John Sculley on Steve Jobs and the Experience of a Lifetime - Technology and IT Jobs News and Advice

Excerpt from an interview with lots of historical Apple insights

JG: You haven't spoken to Steve since you left Apple, or rather, he hasn't spoken to you.

JS: It is still a very painful story because we were not just business colleagues, we were good friends. We spent a tremendous amount of time together.

I think the separation was driven by Steve being in a real funk because the Macintosh, which he developed, was failing in early 1985. His vision was ahead of its time, the power of the microprocessor wasn't enough to do what he wanted to do and Mac sales were falling off.

We were still very dependent on the profits of Apple II. I felt we had to push profits of Apple II and Steve wanted to lower the price of the Mac to get sales up. We went to the board to decide.

The board made a decision and they asked Steve to step down as head of the Macintosh division. He still remained as chairman of the board.

But that was an incredible blow to the man who created the product, he was extremely hurt and pained by it.

To me, coming from corporate America, I was used to people being moved from job to job, because that's how it worked. Professional executives were reassigned, terminated, promoted all the time.

That's not what you do with founders of companies.

John Sculley on Steve Jobs and the Experience of a Lifetime - Technology and IT Jobs News and Advice

What Company Is the Most Social? Check the Social Business Index. - Arik Hesseldahl - Enterprise - AllThingsD

A socially acceptable information resource

Episodes like this put the onus on companies to be social, and some do it better than others. Today the Dachis Group, an outfit that helps companies get a handle on all things social media, launched its Social Business Index which ranks, in real time, the most socially-active companies. Dachis had previously offered the data only to companies in the index, but now it’s open for all the world to peruse and use as a research tool.

You can probably guess the most social company on the list: Facebook. It’s followed fairly closely by Google. But the rest of the top five as of this writing are a bit of a surprise. News Corp. (owner of this Web site); Coinstar, the outfit that puts those coin-collector machines in supermarkets; and Wal-Mart.

What Company Is the Most Social? Check the Social Business Index. - Arik Hesseldahl - Enterprise - AllThingsD

Google puts ITA buy to work with airline ticket site - Business - The Boston Globe

Check the article link for details (and destinations…)

In a major challenge to the travel industry’s leading websites, Google Inc. launched a new service yesterday that allows users to shop for plane tickets as easily as they type an Internet search.

The service is based on technology from ITA Software Inc. of Cambridge, which Google acquired in April for $700 million.

Google puts ITA buy to work with airline ticket site - Business - The Boston Globe

Windows 8 for tablets hands-on preview (video) -- Engadget

Excerpt from a positive review

No matter how you slice it, that's a lot of horsepower for a slate. We can't be certain that every Win8 tablet will boast the same level of oomph once these begin hitting the market at some point next year (right, Microsoft?), but we're downright enamored with how well a full-on desktop OS ran with this hardware. All told, it was a remarkably smooth experience, save for a few seconds of lag found when launching more complex applications. But it's important to remember what's going on here; unlike the iPad or insert-your-favorite-Android-slate-here, this is a full operating system, and the fact that it's smooth on any level with this hardware behind it is a feat worthy of laud.

p.s. nice Web page selection for this photo (and yes I would be keen to have one of the Samsung 11.6” Windows 8 tablets…)

Windows 8 for tablets hands-on preview (video) -- Engadget

Groovy, JavaScript, Ruby Among Fastest Growing Programming Languages - Application Development - News & Reviews - eWeek.com

Check the article link below for more details, and the TIOBE Index for additional stats, e.g., Objective C overtaking Visual Basic in the TIOBE popularity index, over the last year

Programmers flock to where the action is and where the jobs are. If an eWEEK survey of a jobs index is any indication, the action—and the jobs—are around Perl, Python, PHP, Ruby, Java, C#, C, Fortran, Cobol, JavaScript, Groovy and F#. The trend data is derived from millions of jobs indexed by Simply Hired, a job search engine based in Silicon Valley that aims to build the largest online database of jobs on the planet, according to the company. The data shows the percentage of jobs that have increased (or decreased) for various programming languages since November 2009. In the time frame this slide show depicts, Groovy saw the largest increase in jobs, followed by C# and—surprisingly—COBOL.

Groovy, JavaScript, Ruby Among Fastest Growing Programming Languages - Application Development - News & Reviews - eWeek.com

The Enterprise Social Landscape Enters Teen Years | Forrester Blogs

Check the post link below for a timely enterprise social snapshot

At Forrester we have published our first Enterprise Social Platform Wave. I first entitled this blog "Enterprise Social Landscape Matures" but then realized that while the market has moved dramtically forward, it's hardly mature. Rather than mature, it often reminds me of my teenage son. Sometimes mature, sometimes not so much. The fact is that about 57% of enterprises are making some investment in enterprise social in 2011. Which means that 43% are not yet doing anything. There's a lot yet to be determined about this market. Yet, we see signs of growing up. There are some very large deals going down as some enterprises set standards and deploy pervasively. Jive, one ofthe vendors in our Wave, recently filed for IPO signaling maturation of the space.  Some 800 pound collaboration gorillas have jumped into the space, incluing IBM and Microsoft. Cisco is making a move from the strength of their voice and video positions. Open Text is coming in from the content side. And there is still plenty of room for smaller disruptors with Atlassian, Socialtext, NewsGator and Telligent all making waves in this growing market.

The Enterprise Social Landscape Enters Teen Years | Forrester Blogs

Gore tweaks climate call with '24 Hours of Reality' | Digital Media - CNET News

A stark information responsibility reality check; get the facts here

Concern about climate change has dropped for Americans during the past two years, according to a Gallup poll released in March and cited by a report from news agency AFP. The number of respondents who said they thought "the seriousness of global warming is generally exaggerated" increased to 48 percent from 2009's 41 percent.

Such attitudes prompted a satirical response from The Onion late last year, which ran a piece with the headline "Report: Global Warming Issue From 2 Or 3 Years Ago May Still Be Problem." In typical Onion style, the piece wryly comments on Americans' attention spans and priorities, and it cites the Oscar-winning documentary that was based on an earlier climate presentation created by Gore

Gore tweaks climate call with '24 Hours of Reality' | Digital Media - CNET News

FOSS Patents: Apple asks courts to stay two Motorola Mobility lawsuits until Google has acquired the company

Patently innovative (via Techmeme)

On Friday, Apple filed motions to stay in two of its various lawsuits with Motorola, arguing that the pending acquisition of Motorola Mobility (MMI) by Google has resulted in "a fundamental loss of Motorola's patent rights". One of the lawsuits was started by MMI in the Southern District of Florida (with both parties asserting six patents each), and the other one by Apple in the Western District of Wisconsin (with Apple asserting 15 patents and MMI asserting 6 patents).

Under the merger agreement with Google, MMI is severely restricted in its ability to enforce its patents and negotiate settlements (as I'll explain further below). Therefore, Apple's lawyers argue that MMI currently lacks standing (meaning the right to sue).

FOSS Patents: Apple asks courts to stay two Motorola Mobility lawsuits until Google has acquired the company

Friending Yahoo May Make Sense - Breakingviews - NYTimes.com

An interesting permutation to ponder; see the article link for more details

Now that Yahoo has fired its chief executive, anything could happen to the company, which has become a rudderless Internet hodgepodge. Private equity firms, one of Yahoo’s founders and even AOL are said to be pondering bids. But consider a more radical option: a takeover by the rival most responsible for Yahoo’s fall from grace — Facebook.

Friending Yahoo May Make Sense - Breakingviews - NYTimes.com

Posterous Reshapes Its Blog Product, Renames It Spaces - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

Being different by being more traditional, in terms of collaborative workspace models?

That might make you think “Google Circles,” but what Posterous is doing is different, because there is no secret Spaces management dashboard, where only you know who gets placed in which category.

“Versus Google Circles we think we’re building for normal people,” said Posterous CEO Sachin Agarwal in a recent interview. “We use the analogy of email [where you know who you're sending to and they know who they're receiving it from] — everything is symmetric groups.”

