ZDNet Must Read:
Analyst: News Corp.'s Google saber rattling really about MySpace
News Corp.'s alleged dance with Microsoft's Bing and Rupert Murdoch's big plan to de-index from Google is likely to be nothing more than saber rattling to secure a semi-respectable MySpace... Continued »
November 24th, 2009
Barnes & Noble: Ramping production of the nook isn't cheap
Barnes & Noble said Tuesday that it will invest heavily on boosting production of its nook e-reader and that move will hurt future earnings.
Barnes & Noble cut its outlook for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2010. The bookseller said that retail traffic “will remain challenged during the holiday season.” But we knew that already. The big reason for Barnes & Noble’s new outlook is investment in the nook, which is sold out.
In a statement, Barnes & Noble said:
The company is ramping up its production schedule, incurring higher production costs than originally anticipated and increasing future investments related to its digital strategy, including additional people, technology and in-store marketing support.
How much higher are these costs? Enough to result in a serious earnings hair cut for fiscal 2010. The company now expects fiscal year earnings to be 33 cents a share to 63 cents a share, down from a previous forecast of 59 cents a share to 89 cents a share.
Also: All nook posts.
November 24th, 2009
HP vs. Dell: Showdown at the Windows 7 upgrade corral
Here’s a tale of two PC titans: HP and Dell. One executes well every quarter. The other doesn’t. Both see big PC upgrade cycles ahead. Both are looking to ride a bump in enterprise spending courtesy of Windows 7.
Place your bets.
As enterprises ponder the PC upgrade cycle and a move to Windows 7 tech executives are likely to have two primary vendors pitted against each other: HP and Dell.
The earnings conference calls from HP and Dell were very similar. Both talked services. Both talked upgrade cycles. And both talked up Windows 7 (see HP and Dell’s financial results).
HP CEO Mark Hurd said Monday on the company’s fiscal fourth quarter conference call:
The personal systems group also delivered in Q4, extending its market leadership by more than a full point yet again. We saw good consumer acceptance of Windows 7, particularly in the U.S. Given that we gained double-digit points of market share in U.S. enterprise and have claimed the top market position, we are well-positioned to win when corporations upgrade to Windows 7. PSG delivered healthy operating margins despite increasing commodity costs.
Dell CEO Michael Dell also was bullish about Windows 7—and also saw component costs rise. He said a week ago that PC growth could be in the mid-teens:
I think there is an aging installed base for sure. You just have an accumulation of new technologies at the hardware, software, virtualized client and these IT managers really know they cannot extend the life of these client assets forever. While I don’t think it is all going to occur at once, I think it will be a rolling refresh that occurs over perhaps 18 months, I can’t remember a time when a very high percentage of them skipped an entire operating system.
And Hurd and Dell sounded like long-lost twins about the corporate upgrade cycle too. Here’s Dell:
We think we are holding or gaining share in the right kind of price points. Our efforts on the cost side should expand our ability to profitably compete in a larger portion of the price points. What I would also tell you is that the pipeline of client opportunities we are already seeing more client activity in the last 30-60 days than we have in a long time and the pipeline for client activity kind of going forward into next year is the strongest it has been in a long time as well. So if I look at our commercial businesses the second quarter was kind of a bottom. The third quarter was certainly better. October was the best and November will be better than October.
Here’s Hurd’s at bat as he references HP’s share gains and the corporate upgrade cycle:
I think it is important to note we don’t usually start with an objective of gaining share. It’s more the result of us just trying to do the right work for the customer and I think as we mentioned a couple of times, we have increased our sales coverage, which we think is part of the reason that you have seen this performance occur as it has. Second, we’ve worked really hard to work on our service experience and the service experience is a really big deal, So it’s a combination of trying to get more at bats and frankly in the U.S., this is the place that we haven’t had as many at bats as we’d like to have and we have increased sales coverage there. Secondly, trying to continue to focus on service, so yeah, we feel pretty well-positioned that as long as we can maintain the at-bat level and with the service experience that we are delivering now, that we think we will be in pretty good shape. I think you couple that with the product line-up that we have just announced and Windows 7, we think we’ve got a pretty compelling offer so yeah, we’re optimistic about it.
