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Looking ahead to 2011: What's on the Microsoft calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 04:38:28 PST

It’s that time: Time to start plotting the travel schedule and penciling in the Microsoft events (that we know about so far) for the new year.

CES 2011: CEO Steve Ballmer is the kick-off CES keynoter on January 5 at 6:30 p.m. PT. Microsoft execs are remaining tight-lipped about what’s on the agenda, but early leaks have indicated that Ballmer is going to talk about Microsoft’s and its partners’ plans in the slate/tablet space (again, like he did last year). While some are expecting Microsoft to share details about plans to port Windows to ARM and/or about Windows 8, I’m thinking Windows Embedded is a more likely topic — and possibly the operating system that will be behind whatever kind of new slates/tablets the Softies unveil at the show this year. The Windows Embedded team has posted a CES press preview article, making it seem as though Windows Embedded Standard devices will be one of the big pushes for the company at CES.

Dynamics CRM 2011 launch: The virtual (Webcasted) launch event is January 20, 2011, for Microsoft’s “CRM 5″ release. The Online version of the product will be available in January; the on-premises version in the first quarter of 2011.

Mobile World Congress 2011: In February (14-17 in Barcelona), Microsoft is expected to talk up some of its future update plans for Windows Phones at the show. Maybe we’ll hear a bit about “Mango,” the next release of the Windows Phone OS (possibly 7.5) that some of my tipsters have said will deliver in-browser support for HTML5 and Silverlight.

Microsoft MVP Summit: This year, the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) invite-only summit is slated for February 28 to March 2 in Bellevue, Wash.

Game Developers Conference 2011: Could Microsoft be ready to share more about its future plans for Kinect by February 28? (GDC runs from February 28 to March 4 in San Francisco in 2011.)

Microsoft Management Summit 2011: In Las Vegas from March 21 to 25, MMS will be dedicated to the latest on all products and services management-related. Expect possible updates on Windows Intune, the various System Center products, virtualization and more.

Convergence 2011: The annual confab for Microsoft Dynamics ERP/CRM customers and partners is April 10 to 13 in Atlanta. There will be news around the upcoming versions of Microsoft’s four ERP suites, no doubt — and maybe even some very early CRM 6 talk (?).

Mix ‘11: A beta of Silverlight 5 is one of the expectations for this year’s Mix, which is happening (sadly again) in Las Vegas from April 12 to 14. Maybe we’ll see the final Internet Explorer 9 release at Mix, as well.

TechEd 2011: Microsoft’s annual educational conference, where the talks (typically) focus on already-announced products, is happening from May 16 to 19 in Atlanta this year. Who knows: Maybe we’ll hear more about the Office 365 rollout (which my sources are hearing will happen around the first week of June).

E3 2011: This year’s game extravaganza is June 7 to 9 in Los Angeles. As usual, lots of Xbox, Xbox Live, games and game peripherals should be on the agenda.

Worldwide Partner Conference 2011: It’s off to Los Angeles again this year for Microsoft’s annual partner confab, taking place from July 11 to 14.

Professional Developers Conference 2011: No dates or location on this one (yet), but many Microsoft watchers are expecting this year’s PDC to be where Microsoft rolls out a public beta (or at least a Community Technology Preview) of Windows 8.

Any other Microsoft-specific events already in your calendar?

Microsoft delivers test build of server app-virtualization technology

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 04:36:21 PST

Microsoft quietly delivered a promised Community Technology Preview (CTP) test build of its server application virtualization technology just before Christmas.

Company officials said at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in October 2010 to expect CTP 1 of server app-virtualiztion before the end of 2010. The final version of the technology is still on track for delivery in the second half of 2011, execs said on December 22.

At the PDC, Microsoft published a lengthy laundry list of new cloud technologies the company was planning to roll out in test and final form in the coming year-plus. I believe the server app-virtualiztion component was the last of the expected deliverables to make it out before the year-end deadline.

In June 2010, Microsoft execs said to expect Server application virtualiztion to be delivered via System Center Virtual Machine Manager v.Next, due in the second half of 2011. (That product is expected to debut as SCVMM 2012 when it ships.)

Server application virtualization (Server App-V), as explained in a December 22 TechNet blog post, builds on the client App-V technology that Microsoft currently offers as part of its Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). It will allow users to separate application configuration and state from the underlying operating system. As the post noted:

“This separation and packaging enables existing Windows applications, not specifically designed for Windows Azure, to be deployed on a Windows Azure worker role. We can do this in a way where the application state is maintained across reboots or movement of the worker role.”

Server App-V converts traditional Windows Server 2008 apps into “state separated ‘XCopyable’ images without requiring code changes to the applications themselves,” the Softies explained.

Server App-V is meant to be a complementary technology to the Windows Azure VM Role technology, a test version of which Microsoft delivered in November. The two technologies are aimed at allowing customers to host more of their legacy applications in the cloud.

Angry Birds putting its eggs in Apple's basket

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:59:52 PST

This is my takeaway from Hillel Fuld’s excellent interview with Peter Verterbacka, a.k.a. the “Mighty Eagle” of Rovio, creators of the chart-topping Angry Birds ($0.99, App Store) game:

Apple will be the number one platform for a long time from a developer perspective, they have gotten so many things right. And they know what they are doing and they call the shots. Android is growing, but it’s also growing complexity at the same time. Device fragmentation not the issue, but rather the fragmentation of the ecosystem. So many different shops, so many different models. The carriers messing with the experience again. Open but not really open, a very Google centric ecosystem. And paid content just doesn’t work on Android.

I’m a huge fan of Angry Birds and happen to agree with him about Apple. Verterbacka is also brilliant for focusing on retention. How many time have you downloaded an app only to use it for a day or two then never again? Probably a lot. Rovio keeps us coming back for more (a.k.a. retention) by issuing free updates every four weeks or so with lots of new levels.

