from 1.5% last year (see chart). Carolyn Reidy, the boss of Simon & Schuster, another big publisher, thinks they could account for 25% of the industry’s sales in America within three to five years. She may well be right if the iPad and other tablet computers take off, the prices of dedicated e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle keep falling and more consumers start reading books on smart-phones. Mobclix, an advertising outfit, reckons the number of programmes, or apps, for books on Apple’s iPhone recently surpassed that for games, previously the largest category.

And from a related article

The struggles of booksellers can be explained in part by a surge in competition. More than half of book sales in America take place not in bookshops but at big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target, which compete to peddle bestsellers at ever steeper discounts. Online retailers, too, are wreaking havoc. In 2009 Amazon sold 19% of printed books in North America, reckons Credit Suisse, compared with Barnes & Noble’s 17% and Borders’ 10%. By 2015, the bank estimates, Amazon will sell 28%.

The future of publishing: E-publish or perish | The Economist

Behold! OSX on iPad! With Flash! - Boing Boing

This usage model is likely to be popular, imho.  Desktop Connect also supports connecting with PC clients; see their product overview for more details.  Citrix has also released a similar app. 

Not really! It's actually Desktop Connect, a $12 app that lets you patch into other computers using VNC or RDP, two desktop-sharing protocols. It's neat to be able to lounge in bed and mess with a computer from afar--the iPad's sweet spot (or sour spot, for the detractors) between cellphone and laptop makes it great for turn-based games. Hip, urban server administrators will also be delighted.

Behold! OSX on iPad! With Flash! - Boing Boing

iPad: Where the Lack of Multitasking Fails « Steve Wildstrom on Tech [+ iPad hypertext observations]

Some iPad perspectives from Steve Wildstrom (read the full post)

I was of the camp that believed that the lack of multitasking on the iPad wasn’t that big a deal. It took me about 15 minutes of use to discover that I was wrong. Two apps, the Kindle Reader and TweetDeck are hurt badly by the inability to have more than one app running at a time.

[…]

The outstanding Kindle Reader has a similar problem. Links in Kindle text are blessedly live. But when you click on a link, the iPad shuts down Kindle and opens Safari. When you are done with the browser, you have to shut down Safari and reopen Kindle. Kindle at least has the good grace to remember your place.

He also notes the rumored multitasking iP* OS update, but in the meantime I agree the mostly-serial-multitasking model on the iPad is a big constraint, and I also agree the iPad is a poor hypertext client.  If it’s true that “most people in the world are not techies,” I suspect a lot of iPad users are going to be perplexed when, e.g., they click a link in an e-reader context, are launched into Safari, and then can’t use the back button to return to the initial context. 

I imagine the system-wide hypertext model was a source of much Apple designer debate, especially if Steve Jobs dictated the single-button iPad user experience (yes there are also iPad on-off and volume hardware buttons, but the main UX is a single button).  The Kindle has a system-wide back button, and it works as expected (as does the back button/icon in the Kindle’s admittedly basic browser).

iPad: Where the Lack of Multitasking Fails « Steve Wildstrom on Tech

iPad vs. Netbook: It's a Close Call - washingtonpost.com

I haven’t downloaded any iPad productivity apps yet, but if the assertions below are accurate, it’s not clear I’d benefit from doing so; email is not a robust file storage option.  I was also disappointed to discover that the Office Web Apps (e.g., in conjunction with Skydrive) can’t be used on the iPad at this point, although they work fine in Firefox and Chrome (as well as IE, of course) -- “think different…”

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are fairly good applications on the iPad--though you have to pay $10 each for them. Unfortunately, the iPad offers no local storage, so moving documents around is a real pain. Basically you have to e-mail them to yourself and open them from the Mail program or from your favorite Web mail client, and then e-mail them back when you're done (you can mail documents from within the iWork apps). Many features within Excel and Word (such as macros and drop-down boxes) won't work properly, either. The on-screen keyboard is good enough for hunting and pecking, but taking lengthy notes or writing long papers or articles is a chore: You can't really touch-type on the new keyboard. A number of iPad-compatible productivity apps are available, and things like Evernote work great; but if you want to get any real work done, this is not the device for it. Though you can sync with Exchange, the Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps are missing features that business users rely on.

iPad vs. Netbook: It's a Close Call - washingtonpost.com

Who’s More Excited About the iPad? Shoppers or Media? - Digits - WSJ

Sign of the times

In the first flush of iPad buying fever, eager shoppers were closely marked by an equally eager crush of media chronicling the iPad debut.