Posterous Reshapes Its Blog Product, Renames It Spaces - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

Amazon reportedly in talks to launch a Netflix for books - TNW Insider

Speculation about a new offering from Amazon; this and other articles I’ve run across in this context also note that Apple iBooks has yet to put a dent in the e-book business

The idea isn’t entirely new with services like ‘the library’, booksfree.com and bookswim existing for some time but both are currently primarily for offline paperbacks and hardbacks. There’s also 24symbols which recently launched a near identical offering, but currently only features titles that are public domain rather than premium bestsellers. With Amazon’s Kindle platform and intimate relationships with every premium publisher on the planet, this is a unique new space only the likes of Amazon and Apple are likely to be able to cater to.

Amazon reportedly in talks to launch a Netflix for books - TNW Insider

YouTube Founders Aim to Revamp Delicious - NYTimes.com

A major Delicious recalc ahead

The current home page of Delicious features a simple cascade of blue links, the most recent pages bookmarked by its users, and it tends to largely be dominated technology news. But the new Delicious aims to be more of a destination, a place where users can go to see the most recent links shared around topical events, like the Texas wildfires or the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, as well as the gadget reviews and tech tips.

The home page would feature browseable “stacks,” or collections of related images, videos and links shared around topical events. The site would also make personalized recommendations for users, based on their sharing habits. “We want to simplify things visually, mainstream the product and make it easier for people to understand what they’re doing,” Mr. Hurley said.

YouTube Founders Aim to Revamp Delicious - NYTimes.com

HP Makes Enterprise Security Push - Arik Hesseldahl - Enterprise - AllThingsD

Excerpt from an overview of HP’s latest enterprise software strategy shift

The trouble is HP hasn’t generally been viewed as a player in the IT security market, and risk-averse CIOs are usually slow to embrace new vendors because they tend to have a long-term relationships with suppliers. But with the nature of the threats changing, HP is apparently hoping to use its status as an established supplier of servers, PCs and other IT products and services to start a conversation around security with its customers.

There has been a lot of activity around security in the last few years. Intel spent more than $7 billion to acquire the security software firm McAfee earlier this year and IBM already offers a muscular set of security products and services. It will quickly run into competitors for sure.

HP Makes Enterprise Security Push - Arik Hesseldahl - Enterprise - AllThingsD

Frequently asked questions as Globe’s new website is launched - Business - The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe follows New York Times behind a pay wall, with a tablet-centric look & feel

A. The site will be free for the rest of September because of a promotion by residential real estate company Coldwell Banker. After that, BostonGlobe.com costs $3.99 a week for a digital-only subscription. That price is less than the paper’s seven-day home delivery cost of $12.25 a week for subscribers within the Boston region, but more than Sunday-only home delivery of $3.50 a week.

Q. If I subscribe to the paper, must I pay for BostonGlobe.com?

A. No, all home-delivery customers, including Sunday-only, get free access.

Frequently asked questions as Globe’s new website is launched - Business - The Boston Globe

Microsoft And Samsung Try To Make Bill Gates's Tablet Dreams Come True | Fast Company

Final paragraph of another Tablet PC => Windows 8 review

Which leads us to wonder: Can MS carve out a decent niche in the new tablet market...with Samsung's help? Both firms have the incentive to do so, and their parallel innovations in hardware and software could synchronize nicely. We suspect that the iPad will continue to dominate the market for some time, because Apple has stolen a massive lead, as well as the lion's share of the public attention, and has been aggressively innovating itself (rumors about the iPad 3, due early in 2012, suggest it'll have a high resolution screen that makes most laptops hard to gaze upon). But with Samsung once burned in the Android tablet game, and MS's huge installed user base and fans as rabid as Apple's, it's possible that the device the two reveal next week could really turn into something that sells rather well. Better late than never, eh Bill?

Microsoft And Samsung Try To Make Bill Gates's Tablet Dreams Come True | Fast Company

The books business: Great digital expectations | The Economist

Lead paragraph from a book business market snapshot

The offline experience

TO SEE how profoundly the book business is changing, watch the shelves. Next month IKEA will introduce a new, deeper version of its ubiquitous “BILLY” bookcase. The flat-pack furniture giant is already promoting glass doors for its bookshelves. The firm reckons customers will increasingly use them for ornaments, tchotchkes and the odd coffee-table tome—anything, that is, except books that are actually read.

The books business: Great digital expectations | The Economist

Business & Technology | Microsoft reinvents flagship software — Windows 8 — for PCs and tablets | Seattle Times Newspaper

Excerpt from a timely Windows 8 reality check

It's a world in which sales of Windows — though still, by far, the most dominant operating system on PCs worldwide — have declined and Microsoft's competitors have charged ahead on mobile platforms.

Apple is leading the market in tablets with its iPad, and Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems are dominating on smartphones.

With Windows 8, Microsoft has to show that Windows can continue to dominate computing as computing moves to new hardware platforms.

Business & Technology | Microsoft reinvents flagship software — Windows 8 — for PCs and tablets | Seattle Times Newspaper

Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction - NYTimes.com

Increasing pressure to focus on information value-add

The company’s software takes data, like that from sports statistics, company financial reports and housing starts and sales, and turns it into articles. For years, programmers have experimented with software that wrote such articles, typically for sports events, but these efforts had a formulaic, fill-in-the-blank style. They read as if a machine wrote them.

But Narrative Science is based on more than a decade of research, led by two of the company’s founders, Kris Hammond and Larry Birnbaum, co-directors of the Intelligent Information Laboratory at Northwestern University, which holds a stake in the company. And the articles produced by Narrative Science are different.

Computer-Generated Articles Are Gaining Traction - NYTimes.com

Robert Scoble - Google+ - A who's who of technology journalists, commentators, and…

Check the link below for a handy list, if you’re exploring Google+

A who's who of technology journalists, commentators, and web-personalities to follow on Google+
If you’re interested in technology and you want to know who to follow on Google+, here's a list of leading tech journalists, commentators, and personalities, divided by categories and specialties.

Robert Scoble - Google+ - A who's who of technology journalists, commentators, and…

Exclusive: Evernote considers IPO as growth picks up | Reuters

Check the full article for more details on Evernote’s momentum

Evernote has more than 14 million users, with about 500,000 users who pay $5 a month for premium access, the company said. People use Evernote to record notes, organize data, store photos and search for documents. The app is available on Android and Apple devices.

An IPO is inevitable, but the company is not in a rush to test the public markets, said Chief Executive Phil Libin.

[…]

He said the company's annualized revenue was $16 million over the past 12 months and growing quickly.

"Revenue grew 300 percent in the past year. It is growing exponentially and accelerating," Libin said.

About 70 percent of people start using the app through Apple and Google's Android powered devices, he said. The app attracts 40,000 new users each day.

Exclusive: Evernote considers IPO as growth picks up | Reuters

Founder of Google Maps Lars Rasmussen on starting up, hitting the big time and dumping Google Wave [SmartCompany.com.au]

Excerpt from an extensive interview

"I was pretty tense when Google shut down Wave. I can't say they were really wrong to do so, but it was very hard. I knew it was time to move on.

I was disappointed as it was my creation and it failed. It was ambitious, and you should be ambitious, but the mistake was to rely a lot on the resources we had. We grew the team very quickly and based the idea on the resources we had and it's not clear that it worked.

Sergey (Brin, co-founder of Google) always said 'scarcity brings clarity' and I wish I'd understood that a bit better. I still believe email is outmoded and we could do something better. But it was painful."

Founder of Google Maps Lars Rasmussen on starting up, hitting the big time and dumping Google Wave

Coming soon to SkyDrive Wave 5: Unlimited photos and documents storage | LiveSide.net

Looking forward to seeing more details about this

So in order to satisfy the demands of the “cloud” generation, Microsoft needs to move forward, particularly in terms of cloud storage space. LiveSide recently learnt that Microsoft will soon offer unlimited photos and Office documents storage on SkyDrive Wave 5, and this is how it will work:

Unlimited storage space for all Office documents
Unlimited storage space for all photos
25 GB of free storage for everything else

No specific details are revealed as to when this will be made available, but as usual we believe this will be “coming soon”. Remember though, providing unlimited storage for SkyDrive’s 70 million users is not an easy task, and it takes time for Microsoft to get it ready for the masses. However, we hope Microsoft do move fast, given Google’s “GDrive” might be making a comeback, and other competitors like Dropbox are growing at a rapid pace.

Coming soon to SkyDrive Wave 5: Unlimited photos and documents storage | LiveSide.net

7″ Media Tablets…”Dead On Arrival”? | TechPinions

Check the link below for some useful analysis (preview: definitely not DOA)

Last week, TechCrunch reported that Amazon’s 7" Kindle tablet was "very real" and would ship for the 2011 holidays.  Almost a year before that, the WSJ reported that "Steve Jobs declared the seven-inch tablet ‘dead on arrival.’" So the stage is set for an interesting war of beliefs and concepts this holiday shopping season.  In one corner, the world’s most trafficked internet retail stores and Kindle inventor, Amazon, and in the other, Apple, the most valuable company on the planet and inventor of the iPad.  Will the Amazon Kindle tablet be treated in the marketplace with very little respect or will it shock everyone like the original Kindle?  It really comes down to the basics of the consumer value proposition.

7″ Media Tablets…”Dead On Arrival”? | TechPinions

Blame the iPad for Slow PC Sales - NYTimes.com

Another PC market dynamics snapshot

“Media tablets have dramatically changed the dynamic of the PC market, and HP’s decision to rethink its PC strategy simply highlights the pressure that PC vendors are under to adapt to the new dynamic or abandon the market,” said George Shiffler, research director at Gartner. “Vendors’ tried and true business models are failing as traditional PC functionality is extended to other devices, and users continue to lengthen PC lifetimes.”

Blame the iPad for Slow PC Sales - NYTimes.com

Microsoft Apps are coming to Symbian | Nokia Conversations - The official Nokia Blog

This probably would have been more compelling before Nokia put Symbian into the “burning platform” category, but it’s still interesting to see a new OneNote platform; the Nokia blog post suggests Microsoft and Nokia will jointly deliver everything else announced in August, 2009 in “early 2012,” including “Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint as native applications for the first time outside the Windows platform”

[…] during the fourth quarter of this year you’ll be able to start up the Software Update app from within your phone and find the following free apps:

• Microsoft® Lync™ 2010 Mobile – for cost efficient IM, presence, audio and web meetings on-the-go.
• Microsoft® PowerPoint® Broadcast – quick broadcast of presentations directly from PC to mobile.
• Microsoft® OneNote™ – rich note taking with images. Syncs with Microsoft® SkyDrive®.
• Microsoft® Document Connection – single view to documents stored on mobile, including email attachments as well as documents on Microsoft® SharePoint® 2010 sites.

Microsoft Apps are coming to Symbian | Nokia Conversations - The official Nokia Blog

Yes, Carol Bartz had a non-disparagement clause - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog Term Sheet

Telling it like it is: priceless…

A source close to the company tells us that Bartz did indeed have a non-disparagement clause in her employment contract, on which there is still around $10 million outstanding.

Moreover, the source suggests that Bartz likely violated that clause with some of her statements to Fortune. If not for the getting f--ked over part, then certainly for the doofuses part. In fact, this could go down as the first time in history that the term "doofus" has cost -- or made -- anyone a substantial amount of money.

Yes, Carol Bartz had a non-disparagement clause - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog Term Sheet

Facebook Begins Auto-Grouping Friends Into Smart Lists | TechCrunch

Also see this Mashable post for screen shots

You’ve got 500-something friends, all of about 50 you really interact with. You went to school with Lucy and Henry, you’ve worked with Mike for years, and Joe lives just down the block. Facebook knows all of this — it just doesn’t really go out of its way to show that it knows all of this. Until now.

Sometime recently, Facebook began rolling out “Smart Lists” to select users — which, as the name implies, intelligently groups certain obvious groups of friends into pre-packaged lists. Take that, Google Plus!

Facebook Begins Auto-Grouping Friends Into Smart Lists | TechCrunch

Jerry Yang Is Trying To Buy Yahoo [Business Insider]

Another reality TV show candidate

Yahoo cofounder and one-time (failed) CEO Jerry Yang is trying to take control of the company again.

He's trying to buy it.

There is a feud going on between Yang and Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock.

[…]

Yang currently owns 3.63% of Yahoo. His fellow cofounder, and likely ally, David Filo, owns 5.80%.

Jerry Yang Is Trying To Buy Yahoo

Apple All Alone In Front of Tablet Race - MarketBeat - WSJ

Another take on the possible iOS/Windows 8 tablet competitive landscape

In a note to clients, Mark Moskowitz boosted his unit sales forecast for the market by nearly 13% to 51.9 million units for this year. He expects Apple to account for more than 70% of those sales, as tablets based on other operating systems such as Google’s Android platform have so far failed to make a sizable dent in the marketplace.

“We are still awaiting the emergence of a clear No. 2 player, though this may not happen until the launch of Windows 8 in [the second half of] 2012,” Moskowitz wrote.

Apple All Alone In Front of Tablet Race - MarketBeat - WSJ

Samsung Moves to Expand Tablet Business With Microsoft Amid Apple Disputes - WSJ.com

Tbd if this will accelerate an Apple/Microsoft lawsuit over tablet look-and-feel; that’d be déjà vu all over again, except this time around I suspect Microsoft has a large collection of related patents, from its Tablet PC investments

Samsung Electronics Co. is preparing to expand its tablet-computer lineup by using a new version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows software as the South Korean company's products built around Google Inc.'s Android operating system come under legal attack from Apple Inc.

Samsung Moves to Expand Tablet Business With Microsoft Amid Apple Disputes - WSJ.com

Google Details Electricity Usage of Its Data Centers - NYTimes.com

Check the article link for energy usage details

While the electricity figures may seem large, the company asserts that the world is a greener place because people use less energy as a result of the billions of operations carried out in Google data centers. Google says people should consider things like the amount of gasoline saved when someone conducts a Google search rather than, say, drives to the library. “They look big in the small context,” Urs Hoelzle, Google’s senior vice president for technical infrastructure, said in an interview.

Google Details Electricity Usage of Its Data Centers - NYTimes.com

Official Google Blog: Google just got ZAGAT Rated!

Google goes for local content in a tasty way – an excerpt from a post by Marissa Mayer, who is Google’s VP, Local, Maps and Location Services:

With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry. Founded by Tim and Nina Zagat more than 32 years ago, Zagat has established a trusted and well-loved brand the world over, operating in 13 categories and more than 100 cities. The Zagats have demonstrated their ability to innovate and to do so with tremendous insight. Their surveys may be one of the earliest forms of UGC (user-generated content)—gathering restaurant recommendations from friends, computing and distributing ratings before the Internet as we know it today even existed. Their iconic pocket-sized guides with paragraphs summarizing and “snippeting” sentiment were “mobile” before “mobile” involved electronics. Today, Zagat provides people with a democratized, authentic and comprehensive view of where to eat, drink, stay, shop and play worldwide based on millions of reviews and ratings.

Official Google Blog: Google just got ZAGAT Rated!

Revisiting Open Document Format and Office Open XML: The Quiet Revolution Continues

Excerpt from the synopsis of a document I just uploaded to Slideshare:

It has been several years since the lively and highly polarized market debate about the relative merits and standards significance of the Open Document Format (ODF) and Office Open XML (OOXML) file format standards.  Although ODF and OOXML have since largely faded from the mainstream technology industry press and blogosphere radar, both standards have continued to evolve and gain market support, with significant benefits for all organizations seeking to optimize their use of information contained in documents created with productivity applications.

This document provides an overview of the status and significance of ODF and OOXML.  It starts with a summary of the business value of open and XML-based document formats, along with a review of the ODF/OOXML historical debate, including a recap of a widely-discussed January 2008 Burton Group report which included what were, at that time, considered provocative conclusions and market projections. 

The document continues with a summary of some of the most impactful ODF- and OOXML-related industry changes during recent years, including Microsoft’s (surprising, to many market observers) commitment to support and contribute to both ODF and OOXML, as well as Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems, and the acquisition’s ramifications for OpenOffice.org (which served as the starting point for ODF, in 2000).

The analysis concludes with some market projections about likely next steps, as both ODF and OOXML continue to evolve.

Revisiting Open Document Format and Office Open XML: The Quiet Revolution Continues

The Kindle Tablet Drum Roll - Technology Review

Excerpt from “Kindle tablet” analysis

So, ultimately, what is this new device?

From the report, it doesn't really appear to be taking the iPad on directly. If anything, it's more of a Nook Color competitor than an iPad competitor. Siegler says the device doesn't even have a camera, ruling out a whole set of important activities an iPad user can engage in. There's a web browser on the device, but Siegler almost mentions it as an afterthought; he makes no mention of an email client. This doesn't appear to be the traveling businessperson's tool that the iPad has become for so many. This new Kindle is a tablet that clearly emphasizes consumption over creation.

Instead, the smartest assessment of what this device I've seen yet comes from a TC commenter named Sandhya Hegde (the Facebook account linked to her comment associates her with Stanford, McKinsey & Company, and Sequoia Capital). " These guys know exactly what they are doing," she writes: "making themselves irreplaceable in the lives of literate e-commerce junkies."

The Kindle Tablet Drum Roll - Technology Review

PC vendors “flailing” as sales forecasts tumble | News | PC Pro

Bad news for the PC ecosystem (via ft.com)

PC manufacturers face a testing two years as a changing technology landscape throws their business plans into chaos, according to research from Gartner.

The warning comes as the company slashed its sales growth projection for 2011 from 9.3% to only 3.8%, with global sales expected to hit a total of 352 million units.

A combination of changing tastes, pressure from other gadgets such as smartphones and tablets and an increasing sense of the PC as a long-life item have all conspired against manufacturers, according to the analysts.

PC vendors “flailing” as sales forecasts tumble | News | PC Pro

Arrington out at AOL (for real this time) - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog Term Sheet

Somehow I doubt he will stay out of the spotlight for long

Arrington mostly stayed out of the public fray until yesterday when he demanded that TechCrunch either be given full editorial independence or sold back to Arrington and other legacy shareholders (AOL had purchased the site last year).

But AOL is not giving TechCrunch its editorial independence. And it is not selling it back to Arrington.

Instead, Fortune has learned that AOL executives have decided to terminate Arrington. It is unclear how this will officially occur. Maybe a pink slip. Maybe Arrington submits a (public?) letter of resignation. Maybe Tim Armstrong simply gives Arrington a phone call, and he quickly dashes off a note to TechCrunch employees on his iPad.

Arrington out at AOL (for real this time) - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog Term Sheet

Google Hands HTC Patents to Use Against Apple in Smartphone Wars - Businessweek

More HTC/Apple details

Google, which hasn’t been sued directly by Apple, has been criticized for sitting on the sidelines while its Android partners faced lawsuits. Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC, which gained attention in the U.S. by making the first phone to run Android, has defended itself partly by bringing two infringement cases against Apple at the trade commission in Washington, one submitted last year and another last month.

HTC also agreed to buy closely held S3 Graphics Co. less than a week after that company won a preliminary patent ruling against Cupertino, California-based Apple.

“Google knows that HTC is under tremendous legal pressure from Apple and clearly on the losing track,” Florian Mueller, a Munich-based consultant and intellectual property activist. “This intervention on Google’s part increases the likelihood of direct litigation by Apple against Google.”

Google Hands HTC Patents to Use Against Apple in Smartphone Wars - Businessweek

HTC sues Apple with Google patents - The Boston Globe

Getting deeply nested…

HTC Corp., Asia’s second-biggest maker of smartphones, filed infringement claims against Apple Inc. yesterday, using patents obtained from Google Inc. last week.

The nine patents originated with Palm Inc., Motorola Inc., and Openwave Systems Inc., with Google taking ownership within the past year, according to US Patent and Trademark Office records. California-based Google recorded transfer of the patents to HTC on Sept. 1, according to the agency’s website.

HTC sues Apple with Google patents - The Boston Globe

Facebook revenue: Social network doubles income, profits as investors eye IPO [Slate]

The article also indicates Facebook now has an $80B valuation

Remember when people wondered whether Facebook would ever make money?

How does $3 billion in revenues for 2011 sound? Reuters cites an anonymous source close to the company’s financials in reporting that Facebook took in some $1.6 billion in the first half of this year, putting the company on pace for a monster 2011. Almost $500 million of the first-half haul was profit, the source said. The company, which as a private firm is not required to disclose its finances, declined to confirm the report.

Facebook revenue: Social network doubles income, profits as investors eye IPO

Heading Into BUILD, What We Know About Windows 8 [Windows IT Pro]

Hmm – perhaps there will be a tablet/slate-focused initial release of Windows 8; I wouldn’t be surprised to see that become the BUILD event headline – e.g., a Windows 8 slate (with hardware partners including Samsung, HTC, and others) in time for the 2011 holiday season, and a full PC version of Windows 8 released in 2012.  Check the post link below for more details and insights from Paul Thurrott.

Schedule. As I exclusively revealed back in July on the Windows Weekly podcast, Microsoft will release a developer preview of Windows 8 at BUILD. This was originally supposed to be feature complete, but this past week Microsoft president Steve Sinofsky implicitly admitted that the company was behind schedule on Windows 8 when he revealed that the preview build wouldn’t include several features that are slated for Windows 8, including Media Center, the built-in games (apparently unchanged since Windows 7), Windows DVD Creator, .NET 3.5, and, curiously, the Upgrade version of Setup (which suggests that the preview will allow only clean installs).

That said, I expect to see a single public beta by the end of 2011, although a January 2012 launch also makes plenty of sense. This will be followed by one release candidate (RC) build in 1H 2012 and the release to manufacturing (RTM) and general availability (GA) versions by mid-year. Some have placed the Windows 8 launch at April 2012, which is certainly possible. But given the recent delays in getting all features into the preview build, that date is starting to look a bit optimistic.

An important consideration, from later in the post:

Also, Windows 8 will run on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Intel-compatible processors, as well as ARM-based processors. The latter is a first, but note that ARM-based Windows 8 systems will not be able to run legacy Windows applications such as Office 2010; these systems will only be able to run the built-in apps and whatever new, HTML5-based apps appear.

Hopefully an ARM-optimized Office 2010 (and Windows Live Writer) won’t be far behind, schedule-wise.

Heading Into BUILD, What We Know About Windows 8

Groupon-National Louis University: School offers daily deal for graduate-level education class [Slate]

Sign of the times

Sure, Groupon can get you a 2-for-1 deal on dinner or an evening of bowling, but what if it could get you the same steep discount on college classes?

National Louis University intends to find out, as the private university in Chicago on Tuesday became the first university in the country to offer one of Groupon’s daily deals in an effort to boost interest among potential students.

Groupon-National Louis University: School offers daily deal for graduate-level education class.

Evernote for Android Now with Skitch Integration, Offline Search, Slideshow View, and More! « Evernote Blogcast

An expanding range of multimedia hypertext in Evernote; check the post link below for more details

This update is the first version of Evernote to showcase our recent Skitch acquisition. When you create a note or edit an existing one, you’ll see Skitch’s heart logo in the toolbar. If you have Skitch installed (you really should if you don’t), then you’ll be taken into Skitch. In Skitch, you can draw and doodle, then send your sketch into Evernote by tapping the elephant icon in the top right.

Evernote for Android Now with Skitch Integration, Offline Search, Slideshow View, and More! « Evernote Blogcast

Getting a Handle on Big Data with Hadoop - BusinessWeek

Another topic likely to be a major theme at Oracle OpenWorld next month; counter-FUD measures are clearly called for

The increasing popularity of Hadoop software also mirrors the growth in corporate spending on handling data. Since 2005, the annual investment by corporations to create, manage, store, and generate revenue from digital information has increased 50 percent to $4 trillion, according to the IDC report.

About 80 percent of corporations’ data is the unstructured type, which includes office productivity documents, e-mail, Web content, in addition to social media. By contrast, Oracle sells companies its Exadata system to manage huge quantities of structured information such as financial data.

“Hadoop plays in a much larger market than Exadata and is a materially cheaper way to process vast data sets,” says Peter Goldmacher, an analyst at Cowen & Co. in San Francisco.

Getting a Handle on Big Data with Hadoop - BusinessWeek

Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff Just Can't Agree: What Is the Cloud? - Forbes

With Salesforce.com also partnering with (non-Oracle) ERP vendors, the scope of Oracle/Salesforce.com competition is expanding

“But not everybody believes in this,” he said with a mildly ominous undertone. “Not everybody believes in this because, ladies and gentlemen, as I travel around the world—and I mentioned this last year as well—we need to be thinking about something very important, and that point is: we need to beware of the false cloud!”

And while intoning his warning, Benioff put up a slide showing a huge Oracle Exadata box, which drew a big laugh from the audience.

“Because the false cloud, ladies and gentlemen,” said Benioff with his voice rising, “is not efficient, it is not democratic, it is not economical, and it is not environmental!

Larry Ellison and Marc Benioff Just Can't Agree: What Is the Cloud? - Forbes

Michael Arrington Trying to Buy Back TechCrunch From AOL - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

See this Arrington post for context-setting

Arrington used an image of the Spartans from, I think, the movie “300,” on the post. Memo to Mike: All the Spartans died in the end, however valiant. It goes without saying — this situation is not valiant and you are definitely not King Leonidas.

“It is at a stalemate, so this is the result,” said one person with knowledge of the pugnacious effort by Arrington to take back his baby.

Which, of course, he sold in the first place.

Michael Arrington Trying to Buy Back TechCrunch From AOL - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

Facebook Updates Help Users Share Better With Others - Katherine Boehret - The Digital Solution - AllThingsD

Excerpt from a summary of recent Facebook updates

Facebook isn’t currently as good as Google+ when it comes to showing users exactly which groups of friends will see their posted content. But many more people use Facebook—and social networks work best when the people you want to socialize with are using them—so Facebook currently maintains its go-to social-network status. With Google+ nipping at its heels, Facebook will surely further improve the way it displays sharing options.

Facebook Updates Help Users Share Better With Others - Katherine Boehret - The Digital Solution - AllThingsD

Google Bids High for Hulu - Peter Kafka - Media - AllThingsD

Google apparently aiming high with Hulu

Google seems to want something much more than that, and is willing to pay much more to get it. If you want to speculate, you could imagine Google asking for access to more content, for a longer period of time, and perhaps offering up a couple billion dollars more.

Since that’s not what Hulu’s owners have put on the table, “normally we would have thrown people out if they’d said that,” says an executive familiar with the sales process. But Google “indicated that there’s enough money” involved so that Hulu’s owners are at least thinking about continuing the discussion.

One big problem with the Google proposal: Hulu was created in large part as the TV networks’ response to YouTube, and their fear that Google would swallow up the Web video ecosystem.

Google Bids High for Hulu - Peter Kafka - Media - AllThingsD

RIM Shareholder: If You Can't Fix RIM, Then Sell It - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

More stark scenarios for RIM

“The status quo is not acceptable, the company cannot sit still,” Jaguar CEO Vic Alboini said in a letter to RIM’s board of directors. “It is time for transformational change. The directors need to seize the reins to maximize shareholder value before more market value is lost.”

And RIM’s lost plenty of that already. The company’s share price has plummeted more than 80 percent since June of 2008, when it hovered around $149. It has fallen nearly 50 percent this year alone, despite management’s “just you wait” assurances. So Alboini figures it’s about time RIM establish a committee of four or five independent directors to consider the company’s options if the big transition to the QNX operating system doesn’t rejuvenate the BlackBerry as hoped.

RIM Shareholder: If You Can't Fix RIM, Then Sell It - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

A Simpler Approach to Online Identity - Technology Review

Hope for identity détente?

Even as identity becomes increasingly important online, it is becoming more fragmented, with users signing up for ever more websites and services. Account Chooser, a new service launched by the OpenID Foundation, an organization that includes the major websites Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Yahoo among its members, is the latest effort to solve this problem. Instead of having to create yet another account, Account Chooser lets users choose one account—their Gmail or Facebook login, for example—and then use it to use to log into many other sites. The technology was developed by Eric Sachs, a Google project manager and OpenID Foundation board member board member, and Google is backing the project by hosting the code.

A Simpler Approach to Online Identity - Technology Review

Why Amazon's tablet will challenge Apple in a way that Google cannot | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Excerpt from another insightful Amazon snapshot (via Volker Weber)

Why, when there are dozens of different tablets out there – from Samsung to Acer to Asus to RIM to Motorola to HP's TouchPad (very limited stocks only!) to, I don't know, throw a stone and you'll hit someone making a tablet – why should it be that it's only when Amazon comes to the tablet table that people think it will make a difference?

Two simple reasons: Amazon is a conduit to lots of content; and, just as importantly, it already has a way for you to buy content from it. Like Apple, it is one of the 10 biggest merchant holders of credit card numbers in the world (along with companies such as eBay, PayPal, Sony through the PlayStation Network and Microsoft through its Xbox Live system).

Why Amazon's tablet will challenge Apple in a way that Google cannot | Technology | guardian.co.uk

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Great concept for a new reality TV series

Hah – hadn’t seen this before my earlier post

Put Mike Arrington, Tim Armstrong, and Arianna Huffington in a beach house together for six months and film the proceedings. The hijinks would be primo. And if the action ever flagged, you could always helicopter Paul Carr in for a sleepover.

Can I patent this idea?

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Great concept for a new reality TV series

Amazon Plans on Stealing Android Developers From Google | TechPinions

Concluding paragraph of more Amazon/Android analysis

Given that Amazon’s version of Android is so highly customized I am guessing that they have stripped every benefit to Google in terms of data, ads, revenue etc out of this product. Which would mean that Google would not benefit at all should this Kindle succeed. In fact I would be comfortable if we agreed that in fact this Amazon Kindle is not really running Android at all.

Amazon Plans on Stealing Android Developers From Google | TechPinions

Turning Data into Democratic Action: Social Apps Lab at CITRIS | CITRIS

An encouraging social snapshot (via ACM TechNews)

"At the Social Apps Lab, we aim to harness the participatory and creative energies of game-play to address social issues," says James Holston, "because when it comes to participation, the key question is motivation: How do you get people to do something?"

The Social Apps Lab creates free applications based on playful ways to get users to explore their environments, engage local issues, promote public health, and become active citizens. With support from CITRIS, the Division of Social Sciences, and the Division of Arts and Humanities at UC Berkeley, their current projects include tackling dengue fever, reducing asthma, and engaging citizens in local urban issues.

Turning Data into Democratic Action: Social Apps Lab at CITRIS | CITRIS

Google quietly sunsetting Google Desktop, Aardvark, and more | ZDNet

Being perma-beta means never having to say you’re sorry

Summary: Google has given word that Aardvark, Google Desktop, Fast Flip, Google Maps API for Flash, Google Pack, Google Web Security, Image Labeler, Google Notebook, Sidewiki, and Subscribed Links will be shut down over the next few months.

Google quietly sunsetting Google Desktop, Aardvark, and more | ZDNet

TechCrunch As We Know It May Be Over | TechCrunch

Excerpt from a TechCrunch article about the potential demise of TechCrunch.  Maybe AOL will try to turn it into a reality TV show.

This is a post I never thought I’d have to write. Unfortunately, I do. And the worst part about it is that it should be Michael Arrington writing this post, not me.

But he can’t.

TechCrunch is on the precipice. As soon as tomorrow, Mike may be thrown out of the company he founded. Or he may not. No one knows. And if he is, he will be replaced by — well, again, no one knows. No one knows much of anything. Certainly no one at TechCrunch.

TechCrunch As We Know It May Be Over | TechCrunch

G.M. Aims the Volt at China, but Chinese Want Its Secrets - NYTimes.com

Interesting times

The government’s demand is the latest example of China’s willingness to use the leverage of Western access to the vast Chinese market to extract concessions on advanced technologies. Policies to force technology transfers from non-Chinese companies have already helped this nation build big industries in areas like wind turbines, high-speed trains and water purification.

Western companies have complained that the tactics create an uneven playing field for business ventures trying to compete with domestic Chinese industries.

G.M. Aims the Volt at China, but Chinese Want Its Secrets - NYTimes.com

Businesses battle bogus ‘closed’ notation on Google - The Boston Globe

Stimulus-response

In mid-August, a search consultant and blogger named Mike Blumenthal was so rankled by what he considered Google’s cavalier attitude to closings on Google that he committed an act of online disobedience: He “closed’’ Google’s offices in Mountain View, Calif.

It seemed to get the company’s attention. At least one change to closings on Places has already been made. Since late August, a business that is newly tagged “permanently closed,’’ receives an alert via e-mail from Google, informing the business owner of the change.

Businesses battle bogus ‘closed’ notation on Google - The Boston Globe

Tablets: Forking Android | The Economist

So maybe Amazon and Google won’t be working together after all…

The operating system may also prove less of a challenge for Amazon than it did for other tablet hopefuls. HP bought Palm for its webOS system, and RIM grabbed QNX, another OS maker, to power its PlayBook. Like Motorola (which is being acquired by Google) and Samsung, Amazon is sticking with Google's Android, broadly similar to a version of Linux it has used for years to run its e-book reader. But if the TechCrunch report is accurate, Amazon has decided to ditch its own Linux flavour, and take a mature, licence-free version of the Android open-source software and start building an in-house system on top of it. Such forking, as the practice is known in techie circles, means that development paths of the open-source software and Amazon's version of it will diverge. As a result, software built for one will not easily run on the other.

Tablets: Forking Android | The Economist

Jesus Daily on Facebook Nurtures Highly Active Fans - NYTimes.com

Tangentially, also see What Would Jesus Hack? (a cybertheology snapshot in The Economist)

For the last three months, more people have “Liked,” commented and shared content on the Jesus Daily than on any other Facebook page, including Justin Bieber’s page, according to a weekly analysis by AllFacebook.com, an industry blog. “I wanted to provide people with encouragement,” said Dr. Tabor, who keeps his diet business on a separate Facebook page. “And I thought I would give it a news spin by calling it daily.”

Facebook and other social media tools have changed the way people communicate, work, find each other and fall in love. While it’s too early to say that social media have transformed the way people practice religion, the number of people discussing faith on Facebook has significantly increased in the last year, according to company officials.

Jesus Daily on Facebook Nurtures Highly Active Fans - NYTimes.com

Michael Arrington’s Audacious Venture - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from an AOL reality check

At this point, it seems that AOL executives would open up a lemonade stand in front of their headquarters if they thought it would help their bottom line. But the idea of a news site that covers every aspect of nascent tech companies sharing a brand name and founder with a venture capital firm financing these same companies seems almost comically over the line.

Michael Arrington’s Audacious Venture - NYTimes.com

Microsoft and IBM are developing software so companies can run secure in-house social networks - The Boston Globe

It’s a small social world

Both are creating social networks that companies could own and use within their offices, rather than have employees chatting with each other on the uncontrolled online landscape that Facebook has become.

The companies both have teams in Kendall Square in Cambridge - so close to each other that they are probably checking in at the same pizza spots on Foursquare.com.

Microsoft and IBM are developing software so companies can run secure in-house social networks - The Boston Globe

An Apple TV Set In Our Future? | Monday Note

Excerpt from another timely Apple reality check from Jean-Louis Gassée

The idea is exciting and so obvious it’s got to happen. Imagine a true plug-and-play experience. One set with only two wires: power and the cable TV coax. Turn it on, assert your Apple ID credentials and you’re in business. The program guide looks good and is easy to navigate; pay channels are just a click and a password away. The TV runs apps, from games to FaceTime and Skype, it “just works’’ with your other iDevices and also acts as a Wi-Fi base station using the cable provider’s Internet service.

But when we turn to the Small Matter Of Implementation, we see a few obstacles.

An Apple TV Set In Our Future? | Monday Note

HP splitting the webOS GBU in two; software headed to Office of Strategy and Technology [exclusive] | The #1 HP webOS, TouchPad, Pre, and Veer Community | PreCentral.net

If at first you don’t succeed, …

If splitting Palm’s hardware and software divisions sounds familiar, well, it should. That’s exactly what Palm did back in 2003 when they split into palmOne (hardware, after merging with Handspring) and PalmSource (software). It was a disaster, with PalmSource floundering with operating system development and getting purchased by mobile browser builder ACCESS a few years later for a paltry $324 million (that purchase eventually resulted in the Access Linux Platform, which also went nowhere).

HP splitting the webOS GBU in two; software headed to Office of Strategy and Technology [exclusive] | The #1 HP webOS, TouchPad, Pre, and Veer Community | PreCentral.net

Playbook sale through Staples 50% off 2 days only - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

tbd if this would be an exit strategy, as was the case with the HP TouchPad

Playbook sale through Staples 50% off 2 days only - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

Is Microsoft planning to hand out a Samsung Windows 8 slate at BUILD? | WinRumors

That could be a compelling combination

Microsoft may be planning to give away a Samsung tablet at its BUILD conference later this month.

Speculation on Microsoft’s BUILD conference giveaway kicked off last month after Microsoft employees Jeff Johnson and Patrick Hevesi showed off some new Windows powered slate devices during the “Come and see the latest and greatest in Windows Devices” presentation at Tech-Ed New Zealand. One particular device caught the world’s attention after the presenters claimed it was a Quad Core Slate that will be given out at an upcoming Microsoft event.

Is Microsoft planning to hand out a Samsung Windows 8 slate at BUILD? | WinRumors

Ultrabooks challenge MacBook Air | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Renewed competition in Windows laptops

The MacBook Air finally has some serious competition with the first of the new Ultrabook laptops being launched here at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin.

After Toshiba unveiled what it claimed was the world’s thinnest and lightest 13.3in laptop on Thursday – the Portege Z830 - Acer followed up on Friday with the Aspire S3, which boasts 1.5 seconds start-up time from a sleep state that can last 50 days on its long-life battery.

Lenovo also produced an Ultrabook entrant with the U300s – a 13.3in laptop clad in aluminum and featuring an eight-hour battery and 30 days’ standby capabilities.

Ultrabooks challenge MacBook Air | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Students Find Ways to Thwart Facebook Bans - NYTimes.com

A social studies snapshot

More than 90 percent of children ages 12 to 17 use the Internet and nearly three-quarters of them are on social networking Web sites, according to a study by the Pew Research Center. So one can only imagine the digital battle teachers face when competing against the likes of Facebook for their students’ attention. It is a struggle that has led most schools in kindergarten through grade 12 to ban the social networking site.

But while it is easy for schools to block Facebook on their computer networks (through methods not unlike parental controls at home), students say it’s just as easy to get around the ban.

Students Find Ways to Thwart Facebook Bans - NYTimes.com

Google+ Can Be A Social Network Or The Name Police – Not Both [Gartner blog]

Bob Blakley goes binary

The Google+ common name policy is insane. It creates an antisocial space in what is supposed to be a social network. It is at odds with basic human social behavior; its implementation is NECESSARILY arbitrary and infuriating, and it is actively damaging the Google+ brand and indeed the broader Google brand.

The problem is not flawed execution; it is that the policy itself is fundamentally unsound, unworkable, and unfixable.

Google can be a social network operator, or they can be the name police. They can’t be both. They need to decide – soon. If I were Google, I’d scrap the policy – immediately – and let people decide for themselves what they will be called.

Google+ Can Be A Social Network Or The Name Police – Not Both

HTC Tablets and Evernote « Evernote Blogcast

Evernote inside – and another stylus-centric Android tablet/slate

Notes on the HTC Flyer and HTC Jetstream

The 7″ HTC Flyer and the new 10″ HTC Jetstream are designed for both manual and digital pen input. HTC created a notes app which looks like a spiral bound notebook and ties directly into Evernote. Tap on the page and tap out your thoughts. Grab your digital pen and sketch something. Take a photo with the tablet camera and annotate it. Record audio and attach it to a note. When you’re done, everything is sent right into your Evernote account. You can even link notes to calendar events!