Now it’s possible that this Windows 7 upgrade cycle will be big enough to lift all PC players, but ultimately it’s death match with Dell and HP—especially in the enterprise. The rub: Dell’s financial performance is spotty and that reflects what could be a vicious crunch. HP squeezes Dell from above and Acer hurts the PC maker from below.
Chris Whitmore, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, said that HP gained share at the expense of profit margins. Whitmore wrote:
Although HP’s PC units grew 8% year over year, we estimate HP’s operating profit per unit dropped 30% year over year as ASPs were down about 20% year over year and commodities tightened.
That fact could mean some bad news for Dell. HP is diversified enough to squeeze Dell with minimal impact on its overall profitability. Meanwhile, HP’s scale means it can weather component pricing fluctuations better.
No matter how you slice it HP has Dell outgunned with a larger services unit (acquiring EDS was the best move HP ever made), more foot soldiers and more momentum. Simply put, HP has the arsenal to squeeze Dell in the critical PC business. Dell may be optimistic about the PC buying cycle, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will harvest all the rewards.
November 24th, 2009
TR Dojo: Install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive
Install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive Bill Detwiler shows you how to install Windows 7 from a bootable USB flash drive–created with the free DiskPart utility. Once you’ve watched this TR Dojo video, you can find a link to the original TechRepublic article and print the tip from our TR Dojo Blog.
November 24th, 2009
News to know: HP; Google; IE 7 zero day flaw; Office; Drobo
Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage:
Andrew Nusca: Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Best Bluetooth headsets
Sam Diaz: HP reports Q4; raises outlook for 2010
Larry Dignan: Analyst: News Corp.’s Google saber rattling really about MySpace
- Tom Foremski: What if the search-index was run by a non-profit? GOOG founders once supported that idea
- Sam Diaz: Google to beef up display ads with acquisition of Teracent
Ryan Naraine: Exploit published for critical IE 7 zero-day flaw
Opera patches ‘extremely severe’ security hole
Matthew Miller: Windows Mobile is better than you think
Joe McKendrick: SOA Manifesto: Manes explains manifesto’s aims
Doug Hanchard: Internet: A threat to government or the other way around? (Part 4)
Mary Jo Foley: Office Starter 2010: The fine print on Microsoft’s Works replacement
Andrew Nusca: AT&T, Apple to Verizon: ‘Can your phone and your network do that?’
Android 1.6 officially receives Google Maps Navigation
Data Robotics debuts enterprise-ready DroboElite, five-bay Drobo S
- Robin Harris: Light Peak: black hole
Larry Dignan: LinkedIn’s platform debut: Late but important
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn Platform: Open for Business
- Reuters: Twitter’s Biz Stone says could go IPO route
Dennis Howlett: Fawning over Chatter and how SAP missed its chance
Bloomberg: GE Said to Lean Toward IPO of Vivendi’s 20% Stake in NBC Universal Unit
Sam Diaz: Apple’s Schiller defends app approval process; misses the point
- Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Is Apple being too precious about the App Store?
- Jason O’Grady: Apple’s latest TV ads defend AT&T
- Another Apple Black Friday leak rumor - with prices!
- Apple to smokers: butt out or void your warranty
- Apple’s Black Friday sale to include online shoppin
g - New iPhone worm found in the wild
- Andrew Nusca: Apple iPhone sales rise in Europe after end of exclusivity agreements
- Digital Daily: Apple Joins AT&T/Verizon Spat With New iPhone Ads
Top-rated reviews of the week (photos)
Joe McKendrick: Cyber Monday approaches — should companies clamp down on employee online shopping?
Holiday Gaming on the cheap (photos)Matthew Miller: Did HTC address Windows Mobile 6.5’s initial shortcomings?
Rachel King: LG and AT&T join forces on X120 netbook
- Andrew Nusca: TI introduces eZ430-Chronos, ‘world’s first customizable development environment within a sports watch’
- Admob: Droid and Android army make big browsing splash
- Online retailers, marketing firms scam consumers for $1.4 billion
Paul Greenberg: Chatting (Not Chattering) About Salesforce - Part I
Paid Content: MSNBC.com Taking Over @BreakingNews Twitter Feed; Signs On As BNO News’ First Client
Michael Krigsman: Social computing and the enterprise, part one
T-Mobile Tap photosChristopher Dawson: Falling behind in science? No kidding!
