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INTEREST: iPad: Gartner prognosis through 2015
by billing 18 Apr '11

18 Apr '11

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/159154/2011/04/tablet_forecast.html#lsrc.mo… Gartner: Apple will dominate tablet market through 2015 Posted on Apr 11, 2011 2:20 pm by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld Editor’s Note: This story is excerpted from Computerworld. For more Mac coverage, visitComputerworld’s Macintosh Knowledge Center. Apple’s iOS will dominate the tablet market through the middle of the decade, Gartner analysts said Monday. But as already is the case in the smartphone market, Apple will face its most heated competition from Google’s Android. iOS will retain a market majority through 2014, then slip under the 50 percent bar the following year, said Gartner analysts Carolina Milanesi and Roberta Cozza, who cited Apple’s reinvention of the tablet as key to the company’s success. In 2011, Gartner is forecasting iPad sales of 48 million, compared to 13.9 million tablets running Google’s Android, giving Apple’s iOS a 68.7 percent share of the tablet market. In 2012, however, Apple’s share will slip to 63.5 percent—even though it will sell over 68 million iPads—as sales of Android-based tablets surge to 26 million to account for nearly a quarter of all devices. By 2014, Apple’s share will have dropped to 51.8 percent on sales of 115 million tablets, while Android sales will have climbed to 76 million, representing 34.2 percent of the market. According to Gartner’s forecast, iOS will fall under the 50 percent mark for the first time in early 2015, even as it sells a record 138 million iPads throughout that year. Apple’s dominance would have been threatened even earlier but for Google’s decision to not open Android 3.0—dubbed “Honeycomb”—to third parties, as it has with earlier versions of the operating system. Google’s change was a reaction to criticism over the Android smartphone market’s fragmentation—and that the tablet market would suffer from the same—said Gartner’s analysts. But the move will probably mean that prices won’t drop as fast as they otherwise would—tablet makers won’t be able to decide what’s in and what’s not in their implementations of Honeycomb—and that Android may find a ceiling on market share. “The new licensing model Google has introduced with Honeycomb enables Google to drive more control, allowing only optimal tablet implementations that don’t compromise quality of experience,” said Gartner’s Cozza in a statement. “This might mean that prices will drop at a slower pace than what we have seen in the smartphone market.” Gartner’s take on rivals to iOS and Android was bleak: By 2015, RIM’s QNX—the operating system destined for the not-yet-released PlayBook—will have just 10 percent of the tablet market, while others, like Hewlett Packard’s WebOS and Nokia’s MeeGo, will still be in the single digits. Even as its market share slips, Apple’s iOS and iPad will remain the benchmarks to beat, said the Gartner analysts. “Many [tablet vendors] are making the same mistake that was made in the first response wave to the iPhone, as they are prioritizing hardware features over applications, services and overall user experience,” said Milanesi. “Tablets will be much more dependent on the latter than smartphones have been, and the sooner vendors realize that, the better chance they have to compete head-to-head with Apple.” Apple’s iOS will dominate the tablet market through 2015 even as rivals catch up.

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INTEREST: iPad: Gartner prognosis through 2015
by billing 18 Apr '11

18 Apr '11

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/159154/gartner_apple_will_dominate_tablet_m… Gartner: Apple will dominate tablet market through 2015 Posted on Apr 11, 2011 2:20 pm by Gregg Keizer, Computerworld Editor’s Note: This story is excerpted from Computerworld. For more Mac coverage, visitComputerworld’s Macintosh Knowledge Center. Apple’s iOS will dominate the tablet market through the middle of the decade, Gartner analysts said Monday. But as already is the case in the smartphone market, Apple will face its most heated competition from Google’s Android. iOS will retain a market majority through 2014, then slip under the 50 percent bar the following year, said Gartner analysts Carolina Milanesi and Roberta Cozza, who cited Apple’s reinvention of the tablet as key to the company’s success. In 2011, Gartner is forecasting iPad sales of 48 million, compared to 13.9 million tablets running Google’s Android, giving Apple’s iOS a 68.7 percent share of the tablet market. In 2012, however, Apple’s share will slip to 63.5 percent—even though it will sell over 68 million iPads—as sales of Android-based tablets surge to 26 million to account for nearly a quarter of all devices. By 2014, Apple’s share will have dropped to 51.8 percent on sales of 115 million tablets, while Android sales will have climbed to 76 million, representing 34.2 percent of the market. According to Gartner’s forecast, iOS will fall under the 50 percent mark for the first time in early 2015, even as it sells a record 138 million iPads throughout that year. Apple’s dominance would have been threatened even earlier but for Google’s decision to not open Android 3.0—dubbed “Honeycomb”—to third parties, as it has with earlier versions of the operating system. Google’s change was a reaction to criticism over the Android smartphone market’s fragmentation—and that the tablet market would suffer from the same—said Gartner’s analysts. But the move will probably mean that prices won’t drop as fast as they otherwise would—tablet makers won’t be able to decide what’s in and what’s not in their implementations of Honeycomb—and that Android may find a ceiling on market share. “The new licensing model Google has introduced with Honeycomb enables Google to drive more control, allowing only optimal tablet implementations that don’t compromise quality of experience,” said Gartner’s Cozza in a statement. “This might mean that prices will drop at a slower pace than what we have seen in the smartphone market.” Gartner’s take on rivals to iOS and Android was bleak: By 2015, RIM’s QNX—the operating system destined for the not-yet-released PlayBook—will have just 10 percent of the tablet market, while others, like Hewlett Packard’s WebOS and Nokia’s MeeGo, will still be in the single digits. Even as its market share slips, Apple’s iOS and iPad will remain the benchmarks to beat, said the Gartner analysts. “Many [tablet vendors] are making the same mistake that was made in the first response wave to the iPhone, as they are prioritizing hardware features over applications, services and overall user experience,” said Milanesi. “Tablets will be much more dependent on the latter than smartphones have been, and the sooner vendors realize that, the better chance they have to compete head-to-head with Apple.” Apple’s iOS will dominate the tablet market through 2015 even as rivals catch up.

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INTEREST: Cisco Systems: disappointing results lead to exiting parts of consumer businesses
by billing 13 Apr '11

