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Friday, November 19, 2010

Salesforce shares soaring on cloud computing craze (AP) : Technet

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Salesforce shares soaring on cloud computing craze (AP) : Technet

Salesforce shares soaring on cloud computing craze (AP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:04 PM PST

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Nov 19, 6:04 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – A hot high-tech concept known as "cloud computing" is lifting Salesforce.com Inc.'s stock to lofty heights.

The shares rocketed more than 18 percent Friday after Salesforce issued a strong third-quarter earnings report and an optimistic management forecast that persuaded several analysts that the stock is bound to climb even higher. As it is, Salesforce in nearly 6 1/2 year as a public company is proving to be more fruitful than high-tech darling Google Inc.

The fervor surrounding Salesforce has been swelling during the past year because the company appears to be sitting in a sweet spot as more businesses and government agencies change the way they buy and use software.

After years of paying huge upfront fees to install and maintain applications on individual computers in their offices, more companies are embracing the idea of subscribing to software that can be accessed from any machine with an Internet connection. The trend is becoming so popular that it has been tagged with the catchphrase "cloud computing" to replace its more geeky shorthand of "SaaS, an abbreviation of "software as a service."

The transition has enriched and vindicated Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who faced widespread ridicule when he started the company 11 years ago on the presumption that the old way of installing software made by the likes of Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and SAP was doomed. Skeptics abounded at the time, contending that businesses would never be willing to trust a vendor to run their critical programs and applications on computers far away from their own premises.

But now Salesforce is seen as being ahead of the curve, as Microsoft, Oracle and SAP all scramble to build their own online subscription services. At the end of its latest quarter, Salesforce boasted 87,200 customers, including personal computer manufacturer Dell Inc. and health insurer Kaiser Permanente.

Wall Street has become so enamored with Salesforce that its stock is outshining Internet search leader Google, a much more renowned company that went public just two months after Salesforce did in 2004.

A $10,000 investment in Salesforce's June 2004 initial public offering would now be worth $124,000 after Friday's surge left shares with a gain of 85 percent so far this year. A $10,000 investment in Google's August 2004 IPO would be worth about $70,000.

Even Google has latched on to some of Salesforce's ideas as it tries to expand its own cloud computing service. Google now offers a suite of word processing, spreadsheet and calendar programs in hopes of luring people away from Microsoft's Office bundle of applications. Salesforce and Google have also teamed up on some cloud computing projects.

Google remains the far larger company with more than 23,000 employees and revenue expected to approach $30 billion this year. Salesforce employs about 5,000 people and is on track for about $1.7 billion in revenue in its fiscal year, which ends in January. Salesforce stirred excitement late Thursday when it topped off the release of better-than-expected third-quarter earnings with a prediction that its revenue for the year ending in January 2012 would reach $2 billion for the first time.

Salesforce shares soared $20.97, or 18.1 percent, Friday to close at $136.74 after hitting a new record high of $137.31 earlier in the session. The run-up has left Salesforce with an exceptionally high price-to-earnings, or "p/e," ratio, a wildly used yardstick for sizing up a company's value. Based on its projected earnings for fiscal 2012, Salesforce's p/e is 90; Google's is 18. An extremely high p/e ratio sometimes signals investors are becoming irrationally exuberant about a company's prospects, but most analysts don't seem to believe that's what's happening with Salesforce.

Benioff, 46, has relied on some of the marketing skills that he picked up while working at Oracle to win over potential customers and investors. He's a protege of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who has blended a flair for the dramatic with technological savvy and ruthless negotiating tactics to build his software empire. Ellison was among Salesforce's early investors and served on the company's board until Benioff fired him because he thought his former boss was stealing secrets to help Oracle develop a competing product.

Ellison also is the largest shareholder in another cloud computing service, NetSuite Inc., which competes with Salesforce.

Investors are now betting NetSuite will also prosper from the cloud computing craze: NetSuite shares gained $2.57, or nearly 12 percent, to close Friday at $24.57.

Ellison recently has been publicly criticizing Salesforce, something he has done to other companies that Oracle has ended up buying. A suitor interested in making a bid would have to have deep pockets, as Oracle does, because Salesforce's market value now stands at $15 billion.

