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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

NY judge calls off plans for Google library (AP) : Technet

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NY judge calls off plans for Google library (AP) : Technet

NY judge calls off plans for Google library (AP)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:52 PM PDT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Larry Neumeister, Associated Press – Tue Mar 22, 7:52 pm ET

NEW YORK – A judge on Tuesday rejected a deal between Internet search leader Google and the book industry that would have put millions of volumes online, citing anti-trust concerns and the need for involvement from Congress while acknowledging the potential benefit of putting literature in front of the masses.

U.S. Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan said the creation of a universal library would "simply go too far," and he was troubled by the differences between Google's views and those of everyone affected by the settlement. Still, he left the door open for an eventual deal, noting that many objectors would drop their complaints if Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc. set it up so book owners would choose to join the library rather than being required to quit it.

The $125 million settlement had drawn hundreds of objections from Google rivals, consumer watchdogs, academic experts, literary agents and even foreign governments. Google already has scanned more than 15 million books for the project.

Google's managing counsel, Hilary Ware, called the decision disappointing and said the company was considering its options.

"Like many others, we believe this agreement has the potential to open up access to millions of books that are currently hard to find in the U.S. today," Ware said in a statement.

She said that, regardless of the outcome, Google would "continue to work to make more of the world's books discoverable online" through Google Books, a searchable index of literary works, and Google eBooks, which allows readers to access books wirelessly on digital devices.

The judge said the settlement that the company reached with U.S. authors and publishers would "grant Google significant rights to exploit entire books, without permission of the copyright owners." He was particularly critical of the access Google would have to so-called orphan works — out-of-print books whose writers could not be located — saying the deal gave the company "a de facto monopoly over unclaimed works."

That was one of the fears raised in 2009 by the Department of Justice when it concluded that the agreement probably violated antitrust law and could decrease competition among U.S. publishers and drive up prices for consumers.

The deal, the judge said, gives Google "a significant advantage over competitors, rewarding it for engaging in wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission."

He noted that the case was not about full access to copyrighted works or the sale of them because Google did not scan the books to make them available for purchase, but he said the deal still would let Google sell full access to copyrighted works that it otherwise would have no right to exploit. The litigation focused on the use of an indexing and search tool.

The judge said Congress should ultimately decide who should be entrusted with guardianship over orphan books and under what terms, rather than the issue being resolved by private, self-interested parties.

He said Congress also could address the concerns of the international community of authors and publishers. He called it significant that foreign authors, publishers and even nations were saying the agreement violates international law. France and Germany had objected to the deal, along with authors and publishers in Austria, Belgium, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Department of Justice spokeswoman Gina Talamona said in a statement that the government was pleased with the ruling. The settlement, she said, "exceeded the scope of the underlying lawsuit on which it was based and created concerns regarding antitrust, class certification and copyright issues."

The president of the Authors Guild, an advocate for writers' interests in copyright protection and other issues, said the organization planned to talk with publishers and Google "with the hope that we can arrive at a settlement within the court's parameters that makes sense for all parties."

Guild President Scott Turow said the online library was "an idea whose time has come."

"Readers want access to these unavailable works, and authors need every market they can get," he said. "There has to be a way to make this happen. It's a top priority for the Authors Guild."

John Sargent, chief executive officer at Macmillan Publishers Limited, noted in a statement on behalf of publisher plaintiffs that the judge had invited the parties to request approval of a revised deal if they can reach one. He said the publishers were prepared to modify the deal and work to overcome the judge's objections.

He said the publishers wanted to "promote the fundamental principle behind our lawsuit, that copyrighted content cannot be used without the permission of the owner or outside the law."

The Open Book Alliance, a group that includes Google rivals Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., called the ruling "a victory for the public interest and for competition in the literary and Internet ecosystems."

Attorney Cynthia Arato, representing a number of leading foreign publishing societies and foreign book publishers that objected to the settlement, said it vindicates the important concerns of foreign rights holders.

"Their interests weren't adequately protected," she said. "It would be wrong for a U.S. court to allow one company to usurp their fundamental right to control their copyrighted works."

The judge acknowledged in his decision that there are many benefits to Google's project, including that libraries, schools, researchers and disadvantaged populations would gain access to far more books; that authors and publishers would find new audiences and new sources of income; and that older books — particularly those out of print — would be preserved and given new life.

The case developed after Google in 2004 announced it had agreed with several major research libraries to digitally copy books and other writings in their collections. The authors and publishers sought financial damages and a court order to block the copying when they sued Google in 2005 after Google failed to obtain copyright permission to scan the books.

A deal was first reached to settle the claims in 2008 and was tentatively approved by the judge in November 2009.

Since presiding over a hearing on the case in February 2010, the judge has been elevated to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He acted in the role of a district judge to rule on the case.