At the Apple outlet on New York’s Fifth Avenue, the first iPad buyers emerged from the store just after 9 a.m. Eastern time to a wave of TV cameras and interview requests from media outlets as far away as Japan. Some media members shouted at the buyers to triumphantly hold aloft their iPad booty for all to see, and to photograph of course.

Who’s More Excited About the iPad? Shoppers or Media? - Digits - WSJ

Why Apple is still generating buzz - The Boston Globe

Perhaps, but I think most “actual humans” these days want to run multiple applications (especially communication-oriented clients such as IM and Skype), occasionally print, etc…

Poor, the founder of Boston-based Ember Corp., worked for Jobs at Next Inc., a company that developed a sophisticated computer workstation in the mid-1980s. (While the cube-shaped computers developed by Next didn’t take off, the operating system became the foundation of the current Mac OS.) “I think Jobs understands better than anyone else that most people in the world are not techies,’’ says Poor. “That’s really important, and it lets him create products that people really connect with, because they were designed with actual humans in mind.’’

Why Apple is still generating buzz - The Boston Globe

Initial iPad impressions: my kids will love it…

My iPad was delivered via UPS this afternoon, and I’ve been exploring it for a couple hours. I am impressed with it in many ways – it’s a very nice media, game, and browsing device, for example, and the multi-touch user experience is interesting.

The Kindle iPad client is also nice, although I need to find some documentation to determine, for example, if it’s possible to capture annotations beyond simple bookmarks.

Aspects with which I was less impressed:

• The iPad is a brick until you plug it into a PC or Mac with iTunes installed, and of course you need to have a credit card in your Apple profile, since Apple controls every detail of the iPad commerce story.
• The browsing experience is nice, but I haven’t been able to find a way to add the Blogger Blog This! shortcut to Safari, and the mostly-serial-multitasking nature of the iPad means I can’t use an app similar to Windows Live Writer, which I routinely use on my Windows devices.
• I’m guessing the guidance for anyone who wants to print content is to email it to themselves on another device, and print it there.

I don’t think these limitations are going to slow iPad market momentum, but I also believe there is now a very significant market opportunity for hardware vendors that find a better balance among Zen slate device, general-purpose computing (e.g., with true multitasking), and open platforms – e.g., vendors building tablet/slate devices running Windows 7.

Overall, I don’t expect the iPad will significantly alter my laptop or Kindle usage routines. It’ll be handy to have another client option for reading/annotating Kindle information resources, and with which to explore OneNote Web App, Evernote, etc., but it’s going to be more of a complement than a competitor to the tools I’m already using.

I acknowledge that my profile is probably a bit unusual, in that Web browsing without the ability to easily blog is of limited utility to me, and since I haven’t been an Apple customer before (unless you count a borrowed Apple II for college class work c1982…) – so, e.g., I haven’t already purchased gigabytes of content from iTunes. No doubt many Mac and iPhone users will find the iPad more “magical” and “revolutionary” than I currently do.

For now, in any case, I expect the iPad will mostly be used by my kids, for games and other apps, and that they will be pleased with it. More impressions to follow…

Amazon Kindle for iPad [app overview]

The overview page indicates search and instant dictionary lookup features are “coming soon,” but I’m pleased to see the ability to create and view annotations is in the (free) Kindle for iPad client (unlike the Kindle PC client).