With Salesforce flying high, Benioff's stake in the company is now worth about $1.4 billion. The fortune has allowed Benioff to build a huge home in Hawaii, where he says he likes to swim with dolphins to clear his mind. Although Salesforce has its headquarters in San Francisco, Benioff sometimes runs the company from Hawaii, using high-definition videoconferencing technology.

One of Benioff's latest ideas has been focused on building a business version of Facebook's social networking tools. That effort appears to be paying off as 60,000 Salesforce customers use a new tool called "Chatter." Although Chatter is free, analysts believe its popularity will make workers even more reliant on Salesforce's money-making services that help companies manage their customer relationships.

Amazon to allow gifting of Kindle e-books (AP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:07 PM PST

– Fri Nov 19, 6:07 pm ET

SEATTLE – Amazon.com Inc. has begun allowing customers to give its Kindle e-books to others.

Before, customers could only give gift certificates to cover the cost of an e-book.

To receive a Kindle e-book gift, the recipient only needs an e-mail address, not necessarily a Kindle e-reader. Although the e-reader starts at $139 for a version that can wirelessly download content over Wi-Fi, Amazon also offers a number of free applications that can be used to read Kindle books on gadgets such as laptops, tablet computers and smart phones.

Amazon also reiterated that millions are reading Kindle books on the dedicated e-reader and on free apps. This still doesn't give an indication of how many people have bought the Kindle — something which the Seattle-based company has never given precise details about.

There are currently more than 725,000 books in Amazon's Kindle Store.

Amazon shares rose 65 cents to close Friday at $164.82.

Google to purge UK personal data gotten from Wi-Fi (AP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 02:16 PM PST

– Fri Nov 19, 5:16 pm ET

LONDON – Google Inc. will delete the personal data collected by the company's Street View cars in Britain after regulators there wrapped up their inquiry into the intrusion.

Britain's Information Commissioner said Friday that the Mountain View, Calif.-based company would improve data protection training for its employees around the world and create a privacy document for every new project it launches.

Google drew outrage from regulators on both sides of the Atlantic in May when the company acknowledged it had scooped up passwords and Web addresses being transmitted over unsecured wireless networks as part of its program to create three-dimensional maps of cities across the world. Last month, the company said some of the information included entire e-mails.

While apologizing for its conduct, Google has steadfastly insisted it didn't break any laws. It says it wants to purge all the personal data that its Street View cars gathered after it gains clearance from regulators in the more than 30 affected countries.

Google already has gotten rid of the information that it picked up in Ireland, Denmark, Austria and Hong Kong.

The top 10 movies that still aren’t on Blu-ray (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:42 PM PST

‘World iPad’ on tap for 2011? (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:57 AM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Fri Nov 19, 11:57 am ET

An iPad with 3G support for carriers around the world, including both GSM and CDMA operators? That's the prediction of at least one analyst, who's also anticipating a front-facing camera and a slimmer design for the next-generation iPad.

Based on the usual "channel checks" with component makers, Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair believes the new iPad—which, mind you, hasn't even been announced yet—will come with a new "multimode" chip developer by Qualcomm that would be capable of connecting to both GSM networks (like AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA networks (like Sprint and—of course—Verizon Wireless), All Things Digital's John Paczkowski reports.

Such a "multimode" chip would allow Apple to build a single iPad 3G for the world—a "world iPad," as Blair puts it.

It would also grease the wheels for a new iPad 3G on Verizon Wireless, which recently started selling the current iPad—but just the Wi-Fi-only version, bundled with a MiFi mobile hotspot.

There's also been mounting speculation (bordering on certainty) that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon next year, with one of the initial thoughts being that Apple had a multimode iPhone up its sleeves. The current iPhone is based on GSM technology, perfect for AT&T but a no-go for Verizon.

So far, though, all signs point to Apple building a separate, CDMA-only version of the iPhone for Verizon.

Meanwhile, Wedge Partners analyst Blair also believe that one of the most often requested features on the iPad—namely, a front-facing camera—is coming to the so-called iPad 2, which could also see a thinner, unibody design, similar to Apple's slim-and-trim MacBooks.

Aren't all the predictions a little premature, though, given that Apple hasn't said a peep about a new iPad?

