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INTEREST: Apple outlook: iPad2, iPhone, Android, Steve, Japan
by billing 28 Apr '11

28 Apr '11

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/159366/2011/04/tim_cook_apple_android_japan… Tim Cook speaks! Apple's COO on Android, Japan, iPad 2 by Macworld Staff, Macworld.com Apr 20, 2011 6:20 pm [Editors’ note: When Apple releases its quarterly earnings report, it holds a conference-call with financial analysts. Some of the more interesting tidbits about how Apple views the world take place in this call, when Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook answers analyst questions. Here’s an edited transcript of what Cook said on Wednesday’s call.] Apple COO Tim Cook at the Verizon iPhone 4 launch. iPad 2 Demand on iPad 2 has been staggering. We’re still amazed that we are still heavily backlogged, not only at the end of the quarter but also up to date. However, I can tell you that I’m extremely pleased with the progress of the manufacturing ramp and we were so confident that we rolled out 25 additional countries at the end of last month, and we are shipping to an additional 13 countries next week, and we’re planning to add even more countries through the quarter. So I’m very confident that we can produce a very large number of iPads for the quarter. Whether that will be enough to meet demand, I don’t know. Demand has been staggering and I’m not going to predict when supply and demand will come into balance. I can only be confident on supply side. By the end of the quarter, we were in supply/demand balance [for the iPhone] in almost all of our major markets. And I would say, as of today, we’re in supply/demand balance [for the iPhone] virtually everywhere. The Mac is in supply/demand balance, and the iPod is in supply/demand balance, and the iPad has the mother of all backlogs that we’re working very, very hard to get out to customers as quickly as we can. Product transitions are never simple, and as you can probably appreciate, we are in a position that we have to call them for many, many weeks in advance, in terms of how many of the current product we want to produce and the dates at which we will announce the new product. We drew the channel down on the original iPad by 570,000 units during the quarter, and we added at the end of the quarter 170,000 of the new iPad 2s, although most of that was in transit at the end of the quarter. And so the net reduction was 400,000 and so our sell through was above five million for the quarter. And again, this has to be planned quite a ways in the future. Just to remind you, we sent out an invitation to the [iPad 2 launch] event toward the end of February, we had the event in early March, we placed the unit on sale in the United States on March 11, and our quarter ended about 2 weeks thereafter. So, there was some expectation of a new product, and we would have obviously factored that into our thinking about the product transition, as we planned the number of the original unit to build. So I think the key point here is that I’m extremely pleased with the progress we’ve been making on the manufacturing ramp. We have gotten off to a materially better start and produced a lot more units than we did on the original ramp of the first iPad, and we’re so confident with our ability to supply that we’ve already put on 25 additional countries at the end of March, and we’ll be placing on 13 more next week, and we’ll do even more as we step through the quarter. [Can you compare iPad 1 sales to iPad 2 sales?] We purposely aren’t giving that because we don’t want to help out any of our competition. But I would tell you, I wish we could have produced a lot more iPad 2s, because there were certainly a lot of people waiting for them. [What about offering an iPad subsidized by a wireless carrier?] The iPad today is subsidized in a few markets. It’s subsidized in Korea if people sign a 24-month contract, it’s subsidized in Japan with a 24-month contract, and a couple of European countries. But the vast majority of people that are using the iPad on 3G are doing so on a pay-as-you-go plan, a no-commitment plan. And so yes, carriers can do that, but I think many customers prefer the pay-as-you-go plan. [What about the iPad in education?] K-12 is sort of even more conservative than enterprise on adopting new technology. And last quarter, we were about a 1:1 ratio of iPads to Macs, which is, I think, amazing given the short life of the iPad. And really demonstrates what kind of opportunity there probably is there. iPhone In terms of iPhone, we did actually very well everywhere. I’d call out two places where it was just off the charts. The U.S. grew 155 percent year over year. Obviously adding Verizon and beginning to offer iPhone to their enormous customer base was key in that. However, as you heard from AT&T’s announcement this morning, AT&T did extremely well during the quarter. So the U.S. as a geography grew at 155 percent, and that’s about three times IDC’s forecast of growth for the smartphone market, which was about 48 percent. Also, we continued to be on a tear in China. Greater China saw iPhone sales being up over three times. Almost 250 percent. This catapulted revenue for first fiscal half in Greater China to just under $5 billion, which is up almost four times year over year. So we’re extremely happy with how we’re doing in China. [What about launching a 4G/LTE iPhone?] I was asked this question, or a similar question, when we launched the iPhone with Verizon. What I said then, and I still see it as being the case today, and I think you can see this in the products that have been shipped, is that the first generation of LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises with the handset, and some of those we are just not willing to make. And so we are extremely happy with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Hitting 18.6 million units was something much larger than we thought we could do this quarter, and we’re happy to have gotten it out to three more large carriers. [Can you talk about future CDMA carrier partners outside the U.S.?] On the carrier side, I don’t want to get into specifics about CDMA (or GSM for that matter). But we are constantly looking at where we should bring on incremental partners. As we said earlier, we brought on three large ones this quarter, with Verizon, STT and Saudi Telecom. That’s on top of the ones that we brought on in December, where we added O2 and Vodafone in Germany. And so we are constantly looking and adding where it makes sense, and you can keep confidence that we’ll continue to do that. [What about moving the iPhone into the prepaid market?] Our focus has very much been on China. We wanted to understand that market and understand the levers there. iPhone sales were up over three times during the quarter, and in the first half we did just slightly under $5 billion in greater China in revenue, which is about 10 percent of Apple, to put it in perspective. And it wasn’t but a couple years ago that that number would have been less than two. And so it’s a sea change. That’s certainly not what I would call a classic postpaid market by any means of imagination. And so we have some ideas about other countries as well. I’m not in a position that I want to share those today. We purposefully put the bulk of our emphasis from an emerging markets point of view, in China, to really learn, and then we’re going to take that learning to other markets. Considerably more [than half of China is pre-paid wireless]… I think the first digit would start with a 9. Mac growth The growth on the Mac has been enormous in Asia. The last quarter we were up 76 percent in Asia Pacific, this is many multiples of the growth that region is seeing for the market. I believe the IDC forecast is around six percent. And so we’re seeing enormous growth in the Mac there. Japan also did quite well on the Mac for the quarter and the U.S. had a surprisingly strong quarter for the Mac, Americas is up 25 percent, the U.S. was up just slightly higher than that. Our market share is obviously less outside the U.S. in most places than it is in the U.S., and so I think it speaks very, very well for the opportunity that the Mac has. We’ve now hit 20 quarters in a row where we’ve outgrown the PC market, and the momentum is still there. We seem to be the only guys that are really focused on building innovative products in that space. There are several of the international countries that are extremely portable-focused, and you can see that we had enormous growth in our portables for the quarter. However, part of that is that we had a launch of the new MacBook Pro line. But honestly I see popularity in both the iMac and the portable [form] factor and believe there is a great future for both. [The iPad] clearly seems to be creating a halo effect for the Mac. And I think that’s one reason we see the growth that we are seeing on the Mac. You know, it’s amazing when you see the 28 percent year over year versus the worldwide market in PCs contracting by 3 points. It’s an astonishing delta. Android vs. iOS I just saw yesterday… the ComScore data released yesterday reported that the iOS platform outreaches Android by 59 percent in the U.S. And so this is an enormous percentage. On a worldwide basis, we just did 18.6 million iPhones, which is up 113 percent, which is materially faster than the market rate of growth. And we launched the iPad 2 and sold every one of ‘em that we could make. As we said before, we’re gaining traction in enterprise on both iPhone and iPad with astonishing 88 percent and 75 percent respectively of the Fortune 500 companies deploying or testing these. We’ve got the largest App Store with over 350,000 apps for iPhone and 65,000 iPad-specific apps on iOS. Versus what appears to be fewer than a hundred on Android. And so we feel very, very good about where we are and we feel great about our future product plan. We’ve also paid over $2 billion to developers and we’ve had well over 10 billion applications downloaded. And so our business proposition is very, very strong. And as we’ve said before, we continue to believe—and even more and more every day—that iPhone’s integrated approach is materially better than Android’s fragmented approach, where you have multiple OSes on multiple devices with different screen resolutions and multiple app stores with different rules, payment methods, and update strategies. I think the user appreciates that Apple can take full responsibility for their experience, whereas the fragmented approach turns the customer into a systems integrator, and few customers that I know want to be a systems integrator. Steve Jobs He is still on medical leave, but we do see him on a regular basis. And as we previously said, he continues to be involved in major strategic decisions. I know he wants to be back full-time as soon as he can. Samsung We are Samsung’s largest customer. And Samsung is a very valued component supplier to us, and I expect that strong relationship will continue. Separately from this, we felt the mobile communication division of Samsung had crossed the line, and after trying for some time to work the issue, we decided we needed to rely on the courts. On Japan and Apple's supply chain Let me sort of step back and talk about Japan in general. First of all, this is an incredible tragedy and our hearts go out to everyone involved. Apple as a company has a very long history and has many strong ties to people in Japan, and we’re very, very saddened by the situation, and we’ve undertaken various actions to assist in the relief effort. The economic impact that we’ll address today pales in comparison to the human impact. Regarding our business in Japan, we had some revenue impact in Q2, but it was not material to Apple’s consolidated results. We believe revenues will be approximately $200 million less in Q3, and this has been factored into the guidance [we] provided you earlier. Regarding our global supply chain, as a result of outstanding teamwork and unprecedented resilience of our partners, we did not have any supply or cost impact in our fiscal Q2 as a result as the tragedy, and we currently do not anticipate any material supply or cost impact in our fiscal Q3. To provide a bit more color on this, we source literally hundreds of items from Japan, and they range from components such as LCDs, optical drives, NAND flash and DRAM to base materials such as resins, coatings, and foils that are part of the production process that are several layers back in the supply chain. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami and the associated nuclear crisis caused disruption for many of these suppliers. And many unaffected suppliers have been impacted by power interruptions. But since the disaster, Apple employees have literally been working around the clock with our supply partners in Japan and have been able to implement a number of contingency plans. Our preference from the beginning of this tragedy has been to remain with our long-term partners in Japan, and I have to say, they have displayed an incredible resilience that I’ve personally never seen before in the aftermath of this disaster. So while we do not currently anticipate any material impact to our component supply or cost in our fiscal Q3, we do need to caution everyone that the situation remains unpredictable, given recent aftershocks, the uncertainty about the nuclear plant, and potential power interruptions. Further, there are some supply risks that are beyond the current quarter, and although we know of no issue today that we view as unsolvable, the situation is still uncertain and there’s obviously no guarantee. For this reason it’s difficult to predict whether the issues created by the tragedy would impact revenues beyond Q3. However, I’ll be happy to address Q4 on our next call in July. As of today we currently do not anticipate any material supply (or cost impact as far as that goes) in our fiscal Q3. That’s the quarter that we’re in now, that ends in June. Beyond June, there are risks, but there’s no issue that we’re aware of today that we view as unsolveable. However, new things could happen. I’m sure you’ve been paying attention to the news: there’s aftershocks, there’s still uncertainty about the nuclear plant, there’s power interruptions. If that stays at the level that it is today, I’m not as worried. I would worry if something happened and took a turn for the worst, and obviously I can’t predict that and certainly hope that it does not occur.

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INTEREST: AT&T: smartphone data facing huge growth
by billing 23 Apr '11

23 Apr '11

...from: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/22/atandt-filing-shows-that-smartphone-data-is-… AT&T filing shows that smartphone data is facing huge growth by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Apr 22nd 2011 at 6:00PM AT&T has submitted a document to the FCC in the process of trying to get that T-Mobile mergerapproved, and it reveals that AT&T was overwhelmed by the amount of smartphone data traffic it had to push through with the arrival of the iPhone. 2010 saw an 8000% jump in data rates over 2007, according to the document, which adds that "a smartphone generates 24 times the mobile data traffic of a conventional wireless phone, and the explosively popular iPad and similar tablet devices can generate traffic comparable to or even greater than a smartphone." The total apparently went up to 10 petabytes of data per month in 2010. Because of all that data, AT&T is trying to suggest that it "faces network capacity constraints more severe than those of any other wireless provider." And while AT&T says that connecting with T-Mobile will help both companies be better able to handle their data issues, things aren't going to get easier. The company expects to deliver the same amount of data it served in 2010 in just the first five weeks of 2015. Lest the FCC start feeling bad for AT&T and its predicament, don't forget that by connecting with Apple for the iPhone in the first place, AT&T gladly took the bullet for all of that data. But yes, AT&T and other data providers have quite a goal in front of them, considering how fast consumer data consumption is growing thanks to Apple's devices.

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INTEREST: iPhone: IDC prognosis through 2015
by billing 19 Apr '11

19 Apr '11

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/158892/2011/03/windowsphone_iphone.html#lsr… IDC (www.idc.com): Windows Phone to surpass iPhone by 2015 Posted on Mar 29, 2011 10:35 am by Matt Hamblen, Computerworld Editor’s Note: This story is excerpted from Computerworld. For more Mac coverage, visitComputerworld’s Macintosh Knowledge Center. IDC made a bold prediction Tuesday, forecasting that Windows Phone will surge ahead to become the No. 2 smartphone operating system by 2015 behind Android in the top spot. That forecast would push Apple’s iPhone to third position, followed by BlackBerry in fourth in 2015, the market research firm said. Windows Phone will grow, IDC said, because of the alliance forged between the world’s largest mobile phone maker, Nokia, and software powerhouse Microsoft. “The new alliance brings together Nokia’s hardware capabilities and Windows Phone’s differentiated platform,” said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst. Many analyst firms, including IDC and Gartner, had predicted last year that Windows Phone without Nokia would only reach 5 to 10 percent market share in coming years. IDC expects the first devices from the new Nokia/Microsoft alliance to launch in 2012. “By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be the number 2 operating system worldwide behind Android,” Llamas said in a statement. In 2011, IDC expects Android to secure the top spot for all 12 months of the year, after pushing into top territory late in 2010. Android will secure nearly 40 percent of the smartphone operating system market in 2011, IDC predicted, and then move to 45 percent in 2015. Symbian, Nokia’s current OS, will retreat to second place with nearly 21 percent in 2011, to zero by 2015, since Symbian phones will no longer be produced sometime after 2012. Apple’s iOS will be in third position globally for all of 2011, with nearly 15.7 percent of the market, falling to 15.3 percent of the market in 2015. Apple will still sell 19 percent more smartphones each year, however, as the smartphone market expands. BlackBerry, the smartphone from Research in Motion, will be in fourth position for all of 2011 with 14.9 percent share of the market, dropping to 13.7 percent share in 2015. BlackBerry will still grow by 17 percent each year. Windows Phone 7 and WindowsMobile, the older Microsoft OS, will take 5.5 percent of the market in 2011, but Windows Phone will surge to nearly 21 percent in 2015, an annual growth rate of 67 percent, IDC said. Overall, smartphones won’t grow quite as fast in 2011 as in 2010, IDC noted. Growth in smartphones globally will be 49.2 percent, IDC said. Vendors will ship more than 450 million smartphones in 2011, compared with 303.4 million shipped in 2010, IDC added. Part of the reason for the fast growth in 2010 was that buyers held off mobile phone purchases during the 2009 economic downturn, said Kevin Restivo, also an IDC analyst. “The expected market growth for 2011, while still notable, will taper off somewhat from what we saw in 2010,” Restivo added.

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INTEREST: iPad: Gartner prognosis through 2015
by billing 19 Apr '11

19 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 05 Apr '11

05 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 31 Mar '11

31 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 07 Mar '11

07 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 05 Mar '11

05 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 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '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 24 Nov '10

24 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 19 Nov '10

19 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 30 Oct '10

30 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 27 Oct '10

27 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 09 Oct '10

09 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 21 Sep '10

21 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 16 Sep '10

16 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 03 Sep '10

03 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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