Read Your Kindle Books Anytime, Anywhere

• Amazon's Whispersync technology automatically synchronizes your last page read, bookmarks, notes and highlights with Kindle and Kindle-compatible devices PC, Mac, iPhone, and BlackBerry
• Customers can start reading on one device and, on another, pick up where they left off
• Already have a Kindle? Access your Kindle books even if you don't have your Kindle with you
• Create bookmarks, notes, and highlights, and view the annotations you created on your Kindle

Amazon Kindle for iPad

Why Microsoft : PC, Phone, Browser - 90 Seconds to Why Microsoft

Check the full post for video and more details

As a result I am often asked in customer meetings to show them something very quick that paints a scenario of something 'only Microsoft' can do for their users.  I've seen lots of great demo's by my peers that show all sorts of scenarios, but one of my favorites is a demo that quickly points to how we are redefining productivity with PowerPoint Broadcast.

Specifically the demo shows how Microsoft:

1. Enables new ways of collaboration. (Share a simple slide deck without having to email the file)
2. Interoperability across browsers. (let users access the file on IE, Firefox, Safari)
3. Support for Mobile. (share with confidence to a mobile worker who does not have a pc/mac handy)
4. High Fidelity Viewing across multiple modalities. (everyone is on the same page by seeing the content that way it was meant to be seen)
5. IT Management and Control. (IT control to determine use of internal or external servers for broadcast).

Why Microsoft : PC, Phone, Browser - 90 Seconds to Why Microsoft

Kindle for iPad Hits the App Store [Mashable]

See the full post and the Amazon press release for more details. 

Amazon’s Kindle app for iPad has found its way into the App Store just in time for tomorrow morning’s device launch. Like Kindle apps for other platforms, the iPad app [iTunes link] includes Amazon’s Whispersync technology, which syncs your last page read, bookmarks, notes and highlights across devices.

The exciting part, however, is all of the iPad-specific features, including new page turning animations, a library view with pinch, zoom and scrolling support, and adjustable screen brightness. The latter attempts to address the “but how will it work in sunlight?” question that has hounded the iPad’s intention to function as an e-reader (and is, at the moment, considered a winning element of Amazon’s Kindle device).

Kindle for iPad Hits the App Store

The First iPad and iPad 3G Teardowns [Mashable]

The inside story 

Want to know what makes Apple’s iPad tick? Well wait no longer: thanks to the FCC and some analysis from the people over at iFixit, we now know what the internal guts of the iPad look like.

The First iPad and iPad 3G Teardowns [PICS]

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs : An open letter to the people of the world

A classic Fake Steve snapshot; read the full post 

Some pundits have posed the question: Why do anyone need this thing? Indeed, even those of you are lining up and standing outside stores may be wondering, Why am I doing this? Why am I lining up like a zombie for an expensive piece of consumer electronics, a product for which there is no shortage and which, let’s face it, nobody really needs? Back in the early days of our design process, Jonny Ive came in to see me and we spent a long time trying to decide where on Mazlow’s triangle this product would sit. Because we knew if we couldn’t be way up above the very top of that pyramid, floating above it, totally outside the needs it describes, then this wouldn’t be a product we wanted to make. Some of our early iterations, in fact, had to be tossed out because when we looked at them we realized that parts of them were too, well, necessary. Don’t get me wrong. That’s fine for other companies. It’s just not what we do here at Apple.

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs : An open letter to the people of the world

H. Edward Roberts, PC Pioneer, Dies at 68 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

More on the historical record

Over the years, people have credited others with inventing the personal computer, including the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Apple and I.B.M. But Paul E. Ceruzzi, a technology historian at the Smithsonian Institution, wrote in “ History of Modern Computing” (MIT Press, 1998) that “H. Edward Roberts, the Altair’s designer, deserves credit as the inventor of the personal computer.”

Mr. Ceruzzi noted the “utter improbability and unpredictability” of having one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century come to life from such a seemingly obscure origin. “But Albuquerque it was,” Mr. Ceruzzi wrote, “for it was only at MITS that the technical and social components of personal computing converged.”

H. Edward Roberts, PC Pioneer, Dies at 68 - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com

Bill Gates Remembers Personal Computer Pioneer - Digits - WSJ

See the full article for more historical details

I went on leave from Harvard in June and negotiated the license agreement with MITS in July. Microsoft got a royalty for each BASIC sold. Then we wrote fancier versions of the BASIC - 8k Basic, Extended Basic and Disk Basic. Paul actually worked for MITS as VP of Software although I did not. We got a software library going and wrote regular articles for the Altair newsletter that David Bunnell was hired by MITS to create. I gave my first speech at an Altair convention. MITS got a big GM van and went around the country helping to set up computer clubs.