HTC Tablets and Evernote « Evernote Blogcast

Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It. | TechCrunch

Check the post link below for more details on what, if the overview is accurate, should perhaps be called the “Kindle NCC” (for Nook Color Clone)

First of all, before every commenter asks, no, sadly, I don’t have any pictures to share. That was the one condition of me getting this information. So instead you’ll have to rely on my prose to draw a picture of the device in your head. Or you can just look at a BlackBerry PlayBook — because it looks very similar in terms of form-factor.

So here’s what I know and what I saw:

Again, the device is a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touch screen. It is multi-touch, but from what I saw, I believe the reports that it relies on a two-finger multi-touch (instead of 10-finger, like the iPad uses) are accurate. This will be the first Kindle with a full-color screen. And yes, it is back-lit. There is no e-ink to be found anywhere on this device.

Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It. | TechCrunch

AOL Says Arrington No Longer Works at TechCrunch - NYTimes.com

Perhaps AOL should hire Bill Wohl

But the arrangement is still fuzzy. He can still write for the popular site, but only as an unpaid blogger. His role in running the site’s lucrative technology conferences, one of which begins Sept. 12 in San Francisco, was not clear.

Mr. Arrington said he was confused by the back and forth. “I have no idea what AOL’s final position on this will be,” he said. “I look forward to hearing it.”

Editors at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, which oversees TechCrunch and its other media properties, had been pushing for months for Mr. Arrington to give up his editorial role, the executive said. He has faced questions about conflicts of interest previously. He already has been investing in start-ups, and has close relationships with many of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors that TechCrunch covers.

AOL Says Arrington No Longer Works at TechCrunch - NYTimes.com

Apple's Unusual Hunt for a Missing iPhone - NYTimes.com

Think different

One of the people gave a phone number to Mr. Calderon, which SF Weekly traced to an Apple security official. A San Francisco police spokesman told the newspaper that the real police officers stayed outside while the pair from Apple searched Mr. Calderon’s house and car and examined his computer, an arrangement that raises more questions than it answers about both Apple and the police.

If the incident unfolded as reported, what did the police think they were participating in? Why did the police initially say there was no official report of the search? Were the police officers on duty? Why did it take four of them to accompany the Apple investigators? And, not least, where is the phone?

Apple's Unusual Hunt for a Missing iPhone - NYTimes.com

The real reason Google bought Motorola • The Register

Check the full post for some innovative accounting analysis

However, this deal to purchase Motorola Mobility might be a coup to beat that hands down. The headline price to purchase the handset-maker and their bundle of patents is $12.5bn but that's not what the net cost to Google might turn out to be. How about $3.8bn for that? For, along with the company and the patents, Google has also bought a series of tax losses.

The real reason Google bought Motorola • The Register

HP WebOS Patents: Are Samsung, Nokia and Microsoft Bidding? [Byte]

Check the full post for detailed analysis

HP is quietly opening for license its HP WebOS patent portfolio. After a two-week investigation into the portfolio and discussions with patent experts, it’s clear who’s likely to buy or license it.

That company is Samsung.

I expect Samsung to make a formal bid for at least an exclusive license of the valuable HP webOS patent portfolio within weeks.

HP WebOS Patents: Are Samsung, Nokia and Microsoft Bidding?

Why Apple Should Build a TV | TechPinions

More Apple TV scenario analysis

I believe Apple can and will be able to arrive at a business model with content providers and cable/satellite companies. Either that or it will get very ugly for everyone. The most valuable company in the world with a huge pile of cash, no debt and a historic track record of pioneering breakthrough content deals can do this, or if forced to will go around it. Apple has been a company that fixes those nagging problems, and the TV and STB have a lot of them. Our basic method of finding content is broken. STBs crash and are slow and don’t work with other devices in the home. I’d like to see Apple fix these issues. How about you?

Why Apple Should Build a TV | TechPinions

Lenovo introduces $199 IdeaPad Android tablet | VentureBeat

Another probe for the non-iPad price elasticity curve

After HP recently dropped its webOS TouchPad tablet to $99, consumers went into a frenzy to get their hands on it, indicating a strong market for low-price tablets. With Apple charging a minimum $499 for the iPad, other manufacturers have the opportunity to sweep in on the low-end — but so far no one credible has. A Forrester Research analyst even said an Amazon tablet could become the number two tablet on the market in 2011 by launching it for less than $300.

With this in consideration, Lenovo’s move to offer the IdeaPad A1 for $199 is well-timed. Two features that make the tablet a standout at its price level are its sharp 1024-by-600-pixel resolution and the fact that the screen is capacitive touch. Many cheap tablets have a resistive touch screen, which isn’t as responsive as a capacitive screen.

Lenovo introduces $199 IdeaPad Android tablet | VentureBeat

Mouse Makeover: Microsoft Touch Mouse Brings Multi-Touch to Windows [Microsoft News Center]

On another patent-related topic, I’m guessing Microsoft has intellectual property protection that will make it impossible for Apple to sue based on its Magic Mouse

After decades of dependable point-and-click service, the humble mouse is getting a makeover. The result is introducing Windows 7 users to a new way of interacting with their PC.

The new Microsoft Touch Mouse combines the virtues of the old familiar mouse – which has been continually optimized since the 1960s – with multi-touch gestures. Now available online and in retail stores in late September, the new mouse offers the millions of people who use Windows 7 a natural way to navigate the operating system, said Scott Rockfeld, director of product management for Microsoft Hardware.

Mouse Makeover: Microsoft Touch Mouse Brings Multi-Touch to Windows: The Microsoft Touch Mouse brings touch-based navigation to Windows 7 users. The new product came out of a Microsoft Research effort to reimagine the humble mouse.

When Patents Attack: Could Facebook Be Next? - BusinessWeek

An excerpt from the second page of the article

The rise of cloud computing further complicates matters. Consumer-facing companies such as Amazon.com (AMZN) and Google now offer Web services to businesses, encroaching on the turf of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and others. With the data center turning into the focal point of innovation, a host of new conflicts might arise. Google, for example, has numerous patents covering how it stores and analyzes information across hundreds of thousands of servers. In July, Google paid an undisclosed sum for more than 1,000 IBM patents—many of which cover key data-center innovations. It has made some of its database work public, and Facebook, among others, piggybacked on that information to build their own, crucial data-center technology. “Does Google come after Facebook for that now?” Maritz asks. Google and Facebook declined to comment.

For some of the issues Google may have been considering when it recently purchased a portfolio of IBM patents, see

Facebook Buys Friendster Patents for $40M

Facebook Granted Patent on News Feed

Facebook Granted Geolocation Patent

When Patents Attack: Could Facebook Be Next? - BusinessWeek

Amazon Continues to Disintermediate Publishers–BusinessWeek [GigaOM]

A book business evolution snapshot

As Megan Garber notes at the Nieman Journalism Lab, one of the most obvious aspects of the new @author feature is that it disintermediates the publishers who normally act as middlemen between writers and readers (and who rarely pass on questions to authors, as anyone who has tried to contact one knows). While not all writers are going to want to respond directly to their audience, many have begun to get more interested in interacting with readers, including some who have adopted Twitter as a method of direct communication with fans—such as Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, who took part in Crowdsourcing author Jeff Howe’s recent experiment with a Twitter-powered global book club called “1book140.”

But connecting authors directly with readers isn’t the only way Amazon wants to disintermediate publishers. The online retailer has also taken a more direct step recently by signing a deal to publish Ferriss, whose books have become phenomenally popular over the past year. Although Amazon has published other authors, the Ferriss deal got the attention of many in the publishing world as a kind of shot across the bow of traditional publishers—many of whom are still smarting from their recent battles with Amazon over book pricing.

Amazon Continues to Disintermediate Publishers - BusinessWeek

New Phone-Tablet Hybrid Generates Skepticism - WSJ.com

Touch is handy, but a stylus is complementary

Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled a mobile device that the company said would create a new product category, filling a gap between smartphones and tablets.

 

The Note, as the device is called, runs Google Inc.'s Android operating system, has a five-inch screen and boasts a slide-out stylus—a feature that harks back to personal digital assistants but which has all but disappeared since Apple Inc. made the finger the primary input method for touch-sensitive screens.

New Phone-Tablet Hybrid Generates Skepticism - WSJ.com

Michael Arrington, TechCrunch Blogger, to Invest in Start-Ups - NYTimes.com

Sign of the times

Michael Arrington, whose influential TechCrunch blog covers Silicon Valley, has started a venture capital fund to invest in start-ups, including some that he and his staff write about.

The $20 million CrunchFund is the latest example of Mr. Arrington’s casting aside one of traditional journalism’s cardinal rules — that reporters should avoid conflicts of interest by maintaining distance from the people, organizations and issues they cover — and raises questions about whether industry bloggers are journalists.

Michael Arrington, TechCrunch Blogger, to Invest in Start-Ups - NYTimes.com

Apple’s iPad Growth Curve Just Keeps Getting Steeper - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Consider the “occasionally reliable” aspect, but the projection seems plausible

It’s going to be a big fall for the iPad.

Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is ramping up iPad production heading into the company’s third quarter. Supply chain sources tell the occasionally reliable Digitimes that Foxconn is expected to ship 20 million iPads to Apple this quarter, which concludes at the end of September.

Apple’s iPad Growth Curve Just Keeps Getting Steeper - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Shoppers slow to buy with their smartphones - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from a mobile commerce reality check

The use of smartphones is indeed growing. There are 82 million smartphones in circulation today in the United States - one in every three people 13 and older owns one - and that figure is expected to double by 2015. And smartphone users are increasingly using mobile applications: The average user spends 81 minutes a day using mobile apps, more time than is spent Web browsing on a computer or other device, according to mobile analytics firm Flurry.

But smartphone users spend most of their time playing games, checking social networks, taking video, accessing maps, and getting sports scores, according to digital research firm comScore. Shopping, meanwhile, ranks at number 13, with fewer than 7 percent of mobile users accessing online retail stores through their phones.

Shoppers slow to buy with their smartphones - The Boston Globe

Samsung Intros 5-Inch (!) Galaxy Note Smartphone, 7.7-Inch Galaxy Tab | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Samsung expands its Tab product line; tbd if sandpaper will be included

Samsung expanded its Galaxy family with the announcement of a 7.7-inch Galaxy Tab tablet, and the Galaxy Note, a smartphone that blurs the tablet-phone line with its sprawling 5-inch screen and bundled stylus for quick memo-taking, or what Samsung terms "free-idea capturing." The Galaxy Note combines a Galaxy Tab tablet with a Galaxy S smartphone and adds the benefits of pen and paper, the company said in a briefing here at IFA.

Running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the 6.8-ounce Galaxy Note is .37-inch thick and packs an unspecified dual-core 1.4GHz processor, an 8-megapixel back camera that captures HD video, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2500-mAH battery. Battery life was not disclosed.

Samsung Intros 5-Inch (!) Galaxy Note Smartphone, 7.7-Inch Galaxy Tab | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Google Makes Chromebooks More Useful With Offline Access [Search Engine Land]

More details on Google’s limited off-line support

According to the Gmail blog:

Gmail Offline is a Chrome Web Store app that’s intended for situations when you need to read, respond to, organize and archive email without an internet connection. This HTML5-powered app is based on the Gmail web app for tablets, which was built to function with or without web access . . .

Google Calendar and Google Docs let you seamlessly transition between on- and offline modes. When you’re offline in Google Calendar, you can view events from your calendars and RSVP to appointments. With Google Docs you can view documents and spreadsheets when you don’t have a connection. Offline editing isn’t ready yet, but we know it’s important to many of you, and we’re working hard to make it a reality.

When Google Docs works without a connection that will be a giant step toward making Chromebooks truly a viable laptop replacement. All of this is generally applicable to WiFi only tablets as well.

Google Makes Chromebooks More Useful With Offline Access

Stringer Says Movies Give Sony Edge Over Apple in Tablets - Businessweek

No baloney?…

Sony Corp. is betting its tablet computers will rival Apple Inc.’s iPad by luring buyers with music and movies, even as the Japanese company arrives more than a year late in the booming market for such devices.

“Yes, yes, Apple makes an iPad, but does it make a movie?” Sony Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer said in a presentation at Berlin’s annual consumer electronics fair yesterday. “We will prove that it’s not who makes the tablet first who counts but who makes it better.”

Stringer Says Movies Give Sony Edge Over Apple in Tablets - Businessweek

Google Launches Offline Versions of Gmail, Calendar & Docs [Mashable]

Initially available only for Chrome; see a pattern emerging?…

To that end, Google is launching a new Chrome app called Gmail Offline. Separate from Gmail itself, the new app is designed for accessing, managing and sending email while you’re disconnected from the web. “We can build on top of a lot of HTML5 standards, which gives us the capabilities to make it work offline,” Sheth said.

The HTML5 app looks and feels a lot like the Gmail app for tablets. That’s because Gmail Offline is based off the tablet version, which was designed to function with or without Internet access. It focuses on the key features users need to access while offline, including organizing, starring, labeling, archiving and responding to email. It won’t give you access to Gmail Labs features, but it will get the job done.

Google Launches Offline Versions of Gmail, Calendar & Docs

Mobile Apps Make It Easy to Point and Identify - NYTimes.com

Check the full article for an overview of other apps including Leafsnap and (Amazon) SnapTell

Google Goggles, which appeared on Android phones in late 2009 and on the iPhone last year, is best at deciphering landmarks, text, book and DVD covers, artwork, logos, bar codes and wine labels. You start the app — it’s part of Google’s search app for the iPhone — and peer at the object through the camera lens. It takes a stab at identifying it.

I’ve found the app especially useful for comparison shopping. If you’re browsing through a bookstore, for instance, one quick snapshot of a book’s cover allows you to check the price on Amazon. It’s much faster than typing the title into a search bar. Same goes for photographing paintings or craft beer bottles.

Mobile Apps Make It Easy to Point and Identify - NYTimes.com

Justice Dept. Moves to Block Merger Between AT&T and T-Mobile - NYTimes.com

Duopoly != “robust competition”

AT&T said it would fight the lawsuit. “We plan to ask for an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed,” Wayne Watts, an executive vice president and general counsel at AT&T, said in a statement. “The D.O.J. has the burden of proving alleged anticompetitive effects, and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court.”

Deutsche Telekom, the German parent of T-Mobile USA, said that the Justice Department “failed to acknowledge the robust competition in the U.S. wireless telecommunications industry and the tremendous efficiencies associated with the proposed transaction, which would lead to significant customer, shareholder and public benefits.”

Justice Dept. Moves to Block Merger Between AT&T and T-Mobile - NYTimes.com

Superman vs. Google+ (Comic) - Nitrozac and Snaggy - Voices - AllThingsD

Check the link below for the full comic

Superman vs. Google+ (Comic) - Nitrozac and Snaggy - Voices - AllThingsD

Walt Mossberg Reviews Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Perhaps the most compelling Windows PC available today

In my tests, this latest Parallels edition ran Windows quickly and smoothly, and integrated well with some of Lion’s new features, even though my test Mac isn’t the fastest Apple laptop available today.

For instance, while I’m writing this in a Mac program on the Air, I’m simultaneously running the Windows-only Internet Explorer Web browser, and a couple of other Windows programs, with no discernible slowdown in any of them. I can easily recommend Parallels 7 to Mac users who need to use Windows programs some of the time.

Walt Mossberg Reviews Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

More college bookstores, students are choosing digital textbooks - The Boston Globe

An excerpt from an encouraging e-book market snapshot

Price is the biggest factor for students, and publishers are hoping digital discounts, in some cases up to 60 percent less than traditional texts, will make them converts. For example, at the MIT Coop, the “Technology Ventures’’ business textbook costs $151.40 for a new copy, $113.55 for a used copy, and $83.90 for the e-book. Students can save even more by renting the e-book, which costs $65.60 and expires in 180 days.

Digital textbooks also offer modern convenience. Barnes & Noble, which manages 630 college bookstores, last August created Nook Study, a free app that can be used to help students purchase and download textbooks, and organize course work. The app also acts as a digital library, allowing students to access textbooks, PowerPoint presentations, and syllabuses from computers.

More college bookstores, students are choosing digital textbooks - The Boston Globe