Oracle Challenges Autonomy CEO's 'Bad Memory' - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

You’d think Autonomy would be a bit more circumspect about its content…

The full Oracle statement is below.

“After HP agreed to acquire Autonomy for over $11.7 billion dollars, Oracle commented that Autonomy had been ‘shopped’ to Oracle as well, but Oracle wasn’t interested because the price was way too high. Mike Lynch, Autonomy CEO, then publicly denied that his company had been shopped to Oracle. Specifically, Mr. Lynch said, “If some bank happened to come with us on a list, that is nothing to do with us.” Mr. Lynch then accused of Oracle of being ‘inaccurate’. Either Mr. Lynch has a very poor memory or he’s lying. ‘Some bank’ did not just happen to come to Oracle with Autonomy ‘on a list’.” The truth is that Mr. Lynch came to Oracle, along with his investment banker, Frank Quattrone, and met with Oracle’s head of M&A, Douglas Kehring and Oracle President Mark Hurd at 11 am on April 1, 2011. After listening to Mr. Lynch’s PowerPoint slide sales pitch to sell Autonomy to Oracle, Mr. Kehring and Mr. Hurd told Mr. Lynch that with a current market value of $6 billion, Autonomy was already extremely over-priced. The Lynch shopping visit to Oracle is easy to verify. We still have his PowerPoint slides.”

Oracle Challenges Autonomy CEO's 'Bad Memory' - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Amazon Kindle Fire explodes onto tablet scene - Chicago Sun-Times

An excerpt from an extensive Andy Ihnatko review, highlighting some of the reading-related advances in the new Kindles

The Touch includes a nifty-looking new feature for exploration. “X-Ray” is a view of the book that allows for slightly deeper analysis. Search your copy of “Code Of The Woosters” for “Madeline Bassett” and the Kindle’s X-Ray view will put up a timeline of the story, marking the patches of the story in which the character appears. X-Ray also lets you access supplemental info that Amazon side-loads onto books when you download them to the device. No longer will a mention of a location or a character or a historical event that you barely recognize send you diving towards Google. If Amazon imagines you might need a refresher course on the Boer Wars, there’ll be a couple of paragraphs lurking in the data somewhere, to help you out even if you’re not near an Internet connection with content harvested from Amazon subsidiary Shelfari.com.

Amazon Kindle Fire explodes onto tablet scene - Chicago Sun-Times

Amazon New Kindle Fire Versus Apple iPad - The Daily Beast

Excerpt from a Dan Lyons overview of the Amazon news; also see his Kindle Fire, and the tricky business of chasing scoops reality check

Amazon in the past has downplayed its rivalry with Apple, saying that Kindle and iPad were meant for different kinds of users.

But now the battle has shifted into open warfare, with Bezos even mocking Apple for forcing users to sync their iPads by connecting the device to a computer with a cable, calling that “a broken model.”

In other words, make no mistake: this is war. And the stakes could not be higher. Amazon and Apple are fighting to see who will control the world of digital media.

Amazon New Kindle Fire Versus Apple iPad - The Daily Beast

Microsoft Signs Mega-Patent Deal With Samsung - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Somehow I suspect subsidizing Windows Phone was not on Google’s goal list for Android

Microsoft is announcing today the biggest Android-related patent deal to date, signing a broad cross-licensing agreement with Samsung.

With the deal, Microsoft will get royalty revenue on every Android smartphone and tablet that Samsung sells. Redmond already has a deal with another major handset maker — HTC — that sells both Android and Windows Phone devices.

[…]

While much of the focus around the Samsung agreement is likely to concern patents and Android, the deal also calls for the companies to continue to work together on Windows Phone.

“Microsoft and Samsung see the opportunity for dramatic growth in Windows Phones and we’re investing to make that a reality,” Windows Phone unit president Andy Lees said in a statement.

Microsoft Signs Mega-Patent Deal With Samsung - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Blogger Buzz: Dynamic views: seven new ways to share your blog with the world

From the Blogger Buzz blog:

As we said a few weeks ago when we launched a completely rebuilt, streamlined authoring and editing experience, we’re in the process of bringing you a much improved and modernized Blogger. The next phase of these updates starts today with seven new ways to display your blog, called Dynamic Views.
Built with the latest in web technology (AJAX, HTML5 and CSS3), Dynamic Views is a unique browsing experience that will inspire your readers to explore your blog in new ways. The interactive layouts make it easier for readers to enjoy and discover your posts, loading 40 percent faster than traditional templates and bringing older entries to the surface so they seem fresh again.

Here’s what I saw when I tried to view a new Blogger view page in IE9:

The “continue unsupported” option seems to work

Blogger Buzz

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Larry Page’s Manhattan Project - Cringely on technology

Excerpt from a Google reality check

Think about it. A lot of the criticism of Google here and elsewhere has been about lack of focus, lack of standardized interfaces, oddly positioned products that sometimes conflict with or oppose each other. Google was run as an insurgency. And now Larry Page is determined to turn Google into an army. Each conflict to come will be approached with a Manhattan Project development effort.

Social is the first battle to be fought this war but I am sure Larry has others planned. He’s promoting a new class of generals (vice presidents, I guess) and giving them the power and resources to get their jobs done with thousands of developers and billions of dollars each. Instead of doing a hundred things and making money from two of them, Google will soon be doing a dozen things and making money from 10 of them, or at least that’s the plan. And it’s a good one, because even geeks grow up sometime.

I, Cringely » Blog Archive » Larry Page’s Manhattan Project - Cringely on technology

Oh, one more thing about the Amazon tablet: the second, better version is coming very soon - gdgt

It’ll be interesting to see if/how this gets spun during the Kindle announcement today

Well, this delay to get the "stopgap" Kindle tablet out in time for the holiday season this year may have pretty serious consequences for early adopters and holiday shoppers: my sources tell me the second-gen Kindle tablet (or Kindle Fire, as it's now been dubbed) will be out in Q1 of 2012 -- yes, that soon. That was always the plan, but the delays of the v1 product have messed up Amazon's release cycle.
And what's worse, the second tablet -- which Amazon didn't just take more or less off the shelf from ODM manufacturer Quanta -- seems to be the device Amazon really believes in.

Oh, one more thing about the Amazon tablet: the second, better version is coming very soon - gdgt

No, You Aren't Going to Quit Facebook [Mashable]

Excerpt from a timely Facebook reality check

That broad social reach means cutting the service out of your life is easier said than done. Sure, it’s fun to say “I’ll delete my account and never log in again,” but as soon my cousin posts photos of her new baby and makes those photos only visible on Facebook… well, that kind of kills my resolve.

It’s more than just our social ties that keep us connected to Facebook. Many apps and services are reliant on the network too. When Spotify integrated itself with Facebook last week, the popular streaming music service also added a new requirement for new sign-ups: Facebook membership. We can argue whether that approach is right or wrong, but Facebook as a login identity is something that is only going to increase with time, not decrease.

No, You Aren't Going to Quit Facebook

Toshiba Thinks Smaller With Second Android Tablet - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Pricing and Apple lawsuit timing tbd

It’s not the 7-inch tablet that many people are waiting to hear about, but Toshiba on Tuesday is announcing the Thrive 7-inch, a smaller screen follow-up to the 10-inch Android tablet it introduced earlier this year.

Toshiba Thinks Smaller With Second Android Tablet - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Owen Prater - Google+ - #googleplusupdates Starting today you can actually share circles…

More precisely, you can share static snapshots of circles

Starting today you can actually share your favorite circles with others! So if you’ve got a great Photographers or Celebrities circle, for instance, then you can share a copy with your friends.
To get started, just click on a circle from your Circles page, and click Share.
(Importantly: when you share a circle, you’re only sharing its members at that time. Also: the circle name is always private to you, and any changes you make afterwards are private as well.)

Owen Prater - Google+ - #googleplusupdates Starting today you can actually share…

How Amazon's Tablet Perpetuates Apple's Stranglehold on Media App Distribution - Technology Review

More Amazon tablet speculation

On Wednesday, Amazon will unveil its new 7-inch tablet, which is rumored to be based on the now-defunct BlackBerry Playbook.

The good news is that a major player in both the media distribution and hardware space will finally drop a device that could be competitive with the iPad by virtue of price alone. The bad news is, Amazon is using the same leverage Apple possesses to give publishers of content on its tablet basically the same terms that Apple arrived at, namely, a 30% commission on all sales.

How Amazon's Tablet Perpetuates Apple's Stranglehold on Media App Distribution - Technology Review

Zynga's CityVille spreads to Google+ - Yahoo! News

Perhaps no longer Facebook’s best friend in games

Zynga on Monday added its most popular title -- CityVille -- to games that can be played at the Google+ social network recently launched in a challenge to Facebook.

"It's no secret we're big fans of Google+ here at Zynga," the San Francisco-based startup said in a blog post.

Zynga's CityVille spreads to Google+ - Yahoo! News

Autonomy C.E.O.: We Are Still H.P.'s Future - NYTimes.com

Destined to remain autonomous?

If Hewlett-Packard’s ouster last week of its chief executive means software is no longer front and center in the company’s future, no one told Mike Lynch, the chief executive of Autonomy.

H.P. said in August that it was buying Autonomy for about $10.3 billion. “The Autonomy deal is very significant for H.P.,” says Mr. Lynch. “It will transform the H.P. software business. That has to go hand in hand with hardware.” He met with Ray Lane, H.P.’s executive chairman, and Meg Whitman, the company’s new chief executive. “They said ‘We’re still completely supportive of the strategy,’” he says.

Autonomy C.E.O.: We Are Still H.P.'s Future - NYTimes.com

Facebook iPad App Still Snagged in Negotiations - NYTimes.com

Check the article link for more Apple/Facebook history.  I’m guessing Apple won’t announce an expanded Google relationship around Google+…

In June, I reported that the Facebook iPad application had been in the works for almost a year and was essentially complete. According to people briefed on Facebook’s plans at the time, the app was scheduled to be available in the Apple iTunes store a couple of weeks later.

It never appeared. No big announcement. No shiny new iPad application. Just silence.

The app, it turns out, had become the hostage of a tense negotiation between Facebook and Apple executives for a deal to further integrate Facebook into the next version of Apple’s operating system, iOS 5.

Facebook iPad App Still Snagged in Negotiations - NYTimes.com

In Turn to Politics, Facebook Starts a PAC - NYTimes.com

Sign of the times

Facebook wants more friends. And it is willing to pay for them.

The Silicon Valley social media company has for the first time formed an old-fashioned political action committee and will use it to distribute cash to candidates in the coming elections. It is just one indication of how social media companies are integrating with the political landscape in a season in which these businesses are growing presences in the campaign conversation.

In Turn to Politics, Facebook Starts a PAC - NYTimes.com

Facebook's iPad app launching with new iPhone, report says | Apple Talk - CNET News

Fixing a hole

The long wait for Facebook'siPad app could coincide with the long wait for Apple's nextiPhone, a new report claims.

Citing anonymous sources, Mashable today says Facebook plans to release its iPad app at an event held next week by Apple--the same rumored event that is expected to bring the next version of the iPhone, and release of iCloud and iOS 5.

Facebook's iPad app launching with new iPhone, report says | Apple Talk - CNET News

Nielsen: Android Outsells iPhone 2-to-1 - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

The smartphone duopoly expands

Twice as many consumers purchased Android phones over iPhones in the past three months, according to new data from Nielsen. 56 percent of the consumers who purchased a smartphone in the past 3 months opted for an Android device, while 28 percent picked an iPhone.

Nielsen: Android Outsells iPhone 2-to-1 - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Google+ Approaches 50M Users - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

Final paragraphs from a timely Google+ reality check

Consider the context. Competitive pressures without a doubt contributed to some recent Facebook feature launches, but Mark Zuckerberg and company successfully exorcised their Googley demons at f8, where the new Timeline self-expression features and Open Graph auto-sharing tools were announced.

Google+ wasn’t even mentioned once at the press conference following Zuckerberg’s keynote — which was a stunning omission, given the recent tech punditry focus on the Google-Facebook war.

Google+ Approaches 50M Users - Liz Gannes - Social - AllThingsD

White House Petition to End Software Patents Is a Hit - Technology Review

The petition now has more than twice the minimum number of required signatures (the article was published 3 days ago)

At this moment, on the White House's official website for petitioning the government, the only thing as popular as legalizing marijuana and separating church from state is a petition to "Direct the Patent Office to Cease Issuing Software Patents."

[…]

Anyway, if you agree that this madness must stop, you'd better get yourself over to WhiteHouse.gov, because as of the last time I reloaded that site, the petition still needed 531 more signatures in order to merit an official response.

White House Petition to End Software Patents Is a Hit - Technology Review

An App to Track Your Heart Pressure - Technology Review

But can I integrate it with my Facebook ticker?…

A smart-phone app under development for heart-failure patients allows them to keep track of the pressure inside their heart as measured by an implanted sensor. That data could help patients adjust their medication to maintain a healthy pressure, much as diabetics do with insulin and blood sugar readings.

An App to Track Your Heart Pressure - Technology Review

Mexico Turns to Twitter and Facebook for Information and Survival - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a stark snapshot

“Social media is filling the gap left by the press,” said Andrés Monroy-Hernández, a doctoral candidate from Mexico at the M.I.T. Media Lab. “In different regions of Mexico, both the state and the press are weak, while organized crime is becoming stronger and, in some places, replacing the state.”

Many Mexicans now say they trust Twitter more than local news outlets, and in some areas, parents and grandparents are being taught by their children how to get online — specifically so they can be safe.

Mexico Turns to Twitter and Facebook for Information and Survival - NYTimes.com

B&N may be prepping new Nook device | TG Daily

Now would be good timing, if B&N wants to try to leverage the expectation that Amazon won’t release a larger form-factor tablet until next year

Just in time to correspond with Amazon's expected tablet reveal, new rumors are popping up about Barnes & Noble's tablet strategy.

According to a new report on the e-book blog Digital Reader, the brick-and-mortal retail chain will launch a new version of its Nook device by the end of the year.

This one will be a pricier, more feature-rich gadget and is likely to look and feel more like a tablet than a traditional e-reader. The report suggests the new B&N product may carry a name other than 'Nook' and could be priced at around $349.

B&N may be prepping new Nook device | TG Daily

Anticipated Amazon Tablet to Take Aim at Apple iPad - NYTimes.com

Excerpt from a preview of the anticipated Amazon tablet/slate

All that makes Amazon “a nasty competitor,” Ms. Epps wrote in a recent report, and leaves Apple vulnerable among those who want a tablet solely for entertainment and not for professional uses. Since that is about two-thirds of tablet users, Apple’s product strategists will finally have to take a competitor seriously, she concluded.

Apple is not the only vulnerable one. The Amazon tablet will sell for the same price and offer many of the same things as Barnes & Noble’s successful color Nook e-reader. The once-mighty book retailer is staking its future on making the transformation to digital; otherwise it will end up like its one-time competitor Borders, now vanquished.

Anticipated Amazon Tablet to Take Aim at Apple iPad - NYTimes.com

The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out - Peter Kafka - News - AllThingsD

Could be worse; could be AOL or Yahoo…

The Facebook Chart That Freaks Google Out - Peter Kafka - News - AllThingsD

samsung build | eBay

Price trending down (although some offers are still listed for much more)

samsung build | eBay

Why Apple Needs a Real Social Network | Cult of Mac

Check the article link below for a timely Apple reality check

In a single week, Facebook has become not just a competitor to Apple, but the Mother of All Apple Competitors.

Facebook this week announced a series of initiatives and partnerships that the New York Times says makes Facebook a “primary entertainment hub.”

[…]

Facebook is now more directly threatening to Apple’s business model than Microsoft, Google and Sony combined.

Why Apple Needs a Real Social Network | Cult of Mac

Yes, Google Drive Is Coming. For Real This Time. | TechCrunch

Big challenges ahead for Dropbox, Box.net, and other players, as Google Drive, iCloud, and Windows 8 (with Windows Live sync services) flood the cloud storage/sync market; since Facebook is already handling a lot of big image files, it probably wouldn’t be a big stretch for Facebook to also start syncing other types of personal files

And it makes a lot more sense. Few people are using Google Docs for online storage beyond the files they use in Docs. Most still probably don’t even realize they can. Something as simple as changing the name to Google Drive should help with that. There will also be a new “My Google Drive” area for various folders in Google Drive. There will be other Drive-specific tools as well.

But here’s the real key: there will also be native syncing software that you install on your various computers and mobile devices. Yes, like Dropbox.

Yes, Google Drive Is Coming. For Real This Time. | TechCrunch

Ingres deemphasized, company now named Actian | DBMS 2 : DataBase Management System Services

Sort of sad to see the Ingres brand deemphasized, but it’s a pragmatic marketing move

Ingres, the company, is:

• Changing its name to Actian.
• Deemphasizing Ingres, the product.
• Emphasizing a set of products that don’t exist yet (or at least aren’t shipping), namely lightweight mobile apps that are business-intelligence-plus-an-action, and technology for building them. These are called “Action Apps”, and are discussed on the Actian company blog.
• Positioning all this as something to do with “big data” (what a shock).

Ingres deemphasized, company now named Actian | DBMS 2 : DataBase Management System Services

Facebook Does News: What This Means for Google - International Business Times

More Facebook update analysis, with some closing speculation about what it may all mean for Yahoo

"If searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be among the most important of the next," the study's authors said.

Google should be worried. Once "Timeline" is fully rolled out, Facebook's 800 million users will be spending much more time exploring the "new-look Facebook," learning about their Timeline, testing out Open Graph, and designing their shiny new profiles. Furthermore, since updates from Open Graph applications will be displayed in the tiny Ticker instead of the larger News Feed, receiving hundreds of these updates from friends won't be a nuisance, and users can feel guilt-free about sharing them, too.

Facebook Does News: What This Means for Google - International Business Times

Facebook changes critical to site’s long-term survival - Chicago Sun-Times

Excerpt from an Andy Ihnatko Facebook perspective

It’s a shrewd survival move. Facebook has had a big problem that was only going to get worse over time: Its sole currency is the presence of people you know, and social network users are notoriously fickle. Most Facebook users would switch to a new network if their friends and family also switched. Thursday’s moves give people a reason to spend more time inside Facebook proper instead of clicking in and out; the service is becoming more like a socially-powered version of iTunes, delivering content created or recommended by people you know and trust.

The new Facebook will roll out gradually to users over the coming weeks. Facebook’s main problem remains: It’s a huge time-sink, and its ability to track and disseminate information about you has only become broader and scarier. But at least Big Brother has a prettier face, and can help you find something great on Spotify.

Facebook changes critical to site’s long-term survival - Chicago Sun-Times

LinkedIn, Twitter “should become Facebook apps” | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Facebook-as-platform got a lot more credible at F8 2011

The Palo Alto startup [Color] has been working with Facebook for the last six months on its integration and this has made Mr Nguyen a true believer in the power of the 800m-strong platform.

“If you’re Twitter or LinkedIn, you’ve got to really think: ‘Wait a minute, all those customers are already on Facebook’, and the question for them is: do you compete against Facebook or do you actually migrate all your stuff to Facebook and I think the answer is to migrate, because who professionally do I want to meet that doesn’t already have a Facebook account?”

LinkedIn, Twitter “should become Facebook apps” | FT Tech Hub | FTtechhub - Industry analysis – FT.com

Yahoo Wants People to Share - NYTimes.com

One of many intriguing aspects of the F8 keynote yesterday: imagine a world without Google – Yahoo for news, Bing for maps, Netflix and Hulu for video, …  Facebook was clear about having multiple partners in each major media category, but some friends appeared to be closer than others.

At the top of Yahoo news pages, users will see images of their Facebook friends who are also signed up. Clicking on the images brings up a list of Yahoo news articles that those people have read. Individual articles will be stamped with names of friends who have read them, as in “Steve Smith and two others have read this.” Automatic updates on Facebook will also tip off friends to what people are reading.

Yahoo Wants People to Share - NYTimes.com

Facebook’s New Strategy to Turn Eyeballs Into Influence - NYTimes.com

Another Facebook snapshot

Facebook’s moves sharpen the battle lines between the social networking giant and Google, the search giant, because Facebook is trying to change the way people find what they want online. Searching the Web is still the way most people discover content — whether it is news, information about wedding photographers or Swiss chard recipes. Facebook is trying to change that: in effect, friends will direct other friends to content. Google has its own social network product in Google+, but it is far behind Facebook.

“This is two big rivals getting into each others’ backyards,” said Sean Corcoran, an analyst with Forrester Research. “It changes the game for what social networks have been doing. What Facebook is saying is, we are your life online, and also how you discover and share.”

Facebook’s New Strategy to Turn Eyeballs Into Influence - NYTimes.com

Facebook Boldly Annexes the Web - Ben Elowitz - Voices - AllThingsD

Excerpt from a big-picture Facebook perspective

With the new enhancements for its “custom” Open Graph, Facebook will now be wiring its Web to capture every page, every user action, and, eventually, every significant detail — all recorded and categorized.

Unlike previous notable attempts to predict, or even define, a “semantic” Web — a Web where actions and objects are identified, categorized, and have meaning — I believe that Facebook’s will succeed. At first, however, it will do this one action and object at a time, gradually adding each one into its ever-expanding repertoire.

For its semantic approach, Facebook has two incredible advantages: it knows the people of the Web intimately; and, unlike any other system in the world, it records a true timeline of activity.

Facebook Boldly Annexes the Web - Ben Elowitz - Voices - AllThingsD

Borrowing Kindle E-Books: A Hands-On Guide | PCWorld

I look forward to exploring further, if I ever catch up with all of the Kindle samples and books I’ve already downloaded…

Amazon has Kindle-fied e-lending, letting you download the books directly to your Kindle with no extra software required. What's more, you can take notes, highlight passages and so on, and Amazon will hold on to that information. If you return the book and then take it out again at some later point (or purchase a copy), all your info will still be there.

It seems like a great service, but Amazon is soft-selling it in one respect: they're not saying which 11,000 libraries they've partnered with. You have to either go to your library's website to find out if they offer the service, or check out the Overdrive site. Overdrive powers e-book lending for a number of formats, though, so it might take some digging around to find one that does Kindle books. If you're looking for a specific book you can use their Advanced Search and specify Kindle format and see what pops up.

Borrowing Kindle E-Books: A Hands-On Guide | PCWorld

Searching for New Ideas - Technology Review

A couple Google Fusion Tables (recently integrated with Google Docs) excerpts from an Alfred Spector interview

Can you give an example of some AI that has come out of this research effort?

[…]

Another example is Fusion Tables, which is now part of Google Docs [the company's online office suite]. You can create a database that is shared with others and visualize and publish that data. A lot of media organizations are using it to display information on Google Maps or Google Earth to explain situations to the public. [During the recent hurricane Irene, New York public radio station WNYC used Fusion Tables to create an interactive guide to evacuation zones in the city.]

Does Google have a particular approach to AI?

[…]

We think Fusion Tables will also help our systems learn. If there are thousands of tables that say there are 50 states in the Union, there are probably 50 states in the Union. And the Union probably has states. Don't underestimate that. It sounds trivial, but computers can induce lots of information from many examples.

Searching for New Ideas - Technology Review

Oracle Grows Software Business, Moves Away from x86 Hardware

Apparently Larry Ellison didn’t get the memo about the new Oracle Database Appliance, unveiled yesterday, being based on Intel processors

Oracle is looking to further grow its revenues and income this year by moving away from the x86 hardware businesses and focusing on hardware that leverages Oracle's intellectual property.

"I don't care if our commodity x86 business goes to zero," Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said during the company's earnings call with analysts. "We don't make any money selling those things. We have no interest in selling other people's IP, and commodity x86 includes Intel IP and Microsoft IP."

Oracle Grows Software Business, Moves Away from x86 Hardware

Mini-Microsoft tips Steven Sinofsky as next Microsoft CEO | WinRumors

In other CEO speculation this week

The suggestion that Sinofsky could succeed Ballmer has intensified amongst Microsoft watchers and employees since BUILD. Privately, a number of Microsoft employees I spoke to off-record at BUILD last week admitted that Sinofsky is a likely choice if Windows 8 succeeds. Some mirrored Mini-Microsoft’s concerns at a Sinofsky-led Microsoft but others spoke with admiration and respect for what he has achieved for Windows and Office. Microsoft lacks a visionary leader and Sinofsky appears to fill that role very well. Co-founder Bill Gates handed over the CEO position to Steve Ballmer in January 2000 and transitioned from full-time work at Microsoft to focus on his philanthropy in June, 2008. Gates’ departure came after his vision and belief that tablet computing would be mainstream by 2012 (see video). Gates was right but Ballmer has often misjudged competitor products, he laughed at the introduction of the iPhone and branded it “the most expensive phone in the world” (see video). The iPhone went on to redefine smartphones and triggered a battle for a space that Microsoft had invested heavily in with the now defunct Windows Mobile operating system.

Mini-Microsoft tips Steven Sinofsky as next Microsoft CEO | WinRumors

Hewlett-Packard Reeling Accelerates CEO Succession Crisis: Tech - Businessweek

More HP CEO++ speculation

Apotheker’s ouster would leave the board looking for a leader who can do a better job helping Hewlett-Packard weather a personal-computer slump while pushing further into the market for products that deliver computing services over the Web. CEO candidates may also include Todd Bradley, who runs Hewlett- Packard’s PC unit, and David Donatelli, head of the business in charge of servers, storage and networking, said Jayson Noland, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. in San Francisco.

Other possible candidates that would make sense include Gary Moore, chief operating officer of Cisco Systems Inc., or Steve Mills, who runs the software unit at International Business Machines Corp., said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. in San Francisco.

Hewlett-Packard Reeling Accelerates CEO Succession Crisis: Tech - Businessweek

Hewlett-Packard Board Expected to Fire C.E.O. - NYTimes.com

tbd if Apotheker will be able to eventually land a CEO role that he’ll be able to keep for more than a year (he was co-CEO at SAP for more than a year, but lasted less than a year as SAP CEO).  In the meantime, HP shareholders may want to consider firing the HP board, which has been behind all of the exec turmoil.

With the move to fire its third chief executive in a row, Hewlett-Packard risks looking like the tech company that cannot find its way. It is one of the oldest and most successful tech companies and yet in recent years it has been surpassed by far more innovative and better-managed companies like Google, Apple and Facebook in symbolizing innovation in Silicon Valley. The question facing H.P. is whether a new chief executive can restore its leadership position.

Hewlett-Packard Board Expected to Fire C.E.O. - NYTimes.com

Windows 8 may be a little too advanced for most users - Business - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from a Hiawatha Bray review

[…]  While the coolest new Metro features in Windows 8 are optimized for touch-based devices, the overwhelming majority of users will still rely on a keyboard and mouse. That’s not going to change for a very long time. Metro will work with mouse and keyboard, but switching between apps is often clumsy and confusing. Traditional PC users may abandon Metro altogether and stick to the standard desktop.

But in that case, why rush to convert to Windows 8? Nearly half of all PC users are still running decade-old Windows XP software; Windows 7 is still young and very good. Unless you’re ready for a touchscreen machine, there’s little reason to choose Windows 8.

Windows 8 may be a little too advanced for most users - Business - The Boston Globe

Prepare Yourselves: Facebook To Be Profoundly Changed [Mashable]

I’m guessing the people already frustrated with the changes earlier this week will not be elated

But these changes are just the beginning. The changes Facebook will roll out on Thursday are designed to enhance the emotional connection its users have to each other through Facebook. These changes will make Facebook a place where nearly everything in your life is enhanced by your social graph. These changes will make it so you know your friends better than you ever thought you could.

On Thursday, developers will be elated, users will be shellshocked and the competition will look ancient. On Thursday, Facebook will be reborn. Prepare yourselves for the evolution of social networking.

Prepare Yourselves: Facebook To Be Profoundly Changed

Google evangelist warns Facebook could be the next AOL or IBM | Technology | The Guardian

I guess that helps to explain why his current title is “evangelist”

Vint Cerf, Google's chief internet evangelist, and the man who designed one of the key building blocks of the internet, warned that Facebook's 'closed' architecture meant that it was risk of eventually failing to keep up with the public who want an open standard so they can easily jump from one website to another.

Speaking at an event organised by the Guardian, Cerf said that Facebook was at risk of following the path of companies such as AOL, whose original business model became irrelevant, or being rendered obsolete like proprietary networking systems once invented by the likes of IBM.

Google evangelist warns Facebook could be the next AOL or IBM | Technology | The Guardian

Rethinking my blogging strategy, considering recent Facebook and Google+ refinements

(This started as a Facebook post; if you saw it there, you can ignore it here…)

With all of the substantive improvements to both Facebook and Google+ this week, I'm starting to seriously wonder if it's time to shift away from my current blog and to share more in Facebook and/or Google+ instead. Best-case scenario for me at this point would be if a tool such as Windows Live Writer (which already offers the ability to select from a variety of publication channel types at post time) added the option of posting to Facebook or Google+, but I’m not expecting to see those options “real soon now,” at least not in Windows Live Writer.

Overall, I believe we’re about to see a very competitive environment, in the “share box” context (a term IBM uses in Connections and Google uses in Google+), as Google+ and Facebook expand their competitive scope, Windows 8’s system-wide sharing support is explored by Windows 8 pre-beta testers, etc.  Indeed, given the central focus on sharing in Windows 8, I suspect Windows Live Writer may already be in “legacy” mode.

XQuery Survey 2011

Please consider taking a few minutes to complete this XQuery survey by Jim Fuller

I am looking for feedback on the XQuery programming language. Please answer all questions as completely as possible. This poll and other information is forming the basis of a talk I am giving at GOTO 2011 Arhus, Denmark (http://lanyrd.com/2011/gotocon-aarhus/shqhc/). I will share all results at the end of October 2011.

XQuery Survey 2011

True-blue Google wraps itself in red - Mike Zapler - POLITICO.com

Apparently time to work on political donation ROI in the Googleplex

In 2012, the search giant headquartered in bright blue Silicon Valley has wrapped itself in red, hiring a string of Republicans and even hosting a GOP presidential debate Thursday night with Fox News.

Tech observers say Google is finally wising up politically: Playing clear favorites with one party or the other was bound to backfire in Washington.

But neither the company's reputation as liberal corporate poster child nor its more recent rightward tack seem to be paying off so far.

True-blue Google wraps itself in red - Mike Zapler - POLITICO.com

Glam Media Said to Pay $150 Million for Andreessen’s Ning - BusinessWeek

A face-saving exit for Ning

Glam Media Inc., a provider of Internet-advertising services targeting women, will pay about $150 million to acquire social-networking site Ning Inc., according to two people familiar with the transaction.

Glam agreed to purchase Ning and have co-founder Marc Andreessen join its board, the two companies said today. Glam will pay mostly in preferred stock, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the terms haven’t been made public.

Glam Media Said to Pay $150 Million for Andreessen’s Ning - BusinessWeek

Oracle Hardware Sales Continue Decline, New SPARC Servers In The Wings

Increasing focus at Oracle; also see Oracle Posts Solid Gains in a Sector in Turmoil (NYT)

Those high-margin products include Oracle's Exadata and Exalogic servers and high-end SPARC servers. "We had growth in the core SPARC product line," said Co-President Mark Hurd on the earnings call. He noted that hardware gross margins in the quarter increased to 54 percent from 48 percent in last year's first quarter, a number he said Oracle focuses on more than changes in hardware sales.

"I don't care if our commodity x86 [server] business goes to zero," Ellison said. "We don't make any money selling those things. Sun sold that stuff and we are phasing out that business."

Oracle Hardware Sales Continue Decline, New SPARC Servers In The Wings

Led by Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Mobile Devices Now Dominate Airport Wi-Fi - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

A timely traveler technology reality check

Boingo notes that laptops aren’t going away — mobile devices are just proliferating much faster. There are twice as many laptops, for example, than there were in 2007. However the smartphone has taken off, fueled by the launch of the iPhone in June of 2007.

Apple’s iOS continues to dominate the mobile space, accounting for 83 percent of the mobile total. Combined, all Android devices are still a distant fourth place behind the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch when it comes to popularity on Boingo’s network.

The findings mirror a rise in mobile devices using inflight Wi-Fi, such as that offered by Gogo. In the air, iPads account for more than a third of big-screen connections, compared to about 20 percent for Macs and 41 percent for Windows PCs. Android devices trail Apple’s mobile products on Gogo’s networks as well.

Led by Apple’s iPhone and iPad, Mobile Devices Now Dominate Airport Wi-Fi - Ina Fried - News - AllThingsD

Google Cries Bing and Yelp Yelps, As Senate Hearings Commence Today - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Expect some energetic debate in DC today

Schmidt, according to written testimony obtained by the Politico blog, will be trotting out the company’s longtime argument that its competitors are “only one click away” from taking Google down.

And, in what can only be described as a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding furthering of that meme, Schmidt will apparently claim that Microsoft’s much tinier Bing search service could catch and pass Google by next year.

Google Cries Bing and Yelp Yelps, As Senate Hearings Commence Today - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Google flight search breaks vow, Expedia says - Business - The Boston Globe

An addition to the Google antitrust complaint collection

Google Inc. is breaking a promise it made to antitrust regulators who approved its purchase of ITA Software Inc. this year by ranking its new flight information service ahead of competitors, according to Expedia Inc.

Google, which introduced its own flight search service Sept. 13, “excludes any link to online travel agencies, which are key options for comparison shopping,’’ according to testimony by Tom Barnett, Expedia’s outside counsel, prepared for delivery today at a Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee hearing on Google’s business practices on the Internet.

Google flight search breaks vow, Expedia says - Business - The Boston Globe

The Wonderful Phone-ification of Windows 8 [Windows IT Pro]

Excerpt from Paul Thurrott Windows 8/Windows Phone analysis

Walk through that pretty Windows 8 UI and you'll see a bunch of familiar terminology, assuming you're a Windows Phone junkie like me. Live tiles sitting on a Start screen. A rich Lock screen with notification icons. A Windows Phone–like PIN password option (and an even cooler Picture password). Secondary tiles so that apps can pin "interior" functionality; an email app might let you pin a particular email folder, for example. Integrated search, for files, apps, and information inside apps. Location services. On and on it goes. The line isn't just blurring, it's disappearing.

Indeed, my sources tell me that the line really is disappearing and that the next major Windows Phone version, due in late 2012, will in fact be based on the Windows 8 code base. (Windows Phone 7.5 should ship sometime very soon and is a minor update to the initial version.) This too will have some interesting ramifications, if true, although I think it's clear that Windows Phone will evolve to pick up some of the improved Windows 8 functionality—better configurable live tiles, for example—regardless.

The Wonderful Phone-ification of Windows 8

Official Google Blog: Google+: 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... 100.

More Google+ news: into an open beta phase

100. Anyone can sign up for Google+—no invitation required.
For the past 12 weeks we’ve been in field trial, and during that time we’ve listened and learned a great deal. We’re nowhere near done, but with the improvements we’ve made so far we’re ready to move from field trial to beta, and introduce our 100th feature: open signups. This way anyone can visit google.com/+, join the project and connect with the people they care about.
Over the next day we'll be rolling out all of these features globally. In the meantime, you can check out what's next in Google+.

Official Google Blog: Google+: 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... 100.

Google rolls out Hangouts live streaming & Hangouts mobile — Online Video News

Significant new features for Google+ Hangouts

Google added a number of key features to its Google+ Hangouts live video chat Tuesday morning: Select users can now broadcast their Hangouts, which turns the intimate chat sessions into a live stream that can be watched by an unlimited number of participants. Hangouts are also now available to mobile users through the latest version of the Android Google+ app. Other new features include the ability to share your screen with other Hangout participants, and a Hangouts API.

Other Hangout highlights from the link above:

Screensharing: for when you want to show off your vacation photos, your high score, your lesson plan or whatever else is on your screen

Sketchpad: for when you want to draw, doodle, or just scribble together

Google Docs: for when you want to write, plan or present something with others

Named Hangouts: for when you want to join or create a public hangout about a certain topic (like fashion or music or sports...)

Google rolls out Hangouts live streaming & Hangouts mobile — Online Video News

A comment on delayed comment posting

Oops – sorry for the delayed comment posting; I just realized Blogger’s comment filtering has been more conservative lately, and has been categorizing more comments as spam.  In response to the comments on my recent OOXML/ODF document (see link below for context):

• I’m afraid I can’t directly share the original Burton Group OOXML/ODF report, but you may be able to download it here
• I thought about publishing the latest document in both OOXML and ODF formats, but it’s a non-revisable format sharing context, so I considered PDF a reasonable choice

Peter O'Kelly's Reality Check: Revisiting Open Document Format and Office Open XML: The Quiet Revolution Continues

Without Jobs, Apple Shares Hit All-Time High - NYTimes.com

Evidently some people think Apple will be okay despite the introduction of Windows 8

At the end of regular trading Monday, Apple shares closed at $411.63, up 2.78 percent, with a new record-high market valuation of $381.62 billion. It is now clearly the most valuable company on the stock market, displacing Exxon Mobil, with a market capitalization of $358.34 billion.

Without Jobs, Apple Shares Hit All-Time High - NYTimes.com

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

F8ful expectations

This week, according to numerous media and technology executives, Facebook will unveil a media platform that will allow people to easily share their favorite music, television shows and movies, effectively making the basic profile page a primary entertainment hub.

Facebook, which has more than 750 million users, has not revealed its plans, but the company is widely expected to announce the service at its F8 developers’ conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

Hewlett-Packard Shows Hazard of Sharing LinkedIn Profiles: Tech - BusinessWeek

Another social sign of the times

As workers put more information about their lives online through status updates, location check-ins and resume changes, employers are more at risk of competitors watching their every move. Investigators at Kroll Inc., the 40-year-old corporate sleuthing pioneer, are known for scanning deleted computer files and monitoring surveillance cameras to help large companies uncover rivals’ secrets. Now they’re trawling the social Web.

“Social media has become a much more efficient way of getting information that could only be gotten in the past by things like surveillance,” said Kroll Senior Managing Director Rich Plansky.

Hewlett-Packard Shows Hazard of Sharing LinkedIn Profiles: Tech - BusinessWeek

Will Schmidt Show Restraint at Senate Hearing — Or Will He Need One? - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Check the full post for more Eric Schmidt history

But can Schmidt restrain himself from making them? Given his record to date, that seems unlikely. In the past year alone he’s made a string of verbal gaffes for which he and Google have taken quite a beating in the media.

Speaking about Google’s social media efforts and its growing rivalry with Facebook at the company’s Zeitgeist conference last September, Schmidt ominously said, “The best thing that would happen is for Facebook to open up its data. Failing that, there are other ways to get that information.”

That same month, he told the Atlantic, “We don’t need you to type at all. We know where you are. We know where you’ve been. We can more or less know what you’re thinking about.”

Will Schmidt Show Restraint at Senate Hearing — Or Will He Need One? - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

The Google Wallet is Open for Business - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

The good news: you can carry fewer credit cards.  The bad news: you should probably carry a spare phone battery.

As expected, Google has launched its mobile payments service today, allowing a very few people to tap their phone to pay at the register.

As part of the announcement, Google declared that it will also be working with Visa, American Express and Discover in addition to its original partners MasterCard and Citi to bring the technology to more consumers.

The Google Wallet is Open for Business - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

Drupal's Torvalds figure gets life-sucking Android app • The Register

A different kind of linked data

"Is this for real?" the Torvalds of Drupal tweeted this weekend, before continuing: "Dries Buytaert Android App". Yes, Dries, it is real.

Buytaert, the founder and leader of Drupal, has been turned into an application for download on the Android marketplace.

Called simply "Dries", the application claims it'll tell you everything you want to know about the founder of the popular open-source content management system that he pioneered at university

Drupal's Torvalds figure gets life-sucking Android app • The Register

Google 21st Century Robber Baron - Forbes

Excerpt from a stark Google reality check

How can all this be? A top Google lawyer tells us how: “Google’s leadership does not care terribly much about precedent or law,” per the book In The Plex. Compounding the scofflaw nature of Google’s leadership, is that Google senior management have no practical accountability to their board.  Under the Sarbanes-Oxley, the Corporate Accountability and Responsibility Act, Google’s Board, “independent” directors and audit committee are supposed to ensure that Google senior management adheres to its legal and ethical standards and that Google has sufficient internal controls. But Google’s founders ensured that that accountability could not occur. In Google’s 2004 IPO, senior management were granted 10-1 super-voting shares, to ensure that Google’s senior management would control the company and that the Google Board would have no real power or accountability over senior management’s behavior, practices or ethics.

Google 21st Century Robber Baron - Forbes

No iPad 3 Until 2012 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

An iPad market dynamics reality check

Which makes perfect sense, really. Remember, the iPad 2 launched in March of this year. Why bother updating a device that isn’t yet a year old — especially when it’s selling so well? According to the latest metrics from IDC, the iPad holds a 68.3 percent of the tablet market. With that massive a share and no true rival to threaten it, there’s little reason to expedite the next version of the device.

Says Moskowitz, “We do not think Apple needs to be in a rush to unveil a new iPad. …The other tablet entrants have stumbled so far, and that trend-line could persist deep into 2012. Motorola Mobility and Research In Motion have been recent disappointments, and we expect more stumbles from others.”

No iPad 3 Until 2012 - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Political theater will follow Google's Schmidt to D.C. | Digital Media - CNET News

Interesting mimes for Google

Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group critical of Google's gathering of personal information, is planning a barrage of stunts, a video, and testimony to highlight the dangers of the Web giant's growing power. The group is particularly concerned about Google's tracking of users as they move about the Web, and its gathering of data about them.

So Consumer Watchdog has hired mimes to follow workers around Dirksen Senate Office Building, where Schmidt will testify. Those mimes will be wearing white track suits emblazoned with the words, "Google Track Team."

Political theater will follow Google's Schmidt to D.C. | Digital Media - CNET News

Google Girds for a Grilling - WSJ.com

With great power comes great lobbying investments

Hoping to fend off any antitrust action, Google has hired at least 13 lobbying and communications firms since May, when the Federal Trade Commission ramped up its probe of the Internet giant. Firms led by figures from both parties—including former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt and the son of Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar—are going to bat for the company.

Google Girds for a Grilling - WSJ.com

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

A F8ful week for media sharing

This week, according to numerous media and technology executives, Facebook will unveil a media platform that will allow people to easily share their favorite music, television shows and movies, effectively making the basic profile page a primary entertainment hub.

Facebook, which has more than 750 million users, has not revealed its plans, but the company is widely expected to announce the service at its F8 developers’ conference in San Francisco on Thursday.

Facebook Is Expected to Unveil Media-Sharing Service - NYTimes.com

Google to Face Congressional Antitrust Hearing - NYTimes.com

A big week for Google

“The similarity between Google and Microsoft years ago is the potential for harm, the risk that a dominant company uses its power to disadvantage others,” said Mitchell Kapor, a longtime Silicon Valley technologist and investor. “But Google was born on the open Internet, and things are just generally far more open to innovators and start-ups than in the Microsoft era.”

And, as proof of the rapid turn of fortunes in technology, Microsoft is now the underdog, trailing well behind Google in search and search advertising, urging government officials to take action. Microsoft has met regularly with antitrust investigators in America and filed a complaint against Google in Europe this year.

“We appreciate the irony,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, said in an interview earlier this year.

Google to Face Congressional Antitrust Hearing - NYTimes.com

Online ID Verification Plan Carries Risks - NYTimes.com

This debate seems to cycle around every few years; maybe the time is right

But the White House is out to fight cyberphobia with an initiative intended to bolster confidence in e-commerce.

The plan, called the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace and introduced earlier this year, encourages the private-sector development and public adoption of online user authentication systems. Think of it as a driver’s license for the Internet. The idea is that if people have a simple, easy way to prove who they are online with more than a flimsy password, they’ll naturally do more business on the Web. And companies and government agencies, like Social Security or the I.R.S., could offer those consumers faster, more secure online services without having to come up with their own individual vetting systems.

p.s. Kim Cameron’s (quoted in the article) Microsoft employment relationship has morphed (suggesting his Microsoft bio page is out-of-date)

Online ID Verification Plan Carries Risks - NYTimes.com

Windows 8 on a tablet: iPad takes on Microsoft’s last ditch gambit : Beatweek Magazine

Excerpt from an accentuate-the-negative Microsoft snapshot

Microsoft’s problem is other than the highly popular Xbox, the company hasn’t successfully entered a new market in over a decade. The Zune was a flop of embarrassing proportions, being mostly an iPod knockoff which arrived years late (in brown, no less) and didn’t offer anything which anyone cared about. MS had been expecting to be able to capitalize on Xbox success with the Zune, even designating songs in the Zune music store with the same faux-currency used by Xbox gamers. It didn’t work. Meanwhile Apple largely owns the tablet market, with the iPad 2 single handedly outselling all competing tablets combined. The multitude of Android tablets fight each other for the same minority marketshare. The HP TouchPad has been canceled. The BlackBerry PlayBook is about to be. Microsoft’s move, then, turns out to be an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of Windows. It’s an odd gambit…

Windows 8 on a tablet: iPad takes on Microsoft’s last ditch gambit : Beatweek Magazine

How To Sync Evernote With Google+ [Byte]

A handy option, if you’re using Evernote and Google+ (of course, you can also clip content into Evernote browser extensions/add-ins]

Google+ is a great tool for collaborating with colleagues and staying up-to-date with your social network. Evernote is my favorite cross-platform note-taking and bookmarking tool. Combine Google+ and Evernote, and you've got something pretty powerful. Here’s how to use Google+ and Evernote together--by sending Google+ conversations into Evernote.

How To Sync Evernote With Google+

BlackBerry PlayBook price slashing begins: $249 and up for Rogers workers [BGR]

Perhaps RIM will make up the per-unit loss on volume, a la HP TouchPad

While the new price points have not yet been disclosed, it looks like the first move in carriers’ efforts to clear their shelves actually started this past Tuesday. Long-time RIM comrade Rogers has launched an internal sale on each of RIM’s three PlayBook models, and company employees are now able to purchase the slate at discounts of up to 50% off.

BlackBerry PlayBook price slashing begins: $249 and up for Rogers workers

Paul, I Accept Your Resignation | TechCrunch

The TechCrunch saga continues

Paul Carr, one of our columnists who was hired for his grandstanding ways, has decided to fall on his own sword and quit very publicly on TechCrunch. I believe this is the second or third time he’s quit in public in the past couple weeks. I keep losing count. He thinks he is somehow being loyal to Mike and standing up for the editorial independence of the site. But he is not. He is just grandstanding.

Paul, I Accept Your Resignation | TechCrunch

The next great OS could be . . . a touched-up Windows 8? - Chicago Sun-Times

Excerpt from an insightful Microsoft/Apple/Google reality check (via Dan Lyons)

But enough about Apple. There’s one clear loser in all of this: Google.

Android is a terrific OS on a phone but on tablets, it’s been a complete shambles. Every Android-based tablet released thus far has been a functional and commercial disaster, posting insignificant sales and rebuffing every attempt I’ve made to find something nice to say about it. “Nice try,” I say, sincerely hoping Google learned enough to make the next edition a lot better than this. If a friend told me he planned to buy an Android tablet I’d commit myself to stopping him, owing to the same humanist impulse that would make me seize a child’s collar and yank him from the path of an oncoming truck.

Seriously, read the full article; it’s the best Windows 8 perspective piece I’ve seen this week

The next great OS could be . . . a touched-up Windows 8? - Chicago Sun-Times

Google Launches First Google+ APIs [Mashable]

Timed to tempt F8 (attendees)?

Google has unveiled the first developer application programming interfaces for Google+, the company’s new social network.

The launch is the first step toward developers creating Google+ apps and integrating the social network into existing apps.

“I’m super excited about how the Google+ project brings the richness and nuance of real-life sharing to software, and today we’re announcing our first step toward bringing this to your apps as well by launching the Google+ public data APIs,” Google Developer Advocate Chris Chabot said in a Google+ post.

Google Launches First Google+ APIs

Can AOL and Yahoo Come Back to Life? - BusinessWeek

Short version of the article: not likely…

Can AOL and Yahoo Come Back to Life? - BusinessWeek

RIM Profit Falls 58.7%, Raising Doubts - NYTimes.com

Another grave milestone for RIM

RIM said that its second-quarter net income fell by 58.7 percent to $329 million, or 63 cents a share, from $797 million, or $1.46 a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue fell by 10 percent to $4.2 billion, an amount greater than analysts had expected.