The Altair was the first personal computer by most definitions of the term. It was before the Apple 1 or any other machine people know. A company in Canada sold a few machines and MCM in France sold a few machines but they were a bit after MITS and not aimed at low price high volume. MITS sold over 10,000 of the Altairs and had to hire people to deal with the volume. Ed deserves to be called the father of the personal computer.

Bill Gates Remembers Personal Computer Pioneer - Digits - WSJ

For some, waiting in line adds to the iPad’s appeal - The Boston Globe

The UPS site suggests my iPad will be here this afternoon at the earliest :( I guess I should have gone with the in-store pick-up option…

There will probably be long lines outside many Apple retailers this morning as customers arrive to pick up their preordered iPads. But many others will do their waiting at home. While customers had to visit an Apple or AT&T Inc. retail store to get the first iPhones, the iPad can be purchased online, like any laptop computer. So thousands of Apple fans will still be at home — maybe even in their pajamas — when the gadget of their current dreams is delivered.

For some, waiting in line adds to the iPad’s appeal - The Boston Globe

Verizon sells Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus for $50, $30 | The Toybox | ZDNet.com

Relentless mobile device/service competition…

In a move that smacks of desperation, Verizon has lowered the price of the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus to just $49.99 and $29.99, respectively, with two-year service contract.

[…]

To sweeten the deal, Verizon also said that it would give away its Mobile HotSpot application for both phones without requiring a monthly charge. The software allows the Pixi Plus and Pre Plus to act as mobile hotspots.

Verizon sells Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus for $50, $30 | The Toybox | ZDNet.com

The iPad, Your Newest Workplace Productivity Enhancer - BusinessWeek

Hmm…

For business users and others looking for a new productivity tool, the pound-and-a-half iPad offers a marriage of the always-connected ultra-portability of a wireless phone with the power and flexibility of a laptop or even a desktop PC. "I think this is the new Mac, I really do," says Marc Benioff, chairman and chief executive officer of salesforce.com (CRM). "People aren't going to want Macs anymore. I think people won't want laptops anymore once they see what's really possible on great tablets."

It's safe to say no one at Apple, least of all Jobs, is eager to see the demise of its $999-and-up line of Mac laptops and desktops. (Apple declined to comment for this story.)

The iPad, Your Newest Workplace Productivity Enhancer - BusinessWeek

Netflix Streaming App Coming to iPad [Mashable]

As with Amazon, I think the iPad will be a net-gain for Netflix (assuming Apple doesn’t mess it up…)

From day one, the iPad has not only been touted as a device for reading e-books and magazines, but also for enjoying video content – despite the fact that it doesn’t support the ubiquitous Flash. Now, Netflix is one of the first to fulfill this promise with a Netflix streaming app for the iPad.

Netflix Streaming App Coming to iPad

Marvel Comics Arrive on the iPad [Mashable]

Who says “People don’t read anymore”?…

It wasn’t hard to predict that big comic publishing houses will jump on the opportunity; you never know, perhaps kids will only ready comics on devices such as this in a couple of years. At iPad’s launch, Marvel will be one of them with their Marvel Comics App for iPad, featuring 500 of Marvel’s comic books with many more to come. Some of the titles featured at launch are Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Hulk, and Thor.

Marvel Comics Arrive on the iPad

Cost and Redundancy Issues Confront iPad - NYTimes.com

See the full article for more reality check dimensions

Many consumers do not understand the device’s purpose, who would want to pay $500 or more for it and why anyone would need another gadget on top of a computer and smartphone. After all, phones are performing an ever-expanding range of functions, as Apple points out in its many iPhone commercials.

“The first five million will be sold in a heartbeat,” said Guy Kawasaki, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who was a marketing executive at Apple in the 1980s. “But let’s see: you can’t make a phone call with it, you can’t take a picture with it, and you have to buy content that before now you were not willing to pay for. That seems tough to me.”

Cost and Redundancy Issues Confront iPad - NYTimes.com

Amazon Has Chance to Dominate e-Book Sales for iPad - WSJ.com

Tbd 1) if Apple will do something to slow or stop Kindle on the iPad, and 2) to what extent Amazon will offer functional parity (e.g., capturing annotations) between the Kindle devices and the Kindle client for the iPad

What's more, Amazon is years ahead of Apple in building relations with the publishing industry, being one of the biggest print-book retailers in the nation. Amazon now offers more than 450,000 e-books, and has access to more than 1.8 million free out-of-copyright titles. Apple has said it will start with 60,000 titles from five of the largest publishing houses.

For iPad's first year, at least, "it is likely that people will buy more books from the Kindle store than they will from Apple iBookstore," predicts James McQuivey, a Forrester analyst. "If you're an iPad buyer, chances are about 90% that you're also a book buyer on Amazon. Amazon has your credit card on file, they know what you like. ...That relationship is the key to selling books."

Amazon Has Chance to Dominate e-Book Sales for iPad - WSJ.com

Inquiry tied to departure at Amazon - The Boston Globe

Sign of the times

But people with direct knowledge of the matter, who would not speak for attribution because they were not authorized to discuss it, now say Doerr’s decision [to step down from Amazon’s board] was prompted by a Federal Trade Commission inquiry into the relationship between Amazon and Google, where Doerr is also a director. It was not clear whether the commission had begun a preliminary inquiry or a formal investigation, or whether it was still looking into it.

Inquiry tied to departure at Amazon - The Boston Globe

The iPad Launch: Can Steve Jobs Do It Again? - TIME

Excerpt from Time’s cover story (7th time Steve Jobs is on the cover):

I suggest there's a bit more to it than that; surely Apple stands at the intersection of liberal arts, technology and commerce? "Sure, what we do has to make commercial sense," Jobs concedes, "but it's never the starting point. We start with the product and the user experience. You seen an iBook yet?" His pleasure in showing me the Winnie the Pooh iBook bundled with every iPad is unaffected and engaging. He demonstrates how the case can be used as a lectern and as a stand. "I think the experience of using an iPad is going to be profound for many people," he says. "I really do. Genuinely profound." That rings a bell. "I've heard it said that this is the device for you," I reply. "The one that will change everything." "When people see how immersive the experience is," Jobs says, "how directly you engage with it ... the only word is magical."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1976935-4,00.html#ixzz0jvv7QmBj

 The iPad Launch: Can Steve Jobs Do It Again? - TIME

Watchdog group requests White House official's e-mail after Google Buzz mishap | Technology | Los Angeles Times

Hmm…

Consumer Watchdog has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to obtain e-mails between Internet policy chief Andrew McLaughlin and his former employer, Google Inc.

McLaughlin, Google’s former top lobbyist, unwittingly revealed his frequent e-mail contacts on his Google Buzz profile in February. Now the nonprofit consumer group, which opposed McLaughlin’s appointment to the Obama administration post, is raising questions about McLaughlin's relationship with Google.

Watchdog group requests White House official's e-mail after Google Buzz mishap | Technology | Los Angeles Times

Electronic publishing: Books are doing fine | The Economist

A timely Economist book business reality check; read the full article 

Bookstores and publishers may be hurting, but this does not mean that the book itself is in trouble -- at least not immediately. For one, its physical incarnation will not disappear any time soon. People have grown up reading paper books and will not kick the habit easily. And e-readers and similar devices are still no match for the technology known as the book. Try annotating a textbook on a Kindle or reading your favorite author on an iPad whose battery has given up the ghost (replacing it will cost you $99 and all the data will be lost).

What is more, digital technology is strengthening, not weakening the book. Historically, new ways to distribute books have often led to innovations.

Electronic publishing: Books are doing fine | The Economist

Official Google Blog: A different kind of company name

Google’s April Fool’s joke for 2010

Early last month the mayor of Topeka, Kansas stunned the world by announcing that his city was changing its name to Google. We’ve been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture. Today we are pleased to announce that as of 1AM (Central Daylight Time) April 1st, Google has officially changed our name to Topeka.