Well, perhaps, but keep in mind that it's almost been a year since Steve Jobs first unveiled the original iPad, and given Apple's typical one-year refresh cycle for its headliners, we're about due for some news about the virtually guaranteed iPad 2.0.

Earlier predictions from industry analysts have, like Blair, pointed to a lighter, slimmer design, at least one built-in camera, and perhaps even a mini USB port to go along with Apple's proprietary 30-pin iPod connector.

There had also been chatter of a smaller iPad—say, 7 inches, same as the just-released Samsung Galaxy Tab.

But Steve Jobs put the kibosh on that idea after he called 7-inch tablets like the Tab "dead on arrival" because "users cannot reliably tap, flick or pinch" elements on such a small screen, which (as Jobs pointed out) is only 45 percent as large as the current iPad's 9.7-inch display. (The utility of a small screen is a matter of opinion, of course.)

What features would you like to see in a new iPad? Or are you spurning Apple in favor of an Android-powered tablet, like Samsung's—or what about the BlackBerry PlayBook, for that matter?

Related:

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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Turn your Facebook into an actual book with Ninuku Archivist (Digital Trends)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:48 PM PST

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Fri Nov 19, 8:48 pm ET

NinukuScrap those plans to write your autobiography, Ninuku Archivist can do it for you. The site analyzes your Facebook and sucks out photos, profile information, and comments to generate a chronological, printable, PDF version of your life – rather, your life since you registered for a Facebook account. For $24 a year, the service collects information from your profile on a monthly basis, and gives you the option to edit, delete, or add anything you want. There's also a Private Thoughts feature, so you can clarify "cryptic status updates" or include a footnote on how much you regret taking that photo.

Talk about taking narcissism to a new level. In case perusing your own Facebook and gleaning every public detail about your life wasn't enough, you can sit down with a printed, collated, hell, maybe even bound, copy of your Facebook activity. And course, you are allowing a third party vendor a considerable amount of access to your account. Albeit, it was already on Facebook, but let's not forget the legal repercussions various applications are experiencing for how they handled user data.

On a less cynical note, there are some definite advantages to using something like Ninuku, the largest being the ability to clean your profile out. After converting your information into a PDF, the tool gives you the option of deleting anything you want from Facebook's servers by simply sending you the direct links to everything it assembles.

And there is the sentimental value, if you’re into that kind of thing. The once-obligatory boxes full of photos and letters are swiftly disappearing in these digital times, and Ninuku is an easy way to replace that.

Hang-up cited with Nokia phone (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:46 PM PST

– Fri Nov 19, 6:46 pm ET

The No. 1 mobile phone maker by sales said a number of its high-end N8 smart phones fail to turn on after being recharged. The glitch is another setback for Nokia (NYSE:NOK - News), which has tried to position N8 to compete with Apple's (NMS:AAPL) iPhone and handsets featuring Google's (NMS:GOOG) Android software. While Nokia dominates in Europe, it remains a relatively small player in the U.S. market. "It's not a great start for their supposed iPhone or Android killer," said Neil Mawston of Strategy Analytics. Nokia fell 1.8% to 10.12.

Broadcaster Group Signs on for Mobile DTV (PC World)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:50 PM PST

Stephen Lawson Stephen Lawson – Fri Nov 19, 7:50 pm ET

A group of 12 TV broadcasters has joined in on plans for free, live mobile TV, promising service in 20 metropolitan areas by late next year.

On Friday, the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) said it will upgrade TV stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and 16 other markets to a standards-based digital TV system. That technology, based on a standard from the ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee), lets broadcasters use part of their spectrum to deliver TV to specially equipped mobile devices. The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) has been promoting this technology for about two years and conducted successful trials in the Washington, D.C., area.

Backers of this mobile TV effort say their approach will succeed where others, such as Qualcomm's FLO TV, have generated little interest. Instead of reinventing TV and creating special programming lineups just for mobile, the OMVC approach lets local stations extend their existing broadcasts and advertising-based business model to mobile devices. Local news, for example, is a major draw for viewers, they said. The OMVC said last month that broadcasts using this system would begin by the end of this year and that more than 70 stations across the country were planning to offer broadcasts.

MCV includes both the Fox and NBC broadcast networks as well as ION Television and a venture called Pearl Mobile DTV. Pearl itself is made up of Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television and other broadcasters. The areas where they will broadcast represent 40 percent of the U.S. population, MCV said.

The MCV said its members would broadcast news, entertainment and sports programming, including at least two free, ad-supported channels in each market. To receive these shows, consumers will need a device equipped to receive the signals, which will be encrypted, MCV said. The MCV is working with manufacturers to make such devices available in the second half of 2011.

There is already a DVD player with mobile digital TV capability on the market. The player, made by LG, sells for just over US$200 on Amazon.com. Last month the OMVC said a handheld receiver with Wi-Fi, as well as USB dongles for laptops, would ship in time for the year-end holidays. All such products currently need to have an external antenna.

Qualcomm, which launched FLO TV in 2007 and offered it through AT&T and Verizon Wireless, has stopped selling new devices for it and is now exploring a sale or other arrangement for the dedicated broadcast networks it built in numerous U.S. cities.

In the Washington-area trial, more than 63 percent of the 150 participants watched mobile TV on a daily basis, according to research company Rentrak, which gathered statistics about the test. Most watched between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, which typically are slow hours for local TV viewing.

Facebook founder fodder for animated film (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:00 PM PST

– 2 hrs 20 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – A comic book based on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is being turned into a short animated film tailored to television.

Hayden 5 Media and Bluewater Productions intend to turn the comic book "Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook" into a film in the style of the 2006 science fiction work "A Scanner Darkly."

"When we found out that Bluewater was releasing this comic, we knew we had to get on board," said Hayden president Todd Wiseman.

"We saw a great opportunity to re-tell the story of Mark Zuckerberg post 'Social Network' in a brighter, animated form that could be enjoyed and understood by a broader audience."

The film will combine real characters and animated settings with a "comic book aesthetic," the companies said on Friday.

The comic book, written by Jerome Maida and drawn by Fritz Saalfeld, will hit stores in late December at a price of 6.99 dollars a copy.

"As this comic reveals, the road for the success for both his creation and him personally was not preordained nor was it always a smooth ride," independent production studio Bluewater said in a release.

"(Zuckerberg) would be tempted with unimaginable amounts of money and have to deal harshly with people along the way - many of whom would later feel betrayed."

Bluewater publishes a wide range of comics, from superheroes to horror to children's tales to biographies of famous folks including US President Barack Obama and young pop star Justin Bieber.

"This will not be the last retelling of the Mark Zuckerberg story," said Hayden executive production Milos Silber.

"We're just aware of the profound impact of Facebook, and with over 500 million users, we're bound to have an audience."

"The Social Network," the recently-released movie about the origins of Facebook, paints Zuckerberg as a status-obsessed, socially dysfunctional schemer.

The live-action film was written by "The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher of "Fight Club" fame.

"The Social Network" stars Jesse Eisenberg as Zuckerberg and pop star Justin Timberlake as Napster founder Sean Parker, Zuckerberg's mentor.

The movie is based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich and its take on the murky creation of Facebook.

Music sellers eye robust shopping in week ahead (Reuters)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:41 PM PST

By Ed Christman Ed Christman – Fri Nov 19, 7:41 pm ET

NEW YORK (Billboard) – A slate of new superstar releases has the recording industry hopeful for robust shopping on Black Friday, even as physical retailers focus greater attention on DVD and videogame releases.

Widely anticipated Thanksgiving-week releases include Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday," Ke$ha's "Cannibal," Ne-Yo's "Libra Scale" and My Chemical Romance's "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys."

They join a host of recently released titles that are also expected to continue doing brisk sales, including Rihanna's "Loud," Susan Boyle's "The Gift," Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" and Cee-Lo Green's "The Lady Killer."

"The release schedule, which looked bad back in the summer, is pretty OK and it's maybe better than last year," Universal Music Group Distribution president/CEO Jim Urie said.

The head of sales at another label agrees: "There is a decent mood out there, certainly better than it was 90 days ago."

Overall U.S. consumer sentiment appears to be somewhat better than last year, according to the results of a National Retail Federation survey that found that about 138 million consumers expect to shop during the Black Friday weekend, which follows the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday next week, up slightly from 134 million who planned to last year.

But most retailers are focusing their promotional firepower for entertainment products on DVDs and videogames rather than music.

"Gaming is leading the pack this year, with video right behind it," Trans World VP of music and new media Ish Cuebas said. "Every year, video gets more dominant, with movie vendors putting together aggressive pricing programs."

An executive at another mass merchant says, "The video guys get aggressive every year to take advantage of Black Friday. The music guys do nothing. They just sit back and wait for the hammer to fall."

Black Friday sales circulars reflect far more real estate dedicated to DVDs and videogames than music.

Best Buy is featuring six albums for $6.99: Bon Jovi's "Greatest Hits," Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," Maroon 5's "Hands All Over," Rihanna's "Loud," Keith Urban's "Get Closer" and Carole King & James Taylor's "Live at the Troubadour." Target's circular features only three titles, all priced at $6.50 and none of them released this year: Lady Antebellum's self-titled album, Guns 'N Roses' "Greatest Hits" and Eminem's "Curtain Call."

"That's just silly," said a senior executive at a rival retailer who doesn't want to be quoted discussing pricing. "They don't need to go that low. It's not like the days when Circuit City was still around and they ran every CD in the store at a $9.99 sale all day, back when most CDs carried a $12 cost."

Among major retailers, music specialty retailer Hastings Entertainment will run the most extensive Black Friday advertising for music, touting in its circular a four-hour Black Friday morning sale featuring $18.99-list single CDs for $8.99 each (limit two per customer).

Hastings is also offering $3 off any CD priced at $10.99 or higher and a $8.99 price on Lil Wayne's "I Am Not a Human Being," Elton John and Leon Russell's "The Union," Ke$ha's "Animal," Rascal Flatts' "Nothing Like This," Kid Cudi's "Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Roger" and Linkin Park's "A Thousand Suns." And it has assorted CDs, including Soundgarden's "Badmotorfinger" and Rush's "2112," for $4.99 and others by Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash for $2.99.

Meanwhile, the November 4 release of Microsoft's Kinect has sparked renewed interest in videogames. Despite Kinect's arrival, Newbury Comics CEO Mike Dreese argues that there aren't any compelling game titles this year because of an abundance of supply.

Dreese downplays the importance of Black Friday, saying that his chain's sales are typically only 30 percent greater than an average Saturday. He adds that in 2009, Newbury generated more daily sales on 12 different days between Thanksgiving and Christmas than it did on Black Friday.

Nielsen SoundScan data appears to bear out Dreese's observation. In 2009, Thanksgiving week was only the fifth-largest sales week for music, with U.S. unit sales of 10.7 million.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Facebook Accounts for 25% of All U.S. Pageviews (Mashable)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 12:26 PM PST

Jolie O'Dell Jolie O'dell – Fri Nov 19, 3:26 pm ET

Facebook's putting up some big numbers in terms of U.S. web traffic. Right now, the site accounts for one out of every four pageviews in the United States -- that's 10% of all Internet visits.

According to data from analysis and intelligence firm Hitwise, Facebook's year-over-year growth has been phenomenal. We reported in June that the social network was set to eclipse Google in web traffic; now, Hitwise is showing that in the past week, Facebook.com saw 3% more web visits and almost five times more pageviews than Google.com.

By these metrics, Facebook is by far the single most popular website in the United States. Still, other sources with other measurements and criteria show some variance.

comScore has also released stats showing huge growth from Facebook -- a 55% year-over-year increase, in fact. But comScore places Facebook at 151.13 million U.S. uniques for October 2010, slightly behind Google's 173.3 monthly uniques, which means the search giant is the social network's sole competitor for web traffic domination.

The company has been growing at a breakneck pace all year. It announced that its network had reached the extraordinary milestone of 500 million members in July. And at Web. 2.0 Summit this week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the audience that half of those members visit Facebook on a daily basis.

And the company's not just racking up new members and pageviews; a large part of its success has been a continuous stream of new and revamped products. Facebook Places was one of the most talked-about new locations products in an already crowded market; Facebook also made waves with a new Messages experience and interface and the new Groups, which Zuckerberg said is the company's fastest-growing product yet.

In short, it's no wonder Facebook has performed so well this year; we wonder what the still-young company will do to keep these numbers growing in 2011.

Analyst: Apple working on thinner, carrier-neutral iPad for 2011 (Appolicious)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 11:36 AM PST

Summary Box: Investors lining up to buy Salesforce (AP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:29 PM PST

By The Associated Press The Associated Press – Fri Nov 19, 6:29 pm ET

SALESFORCE FERVOR: Wall Street has fallen in love with Salesforce.com Inc. as a concept known as "cloud computing" has taken off. The term refers to subscribing to software programs hosted over Internet connections instead of installed on individual machines. Salesforce has been building its business around clouding computing for 11 years.

FLYING HIGH: Salesforce shares soared more than 18 percent Friday to reach a new high as investors reacted to a strong third-quarter earnings report and bullish outlook.

OUTSHINING GOOGLE: Salesforce's stock has outperformed Google's stock since both companies went public during the summer of 2004.

Hacked Federal Reserve Network Was Test-only (PC World)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 12:40 PM PST

Robert McMillan Robert Mcmillan – Fri Nov 19, 3:40 pm ET

A June 2010 hacking incident that compromised a network at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland happened on a test system and not the bank's production servers.

On Thursday, Lin Mun Poo was charged with hacking the Fed and other U.S. corporations, including payment processor FedComp and an unnamed federal defense contractor. He was arrested on Oct. 21 following a U.S. Secret Service sting.

The Secret Service says it found more than 400,000 bank card numbers on Poo's laptop at the time of his arrest. But those numbers apparently did not come from the Fed, which said Friday that none of its sensitive data was compromised during the incident. "We don't process credit cards or debit card information," said June Gates, a spokeswoman with the Federal Reserve of Cleveland.

According to Gates, the hacker managed to break into a single Fed test PC that was connected to other test computers. "This is a system that is used to test software and applications with fake data and information," she said. "The incident did not involve our live production system on which we process our work."

Gates declined to provide further details on the incident.

In court filings, prosecutors said that at least 10 Fed computers were affected. Presumably these were the systems that were connected to the hacked PC.

Poo, a resident of Malaysia, was arrested just hours after landing in the U.S. after allegedly selling US$1,000 worth of bank card numbers to another man at a Brooklyn diner. Prosecutors said he was in the U.S. to set up a deal to sell more stolen card numbers.

Robert McMillan covers computer security and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Robert on Twitter at @bobmcmillan. Robert's e-mail address is robert_mcmillan@idg.com

Prepare for Cyber Monday Shopping Risks (PC World)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:46 AM PST

12 Ubuntu Derivatives You Should Consider (PC World)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 04:46 PM PST

Katherine Noyes Katherine Noyes – Fri Nov 19, 7:46 pm ET

It's no secret that Ubuntu 10.10, or Maverick Meerkat, is one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions of all time for business and home users.

What many people don't realize, however, is that there are several other Linux distributions out there that are also based on Ubuntu and offer many of the same advantages. Some are focused on a specific niche; others are simply variations on the same general theme.

If you're already a fan of Ubuntu or simply want to experience what the excitement is all about, consider the following alternatives for what just may be an even more perfect match with your business's needs.

For Linux Beginners: Linux Mint and Pinguy OS

With version 10, or "Julia," hot off the presses, Linux Mint is the third most popular Linux distribution, behind only Ubuntu itself and Fedora. Many people find Mint even easier to use than Ubuntu, at least in part because it's designed to provide a more complete out-of-the-box experience by including browser plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, Java and other components.

Though less well-known, Pinguy is also another very nice Ubuntu-based distribution for Linux beginners. It features numerous user-friendly enhancements, out-of-the-box support for multimedia codecs and browser plugins, a heavily tweaked GNOME user interface and a careful selection of popular desktop applications for many common computing tasks.

Similar to Windows: Zorin OS

Zorin OS is a Linux distribution designed especially for newcomers who have come to Linux from Windows. Based on the GNOME desktop, it has a Windows-like graphical user interface and many programs similar to those found in Windows. Zorin OS also comes with an application that lets users run many Windows programs.

Lightweight Versions: Lubuntu, Xubuntu and CrunchBang

Lubuntu is a fast, lightweight and energy-saving variant of Ubuntu that uses the XDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) desktop. It is intended to have low-resource system requirements and is designed primarily for netbooks, mobile devices and older PCs.

Also optimized for lower-end machines, Xubuntu uses the lightweight Xfce desktop environment instead. It also includes only GTK+ applications where possible. CrunchBang Linux, meanwhile, features the lightweight Openbox window manager along with GTK+ applications.

For Cloud-Based Netbooks: Jolicloud

Focused on cloud-based netbooks, Jolicloud aspires toward extreme user-friendliness so that any computer user can install it with just one click. Besides the standard .ISO image, the distribution is also provided as a Windows executable file that can resize an existing Windows partition and install Jolicloud as an alternative operating system. Jolicloud is heavily oriented towards Web applications and services.

A Multimedia Focus: Ubuntu Studio and Mythbuntu

Ubuntu Studio is a variant of Ubuntu aimed at audio, video and graphics professionals. Accordingly, it includes a collection of open source applications for multimedia creation.

Mythbuntu, on the other hand, uses the Xfce desktop and focuses on setting up a standalone MythTV-based PVR system.

For Education: Edubuntu

Edubuntu is designed to be suitable for classroom use, enabling an educator with limited technical knowledge and skill to set up and administer a computer lab or online learning environment in an hour or less without having to become a Linux expert.

A Different Desktop: Kubuntu and Netrunner

Whereas Ubuntu has always shipped with the GNOME desktop interface by default, Kubuntu and Netrunner are both variations that use the KDE desktop instead. The differences are mainly cosmetic, but you may find you prefer KDE, which uses more blues and grays than GNOME's purples.

In short, Ubuntu is a great Linux distribution for both business and home users, but part of the beauty of Linux is the wealth of choices available and the ease of trying them out. If your business has specific needs--or if there's anything you'd like to change in Ubuntu--one of these variants might be just the ticket.

Follow Katherine Noyes on Twitter: @Noyesk.

Cox Launches Wireless Service with Quadruple Play (NewsFactor)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 02:36 PM PST

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Fri Nov 19, 5:36 pm ET

Move over, triple play deals. Cable company Cox Communications is offering a quadruple play of cable, wired phone, Internet -- and wireless.

On Friday, Cox launched its wireless mobile-phone service in Orange County, Calif.; Omaha, Neb.; and Hampton Roads, Va., which calls upon the 3G network in the 700-MHz spectrum that it licensed in the Federal Communications Commission auction two years ago. It's the first cable provider to provide its own cell-phone service.

The Unbelievably Fair Plan

Cox is also trying to be innovative in the kinds of deals it offers through Cox Wireless. It has named the mobile-phone and high-speed Internet service its Unbelievably Fair plan.

One of the "fair" offers, which Cox said was revealed by its market research, is called MoneyBack Minutes. The company will buy back unused minutes each month, up to $20, in a deal that Cox said is the first to be offered by a wireless carrier. This, it noted, is "a significant departure from the industry standard by which consumers lose unused minutes or carry them over from month to month with no monetary benefit."

Other "fair" approach by Cox is providing customers with free text-message Usage Alerts when the maximum number of monthly minutes and messages is getting close. It said this "'no surprises' service enables customers to adjust usage habits or upgrade rate plans to avoid overage charges."

Additionally, calls between Cox Wireless phones, or between a Cox Wireless phone and a Cox Digital landline, are free. Also free are upgrades for Cox customers when they transition from a bundled triple play to the quadruple. Upgrades include a free premium entertainment channel such as HBO or Showtime for Advanced TV customers, an upgrade from Preferred to Premier status for high-speed Internet customers, and the addition of unlimited domestic long-distance calling for Cox Digital landline customers.

'Help Simplify' Lives

Cox said some features that "help simplify customers' lives" will be included in many of the mobile devices it is offering. These include the ability to program a home DVR and see TV listings, a Universal Contact Manager, and a Voice Mail to Text app. The company also said many additional Cox-specific apps will soon be available for Android devices.

Wireless devices available through Cox include the Android-based HTC Desire, Motorola Milestone, LG Axis, HTC Hero, HTC Wildfire, and the BREW-enabled Samsung Messenger Touch and Samsung Profile.

According to industry analysts, two-thirds of Cox's current customers subscribe to more than one service, and a third take the triple play. There is an expectation that Cox could become an innovator in offering deals that apply to more than one screen, such as offering sports programming that is available on high-speed wireless devices as well as on cable TV.
at 9:31 PM

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