Is your culture getting in the way of your IT success?
Jason Perlow: Hands on with new Roku Channel Store; is cable TV still worth the cost?
- Roku becomes cloud-enabled with new Roku Channel Store and Developer SDK
- Stupid DROID Tricks, Volume 1
Jennifer Leggio: Quick’n'Dirty episode 23: TripIt and Twitter lists top talk
Large Hadron Collider back in operation
Heather Clancy: Video: Adura commercial lighting technology saves on power costs
- Harry Fuller: U.S. will propose emissions reduction before Copehagen talks
- GM: not doing well, but going back to the well anyway
- Could global warming be self-limiting?
Zack Whittaker: Let’s get rid of usernames and passwords for good
Chrome OS: More questions than answers?
Brainstorm Tech: Does AT&T turn into a pumpkin in June?
Dana Blankenhorn: Google goes all-in with an open source cloud
The medical home is reform without objections, so far
Dan Kusnetzky: Microsoft Windows Azure and SQL Azure
Bloomberg: Zynga May Be Valued at $1 Billion on Facebook Craze
Andrew Nusca: AOL ditches the triangle; previews new brand identity, logos
- Sergey Brin: Google Android, Chrome OS likely to converge
- Verizon debuts Samsung Omnia II; Dec. 2 for $200
Diaz: Meet Pearltrees: Bookmarks with a social twist
November 23rd, 2009
Online retailers, marketing firms scam consumers for $1.4 billion
A U.S. government investigation has prompted several well-known online retailers to sever ties with marketing firms after both were accused of working together to deceive customers out of $1.4 billion.
The retailers, including Priceline.com, Classmates.com, FTD.com, Shutterfly.com and Orbitz.com, were accused of working with marketers Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty to mislead consumers into unknowingly signing up for “affinity” or “loyalty” programs that would charge their credit card accounts.
November 23rd, 2009
HP reports Q4; raises outlook for 2010
Hewlett Packard today reported its fourth-quarter earnings that were in-line with a preliminary release last week, when the company announced plans to acquire 3Com. For the quarter, the company reported earnings of $1.14 per share on $30.8 billion in sales. Analysts had been expecting of $1.13 per share on $30.4 billion. (Statement)
For the full year 2009, the company reported earnings of $3.85 per share on sales of $114.6 billion.
Looking ahead, the company forecast earnings of $1.03 to $1.05 per share on sales of $29.6 billion to $29.9 billion for the first quarter - which would include the holiday season. For the full year 2010, the company raised its projection to $118 billion to $119 billion, up from $117 billion to $118 billion and also upped its earnings projection to $3.65 to $3.75 per share, up from $3.60 to $3.70. The projections do not reflect any impact from the 3Com acquisition, the company said.
Among the highlights of the quarter was the eight percent jump in revenue, to $8.9 billion, in Services, which has been a darling of the company as its integrated EDS.
On a call with analysts, Hurd said the integration of EDS, which he called an “enormous asset,” has gone well and that the company is just starting to leverage it to position HP in not only services offerings but through hardware and software, as well. In a statement, HP Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd said:
HP’s solid performance in Services drove record profit, and the accelerated pace in signings creates strong momentum going into 2010. Our operational execution and improving cost structure generated strong quarterly and year-end results. We expect to outperform the market due to our significant scale, broad portfolio and market-leading position.
In contrast, the imaging and printing group saw a revenue decline of 15 percent, down to $6.5 billion. Supplies - aka ink - revenue was down 8 percent. Printer unit shipments were down 20 percent, with commercial units down 38 percent and consumer units down 14 percent.
Also see: HP’s printing business: Will ink spending be questioned in the long run?