At the hearing last year, the judge heard a lawyer for folk singer Arlo Guthrie and "Pay it Forward" writer Catherine Ryan Hyde say the library would exploit his clients with "woefully inadequate compensation" for "unknown and undisclosed uses."

Microsoft lawyer Tom Rubin said the deal "was structured to solidify Google's dominance."

Neither lawyer immediately returned requests seeking comment Tuesday.

Google lawyer Daralyn Durie testified at the hearing that fewer than 10 million of 174 million books in the world would be affected by the settlement and that 5 million of those affected were out of print. Google has estimated that about 130 million titles likely would get into its digital library.

___

Associated Press writers Hillel Italie in New York and Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Sprint CEO: 'Concerned' about AT&T-T-Mobile deal (AP)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 12:03 PM PDT

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Mar 22, 3:03 pm ET

NEW YORK – Sprint Nextel Corp. CEO Dan Hesse said Tuesday that he's concerned that AT&T Inc.'s deal to buy T-Mobile USA would hurt his company and the industry, as the biggest two players strengthen their dominance.

The $39 billion deal was announced Sunday, but is expected to take more than a year to close, after scrutiny by regulators.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless already have two-thirds of U.S. wireless subscribers, and would have three-quarters if the deal goes through.

"I do have concerns that it would stifle innovation and too much power would be in the hands of two," Hesse said in a panel discussion at cellphone conference in Orlando, Fla., monitored by webcast.

The head of Verizon Wireless, Dan Mead, was asked on the same panel whether he had a stand on the proposed deal.

"We're certainly very interested in what's going on," he said.

T-Mobile's CEO, Philipp Humm, did not appear at the panel as scheduled.

Sprint, the No. 3 carrier, has been struggling for years due to the troubled acquisition of Nextel. Last year, its subscriber numbers started improving, but it still has a hard time luring high-paying subscribers from AT&T and Verizon, both of which now sell the popular iPhone. T-Mobile has the same problem.

AT&T's agreement to buy T-Mobile, the No. 4 carrier, came as a surprise: media reports had previously pegged Sprint and T-Mobile as likely to combine their businesses. But AT&T was able to offer T-Mobile's parent company, Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG, much more.

The deal leaves Sprint "somewhat out in the cold," said Barclays Capital analyst James Ratcliffe.

Scale is important in the wireless business. It's very expensive to build out and maintain a wireless network, but once that's done, you add customers without incurring a lot of extra costs. That means wireless carriers with more customers can be much more profitable than smaller competitors. Larger carriers also have more clout when it comes to negotiating with phone makers.

The stock of Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint has fallen 10 percent since the AT&T-T-Mobile deal was announced. In afternoon trading Tuesday, they were at $4.53, up 17 cents on the day.

However, Sprint's shares were the only ones to fall among cellphone companies. Those of even smaller wireless carriers actually rose, as investors calculated there might be something in the deal for them. The smaller carriers could be targets for acquisition by Sprint, or they could be in line to buy assets from T-Mobile or AT&T that regulators force the carriers to sell as a condition of approving the deal.

Shares of Dallas-based MetroPCS Communications Inc., the No. 5 carrier, were up 3.5 percent. No. 6 U.S. Cellular Corp., a Chicago-based regional carrier rose 5.4 percent. Leap Wireless International Inc., the parent of the low-cost Cricket service, was up 15 percent.

Shares of Clearwire Corp., which is building a wireless broadband network, also fell on Monday in response to the news, but recovered on Tuesday, trading up 22 cents, or 4.5 percent, at $5.28. Clearwire is majority-owned by Sprint and has a lot of wireless spectrum available for broadband, so there was speculation that it could have made some sort of deal with T-Mobile, which is poor in spectrum.

Shares of Verizon Communications Inc., which owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, rose on the news. The deal would let AT&T surpass Verizon Wireless as the largest carrier, but analysts said it's well equipped to compete with AT&T, and the deal would eliminate T-Mobile as a low-price competitor. (Vodafone Group PLC of Britain owns the rest of Verizon Wireless.)

In Tuesday afternoon trading, Verizon shares were up 53 cents at $37. That was up 3.3 percent since the deal was announced. The shares are close to their 52-week high of $37.70.

New York Times Asks Twitter to Disable Paywall-Jumping Feed (Mashable)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 02:08 PM PDT

Charlie White Charlie White – Tue Mar 22, 5:08 pm ET

Think you're pretty smart, figuring out a way to get around that 20-article limit The New York Times will begin imposing in the U.S. next Monday (3/28)? Not so fast.

In the new paywall scheme, if you get to a Times article by following a link, it doesn't count against the 20 articles you can read for free before you have to pay a monthly subscription fee. That's where Twitter feed @FreeNYTimes could come in handy, linking to every single New York Times article so people can use Twitter as a free jumping-off spot.