13 Apr '11

...from: http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Cisco-Systems-exiting-parts-capress-375506… Cisco Systems exiting parts of consumer businesses, plans to stop making Flip camcorders Email Print Topics:Earnings FILE - In this Nov. 4, 2009 file photo, a Cisco Systems' Flip Video camera is displayed at Best Buy in Mountain View, Calif. Cisco Systems Inc. is exiting parts of its consumer businesses, with plans to shut its Flip video camera business Tuesday, April 12, 2011.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) Peter Svensson, The Associated Press, On Tuesday April 12, 2011, 12:19 pm By Peter Svensson, The Associated Press NEW YORK, N.Y. - Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, on Tuesday said it is killing its Flip Video camcorder business as part of a reversal of years of efforts at diversifying into consumer products. The about-face comes after several quarters of disappointing results and challenges in its core businesses. Analysts say the company has been trying to do too many different things. A week ago, CEO John Chambers acknowledged the criticism, sending employees a memo vowing to take "bold steps" to narrow the company's focus. The San Jose, California, company said Tuesday that it expects its consumer business shakeup will result in the loss of 550 jobs, or less than 1 per cent of its work force of about 73,000. It also expects to take restructuring charges of no more than $300 million spread out over the current quarter, which ends April 25, and the following one. Cisco bought Pure Digital Technologies Inc., the maker of the Flip Video camcorder, for $590 million in 2009, just two years after the San Francisco-based company made its first camera. The Flip Video quickly became a top seller because it was easy to use. A signature feature, since copied by many other manufacturers, was a USB connector that flipped out of the case, letting the user connect the camera directly to a computer. The camera even contained video-editing software that fired up on the computer. Last year, the Flip Video was still the top-selling video camera in the U.S., with 26 per cent of the market, according to IDC analyst Chris Chute. But that only amounted to 2.5 million units sold. Dedicated video cameras are small potatoes compared to digital still cameras and smart phones, both of which now shoot video. That could be the reason Cisco appears to see no point in selling the business — the announcement Tuesday said Flip will be closed down. It will continue to support the sharing of Flip videos online. A Cisco spokesman did not respond to a question about why the unit would be shut down. Top competitors in the pocket camcorder field, which could benefit from Flip Video's demise, are Eastman Kodak Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. The company said it will realign its remaining consumer business to support four of its five key priorities — routers and switches; corporate communications and collaboration equipment; data-centre products and video. That means it's retrenching on another consumer video business — home videoconferencing. In November, Cisco started selling the umi, a $599 box that turns a high-definition TV into a big videophone. But signs soon emerged that the umi wasn't doing well. It cut the price of the unit in March, along with the monthly service fee, which went from $24.95 per month to $99 per year. On Tuesday, Cisco said it will fold umi into its corporate videoconferencing business and stop selling the box through retailers. Instead, it will sell it through corporate channels and Internet service providers. Cisco's Home Networking business, which makes Wi-Fi routers and has the 2003 acquisition of Linksys at its core, will be "refocused for greater profitability," but Cisco will keep selling the routers in stores. Cisco shares fell 6 cents to $17.41 in midday trading. The shares are close to their 52-week low of $16.97, hit a month ago. Analyst Simon Leopold at Morgan Keegan said the pullback on the consumer side is a good thing for investors, but not enough to set off a stock rally. Consumer products have been a drag on Cisco's results because they carry profit margins that are far lower than the big-ticket capital equipment the company sells to corporations and governments, Leopold said. But the drag has been minor, because consumer products are still only a small part of Cisco's overall business. More importantly, Leopold said, investors have been selling Cisco stock because it's been losing market share in corporate products. He believes the selling is overdone because the losses are mainly in fringe products rather than bread-and-butter routers and switches.

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INTEREST: Google, Nortel, and Patent Protection
by billing 04 Apr '11

04 Apr '11

...from: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/patents-and-innovation.html Patents and innovation 4/04/2011 07:45:00 AM The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation. Some of these lawsuits have been filed by people or companies that have never actually created anything; others are motivated by a desire to block competing products or profit from the success of a rival’s new technology. The patent system should reward those who create the most useful innovations for society, not those who stake bogus claims or file dubious lawsuits. It's for these reasons that Google has long argued in favor of real patent reform, which we believe will benefit users and the U.S. economy as a whole. But as things stand today, one of a company’s best defenses against this kind of litigation is (ironically) to have a formidable patent portfolio, as this helps maintain your freedom to develop new products and services. Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories. So after a lot of thought, we’ve decided to bid for Nortel’s patent portfolio in the company’s bankruptcy auction. Today, Nortel selected our bid as the “stalking-horse bid," which is the starting point against which others will bid prior to the auction. If successful, we hope this portfolio will not only create a disincentive for others to sue Google, but also help us, our partners and the open source community—which is integrally involved in projects like Android and Chrome—continue to innovate. In the absence of meaningful reform, we believe it's the best long-term solution for Google, our users and our partners. Posted by Kent Walker, Senior Vice President & General Counsel

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INTEREST: SoftBank of Japan to provide connections....
by billing 30 Mar '11

30 Mar '11

...from: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/30/softbank-to-offer-free-phones-to-earthqu… Softbank to offer free phones to earthquake orphans, free replacement for lost iPhones By Richard Lai posted Mar 30th 2011 at 9:14AM Following the catastrophic earthquakes and tsunami in Japan, surviving victims from the affected region are going to face a tough time over the coming months, if not years. Many of those who are more fortunate have been actively contributing in one way or another, regardless of distance, to help put Japan on its road to recovery. Back in the country, one such generous person is non other than Softbankfounder and CEO Masayoshi Son, who's recently visited Tamura, one of the cities most affected by theFukushima nuclear disaster. During that trip, Son announced that Softbank will cover a year's worth of living costs (commute and food) and provide job positions for the 1,200 people to be relocated to Takeo in Saga, the prefecture where Son originated. Additionally, Son is using Softbank's "Let's Do It" campaign site -- a tracker for his "Let's Do It" tasks posted on Twitter, each accompanied by a completion status indicator -- to crowdsource requests for supporting earthquake victims. So far, these requests are mainly about ways to increase efficiency for donation efforts (like publishing a live list of item shortages for each shelter, and setting up new mobile networks at the shelters), but there were two that caught our attention. Last week, one of Son's followers suggested that Softbank should provide orphaned children free phone credit for a limited time, so that they could contact their friends and other family members. Son then retweeted this idea and announced that all earthquake orphans will receive free phones, along with call costs waived until they reach the age of 18. Another gadget-related initiative came in earlier today with Son promising free replacement for all lost or damaged iPhones due to the earthquake, with details to follow later. Obviously, anyone providing aid to Japan in any way, shape, or form deserves just as much credit, but Softbank's extra mileage and cunning use of social networking is certainly praiseworthy in its own right. Here's hoping that Son's actions will inspire others for even greater causes.

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INTEREST: Google flips Android kill switch, destroys a batch of malicious apps
by billing 06 Mar '11

06 Mar '11

...from: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/06/google-flips-android-kill-switch-destroy… Google flips Android kill switch, destroys a batch of malicious apps By Sean Hollister posted Mar 6th 2011 1:19PM When 21 rogue apps started siphoning off identifying information from Android phones and installing security holes, Google yanked the lot from Android Market, and called the authorities to boot. But what of the 50,000 copies already downloaded by unwitting users? That's what Google's dealing with this week, by utilizing Android's remote kill switch to delete them over the air. But that's not all, because this time the company isn't just removing offending packages, but also installing new code. The "Android Market Security Tool March 2011" will be remotely added to affected handsets to undo the exploit and keep it from sending your data out, as well as make you wonder just how much remote control Google has over our phones. Yes, we welcome our new Search Engine overlords and all that, so long as they've got our best interests at heart, but there's a certain irony in Google removing a backdoor exploit by using a backdoor of its own -- even one that (in this case) will email you to report what it's done. ...and the full blog entry from: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/03/update-on-android-market-security.… An Update on Android Market Security Saturday, March 5, 2011 | 10:08 PM On Tuesday evening, the Android team was made aware of a number of malicious applications published to Android Market. Within minutes of becoming aware, we identified and removed the malicious applications. The applications took advantage of known vulnerabilities which don’t affect Android versions 2.2.2 or higher. For affected devices, we believe that the only information the attacker(s) were able to gather was device-specific (IMEI/IMSI, unique codes which are used to identify mobile devices, and the version of Android running on your device). But given the nature of the exploits, the attacker(s) could access other data, which is why we’ve taken a number of steps to protect those who downloaded a malicious application: We removed the malicious applications from Android Market, suspended the associated developer accounts, and contacted law enforcement about the attack. We are remotely removing the malicious applications from affected devices. Thisremote application removal feature is one of many security controls the Android team can use to help protect users from malicious applications. We are pushing an Android Market security update to all affected devices that undoes the exploits to prevent the attacker(s) from accessing any more information from affected devices. If your device has been affected, you will receive an email from android-market-support(a)google.com over the next 72 hours. You will also receive a notification on your device that “Android Market Security Tool March 2011” has been installed. You may also receive notification(s) on your device that an application has been removed. You are not required to take any action from there; the update will automatically undo the exploit. Within 24 hours of the exploit being undone, you will receive a second email. We are adding a number of measures to help prevent additional malicious applications using similar exploits from being distributed through Android Market and are working with our partners to provide the fix for the underlying security issues. For more details, please visit the Android Market Help Center. We always encourage you to check the list of permissions when installing an application from Android Market. Security is a priority for the Android team, and we’re committed to building new safeguards to help prevent these kinds of attacks from happening in the future. Posted by Rich Cannings, Android Security Lead