Hurd said the group is positioning itself for recovery with strategic moves, including controlling costs and inventory levels, as well as corporate partnerships and web-connected printers. He said the company sees mergers and acquisitions as a way of quickly entering adjacent businesses that work well with HP’s strategies. He touted the 3Com deal as one that will advance HP’s offerings in security and networking, enabling it to “deliver the next generation of data centers.”
Finally, Hurd said the company is positioned stronger than when it entered the economic downturn. The economy remains challenging, Hurd said, but that there are “encouraging signs of recovery” that are starting to emerge in certain markets.
Shares of HP were up about 2 percent in regular trading, closing at $51.02. In after hours trading, shares saw a slight decline.
November 23rd, 2009
Analyst: News Corp.'s Google saber rattling really about MySpace
News Corp.’s alleged dance with Microsoft’s Bing and Rupert Murdoch’s big plan to de-index from Google is likely to be nothing more than saber rattling to secure a semi-respectable MySpace search deal, according to an analyst.
Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay made some key comments on news that News Corp. is looking to cut a deal with Bing (Financial Times, Techmeme).
Today’s articles reporting that News Corp. is exploring planning to remove its newspaper content from Google’s search engine but keep it on Microsoft are unlikely to cause much angst in Mountain View. We think the reports are saber-rattling from News Corp. to put pressure on Google during the renegotiation of the advertising deal with MySpace. We think Microsoft, as usual, is fishing in troubled waters in the hope that it may get something out of the situation or at least give “market leader” (Microsoft management’s name for Google) a poke in the eye.
The MySpace angle was raised by a reader in my last post. And it makes a lot of sense. News Corp. is trying to pressure Google ponying up money for a MySpace search deal. Google is likely to walk away from the MySpace deal, according to analysts.
Google paid MySpace $900 million guaranteed in a 3-year search in a disaster of a deal. Lindsay reckons that Google has countered with only $50 million in guaranteed revenue.
Lindsay writes:
We think the story has broken at a critical time in the Google-MySpace re-negotiation. In the original deal negotiated three years ago, Google guaranteed payments of $300 million per year ($900 million in total) provided News Corp. and MySpace met certain traffic volumes. This deal has been a large negative to Google (we estimate that at its height it reduced Google’s operating margins by over 100bps), but has been a godsend for MySpace right through the economic downturn. We note, however, that Google’s new CFO, Patrick Pichette has brought a long-absent discipline to AdSense for Content renewals and that instead of agreeing to a renewal of $300 million in guaranteed annual revenues, Google is reported to have counter-offered $50 million in guaranteed revenues – giving some indication of just how uneconomic the original agreement was.
Meanwhile, MySpace’s traffic drop has already lowered Google payments to News Corp., estimates Lindsay.
A few points raised by Lindsay:
- Google drives 11 percent to 14 percent of traffic to News Corp.’s properties.
- Murdoch’s de-index Google plan only works if other news sources follow.
- Google doesn’t need News Corp., which amounts to just 10 basis points of daily traffic (and lower ad revenue). News Corp. gets 12 percent of daily traffic from Google.
- Google would walk away from an uneconomical MySpace deal and Microsoft shareholders won’t be too hip to an expensive deal given losses at the software giant’s online unit.
November 23rd, 2009
Google to beef up display ads with acquisition of Teracent
Google, in an effort to bring more value to its display advertising business, has announced plans to acquire Teracent. In a blog post, Google explained its interest in Teracent:
Teracent’s technology can pick and choose from literally thousands of creative elements of a display ad in real-time — tweaking images, products, messages or colors. These elements can be optimized depending on factors like geographic location, language, the content of the website, the time of day or the past performance of different ads. This technology can help advertisers get better results from their display ad campaigns. In turn, this enables publishers to make more money from their ad space and delivers web users better ads and more ad-funded web content.
To explain the idea, the company uses an image of two similar display ads, a template altered for a create a new look, add a custom message and provide more information about specific products. This all goes along with Google’s recent efforts to improve display advertising, including measurement tools and the Double-Click Ad Exchange.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
November 23rd, 2009
Apple's Schiller defends app approval process; misses the point
Apple VP Phil Schiller is coming to the defense of his company’s process for approving - or rejecting - apps submitted for its iPhone and iPod Touch. In an interview with Business Week, he talks about how some apps are inappropriate, how some cross legal boundaries that could potentially put Apple at risk and others are just simply buggy. (Techmeme)
But that’s not the issue at-hand. Approvals aren’t a bad thing - at least at this point in time, given how new the marketplace is. While the Business Week piece offers some insight as to why some apps are rejected or approved, it doesn’t offer much insight into the process that happens behind the scenes.
No, I’m not asking for proprietary information on how it’s done but rather the sequence of events around the process and a estimated timeline for approval or rejection. That would directly address the biggest complaint among developers lately - the inconsistency in approval of apps and the stuck-in-perpetual-limbo status that some find themselves in. The developers just need updates. They’re simply saying, “Hey, if the app is buggy, send it back so we can fix it.” Or if it’s inappropriate, slap a rejection stamp on it, along with an explanation, and move on.
Also see: Apple’s app approval revolt: Will it matter? Maybe
If Apple wants to keep this sort of control over apps and grow its app store marketplace, it’s going to need to beef up its quality assurance department and kick that approval process into high gear, with some clear-cut policies and an established procedure for submissions and appeals.
I’m no developer so I can’t speak directly about the frustrations with the process. If there are policies and procedures already in place, they seem to be flawed. Developers are squawking and that’s something Apple needs to address because it eventually could become a problem.
When it comes to mobile app platforms, the competition is heating up. Android is entering the scene hard and fast with devices and an app store of its own. Schiller is right to defend the process as it relates to reasons for rejection and approval.
But it sounds like Apple’s app store quality assurance team needs a quality assurance team of its own, something that spots defects in the process and works on fixing them.
November 23rd, 2009
LinkedIn's platform debut: Late but important
LinkedIn has opened its platform so developers can integrate the site into business apps and Web sites. Think Facebook Connect for professionals.
A little late? You bet. Important. You bet.
In the end, there’s a lot of me-too in LinkedIn’s announcement. LinkedIn APIs and widgets are now available to connect folks. For the business-to-business world, this LinkedIn integration could be notable.
So why does all this networking matter? LinkedIn has never been more important as the unemployment rate rises. Facebook keeps you up to date, but LinkedIn can help you get a job.
As comScore noted back in September, LinkedIn “has become more important than ever for those looking for job opportunities and it has the growth to show for it.”
Simply put, LinkedIn may be late, but for the site’s popularity the timing may be just right.
November 23rd, 2009
AOL ditches the triangle; previews new brand identity, logos
In a move that mimics Yahoo’s “It’s You” media branding campaign, AOL has unveiled a “new brand identity” now that the company will spin off from corporate conglomerate Time Warner on Dec. 10.
Instead of the old triangle logo the world has come to recognize, AOL is moving in a new, more multifaceted direction, introducing a new text logo printed across colorful splash backgrounds, including a goldfish, a “rock hand,” scribbles and more.
For now, the new logos are just the tip of the iceberg, a preview of an upcoming full announcement once the company is fully spun off from Time Warner.
The rebranding also marks AOL’s shift from an Internet provider to a digital publisher. The company, helmed by CEO and former Googler Tim Armstrong, has a large family of blogs from the purchase of Weblogs, Inc. in 2005 that includes Engadget, Joystiq, Autoblog, TUAW, Asylum and Switched.
“Historically, brand identity has been monolithic and controlling, little more than stamping a company name on a product. AOL is a 21st century media company, with an ambitious vision for the future and new focus on creativity and expression, this required the new brand identity to be open and generous, to invite conversation and collaboration, and to feel credible, but also aspirational. We’re delighted to have worked so closely with the AOL leadership team to create something bold and exciting that sets AOL apart,” said Karl Heiselman, CEO of Wolff Olins, the global brand and innovation consultancy that AOL partnered with for the new digs.
Nevertheless, AOL’s primary revenue still comes from its connectivity business, and while its online properties help it redefine its corporate image, the company’s still heavily relying on it. The online publishing business is still very much in flux and heavily dependent on ad revenue, which is depressed in the wake of the recession.