But the Gray Lady is having none of that. Today it asked Twitter to disable @FreeNYTimes because "it is a violation of our trademark," according to a spokesperson for the Times. A Forbes reporter asked her about other ways to get around the paywall. For example, a simple browser app called NYTClean gives you admittance to any article with a single click. The Times said that's to be expected. They will continue to monitor the situation and plan no changes, the spokesperson said.

Is it a trademark violation? Well, if you take a look at @FreeNYTimes (pictured above), you'll notice that distinctive Gothic "T" of The New York Times prominently displayed. Perhaps that's where the trademark violation takes place. Then there's the term "NYTimes," identical to the newspaper's URL. Looks like the Times might have a point in this case, but what if someone starts up another Twitter feed -- "@FreeNYSlimes", say -- that links to all the Times' articles?

Here's another idea: Make the price of admission cheaper, and maybe people will be willing to pay. The Times' price of $35 per month to access the site on a computer, smartphone and iPad (or $15/month, computer-only) is likely to fan the flames of freeloaders. Why? Because $35 is roughly twice the monthly cost of the digital version of the Wall Street Journal, and almost four times that of The Economist, according to Silicon Alley Insider.

Most of you agree. Respondents to our Mashable poll certainly aren't thrilled about this idea. A mere 7.58% said yes, they would be willing to pay to access the New York Times online.

Steve Jobs to be deposed in iTunes antitrust suit (AFP)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 08:13 PM PDT

– 1 hr 4 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – A federal judge has cleared the way for Apple's ailing leader Steve Jobs to be deposed in a class-action lawsuit charging the iPod maker turned iTunes into a digital music monopoly.

US Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd ruled on Monday that attorneys for the plaintiffs may question Jobs for a total of two hours, but only about an iPod update making RealNetworks digital music inoperable with iPod MP3 players.

Lloyd determined that Jobs "has unique non-repetitive, firsthand knowledge" relevant to the six-year-old case, according to court documents.

The suit charges Apple with creating a monopoly by shackling digital music with FairPlay anti-piracy software that prevented iPods from playing song downloads from anywhere but the firm's online iTunes shop.

RealNetworks in 2004 released Harmony software crafted to let its music be played on iPods, but Apple quickly released an update that shut out the Seattle-based company's digital files.

With Jobs leading the charge, Apple did away with digital rights management software on iTunes music in 2009.

Jobs, 56, went on medical leave in January for an unspecified illness, but remains involved in running the California company and hosted the unveiling of second-generation iPad tablet computers in San Francisco early this month.

It was not indicated when the deposition might take place.

Groupon president Solomon leaving company: report (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 06:21 PM PDT

– 2 hrs 56 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Groupon Inc's president and chief operating officer Rob Solomon is stepping down from his position at the Internet company in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The Journal cited an interview with Solomon, who said he would remain special advisor to Groupon, the article said.

Solomon said that he decided to step down partly because "Groupon got really big," growing from 200 employees a year ago to some 6,000, the article said. Solomon said he reached his decision to leave in consultation with Groupon Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mason, the article said.

A Groupon spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; editing by Carol Bishopric)

RIM PlayBook ready to contest crowded tablet market (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:00 PM PDT

By Alastair Sharp Alastair Sharp – Tue Mar 22, 7:00 pm ET

TORONTO (Reuters) – It's official: with the launch of Research In Motion's (RIM.TO) (RIMM.O) PlayBook tablet now just a month away, the BlackBerry maker's battle against Apple and Google is at the cusp of a fierce new phase.

RIM said on Tuesday its tablet will finally hit store shelves April 19, seven months after the device was announced.

The North American rollout will come almost a month after Apple's (AAPL.O) iPad 2 goes on sale outside of the United States, where it sold up to 1 million units in its first weekend alone.

On Tuesday, Apple confirmed it would start selling the iPad 2 in 25 more countries from Friday. That eased concerns that the crisis in Japan might curtail the supply of crucial components for electronic devices. Shares in both Apple and RIM closed higher.

As it enters the tablet market, RIM has little room for error and a small window to impress. It was once the undisputed king of mobile communications, but slicker Google (GOOG.O) Android and Apple products have become must-haves for young consumers while also threatening RIM's corporate bastion.

"The big question is the Playbook's appeal to those not already part of the BlackBerry world," said CCS Insight's Geoff Blaber.

While investors await the consumer's verdict, the Canadian company has one more set of quarterly results to unveil without the PlayBook.

The report, due Thursday, is likely to show RIM's global growth story on track. As with recent quarters, the catalysts are sure to be higher overseas sales of cheaper handsets and U.S. discounts. Turmoil at Nokia, the leader in the low-end of the market, probably didn't hurt matters either.

The PlayBook will likely contribute only marginally to sales and earnings this year. Even so, it represents a nascent opportunity for RIM in a booming tablet marketplace.

RIM is hoping the PlayBook's natural affinity with its corporate-friendly smartphones gives sales an early boost and offsets a move by more companies to allow workers to use their own non-BlackBerry smartphones to access work-related email and data.

Unlike the almost 10-inch iPad, the 7-inch PlayBook boasts support for Flash, but the RIM tablet will not ship with its own cellular connection until mid-year.

The first version of the PlayBook pairs with a BlackBerry smartphone for features such as corporate email and to any smartphone for connectivity when not near a WiFi connection.

WHAT NEXT?

RIM's tablet will sell in 20,000 retail and wireless carrier outlets including Best Buy (BBY.N) for as little as $499, matching the pricing for the iPad.

Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads in nine months of 2010, two or three times as many as analysts had forecast. It is expected to sell 30 million or more this year.

Still, worries remain about the supply of key components. Several key components in the new version of the tablet come from Japan, including the battery and the flash memory used to store music and video on the device, according to research firm IHS iSuppli.

Expectations for the PlayBook are lower, with between 1 million and 4 million sales seen this year.

Scotia Capital analyst Gus Papageorgiou, who expects sales at the high end of that range, said the expansive distribution network could boost PlayBook 2011 sales to more than 7.3 million in North America alone.

While RIM is seen as less exposed to Japanese supplies, its conference call following the numbers could also provide further insight from mobile industry executives on supply chain disruptions due to the earthquake.

RIM likely shipped almost 14.9 million devices in the quarter, which included Christmas and Valentine's Day, according to 12 analysts surveyed by Reuters. They shipped 14.2 million in the previous quarter.

Analysts on average expect RIM to earn $1.76 a share on revenue of $5.64 billion, both some 38 percent higher than a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. RIM's own forecast is for sales of between $5.5 billion and $5.7 billion and earnings of between $1.74 and $1.80 a share.

In its last reported quarter RIM got 44 percent of its revenue from outside North America and Britain. That portion is expected to grow as RIM extends deeper into emerging markets.

AVERAGE SELLING PRICES

A shift in mix toward cheaper phones will hit average selling prices and mean RIM must ship even more phones to boost revenue, but will likely not hit gross margins, which at 43 percent are among the highest in the mobile industry.

Meanwhile, a November discount on its Torch model, launched in August with an improved browser, may have offset RIM's U.S. market share losses since Verizon started selling the iPhone.

Turmoil at global rival Nokia (NOK1V.HE), which has sidelined its own software platforms to ink a deal with Microsoft, could bolster RIM in big growth markets as it sells increasing numbers of its lower-end smartphones, such as the Curve 8520, in Latin America, South East Asia and elsewhere.

Analysts expect RIM's earnings to drop to $1.65 a share in the current quarter on revenue of $5.65 billion. (Additional reporting by Euan Rocha in Toronto and Arup Roychoudhury in Bangalore; editing by Frank McGurty, Bernard Orr)

Amazon Launches Appstore for Android Despite Apple (NewsFactor)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 02:34 PM PDT

Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com Adam Dickter, newsfactor.com – Tue Mar 22, 5:34 pm ET

As Google's Android platform continues to rise, so does the opportunity to acquire apps. In addition to Google's Android Market, which now has about 170,000 apps, users can now get games, music players, e-readers, maps and more at Verizon Wireless' V CAST and Amazon.com's new Appstore for Android.

The Amazon site went live Tuesday, offering a promotion of one free (ordinarily paid) app per day, beginning with a new version of the game Angry Birds Rio. The initial inventory includes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Zagat To Go, Lookout Mobile Security, Shazam Music, and CBS Sports.

Staying on Top

Android recently took the top share of the U.S. smartphone market, slightly ahead of Apple's iOS and Research in Motion's BlackBerry, according to NPD.

And with a slew of Android tablets -- including the new Samsung Galaxy Tab versions unveiled Tuesday -- competing with Apple's iPad, the demand for apps for phones and tablets has never been greater.

"This also gives Amazon an outlet and opportunity to differentiate new and emerging Android-based products of its own, like a Kindle/tablet," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Amazon's Kindle is primarily an e-reader only, with limited browsing capability in the most recent version. But King said, "A device that seamlessly blends the best of both worlds could be a great product and differentiator for Amazon. So far, none of the tablets I have seen have been as good as a reader as the Kindle."

There are, however, only a handful of Android apps currently optimized for tablet use.

Boutique Approach

But having too many venues for Android apps isn't necessarily a good thing, said another analyst.

"There will be more, many more" vendors offering [apps], said Ken Dulaney of Gartner Research. "I don't think it's an advantage; actually a slight disadvantage because you have to go to so many."

He likened Google's approach to "Moving from the department-store model to the boutique shop. But this approach is needed because Google is unwilling to take on the role for better qualifying apps. They could easily run the apps through more testing before they are published. That is what Amazon is offering over Google via their app store. Google doesn't have to let Amazon or anyone take on this role."

Android offerings continue to pale against Apple's App Store on iTunes, which now has more than 400,000 apps. And Amazon faces another battle with Apple: A legal challenge.

According to Bloomberg News, despite the slightly different spelling, Apple filed a complaint in a northern California federal court on March 18 claiming Amazon.com infringed its App Store trademark, asking a judge to order Amazon's Appstore name removed and award damages.

Burma bans Skype, severing global communication (Digital Trends)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 03:25 PM PDT

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Tue Mar 22, 6:25 pm ET

burma-protestors

Earlier this month we reported that Burma had timidly entered among the countries joining the Facebook revolutions. The Facebook page "Just Do It Against Military Dictatorship" gathered steam (which has since somewhat level off), and it appeared that activists were attempting to use the extremely limited Internet access Burma had. While every country involved in the social-media bred demonstrations has struggled against an oppressive government, Burmese authorities are known for their extreme violence against citizens. As famed dissident Aung San Suu Kyi said regarding the uprising, "the people have stood in Burma before, as you know, and in those instances they were fired upon by the army."

Now it appears that just the inkling of citizen uprising is enough to make the country tighten its grip on access to the rest of the world. According to Global Post, Skype has been blocked and other VoIP platforms are being banned as well. The Post also reminds us that using Internet cafes for VoIP international calls are one of the few ways the reclusive country's citizens have of communicating with the rest of the world. Mobile phones and other personal devices for communication are wildly expensive: For example, owning your own cell phone number (just the SIM card, not the hardware or accompanying software) is about $1,700. And how does that translate here? The worth of a dollar is obviously much higher in the very poor country, so it would be akin to charging a US citizen $72,000 for a mobile number. So free or inexpensive VoIP software is an important asset to the Burmese.

The larger motivation to cut Skype and similar services could obviously be to increase increase profits for the government-owned phone company within the country, but there have been reports before the latest restriction that the Burmese government would be restricting access to information about the Middle Eastern revolutions. A report in the New York Times yesterday claimed that the Chinese government is also taking precautions, and that if the word "protest" is heard over phone lines, the call is immediately cut. China also recently shutdown hundreds of thousands of Internet cafes. Still, money may be the larger issue at play in Burma, but this all just means the oppressive government can kill two birds with one stone by cutting VoIP services.

PlayBook ready to contest crowded tablet market (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 03:26 PM PDT

By Alastair Sharp Alastair Sharp – Tue Mar 22, 6:26 pm ET

TORONTO (Reuters) – It's official: with the launch of Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet now just a month away, the BlackBerry maker's battle against Apple and Google is at the cusp of a fierce new phase.

RIM said on Tuesday its tablet will finally hit store shelves April 19, seven months after the device was announced.

The North American rollout will come almost a month after Apple's iPad 2 goes on sale outside of the United States, where it sold up to 1 million units in its first weekend alone.

On Tuesday, Apple confirmed it would start selling the iPad 2 in more 25 countries from Friday. [ID:nN22147683] That eased concerns that the crisis in Japan might curtail the supply of crucial components for electronic devices. Shares in both Apple and RIM closed higher.

As it enters the tablet market, RIM has little room for error and a small window to impress. It was once undisputed king of mobile communications, but slicker Google Android and Apple products have become must-haves for young consumers while also threatening RIM's corporate bastion.

"The big question is the Playbook's appeal to those not already part of the BlackBerry world," said CCS Insight's Geoff Blaber.

While investors await the consumer's verdict, the Canadian company has one more set of quarterly results to unveil without the PlayBook.

The report, due Thursday, is likely to show RIM's global growth story on track. As with recent quarters, the catalysts are sure to be higher overseas sales of cheaper handsets and U.S. discounts. Turmoil at Nokia, the leader in the low-end of the market, probably didn't hurt matters either.

The PlayBook will likely contribute only marginally to sales and earnings this year. Even so, it represents a nascent opportunity for RIM in a booming tablet marketplace.

RIM is hoping the PlayBook's natural affinity with its corporate-friendly smartphones gives sales an early boost and offsets a move by more companies to allow workers to use their own non-BlackBerry smartphones to access work-related email and data.

Unlike the almost 10-inch iPad, the 7-inch PlayBook boasts support for Flash, but the RIM tablet will not ship with its own cellular connection until mid-year.

The first version of the PlayBook pairs with a BlackBerry smartphone for features such as corporate email and to any smartphone for connectivity when not near a WiFi connection.

WHAT NEXT?

RIM's tablet will sell in 20,000 retail and wireless carrier outlets including Best Buy for as little as $499, matching the pricing for the iPad.

Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads in nine months of 2010, two or three times as many as analysts had forecast. It is expected to sell 30 million or more this year.

Still, worries remain about the supply of key components. Several key components in the new version of the tablet come from Japan, including the battery and the flash memory used to store music and video on the device, according to research firm IHS iSuppli.

Expectations for the PlayBook are lower, with between 1 million and 4 million sales seen this year.

Scotia Capital analyst Gus Papageorgiou, who expects sales at the high end of that range, said the expansive distribution network could boost PlayBook 2011 sales to more than 7.3 million in North America alone.

While RIM is seen as less exposed to Japanese supplies, its conference call following the numbers could also provide further insight from mobile industry executives on supply chain disruptions due to the earthquake.

RIM likely shipped almost 14.9 million devices in the quarter, which included Christmas and Valentine's Day, according to 12 analysts surveyed by Reuters. They shipped 14.2 million in the previous quarter.

Analysts on average expect RIM to earn $1.76 a share on revenue of $5.64 billion, both some 38 percent higher than a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. RIM's own forecast is for sales of between $5.5 billion and $5.7 billion and earnings of between $1.74 and $1.80 a share.

In its last reported quarter RIM got 44 percent of its revenue from outside North America and Britain. That portion is expected to grow as RIM extends deeper into emerging markets.

AVERAGE SELLING PRICES

A shift in mix toward cheaper phones will hit average selling prices and mean RIM must ship even more phones to boost revenue, but will likely not hit gross margins, which at 43 percent are among the highest in the mobile industry.

Meanwhile, a November discount on its Torch model, launched in August with an improved browser, may have offset RIM's U.S. market share losses since Verizon started selling the iPhone.

Turmoil at global rival Nokia, which has sidelined its own software platforms to ink a deal with Microsoft, could bolster RIM in big growth markets as it sells increasing numbers of its lower-end smartphones, such as the Curve 8520, in Latin America, South East Asia and elsewhere.

Analysts expect RIM's earnings to drop to $1.65 a share in the current quarter on revenue of $5.65 billion.

(Additional reporting by Euan Rocha in Toronto and Arup Roychoudhury in Bangalore; editing by Frank McGurty)

Pop-Up Store Creates Buzz for Software Firm Podio (Mashable)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 10:45 AM PDT

Todd Wasserman Todd Wasserman – Tue Mar 22, 1:45 pm ET

Pop-up stores are usually employed for fashion labels, retailers or even vodka brands. Now a software firm claims to be benefiting from their use as well.

Podio, a Danish software company that makes a "social work platform," sometimes called a "Facebook for businesses," is renting a space on 224 6th St. in San Francisco for the next couple of weeks to launch its U.S. operations and the next version of its software platform. Tommy Ahlers, the CEO of Podio, says that the space cost about $25,000. Since the location opened last Sunday, about 250 to 300 people have come through. Ahlers says that's a pretty good return on investment so far.

"We've never seen anything like this before," says Ahlers, who says he's not aware of any other software companies that have launched a pop-up store.

Though most pop-ups are aimed at curious pedestrians and function sort of like a three-dimensional billboard, the idea behind Podio's is more targeted since the company has used its Twitter feed to draw developers to the store. When it opened on Sunday, some 70 developers showed up for a Hack Day. Since then, there's been a "working lunch" where businesspeople bring their laptops and have Podio's developers build an app "that addresses their pain points," Ahlers says.

The custom development angle is especially important for Podio because the company's software lets consumers build their own web-based apps even if they don't have any technical knowlege. (The new platform officially launches on Thursday.) In order to cultivate a vibe where such creative types feel welcome, the store drew design inspiration from Apple stores and Ikea, and aims to be minimalist and fun. As this video shows, there are also a bunch of blue ukeleles on the wall for some reason.

Is this clever marketing or a waste of money for Podio? Let us know in the comments.

Apple says “yes” and reveals its softer side in iPad 2 support (Appolicious)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 05:00 PM PDT

Remains of the Day: You only get one shot (Macworld)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 04:30 PM PDT

Dan Moren Dan Moren – Tue Mar 22, 7:30 pm ET

Verizon's not looking to add to its wireless arsenal, Steve Jobs's role at another company comes into contention, and we're shocked—shocked!—at the Supreme Court's decision on an important case. Order in the court! Here come the remainders for Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

Verizon Wireless CEO says no interest in Sprint deal (Reuters)

If you were afraid that this week's surprise acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T would spur Verizon to retaliate by acquiring third-place carrier Sprint, good news: Verizon Wireless CEO Daniel Mead told Reuters, "We're not interested in Sprint. We don't need them." Dude. Harsh. The Now Network has feelings too, okay?

What AT&T Owes T-Mobile if Deal Doesn't Go Through (All Things Digital)

Speaking of the AT&T/T-Mobile deal, you might wonder what happens should it not pass U.S. regulatory approval? Well, T-Mobile might not mind so much: it's got AT&T on the hook for $3 billion, a slice of spectrum, and a roaming agreement if the merger fails to pass muster. Alas, T-Mobile does have to return AT&T's engagement ring, which is a priceless heirloom that once belonged to Ma Bell.

Advisory firm questions Steve Jobs' reelection to Disney board (Los Angeles Times)

Steve Jobs has served on Disney's board since 2006, when the media giant acquired Pixar. Now a shareholder advisory firm is raising concerns about Jobs's re-election to Disney's board, in advance of the company's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday. The AFL-CIO, which holds a significant amount of Disney stock, has already voted against Jobs's return. Major shareholders Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck could not be reached for comment.

Court won't get involved in Eminem royalty suit (Yahoo News)

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case between Eminem's former production company and Universal Music over the split of licensing the rapper's songs for digital downloads. By declining to get involved in the case, the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stands, entitling FBT Productions to a 50/50 split. However, inside reports suggest that the real reason the justices decided not to hear the case was to avoid Chief Justice John Roberts once again attempting to freestyle.

Senators call on smartphone makers to remove apps that help drunk drivers evade police (Senate.gov)

Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Tom Udall (D-NM) have published an open letter to Apple, Google, and RIM, asking them to remove apps from their respective software marketplaces that allow users to circumvent drunk-driving checkpoints set up by police. You know, if there's one thing more despicable than driving while drunk it's driving while drunk and simultaneously using your cell phone.

Product Remainders:

MyIC 1.2 for Mac OS X - This $149 unified communication tool by Xnet lets Mac users create virtual teleconferences with complete audio, video, and text chat support. It boasts compatibility with certain Alcatel-Lucent hardware, and also integrates with Facebook.

FontGenius 2.0 - FontGear's font identification utility has been updated with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) capabilities, a revamped selection tool, image filters, and speed increases. $40 for a full license, the update is free to FontGenius 1.0 users.

FileMaker Go Starter Solutions - The database company has released three free starter solutions, which quickly enable users to track contacts, documents, and assets. The solutions are optimized for FileMaker's iPhone and iPad FileMaker Go client but can also be customized using the Mac version of FileMaker.

Showtime and Netflix rework streaming content deal (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 07:06 PM PDT

By Marisa Guthrie Marisa Guthrie – 2 hrs 11 mins ago

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – CBS Corp.'s Showtime will keep current, original series off Netflix's streaming video service when a current deal expires this summer.

The change, part of a new arrangement, means no "Dexter" or "Californication" episodes from previous seasons will be available on Netflix, as had been the case under the current arrangement which covered the first two seasons of the shows.

Episodes of current originals will be on Showtime's authenticated broadband service, Showtime Anytime.

The new Showtime-Netflix deal will include the streaming of shows that are no longer on Showtime, such as "The Tudors" and "Sleeper Cell," which previously was not on Netflix.

"Current and past seasons of our original series will be available to our authenticated subscribers via our TV Everywhere service Showtime Anytime," a Showtime spokesperson said. "A number of Showtime original series will continue to be available and stream on Netflix, including 'The Tudors' and 'Sleeper Cell,' among others."

The rejigged content agreement comes after CBS and Netflix recently struck a deal that also gives the latter the rights to stream such library shows as "Star Trek," "Family Ties," "Cheers" and "Frasier," but does not include current series.

Netflix, meanwhile, has moved into premium networks' turf with the acquisition of 26 episodes of drama "House of Cards."

Apple's Jobs ordered to answer iTunes questions (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 05:23 PM PDT

By Paul Thomasch and Dan Levine Paul Thomasch And Dan Levine – Tue Mar 22, 8:23 pm ET

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs, who is out on medical leave, has been ordered to answer questions from lawyers for a group of consumers accusing the company of creating a music-download monopoly.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard Lloyd, based in San Jose, California, ruled on Monday that lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the antitrust lawsuit may question Jobs for a total of two hours.

Apple may appeal the decision. A company spokeswoman declined to comment, while attorneys for the plaintiffs did not respond to requests for comment.

The ruling comes amid intense questions about Jobs' health. The Silicon Valley icon, who has been treated for a rare form of pancreatic cancer and underwent a liver transplant in 2009, has been out on leave since January because of an undisclosed medical condition.

But just this month, an energetic but thin Jobs resurfaced to unveil the new iPad, chatting amiably with acquaintances and Apple employees for more than 20 minutes after a long presentation. That appearance reassured investors and fans worried about what his absence might mean for the company.

In the class-action lawsuit, a group of consumers say Apple created a music-downloading monopoly with its iPod player and iTunes store. At issue is a piece of software called Fairplay that allowed only music bought on iTunes to be played on the iPod, according to the complaint.

One competitor, RealNetworks Inc, responded in 2004 by introducing a new technology that would allow customers to play music downloaded from its site on their iPods. But Apple quickly announced a software upgrade to iTunes that once more blocked music from RealNetworks, the complaint charges.

The plaintiffs argued in a court filing late last year that Apple failed to provide specific examples of how a deposition of Jobs would constitute "undue hardship."

JOBS HAS UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE

In his ruling, Lloyd wrote that Jobs has "unique, non-repetitive, first hand knowledge about Apple's software updates in October 2004 that rendered the RealNetworks's digital music files once again inoperable with iPods."

Apple could appeal the ruling to a district judge, but it would likely have to make a case that the magistrate "made a big mistake," said Professor David Levine at University of California Hastings College of the Law.

Lloyd said the deposition of Jobs would be limited to questions about the back-and-forth with RealNetworks in 2004. Apple had sought to prevent the deposition altogether, while the plaintiffs asked to be allowed a broader inquiry.

"By limiting the scope of the deposition, the judge is trying to avoid using this as some sort of tool for embarrassment or annoyance," Levine said.

Should a district judge uphold Lloyd's ruling, Levine said, it would be extremely difficult for either side to appeal further.

The case is in re Apple iPod iTunes antitrust litigation, Case No. 05-00037, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.

Apple is involved in a host of other lawsuits, both as a plaintiff and defendant, ranging from disputes over patents to antitrust allegations. On Monday, Apple sued Amazon.com Inc in a bid to stop the online retailer from improperly using its APP STORE trademark, according to a court filing.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch in New York, Dan Levine in San Francisco and Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Derek Caney, Gary Hill)

Oracle to stop writing software for Itanium processor (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 08:40 PM PDT

– 37 mins ago

MARCH 23 – Oracle Corp said late on Tuesday it has decided to discontinue all software development on the Intel Itanium microprocessor after multiple conversations with Intel senior management.

Oracle said Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life.

Both Microsoft and Red Hat Inc have already stopped developing software for Itanium, Oracle said.

The company, however, said it will continue to provide customers with support for existing versions of Oracle software products that already run on Itanium.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Microsoft Preps System Center for the Cloud (PC World)

Posted: 22 Mar 2011 09:00 AM PDT

Joab Jackson Joab Jackson – Tue Mar 22, 12:00 pm ET

Microsoft is updating the next version of its System Center IT infrastructure and server management suite so it can manage virtual machines in the cloud. It is also adding controls that will allow departmental IT chiefs to manage their own system resources, the company announced Tuesday.

Both additions to System Center 2012 suite, slated for release later this year, are necessary to help central IT departments keep pace with the requests of individual departments within their organizations.

"If [central IT] does not move fast enough, departmental level [IT staff] are not above going around them and [will] procure space on a site like Windows Azure if they want to deploy something more quickly," said Amy Barzdukas, Microsoft senior director of product management.

System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 allows administrators to deploy virtual machines either on local servers or on Microsoft Azure-based hosted platforms. The administrator can pool virtual machines into different sets, allowing them to establish sets of servers dedicated for specific tasks or lines of business.

The program works with virtual machines using the Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisors and with those based on VMware and Xen hypervisors.

"You create a set of virtual machines with standard packages that have the app and the networking [settings], and put those out to the business-level owners," Barzdukas said. Microsoft has posted a beta version of Virtual Machine Manager that can be tested on a trial basis.

The release is timely. Cloud management has gone beyond the task of merely creating a virtual machine and deploying it on a cloud infrastructure, said Gartner Research Vice President Chris Wolf, in a statement. The organization will also need tools to automate configuration and operations as well.

Of the 7.5 million servers with Windows Server software that Microsoft expects to be shipped in 2012, around 1.5 million will be used in "highly virtualized" environments, Barzdukas said.

Also new for Systems Center 2012 will be a program that allows for greater control over departmental allocations of resources. Code-named "Concero," this application will allow an administrator to designate a set of servers or other resources to a departmental manager, giving that manager fine-grained control of how those resources can be used.

"Think of Concero as an administrative console that's been made available to department-level IT. It gives app owners the opportunity to manage their own resources that has been delegated to them by central IT," she said. "They will have a role-specific experience based on what their business unit needs, which allows them to do all the management themselves."

Microsoft announced these two new components of System Center at the Microsoft Management Summit, being held this week in Las Vegas.

In addition to these two new programs, Microsoft also offered more details about other improvements in the next version of the System Center.

Operations Manager 2012 will include .Net performance-monitoring technology that Microsoft acquired when it purchased AVIcode. Technology from another acquisition, Opalis, has been rebranded and updated under the new name of System Center Orchestrator 2012. Orchestrator allows users to automate workflows across different systems.

The updated Service Manager 2012 will allow data-center managers to file their own self-service requests, speeding the approval process for allocation of cloud resources. And a beta of a new service called System Center Advisor (formerly code-named "Atlanta"), which monitors cloud-based SQL Server deployments, has also been launched.

Also at the conference, Microsoft announced that Target deployed Hyper-V and System Center to manage in-store servers. By moving to this platform, Target was able to cut the number of servers it uses in each store from seven to two, Microsoft said. The move eliminated 8,000 servers across 1,755 stores.

Barzdukas pointed out that the Target servers even run, within virtual machines, a homegrown Linux application that Target built to manage pharmacy operations.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com
at 9:41 PM

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