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Saturday, December 10, 2011

HP to offer webOS as open-source software (AP) : Technet

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HP to offer webOS as open-source software (AP) : Technet

HP to offer webOS as open-source software (AP)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 02:26 PM PST

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Dec 9, 5:26 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – It may be one of the technology world's most expensive efforts to give something away: Hewlett-Packard Co. said Friday that it's making its webOS mobile system available as open-source software that anyone can use and modify freely.

HP snagged the intuitive webOS software when it paid $1.8 billion in 2010 for Palm Inc. in what became a failed effort to revive the flailing smartphone pioneer. HP said it still plans to develop and support webOS.

First released on the Palm Pre smartphone in 2009, webOS ultimately ran on several smartphones. In July, HP also used it on its tablet computer, the TouchPad.

The webOS software was marked by its multitasking capabilities and the ability to view open apps as "cards" that you can slide across the screen, tap to enlarge or flick to dismiss. Initially, it was generally well-reviewed by technology critics.

The mobile devices never caught on with consumers, though, many of whom were more enticed by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iPad and smartphones running Google Inc.'s Android software. Developers also weren't that interested in creating apps for such a small audience.

HP hopes that by offering it to the open-source community, more mobile apps will be developed. The move could also mean that other consumer-electronics manufacturers would decide to make devices that use the software.

Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett called HP's decision creative. He suspects companies would have been interested in buying webOS from HP, but he's not sure how much they would have wanted to pay for it. This way, HP gets to make a limited investment in webOS' future and keep a hand in mobile software.

"If you decide you can't afford to get in the game fully with both feet, absolutely at least keep your options open," he said.

HP's decision is not unlike what AOL did with the Netscape browser years ago. After losing to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape was released to the open-source community. Its successor, Firefox, is now one of IE's leading rivals.

Google also has seen success letting developers use its open-source Android software.

The future of webOS had been uncertain since August, when HP said it would stop making tablet computers and smartphones — part of a blundered announcement by then-CEO Leo Apotheker, who also said then that HP was looking into putting its PC business up for sale.

In September, Apotheker was fired and replaced by former eBay CEO Meg Whitman. Whitman said in late October that HP wouldn't be selling off its personal computer business after all, but said then that the future of webOS was still unclear.

Todd Bradley, the head of HP's PC unit, said at the time that it was "fair to say Apple got a great jump-start in the tablet space" and HP was trying to figure out its own best approach. He said HP was focused on building a tablet that uses Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Windows 8 software.

He added that consumers shouldn't be keeping an eye out for a TouchPad 2, but that the company would "clearly look at what's the right path forward for WebOS." With Friday's announcement, it appears HP believes it has found it.

Shares of HP, which is based in Palo Alto, rose 24 cents to finish trading at $27.90. The stock rose 22 cents to $28.12 in after-hours trading.

To thwart porn, colleges are buying up .xxx sites (AP)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 02:39 PM PST

By PATRICK CONDON, Associated Press Patrick Condon, Associated Press – Fri Dec 9, 5:39 pm ET

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Kansas is buying up website names such as http://www.KUgirls.xxx and http://www.KUnurses.xxx. But not because it's planning a Hot Babes of Kansas site or an X-rated gallery of the Nude Girls of the Land of Aaahs.

Instead, the university and countless other schools and businesses are rushing to prevent their good names from falling into the hands of the pornography industry. Over the past two months, they have snapped up tens of thousands of ".xxx" website names that could be exploited by the adult entertainment business.

"Down the road there's no way we can predict what some unscrupulous entrepreneur might come up with," said Paul Vander Tuig, trademark licensing director at the Lawrence, Kan., school.

The university spent nearly $3,000 in all. It plans to sit on the .xxx names and do nothing with them.

The brand-new .xxx suffix is an adults-only variation on .com. The .xxx name went on sale to the public for the first time this week, promoted as a way to enable porn sites to distinguish themselves and a means of making it easier for Internet filters to screen out things parents don't want their children to see.

ICM Registry of Palm Beach, Fla., is the exclusive manager of the .xxx names and sells them through a dozen middleman companies such as GoDaddy.com for an average of $100 a year.

Indiana University spokesman Mark Land said the school spent $2,200 to buy http://www.hoosiers.xxx and 10 other such names. Other Indiana schools took the same step, including Purdue University and Ball State University.

"This is just a modest cost of doing business in the world we live in," Land said.

ICM sold .xxx names for the past two months exclusively to companies and others that wanted to protect their brands from the porn industry. During the so-called sunrise sale, ICM registered nearly 80,000 names, said chairman and CEO Stuart Lawley.

A search of ICM's database finds prominent brand names — including Nike.xxx, Pepsi.xxx and Target.xxx — among those purchased.

"Target has applied to block a number of the .xxx domains that correspond with our registered trademarks," said Lee Henderson, a spokesman for the Minneapolis-based store chain. He added, dryly: "We do not plan to use the domains."

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, which the U.S. government established in 1998 to run the Internet's address system, authorized creation of .xxx earlier this year.

The strongest opposition to the suffix has come from the adult entertainment industry. The Free Speech Coalition, the industry's trade group, lobbied against its creation, complaining among other things about the registration fees.

Allison Vivas, president and CEO of Pink Visual Productions, an adult website operator in Van Nuys, Calif., said her company and others like it were also given the chance to buy up .xxx sites matching their existing .com addresses, but Vivas and many others opted not to.

Vivas said she doesn't think her company — or any organization, adult-oriented or not — should have to pay to protect its trademarks. Otherwise, "it kind of becomes extortion."

Lawley said ICM will take steps to protect existing trademarks even if companies or schools fail to lock down certain website names.

___

Patrick Condon can be followed at: http://www.twitter.com/pcondonap

Steve Jobs to be remembered with statue in Hungary (AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 03:13 AM PST

– Sat Dec 10, 6:13 am ET

BUDAPEST, Hungary – In the Hungarian capital, Steve Jobs has been cast in bronze.

Graphisoft, a Hungarian software company, will unveil a bronze statue commemorating the co-founder of Apple on Dec. 21 in recognition of his leadership and vision, and appreciation for Jobs' support of the fledgeling firm while Hungary was still under communist rule.

Hungarian sculptor Erno Toth's statue depicts Jobs with all his trademark characteristics — a mock turtleneck, jeans and sneakers, round glasses and well-trimmed stubble.

The nearly 7-foot-tall statue weighing 220 kilograms (485 pounds) will be placed in Graphisoft Park, a Budapest complex home to several high-tech businesses.

Juror’s tweets become grounds to overturn death sentence (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 06:28 PM PST

Crazy wheelchair attachment lets you cruise in electric style (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 06:18 PM PST

Find the Right Resources for Your Business or Career With Entrepreneur Finder (Mashable)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 03:57 PM PST

Veena Bissram Veena Bissram – Fri Dec 9, 6:57 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: Entrepreneur Finder

[More from Mashable: Kaboodle Founders Launch Mobile Fashion Marketplace]

Quick Pitch: Entrepreneur Finder helps new companies develop.

Genius Idea: Interactive resource that brings together entrepreneurs, professionals, students and investors to grow their companies or find employment.

[More from Mashable: Add Friends' Facebook Photos To Your Ringtones With Facetones]

Although the web furnishes seemingly endless resources for professionals, sometimes it still seems impossible to find exactly what or whom you're looking for.

That's why Luke Deering founded Entrepreneur Finder, a free, interactive resource that helps users throughout their entrepreneurial and professional careers. The site aims to establish relationships among individuals and help them find the right people, jobs and opportunities to advance their businesses and careers.

Deering created the site based on his own personal experiences. As an aspiring entrepreneur, he found it very difficult to find the right person with the right credentials to help him with public relations and marketing. He realized that if he had trouble finding the right people and resources, then other entrepreneurs probably did as well.

"It was very frustrating because you sometimes you can't find what is most relevant to what you are searching for," says Deering. "I wanted to create a go-to place for students and professionals that feeds entrepreneurship and provides the resources to help people find exactly what they're looking for."

Deering designed Entrepreneur Finder to help users do the following:

  • Form new contacts with reputable professionals in specific industries.
  • Find the right business partner, investor or employee.
  • Search for investors to raise capital for a startup or business.
  • Find a mentor or mentor others.
  • Search employment and internship opportunities.
  • Find the right company to invest in.
  • Access a directory of trade shows and business conferences.
    • Users must create a profile on the site that includes details about their profession and what or whom they are searching for. For example, a user can write that he or she is searching for a Princeton University graduate with a degree in economics or a co-investor for a startup. The site's automatic matching feature will then match users with people who fit the description.

    Similar to Facebook, users can search for people they are interested in contacting, send messages to contacts or add new friends to their profile. The newsfeed feature also lets users post updates and view updates posted by their contacts.

    Entrepreneur Finder newsfeed.

    Users can control and limit how people search for them and contact them.

    Although LinkedIn also serves as a resource for professionals, Entrepreneur Finder is different because it focuses heavily on encouraging interaction among its users.

    "I hope to one day hear from someone that used Entrepreneur Finder as a student and found their first internship, mentor and full-time job through the site, and then started a company and met their business partners and raised funding through the site," says Deering. "Then they can mentor young professionals and entrepreneurs that found them, just as they found their mentors on the site."

    While Entrepreneur Finder is currently self-funded, Deering plans to expand the site in the future by potentially charging a monthly fee for users who are searching for a professional with very specific credentials. He may also charge a small fee for job postings.

    Entrepreneur Finder is currently in private beta and will publicly launch early next year. Users can request early access on the site's homepage.

    Image courtesy of EntrepreneurFinder, Entrepreneur Finder

    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.

Playboy advances Lohan issue due to leaked photos (Reuters)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 04:21 PM PST

– Fri Dec 9, 7:21 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Playboy magazine is advancing the newsstand date for its upcoming issue with nude pictures of actress Lindsay Lohan in part due to photos that were leaked online in advance, Hugh Hefner said on Friday.

The Playboy founder tweeted that the issue will now go on sale late next week, which roughly coincides with the December 15 airdate for Lohan's planned interview on Ellen DeGeneres' TV talk show.

"Because of the interest & the internet leak, we're releasing the Lindsay Lohan issue early," Hefner posted on Twitter. He later added that "her issue goes on sale late next week," although he did not give a specific date.

A spokeswoman for the men's magazine did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking more information.

Lohan, who has seen her career spiral downward in recent years due to drunken driving, drug and theft convictions, recently posed for the pictures that will be featured in the magazine's January/February issue.

This week, a picture snapped of the cover featuring Lohan was leaked online, and on Friday, nude pictures of the actress also landed on the Web. Those pictures are very similar to Marilyn Monroe's iconic centerfold photograph used in 1953's first Playboy issue.

(Reporting and Writing by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Zorianna Kit)

University Spends $3,000 on XXX Domain Names to Save Face (Mashable)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 03:18 PM PST

Are HP TouchPads and WebOS Phones Still Worth Getting? (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 04:05 PM PST

Jared Spurbeck Jared Spurbeck – Sat Dec 10, 7:05 pm ET
Contribute content like this. Start here.

COMMENTARY | The "still" in the title might be being generous. HP/Palm WebOS-powered smartphones and tablets, like the HP TouchPad, never made much of a dent in the Android and iOS duopoly. That's why the TouchPad got sold off in a $99 fire sale earlier this year; HP gave it up as a lost cause, and tried to cut its losses.

HP was apparently out of its TouchPad stock after that, but in a memo leaked to TechCrunch it was revealed that HP's planning to sell off a batch of refurbished TouchPads on Sunday. The sale starts at 4 p.m. PST, in the company's eBay store, and is open to HP employees before anyone else. Meanwhile, WebOS phones aren't too hard to get a hold of; the Palm Pixi Plus and HP Veer phones are available from $50 to $100 or so from many retailers, off-contract.

The question is, are these tablets and smartphones worth getting at any price?

Just for now

Reviews like Tim Stevens' for Engadget criticized the TouchPad's often-slow, inconsistent performance, as well as its dearth of apps. The app catalog for HP/Palm smartphones has always been small, and the number of apps designed for the HP TouchPad is even smaller.

It's hard to beat the price, though, which is why so many would-be shoppers were left empty-handed in the earlier sale. $99 won't even buy you a refurbished Nook Color, last year's color multitouch e-reader tablet from Barnes and Noble. And the Nook Color is roughly half the size of the 9.7 inch HP TouchPad.

Off-contract Palm smartphones still require a data plan, which makes their low price tags deceptive since you'll be paying the same amount per month. When paired with a contract-free data package, though, they might become cheaper than other smartphone options ... and the vertical slider keyboard with rubberized keys remains a draw for some Palm fans.

In the long run

Until just recently, it didn't look like HP / Palm devices had much of a future. HP laid off many of Palm's workers, and appeared to have scrapped its plans for future devices.

With the announcement that HP is going to make WebOS open-source, though, plus Meg Whitman's statement in an interview with The Verge that new tablets are a possibility, it seems that the axe hasn't fallen on WebOS just yet. At the very least, it's been granted a stay of execution, and there's now the possibility that another manufacturer might make WebOS devices.

Whitman said that HP was committed to WebOS, and looking at existing open-source projects to see how best to maintain it. She gave a "4 or 5 year timeframe" for making it a success, though, and there's no indication of whether or not that was just wishful thinking.

Motorola unveils two new Android tablets for U.S. (Appolicious)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 11:00 AM PST

Salesforce Announces Radian6 Social Marketing Cloud (NewsFactor)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 03:29 PM PST

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 9, 6:29 pm ET

Having acquired the social-media monitoring firm Radian6 earlier this year, Salesforce.com is now rolling out the Radian6 Social Marketing Cloud. The company said the new offering, integrated into Salesforce's platform and apps, will help companies to fundamentally change how they do business in the era of social media, by transforming social conversations into "meaningful engagements."

To accomplish this, the Social Marketing Cloud offers key functions of Social Monitoring, Social Insights, Social Engagement, Social Workflow and Social Web sites. Linking this platform to existing customer information creates what Salesforce describes as "a social hub."

Volume, Analysis, Engagement

One of the biggest challenges of using social media is the sheer volume of conversations. Salesforce said Radian6's Social Monitoring technology allows companies to capture 150 million sources of social media, in 17 languages, across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, other online communities and other sources.

After volume, of course, there's the need for cutting through the chatter to find useful information. The Social Insights component uses intelligent dashboards and sophisticated analytics to find relevant conversations and conduct analysis. Social Insights is designed to accommodate third-party tools from Klout, OpenAmplify and OpenCalais, as well as provide additional data about demographics, influence, geolocation, sentiment and topic categorization.

To engage with customers and potential customers, the Social Engagement Console also uses outside data, including Trending Topics from Twitter, Bit.ly stats about shared links and other information. The Social Workflow component helps to organize the massive traffic via analysis and rules, including the ability to create social-media campaigns based on customer interests.

And, to create Web sites for more extensive information and contact, Social Web sites provides drag-and-drop tools for developing, editing, and managing sites without bothering the IT people. The content management system enables the addition of social features, such as Twitter streams.

'Social Enterprises'

In recent years, Salesforce has been positioning itself as a leader in cloud-based, socially enhanced services. At the Dreamforce 2011 annual event in the summer, for instance, the company said that "companies are completely changing the way they collaborate, communicate and share information with customers and employees in the cloud -- transforming themselves into social enterprises."

This transformation, the company said, leverages social, mobile, and open cloud computing. The key components of transforming a company into a social enterprise, according to CEO Marc Benioff, are socially oriented customer profiles in order to follow what customers are looking for, a social network for employees, and a social network for customers and the dissemination of products.

In addition to the $300 million acquisition of Radian6 in May, Salesforce has been busy acquiring or announcing other social media assets. In September, for instance, it bought Assistly for $50 million, in order to allow corporate customers to quickly provision socially-based customer service as needed.

Salesforce said that Radian6, started in 2006, has a customer base of more than 2500 companies, including AAA, GE, GEICO, PepsiCo, Southwest Airlines, and others.

Fla. man heard yelling on video after being shot (AP)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 03:39 PM PST

By SUZETTE LABOY, Associated Press Suzette Laboy, Associated Press – Sat Dec 10, 6:39 pm ET

MIAMI – A cell phone video captured the sound of a confrontation between a South Florida man and his mother-in-law and the gunshots she is accused of firing at him, authorities said Saturday.

"I can't believe you did that! I can't believe you did that! What are you, crazy?" Salvatore Miglino, 39, of Boca Raton, is heard yelling in the video.

His estranged mother-in-law, 66-year-old Cheryl Hepner, was arrested Thursday. She was being held Saturday in jail without bond.

Broward County Sheriff's investigators said Hepner fired three shots at Miglino on Wednesday, striking him in his rib cage and shoulder. Miglino was treated and later released from a hospital.

Hepner is heard in a 911 call telling a different side of the story, telling the operator that Miglino "had me down on the floor, on the ground" and pulled the gun on her first outside her home in Tamarac.

"I tried to grab the gun and shoot," Hepner said.

Her attorney said Hepner was only protecting her grandson and daughter, who live with her but were not home at the time.

"I can't imagine that she would go out and purchase a gun and have some ulterior motive," attorney Michael Tenzer said.

Hepner, who was not injured, told the operator that the gun belonged to Miglino. Investigators said they had not yet determined who owned the gun.

The recording captured on Miglino's cell phone does not show the actual shooting. Only their conversation, followed by several gunshots, can be heard on the video.

Miglino pulled up to the house to pick up his son under a court order that authorizes him to take custody of the child every Wednesday night, according to a sheriff's office report. Hepner met him outside with the boy's pillow and bag and told Miglino that his father-in-law wanted to talk to him inside, the report said.

Miglino declined to go inside and asked for the boy's belongings. Hepner then pulled a handgun out from behind the pillow and fired three shots at Mignilio, he told investigators.

Miglino landed on top of her to stop her from shooting again, said sheriff's office spokeswoman Dani Moschella. The gun jammed, "so that may have been the reason she stopped shooting," Moschella said. The video, she added, "corroborates his story."

"I caught it on video on my cell phone because I knew something stupid was going to happen," Miglino is heard telling a 911 operator.

Tensions have been high between Miglino and his estranged wife for over a year. The two have been in better divorce proceedings, fighting over the boy's visitation schedule, records show.

"All he wants is quality time with his son," said Miglino's family law attorney Andrea Gundersen. The attorney dismissed accusations made by Hepner on the 911 call that Miglino was trying to kidnap his son and take him to New York.

Mignilio has a court order granting him exclusive time with his son during the week of Christmas, Gundersen said. Miglino attended a hearing Friday regarding his son and planned to be reunited with him, his attorney said.

Best iPhone apps for learning Mandarin Chinese (Appolicious)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 06:00 AM PST

Samsung says sells over 300 million mobile handsets in 2011 (Reuters)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 09:13 PM PST

– 55 mins ago

SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (005930.KS) said on Sunday its annual mobile handset sales this year had exceeded 300 million units for the first time in the company's history.

The world's second largest handset maker by volume said in a statement it had broken its sales record by the end of last month.

Handset sales in 2010 were about 280 million.

"We look forward to extending this success going into 2012," JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung's Mobile Communications Business, was quoted as saying.

Samsung said the company's flagship Galaxy S smartphone series -- Galaxy S and Galaxy S II -- contributed significantly to the results.

The GALAXY S II, launched in April, set a new sales record for Samsung, generating 10 million-unit sales.

(Reporting by Sung-won Shim, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Spotify Radio vs. Pandora: Hands-on showdown (Digital Trends)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 05:49 PM PST

Andrew Couts Andrew Couts – Fri Dec 9, 8:49 pm ET

spotify-pandora

Spotify announced early on Friday that it has revamped its Radio functionality, making it possible for non-paying customers to skip past as many songs as they wish, and add as many stations as they like. This move takes direct aim at Pandora, which allows its free users to skip only six songs per hour, with a total limit of 12 skips per day.

The new Spotify Radio is technically still in beta, with the fully finished product set to roll out in the next few days. But we're impatient, so we thought we'd take it for a test drive, and see how it stands up to Pandora's Music Genome Project-powered products.

Note: For this test, I've decided to use the Web version of Pandora, which is by far the most accessible option. Of course, Pandora also has a desktop app, and a mobile app, both of which provide the full functionality that its Web version provides. For now, Spotify Radio is only available on its desktop client, and does not yet work on its mobile app, which is only available to paying subscribers, anyway.

Creating stations

spotify-create-station-tom-pettySpotify

Once you download the newest version, which takes only a minute, you can launch the new beta version of Spotify. You'll find the Radio app under "Apps" in the left-hand menu. (Slightly below where it was on previous versions of the platform.) When you launch the Radio, Spotify will automatically create a number of stations for you, based upon your most-played artists. It also lists suggested stations based upon your favorite tracks, along with other popular stations, as well as an assortment of generic genre stations.

To create an entirely new station, just click the "Create new station" box, which appears at the top of the main window. You can type in either song name, or artist, to launch a new station. All your recent stations appear beneath the 'currently playing' window, which shows album cover, artist and song name.

create-station-pandoraPandora

Compared to the whiz-bang flashiness of Spotify, Pandora's user interface feels a bit antiquated. In terms of functionality, however, it works basically the same. A control bar appears at the top of the browser page, where you can type in artist, track or composer to create a new station. Also on the bar are the play button, thumbs up, thumbs down and skip button.

For those of you not familiar, both the thumbs up and the skip button allow you to jump to the next song. Though thumbs down has the added affect of further refining which songs Pandora chooses to play. Thumbs up, of course, does the same thing, but in a positive, rather than negative, way.

Below the control bar, you'll find your list of stations on the left, the currently-playing album art, song title, artist name and album name. Pandora now also includes a share button, which allows you to post the station or track on Facebook and/or Twitter, as well as a buy button for purchasing the album on iTunes or Amazon. Beneath that, Pandora provides song lyrics, artist bio, and a list of similar artists.

Winner: Tie

Both options have their pros and cons. While some might like the graphics-heavy Spotify, we found the straightforward list of our stations on Pandora easier to navigate, even if it's not as pretty. That said, Spotify offers more suggestions for stations you might want to create, which is great when you can't just think of something off the top of your head.

Song selection

This is a particularly difficult thing to test, without spending hundreds of hours meticulously recording each track that plays next, for each service, so we're just going to go with broad, likely inaccurate, estimates here.

From what we found, the songs chosen by Pandora were, in fact, much more what we wanted to listen to than what Spotify chose. That's not to say Spotify's selection was bad by any means. It just lacked a certain, let's say, polish, that the Pandora selections have.

spotify-song-selection-2

This is, of course, good news for Pandora, as the entire premise of the Music Genome Project was choosing songs you'll actually like, rather than just other songs in that genre. We don't know the exact algorithm Spotify uses to choose the lineup for each station, but it definitely felt more like it was simply selecting from a pot of "similar bands," rather than a finely tuned batch of tracks that share similar musical qualities.

Winner: Pandora

Like we said, we're basing this judgement more off of a subconscious inkling, a glimmer, a hunch, than hard, scientific fact. And even then, the differences are minimal. But if we had to choose one service on this factor alone, it would no doubt be Pandora.

Music discovery

Song selection and music discovery are almost the same thing — but not quite. By "music discovery" we mean finding new music, that you've never heard before, that you like. And again, if this were the only element of this, we'd again have to go with Pandora here, since the selection of songs was better overall. But because Spotify has both a superior catalog, with 15 million songs, and because when you find a band or album you like through Spotify Radio, you can simply search for it, pull it up, and listen to it, without having buy anything, Spotify gains a ever-so-slight edge in this category.

Winner: Spotify

Skipping and station limits

Obviously, Spotify has the edge here, since 12 skips in a day is simply not enough. Same goes for its option of unlimited stations, but that's not nearly as big of a deal, since 100 stations (Pandora's maximum) is likely perfectly adequate for most users. We will say, however, that since Pandora offers a better selection of music in the first place, we found there to be less of a desire to skip songs on Pandora than on Spotify. Still, if you listen to Pandora all day long, you're going to want to skip more than 12 times. And we have long felt restricted by this limit. Long story short: Pandora needs to do away with the skip limit, or it's going to lose users (and, therefore; ad dollars) to Spotify.

Winner: Spotify

spotify mobileMobile

This one is quick and easy: Pandora is available, for free, on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and WebOS handsets. Spotify users must pay to use the mobile apps, and even then, Spotify Radio isn't yet an option. We're sure this will change — the Spotify Radio part, not the paying part. But for now, Pandora has this category in the bag.

Winner: Pandora

Conclusion

As you can see, this showdown is more of a tossup than anything. Which service is better depends on how you like to listen to music. If you want to just set it on shuffle, and not think about it for the rest of the day, Pandora is the better option. If you want to be more interactive, Spotify is better, as it always has been. And, of course, you can always just use both.

That said, the updates to Spotify Radio bode ill for Pandora. Spotify is quickly evolving so that it dominates its competition on all fronts. And because of that, Pandora is already starting to feel a bit behind-the-times. If Pandora wants to remain a major player, it's going to have to start ushering in more features. For now, however, if you're simply looking to throw on some tune in the car or as background music at a dinner party, Pandora is the way to go.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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WebOS Open-Sourced; New HP Tablets May Be in the Works (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 07:00 AM PST

Jared Spurbeck Jared Spurbeck – Sat Dec 10, 10:00 am ET
Contribute content like this. Start here.

No one can blame you if you haven't heard of WebOS. But just like how iOS powers the iPad and Android powers the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire, WebOS is what's under the hood of the HP TouchPad -- the iPad-size tablet that HP sold off in a $99 fire sale not too long ago.

The fact most of Android is open-source is one of the big things that's made it so popular, with app developers and hardware manufacturers. Because the programming code is out there on the Internet, for anyone to download and do what they want with it, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble were able to make their e-reader tablets without asking Google's permission. Meanwhile, hobbyists like the ones behind CyanogenMod have created "custom ROMs" of Android, which are now being used by projects and startups like Republic Wireless.

Now, HP has announced it's making its WebOS code open-source. Will the open-sourcing of WebOS revitalize HP's failing project? More importantly, what does it mean for you?

If you're an electronics shopper

If you missed the first run of $99 TouchPads, a new batch will be available on Sunday starting at 4 p.m. PST, according to CNET. The report is based on an internal HP email that's been circulated across the Internet, announcing that the tablets will be available for HP employees to purchase first before being sold to the wider market in HP's eBay store. These aren't completely new tablets -- they're refurbished -- but it's another chance to score one.

HP CEO Meg Whitman told Joshua Topolsky of The Verge that new HP tablets might be in the cards, suggesting that HP hasn't completely given up on them. It's fired its hardware department, though, which means making new tablets might be a challenge. But if other companies take the open-source WebOS code and make new, compatible tablets, the OS might stay alive into the future, allowing more people to write apps for it.

If you're a developer

As long as you know Javascript, you can pick up writing apps for WebOS with the tutorials and SDK on developer.palm.com. And once the open-sourcing of WebOS is complete, you'll be able to download the code and create your own custom ROMs, allowing you to install it on other phones for testing and playing with.

If you're a hardware manufacturer

At least a few of the major manufacturers are probably eyeing WebOS now, especially with the patent problems that Android's been facing. So far, OSes like WebOS and Windows Phone 7 have failed to gain traction, but it's possible that this could change.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

HP Gives webOS Platform To Open-Source Community (NewsFactor)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 04:47 PM PST

Mark Long, newsfactor.com Mark Long, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 9, 7:47 pm ET

Hewlett-Packard said Friday that the computing hardware giant has decided to contribute its webOS mobile software platform to the open-source community. HP obtained the rights to webOS when the company acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in April 2010.

Hewlett-Packard initially had high hopes for webOS as an operating system that it could run side-by-side on the company's next-generation Windows desktop PCs and laptops. Following the departure of CEO Leo Apotheker and the demise of HP's webOS-based media tablet, however, the company has decided that the best way to enable webOS to evolve is to fully engage the resources of the open-source community.

"WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable," said HP CEO Meg Whitman on Friday. "By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open-source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices."

This is an exit strategy for HP and not a bad one at that, noted Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC. "It throws a bone to the small but passionate community that appears to be interested in evolving webOS," Hilwa said Friday.

An Unwinnable Battle

Earlier this year, industry observers had expected HP to recoup part of its $1.2 billion investment in Palm by selling the webOS platform to another company. Though some analysts viewed Amazon as a potential webOS buyer, the online retail giant adopted a customized version of Android instead to enable its Kindle Fire tablet customers to access selected apps from Google's Android Market.

Hilwa believes that HP ultimately realized that the company could not use webOS to build a top-tier application and content ecosystem that could compete with well entrenched mobile rivals such as Apple and Google.

"For mobile devices, iOS and Android have an early lead, with Microsoft and RIM on their heels," Hilwa said. "WebOS has found it difficult to breakthrough as the market matures and coalesces -- drawing clearer battles for developer mindshare down the road."

HP said Friday that the open-source community will obtain access to the underlying code for webOS under an open-source license. The goal is to enable developers, partners, and other hardware manufacturers to commercially release ongoing webOS enhancements as well as new platform versions.

A Question Of Commitment

HP said that its own engineers will continue to be active in the development and support of webOS as the platform evolves. The company also plans to contribute the application framework for webOS known as ENYO to the open-source community.

"There are many mobile Linux derivatives that have small communities of developers interested in keeping them alive, and webOS may generate more excitement than others due to its usability advantages," Hilwa said.

Hilwa believes, however, that it is unlikely webOS will ever become a threat to the top mobile platforms available in the marketplace today.

"It is unlikely that any of these will achieve critical mass without deep-pocketed corporate sponsors with ecosystem building skills," Hilwa said.

As for just who will benefit from HP's generosity will depend on the nature of the open-source license under which webOS is released, Hilwa said.

"A good question for HP would be to what degree they will be using webOS internally for printers or in other embedded settings," Hilwa said. "The more they use it, the more they are likely to invest in evolving the code."

IBM Buys Cloud-Based Analytics Vendor DemandTec for $440M (NewsFactor)

Posted: 09 Dec 2011 04:08 PM PST

Jennifer LeClaire, newsfactor.com Jennifer Leclaire, newsfactor.com – Fri Dec 9, 7:08 pm ET

As Cisco moves to market with CloudVerse, IBM is making its own cloud move with the acquisition of DemandTec. Big Blue snapped up the cloud-based analytics company for $440 million, or $13.32 a share. It's all about Big Data.

IBM expects DemandTec to extend its Smarter Commerce initiative by adding cloud-based price, promotion and other merchandising and marketing analytics that help companies better define the best price points and product mix based on customer buying trends. Again, it's all about Big Data.

"Bringing science to the art of pricing and promotion is a big part of this strategy," said Craig Hayman, general manager of Industry Solutions at IBM, "and the combination of DemandTec and IBM will help marketing and sales executives in retail and other industries drive more revenue and increase profitability."

Predictive Pricing Models

IBM estimates the market opportunity for Smarter Commerce at $20 billion in software alone. Big Blue has watched organizations struggle to meet the demands of rapidly shifting customer buying patterns in a mobile and social networking era. From setting and executing the right pricing strategy to the ability to automatically adjust pricing based on online and offline data and beyond, being nimble is a key competitive advantage IBM wants to help deliver.

Specifically, by extending these capabilities to the cloud, IBM is working to give organizations real-time access to consumer information. DemandTec's cloud-based analytics software lets organizations examine customer buying scenarios, both online and in-store. This empowers merchandising executives to spot trends and shopper insights to make better price, promotion, and assortment decisions that increase revenue and profitability.

Here are some examples: A retailer could, using this software, predict how consumers will respond to a price change before flipping the switch. Or, a brand manager can adjust the marketing mix for a product to better drive sales in the grocery channel. A merchant and supplier can work together to understand how one shopper segment differs from another to craft the best merchandising plan.

Analytics Wins

"IBM is all in on analytics. The Watson division is basically a massive analytics engine. IBM has recognized in the age of Big Data that companies that can turn that data into gold will be king," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group. "Analytics is what turns Big Data into gold. So expect to see IBM do a lot more in terms of analytics.

"This is their primary investment effort for the upcoming decade. If it fills a hole and it has to do with analytics, IBM will probably buy it or build it."

DemandTec also expands IBM's Software-as-a Service strategy by adding additional, subscription-based offerings to IBM's SaaS solutions portfolio. DemandTec also brings a portfolio of 31 patents in the areas of pricing, response analysis, and promotion analysis to the IBM table.

The company has about 450 customers in retail, consumer products and other industries. Retail industry segments served include grocery, drug, convenience, consumer electronics, office supplies, apparel, department stores, and quick-serve restaurants. Manufacturer segments include fast-moving consumer goods categories such as food, beverage, and health and beauty.
at 10:18 PM

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