“We question the company’s long-term viability,” said Bill Kreher, an analyst with Edward Jones. “The clock is ticking.”

RIM Profit Falls 58.7%, Raising Doubts - NYTimes.com

RIM Will Combat Lackluster PlayBook Sales With New Software and Prices - Tricia Duryee - Mobile - AllThingsD

200,000 PlayBooks sold thus far; perhaps headed to the Blue Light Special zone

Poor sales performance of the BlackBerry PlayBook only managed to drag down the company’s second-quarter results, which came in at the low end of forecasts.

But Research in Motion said during the investor call this afternoon that it will try a combination of offering new features and a lower price to spur new sales and reinvigorate interest in the device.

RIM Will Combat Lackluster PlayBook Sales With New Software and Prices - Tricia Duryee - Mobile - AllThingsD

Facebook Smart Lists: Mark Zuckerberg's genius ability to take other sites' best ideas. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

Google is not the only one in Manifest Destiny mode

This is Facebook's greatest strength: Zuckerberg and his minions copy everyone else's best ideas freely, unashamedly, and really, really well. Just after announcing Smart Lists this week, Facebook launched another big feature. The site's new Subscribe button lets you get specific people's updates directly in your News Feed, even people you haven't friended. Sound familiar? It should, because subscribing to someone on Facebook is exactly like following someone on Twitter.

On Facebook, friendship has always been a two-way street—this was one of its core principles. But Twitter's success apparently led the company to decide it was flexible on that point. Facebook has been similarly inspired by lots more features around the Web. The site's other recent initiatives include check-ins (cribbed from Foursquare), Deals (Groupon), Questions (Quora), and mobile chatting with a group of friends (GroupMe). Star Trek fans will recognize this promiscuous pilfering as the principal tactic of the Borg. Like that futuristic collective, Facebook roams the tech universe in search of interesting technology, then mercilessly assimilates all the best stuff into its ever-larger catalog of features.

Facebook Smart Lists: Mark Zuckerberg's genius ability to take other sites' best ideas. - By Farhad Manjoo - Slate Magazine

Windows 8's New-Style Browser Doesn't Run Flash - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

An important clarification – you will still be able to use plug-ins on Windows 8 tablet/slates if you are so inclined, but the non-desktop-PC version of IE will not support plug-ins (including Flash and, as Ina Fried notes later in the article, Silverlight)

To be clear, Windows 8 — even Windows 8 tablets — can still run Flash by using the desktop version of Internet Explorer (or other browsers, for that matter). However, the desktop applications lack the clean user interface that makes Windows 8 attractive on a touch-only slate.

Microsoft justifies the move by noting that even among sites that use Flash, many offer HTML5 video options in the absence of the Adobe plugin.

Windows 8's New-Style Browser Doesn't Run Flash - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

It’s Called Google Propeller and It’s Aimed at Flipboard (and Facebook Too, Natch) - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

More Google in Manifest Destiny mode

According to numerous sources close to the situation, Google is indeed working on rolling out the new product, which is currently called Propeller.

Sources said Propeller is apparently one of a number of new socially focused announcements Google is prepping, including new apps. But the timing for their launch is unclear.

Here’s what is: Propeller is a souped-up version of similar reader apps such as Flipboard, AOL’s Editions, Yahoo’s Livestand, Zite (which was just bought by Time Warner’s CNN) and Pulse.

It’s Called Google Propeller and It’s Aimed at Flipboard (and Facebook Too, Natch) - Kara Swisher - Media - AllThingsD

WinRT is Replacing Win32 [SuperSite blog]

Excerpt from a Paul Thurrott Windows 8 reality check

One of the confusing bits about WinRT is, well, everything. But after conferring with others and studying Microsoft's documentation, I can make the following general statement: WinRT (the new Windows Run Time) is not a replacement for Silverlight or .NET, it's a replacement for Win32. And that means that it's the new native runtime for Windows, and not a managed code layer that sits higher on the stack. And that means further than the layers that do sit on top of WinRT--XAML/C# (and other languages), HTML/JavaScript, and DirectX--are far less abstracted from native code than was previously thought.

This has many ramifications. It means that all of these layers--XAML/C# (and other languages), HTML/JavaScript, and DirectX--will have basically identical capabilities. And it means that HTML and JavaScript applications will likely run just as fast, generally speaking, as do C# and XAML apps, something I suspect will be surprising to many people.

WinRT is Replacing Win32

Trunk Spotlight: Quickoffice Pro HD Lets You Do More With Your Files in Evernote (Back-to-School Series) « Evernote Blogcast

An example of Evernote serving as a distributed file system

We all interact with lots of files on a daily basis — everything from documents to spreadsheets to presentations. While we sit at our computers, creating and editing these files is easy, but the minute we go mobile, everything about this “easy” process goes from painful to nearly impossible.

Enter the cool integration between Evernote and Quickoffice Pro HD, a mobile office solution for your iPad.

When you connect Quickoffice Pro HD on your iPad to your Evernote account, you’ll be able to open any Office file contained in your Evernote account, make whatever changes you want, then save the updated version back into Evernote.

Trunk Spotlight: Quickoffice Pro HD Lets You Do More With Your Files in Evernote (Back-to-School Series) « Evernote Blogcast

Brier Dudley's Blog | The Samsung Windows 8 tablet: Here's how to get one | Seattle Times Newspaper

So maybe the BUILD attendee kit is not such a bargain on eBay

But Samsung is going to begin selling the same device next month in the U.S. for $1,099. It will have the same configuration -- a 64 gigabyte solid-state hard-drive, Intel's second-generation Core i5 processor, a charging dock, stylus and Bluetooth keyboard -- but will come with Windows 7.

It has an 11.6" widescreen display, it weighs about 1.9 pounds and is a half-inch thick.

A Samsung representative said the system can be loaded with the preview version of Windows 8 that Microsoft began distributing for free on Tuesday night. It's unclear whether the same hardware will be shipped next year when Windows 8 is done, by which time hardware and component prices will have changed.

Brier Dudley's Blog | The Samsung Windows 8 tablet: Here's how to get one | Seattle Times Newspaper

Google grabs 1,023 patents from IBM - SlashGear

Google does some more patent shopping at IBM; a couple that caught my attention (check this page for the list) includes “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HISTORY-BASED MOVEMENT OF SHARED-DATA IN COHERENT CACHE MEMORIES OF A MULTIPROCESSOR SYSTEM USING PUSH PREFETCHING” and “SYSTEM AND METHOD IN AN ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET FOR DISPLAYING AND/OR HIDING RANGE OF CELLS”

Google has snapped up a new patent haul, buying over a thousand from IBM in what’s believed to be another attempt to shore up Android’s defenses against Apple and others. The 1,023 transferred patents were detailed by the US Patent and Trademark Office, with Google subsequently confirming the deal had taken place. It’s not the first such transaction we’ve seen; back in July, Google bought a different 1,030 patents from IBM.

Google grabs 1,023 patents from IBM - SlashGear

AppleInsider | Microsoft jettisons Flash with 'plug-in free' Windows 8 Metro IE10

One of many dimensions of Microsoft BUILD developments that are bad news for Adobe (via Steve Gillmor)

The tablet-optimized Metro version of Internet Explorer 10 in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 will be a "plug-in free experience," as the company follows Apple's lead in abandoning Adobe Flash in favor of HTML5 on tablets.
Microsoft revealed Wednesday on its Building Windows 8 blog that the Metro version of IE10 will drop plug-ins because the experience that they provide is "not a good match with Metro style browsing and the modern HTML5 web." The company will, however, continue to support Adobe Flash and other plug-ins on the desktop version of Internet Explorer 10.

AppleInsider | Microsoft jettisons Flash with 'plug-in free' Windows 8 Metro IE10

Yahoo for Sale: Possible Bidders Circling, as Board Pressure Mounts - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Excerpt from a Yahoo scenario reality check

One problem is the huge cost of almost any kind of takeover and also the complexity, given much of Yahoo’s $18.5 billion valuation is due to its Asian assets.

The sale of those shares, as well as the selling off of some of Yahoo’s less core properties, makes for a very complicated situation for anyone.

Said one person looking at the company: “It is one of the more massive hairballs around.”

That is a common sentiment among many of those looking at Yahoo, which has hired Allen & Co. to manage the process.

Yahoo for Sale: Possible Bidders Circling, as Board Pressure Mounts - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

Sony Tablet S Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

A tablet for those who wish to make a statement, apparently

Now, Sony, whose brand and reputation for design have long resonated with consumers, is trying something different. On Friday, it is launching a handsome tablet with an unusual, asymmetrical design and some software tweaks and content services it hopes can set it apart from the pack.

I’ve been testing this device, called the Sony Tablet S, and I generally like it, despite some weaknesses and some features that aren’t yet fleshed out because they won’t be fully rolled out at launch. The Tablet S will appeal to buyers who would like a distinctive tablet from a trusted company that doesn’t look like an iPad wannabe.

Sony Tablet S Review - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Connecting on Facebook, friendship no longer required | MediaFile

A couple Facebook/Twitter convergence themes:

But that’s about to change as Facebook, the world’s largest Internet social networking service, introduces a new feature that means people will no longer need to be friends to form a relationship.

A new “subscribe” button announced on Wednesday will allow Facebook users to essentially tune-in to updates from people they are interested in, but don’t necessarily know personally, such as artists, political figures, corporate executives, or columnists.

Also see Along with Subscriptions, You’ll Soon Be Able to Update Twitter from Facebook (TechCrunch)

Connecting on Facebook, friendship no longer required | MediaFile

Watch out, Apple: Windows 8 could trump the iPad [InfoWorld]

More Windows 8 perspectives – and perhaps “… the rest of the story” for the HP TouchPad

But if Windows 8 is nearly as good as the demos look, Microsoft could very well win the mobile wars, despite years of failures in Windows tablets and mediocre smartphone efforts [8]. If Hewlett-Packard CEO Léo Apotheker had seen a preview of Windows 8 tablets, that would explain why he suddenly killed the WebOS-based TouchPad [9] tablet last month. Windows 8 is very likely to squeeze Google Android [10] out of second place in the tablet market -- after all, Android is largely an iOS imitation, and I don't see how Google will stand out if Microsoft joins Apple in offering compelling, differentiated innovation. In fact, for the first time in a long time, Microsoft may challenge Apple on the design and innovation fronts, and it could even relegate the iPad to runner-up status after a couple years unless Apple more fully merges Mac OS X and iOS [11] in the interim, as Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5 have begun to do [12], to blunt Windows 8's apparent pan-device advantage.

Windows 8 looks to be that good, at least in demos.

Watch out, Apple: Windows 8 could trump the iPad

samsung build | eBay

It’ll be interesting to see how this trends over the next few days; ~5,000 of the kits are being distributed at the BUILD event this week

samsung build | eBay

Intel brandishes first Google Android tablet | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

Somehow unsurprising that Intel should be touting this on the day Microsoft introduced Windows 8; Intel aims to move beyond ARM’s reach

Intel hauled out its firstAndroidtablet running on "Medfield," an upcoming Atom chip for smartphones and tablets, while two executives also chatted about their relationship with Google at the company's developer conference today.

The Medfield Atom chip is one of Intel's most power-efficient chip designs--a strict requirement for tablets and smartphones. It contains a single processing core--as opposed to more power-hungry dual-core Atom chips used in Netbooks--and will be available in devices in the first half of 2012.

The tablet that Intel showed today (see photo below) is a so-called reference design that the company will supply to tablet makers that would use it as a template for their own product.

Intel brandishes first Google Android tablet | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

Sorry Apple, Windows 8 ushers in the post-post-PC era [BGR]

Déjà vu all over again?  (Microsoft would of course prefer “PC plus” to “[{post-}]PC”) 

One platform to rule them all. The technology exists to enable users to carry a single device that is as portable and usable as a tablet, but also as powerful and capable as a PC. It has a battery that can last all day, but it can also run Photoshop, Excel and Outlook. It can weigh next to nothing and slip into a slim case, but it can also power two monitors and run proprietary enterprise software.

When Windows 8 is finally bestowed upon the masses, each and every user will have Apple to thank. Windows 8 as we’re seeing it today would never have existed if competition from the iPad — and the iPhone before it — had not illuminated a giant light bulb over all of our heads: platforms can be both capable and intuitive. Apple’s iOS is the most fluid, logical, user friendly mass-market platform in the world, and it has forced the competition to look at products in a new light. Companies have been incredibly slow to adapt, however, and that is why Apple is currently the biggest tech company in the world.

But the iPad was only the beginning.

Sorry Apple, Windows 8 ushers in the post-post-PC era

Google plan to kill Javascript with Dart, fight off Apple • The Register

There are some questions about the status (e.g., draft or not) and context for the source Google memo, but it’s a timely JavaScript reality check

Google has apparently invented its Dart web programming language as a replacement for Javascript.

Dart, revealed last week, has been conceived as a way to overcome what Google has determined are "fundamental flaws" in Javascript, according to what purports to be a leaked internal company email from November 2010.

These flaws are inhibiting development of the kinds of complex web apps Google specialises in, says the email, purported to have been written by Googler Mark S Miller and available on Github.

A key paragraph:

The web has succeeded historically to some extent in spite of the web platform, based primarily on the strength of its reach. The emergence of compelling alternative platforms like iOS has meant that the web platform must compete on its merits, not just its reach. Javascript as it exists today will likely not be a viable solution long-term. Something must change.

Google plan to kill Javascript with Dart, fight off Apple • The Register

RIM Poised to Miss Tablet Estimates as IPad Wins 19-1: Tech - Businessweek

After seeing the Windows 8 introduction yesterday, and pondering its potential for tablets/slates, the question is not whether the RIM PlayBook is going to follow the HP TouchPad into oblivion (i.e., that seems to be a foregone conclusion at this point), but whether any Android tablet/slate will be able to establish significant/sustainable market share before Windows 8 is released.  Unless Microsoft blows it on timing or pricing, Windows 8 appears poised to leapfrog into the #1 tablet/slate market position in 2012.  Perhaps RIM will adopt the Nokia “burning platform” strategy, and shift to Windows for both smartphones and slates.

The company, which reports earnings tomorrow, probably sold about 490,000 PlayBooks during the first full quarter of sales, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts, compared with the 9.25 million iPads shipped last quarter. Analysts cut estimates for full-year PlayBook shipments, to an average of 2.2 million, according to the survey.

“RIM overplayed the PlayBook in terms of its sales and prospects,” said Charlie Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York. “What this really shows is that the company’s prospects will depend on the next generation of BlackBerrys.”

RIM Poised to Miss Tablet Estimates as IPad Wins 19-1: Tech - Businessweek

Microsoft Reboots Windows - WSJ.com

The Windows 8 BUILD keynote yesterday was very impressive, but release timing is a pivotal variable:

One crucial question that remains unanswered is when devices running Windows 8 will be available for customers. In a speech at a technical conference here, Mr. Sinofsky didn't commit to a release date and said that quality concerns, rather than deadlines, will determine when Microsoft ships the software. Microsoft has said in the past that it aims to release a new operating system about every three years, which suggests Windows 8 could come out by fall 2012.

That gives Apple a significant amount of time to make further inroads with the iPad, the tablet device that some analysts believe has begun to sap growth from the traditional PC business. "I think Apple has another year to run flat out," said Frank Gillett, an analyst at Forrester Research.

Microsoft Reboots Windows - WSJ.com

Demand at Target For Fashion Line Crashes Web Site - NYTimes.com

Oops…

In an unusual fumble for the large retailer, Target was unprepared for online shoppers’ hunger for the items. The Target.com site was wiped out for most of the day; the company said that demand for items was higher than it was on a typical day after Thanksgiving, and that is usually the biggest shopping day of the year.

“The excitement for this limited-time designer collection is unprecedented,” said Morgan O’Murray, a spokeswoman for Target, in an e-mail. Target’s Web site was working properly again at about 11 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday.

Demand at Target For Fashion Line Crashes Web Site - NYTimes.com

RIM Rapidly Losing Ground in North America - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Another stark RIM snapshot

That does not bode well for the BlackBerry maker, says Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu, who views the company’s “progressive effacement” from the North American handset market as a foreshadowing of things to come abroad.

RIM Rapidly Losing Ground in North America - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD