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Monday, March 7, 2011

Western Digital pulls away with hard drive deal (AP) : Technet

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Western Digital pulls away with hard drive deal (AP) : Technet

Western Digital pulls away with hard drive deal (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 01:57 PM PST

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson, Ap Technology Writer – Mon Mar 7, 4:57 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Western Digital Corp. is trying to pull further away in its neck-and-neck race with Seagate Technology PLC to be the world's biggest maker of hard drives.

Western Digital announced Monday that it's paying $4.3 billion in cash and stock to acquire Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.

The deal is one of the largest in an industry that's been consolidating for decades, and gives the combined companies about half of the worldwide hard drive market. Seagate owns less than a third of that market.

A hard drive is a key data-storage technology for computers, and in picking up the Hitachi business, Western Digital is picking off one of the last key players. It's also giving itself a foothold in the market for drives that go into servers and corporate-level storage arrays. That's been a weakness for a company mostly known for selling hard drives that go into consumer PCs.

Western Digital is the No. 1 hard drive maker, just ahead of Seagate in terms of units sold. Hitachi is No. 3.

The news sent Western Digital's stock up 11.6 percent, or $3.47, to $33.48. Shares of Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Global Storage's parent, rose 5.7 percent, or $3.50, to $64.74.

The acquisition shows how few targets are left in an industry that has aggressively contracted and is under pressure. The only other key players are Toshiba Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co.

Traditional, spinning hard drives are beginning to see serious competition from a different type of storage technology. Tablets and smart phones, which use solid-state flash memory, are starting to overshadow computers, which mostly still use hard drives.

Jayson Noland, an analyst with Robert W. Baird & Co., noted that in the 1980s there were as many as 80 hard drive makers. Chronic overproduction depressed prices and allowed big players to scoop up their beaten-up rivals.

Noland said Hitachi's hard drive business had been "a thorn in the side of this industry for a long time in overproducing drives. They're a part of a bigger company and didn't seem to care if they lost money."

But Hitachi also has established relationships with business customers, which Western Digital coveted.

Executives from Western Digital and Hitachi took pains on a conference call with analysts to emphasize the measures they're taking to avoid losing market share because of the combination. But because computer makers want to have multiple suppliers to keep prices low, Noland said it's likely that Western Digital and Hitachi will lose some customers when the deal closes.

"It's a good deal, and to be honest, Seagate should send flowers to Western Digital," he said. "They're going to be the natural recipient of market share, just because Western Digital did this."

John Rydning, research director covering hard drives for IDC, called the deal "clearly one of the biggest mergers in the history" of the hard disk industry.

He said consolidation has benefited the industry by helping the players who are left become more profitable, and that while Western Digital will gain more customers for servers and other non-personal computers, it will still lag behind Seagate in that market.

Flash memory is gaining on hard drives in portable devices because in part because it's light, compact and durable. But those aren't important advantages in the server and high-end storage market, where huge volumes of data need to saved at low cost. Hard drives are still much cheaper than flash, bit-for-bit.

The corporate market "represents one of the most durable growth prospects" for the hard disk industry over the next five years, he added. The industry has suffered because of a downturn in consumer PC sales in the Great Recession, but is recovering.

IDC predicts that the industry will grow to $36.8 billion this year, up from $35.2 billion last year.

Irvine, Calif.-based Western Digital said that the deal includes $3.5 billion in cash, plus 25 million of its common shares. The stock is valued at $750 million based on the company's Friday closing stock price of $30.01.

After the closing of the deal, Hitachi Ltd. will own about 10 percent of Western Digital. Two of the company's executives will also join Western Digital's board.

Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. makes a huge array of products from nuclear power plants to rice cookers. It has been reshaping its business, cutting jobs, closing plants and shedding segments, helping some money-losing businesses such as auto parts and digital media rebound into the black.

Hitachi bought the disk drive unit from IBM Corp. in 2002. It's still based in San Jose, Calif., and has a factory there and in Rochester, Minn. It also has factories in China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It has 35,000 employees in all.

Other big recent deals include Seagate's acquisition of Maxtor in 2006, and Toshiba's acquisition of Fujitsu Ltd.'s hard drive business in 2009.

Steve Milligan, president and CEO of Hitachi Global Storage, will join Western Digital after the transaction's completion. He will report to Western Digital CEO John Coyne.

Both companies' boards have approved the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter.

Western Digital said it plans to pay for the buyout with existing cash and about $2.5 billion in total debt.

The acquisition is expected to immediately add to Western Digital's adjusted earnings per share.

Hackers target French Finance Ministry, G-20 plans (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:24 AM PST

– Mon Mar 7, 2:24 pm ET

PARIS – Hackers infiltrated French government computers in search of information about France's leadership of the Group of 20 leading economies, the country's budget minister said Monday.

The head of France's network security agency said it was the biggest-ever hacker attack against the government.

France holds the rotating leadership of the G-20 this year and is hosting a series of meetings aimed at improving relations among the world's top economies, including the U.S. and China.

Other attempts to hack computers at the presidential palace, the Foreign Ministry and other ministries with information about the G-20 failed, according to the National Security Agency for Information Systems.

Those behind the attacks were after information about French financial and economic policies, said Budget Minister Francois Baroin.

Baroin said it's too early to say who was behind the attacks on Finance Ministry e-mail accounts and servers, but the authorities think they came "probably from outside" France.

"It was the information about the G-20 that interested the hackers," Baroin said in an interview on radio station Europe-1.

Officials at the Finance Ministry would not elaborate on Baroin's comments.

Network security agency chief Patrick Pailloux said "sensitive" information had been obtained in the attacks which probably began in November-December, carried out by "a number of professional, determined and persistent hackers."

Speaking on radio station France-Info, Pailloux said it was not the first time government computers had been attacked, but that "it's the first time that it has reached such proportions."

Pailloux said the attack took place late last year and the intruders infiltrated around 150 computers, out of a total 170,000 computers in France's Finance Ministry.

Space shuttle Discovery heads home to retirement (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:53 AM PST

By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer Marcia Dunn, Ap Aerospace Writer – Mon Mar 7, 2:53 pm ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Its decades-long mission accomplished, space shuttle Discovery headed home to retirement after undocking from the International Space Station on Monday for the last time.

The world's most-flown spaceship got a dramatic send-off by "Star Trek's" original Capt. Kirk.

"Space, the final frontier," actor William Shatner proclaimed in a prerecorded tribute. "These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery. Her 30-year mission: to seek out new science, to build new outposts, to bring nations together on the final frontier, to boldly go and do what no spacecraft has done before."

On the final leg of its final journey — due to culminate with a Wednesday touchdown — Discovery performed a victory lap around the space station immediately after undocking. The shuttle and station crews beamed down pictures of each other's vessel, with the blue cloud-specked planet 220 miles below as the stunning backdrop.

NASA TV showed live footage of Discovery as it soared over the Atlantic Ocean and the Sahara desert, and in a matter of a few minutes, over the Mediterranean Sea and northern Italy. The breathtaking shots were captured by the space station crew.

"It looks beautiful," observed Scott Kelly, the space station's skipper. He wished the six shuttle passengers a safe ride home.

To ensure safe passage, the shuttle astronauts pulled out their 100-foot, laser-tipped inspection boom and checked their ship for any signs of micrometeorite damage. The safety procedure was put in place following the 2003 Columbia disaster.

Discovery is being sent to the Smithsonian Institution for display after it undergoes several months of decommissioning. NASA's two other shuttles will join Discovery in retirement, following their upcoming missions.

The oldest of NASA's surviving shuttles, Discovery will have racked up nearly 150 million miles by trip's end, accumulated more than 39 missions in nearly 27 years and spent 365 days total in space. It flew to the International Space Station 13 times and made the first shuttle rendezvous with Russia's Mir station in 1995.

Discovery first flew in 1984 and carried the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit six years later. It's flown 184 astronauts, including John Glenn at age 77 in 1998.

Shatner's message was played for the shuttle crew Monday morning, just a few hours before the undocking. His words were followed by the wake-up music, "Theme from Star Trek." It was the runner-up in a contest sponsored by NASA to mark the end of the shuttle program. The No. 1 vote-getter — "Blue Sky" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters — will be beamed up as Tuesday's wake-up tune.

Mission Control and Discovery's astronauts also paid homage to lead shuttle flight director Bryan Lunney, who is quitting NASA as the program draws to a close. His voice cracked as he bid farewell, and he received a standing ovation in the control room.

"It's been a hoot," Lunney told the astronauts. "Couldn't have had a better choice for my last flight."

Shuttle commander Steven Lindsey said he'd rather be celebrating with Lunney than inspecting his ship.

Lunney was joined earlier in Mission Control by his father, legendary Apollo flight director Glynn Lunney. The younger Lunney is leaving NASA later this month after 22 years and nearly 50 shuttle flights to join a pair of aerospace research companies.

During their 13-day flight, Lindsey and his crew delivered a new storage compartment, as well as an equipment platform and the first humanoid robot in space called R2, which is short for Robonaut 2. Both large items were successfully installed, but R2 will be unpacked by the station crew in the coming weeks.

"If I were unpacked, I would wave goodbye!" R2 said in a Twitter message that was posted by a human on the ground.

The addition of the 21-foot-long, 15-foot wide storage compartment left the space station 97 percent complete. The complex now has a mass of nearly 1 million pounds.

Kenneth Todd, a space station manager, described the completed mission as "above and beyond." He said it was bittersweet to see Discovery for the last time in orbit. "We bid her adieu and certainly godspeed to Steve and the rest of the crew on the way home."

On the next shuttle flight, by Endeavour next month, a $2 billion physics experiment will be installed on the outside of the space station. Atlantis will blast off with supplies on the final shuttle mission at the end of June.

NASA is under presidential direction to focus more on outer space, beginning with expeditions to asteroids and then Mars.

American astronauts will continue hitching rides to the space station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, at great expense. The intent is for private U.S. companies to take over those ferry operations within a few years.

___

Online:

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Can’t sleep? Turn off cell phones, game consoles after sundown, survey says (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 12:22 PM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Mon Mar 7, 3:22 pm ET

The more often you use "interactive" electronics like cell phones or video games right before bed, the more likely it is you'll miss out on deep, restful sleep, a new survey claims. I know the feeling.

The new study from the Washington, D.C.-based National Sleep Foundation isn't the first to claim that the use of "light-emitting" devices like TVs and iPads just before turning in can disrupt sleep patterns. Researchers say that such "artificial light exposure" at night may make you more alert before you hit the hay, making it tougher to get enough shut-eye.

But it does add a new wrinkle to the discussion: namely, that "interactive" gear like video games, cell phones, and laptops are more likely to mess with a good night's sleep than "passive" gadgets like television sets.

The survey found that just about all of us (or 95 percent of Americans between the ages of 13 and 64, give or take) feast our eyes on a TV screen, a laptop, a cell phone, or some other type of gadget at least "a few" nights a week within an hour of bedtime.

But the National Sleep Foundation researchers say they found more and more people—particularly so-called Generation Y'ers (20- to 30-somethings) and Generation Z'ers (20-somethings and younger)—using "interactive" gadgets like cell phones and laptop right before bed.

And while watching Leno or Letterman before drifting off isn't the best recipe for a good night's sleep, sending one last test message on your phone or blowing away a final bad guy on your Xbox 360 is an even worse idea sleep-wise, according to the study.

The evidence? Turns out that 16 percent of Gen Y'ers and 22 percent of Z'ers—who, apparently, are far more likely to play a video game or send a text message before bedtime—complain that they're not getting enough restful sleep, compared to 11 percent of Generation X'ers and 9 percent of baby boomers. Or so the study says.

So, what's the ticket to eight-plus hours of sleep each night? Besides regular exercise, avoiding late-night caffeine and booze, and sticking to a regular sleeping schedule, we're strongly advised to seek out "bright light" in the morning (which "energizes us" and "prepares us for a productive day") and keep it dim (i.e., no gadgets with bright screens) at night.

Makes sense, I guess, but easier said than done. Not only do I regularly watch TV until a few minutes before hitting the sack (at least there's no television in my bedroom), I'm also usually checking e-mail and surfing the Web on my phone at the same time. And yes, I've been known to sneak in a little online multiplayer right before diving under the covers.

How am I sleeping? Well … so-so, come to think of it. I rarely have trouble falling asleep, but more and more often, I've been waking up early—as in 6 a.m. or so, meaning I'm only getting about six hours of sleep. And I haven't exactly been bounding out of bed, either.

So, should I turn over a new leaf and leave the gadgets alone after sundown? Probably. Will I? Not a chance.

What about you: Are you watching TV or fiddling with "light-emitting" gadgets right before bed—and if so, having any trouble sleeping?

Related:
Sleepy Connected Americans [PR Newswire, via Yahoo! News]

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

Follow me on Twitter!

Coming soon to Skype for Windows: advertisements (Ben Patterson)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:05 AM PST

By Ben Patterson ben Patterson – Mon Mar 7, 12:05 pm ET

Got the Skype desktop client for Windows? Then get ready to start seeing ads—big ones, in some cases—appearing in the Skype interface.

Skype announced Monday that the advertisements will begin appearing this week under the "Home" tab of the Windows Skype client (version 5.1 and up). For now, the ads will be restricted to Skype's Windows-based software, meaning that Mac and mobile Skype apps will remain ad-free, at least for now.

The initial banner ads will be as big as 650 by 340 pixels and may include "large format, rich and interactive" experiences, although Skype promises that users "will not see annoying pop-up ads or flashy banners in the middle of your conversations."

The first companies slated to be selling their wares through Skype ads include Groupon, Nokia, Universal Pictures, and Visa, according to a Skype press release.

In a FAQ on the Skype Web site, the company says that selling ads will "help us continue to invest in great products" such as "low-cost" Skype-to-mobile and/or landline calls and free Skype-to-Skype calls.

The "majority" of those who see ads in their desktop Skype clients will be "non-paying users," Skype says—presumably meaning that at least some paying customers will see the ads, too.

Ad-supported VoIP or instant-messaging software is nothing new, of course, but this is first time that Skype has ever served ads in its free software. Skype also runs the risk of ruffling the features of those who are already paying for services such as "Skype To Go" phone numbers or the ability to call mobile and landline numbers.

The reaction all depends on how the ads are implemented—and specifically, how annoying (or hopefully unobtrusive) the interactive banners end up being.

For its part, Skype swears that its software user experience is "our first priority" and that "we've taken a lot of time working through and testing what kind of advertising will be a positive experience for you."

So, anyone see ads appear in their Skype clients yet? Will advertisements in the Skype software bother you, especially if you're already paying for Skype service—or, on the flip side, would you rather deal with ads than higher prices?

(Image credit: Skype)

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

Follow me on Twitter!

Our Favorite Music App Today: Like.fm, a Shareable iTunes in the Cloud (Mashable)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 03:44 PM PST

Jolie O'Dell Jolie O'dell – Mon Mar 7, 6:44 pm ET

Some say there's a music startup bubble; we say, "Bring it." Few apps are more welcome in our browsers and on our desktops than ones that help us enjoy our favorite tines.

Today's pick is Like.fm, a brand new app that lets you track the music you play -- both on your computer and on the web -- make a playable list of your favorites on the web, and share what you're listening to with your friends.

The app harnesses the power of YouTube, Pandora, iTunes and a slew of other music apps to gather information about the music you listen to, then give you options to play that music and discover more music while you're away from your own computer or MP3 player.

Here's how it works: First, you quickly sign up for Like.fm using your Facebook account -- the service lets you automatically follow any Facebook friends who are also using the app, a feature which you can adjust later.

After signing up, you install a background-running, lightweight desktop app that tracks what you're listening to on iTunes or another desktop music player. You can also choose to install a similar web tracker that keeps tabs on the music you're getting from Pandora, YouTube and a slew of other sites.

Once you're signed in, just start listening to music as you normally would. Like.fm creates a history of what you've listened to in real time. If you don't like an item in your history, you can always delete it from your profile page. If you listen to a song at least 80% of the way through, it gets added to your profile's summary.

Anything that you've listened to on your computer or on the web, you can play on Like.fm from any web browser that can handle YouTube videos; the songs run in a tiny, embedded YouTube player, and each song is a video. Any song on the site can be added to your Like.fm queue by clicking the plus sign next to the track name.

Of course, you can also see recommendations from your friends, and you can play and add their songs to your queue, as well. The app also has pages for specific artists; you can play and add those songs to your queue, as well.

Once you start your queue's autoplay, it runs the same way an iTunes playlist would; it's continuous and doesn't require a lot of fiddling around on your part. Then again, its features are pretty basic so far; you can only create on queue, and the queue isn't sortable or searchable -- not yet, at least.

You can also write reviews for individual songs, get lyrics (via Lystener), download your entire play history as a text file, share songs to Twitter or Facebook, and participate in a handful of other lean-in features that music fans are sure to love.

Like.fm is a Y Combinator startup; since it's freshly launched, it's still got a few bugs and is likely going to add a bunch of new features in the near future.

For now, though, we're thoroughly impressed with what we've seen so far; the app is simple, a pleasure to use, extraordinarily functional, and free, to boot. Give it a shot, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, noctopia.

YouTube buys US web television company (AFP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 06:04 PM PST

– Mon Mar 7, 9:04 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – YouTube announced that it bought Internet television company Next New Networks to improve content for the Google-owned video-sharing website.

The New York City-based startup was launched four years ago and is home to popular networks, such as "Barely Political" and "Indy Mogul," which it billed as the "filmmaking network for the YouTube generation."

Next New Networks built a highly effective Web programming platform that has served up more than two billion videos and attracted six million subscribers, according to Tom Pickett, director of a newly created YouTube Next team.

"Next New Networks will be a laboratory for experimentation and innovation with the team working in a hands-on way with a wide variety of content partners and emerging talent to help them succeed on YouTube," Pickett said.

"At YouTube, we're focused on building a great technology platform for creators, and so we leave the actual creation of great videos to the people who do it best: our partners."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and YouTube stressed that it was not getting into the content creation business.

YouTube has been working to expand its video offerings with more original content as online video services such as Hulu and Netflix become increasingly popular with viewers.

Industry tracker eMarketer predicted that online video ad spending in the United States this year will climb to nearly $2 billion from an estimated $1.42 billion in 2010.

Aide sentenced in NY autistic man's Pa. van death (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:18 PM PST

By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press Maryclaire Dale, Associated Press – 1 min ago

PHILADELPHIA – An aide who spent hours on her cellphone the day she left a severely autistic client to die in a hot van was sent to prison Monday for two to five years.

Stacey Strauss, 41, pleaded no contest Monday to involuntary manslaughter in the death last summer of 20-year-old Bryan Nevins, of Oceanside, N.Y.

Strauss, of Philadelphia, had been busy talking and texting with her boyfriend and left Nevins in a locked van after an outing on the 97-degree day, prosecutors say. She spent about three hours of her eight-hour shift on the phone, despite her employer's ban on personal cell phone use and an order to maintain arm's-reach contact with her two charges that day, prosecutors say.

"You're entrusted with the life of someone else's child. You have to take that seriously, and clearly she wasn't," Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler told The Associated Press. "You have to have the patience of a saint to do these jobs, but she took it on."

Strauss had been on the job for nine years, earning about $11.50 an hour, but had been disciplined several times for her cell phone use.

Her lawyer acknowledged that the phone calls affected her job performance, but blamed the July 24 death on a "system-wide failure" at Woods Services, the residential facility in Langhorne where Nevins and a triplet brother had lived for five years.

Supervisors failed to clearly detail the transportation plan, including responsibility for picking up and dropping off clients, or to make rounds to see everyone made it back, defense lawyer Robert Lynch said.

"Obviously the blame starts with Stacey, but it shouldn't end there," Lynch said.

He hoped Strauss would be sentenced to less than a year.

Strauss and a second counselor had been assigned to take four clients to Sesame Place, a nearby water park, on a day the temperature would reach 97 degrees. The group returned early after Nevins acted up, trying to bite and scratch himself and others.

Strauss was driving the van, and claimed she was only in charge of one of the four clients, not Nevins. She dropped the other counselor off with two clients, and returned with a third client to a residence building. Nevins, who was also profoundly mentally retarded, could not free himself from the back row of the locked van. He spent five hours in the broiling van before his body was found.

Nevins' father, William, is a retired New York City detective. He and his wife have to explain his death anew each day to their other autistic son, according to their victim-impact testimony Monday.

"He asks for (Bryan) every day. Every day it's like peeling off a new scab of broken-heartedness for these folks," Assistant District Attorney Robert James said.

Strauss, who also pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and no contest to neglect of a care-dependent person, was sent to prison straight from the hearing. She will be in prison or on parole or probation for the next 10 years. She was originally charged with felony neglect, but negotiated a plea to three misdemeanors.

Android tops Apple, BlackBerry (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 03:29 PM PST

– Mon Mar 7, 6:29 pm ET

Google's (NMS:GOOG) Android software platform captured the No. 1 rank among smart-phone platforms in the U.S. for the first time, ComScore said. For the 3-month period ending in Jan., Android had a 31.2% market share, up from 23.5% the prior quarter. Apple's (NMS:AAPL) iPhone share was flat at 24.7%, while Research In Motion's (NMS:RIMM) BlackBerry, the longtime leader, skidded to 30.4% from 35.8%. Microsoft garnered an 8% share. Ownership of smart phones climbed 8% from the prior quarter to 65.8 mil, ComScore said.

Developers rage after Facebook blocks Google AdSense (InfoWorld)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:36 PM PST

– Mon Mar 7, 5:36 pm ET

San Francisco –

Developers rage after Facebook blocks Google AdSense
Facebook and Google are at it again, and application developers are getting caught in the crossfire.

Facebook created last week an official list of acceptable ad providers that developers can use to make money with their Facebook applications. Notably absent from the list is Google's popular AdSense service, an omission that has developers on various forums up in arms. Also missing: Amazon.com, which offers an advertising API.

Google and Amazon apparently didn't make the list because they refused to sign on the dotted line of Facebook's new and arguably restrictive terms of service for ad providers. In short, advertising providers are forbidden from receiving, directly or indirectly, any type of Facebook user data, even if a Facebook user consents to sharing it. Should any such data end up in an ad provider's stores, the provider is required to alert Facebook immediately and purge said data.

The list isn't finalized, so it's entirely possibly Google and Amazon will sign on. But given the recent spats between Google and Facebook over sharing user data as they fight to grab the most user eyeballs, it's tough to predict who is going to blink first.

As it stands, developers are expressing outrage that they're no longer permitted to use AdSense and Amazon. "I hope you don't expect us to put our money into small startups from the approved list, simply because they are unable to supply enough inventory or haven't earned their reputation yet," wrote developer Anatoly Lubarsky on the Facebook Developers forum. "Regarding larger companies on the list: Most of them have a very bad track record."

Lubarsky and others observed that users and developers could end up suffering if developers move to lesser-known, less reliable providers. "It downgrades the user experience from Amazon and Google AdSense ads to badly designed intrusive ads from 'approved' companies," he wrote.

Other commentators observed that forcing developers to switch to unreliable ad providers could have undesirable long-term ramifications on the quality of apps that make it to Facebook. "Now that Google has been axed, we have to find an alternative. If the alternatives don't pay as well, then developers will get discouraged from developing on Facebook," read a post from username vincenz2004.

There's also a passionate discussion taking place at Hacker News. One of the participants, with the username wheels, says the move is emblematic of "the changing landscape of ever more tightly controlled 'platforms' [such as Facebook]. It used to be that the way software interacted with a platform was via APIs; now it's increasingly in alignment with the platform owner's business goals as well."

"When Microsoft crushed Netscape, it did so by controlling the platform and making the alternative seem unnecessary, but it would have been unthinkably brutish for them to disallow another browser," he wrote." But what the App Store and Facebook are doing makes Microsoft's actions look positively charitable."

Whether Google or Amazon will bow to Facebook's terms remains to be seen. Developers are going to struggle in the short term as they're forced to acclimate to a different provider, though the standoff could give other ad providers out there a chance to shine, thus opening up more choices to developers.

This story, "Developers rage after Facebook blocks Google AdSense," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

NTSB: Tug pilot in duck boat crash was on cell (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:04 PM PST

Cisco Cuts Costs of Umi Home Videoconferencing (PC World)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 12:40 PM PST

Stephen Lawson Stephen Lawson – Mon Mar 7, 3:40 pm ET

Cisco Systems acted to make its Umi home videoconferencing platform more affordable on Monday, slashing the service cost to US$99 per year and announcing a $399 product for slower Internet connections as well as free Mac and PC clients.

Umi, an extension of Cisco's high-end TelePresence line for enterprises, debuted last October for $599, with a service fee of $24.99 per month. Many industry observers said the market for such an expensive consumer product would be limited. Though Cisco said Monday that it has been pleased with sales of Umi so far, its first major extension of the line clearly targets price.

The new $399 Umi system delivers resolution as high as 720p and is designed to work on a home broadband connection with 1.5M bps (bit-per-second) downstream and upstream speed. By comparison, the original unit offers 1080p resolution and is intended for 3.5M bps symmetric broadband, a service that relatively few U.S. consumers have in their homes. Both can adapt to slower speeds, Cisco says. Cisco also cut the price of the 1080p product on Monday, to $499. The new service price, available in a $9.95-per-month option as well as the annual fee, is the same for both hardware platforms.

Demand for the less expensive offerings came from current Umi customers who want to be able to enjoy videoconferences with friends and family who may not be able to afford the original product or don't have the high-speed Internet access it uses, said Gina Clark, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Consumer TelePresence Business Unit.

"It certainly helps to grow those consumer calling circles," Clark said.

Cisco also sees the free Cisco Umi Connect software for Macs and PCs primarily as an expansion option for users of the home systems, even though anyone can download the software free. Some features of the full TV-based Umi experience may not be included in the software, but a user's full Umi contact list will be available, Clark said. Umi Connect could be used by friends or family members who are traveling or living in a college dorm, Clark said. The software is in beta trials and scheduled to become available this summer, according to Cisco.

Also on Monday, Cisco announced it is making Umi interoperate with its enterprise TelePresence systems. The main purpose of this is not teleworking, Clark said. For that, Cisco still recommends enterprise offerings such as its desktop TelePresence product for about $300, which has more features for sharing information, she said. Instead, enterprises in areas such as education and health care wanted this compatibility so they could conduct immersive communication sessions with consumers. Health-care applications are in trials now, Clark said.

The Cisco Umi 720, which will include an HD camera, a console and a remote, is scheduled to go on sale early in the summer.

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

Smartphone users barely aware of potential security risks (Appolicious)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 01:12 PM PST

Samsung denies Galaxy Tab 10.1 remodel, sticks to launch schedule (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 03:16 PM PST

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Mon Mar 7, 6:16 pm ET

Galaxy tab 10.1Shortly after the iPad 2 was unveiled, it was reported that Samsung would be overhauling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 to more ably compete with Apple's new tablet. And it wasn't some bogus rumor simply making the rounds on fan boy sites – Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted the company's executive VP of mobile Lee Don-Joo as saying "We will have to improve that parts that are inadequate. Apple made it very thin," and "The 10-inch was to be priced higher than the 7-inch, but we will have to think the over."

But Samsung is now denying the whole thing, telling the same source that the 10-inch Galaxy Tab will launch "as scheduled." Were a remodel in order, the device would obviously be delayed, and Don-Joo says "We will continue to make every effort to provide the most powerful, well-designed and productive model device to customers."

While the tablet itself might not be getting any work done, we wouldn't rule out a price change quite yet. The iPad 2's low pricing is going to make it fairly difficult for competitors, who will want to undercut Apple and sway on-the-fence buyers. That means a couple of things: One, it's obviously good for consumers, who will be able to choose from a wider selection of more affordable tablets. Two, it means Samsung might be hard-pressed to actually profit off its Galaxy Tab lineup.

On a comforting note, it appears the wheels are in motion over at Samsung. The 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab reportedly in the works.

YouTube takes another step toward premium content with Next New Networks (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 05:28 PM PST

Molly McHugh Molly Mchugh – Mon Mar 7, 8:28 pm ET

YouTube-NNNAntoine Dodson, mashups, and hyperactive pets be damned! YouTube wants professional video content and nothing will stand in its way. Google announced today that it acquired Web video company Next New Networks in its latest move toward premium videos. The New York Times first reported the collaboration in December, and now it's finally come to fruition.

YouTube recently entered talks to reach out to famous faces and pay them up to $5 million for a branded channel. The effort would obviously make YouTube a far more attractive advertising space, and undoubtedly would win itself quite a few new viewers. Now, it looks like improving its own original programming with the help of Next New Networks.

While YouTube has a wide audience and could easily find success in the online streaming market, it's taking on some formidable opponents. The likes of Netflix and Hulu (and now, Amazon Prime) have established (to varying degrees) a foothold on online video, while YouTube will be relatively new to this game. According to the YouTube blog, the acquisition will act as "a laboratory for experimentation and innovation with the team working in a hands-on way with a wide variety of content partners and emerging talent to help them succeed on YouTube."

YouTube also says that while it has "hundreds of partners making six figures a year…frankly, 'hundreds' making a living on YouTube isn't enough and in 2011 we know we can and should do more to help our partners grow." How exactly it's going to do that isn't quite clear yet: It almost sounds like Next New Networks will be a trial-and-error program. The company partnered with AOL last year to launch "The One," a two-minute commentary homepage feature that was a major part of AOL's new video platform.

YouTube devotees, an ever-growing demographic, are about to witness an interesting transitionn in its evolution. It's distancing itself from video footage of everyday people and places and things (and cats…so many cats…), the very concept that made it an Internet sensation, in favor of semi-celebrity and processed programming. That isn't to say this won't be a successful move: The professional vlogger is becoming more and more of a reputable profession in the digital community, and the more Internet-savvy average consumers become, the more they expect out of Web content. So it's not necessarily a bad move on Google's party – but it comes with some risk attached.

Testing firm: Verizon iPhone loads Web pages fine (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 07:17 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – 2 hrs 7 mins ago

NEW YORK – The Verizon iPhone loads Web pages just as fast as AT&T's version of the phone, even though Verizon's network has lower data speeds, a phone testing firm reported Monday.

Verizon Wireless started selling Apple Inc.'s phone in February, as the first carrier to do so in the U.S. after AT&T Inc.

Verizon uses an older network technology with data speeds lower than AT&T's. Testing firm Metrico Wireless said data downloads on the Verizon iPhone turned out to be half as fast as those on AT&T's network.

However, because Web pages load just as fast, users may not notice the difference, except when downloading large files.

Verizon Wireless is widely thought to have a more reliable network that AT&T, and Metrico's testing bore that out. But the firm's vice president of information products, Rich McNally, said the difference in terms of calls that dropped or didn't go through weren't big. He didn't reveal the exact percentages.

Metrico tested the Verizon iPhone's performance with 4,000 calls and 10,000 Web page downloads in New York, Seattle, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and Dallas, McNally said.

In a minor surprise, the Verizon iPhone turned out to be less reliable than the AT&T version when downloading a file in a moving vehicle, McNally said. Its failure rate was 10 percent higher in that situation.

When stationary, the Verizon iPhone had a 10 percent better success rate for uploads, as compared to the AT&T phone.

Consumer Reports has criticized AT&T's iPhone 4 for being susceptible to the "death grip" — holding it a certain way can reduce the signal strength. It recently said the Verizon phone is vulnerable to the same phenomenon, despite a redesign of the antenna. Metrico's results have no bearing on the "death grip" issue, because the phones it tests are attached to measuring equipment, not held by humans.

Adobe's Wallaby ties Flash to HTML (InfoWorld)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:00 PM PST

By Paul Krill Paul Krill – 24 mins ago

San Francisco – Adobe Systems is making available this evening a preview of its Wallaby technology, which enables developers to leverage Flash development skills to build HTML files that can run on systems without the need for the Flash Player, including Apple iOS devices.

Wallaby, which will be offered for free on the Adobe Labs website, helps developers convert a Flash file created in the Flash Professional development tool to HTML. Apple's iOS, which does not support Flash Player, is the primary use case for Wallaby. Output can also run on WebKit-based browsers like Safari and Chrome, said Tom Barclay, senior product manager for the Adobe Creative Suite business.

[ See InfoWorld's February report on what's still missing in the HTML5 specification. | Get your websites up to speed with HTML5 today using the techniques in InfoWorld's HTML5 Deep Dive PDF how-to report. ]

"It is an experimental technology that provides a glimpse of innovation that we're doing around Flash and HTML and showing the investment that we're making in both technologies we think are important for the long term," Barclay said. The output of Wallaby enables use of not just HTML but also SVG and CSS, which are related technologies.

Wallaby is an AIR (Adobe Integrated Runtime) application for the Windows and Mac platforms. Developers can convert files to HTML5 via drag-and-drop functionality, Adobe said. Once files have been converted, developers can edit using an HTML editing tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver, or by hand.

Adobe's proprietary Flash technology, for playing rich media experiences in browsers, has been under siege by Apple in particular, which has argued that all that is needed for these types of experiences is HTML5. Adobe has been preaching of a world where HTML5 and Flash coexist, but converting from Flash to HTML can mean a loss of some functionality, including the lack of effects like filters and blend modes, Barclay said. "If [a Flash feature] is not supported in HTML, then it's just not available," he said.

Wallaby was previewed last fall at the Adobe Max conference in Los Angeles. At this point, Adobe cannot indicate a product road map, as the company still is inviting user feedback.

This article, "Adobe's Wallaby ties Flash to HTML," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in business technology news and get a digest of the key stories each day in the InfoWorld Daily newsletter. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

IBM bumps CEO Palmisano's pay 19 pct in 2010 (AP)

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 02:54 PM PST

– Mon Mar 7, 5:54 pm ET

NEW YORK – The value of the pay package for IBM's chief executive, Sam Palmisano, rose 19 percent in 2010 from a year earlier to $25.2 million, thanks to a near-doubling of his performance-based bonus as the company surpassed a profit goal it set in 2007, according to an Associated Press review of a securities filing.

In justifying the pay bump, International Business Machines Corp. cited in Monday's filing its annual net income per share of $11.52, above the goal of $10 to $11 it set in 2007, and almost triple the level in 2000. The company is aiming for $20 per share of operating earnings in 2015.

It also noted that dividends rose to $3.2 billion in 2010 from $2.9 billion a year earlier, and that the company bought back $15.4 billion in shares.

IBM announced and integrated 17 acquisitions worth $6.5 billion during the year, including nine in the business analytics and process optimization space. The company has gradually focused more of its business on software and services and less on making hardware.

Its share price rose 14 percent in 2010, ending the year at $146.18 on Dec. 31, up from $127.94 a year earlier.

Palmisano, 59, is also chairman and president. He saw his salary unchanged at $1.8 million, while the value of stock grants made in January of last year was $13.3 million, down 1 percent from the previous year's batch of stock grants.

But his performance-based bonus rose to $9 million from $4.8 million in 2009.

All other compensation, including company contributions to retirement plans, personal use of company aircraft and personal security fell 3 percent to $1.1 million.

The Associated Press formula is designed to isolate the value the company's board placed on the executive's total compensation package during the last fiscal year.

It includes salary, bonus, performance-related bonuses, perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year.

The calculations don't include changes in the present value of pension benefits, making the AP total different in most cases than the total reported by companies to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
at 9:52 PM

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