November 23rd, 2009
eBay gets off to rough holiday shopping start
EBay is kicking off this key holiday shopping week with credits for sellers affected by a search outage over the weekend.
The company on Saturday suffered a search outage “due to errors in some of our backend systems.” A search on products would lead to an error message or blank page. Six hours later service was restored mostly and the company said “we will be issuing full credits for all affected items for this title search outage.”
Almost 24 hours later search was fully restored, including secondary search features such as color, inventory and clothing size.
The outage comes amid a critical time for sellers who are listing products for what could be a big shopping week. And while the outage for eBay isn’t material to earnings it does make you wonder if the auction site is ready to roll when crunch time. And crunch time comes a week from today on “Cyber Monday,” the next workday after Black Friday when e-commerce is supposed to ramp up.
November 23rd, 2009
Sergey Brin: Google Android, Chrome OS likely to converge
Google’s two operating systems, mobile Android and desktop Chrome OS, will likely converge as a single OS in the future, said Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
“Android and Chrome will likely converge over time,” Brin said in an informal discussion with reporters after the company’s Chrome OS presentation last Thursday. Brin added that the common Linux and Webkit code base present in both projects facilitates convergence.
November 23rd, 2009
Is Wikipedia maxed out?
Wikipedia may have reached the upper limits of what can be done with crowdsourcing, according to a researcher in Spain.
Felipe Ortega, a researcher at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, notes that Wikipedia is at risk because its core editors can’t continue to keep up their current pace. And if Wikipedia doesn’t recruit more volunteers its content could suffer.
Ortega’s research, the basis of his Ph.D. thesis, was highlighted by the Wall Street Journal. The PDF of the thesis contains more than you’ll ever want to know about how Wikipedia works. It’s worth reading at least a few pages—it’s 162 pages before you hit the bibliography.
The main conclusion that we can infer from the overall results of our quantitative analysis is that there exists a severe risk on the capacity of the top-ten Wikipedias, to maintain their current activity level in due course. According to our graphs and numbers, the inequality level of the contributions from logged authors is becoming more and more biased towards the core of very active authors. At the same time, the monthly Gini coefficients show that the inequality level of contributions from logged authors has remained stable over time, at the cost of demanding more and more contributions from active authors to alleviate this deficit of monthly revisions.
Furthermore, we have seen that the distribution of the total number of revisions per author follows an upper truncated Pareto distribution. While more core authors begin to reach the upper limit of their human contribution capacity, we will see a point in the future of this language versions in which the steady-state of the monthly Gini coefficient will start to decrease. This situation would not pose a problem in itself, unless for the fact that we have demonstrated that the most significant part of the content creation effort in Wikipedia is not undertaken by casual, passing-by authors, but by members of the core of very active contributors.
On top of that, the lack of new core members seriously threaten the scalability of the top-ten language versions regarding the quality of their content.
Simply put, active editors are carrying too much weight. In the first three months of 2009, Wikipedia lost more than 49,000 editors, compared to 4,900 a year earlier. In the Journal story, Wikipedia officials maintained that the foundation could carry on fine with fewer volunteers, but that premise is questionable given the size of Wikipedia. As Wikipedia is reproduced in more languages it should need a larger army of volunteer editors.
It’s possible that Wikipedia is already being stretched. Ortega noted in the Journal story that the site is becoming increasingly hostile.
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, tells the Journal it’s unclear what the optimal number of volunteers is, but the hostility can be corrected.
The larger question is whether crowdsourcing has a cap or not. Is there a point where crowdsourcing gets so big that it crumbles under its own weight? It’s a worth asking the question, but let’s put this in a little perspective. If Wikipedia somehow imploded it would still be one of the best examples of the Web at work. For corporate purposes, you could crowdsource R&D, get huge, perhaps create some neat products and dismantle if it got unwieldy.
Overall, there’s a big coordination problem at work here. But Wikipedia is at the collaboration forefront in terms of doing it at scale. Whatever happens from here with Wikipedia is going to be educational.
Post script: I wonder if the economy has something to do with Wikipedia’s drop-off in volunteers. Let’s say you were an active volunteer with a job. Let’s say you were laid off. Would you spend your time managing Wikipedia or looking for a job? It may be worth looking into other volunteer-based organizations and what happens during a downturn. Do people volunteer more or less?
