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New Mac Trojan horse disables Apple's automatic malware updates
by Andre Worms 20 Oct '11

20 Oct '11

I wonder if Kaspersky picks this up? http://www.macworld.com/article/163133/2011/10/new_mac_trojan_horse_disable… Andre Worms Information Technologist Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management University of Manitoba

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INTEREST: Moog releases another app, well, they say it best....
by billing 17 Oct '11

17 Oct '11

[NOTE: 99¢ for now. Eventually (30 days), $29.99....] ....from: http://moogmusic.com/products/apps/animoog#info-tab Animoog, powered by Moog’s new Anisotropic Synth Engine (ASE), is the first professional polyphonic synthesizer designed for the iPad. ASE allows you to dynamically move through an X/Y space of unique timbres to create a constantly evolving and expressive soundscape. Animoog captures the vast sonic vocabulary of Moog synthesizers and applies it to the modern touch surface paradigm, enabling you to quickly sculpt incredibly fluid and dynamic sounds that live, breathe, and evolve as you play them. Visually captivating and sonically immersive, Animoog brings iPad based music production to the next level. Whether you are new to synthesis or a professional, Animoog’s unique user interface gives you the power to easily create a visually vibrant and sonically rich universe. It is the ultimate tool for total creative expression! Animoog’s diverse library of timbres is derived from analog waveforms captured from classic Moog oscillators, both vintage and modern, and run through a boutique’s worth of high-end outboard and analog signal processors. These include modular synth panels, Moogerfooger pedals and more. · Anisotropic Synth Engine (ASE) - An exciting new Moog technology that allows the user to move dynamically through an X/Y space of unique timbres to create an expressive and constantly evolving soundscape. · Timbre page – Assemble unique sounds in the X/Y space from timbres of a wide variety of vintage and modern Moog synthesizers and pedals Note: this is NOT simple sample playback. · Polyphonic Modulation - Simply slide your fingers to control multiple modulation parameters in Animoog right from the keys. · Polyphonic Pitch Shifting - Easily manipulate the exact pitch of each note in a chord by rotating or sliding your fingers. · Delay Module - A classic analog style ping pong delay. · Thick Module - From bit crushing to unison voice detuning and drive, this module adds depth, edge and character to Animoog’s already massive sound palette. · Moog Filter - The classic four-pole Moog ladder filter with High Pass, Low Pass and Band Pass modes. · Record Module - Record your performance and overdub new layers, or play along live. Transfer recordings between Animoog and any other apps which support AudioCopy/AudioPaste · Path Module - Direct ASE through Animoog’s X/Y space to create new expressive and shifting sounds that will blow your mind! · Orbit Module - Control the rate of orbit in the X/Y space around the path you created for subtle to insane voice manipulation. · Flexible Modulation Matrix - Amp,Filter and Mod Envelopes, LFO with infinitely variable wave shapes and sync, and four super flexible and assignable modulation slots. · MIDI in/out - Use your LittlePhatty or any other MIDI controller to control Animoog. Video at: http://moogmusic.com/products/apps/animoog#demos-tab Manual at: http://moogmusic.com/sites/default/files/Animoog_manual.pdf iTMS at: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/animoog/id471638724?mt=8

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FYI: Mac trojan pretends to be Flash Player Installer
by billing 30 Sep '11

30 Sep '11

[NOTE: for information about antivirus/antimalware at the University of Manitoba, please visit: http://umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/security/kaspersky-antivirus.html] ...from: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/09/mac-trojan-pretends-to-be-flash-p… Mac trojan pretends to be Flash Player Installer to get in the door By Jacqui Cheng | Published 4 days ago Hot on the heels of last week's Mac malware posing as a PDF is a new piece of malware posing as something even more insidious: a Flash player installer. Security firm Intego was the first to post about the new malware on its blog, noting that although the company has only received one report so far from a user who downloaded it, the malware does exist in the wild and may trick Mac users who don't yet have Flash installed. The malware in question is a trojan horse called Flashback (OSX/flashback.A); users may end up acquiring it by clicking a link on a malicious website to download or install Flash player. If those users also have their Safari settings to automatically open safe files (which .pkg and .mkpg files are considered to be), an installer will show up on their desktops as if they are legitimately installing Flash. Continuing through the installation process will result in the trojan deactivating certain types of security software (Intego specifically noted that the popular Little Snitch would be affected) and installing a dynamic loader library (dyld) with that can auto-launch, "allowing it to inject code into applications the user launched." The trojan then reports back to a remote server about the user's MAC address and allows the server to detect whether the Mac in question has been infected or not. The threat is currently marked as "low," but Mac users are advised to follow safe security practices—don't open files or attachments that you don't remember downloading, and turn off Safari's setting for opening safe files automatically. It's also worth noting that Apple now updates its malware definition file on a daily basis, and has already updated it to address the PDF trojan discussed last week. If you haven't already scoured the Internet for a malicious version of the Flash installer, then it's likely Apple will have added the new malware to the file by the time you run into it.

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INTEREST: Samsung blinks....
by billing 30 Sep '11

30 Sep '11

..... in a kind of "aggressive/passive" way.... ...from: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/09/samsung-lawsuits-against-apple-ov… September 23, 2011 [...] Samsung senior vice president Lee Younghee in a recent interview with the Associated Press [...] characterized Samsung's legal maneuvers against Apple since Apple launched a massive lawsuit against the company's Galaxy-branded devices in April as "passive." Now, however, Samsung "[will] be pursuing our rights for this in a more aggressive way from now on," Lee said. [...] ...from: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/09/samsung-to-ditch-two-multitouch-f… Samsung to Apple: we'll ditch Galaxy Tab 10.1 features to sell in Australia By Chris Foresman | Published September 30. 2011 Samsung has agreed to make a number of changes to its Galaxy Tab 10.1 to keep the devices from getting banned for sale in Australia before the holiday shopping season. During hearings in Sydney, lawyers for the company agreed to remove two multitouch features patented by Apple in order to get the device on the market as soon as possible. On Friday, Samsung also offered Apple a proposed settlement agreement, which would let Samsung sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as soon as next week. Apple and Samsung are currently embroiled in as many as 23 lawsuits globally after Apple accused Samsungof "slavishly copying" its designs for the iPhone and iPad in its Galaxy S smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablets. Apple has been been requesting preliminary injunctions in a number of markets where it has filed claims against Samsung, including the US, the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. So far, Apple has been awarded preliminary injunctions against the Galaxy Tab in Germany and against some Galaxy S smartphones in The Netherlands. The hearings this week in Australia concern Apple's request for a preliminary injunction there, which could be decided as early as next week. Throughout the proceedings, the numerous claims Apple brought were essentially reduced to three patent infringement issues, including two for certain multitouch-related features and one that relates to how multitouch-capable touchscreens are manufactured. Samsung agreed on Thursday to remove features that use certain heuristics to filter out "accidental" touch input as well as the "zoom bounce" effect that the iPhone uses when zooming past the minimum or maximum zoom level. On Friday, Samsung told the court that it also made proposed settlement offer to Apple. The settlement, if Apple agrees to forgo its request for a preliminary injunction, would allow Samsung to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as early as next week. The details haven't been made public, but it could at least bring a temporary truce while Apple presses for a full hearing by the end of the year. Apple's attorneys said of the proposed agreement that "[o]ur friend's inconvenience would be minimised and we would be comforted." The hearing will continue again on Tuesday, and the judge has encouraged Apple and Samsung to settle the issue before her final decision is entered tentatively by the end of next week.

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INTEREST: Gartner Group: "Apple’s design team is unparalleled in the industry..."
by billing 29 Sep '11

29 Sep '11

...from: http://www.macworld.com/article/161951/2011/08/what_jobss_departure_means_f… What Jobs's departure means for the mobile industry by Matt Hamblen, Computerworld Aug 25, 2011 5:01 pm Editor's Note: This story is excerpted from Computerworld. For more Mac coverage, visitComputerworld's Macintosh Knowledge Center. The iPhone. The iPad. Both iconic Apple products have soared in global popularity. Both have led to a mobile computing movement started, arguably, when the iPhone first appeared in 2007. Perhaps it is more properly called a minor revolution that has forced the public to question its reliance on desktop and laptop computers. Both products had Steve Jobs as the motivating spark behind their development. Now that he has resigned as CEO, probably due to lingering health concerns, can his fire still burn inside Apple’s engineers, designers and marketers? Jobs stays on as Apple’s board chairman, with former chief operating officer Tim Cook installed as CEO. But is that enough to keep Apple on top with alluring new product designs and technology marvels, much less the business savvy to work with carriers and manufacturers globally? “His departure will affect parts of the [mobile computing] industry dramatically,” independent analyst Jeffrey Kagan said in an email. “Remember, it was Apple that was the leader in changing the music business [with iTunes], the smartphone business, and Apple invented the [touchscreen] tablet computer business. Much of that came from Steve Jobs’ vision.” Magical products from a magic maker Many will recall that Apple is the company whose CEO called the iPad “magical” in January 2010. The touchpad device has easily captured the global media tablet market, with more than a 70% share, according to IDC. What perhaps best captures Jobs’ impact on Apple, and his imprint on the entire mobile computing industry, is the way he put everything together in a company: brilliant marketing, combined with the ability to find creative managers and designers to do all the heavy lifting. The first-generation touchscreen iPhone was inspired in its design and software function, but Jobs clearly understood the need to sell the device around the globe. Setting up manufacturing, marketing and business agreements with hundreds of global carriers (most speaking different languages) is plain hard work, and it takes a capable manager to find the right people and keep the effort thriving. Analysts noted that it took Research in Motion more than a decade to set up the global carrier agreements to sell BlackBerry smartphones that Jobs and Apple were able to put in place in less than half the time. Leveraging the powerful carriers In 2007, Jobs was especially shrewd in negotiating with powerful carriers around the world to provide wireless service for the iPhone. Jobs and his team initially set up an exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T that took advantage of the carrier’s universal GSM network (useful for later expansion of the iPhone abroad), while forcing CDMA provider and staunch competitor Verizon Wireless (and lesser competitor Sprint) to sweat it out for years. Verizon finally got a CDMA iPhone 4 in February, while Sprint is reportedly getting an iPhone in the fall. “Jobs changed the way that phone makers interact with carriers,” Kagan noted. “Before the iPhone, carriers ruled. Now, Apple and Google rule.” No big opportunity for Apple rivals Five industry analysts interviewed after the Jobs resignation mostly said Jobs and Cook, his successor, can continue to inspire and motivate the Apple team during this transition period and beyond. They also said the near-term won’t necessarily be a time for Google, Android manufacturers and Android developers to seize the market advantage. Much the same view was held about Microsoftwith its big ambitions but tiny market share with Windows Phone mobile operating system and its prospects for Windows 8 on tablets. Research in Motion might have the most to gain from a leadership shift at Apple, because with its latest innovations to the Blackberry, especially the upcoming QNX OS. RIM’s smartphones and itsPlayBook tablet have struggled to compete with the iPhone, the iPad, and Android products, and the Blackberry maker has lost some of its vaunted smartphone market share which was first focused on business users, analysts noted. “Competitors who think they can exploit Jobs’ departure … are making a mistake,” said Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg in an email. “Apple’s design team is unparalleled in the industry and will likely continue thriving under the leadership of Jonathan Ive,” Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design. Apple’s iPhone, iPad brain trust continues Ive was described by BusinessWeek in 2006 as the “man behind Apple’s design magic.” He and Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iOS software (the operating system for the iPhone and iPad), have often appeared onstage with Jobs to introduce a next-generation iPhone or iPad. They are sometimes referred to as the brain trust behind the iPad and iPhone. The real question for Apple is how well they will work together with Cook at the helm, some analysts said. However, Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, said he doesn’t believe there’s “any real change that will result from the departure of Jobs. He has set up the teams and staffed them with people who know how to move forward … Cook has a record of being able to run the company.” Gold said makers of the Android platform, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and others “have an opportunity to catch up, but I don’t think that would be directly related to Jobs’ leaving.” Gold wished Jobs good health, and said he hoped he can stay as chairman a long while to keep inspiring the company. “CEO transitions for founders are fairly common,” he said. “Strong personalities move on. Some seem to have little effect on the company’s market position and some don’t. In the case of Apple, Jobs has set up a mechanism that allows Apple to move forward without him at the helm day to day.” Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner analyst based in Europe, also said she saw little impact from the Jobs’ departure as CEO. “As far as I’m concerned, tomorrow will be business as usual in Cupertino. Apple continues to be the benchmark,” she said. “Competitors will be foolish to think that they can take advantage of any momentary loss of direction.” She added: “There is no question that Steve’s charisma will be hard, if not impossible, to replace, but there is more to Apple than Steve Jobs as far as product design, planning and execution.” Kagan, the independent analyst, said even though Jobs has been a key ingredient behind the iPhone and iPad, the entire company has had years to prepare for his departure, since the time Jobs was first diagnosed with cancer in 2004. “If Jobs resigned six years ago, his departure would have been an earthquake,” Kagan said. “This time, they have been preparing, so it may just be a tremor.” Still, it is easy to wonder what could happen, Kagan said. “Steve Jobs drove much of the change in the mobile industry,” Kagan said. “What could have changed that won’t change now, going forward? Good question. We may never know.”

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INTEREST: Art on a shoestring; well, a $2.99 iPod app, at any rate...
by billing 26 Sep '11

26 Sep '11

The following pictures were created on an iPod Touch..... (well, OK,the one on the left was an iPad... but it could have been done on an iPod Touch or iPhone, at least, Mr. Yamaoka could do it...) ...from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/picture-galleries/8776362/Digital-pai… Japanese artist Seikou Yamaoka creates complex and beautiful digital paintings on his iPod Touch during his commute to work. This amazing time-lapse video reveals the striking image of a woman 'painted' over three and half hours using the £1.99 app ArtStudio. https://www.youtube.com/user/yamaz0714#p/u/4/8AJdsgvo0Bo Japanese commuter paints iPod art on train to work Artist creates a complex and beautiful digital painting on his iPod Touch during his commute to work. 12:19PM BST 20 Sep 2011 Using just his finger tips and a cheap application, Seikou Yamaoka carefully builds up strokes of colour on a 3.5-inch screen to create an image more resembling an oil painting than a digital artwork. Speeded up footage reveals the developing image of a Japanese woman 'painted' over three and half hours using the £1.99 ArtStudio app. The first iPod Touch was released in by Apple in September 2007 and more than 60 million devices have been sold to date. - - - - - - - = - - - - - - - - - You can see his YouTube channel with many more videos of his drawings at: https://www.youtube.com/user/yamaz0714 The iTunes App Store link to the free ArtStudio Lite: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/artstudio-draw-paint-edit/id395508420?mt=8 .....to the full version of ArtStudio: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/artstudio-for-ipad-draw-paint/id364017607?mt… ArtStudio Features: FEATURES: - SUPPORT FOR ANY DEVICE ORIENTATION - available canvas sizes: 768x1024, 768x768, 1024x1024, 2048x2048 (iPad2 only), CUSTOM - 30 BRUSHES including pencils, brushes, WET BRUSH, eraser, smudge tool, bucket fill (simple/smart, eraser), gradient fill, glow, tube, airbrush, blur/sharpen, 1px and many more… - CUSTOM BRUSHES - just start new image with size 128x128px, and save it as custom brush! - SELECT TOOL (rect/ellipse/lasso/magic wand/by color, add/sub/intersect, contract/expand/round corners/border/...) - TEXT TOOL (44 fonts, settings: normal/bold/italic, left/center/right alignment, size, opacity, color) - CLONE TOOL - slots to SAVE 20 BRUSH PRESETS with names - 17 DRAWING LESSONS (animals, human, 3d, perspective) - DODGE/BURN - lots of brush settings: size, opacity, fadeout, spacing, jitter, speed-based thickness, hard-edge, incremental and more - real-time preview for all brushes - simulated brush pressure - line smoothing, antialiasing - symmetric drawing - horizontal and vertical - shapes: lines, rectangles, ellipses, polygons (open, closed) - quality and performance unmatched by any other app in the app store - 6 LAYERS with options: add/new / delete / reorder / duplicate / merge / clear / transparency / visibility - LAYER MASKS - layer transformations: ROTATE/MOVE/SCALE/FLIP with multi-touch - image transformations: rotate left/right, flip horizontal/vertical - 9 layer blending modes: normal, multiply, add, screen, overlay, hue, saturation, color, value, difference - preserve transparency layer mode (so you can draw only on the visible contents of a layer) - copy/paste layer between projects - file sharing - transfer projects between ArtStudio for iPad and iPhone - clipboard support - copy/paste images (with transparency) from ArtStudio to other apps and vice-versa. - multi-touch navigation with unlimited zoom - tap-and-hold to enable eyedropper - advanced color editing with real-time colorized RGB sliders - UNDO/REDO system, with almost infinite number of steps - image resize, change canvas size, crop - filters: gaussian blur, sharpen, pixelize, add border, vignette, noise, color-to-alpha, posterize, edge detect, sepia and more... - adjustments: brightness/contrast/exposure(gamma); hue/saturation/lightness; red/green/blue; colorize - load/save/export to iphone gallery / import from gallery / send by e-mail - export to PSD - additional "QUICK MENU" with the most frequently used functions, displayed after three-finger tap - thousands of beautiful paintings in ONLINE GALLERY - Video Output - after you connect your iPad to TV or VGA adaptor, the canvas will be mirrored to external screen. Two settings available: "panscan" and "show pan/zoom also on external screen"

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INTEREST: first there was SETI@Home; then predicting protein structure....
by billing 21 Sep '11

21 Sep '11

...then SETI@home became the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC). Now "crowd sourcing" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_source) takes on the AIDS virus... and cracks it..... FTW! (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/for_the_win) You remember the SETI@home project. Ordinary people would offer up CPU cycles on their computers to analyze "pictures" of the heavens looking for signs of extra-terrestrial life: http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ For various technical and security reasons, this grew into the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) which now encompasses SETI@home as well as over 40 other "crowd sourced" analysis projects. Stanford released the Folding@Home project was started in 2001 to help scientists studying diseases by simply running a piece of software. Folding@home is a distributed computing project -- people from throughout the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world. Every computer takes the project closer to our goals. Folding@home uses novel computational methods coupled to distributed computing, to simulate problems millions of times more challenging than previously achieved. In 2008 FoldIt (a protein folding game) was developed by doctoral student Seth Cooper and postdoctoral researcher Adrien Treuille, both in computer science and engineering, working with Zoran Popovic, a UW associate professor of computer science and engineering; David Baker, a UW professor of biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator; and David Salesin, a UW professor of computer science and engineering. Professional game designers provided advice during the game's creation. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508122520.htm "The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems." Now, it seems, FoldIt gamers have, well, see for yourself: ...from: http://gizmodo.com/5841782/gamers-crack-code-that-could-lead-to-new-aids-tr… http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/online-gamers-crack-aids-enzyme-pu… TOP STORIES SCIENCE Gamers Crack Code That Could Lead to New AIDS Treatments Scientists spent a decade trying—and failing—to map the structure of an enzyme that could help solve a crucial part of the AIDS puzzle. It took online gamers all of three weeks. The enzyme in question is the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus retroviral protease, and researchers have been seeking ways of deactivating it as a way of developing new anti-HIV drugs. Unfortunately, the conventional efforts of computers and scientists have come up short for years. Enter: Foldit. Foldit was developed in 2008 as a means of discovering the structures of various proteins and amino acids—something computers can't do very well—by turning it into a game. By inputting the experimental coordinates for the monkey virus enzyme, gamers—most of whom didn't have a background in molecular biology—were able to accurately predict the structure of the protein, allowing scientists to pinpoint locations to stop the virus' growth. The study, published in Nature Structure & Molecular Biology, details how incredible a step this is towards developing more effective therapies for HIV/AIDS patients. It's also an important precedent that lays the groundwork for scientists and lay people to work together to solve new problems and save lives. Which is very exciting.

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INTEREST: "Oh, bother": Samsung sues iPhone 5
by billing 21 Sep '11

21 Sep '11

....from: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/19/samsung-moves-to-block-iphone-5-in-korea… Samsung moves to block iPhone 5 in Korea, expands its anti-Apple offensive By Terrence O'Brien posted Sep 19th 2011 12:01PM Well, since Samsung couldn't get an early peek at the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, the company has simply decided to take a page from Apple's playbook. A senior exec told The Korea Times it plans to file a request to block the sale of the upcoming iOS handset in its Korean homeland the moment the device is announced. According to the Times, the anonymous exec said it would leverage its wireless technology patents and demand that Apple either remove the telecommunications features -- turning the iPhone into an iPod touch -- or simply be banished from the Korean market. The knock-down-drag-out war between the two companies has only seemed to escalate in recent weeks, as Sammy has taken a much morecombative and offensive approach. We can only hope the two get tired of divvying up the globe and declare a draw in this game of patent Risk.

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INTEREST: Apple and Google and HTML5 and Android
by billing 21 Sep '11

21 Sep '11

....from: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/16/google_html5_effort_stinks/ Google shamed by Apple in race to HTML5 Now that's embarrassing By Matt Asay • Get more from this author Posted in Mobile, 16th September 2011 04:23 GMT Open...and Shut If ever there were a company made to beat Apple in mobile, it's Google. Apple, with its rigid devotion to a native app experience, is the perfect target for Google, king of the web. After all, the web and its rising standard, HTML5, threaten to cut Apple's estimated operating profit growth by 30 per cent over the next four years, according to Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi, as app developers write browser-based apps that span devices. The problem, however, is that Google is showing itself to be a poor standard-bearer for HTML5, given its Janus-faced mobile strategy that Android largely dictates. Google should be the industry's standard bearer for HTML5, given its web DNA and the opportunity to unseat Apple using the disruptive web. But HTML5 isn't going to topple Apple anytime soon, if for no other reason than no Apple competitor supports HTML5 on its devices as well as Apple does. By a considerable margin. Part of the reason HTML5 apps perform much better on Apple devices is because Apple long ago invested in hardware acceleration, whereas Google only got around to it in version 3.0 of Android. And then there's just general browser performance. On the desktop, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or even Microsoft Internet Explorer regularly trounce Apple's Safari in performance tests, as well as extensibility of the browser through plug-ins and extensions. But in mobile, Apple's Safari blows everyone else away, as recent research shows. In other words, even the web is better on Apple devices, despite Apple's preference for native apps. Google should be doing better. Perhaps the reason it isn't comes down to a confused mobile strategy. On the desktop, its strategy is clear: all web, all the time. Google has invested in Google Docs, Picasa, Gmail, YouTube, and a wide array of other services that live on the web. In mobile, however, Google's approach is much less clear, an opacity likely spawned by Android's surprising success. Yes, Google has rolled out several new apps (Google+, Music Beta, etc.) that live in the browser, and have no native app equivalent. But Google also has a stringent devotion to Android, which has often been slow to adopt technology that embraces HTML5 (see hardware acceleration commentary above), and which depends for its success on the same model that Apple does: a native app store. Except that Apple doesn't really rely on the App Store for its revenue. Not directly, anyway. Despite the significant success of Apple's App Store, the revenue it brings in is a rounding error on Apple's income statement. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has estimated that the App Store accounts for a mere 1 per cent of Apple's gross profit since it launched. Even if that number has gone up in the year since Munster first announced his estimate, it still would pale in comparison to the money Apple makes in its core business: hardware. The better Apple's support for native apps, the more devices it sells. The better its support for HTML5, the more devices Apple sells, too. Either way, Apple wins. (And promises to continue to win as it has serious economies of scale compared to its hardware competitors,as John Gruber posits.) Google, meanwhile, has no such clarity in its mobile business. Google wants to play it both ways - native (Android) and HTML5 (Chrome) - but HTML5 is too often the ugly stepchild in a company that should be trumpeting web standards in every single thing it does. Google has for years stated that Android is just a transition OS on the way to a glorious browser-based future, but its actions suggest it may be addicted to Android's success. I'm not suggesting this from some big policy moves that Google has announced, but rather as an employee of a company that works with Apple, Google, and others on HTML5. There are pockets within Google that absolutely love HTML5, but it is the Android team that gets the most airtime. Advertising should be to Google as hardware is to Apple, but in my experience Android obstructs Google's interest in working with the web, rather than accelerating it. Contrast this with Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, and others who have clear strategies around HTML5 and, hence, are able to promote it without being contradicted by their own successes in native. Perhaps it doesn't matter. Android is, after all, flying high in smartphones, even if it has yet to catch fire in tablets. Perhaps Google doesn't really need to embrace the web to win in mobile. I can't see Google beating Apple at its own native app game and, given Google's web DNA, I can't see its employees wanting to. Google needs to get its mobile story straight, and that story is going to sound a lot more consistent coming from Google's lips if it's consistently HTML5. Matt Asay is senior vice president of business development at Strobe, a startup that offers an open source framework for building mobile apps. He was formerly chief operating officer of Ubuntu commercial operation Canonical. With more than a decade spent in open source, Asay served as Alfresco's general manager for the Americas and vice president of business development, and he helped put Novell on its open source track. Asay is an emeritus board member of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). His column, Open...and Shut, appears twice a week on The Register.

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INTEREST: SEC - Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition
by billing 14 Sep '11

14 Sep '11

...from: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/14/google-outbid-itself-by-33-percent-in-mo… http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-13/google-bid-for-motorola-mobilit… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904353504576569152330382810.h… http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1495569/000119312511225797/dex21.htm Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition, SEC filing reveals By Amar Toor posted Sep 14th 2011 at 4:45AM Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is already starting to lose that new car smell, but a fresh batch of financial details has now emerged, providing deeper insight into how the deal actually went down. According to an SEC filing that Motorola Mobility released yesterday, Google made an initial offer of $30 per share on August 1st, but soon raised that bid to $37 per share on August 9th, after Moto and its advisers asked for $43.50. On that same day, Google again raised its offer to $40 per share, even though Motorola wasn't accepting bids from other firms, for fear that a public auction would jeopardize its sale. This 33 percent increase ultimately added some $3 billion to the pot, bringing the final price tag to $12.5 billion. A Mountain View spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations, though its aggressive bidding suggests that the search giant desperately wanted the deal to go through. The documents also reveal that patent-related issues were at the forefront of discussions from the very beginning, when Google's Senior Vice President Andy Rubin met with Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha to talk about their mutual concerns, way back in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, these talks eventually convinced Jha that his company would be better off under Google's stewardship, amid fears that Moto could get swallowed by the stormy seas of patent litigation -- anxieties that the exec made all too apparentjust four days before the merger was announced. You can dig through the full SEC filing at the source link below.

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