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Dell 4Q net income more than doubles, shares soar (AP) : Technet |
- Dell 4Q net income more than doubles, shares soar (AP)
- Apple unveils iPhone, iPad subscription policy (AP)
- Computer crushes the competition on `Jeopardy!' (AP)
- HTC’s “Facebook phones” revealed (Ben Patterson)
- Report: Apple prepping iPhone with 4-inch display (Ben Patterson)
- Clinton renews call for Internet freedom (AFP)
- Logitech to Stream Video to IPads, IPhones (PC World)
- Google's Android Roadmap: New Clues Emerge (PC World)
- Twitter users seek privacy in WikiLeaks case (AFP)
- Vt. Guard chief warns he's target of Facebook scam (AP)
- Apple unveils digital media subscription service (AFP)
- In-app subscription plan makes sure Apple gets a piece of all content (Appolicious)
- Google Tried To Convince Nokia To Adopt Android (NewsFactor)
- Apple subscription service challenges publishers (Reuters)
- Remains of the Day: Subscription dance (Macworld)
- iWeb update fixes FTP publishing issue, more (Macworld)
| Dell 4Q net income more than doubles, shares soar (AP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:22 PM PST SEATTLE – Personal computer maker Dell Inc. said Tuesday its net income more than doubled in the most recent quarter to handily beat expectations, as businesses spent more on computers, servers and other technology. Dell also issued annual revenue guidance for the current fiscal year that beat Wall Street's forecast. The results sent Dell's shares soaring in extended trading after the report was released. Companies that clamped down on spending during the economic downturn continued to upgrade technology in the quarter. Dell's business is more heavily weighted toward corporate customers than its competitors, so this resurgence in spending is giving it a relatively big boost. Those increases helped Dell offset sluggish consumer spending on computers. Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said he expects the consumer PC business will remain weak this fiscal year, in part because people are thinking about buying tablets such as Apple Inc.'s iPad. Dell's results bring an extra month's perspective to an earlier report from technology bellwether Intel Corp. The strong corporate spending and the weakening of the consumer PC market that Intel, the world's largest maker of PC processors, observed in the last three months of 2010 continued through January. For the quarter that ended Jan. 28, net income soared to $927 million, or 48 cents per share, from $334 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, Dell earned 53 cents per share, blowing past Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast earnings of 36 cents per share. Revenue rose 5 percent to $15.69 billion from $14.9 billion in the year-ago quarter. That's less than the $15.75 billion analysts predicted. Revenue from large enterprises and from small and medium-size businesses rose 12 percent each to $4.7 billion and $3.7 billion, respectively. Public-sector revenue increased 4 percent to $4 billion. Revenue from the consumer segment fell 8 percent to $3.3 billion. A year ago, Microsoft Corp.'s updated PC operating system, Windows 7, went on sale, luring more shoppers and making for a tough comparison this year. Dell has been working to increase the proportion of server computers, data storage devices and technology consulting services it sells, because those areas are more profitable than the basic PC business. Compared with a year ago, however, each of Dell's product categories accounted for about the same amount of revenue in the quarter. Computers, both for consumers and for business employees, continued to make up more than half of Dell's revenue. Dell's gross margin, an important measure of how efficient the business is, clocked in at 21 percent, better than the 18.6 percent analysts were expecting. Gladden said lower costs for components helped contribute to the stronger gross margin, as did improvements in how the company sources parts and manufactures computers. "I think they did a good job," said Brian Marshall, an analyst for Gleacher & Co., in an interview. "My only issue is the sustainability of that improvement." Marshall said Dell's guidance indicates margins will decline this year. Component prices are bound to rise, and Dell remains heavily dependent on selling hardware — PCs and server computers. The company is doing the right thing by making acquisitions in technology consulting and data storage that bring faster growth and better margins, the analyst said. "The issue is: Dell is yesterday's company. And they're $60 billion in revenue. To turn a $60 billion ship, you can't do that overnight," Marshall said. For the full year, Dell said net income increased 84 percent to $2.64 billion, or $1.35 per share, from $1.43 billion, or 73 cents per share in the prior year. Revenue rose 16 percent to $61.49 million from $52.9 million. For the current quarter, Dell said it expects revenue to decline slightly from the fourth-quarter level. Analysts are looking for revenue of $15.5 billion in revenue. For the fiscal year, Dell said it expects revenue to grow 5 percent to 9 percent, or about $64.6 billion to $67.0 billion. Analysts are forecasting annual revenue of $64.2 billion. Shares jumped 80 cents, or 5.8 percent, to $14.71 in aftermarket trading after the earnings were released. In the regular session, the stock lost 18 cents to $13.91. |
| Apple unveils iPhone, iPad subscription policy (AP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:57 PM PST NEW YORK – Apple Inc. announced a subscription system for buying newspapers and magazines on iPhone and iPad applications on Tuesday, making it easier for publishers to mine the popular mobile devices for more revenue. The update announced Tuesday enables publishers to sell subscriptions by the week, month, year or other period of time, instead of asking readers to buy each issue separately. The added convenience promises to help publishers sell more digital copies as they look to smart phones and tablet computers to replace some of the revenue that has disappeared over the past few years as readers and advertisers migrated from print editions. But publishers won't be allowed to automatically collect personal information about people who buy subscriptions through the Apple apps. That data is prized by publishers because they use it for marketing purposes. Instead, subscribers who sign up through an app on an Apple device will be given the option to share their information with publishers, a choice most people don't make. If people don't share their information with publishers, Apple will still hold onto it, though it will not pass it on to the publishers or other third parties. Time Inc., whose magazines include Sports Illustrated, People and Time, applauded Apple for allowing publishers to sell app subscriptions, but said it still has questions about access to customer information. Sports Illustrated, for one, already has worked out deals to sell subscriptions with access to customer data on computer tablets running on software made by Apple rivals Google Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. Apple will take its standard 30 percent cut from all app and content sales made in its iTunes store, which peddles a variety of music, movies, games and e-books. This new subscription system also applies to video and music services — for instance, the app for Netflix. Content providers that don't want to automatically give Apple a slice of the revenue can try to sell subscriptions outside the app, too. One way to do that would be through the Web browser, although that might prove too much of a hassle for people already used to buying apps, music and other things on iTunes. Apple is insisting the financial terms of the digital subscriptions sold outside the app be no better than those offered in the iTunes store. And people must have the option to buy subscriptions within iTunes, if they want. "We believe that this innovative subscription service will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone, delighting both new and existing subscribers," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. Jobs, a cancer survivor, is on medical leave but continues to serve as chief executive. Apple's new subscription policy follows News Corp.'s launch of the first iPad-only newspaper, The Daily, earlier this month. Its subscribers are charged through iTunes, making it the first iPad app to take advantage of this subscription feature. More newspapers are focusing on digital devices because their biggest source of revenue, print advertising, has plunged during the past four years. Digital advertising has been steadily rising, but those increases have only made up for a fraction of the losses on the print side. Subscriptions to print editions also have been dropping in recent years as more people turned to the Web to get news and other information for free. In stark contrast to publishers, Apple has been thriving. The company, based in Cupertino, Calif., generates more than $65 billion in annual revenue and boasts a market value of $330 billion — second only to Exxon Mobil Corp. among U.S. companies. Apple now sees an opportunity to get even richer from these so-called in-app purchases. As part of its effort to ensure it gets a cut, Apple recently rejected Sony Corp.'s e-book reader app for the iPhone because it doesn't give people the chance to buy books without leaving the app for a website. By insisting on an in-app purchase option, Apple believes it is making sure people using its gadgets get a familiar experience every time they buy something — a new level of a video game or a new issue of a magazine — through an app. Until recently, Apple has not enforced this rule universally. ___ AP Business Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report. |
| Computer crushes the competition on `Jeopardy!' (AP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:11 PM PST NEW YORK – The computer brained its human competition in Game 1 of the Man vs. Machine competition on "Jeopardy!" On the 30-question game board, veteran "Jeopardy!" champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter managed only five correct responses between them during the Double Jeopardy round that aired Tuesday. They ended the first game of the two-game face-off with paltry earnings of $4,800 and $10,400 respectively. Watson, their IBM supercomputer nemesis, emerged from the Final Jeopardy round with $35,734. Tuesday's competition began with Jennings (who has the longest "Jeopardy!" winning streak at 74 games) making the first choice. But Watson jumped in with the correct response: What is leprosy? He followed that with bang-on responses Franz Liszt, dengue fever, violin, Rachmaninoff and albinism, then landed on a Daily Double in the "Cambridge" category. "I'll wager $6,435," Watson (named for IBM founder Thomas J. Watson) said in his pleasant electronic voice. "I won't ask," said host Alex Trebek, wondering with everybody else where that figure came from. But Watson knew what he was doing. Sir Christopher Wren was the correct response, and Watson's total vaulted to $21,035 as the humans stood by helplessly. Watson blew his next response. But so did both his opponents. He guessed Picasso. Jennings guessed Cubism. Rutter guessed Impressionism. (Correct question: What is modern art?) Back to Watson, who soon hit the game's second Daily Double. But even when he was only 32 percent sure (you could see his precise level of certainty displayed on the screen), Watson correctly guessed Baghdad as the city from whose national museum the ancient Lion of Nimrud ivory relief went missing (along with "a lot of other stuff") in 2003. Watson added $1,246 to his stash. He even correctly identified the Church Lady character from "Saturday Night Live." One answer stumped everyone: "A Titian portrait of this Spanish king was stolen at gunpoint from an Argentine museum in 1987." (Correct response: Philip.) Jennings shook his head. Rutter wrenched his face. Watson, as usual, seemed unfazed. Even when he bungled Final Jeopardy, Watson (with his 10 offstage racks of computer servers) remained poised. The answer: "Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest, for a World War II battle." Both Jennings and Rutter knew the right response was Chicago. Watson guessed doubtfully, "What is Toronto?????" It didn't matter. He had shrewdly wagered only $947. The trio will return on Wednesday, when their second game is aired. The overall winner will collect $1 million. The bouts were taped at the IBM research center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., last month. ___ Online: (This version CORRECTS final totals of Jennings and Rutter to $4,800 and $10,400.) |
| HTC’s “Facebook phones” revealed (Ben Patterson) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 07:41 AM PST Rumors had been swirling for weeks that HTC had a pair of new Android phones with deep Facebook integration in the offing, and now the two handsets—the Salsa and the ChaCha, both with their own, dedicated Facebook buttons—have finally been unveiled. Details on the Salsa, which comes with a 3.4-inch display, and its little brother, the 2.6-inch ChaCha, are still a little sketchy; indeed, reporters and bloggers at HTC's press conference at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona could only gaze at the two handsets through a pane of protective glass.
The larger HTC Salsa looks to be a touchscreen-only handset, with a decent-sized 3.4-inch, 480-by-320-pixel display, while the smaller ChaCha is a BlackBerry-style device with a 2.6-inch screen, also 480 by 320, plus a physical QWERTY keypad. Both phones come with five-megapixel cameras in back and VGA-quality front-facing cameras for video chat.
All very nice, but let's get to the good stuff—namely, the little blue Facebook button that sits at the bottom of each phone. My first thought was that the button would do little more than launch the mobile Facebook app—not very exciting. But apparently, there's more to it. As described by Phonescoop, the button acts more as a content sharer than a mere Facebook launcher; for example, if you stumble upon a webpage, a photo, or a song that you want to share with your Facebook pals, you can post it instantly (though, I'd hope, not before being prompted by a confirmation dialog) by pressing the Facebook button.
And here's another interesting tidbit, this time from Android Central: whenever you're viewing, watching, or listening to content you can share on Facebook, the Facebook button will glow. So, are these the official "Facebook phones" we've been hearing about? No, insists Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who (in a pre-taped video clip, Android Central reports) told the assembled press at HTC's press conference that rather than a single "Facebook phone," there will be "dozens" of Android handsets featuring deep Facebook integration. Expect the Salsa and the ChaCha to arrive in worldwide markets in the second quarter, with HTC announcing that the phones—or at least, "this unique user experience"—will arrive on AT&T "later this year." No word on pricing yet. What's your verdict on HTC's new Facebook button: like, or dislike? — Ben Patterson is a technology blogger for Yahoo! News. |
| Report: Apple prepping iPhone with 4-inch display (Ben Patterson) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 06:44 AM PST Amid rumors that Apple may unleash a smaller, cheaper version of the iPhone comes word that the next flagship iPhone might take a page from the Android playbook—by adding a larger, four-inch display. The claim comes from Taiwanese rumor site DigiTimes, which says it got the scoop from unnamed "upstream component suppliers." DigiTimes is also reporting that the new iPhone will replace the A4 system-on-a-chip that powers the iPhone 4 with a new, souped-up A5 processor—a claims that lines up with previous next-gen iPhone rumors. The DigiTimes story followed on the heels of an earlier post from another (reportedly reliable) Taiwanese tech site, which claims that Apple is testing three prototype iPhone 5 handsets: one with a slide-out keypad, another with beefed-up internals but no real design changes, and a third prototype that had yet to be identified. So … could that third prototype be the four-inch iPhone? Impossible to say; Apple, as usual, isn't saying a word.
What's certain, however, is that we've been deluged with iPhone rumors in that past several days, with first Bloomberg and then the Wall Street Journal reporting that Apple has a smaller, cheaper iPhone in the works, followed by another claim from Cult of Mac that the bargain iPhone would come with minimal built-in storage, relying instead on a new-and-improved version of the cloud-based MobileMe. Personally, I'm still skeptical about the smaller, cloud-reliant iPhone ... and I'm skeptical about the four-inch iPhone rumors, too. But as for the idea of an iPhone with a four-inch display, I'm all for it. Indeed, some of the best smartphones of last year (and early this year, for that matter) have come with eye-popping, four-inch or larger displays, with the 4.3-inch HTC Evo 4G and Motorola Droid X leading the way. While the Evo 4G and the Droid X were both a bit too big for my taste (and my pockets), Samsung's Galaxy S handsets (for me, anyway) hit the sweet spot with bigger—and gorgeous—four-inch displays that added a minimum of bulk. One of the newest kids on the Android block is the dual-core Moto Atrix 4G (pictured here, next to my iPhone 4), which packs a four-inch display into a shell that's actually slightly smaller (if a bit thicker) than the iPhone 4's. The secret: a smaller front bezel. I don't have any moles in Cupertino to tell us whether the latest iPhone rumors are real, but I do know this: when it comes to four-inch smartphone displays, Apple would be well advised to follow Android's lead. Update: As requested, here's another comparison shot, this time with my iPhone 4 sans bumper—and yes, the bumper-less iPhone is actually a tad smaller than the Atrix:
And here's another view:
That doesn't alter my original point, which is that a four-inch screen doesn't necessarily lead to a massive phone; still, I clearly should have compared the Atrix to the "naked" iPhone 4 in the first place. My bad. Related: — Ben Patterson is a technology blogger for Yahoo! News. |
| Clinton renews call for Internet freedom (AFP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton renewed a call for Internet freedom on Tuesday, saying nations that suppress online activity will pay an economic cost and risk unrest like in Egypt and Tunisia. Clinton, in a speech at George Washington University, pointed to China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Syria and Vietnam as countries that impose censorship, restrict Internet access or arrest bloggers who criticize the government. She described the publication of secret US diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks as the result of an "act of theft" and said US criticism of the website's actions did not clash with Washington's commitment to an open Internet. Clinton also announced plans to launch Twitter feeds in Chinese, Russian and Hindi, just days after starting Twitter feeds in Arabic and Farsi. She said the United States would continue to help people in "oppressive Internet environments" with censorship circumvention technology but "there is no silver bullet in the struggle against Internet repression." "There's no 'app' for that," she quipped. Making her second major speech on Internet freedom in the past year, Clinton said the United States supports the "freedoms of expression, assembly, and association online" and she urged other countries to do the same. "This is a critical moment," she said. "The choices we make today will determine what the Internet looks like in the future." Clinton described the Internet as "the public space of the 21st century -- the world's town square, classroom, marketplace, coffee house, and nightclub." She said protests in Egypt and Iran fueled by Facebook, Twitter and YouTube reflected "the power of connection technologies as an accelerant of political, social, and economic change." "Consider what happened in Tunisia, where online economic activity was an important part of the country's ties with Europe, while online censorship was on par with China and Iran," she said. "The effort to divide the economic Internet from the 'everything else' Internet in Tunisia could not be sustained. People, especially young people, found ways to use connection technologies to organize and share grievances. "This helped fuel a movement that led to revolutionary change," she said. "Those who clamp down on Internet freedom may be able to hold back the full expression of their people's yearnings for a while, but not forever," she said. Clinton said efforts to clamp down on the Internet bring "a variety of costs -- moral, political, and economic." "Countries may be able to absorb these costs for a time, but we believe they're unsustainable in the long run," she said. "When countries curtail Internet freedom, they place limits on their economic future." She said China has been cited as a country "where Internet censorship is high and economic growth is strong" but restrictions "will have long-term costs that threaten one day to become a noose that restrains growth and development." "We believe that governments who have erected barriers to Internet freedom... will eventually find themselves boxed in," she said. "They?ll face a dictator?s dilemma, and have to choose between letting the walls fall or paying the price to keep them standing." On WikiLeaks, Clinton said the US government had no role in the decision by a number of US companies, including Amazon, MasterCard, PayPal and Visa, to cut off services to WikiLeaks. "Any business decisions that private companies may have taken to enforce their own policies regarding WikiLeaks was not at the direction or the suggestion of the Obama administration," she said. "WikiLeaks does not challenge our commitment to Internet freedom," she added. Clinton's speech came on the same day as a US judge held a hearing in Virginia into a US government attempt to obtain information about the Twitter accounts of people connected with WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange described the US move on Monday as an "outrageous attack by the Obama administration on the privacy and free speech rights of Twitter's customers -- many of them American citizens." |
| Logitech to Stream Video to IPads, IPhones (PC World) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:00 PM PST In a move that underscores the importance of both mobile devices and video in staying connected within enterprises, Logitech is extending its LifeSize video streaming system to iPads, iPhones and iPods. Video is coming into more enterprises as a communication tool even while more employees are relying on mobile devices. Cisco, Polycom and other vendors have committed themselves to reaching those mobile users with video, a task that requires the content to be adapted to different screen sizes and processing capabilities. Logitech is starting to tackle this problem with the latest version of software for its LifeSize Video Center appliance, a platform for distributing live and recorded streams such as training sessions, executive messages and company meetings. Logitech began with Apple iOS because of the large installed base of such devices, but the company is looking at future offerings for Android, BlackBerry and other platforms, said Mary Miller, director of product marketing. Video Center is designed strictly for one-way, one-to-many distribution of video. Logitech is not extending its two-way videoconferencing system to mobile devices yet, though it continues to look at the need for that capability. LifeSize users on the road have to use laptops for videoconferencing. Logitech is bringing video streaming to iOS devices through the Web browser rather than an application. Logitech has verified the software with native iOS browsers, said Travis McCollum, a Logitech product manager. Companies can record videos or initiate live streams on LifeSize endpoints such as the LifeSize 220 Series at their facilities, with resolutions up to 720p. The content is transcoded within the endpoint for different devices on which it may be viewed, including laptops, desktops, large displays and iOS devices. The LifeSize Video Center Version 1.2 software includes a mechanism for automatically changing the bit rate of a stream for certain types of clients when they are detected on the network. Using the right bit rate for the network and device can eliminate the need for buffering, Miller said. Administrators can set up as many as four different bit rates and assign those to particular types of devices based on policies. This "automatic adaptive streaming," as well as being able to stream to iOS devices, sets LifeSize Video Center apart from other systems in its class, including ones from Polycom and Cisco, Miller said. Polycom said its Polycom Video Media Center supports multiple video formats, including for mobile devices, for on-demand streaming. The company plans to offer adaptive bit rates for live streaming later this year. Cisco offers automatic transcoding and optimization of streams for a wide range of mobile devices, including the Apple iOS lines, on its higher-end Media Experience Engine appliance. Logitech, better known for peripherals than for major enterprise systems, agreed to acquire LifeSize Communications for US$405 million in 2009. The updated software is set to become available next month. LifeSize Video Center is available globally for a list price of US$29,999. Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com |
| Google's Android Roadmap: New Clues Emerge (PC World) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:10 PM PST Here in the Android-watching world, the air has smelled of uncertainty for quite some time. Ever since Google announced Android Honeycomb, the tablet-optimized edition of its mobile OS, there's been no shortage of questions about the platform's future and the direction in which it's headed. The big unknown, of course, has been what's next: Will Honeycomb make its way to smartphones? Or will Android devices be assigned to one of two separate paths: the Froyo- and Gingerbread-filled phone fork and the tablets-only Honeycomb detour? Thanks to some revelations made at this week's Mobile World Congress, we're finally getting some firm answers. Google's Android Road Map: Gingerbread, Honeycomb, and Everything Else First, a quick primer on where things stand right now: Google's latest smartphone-focused release is Android Gingerbread, also known as Android 2.3. Google took the wraps off of Gingerbread in early December. Thus far, it's officially available only on the Nexus S; for the rest of the smartphone pack, the Gingerbread-flavored Android upgrade is still pending. (The vast majority of Android phones -- about 89 percent, according to Google's latest estimates -- are currently on Android 2.2 or 2.1.) Then there's Honeycomb, or Android 3.0 -- the new version made especially for tablets. This sweet software entered our lives last month when Google gave us a sneak peek at the platform. About two weeks ago, Google held a media event in Mountain View at which it spilled more Honeycomb details and provided the first hands-on demos of the Motorola Xoom, the soon-to-be-released inaugural Honeycomb tablet. Honeycomb brings about major changes to the Android platform, including a new graphical look, a revamped multitasking interface, and improved system notifications. It also introduces the ability for apps to split into multiple panes that function side-by-side on your screen. Despite its tablet-centric design, Google has dropped several hints that Honeycomb could eventually reach smartphones. At this month's Android media event, Google reps told me the specifics were still up in the air but that Honeycomb's visual elements would almost definitely land on every Android device -- tablet or smartphone -- at some point in the foreseeable future. The real wild card, I suspected, was likely the aforementioned app panels; those are made to take advantage of tablets' expanded screen space and would be tough to duplicate on a smartphone-sized display. Google's Android Road Map: What's Next Fast-forward now to today. During a keynote address at the Mobile World Congress, Google CEO Eric Schmidt was asked about Android's various versions and where things were headed. His response was very telling. "We have an OS called Gingerbread for phones. We have an OS being previewed now for tablets called Honeycomb," Schmidt said. "You can imagine the follow-up will start with an 'I,' be named after a dessert, and will combine these two." So there you have it: Android's smartphone and tablet paths, in one form or another, will soon converge. Hang on, though -- there's more. Also at MWC today, HTC announced a slew of new Android devices, including a 7-inch tablet that'll run a version of Gingerbread known as Android 2.4. That presumably means we'll see at least one more significant phone-focused Gingerbread release before the unifying "I" edition of Android arrives. For anyone who keeps up with rumors, this is no huge surprise; we've been hearing about the possibility of a 2.4 release for some time now. Earlier this month, Android blog Phandroid published a rumor that Google was working on a 2.4 release that'd bring some of Honeycomb's features into Gingerbread-level devices. A website called Pocket-link followed up that report with hearsay suggesting the 2.4 software would be able to run apps designed specifically for Honeycomb. The site also predicted the release would arrive in April. Those specifics, of course, are still unconfirmed, but they certainly are starting to gel with everything else we're hearing. And in case you're wondering, by the way, that upcoming Android "I" release is believed to be called Ice Cream Sandwich. There's one more factor in Google's operating system puzzle: Chrome OS. During his MWC speech this week, Schmidt reinforced what Google has said about Chrome OS all along: That software is being targeted to notebook-style devices with keyboards. Android is made with phones and tablets in mind. The two are separate entities with separate purposes. Schmidt said the first commercial Chrome OS devices should hit the market sometime this spring. The Xoom, meanwhile, is expected to launch within the next couple of weeks. Numerous other Honeycomb tablets are slated to follow. And that, my friends, is the current state of the Google Android road map. We'll undoubtedly be hearing more details about each twist and turn as time moves on, so stay tuned; in the world of Android, things never stay quiet for long. JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the author of the Android Power blog. You can find him on both Facebook and Twitter. |
| Twitter users seek privacy in WikiLeaks case (AFP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 05:14 PM PST ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AFP) – Lawyers for three Twitter users asked a US judge to overturn a court order directing the microblogging site to disclose clients' data to US authorities for a probe into WikiLeaks. The order calling on Twitter to release data about the accounts of Icelandic lawmaker Birgitta Jonsdottir, US computer researcher Jacob Appelbaum and Rop Gonggrijp, a Dutch volunteer for WikiLeaks, was handed down in December by Judge Theresa Buchanan. Buchanan, who also heard Tuesday's challenge, ordered Twitter in December to hand over to the US government information on the three subscribers and any other clients linked to WikiLeaks, the organization led by Julian Assange that last year released a slew of US diplomatic cables. Among the information Twitter was ordered to give to the government were Internet Protocol addresses and the names and addresses of "tweet" recipients. The December court order was sealed -- or secret -- until last week, when the details were made public to allow Jonsdottir, Appelbaum and Gonggrijp the right to reply. In a tweet sent to AFP, Jonsdottir said she was determined to fight for her right and the right of "other social media users" to privacy. "I don't have much choice, do I -- nor other social media users," she said when asked if she would hand over her Twitter account details to the US authorities. "That's why this has to be fought and discussed." American Civil Liberties Union senior lawyer Aden Fine, who was part of the team representing Jonsdottir, slammed the government for "attempting to obtain information about individual Internet communications and doing it in secret." "That's not how our system works," Fine told AFP. In his arguments to Bunchanan, he added: "The government shouldn't be able to get this information in the first place, and shouldn't be able to get it in secret." Fine later said that "once the government gets the information, there's no un-ringing of that bell." None of the Twitter users was in court for the hearing, but their lawyers also asked Buchanan to unseal, or make public, other still secret documents related to the December order. Those documents are widely believed to contain information about more companies -- including Google, Facebook and Skype -- from which the US government has tried to collect client data for its WikiLeaks probe. Asking for the data is "a standard investigative measure that is used in criminal investigations every day of the year all over the country," said Assistant US Attorney John Davis, who argued the case for the government. And Peter Carr, a Department of Justice spokesman, said that because the documents are sealed, it was "speculation that other companies were involved." The hearing was held as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech on Internet freedom at George Washington University in Washington, saying the United States is "committed to continuing our conversation with people around the world." "The demand for access to platforms of expression cannot be satisfied when using them lands you in prison," Clinton said in the speech, referring to crackdowns on bloggers and Twitter users in countries like Syria or Iran. Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted that as Clinton spoke, "the US Department of Justice was trying to keep secret many of the facts of its investigation into the very mechanism that inspired the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia." In Jonsdottir's case, actions by the court and US government are "especially troubling" because they show a disregard for Icelandic law, which gives lawmakers in the Nordic country broad immunity, according to Cohn. "Courts usually try to honor another country's laws," she said. In a statement issued Monday, Assange called the US court order "an outrageous attack by the Obama administration on the privacy and free speech rights of Twitter's customers." The judge did not indicate when she would make her decision. |
| Vt. Guard chief warns he's target of Facebook scam (AP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:37 PM PST MONTPELIER, Vt. – A Facebook and Skype scammer used the name and photo of a high-ranking Vermont National Guard general to steal $3,000 from a Canadian woman in what's believed to be one of a number of frauds that exploit the authority of the military. The Toronto woman made two wire transfers to London, believing she was helping Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie pay for a shipment of money to Canada after a tour in Iraq. At least two other women, in Taiwan and Germany, have responded to pleas from someone they believed to be Dubie, the guard said. In October, a Skype user claiming to be Dubie asked the Toronto woman to be friends, she said Tuesday, asking that her name not be used because she fears for the safety of her family. "I was kind of in awe of the whole thing, that someone like that was contacting me," she said. "I wanted to help someone like that who is an honest, trustworthy person." The person claiming to be Dubie refused to talk on the phone or video chat. "He was so adamant that it was him," she said. "He said no, he can't talk to me because he is in Iraq." Members of the military are frequent targets of such online frauds, said Rick Breitenfeldt, a spokesman for the online and social media branch of the National Guard Bureau at the Pentagon. People "have a soft spot in their heart for service members," he said. The woman, a mother of one, started getting calls from a heavily accented man claiming to be a United Nations diplomat representing Dubie. In exchange for the money, she was promised help setting up a business. A third wire transfer of about $1,500 was blocked after an employee at the wire transfer company became suspicious. Finally, just before Thanksgiving, she contacted the Vermont National Guard and learned she was not dealing with the real Dubie, though the contacts lasted until just before Christmas. Though the person's claims didn't add up — paying to ship money, the London address, the refusal to voice verify — the woman said she wanted to help the military. "I am very naive. I am too honest and trusting of people," she said. "Now I am extremely cautious. It's made me question my whole Internet usage." Facebook closed several fake accounts purporting to be Dubie at the request of the Vermont National Guard, but at least five were still active Monday. After being asked about the fake pages, Facebook took them down. "It has come to my attention that there are people using my identity to solicit money on FB and Skype," Dubie wrote Friday on his legitimate Facebook page. "I will never ask for money from anyone in cyberspace." Breitenfeldt said the Dubie case is the highest-ranking target he's dealt with, but he's had about a dozen such cases since June 2008 and suspects there are more. "Sometimes it's like playing whack-a-mole," said Breitenfeldt. Facebook officials do all they can to protect users' identities, "but there is always room for improvement," spokesman Frederic Wolens said in an e-mail. Using a fake name or identity is a violation of Facebook's policies, he said, and encouraged users to report such activity. Skype offers communication methods including video chat and instant messaging that scammers have also used. "User protection is very important to Skype," the company said in an e-mail. "That's why we help you control your online experience by providing easy-to-use and effective online security options." The scam that targeted Dubie is a variation of old Internet scams like phishing e-mails, Breitenfeldt said. "Facebook is such a newer platform," he said. "People haven't trained themselves to look at things with a critical eye." To experienced Facebook users, the fake pages are easy to spot. The profiles have just a handful of friends, use improper grammar and cite details that don't square with the real person's background. Maj. Juanita Chang, the Army's social media chief, said she encouraged high-ranking soldiers to post real profiles just so their names couldn't be co-opted by impostors. Vermont National Guard 1st Lt. Dyana Allen said that by studying the messages sent in Dubie's name, she's come to believe it was carried out by a single person. "He's charming and he tries to get people to trust him first," she said. "It's a very simple scam." Ultimately all three women contacted the Vermont National Guard headquarters and were told the correspondence was a fraud. Vermont guard spokesman Lt. Col. Lloyd Goodrow said the case has been referred to the FBI. Dubie, through Goodrow, declined to comment. "He is quite upset by this," said Goodrow. |
| Apple unveils digital media subscription service (AFP) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 03:11 PM PST WASHINGTON (AFP) – Apple, in a move long awaited by publishers seeking new sources of revenue, unveiled a subscription service on Tuesday for digital newspapers and magazines purchased through its online App Store. Subscriptions to music and video services such as Rhapsody or Netflix will also be available through the App Store and will be subject to the same terms as newspaper and magazine applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Owners of the popular Apple devices previously had to purchase each edition of a magazine, for example, individually. Apple said publishers will set the price and length of subscriptions -- weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly -- and customers will be automatically billed through their iTunes account. While struggling newspapers and magazines have been searching for new ways to charge for digital content and seeking to increase revenue from mobile devices, Apple's terms are not likely to sit well with all publishers. Apple will take a 30 percent cut of the revenue for subscriptions sold through applications featured in its App Store. There will be no revenue sharing for digital subscriptions sold through a publisher's own website. But the Cupertino, California-based company said "that same subscription offer must be made available, at the same price or less" to customers who wish to subscribe from within an application. Apple also said publishers will no longer be allowed to provide links in their applications to outside websites which allow a customer to purchase content or subscriptions outside of the application. "Our philosophy is simple," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement. "When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," Jobs said. "All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one click right in the app," he said. Jobs, who has been on medical leave since last month, said the subscription service "will provide publishers with a brand new opportunity to expand digital access to their content onto the iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone." Apple also addressed the thorny issue of how much data on subscribers would be shared with publishers -- information important to publications because it helps them identify their readership and craft advertising strategies. Apple said customers who purchase a subscription through the App Store will be given the option of providing publishers with their name, email address and zip code when they subscribe. "Publishers may seek additional information from App Store customers provided those customers are given a clear choice, and are informed that any additional information will be handled under the publisher's privacy policy rather than Apple's," Apple said. Apple's subscription service was first offered with The Daily, a digital newspaper for the iPad tablet computer launched earlier this month by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. With print advertising revenue and circulation declining, Murdoch and other newspaper and magazine publishers have been looking to the iPad and the Web to boost revenue. Most major US newspapers and magazines have already created paid or free versions of their publications for the iPad and The New York Times plans to begin charging readers soon for full access to NYTimes.com. Allan Mutter, a veteran media executive, said Apple's subscription service "contains some significant drawbacks for publishers." "While Apple will let publishers keep 100 percent of revenues if customers buy subscriptions on the publisher's website, the reality is that most people will continue buying subscriptions through the app," Mutter said. "This means Apple will continue in most cases to get a 30 percent cut of most subscription revenues," he said in a post on his blog, Reflections of a Newsosaur. |
| In-app subscription plan makes sure Apple gets a piece of all content (Appolicious) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 11:39 AM PST |
| Google Tried To Convince Nokia To Adopt Android (NewsFactor) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 02:02 PM PST Google "certainly tried," without success, to convince Nokia to convert to Android rather than Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system. That's the picture painted by Google CEO Eric Schmidt Tuesday in a keynote address at the Mobile World Congress currently in Barcelona, Spain. Schmidt said Google "would have loved Nokia to choose Android and we certainly tried." He added that, if the Microsoft-Nokia collaboration doesn't work out, "the offer remains open for the future." 'Fastest Growing Mobile Platform' In a bombshell announcement, Nokia said last week that it is moving from its Symbian operating system to Microsoft's new and fledging mobile platform. Symbian is consistently rated as the number-one smartphone platform in global market share, but it has been slipping as Nokia encountered heavy competition from Apple's iOS and Google's open-source Android. Schmidt also was, understandably, bullish on Android's growth. He noted that the OS is seeing more than 300,000 activations daily, and he described it as "the fastest-growing mobile platform in the world." He also discussed a topic that he has frequently brought up, sometimes with repercussions -- privacy in the digital age. He told the conference, as he has said on other occasions, that, in the future, one is never lost, never lonely, never bored, and "never out of ideas" because of ubiquitous connectivity that is aware of individuals' personal situation and preferences. Schmidt articulated Google's argument -- the more a user shares personal information, the better and more autonomous information retrieval can be. Personalized search was emphasized by Schmidt as a way to add new value to the user, a theme he has also discussed on other occasions. Of course, personalized search also adds value to Google's highly targeted -- and lucrative -- advertising. Android Fragmentation? His presentation included a new video-editing Android app, called Movie Studio, designed for tablets with 3.0 Honeycomb versions of the OS, such as Motorola's Xoom and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. The application's features include zooming, panning and quick sharing on Google-owned YouTube. Schmidt was asked about the dangers of Android fragmenting into platforms from specific manufacturers, each of whom can customize how their devices use the OS. Schmidt said an anti-fragmentation clause in the vendor agreement requires support for certain APIs, which helps maintain a consistent functional platform. The penalty for not supporting APIs, he noted, would be an inability to fully utilize apps from the Android Market. There's also a fragmentation of types of Android, with version 2.3, known as Gingerbread, for smartphones; version 3.0 or Honeycomb for tablets; and the Chrome OS for netbooks. Schmidt replied that a new Android, to be released in about six months, will combine 2.3 and 3.0. In keeping with Google's convention of naming the releases after desserts in alphabetical order, the next one is rumored to be Ice Cream Sandwich. |
| Apple subscription service challenges publishers (Reuters) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 12:54 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc is launching a long-awaited subscription service for magazines, newspapers, videos and music -- a move that could dent the fortunes of successful services such as Netflix and Hulu. Apple's service allows it to keep 30 percent of customer payments to any publisher with a presence in its App Store, including blue-chip brands such as The New York Times, Netflix Inc. or Rhapsody, the popular music service. Publishers can set the price and length of a subscription. They can also offer subscriptions through their own existing websites, but would be required to offer those same terms to anyone signing up through Apple. In other words, customers who want to sign up for a Netflix video account would have two choices: They could do so through the Netflix website, in which case Netflix would keep the full fee; or they could subscribe through the applications in their iPhone or iPad, which would cost Netflix 30 percent its fees. In launching the service, Apple is taking yet another bold step in securing a major role for itself in the future of digital media. Until now, Apple has invited media companies such as Netflix or Hulu, another video service, to create applications for its devices without taking a financial cut. Shares of Netflix, which were downgraded on Tuesday by Morgan Stanley based on valuation, were trading down about 3 percent on Nasdaq. Apple shares were down slightly. Across the media business, there has long been some concern about turning over too much power to Apple, with the lessons of the music industry still fresh in many executives' minds. Whether Apple's new rules will drive media companies to concentrate more on developing apps for alternative tablets and smartphones, such as those powered by Google Inc's less restrictive mobile operating system, remains to be seen. "This is Apple flexing its muscles and trying to leverage not just the strength of the iPad and application environment, but also iTunes payment ecosystem," said Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner. "Over time this risks angering content developers and application developers and pushing them a bit to find other solutions." Apple will give publishers until June 30 to comply with the new rules. The subscription service is a major break from the previous practice of "newsstand sales" under which each issue of a magazine, for instance, would be bought separately. Apple also takes a cut of sales fee in those cases. "When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a prepared statement. Jobs is currently on leave. Not every media company has as much to lose under Apple's plan. Newspaper and magazine companies are betting that the simplicity of Apple's system will help boost flagging sales, offsetting any losses they may suffer by sharing revenue. The New York Times currently has a free iPad app in the iTunes store though it is only a selection of articles and content. That could change shortly when the newspaper plans to start charging for some of its content at its flagship site NYTimes.com and for its apps. "We are working with Apple to understand how this impacts our plans, if at all," said New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy. For newspaper and magazine companies, one of the main sticking points in working out agreements for a subscription service has been the question of customer data. Apple's current plan will allow customers to decide how much information to supply publishers when they sign up for subscriptions. How that information is be used will then be decided by the publishers -- who are particularly protective of subscriber data such as names, addresses and credit cards because it helps them court advertisers and market new products to existing readers. Magazine and newspaper publishers are working with other tablet devices and smartphone makers. For instance, Sports Illustrated, which is published under Time Warner Inc's magazine division Time Inc, recently unveiled an "all access" subscription program for Google's Android-operated tablet computers and smartphones. The decision to broadly introduce a subscription service comes just weeks after Apple teamed up with News Corp to launch The Daily, which was the first subscription product available through Apple's iTunes store. Netflix shares fell $6.99, or 2.8 percent, to $240.57. Apple's shares fell 30 cents to $358.88. (Additional reporting by Gabriel Madway in San Francisco and Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Maureen Bavdek, Dave Zimmerman) |
| Remains of the Day: Subscription dance (Macworld) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 04:30 PM PST Look, there, up in the air: it's a bird, it's a plane, it's…well, it's me on a plane. Yes, this installment comes to you from high above the state of Michigan—such is the state of technology today. But think how much more amazing it will be when MacBooks have 3G, iOS apps have subscriptions, and AT&T admits that the Verizon iPhone is A Good Thing. Actually, if the remainders for Tuesday, February 15, 2011 are any indication, you might not have to wait very long at all. Apple customer survey sparks hope for brawnier MacBook Airs with built-in 3G (AppleInsider) As they say in Latin: in surveyo, veritas. Well, perhaps "truth" is a bit strong. A recent purported Apple customer survey—which it occasionally runs on its site—asks a number of questions related to MacBooks and 3G data connections. A portent of things to come? We refer you to Apple's previous survey, which posed customers the important question: "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" June 30 Deadline for Apple Subscriptions (All Things D) You've no doubt already heard about Apple's new subscription plan, but the company was close-mouthed about exactly when all this subscription magic will be taking place. However, according to a purported leaked memo, Apple wants publishers onboard by June 30, 2011. What happens after that? All I can tell you is that it brings new meaning to "publish or perish." iBooks 1.2.1 Detects Some Jailbreaks, Disables iBookstore Purchases in Response (Mac Rumors) Apparently, jailbreaking your iPhone will lose you access to all the e-books you've purchased from the iBookstore. Holy cow! How will they ever find a way aroun—never mind. AT&T CEO Says Industry Gains From Loss of IPhone Hold (BusinessWeek) Brace yourself: AT&T CEO "Macho Man" Randall Stephenson said in an interview that the Verizon iPhone will help the industry. Whaaaaaaaaaa? According to Stephenson, that's because the launch is free promotion for the iPhone. Sooooo, you mean good for AT&T, right? That sounds more like the Randall Stephenson we know. |
| iWeb update fixes FTP publishing issue, more (Macworld) Posted: 15 Feb 2011 02:23 PM PST While Apple's announcement of subscriptions coming to the iOS App Store was certainly the major news from Cupertino on Tuesday, Apple also released a small update to its iWeb Web-publishing software. iWeb 3.0.3 contains "bug fixes and improvements," and Apple specifically calls out the following changes:
The hefty update (185.9MB on my Mac Pro) is available now via Apple's Website or through OS X's Software Update mechanism (Apple doesn't sell iWeb on the App Store). Development of iWeb has slowed to a crawl in recent years. You may recall that when iLife '11 was released in October 2010, iWeb was one of two applications that Apple didn't rev in the updated suite (iDVD hasn't been updated since iLife '08 back in 2007). |
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