November 23rd, 2009
Admob: Droid and Android army make big browsing splash
It didn’t take long for Motorola’s Droid to make a big splash in the browsing statistics, according to mobile ad firm AdMob.
In AdMob’s latest metric report (blog, statement, PDF), Android phones had 20 percent of smartphone traffic, up 7 percent from six months before. And Motorola’s Droid and CLIQ have had a quick impact on the browsing share.
AdMob, which has been acquired by Google, looked at the devices that comprise the market share of the mobile players. For instance, here’s a look at the Android breakdown:
Simply put, Motorola’s new handsets really moved the needle within Android market share stats.
RIM’s breakdown was also interesting. The big takeaway: The Curve rules the roost and the Storm is a so-so performer. Browsing is infinitely better on the Storm than Curve so it’s a little surprising it doesn’t have more share.
Overall, not a lot has changed in the smartphone standings. Apple’s iPhone platform is dominant. However, Android and its army of devices are likely to make a push in the months to come.
November 23rd, 2009
Meet Pearltrees: Bookmarks with a social twist
A French Web site, called Pearltrees, is developing a Web service that is trying to bring a social networking element to bookmarking - but with the connections based on content instead of people. Think Facebook and Twitter mixed with one Amazon’s recommendation system.
You don’t add friends in Pearltrees. Instead, you add links. As you come across something on the Internet that interests you, something that you might have otherwise bookmarked or tweet, you put it in your personal pearltree - which is really like a “main folder,” that contain the links themselves, called “pearls.”
Here’s the trick: if there are others on Pearltree who have also posted that same URL into one of their own pearltrees, you are now connected and can see their other links. No, that doesn’t mean you’re “friends” with that person or that you are even “following” them. You both just chose to save the same link in Pearltree - and chances are good that person may have saved some links that might be of interest to you.
The service, which is free, is still in alpha mode and has limited functionality and exposure. For the most part, it’s only been used in France, but the company is making a push into the U.S. now. The execs are also working on an integration with Twitter, which would allow the links embedded into a tweet to also be placed into Pearltrees, as well. And, there are also plug-ins (Firefox and IE) or bookmarklets (Chrome and Safari) to get content into Pearltrees.
For now, it’s a bit buggy but the concept is pretty solid. The stuff that I discover is “pushed” at me via Twitter and Facebook is based on the interests of people I know. That doesn’t mean we share common interests all the time, though, and much of that content may not even be worth reading.
With Pearltrees, I “pull” information that’s more likely to be relevant to my interests. There’s certainly some value in that.
November 23rd, 2009
Smart Planet: A bright idea for wasteful office lighting
Commercial office buildings are one of the main culprits of the current climate crisis. They consume large amounts of electricity and release excessive carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Adura Technologies has developed a mesh-based lighting system that is reducing costs and consumption inside buildings. The technology consists of wireless radios that plug into florescent light fixtures giving employees more control over their personal lighting space. Adura has also created a dual motion sensing-personal control system that is being used at UC Berkeley that allows students to break the hard-wired connection and control their lighting from their desktop PCs.
November 23rd, 2009
News to know: MSFT-News Corp.; YouTube; Chrome OS; California HDTV; Oracle-Sun
Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage:
Larry Dignan: A Microsoft and News Corp. search pact? It adds up
Christopher Dawson: YouTube automatic captioning: one more reason GOOG’s not evil
Jason Perlow: A Chrome OS Video Tour
- Rachel King: Google Chrome OS has arrived as free VMWare download
- Mary Jo Foley: Will Microsoft’s Silverlight dampen the appeal of Google’s Chrome OS?
Sean Portnoy: California adopts tough new requirements on HDTV energy use: Visionary or draconian?
Sam Diaz: EU extends deadline for review of Oracle-Sun deal
Doug Hanchard: Internet: A threat to government or the other way around?
- Internet: A threat to government or the other way around? (Part 2)
- Internet: A threat to government or the other way around? (Part 3)
Matthew Miller: Hands-on with the T-Mobile Samsung Behold II Google Android smartphone
Larry Dignan: Michael Dell sticks to Windows 7 big bang theory
Dan Kusnetzky: iPhone - is it a good tool for traveling business people?
Jason Perlow: Roku becomes cloud-enabled with new Roku Channel Store and Developer SDK
Chris Jablonski: The surgeons of tomorrow: Miniaturized robots that go inside you
Harry Fuller: More people, more pollution, right?
Jason Perlow: Stupid DROID Tricks, Volume 1
Garett Rogers: GrandCentral closing up shop
Harry Fuller: American cars giving slightly more miles per gallon
Matthew Miller: Want to see the HTC HD2? Join me at the PSHUG meeting next Tuesday
Jason Perlow: Frugal Friday: Joblessness, DROID, Chrome OS, Richard Stallman, V.i. labs
Oliver Marks: Flipping Fantastic
Jason D. O’Grady: First serious iPhone app for DJs: Touch DJ
Joe McKendrick: Popping the buzzword bubble
Phil Wainewright: Taming the Chatter cloud
Paul Murphy: Educating IT decision makers
Christopher Dawson: Who’s afraid of the big bad cloud?
Doug Hanchard: Friday’s Throw out the trash day and Polls for the week of Nov 20th
Jason D. O’Grady: Appearance: PPUG meets tomorrow in Philadelphia
Tom Foremski: Tech Awards: Al Gore’s a bore, “cash prizes” . . . and amazing laureates
Heather Clancy: Holiday LED redux: E-store will accept Home Depot coupon
Andrew Nusca: New Pogoplug brings hard drives online with additional USB ports, bright colors
Harry Fuller: Science of better fuel cells
November 22nd, 2009
A Microsoft and News Corp. search pact? It adds up
Microsoft and News Corp. are reportedly discussing a deal where Rupert Murdoch would take his properties and delist them from Google. These sites would presumably wind up on Bing.
The Financial Times reported that Microsoft and News Corp. have talked about de-indexing its news Web sites from Google. In addition:
The Financial Times has learnt that Microsoft has also approached other big online publishers to persuade them to remove their sites from Google’s search engine.
Crazy? Not if the money is right.
Microsoft’s grand plan would be to hamper Google by taking key properties away. And the software giant’s idea to approach other newspapers makes sense too. After all, Microsoft’s search partner Yahoo is really tight with newspapers.
The big picture here: Microsoft wants to ding Google, but it also wants market share. In many respects, search engines could resemble the stock exchanges. The Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange spend a lot of time and money on poaching big-name companies from each other. However, the investor doesn’t really care where a company lists shares. You use both exchanges.
Carry that analogy out to search and you see what Microsoft is pushing with Bing. Microsoft only wants to be on par with Google. If Bing has properties that garner attention perhaps consumers will use Microsoft’s search a little more. If folks use Bing and Google throughout the day it’s a clear win for Microsoft.
November 20th, 2009
Who's afraid of the big bad cloud?
Tech news has been dominated this week by Google’s announcements regarding their upcoming Chrome OS. Plenty of geeks are excited at the prospect of a lightweight, user-friendly, Linux-based operating system that, if only on the basis of brand cache, can be a potential Windows competitor in some important sub-markets. Plenty of industry insiders and business analysts are excited at the revenue potential for Google and new levels of competition. You know who aren’t excited? Those who say we aren’t ready for an OS dependent upon “The Cloud” (dramatic music plays here).
These are the same people who regularly stop by my ZDNet Education posts and can’t believe my affection for Google Apps or my willingness to use a student information system that’s hosted in the cloud. “Why wouldn’t you run the system on your own servers? Why would you run mission-critical mail and communications in the cloud? Why would you let your student data sit somewhere else?”
Uhhhh…because my time should be spent on my real business (in my case, integrating technology into education and ensuring that teachers have the data and resources they need to do their own jobs), not running servers when Google can do it infinitely better than I can or when other SaaS vendors can leverage large virtualized data centers to deliver high quality services to me quickly and with minimal intervention on my part. Read the rest of this entry »
Chris Dawson writes ZDNet's Education IT blog. Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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