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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Perplexing puzzle: Can Yahoo's luster be restored? (AP) : Technet

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Perplexing puzzle: Can Yahoo's luster be restored? (AP) : Technet

Perplexing puzzle: Can Yahoo's luster be restored? (AP)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:44 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Sep 7, 6:44 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Yahoo Inc. has gone through three different CEOs in five years. Whoever takes the helm now will face the same challenge: Solve one of the Internet's most perplexing puzzles.

Why is a company that owns some of the world's most widely used online services unable to gain traction among Web surfers, advertisers and investors? Can the company that rode the Internet boom ever again be where the cool kids go?

Unless Yahoo's next regime can figure it out, the company is in danger of becoming an Internet anachronism that might have to be broken up to be salvaged.

The challenge confounded Silicon Valley veteran Carol Bartz, who spent more than 2 1/2 years retooling Yahoo before being fired over the phone late Tuesday. It also befuddled Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock, who embraced Bartz as the "exact combination" of experience and savvy the company needed when she was hired in January 2009.

As a stopgap measure, Yahoo appointed its chief financial officer, Tim Morse, to be interim leader until the company's board can hire a permanent replacement. Morse, 42, met with Yahoo's employees at the company's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters Wednesday.

The board hasn't set a timetable for finding the next CEO. The directors took two months to hire Bartz after co-founder Jerry Yang decided he wanted to end a 1 1/2 year-stint as CEO in 2008.

Yahoo rode the Internet boom of the 1990s and weathered the dot-com bust that followed. In the past decade, says Forrester Research analyst Shar VanBoskirk, the company has spent too much time clinging to its early success in the 1990s, instead of adapting to the trends that have reshaped the Internet.

Two companies that helped drive the changes, Internet search leader Google Inc. and social network Facebook, are now the places where the cool kids hang out and, more importantly to investors, where advertisers increasingly spend their money.

"Yahoo has become a business stuck in its glory days," VanBoskirk says. "They became so focused on what they used to be that they can't seem to focus on what they should become. They just keep refining all the stuff that they have been doing since the 1990s."

Those legacy services can still draw a crowd. Yahoo's email as well as sections devoted to general news, sports, finance and entertainment attract the most online U.S. traffic in each of their categories, according to the most recent data from the research firm comScore Inc.

But the people using those services aren't sticking around as long as they once did, a pattern that has caused advertisers to seek marketing alternatives. That in turn has caused Yahoo's revenue to sag even as the overall Internet ad market has been growing at a rate of more than 20 percent annually.

The net result: Many investors have concluded Yahoo's stock is no longer worth owning — even though the company's brand remains among the best known in the world.

Between the time Bartz arrived and left, Yahoo's stock price gained just 81 cents while Google's shares surged by more than $200. Over the same period, the average time U.S. consumers spent on Yahoo's website each month fell 33 percent while the time spent on Facebook more than doubled, according to comScore.

Yahoo fell so far behind Google in search-driven advertising, the Internet's most lucrative market, that Bartz joined forces with Microsoft to save money and free up engineers to work on other projects.

That partnership, which calls on Yahoo to rely on Microsoft's search technology, was introduced late last year and hasn't been generating as much revenue as the companies hoped.

Even more troubling: Yahoo has been weakening in its stronghold — the visual marketing campaigns known as "display advertising." Yahoo's website had been considered the best spot for display advertising for the past decade, but no more.

By the end of this year, Facebook is expected to hold a nearly 18 percent share of the Internet display market in the U.S., followed by Yahoo at 13 percent and Google at 9 percent, according to the research firm eMarketer Inc.

Two years ago, Yahoo commanded a 16 percent of the display ad market with Facebook at 7 percent and Google at less than 5 percent.

Bartz, 63, tried to revive Yahoo by cutting costs, an effort that included shutting down or selling some services that had become a drain on the company's resources.

It wasn't enough to rid Yahoo of a paralyzing identity crisis, according to analysts.

"We think the challenges ... are likely beyond any one person's ability to perform some magic and reinvigorate growth in the company," Wedge Partners analyst Martin Pyykkonen wrote in a Wednesday research note.

Pyykkonen says Yahoo's next move most likely will be to sell all or part of its stakes in two Asian investments, Yahoo Japan and the Alibaba Group.

Neither Bartz nor Morse was convinced Yahoo would be better off if it sold those holdings. The board says it is undergoing a "comprehensive strategic review," but hasn't shared any details about what's under consideration.

The company remains in such disarray after years of recurring reorganization that VanBoskirk is convinced an opportunistic bidder will emerge to take over Yahoo and then sell its services in pieces. Speculation that buyout firms would mount a takeover attempt surfaced several times while Bartz was CEO, too.

"Yahoo hasn't been able to demonstrate that it can create any value from the sum of all its parts," VanBoskirk says.

Investors, for now, are just pleased the Bartz era is over. The company's shares rose 70 cents, or more than 5 percent, to close at $13.61 Wednesday.

Possible CEOs to succeed Carol Bartz at Yahoo (AP)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:32 PM PDT

By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima, Ap Business Writer – Wed Sep 7, 6:32 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – The search has now begun for a person willing to lead one of the world's most popular Internet properties, Yahoo Inc., whose problems have deepened under its three previous leaders.

The challenge is to find someone who can bring a Web 1.0 property into the new digital world of mobile and social Internet. There's also the fact that the CEO job may not exist for long if the company looks to sell itself or break up.

Here are some possible CEO candidates to replace Carol Bartz, who was fired Tuesday after failing to turn the Web portal around:

• Timothy Morse, Yahoo's interim chief executive and chief financial officer since July 2009. He is likely the backstop candidate to be the company's permanent CEO. Morse had been CFO at chip-maker Altera Corp. and held various financial management roles at General Electric Co. for more than 15 years. He is seen as a strong operator credited with improving operating profits at Yahoo, mainly through cost-cutting, even as revenue at the company fell. His solid financial background and Silicon Valley experience could be an asset if major strategic moves are pursued, although he could be seen as damaged goods because Bartz had hired him.

• Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo's executive vice president for the Americas. Levinsohn joined the company in October 2010 from Fuse Capital, a digital media and communications investment fund that he co-founded and led as managing director. As a strategist, he helped orchestrate News Corp.'s purchase of Myspace in 2005, an acquisition that ultimately failed. He is seen as well connected in the world of new media. "He's probably learned from his mistakes about what he did at Myspace," B. Riley & Co. Inc. analyst Sameet Sinha said. For now, Levinsohn is serving on an executive leadership council that is advising Morse, so it's a short step up to the top job.

• Jonathan Miller, News Corp.'s chief digital officer since March 2009. He knows the Web portal business from his stint as AOL's chief executive from 2002 to 2006 and knows Levinsohn from their time co-founding Velocity Interactive Group, which became Fuse Capital. He should be busy trying to sell online video service Hulu, but it helps that Yahoo is one of the bidders. He knows when to cut losses, having helped sell the money-losing Myspace in June. He could also be instrumental to scoping out a Yahoo-AOL merger if the idea resurfaces.

• Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, which is being sold by its owners, News Corp., The Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal and Providence Equity Partners. Kilar has helped Hulu become profitable and has innovated unique ad strategies that give viewers choices. He also helped launch the Hulu Plus paid subscription plan. If and when Hulu gets sold, Kilar may be up for a job with larger responsibilities, and he understands the challenges of selling ads online. The Harvard Business School grad also worked as an executive at Amazon.com Inc.

• David Kenny, president of online content delivery company Akamai Technologies Inc. Kenny joined Yahoo's board in April. He was chairman and CEO of digital advertising agency Digitas, a unit of ad agency giant Publicis Groupe SA, from 1997 to 2008 so he understands the Web advertising economy. Although he isn't on Yahoo's executive leadership council, he is a member of Yahoo's board and will be involved with major strategic decisions.

• Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL Inc. He could be a candidate, but he runs a competing Web portal that has problems of its own. AOL has been slashing staff and recently bought The Huffington Post to boost its audience. TechCrunch, another recent AOL purchase, may see the departure of its founder Michael Arrington, who is starting up a venture capital firm. Besides needing to reverse losses at AOL, Armstrong has plenty of strategic challenges to overcome before moving on.

• Peter Chernin, former president and chief operating officer of News Corp. Chernin now runs Chernin Entertainment, which produced "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" for 20th Century Fox, the studio he once oversaw. Although Chernin certainly has operational management skills and vast experience in media, he's got a smash hit on his hands and a possible film franchise to manage. On a positive note, Chernin has looked into possibly taking over Yahoo with other investors, according to the Wall Street Journal's technology blog, All Things D.

• Jack Ma, CEO of China's Alibaba Group. He is the dark horse who could take control of Yahoo and potentially snag the CEO job for himself. Ma has battled Bartz over his decisions and has chafed at Yahoo's 43 percent stake in his prized Internet company. "Jack Ma has not made it a secret that he really wants that stake back," Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung said. Alibaba's market capitalization of $27.5 billion dwarfs Yahoo's of about $17.2 billion, making some kind of stock swap purchase possible with the help of private equity funds, Leung said. Ma could buy all of Yahoo to get back the Alibaba stake and sell the rest of the portal "at cost or at a loss," Leung said.

Just Show Me: How to set up wifi on your Windows 7 computer (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:52 PM PDT

What you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S II (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:00 PM PDT

Tagstand Wants to Make NFC Technology Simple for Businesses (Mashable)

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:32 PM PDT

Jennifer Van Grove Jennifer Van Grove – Tue Sep 6, 7:32 pm ET

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: Tagstand

[More from Mashable: Personalize & Protect Your iPhone With a Handcrafted Wood Back]

Quick Pitch: Tagstand is an NFC platform that simplifies the NFC stack for businesses and developers.

Genius Idea: Program and manage NFC stickers on the web.

[More from Mashable: Find Home Design Inspiration With Houzz's 170,000+ Photo Library]

"The way your phone interacts with the real world is going to become quite fundamental," predicts Kulveer Tagger. Tagger is betting on the trend with Tagstand, a startup serving as a platform that businesses and developers can turn to for NFC tag procurement and management.

Customers can purchase packs of stickers, and then use the Tagstand Manager to program -- and reprogram as often they see fit -- how those stickers function on objects in the real world. They can also track sticker usage.

Tagstand could theoretically, depending on the whims of the tag owner, allow a consumer with an NFC-enabled device to touch his phone to a sticker to check in on Foursquare one day and view a promotional video or product page the next. The point is clearly to commodify NFC technology -- to package it up, sell it to businesses and marketers, and make it consumer-friendly in the process.

One problem: consumers aren't yet toting around NFC-enabled devices en masse. But should that change -- and research firm Juniper forecasts that it will -- Tagstand, says Tagger, hopes its first-mover status will solidify it as a harbinger of the NFC revolution in the states.

In the right-here and right-now, Tagstand appears to be pulling in impressive sales and traction for a three-month startup in a nascent market. "We've had loads of developers and businesses contact us," Tagger says. "We're basically finding out what we think are going to be the first applications of NFC."

Outdoor marketing is surfacing as the most popular application, he says. A Tagstand customer in India, for instance, made a bulk purchase of 20,000 tags for $10,000. The customer plans to put tags on movie posters at malls and cinemas in India, he says.

Next on the agenda for Tagstand is to give startups access to NFC payments capabilities and release an API for its tag management system.

Tagstand is a graduate of Y Combinator's summer of 2011 session. The startup is in the process of raising additional funding.

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Analysis: Why would anyone want to be Yahoo's CEO? (Reuters)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 07:20 PM PDT

By Peter Lauria Peter Lauria – 2 hrs 5 mins ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) – There are few surer ways for an executive to lose a good reputation than to be CEO of Yahoo Inc. Just ask Carol Bartz or Terry Semel.

As the company searches for Bartz's replacement, its biggest obstacle is likely the track record of past CEOs after they moved under Yahoo's figurative purple umbrella.

"They are going to have a lot of trouble filling that job," said a tech industry consultant who asked to remain anonymous because of a relationship with Yahoo. "Anybody great is not likely to go there."

A second source close to Yahoo added: "It's a very risky move for an executive to moor their reputation to Yahoo. No one has been able to turn it around."

Bartz came to Yahoo in 2009 as the tough-talking, bottom-line oriented CEO who led software developer Autodesk to prodigious revenue and share price growth. When she left Yahoo Tuesday, she was viewed as an executive incapable of innovation and lacking vision, an executive who failed to move Yahoo's stock price or operating performance in any meaningful way.

She is also widely seen as having made a bad deal to hand Yahoo's search engine operations to Microsoft.

"Bartz's demise underscores that fallen angels in the Internet space are really hard to turn around," Needham & Co. analyst Laura Martin wrote in a report Wednesday. "Her lack of success raises the risk that perhaps it simply can't be done by anyone (unless you're Steve Jobs)."

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang served as the company's CEO immediately before Bartz. But the beloved co-founder lasted just over a year in the role, changing in investor eyes from the heart and soul of the company to a fool who turned down a roughly $45 billion takeover offer from Microsoft for reasons that some say had more to do with ego than economics.

Then there's Terry Semel. Prior to his six-year tenure at Yahoo, Semel spent 24 years running Warner Bros, transforming the studio into a brand name by expanding internationally, diversifying into television, and rolling up record labels. By the time Semel was done, he had grown Warner Bros into a multibillion-dollar company.

That's all a distant memory now. Semel is now known more for earning roughly $500 million during a six-year stint at Yahoo in which he failed miserably trying to move the company into content and -- as a result of that change in focus -- was deemed to have caused Yahoo to fall behind in technological and product innovation.

INTERNAL CONFUSION COMPLICATES CEO JOB

Part of the reason Yahoo's CEOs face such difficulty is because, sources say, they are just one prong of a leadership trifecta, with the board and Yang also having significant input into the decision-making process. Those influential camps are often not on the same page.

For example, the decision to fire Bartz without naming a successor, along with the plan to initiate a "strategic review," suggested that the company was laying the groundwork for a sale or merger. But Yang told executives during a meeting on Wednesday morning that the company was not for sale, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Some industry insiders and investors believe Yahoo is sending out mixed messages about whether it hopes to initiate another effort at reviving the company's fortunes or simply wants to sell its various assets to different bidders because of differences within the three factions.

"Don't discount the possibility that inside Yahoo and Yahoo's board, there's real dissent," said Adam Seessel, Director of Research at Martin Capital Management and portfolio manager of the Riverpark/Gravity Long-Biased Fund. "Jerry Yang has wiffled and waffled, he's the guy who didn't want to sell Yahoo to Microsoft at $33 a share. So who knows where his head's at?"

"Part of the reason why they're sending confusing signals is that I wouldn't be surprised if they were confused."

GLORY FOR THE CEO THAT CAN TURN AROUND YAHOO

But countering any reputational harm to the next potential CEO are several factors, including the glory that comes with restoring a tarnished brand and a large paycheck.

Yahoo owns some of the Web's most visited real estate, but the company has seen its popularity and revenue decline amid competition from Google and Facebook. Much of its $16 billion valuation is ascribed to its roughly 40 percent stake in China's Alibaba, the parent company of websites including Alibaba.com and Taobao. Yahoo also owns a stake in Yahoo Japan, along with Japanese mobile company Softbank

"I don't think running Yahoo is a no-win situation," Mark Cuban, tech entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, wrote in an email.

"It's a difficult situation. Yahoo had a cash cow product (display advertising) that was preempted by competitive advances. The challenge they face is finding a transformational product that can knock off an industry standard."

Plus, he added, taking the helm of Yahoo would bring "huge money."

Trying to unlock the upside potential in Yahoo may be too tempting for some to pass up -- despite the risk of dimming any glory an incoming CEO had previously achieved.

"It's a great challenge for any CEO, therefore sort of irresistible to a certain type of person," said a third source close to both Yahoo and AOL.

(Reporting by Peter Lauria, Alexei Oreskovic, and Nadia Damouni; Editing by Edwin Chan, Gary Hill)

Amazon's Selipsky bullish on AWS profitability (Reuters)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:12 PM PDT

By Alistair Barr Alistair Barr – Wed Sep 7, 7:12 pm ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Ever since Amazon Web Services emerged as the next big thing for e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc a few years ago, Wall Street has debated whether the business mints money or just breaks even.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Adam Selipsky, a vice president at the unit known as AWS, made it clear the business is solidly profitable and will be for years to come.

"We're very happy with the economics of AWS," he said. "It can be a strong free cash flow generating business for the company."

AWS started offering computing power and storage remotely more than five years ago, making it a pioneer in the hot cloud-computing sector. While the business accounts for only about 2 percent of Amazon's revenue, it is growing rapidly. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said last year it has the potential to be as big as the company's giant online retail operation.

Amazon doesn't disclose AWS results and hasn't commented on margins, so any clues may help analysts and investors form a more accurate estimate of the value of the business.

UBS analysts estimated operating profit margins of 15 percent to 20 percent in a research report last year. In contrast, Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, put margins closer to 5 percent in an August 23 note to investors.

Selipsky described AWS as a "relatively low-margin business," but only in comparison with the fat margins of big technology companies, which can be higher than 50 percent.

Washington state neighbor Microsoft Corp had operating profit margins of 36 percent in the second quarter. The software giant's Windows division enjoyed margins of more than 60 percent, while its Server and Tools business had margins of 38 percent.

"Tech companies in general have high margins, very high margins," Selipsky said.

"We think we can run an attractive, large, profitable business that's incredibly low cost," he added. "Other tech companies aren't wired to think about costs in this way. Our ethos is instilled from the top."

Selipsky was sitting across a new conference table at Amazon's headquarters in Seattle. The table was made of doors, complete with empty holes for handles. This harks back to when Amazon started in the mid 1990s. At that time, Bezos made tables out of old doors to save money.

A frugal approach may mean AWS can compete better with big technology companies that are considering expanding in cloud computing but are used to higher profitability.

"There are a couple of other players in this business, but I consider Amazon the dominant player," said RJ Hottovy, an equity analyst at Morningstar. "For tech companies to launch a competing business to AWS they would have to sacrifice margins."

When Microsoft launched its cloud business, Windows Azure, in 2008, Bob Muglia, senior vice president of Microsoft's server and tools business at the time, told the Seattle Times that margins might well be lower than some of the company's other businesses.

Muglia told Reuters last year that the shift to providing cloud services would likely shrink Microsoft's profit margins, but he hoped new sources of revenue would make up for that.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr and Bill Rigby; Editing by Gary Hill)

Amazon site redesign is final puzzle piece for Kindle tablet (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 08:13 PM PDT

Derek Mead Derek Mead – 1 hr 12 mins ago

amazon tablet android samsung

 After HP's TouchPad withered and died (before returning from the dead for one last wild ride) there were worries afoot that the tablet wars were cooling off before they even got hot. Now a fresh salvo has rocketed out of the cloud: Amazon announced today it is redesigning its site to be more tablet friendly. With Amazon set to release its Kindle tablet in the next few weeks, the coming redesign suggests the company is ready to put its full weight behind tablet computing.

It's no light task changing up the world's largest online marketplace. With the tablet market burgeoning and the smartphone market already a veteran force, it was probably about time for Amazon to polish things up. Kindle tablet or not, the iPad user base represents a huge market of shoppers that Amazon surely wants to court.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the changes to the site's home page include an enlarged search box and fewer buttons. There are larger white areas and less clutter, perfect for mobile users. So far, the redesign has only been rolled out to a small number of users.

Now, one certainly might wonder why Amazon would redesign their site to be tablet and mobile friendly when its already got a mobile app available. Judging by all the various kerfluffles this year over Apple's App Store policies, Amazon may be moving away from Apple's App Store altogether. And why wouldn't it when it already has its own?

Amazon's got one thing all tablet makers aside from Apple have lacked: a serious app and media store. Most tablet users prefer their devices for their ease of use, and as the iPad has shown, having a native app storefront can cut down on a lot of hassle. Plus, with Amazon's massive customer base already identifying the brand for books and media, a full-on Amazon app store would have no trouble finding customers.

It looks like the final piece of the puzzle for the upcoming Kindle tablet, which is already expected to be a solid piece of hardware. The Kindle tablet will run a custom version of Android, and is likely to retail for $250. That's well below the iPad2′s $499 starting price and probably right in the sweet spot of casual first-time tablet buyers. That, combined with Amazon's shopping prowess, will make the Kindle tablet an interesting bit of hardware indeed.

 

Eric Shmidt says Android's Ice Cream Sandwich is coming in October or November (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 06:21 PM PDT

Mike Dunn Mike Dunn – Wed Sep 7, 9:21 pm ET

Android Ice Cream Sandwich largeEver since Google announced Ice Cream Sandwich in May there have been rumors floating around the blogosphere about when Google will release its new operating system. We have finally heard a release time frame from Eric Schmidt, and he is saying that we should expect to see it released in October or November. To be exact he said, "We have a new operating system, internally known as Ice Cream Sandwich for some reason, which is being released in October/November, which everyone's really excited about."

Schmidt made the statement during an interview held during Safeforce's Dreamforce conference. Schmidt spoke about several other tech related topics, so you should do yourself a favor and watch the whole clip below.

The latest rumor we heard was that ICS would be coming out in October, but it is still unclear what, if any, hardware will be accompany the OS. We have been hearing steady rumors about the next Nexus phone to be due out in October, which should be running ICS, but have not heard about any tablets that might also be launched.  It is logical to think that Google will announce a tablet as well as a phone along with ICS seeing as the OS will run on both types of hardware.

Ice Cream Sandwich is Google's attempt to have a phone and a tablet share the same interface and apps. There have not been many leaked details about the operating system, except for the details provided by Google in May.  If all of the recent rumors are true we might see the launch of the new iPhone, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Microsoft's second edition of Windows Phone 7 in the month of October.

 

StumbleUpon engineers help man propose to girlfriend (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 08:59 PM PDT

Mike Flacy Mike Flacy – 26 mins ago

stumbleupon-party

Noted in a recent post on the official StumbleUpon blog, the employees at the social media company lent a helping hand to a lovesick Stumbler from Wyoming. A group of engineers at the company assisted 25-year-old Tyrel in proposing to his 23-year-old girlfriend Marquita through a seemingly random collection of Internet pages. The engineers created a specific stumble session of Internet sites onto Marquita's StumbleUpon account and collaborated with Tyrel to pick out a preset time when the session would be active.

wedding-proposalTyrel had handpicked a collection of quirky sites themed around love including a photo shoot of a recently married couple warding off a zombie attack and a YouTube video of a Siberian husky named Mishka that barks out "I Love You". The final click of the stumble button led to Tyrel's Tumblr account that he setup especially for the proposal. As Marquita scrolled down the page, she viewed photos of Tyrel holding up a whiteboard that slowly spelled out "Will You Marry Me?".  In addition, Tyrel recorded the proposal through two cameras to publish the video on YouTube. The first camera watched a high angle of the couple as Tyrel was on one knee waiting and the second camera recorded Marquita's facial expression as it occurred.  (See the video below.)

The couple both have StumbleUpon accounts and frequently spend afternoons wandering through the Internet with the social networking sites. This social wedding proposal is just a continuing string of web-infused proposals. Last week, a Google employee in New York City used a clever application of Google Maps to lead his girlfriend on a scavenger hunt of love. In 2009, a man named Grant Robertson proposed to Mashable writer Christina Warren over Twitter, but that wasn't the first marriage proposal over the micro-blogging social network.

Sony ushers in the 4K home theater with VW1000ES projector (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:21 PM PDT

Nick Mokey Nick Mokey – Wed Sep 7, 7:21 pm ET

sony vw1000es 4k projector cedia 2011

Don't get too comfortable with your Blu-ray collection. Not content to let lowly home theater owns wallow in 1080p while digital cinemas deliver full 4K resolution, Sony has hits its commercial projectors with a shrink ray to produce the first 4K projector suitable for the home: The VPL-VW1000ES.

Sony used the opening of the annual CEDIA installers show on Wednesday to showcase its new top-of-the-line consumer projector, which bears its Elite Series branding and throws a full 4K picture: 4096 x 3112 pixels. That̢۪s the same resolution used in high-end digital cinemas, and more than four times the resolution of a 1080p picture.

sony vw1000esOf course, the naturally raises the question: Where, exactly will 4K content come from? Sony Pictures has more than 60 theatrical releases shot in native 4K resolution, but the means of actually transferring all that data to consumers simply doesn't exist yet. Sony reps claim the company is in talks with the Blu-ray Disc Association to iron out a standard compression scheme for squeezing 4K movies onto discs, and has already promised a 4K release of the next Spider-Man movie, but the July 2012 release date for that flick should be telling: Sony won't yet talk timelimes on when 4K movies could hit shelves.

In the mean time, the VW1000ES does include a 4K scaler, which Sony claims will boost exist 1080p content to new heights, and plenty of still images exist at 4K (12.7-megapixel) quality. The new projector will boast 2,000 ANSI lumens, which Sony claims is enough to throw a screen up to 200 inches, and offer a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio thanks to the company's Iris3 technology and latest SXRD panel. Naturally, all the bells and whistles for home integrators like dual triggers, RS232, and control over IP will also make it in as well, and 3D is a given.

sony vw1000esSony will launch the VW1000ES in December at a price it hopes is "under $30,000." Don't worry, you'll make it all up in all the movie tickets you don't have to buy.

Sony offered a comparison of 2K versus 4K images on a digital cinema projector at its demonstration, but we haven't actually had a chance to spy images from the VW1000ES in person yet. Stay tuned tomorrow when we'll have a chance to drop by Sony's demo theater and check it out in person.

 

Shop til your wallet drops with these iPhone deal apps (Appolicious)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 03:00 PM PDT

HTC sues Apple for patent infringement on patents from Google (Digital Trends)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 05:46 PM PDT

Mike Dunn Mike Dunn – Wed Sep 7, 8:46 pm ET

lawsuit-judge-gavelIt wouldn't be a normal day in the tech world without some sort of legal dispute between mobile phone makers. Today's news comes courtesy of HTC who has filed yet another lawsuit against Apple. What makes this news even more juicy is the fact that HTC obtained the patents that it is basing its case on from Google. On September 1 Google transferred nine patents over to HTC, and today's suit focuses on four of those patents. At this time we do not know what each of the nine patents cover, or how Apple is infringing on those patents.

The nine patents from Google come from a variety of places such as Motorola, Palm, and Openwave Systems. It should be noted that the patents were transferred from Motorola before Google's offer to purchase Motorola, and are independent of the purchase. There is no word on how much money HTC paid for the patents from Google, but it is clear that they did not waste any time using them against Apple.

This is the latest in the line of legal battles between Apple and Android device makers. Besides Apple's ongoing battle with Samsung, HTC filed a patent suit last month against Apple. Apple is fighting on several fronts, and it's anyone's guess as to how all the battles will end.

If Google had the patents why didn't Google attack Apple on its own instead of having HTC do its dirty work? When Google bought Motorola it said that it did so to protect Android, so maybe it has decided the best defense is a good offense?

 

TiVo Premier Elite DVR packs 2TB storage, four tuners (Digital Trends)

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 09:47 PM PDT

Caleb Denison Caleb Denison – Wed Sep 7, 12:47 am ET

Day one of CEDIA 2011 kicks off today and TiVo is marking the occasion by announcing the latest addition to its DVR family, the TiVo Premier Elite. Interestingly, the new unit reads a lot like the Premier Q, a similarly equipped DVR we reported on earlier this year, which is slated to be provided only to cable partners. 

The Elite will come with a 2TB hard drive capable of storing up to 300 hours of HD recordings. It is TiVo's first retail DVR to offer four digital tuners, allowing the user to view one recorded program while recording up to four others, and the first to earn THX certification.

In addition to DVR functionality, the Premier Elite offers access to several network content providers, including Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Blockbuster and YouTube. TiVo reports that the Elite's on-board browser will allow users to search for programming across all of its resources simultaneously, providing one-screen access to any instance of a show's availability. For instance, searching for "House" will bring up links to both the network broadcast of the show as well as those episodes available on Hulu. No word from TiVo on whether the Elite will support on-demand video services from cable providers, though.

As for connectivity, TiVo has equipped the elite with one each HDMI, component and composite video outputs with both digital and analog audio outputs. Also on the back panel are an ethernet jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a cablecard slot and an eSATA port for optional additional storage. 

There are a few caveats, though. While the Elite supports digital cable, high-definition digital cable and Verizon's Fios service as sources, the DVR will not work with satellite boxes, terrestrial HD antennas, or analog cable sources. In fact, TiVo has had to file for a waiver with the FCC because of its decision not to include analog tuners — a factor that could delay the unit's availability, which is currently slated for the end of this year. When it does come available, it will reportedly be sold through Magnolia stores, authorized home theater installers and at TiVo's website. Pricing has not yet been announced, but TiVo's current flagship, the Premiere XL, sells for $299.

Review: Seeking a keyboard that enhances the iPad (AP)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 01:19 PM PDT

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Sep 7, 4:19 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – The great thing about using an iPad is that you can tote around a skinny device instead of lugging your laptop. The bad thing is that the iPad's virtual keyboard isn't great for extended typing sessions. It's fine for dashing off emails, but I wouldn't use it to type up this article.

Fortunately, a market has sprung up to solve this problem: physical keyboards that work with the iPad, either on their own or as part of iPad cases. I tested four of them, and I wrote this review using one.

These devices all had several things going for them. All were easy to connect with the iPad, either wirelessly via Bluetooth or, in the case of Apple's physical keyboard, a dock connector. They all had a row of buttons to do such things as control music playback or switch to the home screen.

But some of them were bulky, difficult to type on or awkward to set up. And none of them worked for scrolling through Web pages.

Here's a look at the ones I tried.

Belkin Keyboard Folio for iPad 2 ($100):

The Keyboard Folio's material felt cheap, though it did look as if it might be somewhat stain resistant. The process for propping up the iPad or putting it away was complicated. The case was bulky when folded up, too.

Of all the ones I tested, the Keyboard Folio had the most options for viewing angles, which I appreciated. But I could only use it in landscape mode, not turned like a skyscraper. It also took up the most space of the four I tested — from about 9 inches to more than a foot, depending on how I had it angled. This made it difficult to use in a tight space.

I appreciated its decent-sized keyboard, which included dedicated buttons for the "at" symbol and ".com." It felt a bit cramped at first, but it was second only to Apple's full-sized keyboard dock when it came to ease of use. Because of this, I used the Keyboard Folio to type up this review.

Targus Versavu Keyboard and Case for iPad 2 ($100):

Targus' black, synthetic leather keyboard case looks weird at first, with a large circular hole in the center of the cover to frame the iPad's apple logo.

As it turns out, the circle is actually a mechanism that allows you to twist your iPad so you can view the screen in landscape or portrait mode while using the keyboard.

Unfortunately, you can't adjust the screen's viewing angle, so you're stuck with a very straight-looking screen in either orientation. This would be a pain if you wanted to tilt the display to make it easier to see.

More egregious to me was the confusing, cramped keyboard layout. To conserve space, Targus moved a few things around — notably, the key that controls the colon and semicolon and the one that controls the question mark and forward slash. Both are usually on the right side by the "enter" and "shift" keys.

Moving them made it a lot harder to type accurately. Nearly every time I tried to type an apostrophe or quotation mark, I hit "return" instead, which resulted in some awkward instant-messaging conversations.

A couple of positives: The Versavu is easy to set up — you just snap the iPad into the hard plastic shell. And you can use a sturdy elastic band that comes with it to keep the case securely closed.

Kensington KeyFolio for iPad and iPad 2 ($100):

The Kensington KeyFolio may look appealing to spill-prone iPad users, as its keyboard is encased in a rubbery material that can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth.

Sadly, this same feature makes the keyboard a major pain to type with. The rubbery casing made the keys feel soft and squishy, rather than hard and satisfying. The keyboard felt too small, and a decision to move the key that controls the quotation mark and apostrophe resulted in lots of typos.

The KeyFolio isn't all bad, as it has a couple of viewing angle options. It's also extremely obvious how to use it, as you clearly just slip the iPad in and prop it up.

Apple iPad Keyboard Dock ($69):

The Apple dock isn't very portable, as the portion that connects to the iPad sticks straight up from the keyboard. It's also not that flexible for viewing because it docks the iPad in portrait mode at a fixed angle.

But it's a stylish, simple option if you're planning on using the iPad at work or want to have an easy computer alternative at home. It doesn't take up much space, and it has a full-sized keyboard that is very easy and comfortable to type on.

(If you want a more portable Apple-branded keyboard, there's also a wireless one for the same price. You'll also need a case or stand to keep the iPad upright, though.)

The back of the docking station includes a connector to attach your iPad power supply, in case you want to charge it while typing. There's also a line out if you want to hook up external speakers. I appreciated that the keys across the top of the keyboard include two that you can use to quickly control the brightness of the iPad's screen.

There wasn't one clear winner here, as each had its own issues. Yet even with flaws, some were able to bring the iPad closer to replacing a laptop.

Global cybercrimes cost $114 billion annually: Symantec (Reuters)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 01:11 AM PDT

– Wed Sep 7, 4:11 am ET

(Reuters) – A study by Symantec Corp, the maker of Norton computer security software, estimates the cost of global cybercrimes at $114 billion annually.

The Norton Cybercrime Report 2011 said 431 million adults were victims globally in the past year, with costs of cybercrime surpassing the combined global black market in marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

"Over the past 12 months, three times as many adults surveyed have suffered from online crime versus offline crime, yet less than a third of respondents think they are more likely to become a victim of cybercrime than physical world crime in the next year," said Adam Palmer, Norton Lead Cybersecurity Advisor.

The study also identified men in the 18-31 years age group, who access the Internet from their mobile phone, as likely victims.

(Reporting by Gowri Jayakumar in Bangalore; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

IBM, Vodafone extend India outsourcing deal for up to $1 billion (Reuters)

Posted: 07 Sep 2011 08:33 PM PDT

– 52 mins ago

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – IBM has signed an extended deal estimated at up to $1 billion to manage the information technology systems of Vodafone's Indian unit until 2017, the Economic Times reported on Thursday.

Vodafone Essar had agreed a five-year IT outsourcing deal with IBM in 2007.

When contacted by Reuters, a Vodafone Essar spokesman said the companies had agreed to extend the deal, but declined to give any details. A spokeswoman for IBM in India could not immediately comment.

The newspaper cited three unnamed people as saying that the companies had agreed last month to restructure the contract estimated at $800 million to $1 billion.

The paper said the five-year contract signed in 2007 was worth more than $400 million.

For the newspaper story, see www.economictimes.com

(Writing by Devidutta Tripathy)
at 9:39 PM

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