Citrix Acquires Cloud-Based Social Business Collaboration Platform Podio | TechCrunch

The social business start-up dance floor seems to be emptying

“Podio has also integrated with other workflow and storage tools in the enterprise including, Box, Campaign Monitor, Dropbox, Evernote, FreshBooks, Google Apps, Google Docs, Google Alerts, Instapaper and Zendesk.

Citrix says that Podio will be part of the GoTo cloud services portfolio, which includes GoToMeeting. The acquisition isn’t too surprising since we know Citrix has been trying to boost its collaboration and file sharing offerings. The company tried to acquire Box last year, and also bought a DropBox-like service, ShareFile, last Fall.”

Citrix Acquires Cloud-Based Social Business Collaboration Platform Podio | TechCrunch

Samsung’s $249 Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 To Make U.S. Debut On April 22, We Go Hands-On | TechCrunch

Final paragraph:

"It goes without saying that the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is no iPad killer (not that it’s meant to be), but its price tag and performance mean it could definitely give the Kindle Fire some competition for that number 2 spot. Sure, at $249, it isn’t quite as cheap as the Fire, but the difference in performance between the two is definitely noticeable, and barring any weird issues that could pop up over the next few days, I’d much rather own one of these."

Samsung’s $249 Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 To Make U.S. Debut On April 22, We Go Hands-On | TechCrunch

Start-Up Expands Free Course Offerings Online - WSJ.com

Teach different

"The dream of using the Web to provide free, high-quality education to the masses has attracted notable backers, including Google Inc. and Bill Gates, but such efforts so far have gained limited traction.
Now Sebastian Thrun, one of the world's top robotics experts, has given up teaching at Stanford University to transform what he views as a broken college education system from the outside. Last year, Mr. Thrun, also a senior Google executive, co-founded a Palo Alto-based start-up, now called Udacity Inc., to teach large groups of people through free online courses and help them find jobs."

Start-Up Expands Free Course Offerings Online - WSJ.com

Amazon to Cut E-Book Prices, Shaking Rivals - NYTimes.com

It'll be interesting to see if Apple follows Amazon's lead, but the biggest loser in this is likely to be Barnes & Noble

"As soon as the Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it was suing five major publishers and Apple on price-fixing charges, and simultaneously settling with three of them, Amazon announced plans to push down prices on e-books. The price of some major titles could fall to $9.99 or less from $14.99, saving voracious readers a bundle.
But publishers and booksellers argue that any victory for consumers will be short-lived, and that the ultimate effect of the antitrust suit will be to exchange a perceived monopoly for a real one. Amazon, already the dominant force in the industry, will hold all the cards."

Amazon to Cut E-Book Prices, Shaking Rivals - NYTimes.com

Yammer Makes Its First Acquisition: OneDrum - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Yammer checks off another Jive competitive requirement

"Basically, Yammer customers will be able to share and see the contents of the folders they share with other people via Yammer. Also, people can collaborate on Office documents live. Changes are tracked within the Yammer news feed and revisions are stored. Once you drag a document into your Yammer folders, the contents are instantly text searchable from within Yammer.
What OneDrum lacked, Sacks told me, was “a good front end to express the OneDrum technology,” which Yammer will readily provide."

Yammer Makes Its First Acquisition: OneDrum - Arik Hesseldahl - News - AllThingsD

Verizon Wireless to charge for phone upgrades - Business - The Boston Globe

There should be Verizon and AT&T icons in the Wikipedia article for "oligopoly"

"Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest cellphone company, says it will start charging $30 every time a subscriber wants to upgrade to a new phone.
Other cellphone companies have introduced similar fees. Competitor AT&T Inc. raised its fee from $18 to $36 this year.
Verizon Wireless says that it will start charging the fee on April 22, and that it will help fund customer support and online educational tools."

Verizon Wireless to charge for phone upgrades - Business - The Boston Globe

Springpad aims to blend notes and networking - Business - The Boston Globe

A PIM++ competitor seeking to differentiate via social

"“Our whole goal is this vision of a smart notebook,’’ said Jeff Chow, Springpad chief executive.
Springpad is competing with a growing number of note-taking apps. One of the most popular is from a Mountain View, Calif., company, Evernote Inc.
Springpad hopes that its update, which represents its big leap into social media, gives it an edge on the competition. Now, users are able to open up their virtual notebooks to other Springpad users who, much like on Twitter, can follow what they put into their categorized digital diaries."

Springpad aims to blend notes and networking - Business - The Boston Globe

CHART OF THE DAY: Smartphone Shipments - Business Insider

Quite a gap to >= #3

“This chart shows preliminary smartphone shipment estimates for Q1 from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco. As you can see, it's a two horse race. Everyone else is irrelevant.”

CHART OF THE DAY: Smartphone Shipments - Business Insider

Dan Gillmor - Google+ - Am I the only one who likes the new G+ design? There are…

Another take (and lengthy discussion thread) on Google+ ++

"Am I the only one who likes the new G+ design? There are some things I don't care for, but in general it seems easier to use.
But I do get the feeling that there's been a certain amount of "let's not look too much like Facebook" thinking involved..."

Dan Gillmor - Google+ - Am I the only one who likes the new G+ design? There are…

Danny Sullivan - Google+ - As I continue to play with the new Google+ look, I continue…

Check the link below for a lively Google+ discussion thread

"As I continue to play with the new Google+ look, I continue to hate it more and more and more. I also really resent that I'm probably going to have to read up on how to use it. That out to be intuitive. It just looks like a mess. Sorry, Google+ folks, but it does. Maybe it'll grow on me."

Danny Sullivan - Google+ - As I continue to play with the new Google+ look, I continue…

Business & Technology | Apple market value hits $600B | Seattle Times Newspaper

Sign of the times

"Apple, already the world's most valuable company, hit the $600 billion level for the first time Tuesday.
Only one other company has been worth $600 billion - Apple's old sparring partner Microsoft Corp. It reached that valuation for 13 trading days around the turn of the millennium, at the peak of the technology stock mania.
[...]
Apple's market capitalization is still well below Microsoft's 1999 record if inflation is taken into account. The $619 billion then becomes $846 billion."

Business & Technology | Apple market value hits $600B | Seattle Times Newspaper

Why a 13-Inch Tablet Is a Big, Risky Bet for Toshiba - Businessweek

Add a Bluetooth keyboard and your laptop/desktop is going to get lonely; also see Toshiba’s 13-Inch Excite: Does the World Need a Tablet This Large? (Wired)

“A trio of new Toshiba tablets is on the way, allowing consumers to shop by size: small, medium, and large. The 7.7- and 10-inch models are now joined by Toshiba’s (6502:JP) Excite 13, which offers more than a foot of screen real estate in a 2.2 pound touchscreen package. With the large display, however, comes a large price: The Excite 13 will start at $649.99 when it arrives on June 10.”

Why a 13-Inch Tablet Is a Big, Risky Bet for Toshiba - Businessweek

The Internet Is Ruining Your Brain [Mashable]

See the article link for a stark infographic (from the source that also brought you Your Desk Job Makes You Fat, Sick and Dead)

“But we’re not just talking one online shopping experience at a time. Often, we have four tabs open, cycling between emails and shopping, tweeting and word processing. Such multi-tasking actually raises stress levels and lowers creative thinking overall, according to the research compiled by ForensicPsychology.net.
Turns out, multi-tasking online doesn’t positively exercise our brains or mental state. Heavy Internet users are 2.5 times more likely to be depressed. And web addiction reduces the white matter in our brains, basically the transmitters responsible for our memory and sensory abilities.”

The Internet Is Ruining Your Brain [INFOGRAPHIC]

Google's $12 Billion Toy - WSJ.com

From a Google/Motorola Mobility reality check

"So, it's gut-check time. Does Google sincerely want to be a company that makes actual stuff?
I've spent the last three weeks talking to people inside Motorola and Google and out, trying to solve the riddle. The disquieting answer is that there appears to be no sense that a choice is even required. There's only a cocky belief that Google really can be all things at once: a hardware company with software margins, and a neutral Android arms dealer that just happens to be building its own Motorola army on the side."

Google's $12 Billion Toy - WSJ.com

I.B.M. Aims to Sharply Simplify Corporate Data Center Technology - NYTimes.com

IBM seeks to leapfrog data center competitors including Oracle, HP, and EMC

"I.B.M. is bringing its answer to the marketplace on Wednesday — an effort that industry executives and analysts say is the most ambitious step yet to simplify and streamline data center technology. With this initiative, I.B.M. will sell bundles of server hardware and software packaged in simplified systems, with setup and maintenance automated by intelligent software. Tasks that now take days or weeks can be reduced to hours, the company claims.
The so-called expert integrated systems, known as PureSystems, are the product of a $2 billion investment in research and development and acquisitions over the last four years, I.B.M. says."

I.B.M. Aims to Sharply Simplify Corporate Data Center Technology - NYTimes.com

Personal Technology: Take a Note: Typing With No Hands - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Excerpt from a Walt Mossberg iOS and Android voice dictation review

"While the microphone keys work a bit differently on the two platforms, they are basically similar. When the keyboard appears, ready for you to type, you can instead hit the microphone key and simply dictate what you want to say. The phones then send your spoken words to a remote server, which rapidly translates them into text and sends them back to the phone’s screen. If corrections are needed, you make them by typing, though both platforms make this easier by indicating the likeliest errors, and suggesting alternatives."

Personal Technology: Take a Note: Typing With No Hands - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

Nokia Confirms Lumia 900 Software Glitch, Offers Fix and $100 Credit - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

That makes the price -$50, for people who bought/buy via Amazon

"“We’re already manufacturing devices with the new software,” Weber said. “Those are being shipped to AT&T stores.”
The company is offering a $100 credit to all customers, regardless of whether they are encountering the problem. The $100 credit is also being offered to any customer who purchases a Lumia 900 before midnight PT April 21, effectively making the device free.
“The customer always comes first, and I think we’re showing it here,” Weber said in an interview."

Nokia Confirms Lumia 900 Software Glitch, Offers Fix and $100 Credit - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

Month of Microsoft: I am sending back the Windows Phones and Windows computers, but if you want my Xbox you will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands. - Real Dan Lyons

Probably not the summary impressions Microsoft was hoping for; see the link below for more context-setting and details

"One thought I had over the weekend, while walking around wearing my tinfoil hat and talking to myself: What if Microsoft doesn’t really care about the consumer space? What if being an also-ran in mobile phones and Internet search is just fine by Microsoft, since it keeps people from noticing that, in the enterprise side, Microsoft not only dominates but is getting stronger? And maybe that’s where the real money is going to be made — building out the cloud, handling big data, delivering back-end and front-end services to big corporations, slowly gobbling up workloads that used to run on big iron, chipping away at software makers like Oracle and SAP?
Well I’m sure Microsoft isn’t deliberately trying to fail in the consumer space. But the fact that the Borg makes so much money on the enterprise side surely must soften the blow. And it can’t hurt that a few highly visible failures probably help keep the DOJ at bay."

Month of Microsoft: I am sending back the Windows Phones and Windows computers, but if you want my Xbox you will have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands. - Real Dan Lyons

Google’s Chrome OS Will Soon Look More Like Windows Than A Browser | TechCrunch

Will the Microsoft Chrome* intellectual property lawsuits start before or after the AOL/Netscape patent deal closes?…

“In this new version, Chrome OS almost looks like a traditional OS, with a full-blown desktop and window manager instead of just a browser and tabs. Aura, as this hardware-accelerated window manager is known, is Chrome’s next generation user interface framework and it is making its public debut in this new developer version of Chrome OS.”

Google’s Chrome OS Will Soon Look More Like Windows Than A Browser | TechCrunch

Windows-on-iPad service goes legit as Microsoft licensing demands are met [ars technica]

I’m guessing some licensing experts in Redmond are now busy reevaluating the Office and Windows Server licensing terms and conditions

[…] Instead of offering a hosted Windows 7 instance, OnLive apparently now offers one based on Windows Server 2008 R2. Under Microsoft licensing rules, hosted virtual instances of Windows 7 cannot be provided unless each user has a license from Microsoft, and Office can't be provided as a service at all except when it's hosted on Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services.

"Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 are fundamentally the same OS anyway, and it's possible to configure the Windows Server desktop to look and feel like a Windows 7 desktop," Madden wrote. "I would assume that OnLive didn't change their fundamental architecture at all—they just dropped the server bits instead of the desktop bits and all is now well."

Windows-on-iPad service goes legit as Microsoft licensing demands are met