We didn’t reach this decision lightly; after all, we had a fair amount of brand equity tied up in our old name. But the more we surfed around (the former) Topeka’s municipal website, the more kinship we felt with this fine city at the edge of the Great Plains.

Official Google Blog: A different kind of company name

FT.com / Technology - Kleiner earmarks $100m for iPad apps

See the full article for more details

The imminent launch of Apple’s iPad continued to reverberate across Silicon Valley on Wednesday as Kleiner Perkins, one of the Valley’s most prominent start-up investors, earmarked $100m for new software applications for the iPad and similar devices.

John Doerr, a Kleiner Perkins partner, forecast that Apple’s new tablet computer would trigger a second wave of innovation that would match the one generated by the launch of the iPhone three years ago, and could even eventually exceed it.

FT.com / Technology - Kleiner earmarks $100m for iPad apps

Reviewing the Site that Reviews Everyone - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

It’ll be interesting to see if any of the players in this context thrive

A new start-up, Unvarnished, opened to private testing this week and was greeted with almost universal negativity and anxiety from tech pundits. The site, which bills itself as an “online resource for building, managing and researching professional reputation,” allows people to anonymously appraise one another, and to respond to those appraisals.

Unvarnished, in effect, creates a public bathroom wall for everyone on the planet — then hands its users a big, anonymous Sharpie pen.

Reviewing the Site that Reviews Everyone - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

State of the Art - David Pogue’s Review of the iPad - NYTimes.com

An innovative approach to reviewing the iPad

In 10 years of reviewing tech products for The New York Times, I’ve never seen a product as polarizing as Apple’s iPad, which arrives in stores on Saturday.

[…]

The haters tend to be techies; the fans tend to be regular people. Therefore, no single write-up can serve both readerships adequately. There’s but one solution: Write separate reviews for these two audiences.

Read the first one if you’re a techie. (How do you know? Take this simple test. Do you use BitTorrent? Do you run Linux? Do you have more e-mail addresses than pants? You’re a techie.)

Read the second review if you’re anyone else.

State of the Art - David Pogue’s Review of the iPad - NYTimes.com

Ford, Microsoft Team Up to Help Electric Vehicle Owners Recharge More Effectively, Affordably

More Ford/Microsoft details 

Both companies agree that effective management of the energy ecosystem is critical for electric vehicles to be successful and for consumer interest to grow. In a recent Accenture survey, 42 percent of consumers said they are likely to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle in the next two years.

Increasing numbers of electric vehicles, however, will have a significant impact on energy demand. That is because the addition of an electric vehicle to a household could effectively double home energy consumption while the vehicle is charging.

Ford and Microsoft agree that making energy management easy and affordable for consumers will be key to the success of electric vehicles in the marketplace as well as in creating a positive environmental impact.

Ford, Microsoft Team Up to Help Electric Vehicle Owners Recharge More Effectively, Affordably: Ford and Microsoft announce a new solution that will make electric vehicle ownership easier and more affordable.

Ford, Microsoft Team Up To Help Electric-Car Owners Recharge - WSJ.com

Expanding on the very successful Ford/Microsoft partnership

Ford Motor Co. (F) announced it will use Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) technology to allow its electric vehicle owners to charge batteries more quickly and cheaply.

The two companies will also work together to develop an system that manages energy usage for electric cars.

[…]

Ford, the first to adopt Microsoft’s application, will use the Hohm energy management application, with the Focus Electric expected to be the first vehicle to do so. The system will help car owners decide how to recharge battery electric cars and plug-in hybrid cars more efficiently.

Ford, Microsoft Team Up To Help Electric-Car Owners Recharge - WSJ.com

Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close. | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

Excerpt from an extensive Walt Mossberg iPad review (no wsj.com subscription required)

My verdict is that, while it has compromises and drawbacks, the iPad can indeed replace a laptop for most data communication, content consumption and even limited content creation, a lot of the time. But it all depends on how you use your computer.

If you’re mainly a Web surfer, note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos, videos, books, periodicals and music—this could be for you. If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn’t going to cut it as your go-to device.

Apple iPad Review: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close. | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD