Palm vets put Skype on a thumb drive | The Register

Palm vets put Skype on a thumb drive | The Register: "It isn't quite a phone, but it soon will be possible to take a Skype client with you and plug it into a barenaked PC equipped with a USB port. U3, the Silicon Valley start-up launched by Palm veterans earlier this year, says it will support a portable Skype on its flash-based platform from this fall.
U3 already supports a portable email client and a bunch of encryption, caching and backup software titles. The Mozilla Foundation has pledged to make Portable Firefox and Portable Thunderbird conform to the U3 specification. Yesterday, in addition to Skype, U3 also announced support for ICQ."

Skype, VOIP handsets on show at Computex: Internet News from The Industry Standard

Skype, VOIP handsets on show at Computex: Internet News from The Industry Standard: "The handset supports 802.11b networks and allows the user to define up to 10 favorite networks or access points for quicker sign-on. Dual signal strength indicators on the display show both Wi-Fi and GSM signal. The handset will automatically route calls via Wi-Fi when within range of a useable signal and switch to GSM when no Internet access is available. Other features include Bluetooth support so that the phone can be used as a Wi-Fi modem.
...
A number of companies were also showing handsets designed to be used with the popular Skype Internet telephony system. Most of these are less sophisticated than the SIP models and use a cable rather than wireless technology to connect to the PC. They are basically remodelled headsets but with a couple of advantages: a familiar form factor that people are already used to and a keypad that means users can place calls, answer the phone and cut the call without touching the PC keyboard."

InformationWeek > Baggage Handling System > United Airlines To Ditch Troubled Automated Baggage System > June 7, 2005

InformationWeek > Baggage Handling System > United Airlines To Ditch Troubled Automated Baggage System > June 7, 2005: "The airline, which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy protection, expects to save about $1 million a month in operating costs.
The $250 million automated system was intended to be a cutting-edge model but turned into a major problem for DIA, one of United's hubs. The city, which owns the airport, spent an additional $100 million for construction and $341 million in interest to try to get it to work.
The automated system was an underground, computer-driven railroad network for moving baggage. But bags were misdelivered, luggage was chewed up and cars derailed and jammed tracks. The system was responsible for repeated delays in the opening of DIA, which began operating in 1995. "

This is a contender for one of the biggest IT disasters.

Is Apple Osborning Itself?

Is Apple Osborning Itself?: "Fed up with some frustrating aspects of Windows, I've been eyeing Apple machines, both laptops and the Mac mini. What to do now that Apple's planning to use use Intel chips? Tim Jarrett has one answer: 'Makes me want to put those plans for a Mac mini purchase on hold.' Me too, until I hear a good reason why not."

Microsoft 'hypervisor' plan takes shape | CNET News.com

Microsoft 'hypervisor' plan takes shape | CNET News.com: "Muglia said the hypervisor software will be delivered in 2007, following the debut of Longhorn Server. The new software will take advantage of virtualization technology coming from chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices next year, Muglia said.
The software will differ from Microsoft's existing Virtual Server product, Muglia said. That product runs on top of Windows and can run multiple Windows sessions. A recent update to Virtual Server allows companies to run Linux and other operating systems as well.
The new software will instead be built directly into Windows. 'We will build a thin hypervisor that sits on top of the hardware and virtualizes resources like CPU and memory, so it has the ability to create OS sessions,' Muglia said. "

Techworld.com - AOL launches free Web mail service

Techworld.com - AOL launches free Web mail service: "AOL has launched a free Web-mail service as part of an AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) upgrade.
The service was announced as a beta in May but has now gone live and will put the company into direct competition with other free Web-mail services from Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.
AOL has also expanded its existing fee-based service to include unlimited storage - the first Web mail provider to do so.
The free service includes spam filters, anti-virus protection, the ability to drag and drop messages into folders, and 2GB of memory. Google's Gmail offers 2.3GB, Yahoo 1GB, and Microsoft's Hotmail 250MB. "

Google now most valuable media company - Yahoo! News

Google now most valuable media company - Yahoo! News: "With a current stock market capitalization of more than $80 billion, Google is now worth more than any other media company in the world. That includes Time Warner, created five years ago when AOL purchased Time Warner for $106 billion in a much-hyped combination of old and new media.
But Time Warner's share price has deteriorated since the dot.com bubble burst -- its market capitalization on Tuesday stood at $78.1 billion -- and investors view Google as the hot internet and media company these days.
Other, more traditional, media companies trail Google's stock market worth by even more. Viacom Inc. and Walt Disney Co., for instance, hold stock market capitalization of between $54 billion and $55 billion."

FTPOnline - TechEd 2005 - Revisiting Whidbey, Yukon, and Beyond

FTPOnline - TechEd 2005 - Revisiting Whidbey, Yukon, and Beyond: "This week's TechEd conference is in many ways a major milestone for Microsoft's product strategy, especially for its server and tools products. I'll provide an overview of the latest developments, with a focus on three themes: the degree to which the new Microsoft systems work together, how well Microsoft is doing in terms of bringing its vision to fruition, and some areas in which Microsoft has not yet fully delivered on its earlier announcements."

FYI my take on this week's Microsoft news.

Is the Penguin Faltering?

Is the Penguin Faltering? "The number of North American outfits trying Linux for the first time is shrinking. One reason: The hidden cost of bringing in consultants
One of the powerful forces propelling the rapid growth of Linux has been the rate at which new customers have been adopting the open-source operating system. But a new report suggests that growth rate could be about to slow.
Investment banking firm SG Cowen & Co. notes that for the first time since it began tracking Linux in its annual survey, the number of companies planning to become first-time users of the software has fallen -- by half. The report, released June 1, asked approximately 500 corporate tech buyers in North America about their spending plans for the next 12 months. Only 7% of outfits with no Linux servers plan to add some over the next year."

Good Morning Silicon Valley: Wells Fargo? Yes, I'd like to stop payment on a check

Good Morning Silicon Valley: Wells Fargo? Yes, I'd like to stop payment on a check: "Why buy a Mac now? That's one of the many questions we're left with in the wake of today's Apple-Intel announcement -- one unanswered by the company's 'but customers love our products' bloviating. I can't imagine the Mac faithful will rush out to buy new Macs knowing that the first Intel models will arrive at market in 2006. Instead, they'll pass the next year or so watching in dismay as their G5 towers and G4 PowerBooks depreciate in advance of the architecture change until they're not even worth enough to finance an Apple Care policy on a new machine."

WSJ.com - With Intel Inside Apple, Macs May Be Faster, Smaller

WSJ.com - With Intel Inside Apple, Macs May Be Faster, Smaller: "IBM yesterday defended its PowerPC chips, saying that they are widely used in everything from supercomputers to mobile devices. In a statement that didn't name Apple, Big Blue touted the adoption of its chips by videogame-console makers, including Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. 'IBM is focused on the highest-value opportunities in each marketplace,' the statement said.
Freescale CEO Michel Mayer sent an email to the company's employees expressing disappointment over Apple's decision. His missive, however, noted that the Macintosh business accounted for less than 3% of Freescale's revenue, and suggested that the company will benefit from focusing on other areas. 'It is increasingly clear that the center of technology innovation is moving away from the personal computer,' he wrote."

WSJ.com - Citigroup Says Data Lost On 3.9 Million Customers

WSJ.com - Citigroup Says Data Lost On 3.9 Million Customers: "Citigroup Inc. said that computer tapes containing personal information on about 3.9 million customers were lost by United Parcel Service Inc. while in transit to a credit-reporting bureau.
The tapes contained names, Social Security numbers, account numbers and payment history of CitiFinancial customers in the U.S., as well as clients with closed accounts from its CitiFinancial retail-services unit. The tapes didn't include any customer information from the New York financial-service giant's auto, mortgage or any other Citigroup business, or its CitiFinancial customers in Canada or Puerto Rico, the company said.
...
"The likelihood of having the information compromised is very remote given the type of equipment that is required to read it," Debby Hopkins, Citigroup's chief operations and technology officer, said in an interview. "Additionally, the information is not in a format that an untrained eye would even know what to look for.""

Well, that's reassuring...

Apple throws the switch, aligns with Intel | CNET News.com

Apple throws the switch, aligns with Intel | CNET News.com: "In his speech, Jobs revealed that Apple has been developing all versions of OS X since its inception to run on Intel and PowerPC chips.
'Mac OS X has been leading a secret double life the past five years,' he said.
...
Going forward, Mac developers will be able to create universal binaries of their programs that will run on both types of chips.
In the meantime, Apple has a transcoding tool called Rosetta that will allow programs written for PowerPC chips to run on Intel-based machines. "Every application is not going to be universal from Day 1," Jobs told the audience.
...
After Jobs' presentation, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller addressed the issue of running Windows on Macs, saying there are no plans to sell or support Windows on an Intel-based Mac. "That doesn't preclude someone from running it on a Mac. They probably will," he said. "We won't do anything to preclude that."
However, Schiller said the company does not plan to let people run Mac OS X on other computer makers' hardware. "We will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac," he said."

Some observations, after skimming the initial press and viewing a CNBC interview at wsj.com during which Steve Jobs (with his caption alternating between "CEO Apple" and "CEO Pixar" depending on the discussion context) basically said "We don't talk about unannounced products" and "We don't talk about numbers in between quarterly earnings announcements" about 10 times:
1. If it were any other company, the press reaction would have been stark. I haven't seen much press, for example, on all of the marketing claims Apple made during recent years that now seem pretty silly in hindsight.
2. I'm surprised I haven't already seen speculation about the Osborne effect -- i.e., the tendency for customers, when implicitly or explicitly told "just wait until you see our next release!", to do just that -- with devastating sales ramifications in the interim period.
3. "We will not allow running Mac OS X on anything other than an Apple Mac" -- I suspect Apple competitors were very glad to see that...
4. I guess Apple will have to "think different" for processor suppliers, if it ever gets serious about gaming/entertainment devices; I imagine IBM won't be in a rush to bid for its business...
5. Apple doesn't even have a press release about the architecture switch on their Web site -- although I was able to learn, from the Apple Hot News page, that Gwen Stefani currently has the top iTunes song...

The New York Times > Technology > United Airlines Approved for In-Flight Internet Service

The New York Times > Technology > United Airlines Approved for In-Flight Internet Service: "United Airlines plans to announce today that it is the first domestic airline to receive approval from regulators to install wireless Internet networks on its planes.
United passengers will not be able to take advantage of the service just yet. The airline is still at least a year away from having its in-flight Wi-Fi service up and running. When it does, sometime in mid- to late 2006, passengers will be able to check e-mail, send instant messages and surf the Web at 30,000 feet. "

The New York Times > Technology > Apple Plans to Switch From I.B.M. to Intel for Chips

The New York Times > Technology > Apple Plans to Switch From I.B.M. to Intel for Chips: "Even as a chip maker, I.B.M. has moved aggressively beyond the PC industry, focusing on making the processors for video game consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, and specialized chips for other uses, like the Internet router computers made by Cisco Systems and cellphone technology by Qualcomm. I.B.M. also uses its Power microprocessors in many of its own server computers, which run corporate networks.
By contrast, the chips I.B.M. makes for Apple represent less than 2 percent of chip production at its largest factory in East Fishkill, N.Y. And while the microelectronics business as a whole is strategically important for I.B.M., it is a small part of the revenue of a company that increasingly focuses on services and software. A. M. Sacconaghi, an analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, estimates that the company's technology group - mostly microelectronics - will account for less than 3 percent of I.B.M.'s revenues and 2 percent of its pretax income this year.
I.B.M. supplies about 50 percent of the microprocessors used by Apple, providing them for desktop and server computers. Freescale makes the processors used in Apple's notebook and new Mac mini computers.
...
For years, according to industry analysts, the work for Apple has been barely a break-even business for I.B.M. When the two companies were negotiating a new contract recently, Mr. Jobs pushed for price discounts that I.B.M. refused to offer. For I.B.M., "the economics just didn't work," said one industry executive who was briefed on the negotiations. "And Apple is not so important a customer that you would take the financial hit to hold onto the relationship.""

On a related note, I just finished reading iCon Steve Jobs : The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business. The book covered lots of material already documented elsewhere (it would be surprising if it didn't, as a Steve Jobs biography), but I thought it was a useful read, overall. The book closes, omininously (penultimate paragraph, p. 334), with:
"Yet there's one more battle he wants to win. It has nothing to do with money, fame, or glory. Like all the best fights, this one is personal. Steve Jobs is going to best Bill Gates. This fight is Shakespearean, elemental, and emotional; watching it unfold should be the most fascinating business sorty of this young millennium."

Hub catches Microsoft's eye - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Technology - Business

Hub catches Microsoft's eye - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Technology - Business: "''Microsoft used to believe that development was a contact sport,' says Francis deSouza, an entrepreneur who sold Flash Communications to Microsoft in 1998 but left in 2001 to start another company. ''You needed people bumping into each other. In Redmond, you wanted your entire development team in the same building. Ideally, they'd be on the same floor.'
DeSouza says that Microsoft is one of the last big technology companies to really commit to setting up product development centers outside of its headquarters.
''The next stage of their growth will require it,' he says. ''And they'll have to work at it.'"

Skype Launches Two Premium Services - Yahoo! News

Skype Launches Two Premium Services - Yahoo! News "The company that makes the Skype software for letting Internet users call one another for free anywhere in the world is launching two premium services as the number of downloads topped 100 million on Friday.
SkypeIn and Skype Voicemail are built into the latest version of the software, available for the Linux, Mac OS, Pocket PC and Windows platforms, Skype Technologies SA said Friday.
...
Skype, which is based in Luxembourg and founded in Sweden, said SkypeIn will cost $13 for three months and $39 for the full year. Skype Voicemail subscriptions cost $7 for 3 months or $19 for the year."

More Nursery School Children Going Online - Yahoo! News

More Nursery School Children Going Online - Yahoo! News: "Before they can even read, almost one in four children in nursery school is learning a skill that even some adults have yet to master: using the Internet.
Some 23 percent of children in nursery school -- kids age 3, 4 or 5 -- have gone online, according to the Education Department. By kindergarten, 32 percent have used the Internet, typically under adult supervision."

CRN | Breaking News | Laptops Outsell Desktop PCs For First Time

CRN | Breaking News | Laptops Outsell Desktop PCs For First Time: "In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the United States in a calendar month, the research firm Current Analysis says.
After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, Current Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last year. "

WSJ.com - Apple Eyes Shifting Macintosh Line To Intel Chips

WSJ.com - Apple Eyes Shifting Macintosh Line To Intel Chips: "Apple had been a particularly high-profile customer for IBM. But the big computer maker has recently had success in convincing Microsoft, Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. to use PowerPC technology in their next-generation video machines, a business that is expected to dwarf sales for Apple's hardware over the next few years.
Apple last quarter sold 43% more Macs than it did in the year-earlier quarter, quadruple the pace of the industry as a whole. But the company had just 2.3% of new world-wide PC sales in the first three months of the year from 2% the prior quarter. Windows PCs account for the vast majority of the rest of the market."