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FYI: just purchased an iPad? Maybe get price protection...
by billing 04 Mar '11

04 Mar '11

Turns out that, even though the iPad 2 is not shipping in Canada until March 25, the prices of the current iPads have already dropped..... AND Apple is giving price protection to some who have recently purchased one of the first generation iPads. To find out if you qualify, quickly call Apple Sales Support at 1-800-676-2775 and talk with a representative. (there's no voice menu option for "Give me a rebate" .... ::-) If you haven't yet purchased an iPad but have been thinking about it, now is the time to get this new, reduced pricing on the current remaining stock of iPads...... prices for a "new" iPad now start at $419 for the 16 GB, WiFi only model. If you don't mind a "previously owned" option, Apple also has limited stock on "refurbished" iPads. Refubs of the WiFi-only models begin at $369 for the 16 GB model. Apple also stands by their refurbished products with the following: We test and certify all Apple refurbished products and include a 1-year warranty. All refurbished iPad models also include a brand new battery and outer shell. Refurbed iPads can be found in the Canadian Apple store at: http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/specialdeals/ipad?mco=OTY2ODY4NQ

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INTEREST: Tweeting without the Internet.....
by billing 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

...well, of limited use if you're not tweeting to the hashtag #egypt, but, even so..... ...from: http://gizmodo.com/5748203/those-with-limited-internet-access-can-call-thes… Those Without Internet Access Can Call These Numbers to Tweet #Egypt News Google, Twitter, and voice-messaging company SpeakNow have put their brightest minds together to provide a way for people with limited or no Internet access to tweet about the events occurring in Egypt: @speak2tweet. Here's how it works: [A]nyone can tweet by simply leaving a voicemail on one of these international phone numbers (+16504194196 or +390662207294 or +97316199855) and the service will instantly tweet the message using the hashtag #egypt. No Internet connection is required. People can listen to the messages by dialing the same phone numbers or going totwitter.com/speak2tweet. Not even a Twitter account is required to tweet using this service. All you or someone who wants to share news needs to do is pick up a phone, dial the number, and get the words out. [Speak to Tweet via Google]

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FYI: Canadian Government seeking your input...
by billing 24 Jan '11

24 Jan '11

...regarding amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act until the end of January 2011. Dr. Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, has written about some of the issues surrounding the proposed changes to existing copyright law in Canada. He also did a presentation before the Bill C-32 legislative committee on December 1, 2010. His presentation can be viewed at: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5493/125/ ...and you can read his elaborations of his views on Bill C-32 at: http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5577/125/ - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 ...from: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4850539&Lan… OR http://preview.tinyurl.com/4tjrsqb Legislative Committee on Bill C-32 HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 Comité législatif chargé du projet de loi C-32 For immediate release NEWS RELEASE STUDY OF BILL C-32, AN ACT TO AMEND THE COPYRIGHT ACT Ottawa, December 06, 2010 - On Friday, November 5, 2010, the House of Commons adopted a motion that Bill C-32, An Act to amend the Copyright Act, be read a second time and referred to a legislative committee. The Legislative Committee on Bill C-32 (CC32) started its study of the bill on November 23, 2010. Bill C-32 adds new rights and exceptions to the Copyright Act. As noted in the bill’s summary, its objectives are as follows: update the rights and protections of copyright owners to better address the challenges and opportunities of the Internet, so as to be in line with international standards; clarify Internet service providers’ liability and make the enabling of online copyright infringement itself an infringement of copyright; permit businesses, educators and libraries to make greater use of copyright material in digital form; allow educators and students to make greater use of copyright material; permit certain uses of copyright material by consumers; give photographers the same rights as other creators; ensure that the Copyright Act remains technologically neutral; and mandate a review of the Copyright Act by Parliament every five years. The Committee believes that it is important to hear from Canadians on this topic. The Committee will be meeting with various stakeholders affected by copyright reform, including authors, artists, musicians, record labels, book publishers, collective societies, libraries, museums, school associations, software developers, retailers and consumers. The Committee will also be accepting briefs on this topic from groups and individuals who will not have the opportunity to appear before the Committee. The Committee welcomes briefs on the objectives and subject matter of Bill C-32. If a brief proposes amendments to clauses in the bill, draft alternative language should be included if possible. In order for briefs on Bill C-32 to be considered by the Committee in a timely fashion, the document should be submitted to the Committee’s mailbox at CC32(a)parl.gc.ca by the end of January, 2011. A brief which is longer than 5 pages should be accompanied by a 1 page executive summary and in any event should not exceed 10 pages in length. The Legislative Committee on Bill C-32 (CC32) is composed of 12 parliamentarians representing four political parties. It is chaired by Gordon Brown, M.P. for Leeds-Grenville (Ontario). - 30 - For more information, please contact: Michelle Tittley, Clerk of the Legislative Committee on Bill C-32 Tel: 613-947-1971 E-mail: CC32(a)parl.gc.ca

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FYI: Apple Support profile for you devices
by billing 10 Jan '11

10 Jan '11

...from: https://supportprofile.apple.com/ http://www.macworld.com/article/156866/2011/01/apple_support_profile.html?l… Apple launches Support Profile site Posted on Jan 5, 2011 10:30 am by Jeff Porten, Macworld.com Getting technical support for your Apple products has become a bit easier with the introduction of the new Apple Support Profile Website. This site provides one-stop shopping for you to check the registration and warranty status of all of your Apple products. If you have a repair or support issue in progress, you can review Apple’s records about the issue right from your Web browser. Log into the site using your Apple ID (the same username and password you use in the iTunes stores), and Apple will display all of the computers they already know about. Oddly, although I’ve been using the same Apple ID for years and I’ve owned fifteen Macs (no, really), my profile page only displayed my old PowerBook G4 and an anonymous serial number next to an Apple logo. If your profile is similarly lacking, below these entries you’ll find a link to manually register more equipment. The site can auto-detect the serial number of the Mac you’re using to reach the site, although it can’t do the same for iOS devices. (You can find your iPod touch or iPhone’s serial number in Settings > General > About. There are similar entries in the Settings menu of most other iPods.) Apple also has an option called VoicePass for US and Canadian customers, which promises to match your profile to your phone numbers so they’ll have your computer information at their fingertips when you call from that number. Presumably they could have done this without asking permission, but it’s a nice touch allowing you to update which numbers they keep for you. American customers also have the option of receiving text messages with status updates. Even if you’re not currently troubleshooting a Mac or iOS device, this is information that is useful to have in one place, both for you and for Apple, when it comes time to call the Support line.

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Apple Education Seminars Invitation - Tech Series: iPad and iPhone Deployment
by Doug Hamilton 23 Nov '10

23 Nov '10

Tech Series: iPad and iPhone Deployment Monday, December 6 2010 10:00AM to 2:00PMAdd to iCal You've been invited to an event Join Apple for free seminar to introduce IT leaders to the capabilities of Apple mobile technology in education. Discover how to integrate with standards-based networks, build collaboration services in an Active Directory-integrated environment, and learn best practices for deploying iPads, iPhones and iPods on your campus. Please use the address in this e-mail to register for the event. Holiday Inn - Winnipeg South 1330 Pembina Highway Conference Theatre Room Winnipeg, MB R3T 2B4 Get Directions Copyright © 2010 Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014.

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INTEREST: the game of "telephone"s... Android and iPhone
by billing 18 Nov '10

18 Nov '10

Yesterday, Steve Wozniak (one of the co-founders of Apple Inc.), when asked about comparing the features and futures of Android cell phones and Apple's iPhone was widely quoted as saying to a reporter from the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf (in an article filed under "Operating system Google wins race for smartphones"): http://gizmodo.com/5693169/steve-wozniak-androids-more-features-will-beat-i… ... Android phones, with their "more features," will do better. What he actually says is: http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/18/exclusive-woz-misquoted-almost-every-app… - "I saw a lot of headlines all over that are not something that I say." - "Almost every app I have is better on the iPhone." - "If it concerns quality, the iPhone is leading." - "I pointed out one thing that [Android] does that I would like to have on my iPhone...." - ...Android would become more popular "based on what I've read" - "Android will be probably a lot like Windows and we got a lot of junk from Windows. At least the iPhone is good." - "...but [Android] can get greater marketshare and still be crappy." This article also publishes part of the audio of their conversation with Mr. Wozniak for your listening pleasure. The original De Telegraaf article can be seen at: http://www.telegraaf.nl/digitaal/8250271/__Besturingssysteem_Google_wint_ra…

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FYI: roadmap for JAVA on OS X
by billing 12 Nov '10

12 Nov '10

...from: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/11/12openjdk.html http://blogs.oracle.com/henrik/2010/11/oracle_and_apple_announce_openjdk_pr… Oracle and Apple Announce OpenJDK Project for Mac OS X REDWOOD SHORES and CUPERTINO, California—November 12, 2010—Oracle and Apple® today announced the OpenJDK project for Mac OS® X. Apple will contribute most of the key components, tools and technology required for a Java SE 7 implementation on Mac OS X, including a 32-bit and 64-bit HotSpot-based Java virtual machine, class libraries, a networking stack and the foundation for a new graphical client. OpenJDK will make Apple’s Java technology available to open source developers so they can access and contribute to the effort. “We are excited to welcome Apple as a significant contributor in the growing OpenJDK community,” said Hasan Rizvi, Oracle’s senior vice president of Development. “The availability of Java on Mac OS X plays a key role in the cross-platform promise of the Java platform. The Java developer community can rest assured that the leading edge Java environment will continue to be available on Mac OS X in the future. Combined with last month’s announcement of IBM joining the OpenJDK, the project now has the backing of three of the biggest names in software.” “We’re delighted to be working with Oracle to insure that there continues to be a great version of Java on the Mac,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “The best way for our users to always have the most up to date and secure version of Java will be to get it directly from Oracle.” Apple also confirmed that Java SE 6 will continue to be available from Apple for Mac OS X Snow Leopard® and the upcoming release of Mac OS X Lion. Java SE 7 and future versions of Java for Mac OS X will be available from Oracle. Java is a general purpose software development platform that is specifically designed to be open and enable application developers to “write once, run anywhere.” The Java platform is most widely used in business software, web and mobile applications. For more information on Java, visit: Java Platform, Standard Edition OpenJDK JDK 7 Feature Roadmap Oracle is the world’s most complete, open and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at www.oracle.com. Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. Press Contacts: Letty Ledbetter Oracle letty.ledbetter(a)oracle.com (650) 506-8071 Bill Evans Apple bevans(a)apple.com (408) 974-0610 NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple's Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh and Snow Leopard are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. = - = - = - = - = Oracle and Apple Announce OpenJDK Project for OSX By Henrik Ståhl on November 12, 2010 12:40 PM Oracle and Apple just issued the following press release: REDWOOD SHORES and CUPERTINO, California--November 12, 2010--Oracle and Apple® today announced the OpenJDK project for Mac OS® X. Apple will contribute most of the key components, tools and technology required for a Java SE 7 implementation on Mac OS X, including a 32-bit and 64-bit HotSpot-based Java virtual machine, class libraries, a networking stack and the foundation for a new graphical client. OpenJDK will make Apple's Java technology available to open source developers so they can access and contribute to the effort. "We are excited to welcome Apple as a significant contributor in the growing OpenJDK community," said Hasan Rizvi, Oracle's senior vice president of Development. "The availability of Java on Mac OS X plays a key role in the cross-platform promise of the Java platform. The Java developer community can rest assured that the leading edge Java environment will continue to be available on Mac OS X in the future. Combined with last month's announcement of IBM joining the OpenJDK, the project now has the backing of three of the biggest names in software." "We're delighted to be working with Oracle to insure that there continues to be a great version of Java on the Mac," said Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "The best way for our users to always have the most up to date and secure version of Java will be to get it directly from Oracle." Apple also confirmed that Java SE 6 will continue to be available from Apple for Mac OS X Snow Leopard® and the upcoming release of Mac OS X Lion. Java SE 7 and future versions of Java for Mac OS X will be available from Oracle. ... This announcement is the result of a discussion between Oracle and Apple that has been going on for some time. I understand that the uncertainty since Apple's widely circulated "deprecation" of Java has been frustrating, but due to the nature of these things we have neither wanted to or been able to communicate before. That is as it is, I'm afraid. For the sake of all Java developers out there, I am very happy that the future of Java on OSX is now assured. I'm sure you have tons of questions, so let me start with a few: Q: When will JDK 7 be available for OSX? A: My expectation is that we will release on current supported platforms first, and that OSX support will follow later. The JDK 7 schedule can not easily accomodate large changes like the addition of a new platform. Q: How much later? What about subsequent releases, will they be simultaneuous with other platforms? A: Too early to say, sorry. Q: I love Java and OSX! How can I be part of this? A: Join OpenJDK as a contributor. Or apply for a position with Oracle (examples, more examples), we're hiring! More information will follow over the coming weeks and months. Until then, safe coding!

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Apple to Discontinue Xserve
by Tom Dubinski 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

"Apple this week announced the discontinuation of Xserve, revealing it will support but no longer offer its rackmounted servers after Jan. 31, 2011." http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/11/05/apple_to_discontinue_xserve_a… http://www.apple.com/xserve/resources.html -- Tom Dubinski Phone: +1.204.474-8841 Fax: 474-7609 Computer Science, E2-596 EITC CompSci General Office: E2-445 EITC University of Manitoba E-Mail: tom_dubinski(a)umanitoba.ca Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~tdubins/

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INTEREST: iPad took 95% of the global tablet sales in Q3.
by Doug Hamilton 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

For those interested in sales figures and market placement, here is a link to a brief Bloomberg article. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-02/apple-increases-tablet-share-to-95… Cheers. ------------- Doug Hamilton, BA, MA, ASP Senior Apple Computer Consultant Computers-on-Campus; Univ. of Manitoba 204-474-6196 (Ph.) 204-474-7556 (Fax) http://www.umanitoba.ca/bookstore/

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INTEREST: Microsoft Office 2011
by billing 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

The newest version of Microsoft Office for OS X (called Office 2011) is shipping now. It sports many of the features of Office 2010 for Windows such as the "ribbon" and this is the first release that has a Macintosh version of OUTLOOK rather than the previous ENTOURAGE. Included in the Microsoft Office 2011 package are: - Word 2011 - Excel 2011 - Powerpoint 2011 - Outlook 2011 - Communicator 2011 - Messenger 8 UofM bookstore availability has been delayed a bit (as is usual for new Microsoft products) while media is readied for the education market. In the meantime, here's some information (FAQs, tutorials, "what's new?" videos, etc.) showing some of what the new Microsoft Office is for Macintosh is all about: - http://www.microsoft.com/mactopia - http://www.officeformachelp.com/outlook/faqs/ - http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/10/office-2011-for-mac-arrives-with-… - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2369733,00.asp

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INTEREST: IE9 beta not enough to keep IE market share over 60% mark
by billing 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

...from: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/10/ie9-beta-not-enough-to-keep-i… IE9 beta not enough to keep IE market share over 60% mark By Emil Protalinski | Last updated a day ago Data source: Net Applications 2010 will be remembered as the year when Chrome took off despite Microsoft's attempts to hold on to its shrinking browser market share. It looks like Internet Explorer's two months of market share gains were an aberration. Other trends are continuing as before: Firefox is steady between 20 and 25 percent share, Chrome is steadily moving forward, and Safari trudges onward. Opera, meanwhile, is still hanging on to the leftover scraps. Everyone but Microsoft saw at least a modest market share gain in September. Between August and September, Internet Explorer dropped 0.75 percent, a drop bigger than the last three months. Firefox, meanwhile, went up a mere 0.03 percent. Chrome gained 0.46 percent, making it the biggest winner this month. Safari was up 0.11 percent and Opera grabbed another 0.02 percent. IE has managed to fall back below the 60 percent mark. At 59.65 percent, this is the lowest point for the Microsoft browser. This drop comes despite the overwhelming monthly gains of IE8 and the release of theInternet Explorer 9 beta right in the middle of September. Microsoft told Ars that the beta has been downloaded 6 million times in the last two weeks. Nevertheless, this translates to a mere 0.25 percent of the whole market for those two weeks, and when looking at the whole month of August, it's only 0.10 percent. We might see more progress in October. Unfortunately for Web developers everywhere, IE6 (15.55 percent) continues to be more popular than IE7 (10.39 percent), though this month its share declined more than its successor. IE6's share can be attributed to businesses still using customized intranet applications, and XP's much bigger installed base compared to Vista's (especially in developing countries). We expect that IE7 will drop below the 10 percent mark next month, while IE6 may finally fall under 15 percent. Data source: Net Applications If we take a look at the last 12 months, the stabilization of IE's share is quite obvious. Firefox seems to be in the same boat: it remains far away from what may be the unreachable 25 percent mark, having lost all the share it gained in the last year. Its market share is actually lower than it was a year ago. Chrome's progress is very noticeable in the chart above. It seemed to have found resistance at the 7 percent mark, but it almost broke through to 8 percent in September. Safari's gains are just short of 1 percentage point, while Opera's are almost insignificant. Data source: Ars Technica As always, things at Ars are very different. There was no place-changing this time: Firefox continues to dominate, Chrome is second, Safari is third, IE is fourth, and Opera brings up the rear. Last month, Firefox lost share, as did Opera. Meanwhile, Chrome, Safari, and IE all gained. Further reading Browser Market Share (marketshare.hitslink.com) Browser Version Market Share (marketshare.hitslink.com)

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INTEREST: It's the time of year when a young lawyer's....
by billing 08 Oct '10

08 Oct '10

.....fancy turns to lawsuits..... ...from: http://www.engadget.com/tag/lawsuit,patent Motorola suing Apple for patent infringement by Paul Miller Oct 6th 2010 at 4:03PM 455 Comments Google responds to Oracle's Android patent lawsuit, we break it down by Nilay Patel Oct 5th 2010 at 4:33PM 423 Comments Apple loses, challenges patent verdict surrounding Cover Flow and Time Machine by Darren Murph Oct 4th 2010 at 2:14PM 247 Comments Microsoft files ITC complaint against Motorola over alleged Android-related patent infringement by Chris Ziegler Oct 1st 2010 at 2:44PM 446 Comments Apple sues HyperMac battery maker for using patented MagSafe and iPod connectors without approval by Nilay Patel Sep 22nd 2010 at 12:48AM 302 Comments Skyhook sues Google for business interference and patent infringement by Thomas Ricker Sep 16th 2010 at 4:31AM 149 Comments Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Apple, Google, Facebook, AOL, eBay, Netflix, Yahoo!, Staples, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and YouTube over patents by Laura June Aug 27th 2010 at 2:42PM 497 Comments Google calls Oracle Android lawsuit 'baseless,' says Java goes 'beyond any one corporation' by Nilay Patel Aug 13th 2010 at 4:21PM 208 Comments Oracle sues Google over Java patent infringement in Android by Nilay Patel Aug 12th 2010 at 9:38PM 239 Comments NTP awakes, sues Apple, Microsoft, Google, HTC, LG, and Motorola over wireless email patents by Nilay Patel Jul 9th 2010 at 9:53AM 104 Comments Warner Bros. head spin: lawsuit claims studio pirated anti-piracy patent by Ross Miller May 27th 2010 at 12:58AM 44 Comments HTC's complaint against Apple examined by Nilay Patel May 12th 2010 at 6:09PM 159 Comments HTC files patent complaint against Apple, asks for ban on iPhone, iPad, and iPod by Nilay Patel May 12th 2010 at 1:58PM 277 Comments Nokia sues Apple again, says the iPad 3G infringes five patents by Nilay Patel May 7th 2010 at 11:18AM 307 Comments Nintendo escapes patent troll in appeals court -- thanks to Sony by Sean Hollister Apr 14th 2010 at 3:13AM 64 Comments Microsoft facing patent lawsuit over Zune Buy From FM feature by Nilay Patel Mar 29th 2010 at 2:47PM 76 Comments HTC responds to Apple's patent lawsuit, will 'fully defend itself' by Nilay Patel Mar 18th 2010 at 12:01AM 171 Comments

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INTEREST: Left Hand ignores Right Hand
by billing 04 Oct '10

04 Oct '10

...from: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/10/strange-bedfellows-eff-apac… Strange bedfellows: EFF, Apache back Microsoft in patent dispute By Ryan Paul | Last updated a day ago Although building consensus position on patent reform proposals has proved difficult, practically every major stakeholder (except patent attorneys, of course) agrees that the US patent system is broken. As a result, patent problems occasionally generate unexpected alliances between disparate groups at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. In the latest example, a number of organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Apache Software Foundation, have filed an amicus brief that expresses support for Microsoft's pursuit of revised patent rules. Microsoft is currently mired in a high-profile patent dispute with i4i, a company that develops collaborative document editing software. The XML editing capabilities in Microsoft's popular office suite are said to infringe related patents that are held by i4i. The courts have consistently sided with i4i, awarding the company $290 million in damages and threatening Microsoft with an injunction. An appeals court upheld the judgement and the US Patent Office (USPTO) has declined to invalidate the patent. Microsoft is attempting to take the matter to the Supreme Court with the aim of arguing for a change in the rules that govern the process of invalidating patents. Present case law sets a high standard for parties that seek to get a patent thrown out, requiring them to provide "clear and convincing" evidence that the patent is invalid. Microsoft wants the Supreme Court to lower the standard so that only a "preponderance" of evidence is necessary. Such a change would make it easier to invalidate patents on the basis of prior art and other factors. The EFF and the Apache Software Foundation support Microsoft's argument in favor of lowering the standard because they believe that the current standard is excessive and unfairly disadvantages open source software projects that don't have the resources to fight back against costly patent litigation. Adopting the "preponderance" standard would make patent invalidation consistent with other similar facets of civil law. "FOSS projects often depend on the collective knowledge of their members and the documentation of the projects as prior art, to the extent that such documents exist," the brief says. "Much of this collective knowledge, however, arguably could not be considered as evidence under the Federal Circuit's current standard requiring alleged infringers to provide invalidity by 'clear and convincing' evidence... Thus, holders of patents that are unnecessarily virtually indestructible because of the inflated standard for proving invalidity pose a particular threat to FOSS." In addition to discussing this specific issue and its implications, the brief attempts to show how a pattern of poor Federal Circuit rulings have distorted the patent system, including one instance where the Federal Circuit was later rebuked by the Supreme Court for "fundamental misunderstandings" of patent law when a long-standing precedent related to the obviousness standard was thrown out. The brief contends that the standard set by the Federal Circuit for invalidating patents is similarly flawed and must be corrected. They believe that the Supreme Court should agree to hear Microsoft's case so that they can address the problem. "In this case, the Federal Circuit has incorrectly interpreted a clear statute. This Court should grant certiorari to correct the Federal Circuit's misreading of [section 282 of the Patent Act]," the brief concludes. Due to Microsoft's history of making threatening patent statements towards the Linux platform, there are likely some people in the open source software community who would like to see Microsoft get a black eye from i4i. Despite the past friction, the specific patent issue raised by i4i's lawsuit against Microsoft transcends that kind of partisanship and demands unified support. If the Supreme Court agrees to hear Microsoft's case and sides with the software giant, it would be benefit the entire open source software community. ...and yet, in the same moment..... ...from: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/10/microsoft-sues-motorola-citin… Microsoft sues Motorola, citing Android patent infringement By Emil Protalinski | Last updated a day ago Microsoft has announced a lawsuit against Motorola, alleging that several of the mobile company's Android devices infringe on nine of its patents. The software giant is suing in US District Court in Washington, and is also bringing a complaint before the International Trade Commission (ITC). The patents are all related to key smartphone experiences that include syncing e-mails, calendars, and contacts, scheduling meetings, and notifying applications about changes in signal strength and battery power. Microsoft specifically names two Motorola devices, the Droid 2 and the Charm, but says these are just examples and not a comprehensive list. The suit comes just as Microsoft readies the release of its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, the successor to Windows Mobile. Motorola was once a big backer of Windows Mobile, but in recent years it hasshifted to Google's Android. Although manufacturers can use Android for free, Microsoft argues that phone makers should consider the potential patent infringement issues and the related costs of the mobile OS. The nine patents in question in the ITC complaint include: 5,579,517: Common name space for long and short filenames 5,758,352: Common name space for long and short filenames 6,621,746: Monitoring entropic conditions of a flash memory device as an indicator for invoking erasure operations 6,826,762: Radio interface layer in a cell phone with a set of APIs having a hardware-independent proxy layer and a hardware-specific driver layer 6,909,910: Method and system for managing changes to a contact database 7,644,376: Flexible architecture for notifying applications of state changes 5,664,133: Context sensitive menu system/menu behavior 6,578,054: Method and system for supporting off-line mode of operation and synchronization using resource state information 6,370,566: Generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device "We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's corporate vice president and deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing, said in a statement. "Our action today merely seeks to ensure respect for our intellectual property rights infringed by Android devices; and judging by the recent actions by Apple and Oracle, we are not alone in this respect," he added in a Microsoft on the Issues blog post. Apple earlier this year claimed that HTC's Android (and Windows Mobile) handsets violate a number of its patents. To avoid a similar fight with Redmond, HTC paid Microsoft for patent licenses. Regardless of the outcome of the HTC vs. Apple battle-turned-war, Android incurred costs for HTC, in spite of its free licensing. It's next to impossible to build a mobile device nowadays without extensive licensing agreements. Microsoft provides companies using Windows Mobile and Windows Phone operating systems with patent protections, while Google simply provides moral support. When Microsoft made the "Android isn't free" allegations, it was widely assumed that the software giant was referring to HTC's legal problems. With today's attack on Motorola, it's clear that Microsoft had more than just HTC on its mind.

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INTEREST: VigiVU: Vanderbilt University developed app to allow doctors to monitor their patients
by billing 20 Sep '10

20 Sep '10

...from: http://machealthcare.org/articles/1/6/vigivu-iphone-app-brings-patients-to-… VigiVU iPhone App Brings Patients to Doctors Posted by Jack Frost August 17th - 636 views - Filed in Technology Created by physicians for physicians, a mobile device application in use at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville allows doctors to continuously monitor their patients, even if their patients are several rooms away. VigiVU, created for the iPhone by the VUMC Department of Anesthesiology, allows anesthesiologists and other clinicians to watch over up to four patients immediately before, during and after surgery – greatly increasing what is called “situational awareness.” VigiVU notifies caregivers of out-of-range vital signs and medication administration and changes in admission, discharge and transfer status. It allows graphical vital sign review, promotes rapid communication with other providers, and provides a direct view into operating rooms during surgeries through a live, high-quality video feed, all from the convenience of the physicians’ cell phones. The VigiVU application also functions on the iPod Touch and iPad, with the iPad providing users a larger, yet still mobile, information source. [...]

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INTEREST: Morgan Stanley: Internet Trends
by billing 15 Sep '10

15 Sep '10

On April 12, 2010, Morgan Stanley did a presentation giving an overview of what they thought coming Internet trends would be. Their presentation slides can be seen at: http://www.morganstanley.com/institutional/techresearch/pdfs/Internet_Trend… ...but here's some of interest: - 5 countries account for 48% of all Internet users: - Morgan Stanley predicts that, given growth trends, within 5 years, the total number of mobile internet users (smartphones, iPod Touch, iPad, etc..) will surpass the total number of desktop Internet users (although these numbers are not mutually exclusive) - while both the number of email users and social networking users are growing very rapidly, there are now more social networking users and they spend waaaaaaaaaaaaay more time social networking than email users spend emailing: - the adoption of the "mobile Internet" (again "smartphone", iPod Touch, iPad accesses to the Internet) far outstrips the adoption of other internet phenomena as defined by: AOL, Netscape browser, Japan's NTT DoCoMo internet service "i-mode" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-mode). Also, Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch is leading the way in the "mobile Internet" market. This sees the iPhone/iPod Touch growth, in 11 months, to be about 11x what AOL saw in the same period; almost 5x the adoption of "Netscape"/browser use; and about two and a half times the growth of Japan's successful "i-mode" phone-based Internet services. Morgan Stanley concludes that this rapid adoption is due to 5 converging trends: "Mobile Ramping Faster than Desktop Internet Did and Will Be Bigger Than Most Think – 5 Trends Converging (3G + Social Networking + Video + VoIP + Impressive Mobile Devices)". - Facebook and Youtube have been the biggest gainers in terms of getting "internet eyeballs" over the past 3 years. MSN and Yahoo saw the largest declines: - Facebook is the most downloaded free app for the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch:

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INTEREST: your Mercedes-Benz and your iPhone...
by billing 02 Sep '10

02 Sep '10

...from: http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/02/mercedes-benz-updates-mbrace-app-with-fa… Mercedes-Benz updates mbrace app with fancy pants 'Concierge' service By Thomas Ricker posted Sep 2nd 2010 at 8:00AM Mercedes-Benz just announced a new app that connects its in-car navigation systems with its customers' iPhones. Mbrace version 2.0 still lets drivers unlock their vehicles and, more importantly, find it in a crowded parking lot while adding location-based personal assistance ranging from entertainment, restaurant, directions, and traffic updates via Mercedes-Benz's Concierge service -- assuming you're are an mbrace PLUS customer. Destination information is then fired off directly to your in-vehicle navigation system to get you there. The updated app also includes enhanced Roadside Assistance that transmits the driver's location whenever a call is initiated. Think OnStar with a posh European accent.

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INTEREST: How the iPad changed my reading habits
by billing 16 Aug '10

16 Aug '10

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/153299/2010/08/ipad_reading.html?lsrc=nl_mw… How the iPad changed my reading habits One editor reflects on how the device has changed how he peruses magazines and books by Jonathan Seff, Macworld.com The iPad is a curious device—not quite an iPod, not quite a laptop. I typically bring it to work with me during the day, and keep it on my nightstand at home at other times. And although I use it for many different purposes—checking e-mail, ordering from Amazon, catching up on Twitter, controlling one of the Macs in the other room—what I’ve really noticed is how the iPad has changed how and what I read. Magazines I typically have magazines strewn about the house in various states of being read—especially The New Yorker, which comes 47 times a year—with bind-in cards or random scraps of paper used as bookmarks. And when I’m done with them, they often wait their turn to be tossed in with the recycling. Zinio has been around for a while now, providing digital subscriptions to magazines that you can read on a Mac, PC, or iPhone/iPod touch. I never really found it very enjoyable to read a magazine on my computer or the small screen of my iPhone. But with the iPad and a universal version of the app, it’s a whole different story. (Disclosure: the digital version of Macworld is a Zinio publication as well.) Rolling Stone in Zinio With the Zinio app on an iPad, I have a large screen on which to enjoy digital replicas of magazines. Unlike with printed magazines, however, I can pinch out to zoom into section to make it easier to read. The app keeps my place without the need for paper bookmarks. There are hyperlinks that take me directly to the jumped portion of an article without making me flip to the back to pages that often have no page numbers on them. I can read in bed without a light after my wife goes to sleep. I can download new issues as soon as they’re available and carry around as many magazines as my iPad can hold. And there’s nothing to recycle. Thanks to Zinio, I’ve re-subscribed to Rolling Stone—a magazine I haven’t read for years. When my current print subscription to Outside Magazine is up after one more issue, I plan to switch to the Zinio version. And I look forward to Conde Nast bringing The New Yorker to the iPad (although I recently renewed my print subscription for another three years). To be fair, the Zinio app and experience are far from perfect. Subscription pricing is all over the map and seems to change on a whim—I checked the Outside Zinio page three times over the course of several weeks, and a one-year subscription went from $16 to $20 before finally settling to $24 in that time. Also, there are no multi-year subscription options. Although Outside currently offers me one year of print for $30, I can opt for two years for $40 or three years for $50, dropping the price per issue if I’ll commit for longer. With Zinio, that’s not an option. I don’t mind paying the same price for Zinio as for a printed magazine, but it shouldn’t cost more. Also, as with other types of digital publications, I can’t hand an issue off to a friend or family member when I’m done with. And there’s no way to loan or share these types of purchases with other Zinio members. Books Before the iPad, I had never read an entire book on a portable device. I’d read bits and pieces using the Kindle app on my iPhone (including a 25 cent version of Alice in Wonderland) but I don’t own Kindle hardware. Hitch-22 in iBook I tested out the iBookstore by purchasing Samantha Bee’s I Know I Am, But What Are You?. After adjusting the font, type size, and brightness to my liking (and turning on the Sepia background option) I enjoyed breezing through the book, without worrying about remembering my place. The iPad is heavier than other e-book-only devices, but I haven’t found it oppressively so. A nice thing about the iPad (or Kindle or Nook or other e-reader) is the ability to download and carry multiple books with you for a vacation, say, rather than schlep around lots of heavy tomes. Or buy a new book from your hotel room without having to care about finding the nearest bookstore (and worry about its selection). Having finished that first book, I’ve now moved on to Christopher Hitchens’ Hitch-22: A Memoir. Comic books I must admit that I haven’t read a comic book since I was a teenager (although I still have a few boxes of nicely preserved issues in the basement). Or at least I hadn’t until I started playing around with the Marvel app on the iPad. Ultimate Spider-Man in the Marvel app Thanks to Marvel’s selection of free comic book issues (which change on a regular basis) I’ve given the iPad a opportunity to show me what it can do with another type of reading material. (This “the first taste is free” mentality seems to be an important marketing tool for the shifting comic book business, as our editor in chief, Jason Snell, discovered at Comic-Con recently.) Although I’ve yet to plunk down my credit card to buy any comics, I’ve found the reading experience to be mostly a nice one. Text can be a little small and hard to read without zooming in—especially on double pages displayed while reading in portrait orientation. It’s not quite the same tactile experience as I remember from my comic-reading days, and digital distribution means an end to collecting in the classic sense. But in general, the graphics look great and are very colorful, and it’s nice to have yet another reading option on the iPad.

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INTEREST: Safari extensions
by billing 16 Aug '10

16 Aug '10

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/152101/2010/08/safariextensionshandson.html… Hands on with Safari extensions Posted on Aug 10, 2010 8:00 am by Dan Frakes, Macworld.com The latest version of Safari (5.x), released earlier this summer, introduced a new extensions feature to Apple’s Web browser. Extensions allow you to alter the behavior of Safari through small, downloadable packages from by developers, created by using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Activating the extensions feature Now that we’ve logged a few months of browsing with Safari 5, it’s time for a closer look at this feature: how to turn it on (if it isn't already), how to install and use extensions, how to update extensions, and how to troubleshoot issues with misbehaving extensions. Once you've gotten a handle on Safari extensions, take a look at some of our favorite extensions. Starting with Safari 5.0.1, the Safari-extensions feature is enabled by default. Launch Safari 5.0.1, and extensions just work—you can skip to the next section to learn how to download and install them. If, for whatever reason, you're still using Safari 5.0 and can't update yet, turning on the feature isn’t as obvious as you’d think. In fact, Apple has hidden the feature in Safari’s Develop menu…which is alsodisabled by default. So the process for turning on extensions requires a couple steps: In Safari’s Preferences window (Safari -> Preferences), switch to the Advanced pane, and then check the box to Show Develop Menu In Menu Bar. In the new Develop menu that appears in the menu bar (between Bookmarks and Window), choose Enable Extensions. Once you’ve used the Enable Extensions command, you can uncheck the Show Develop Menu In Menu Bar setting to regain that valuable menu-bar space. Installing extensions With the extensions feature activated, Safari’s Preferences window sports a new Extensions pane that lists all installed extensions and lets you customize the behavior of each. This screen also lets you disable and enable individual extensions or turn off the extensions feature altogether—useful when troubleshooting (more on that below). So how do you get extensions? With the release of Safari 5.0.1, Apple introduced the Safari Extensions Gallery, a curated collection of third-party extensions Apple has chosen to showcase—you can even access the Gallery right from the Safari menu. Divided into categories such as News, Social Networking, Security, and Productivity, the Gallery currently contains more than 100 extensions, each with a short description, a link to the developer's site, and an Install Now button. (If you haven't updated to Safari 5.0.1, you won't see these Install Now buttons.) Click the Install Now button for an extension, and in a second or two the button will change to an Installed graphic indicating that the extension has been installed. But there are plenty more Safari extensions out there that don't appear in the official Gallery. Some you'll find while browsing the Web, but perhaps the best alternative source for extensions right now is the Safari Extensions blog, which has been publishing info about newly available extensions since Safari 5.0 was released. I recommend subscribing to the blog's RSS feed so you can keep an eye out for useful new extensions as they're released. However, extensions you download outside of the official Gallery require a different installation procedure—they don't install automatically. The Website hosting the extension will provide a standard download link, and then Safari will download the extension—a file (actually a Mac OS X package) ending in .safariextz. (If, instead of downloading a .safariextz file, Safari displays a window of ugly code, click the Back button and either Option-click the download link or right-click—or Control-click—on the link and choose Download Linked File.) Depending on how you’ve configured Safari to handle downloaded files, Safari may immediately ask you if you want to install the new extension. If not, find the newly downloaded file package in the Finder and double-click it to view the same Don’t Install/Install dialog. Read the official warning text, click Install, and the extension is installed. (In case you're wondering why a third-party extension isn't included in Apple's Gallery, there are a couple possible reasons. The first is simply that the developer hasn't submitted it to Apple for possible inclusion. The second is that the developer has submitted the extension and either Apple hasn't yet approved it or has rejected it for some reason. This doesn't mean you shouldn't install extensions that don't appear in Apple's Gallery, but you should be a bit more careful before doing so.) Safari's Preferences window sports a new view when extensions are turned on. Whichever method you use to install extensions—Apple's Gallery or manual download and install—installed extensions are stored in ~/Library/Safari/Extensions and appear in the new Extensions screen of Safari's preferences window. For some extensions, the new features they provide are immediately available—no restart or other action is required. In fact, if the extension uses a toolbar button, that button may automatically be added to Safari’s toolbar without any further action from you. (If it isn’t, just choose View -> Customize Toolbar and then manually add the toolbar button.) However, I've found that most extensions work only on new tabs you open after installing the extension—you won't get the new features on existing tabs. (This is often the case even if the extension has automatically added a toolbar button to Safari—the button won't do anything when viewing existing tabs.) Using and managing extensions As mentioned above, many Safari extensions function as new buttons for Safari’s toolbar. For example, Ars Technica and Macworld contributor John Siracusa’s Reload Button restores the Reload button found in Safari 3 and earlier, and Clint Ecker’s Short URL adds a new button that automatically shortens, using either is.gd or bit.ly, the current tab’s URL. You use these toolbar buttons just like any other: click the button to access the simple feature. Other extensions add new commands to Safari’s contextual menus: right-click somewhere on a Web page, and you’ll see the new options. For example, Shortenz Linkz lets you right-click on any URL link on a Web page to generate a shortened URL using the URL-shortening service of your choice. It also provides an option to send the URL in a Twitter message. But many Safari extensions work in the background, doing their thing without any effort on your part. For example, there are already extensions that automatically reformat YouTube pages or Google Reader’s interface for easier viewing, that add additional options to specific Web pages, or that disable JavaScript elements hosted by particular servers. If an extension provides settings to customize its behavior, you’ll find those settings in the Extensions pane of Safari’s Preferences window. Select the extension in the list on the left, and that extension’s options appear to the right. If you decide you don't like a particular extension's feature(s), you can disable it. Just select it in the list of installed extensions and then uncheck the Enable [extension name] box. Alternatively, you can uninstall it, as explained below. Updating extensions Like other software, Safari extensions are updated to fix bugs and add new features. This is especially true right now, as developers are still learning how to create and perfect extensions. Thankfully, Safari provides a built-in mechanism for checking for, and updating to, new versions of extensions. Open the Extensions pane of Safari Preferences, and click the Updates item in the lower-left corner. To the right, you’ll see a list of any extensions for which newer versions are available. Click an individual Update button to update that extension—the new version is downloaded and installed. Alternatively, click Update All to install all pending updates with a single click. To avoid having to manually check for available updates, you can check the box to Install Updates Automatically. This configures Safari to automatically download and install updates whenever they’re available. Given how frequently extensions are being updated these days, this is a welcome option, although it’s not yet clear how often Safari checks for new versions of installed extensions. Troubleshooting extensions Depending on which extensions you choose to install, the neat features you gain may come with a price: Safari crashes. Between the release of Safari 4 a year ago and the release of Safari 5 in June, I had very few problems with Safari; in the first couple weeks after installing Safari 5.0 and testing extensions, I had literally dozens of crashes, and I was able to trace nearly all of them back to issues with extensions. (Unfortunately, unlike the Safari 4-and-later feature that lets Safari plug-ins crash without taking down the entire browser, an extension problem often crashes Safari outright.) I've personally had the worst luck with extensions that aim to block specific JavaScript hosts that alter the behavior of sites. For example, several extensions block JavaScript from intellitxt.com in order to let you avoid those annoying ads that pop up on Web pages when you mouse over words. Unfortunately, whenever I’ve had one of these extensions installed and active, Safari would crash regularly. I also occasionally experience a problem where simply disabling a particular extension, by turning off that extension in the Extensions screen of Safari Preferences, crashes Safari. This seems to be especially common when disabling an extension that use a toolbar button. In many cases, I've been able to avoid such crashes by manually removing the extension’s toolbar button (using Safari's Customize Toolbar screen) and then disabling the extension. Thankfully, over the past couple months, I've found that Safari's stability has improved dramatically when using extensions. I suspect the biggest reason is that extensions developers have been improving their extension-coding skills, but it's also possible that Safari 5.0.1 included some extensions-handling improvements of its own. Whatever the combination, using extensions seems to be notably safer—in terms of browser stability—these days than when the feature first debuted. That being said, extensions can still cause problems with Safari, so it's good to know some basic troubleshooting procedures. If you know which extension is causing a problem, you’ve got two options: The first is to simply disable that extension (as explained above) and then wait for an update to see if a new version fixes the problem. The second is to remove the extension completely. To do this, select the extension in Safari Preferences and then click the Uninstall button that appears to the right. What if you don’t know which extension is causing a problem? Remember the “classic” Mac OS extension conflict? Welcome back, old friend. It’s time to do some conflict testing. The first step is to turn off Safari extensions completely: Open the Extensions screen of Safari Preferences and move the main slider to the Off position. Then browse the sites that were open the last time Safari crashed or exhibited otherwise troublesome behavior—Safari’s Reopen All Windows From Last Session command (in the History menu) is great for this. If the problem still occurs, you know extensions aren’t the cause. If the problem is gone, at least one of your extensions is to blame. Turn the main extensions slider back to On, then scroll through the list of installed extensions in Safari Preferences, noting which ones are currently enabled. Then disable one and reload your last session. If the problem occurs again, the extension you disabled is likely not the cause. Disable the next suspect and reload the last session again. Is the problem gone? You’ll want to repeat this process until disabling an extension fixes the problem—that extension is likely the cause. Of course, just as with classic Mac OS extension conflicts, it’s possible that a combination of Safari extensions is the real issue, but I haven't yet come across such an issue (and uncovering such combinations is the topic for another article…). Use it wisely As you browse Apple's Gallery and the Web for useful extensions, keep in mind that the more extensions you install, the more you increase the chance of problems. But just as important is that you increase the complexity of the browser itself—more toolbar buttons, more keyboard shortcuts, more contextual-menu commands, and more ways in which the content on Websites is tweaked or otherwise affected. So use extensions judiciously. Despite downloading and testing scores of extensions, I've kept only a couple dozen installed, and only a few of those are currently active. Nevertheless, Extensions has become one of my favorite new Safari features in years.

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INTEREST: UK government: Upgrading away from IE6 costs too much
by billing 06 Aug '10

06 Aug '10

...from: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/08/despite-petition-uk-governmen… UK government: Upgrading away from IE6 costs too much By Emil Protalinski | Last updated a day ago The UK government is not yet interested in ditching Internet Explorer 6, saying the costs required to do so outweigh the benefits. Six months ago, an online petition started in hopes that the UK would abolish all use of the world's most-loathed browser. The petition debuted soon after the German and French governments began to advise their citizens to use a different browser than IE in the wake of the Chinese-Google hack attack. It closed on June 6 after gathering 6,223 signatures; on July 30, the government gave an official response. Here's the crux of it: Complex software will always have vulnerabilities and motivated adversaries will always work to discover and take advantage of them. There is no evidence that upgrading away from the latest fully patched versions of Internet Explorer to other browsers will make users more secure. Regular software patching and updating will help defend against the latest threats. The Government continues to work with Microsoft and other internet browser suppliers to understand the security of the products used by HMG, including Internet Explorer and we welcome the work that Microsoft are continuing do on delivering security solutions which are deployed as quickly as possible to all Internet Explorer users. The UK government is correct in saying that Microsoft will continue to keep IE6 updated and secure. In fact, the software giant has promised to do so until April 2014, which is when Extended Support for Windows XP (which includes IE6) ends. That said, Microsoft trash talks IE6 every chance it gets, promoting the increased security of IE8 at the same time. Furthermore, as IE flaws are discovered, IE6 and IE7 are affected more often than not, while IE8 usually remains unaffected. The true reason the UK government doesn't want to upgrade becomes clear in the last paragraph of its explanation. It doesn't want to spend the money: It is not straightforward for HMG departments to upgrade IE versions on their systems. Upgrading these systems to IE8 can be a very large operation, taking weeks to test and roll out to all users. To test all the web applications currently used by HMG departments can take months at significant potential cost to the taxpayer. It is therefore more cost effective in many cases to continue to use IE6 and rely on other measures, such as firewalls and malware scanning software, to further protect public sector internet users. On some level, this makes sense; not every benefit is worth the costs. But such testing will have to be done eventually, and not even Her Majesty's Government can stick with IE6 indefinitely.

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