I also think that new AB plush toys (pictured via Digital Mom Blog) make the best cubicle decor ever. You can get them as in-app purchases in Angry Birds Seasons ($0.99, App Store) and online exclusively through ToyWiz.com.

Did you know the Nokia N900 had Skype video calling 7 months ago?

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 01:30:16 PST

Skype just rolled out video calling for iOS devices so now you can forget about trying to find friends with Facetime and make video calls to millions of people around the world. Did you know that Skype video calling was out and available for the Nokia N900 back in May of this year? The Nokia N900 is still the best mobile phone for integrated Skype support so if Skype is important to you then you might want to consider this device that has been out for over a year.

Skype for iOS devices is definitely a major new and welcome functionality since there are so many millions of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners and now these customers can experience free video calling and instant messaging. However, it isn’t the first mobile phone to get Skype video support, even though many are reporting it this way. The Nokia N900 launched with Skype service integration and in my foreign travels I made sure to have it on hand for free calls (when connected to WiFi in a hotel or other hotspot) back to my family in the US. Jason Harris wrote about the Skype video calling experience back in May and as you can see the user interface on the N900 is quite good.

The Nokia N900 also has support for several other services associated with your contacts and presents you with an awesome interface for knowing your contacts’ status and interacting with them. You can share your status and location, make voice or VoIP calls, send email or SMS, or start up an IM conversation all from within the same view. The Nokia N900 is also a fantastic multitasking device and is a device that is still worthy of consideration in this day and age with the latest iOS, Android, webOS, Symbian, and Windows Phone 7 devices.

How Privacy Icons could save web users from themselves

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:38:01 PST

Throw together some of the world’s foremost thinkers of online privacy and representatives from Mozilla into a room, and given enough time something incredible will be created.

Introducing a prototype alpha version of ‘Privacy Icons’, these visual representations of online privacy policies could revolutionise the existing policies for websites and services into a readable and understandable format for ordinary users.

This combined effort will help transform text-based contract-like policies into a system where the ordinary user will know where their data goes. For example, knowing that a website or service will only use your data solely for the intended use for that site, versus a service which uses your data to sell on to spammers and junk mailers could be the difference between using it and not.

Gallery
To take a look at the proposed new Privacy Icons to revolutionise the understanding of online privacy policies, check out the gallery here.

To find out more, I spoke to my old friend, Aza Raskin, former head of user experiences at Mozilla Labs and now startup entrepreneur of Massive Health, about his prototype idea of Privacy Icons.

I asked him about enforcement and how privacy policies can be amended to accommodate Privacy Icons:

“The current thinking for Privacy Icons is to use a bolt-on approach. That is, when a site uses a Privacy Icon, the icon appends legalese to the site’s existing privacy policy to make it as enforceable as privacy policies can be.

Just like copyright or privacy policies in general, Privacy Icons cannot be automatically enforced. A site can lie in their privacy policy today to mislead their users. Enforcement and accountability has and will continue to come from third-parties and governments.

The exact legal mechanisms by which this works is still an open question, but the copyright symbol is a good anology: the simple act of its presence confers a set of rights. Just like Firefox warns when you are visiting a potentially malicious site, it can also warn if the symbol appears without the appropriate text existing in the privacy policy.

But think about it this way. If the Privacy Icons are used maliciously to mislead people then that implies Privacy Icons have succeeded in a big way. If people are making decisions based on now easily-understood privacy attributes, the icons have succeeded at informing and educating web users about the importance of their and with whom and how they share it. Misuse is a classy problem to have.”

Could Privacy Icons be automatically brought into web browsing and email software?

“Absolutely. As Privacy Icons evolve, I expect to see a number of extensions made by a variety of parties. Places like the CDT have already expressed interest in doing just that.”

Will Privacy Icons act as a conduit to ensuring the younger generations are more careful with their privacy, and more careful with the data they directly and indirectly hand over to websites?

“Privacy Icons are fundamentally about transparency. They make it easier to know exactly what a company intends to do with your data in a way which is understandable to most people. As people begin to realize what happens to their data, at the most basic level, it will help them make better decisions about which new services they use.

Given a choice of a two Facebook applications that do roughly the same thing, where one sells data to advertisers, with Privacy Icons it is much easier to decide which to use. I expect the more technically savvy folks to blog, tweet, and evangelize the sites which are better actors. That, in turn, will influence the broader demographics.”

Six big trends to watch in 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:33:59 PST

I’ve long been a fan of Geoffrey Moore’s classic business books about the evolutionary path taken by emerging technologies and the companies that champion them. Especially now that several of the key emerging technologies I follow are at such different stages of their evolutions. These contrasting cross-currents are going to make 2011 a fascinating and turbulent year, one in which SaaS enters the tornado and mobile enters the bowling alley at the very same time as cloud trips over the chasm. I’ve decided to highlight six trends in enterprise computing for the coming year, but here’s a seventh prediction: middle-of-the-road analysts and pundits will find it even harder than ever to make any sense of everything that’s going on right now.

1. Mainstream means mobile

For many years, mobile has been a peripheral afterthought when developing enterprise applications. Even when running in a browser, the laptop or desktop PC has been the primary user platform, and a mobile client was always an option at best. In 2011, there’s going to be seismic shift. Significant numbers of enterprise software vendors will upend their development priorities and develop for mobile first, desktop second.

2. Fake cloud #fails the crowd

It should be no surprise to find me predicting that so-called ‘private cloud’ will disappoint. Cloud computing has ridden to the peak of the Gartner hype cycle, and fake cloud is now leading the way into the trough of disillusionment. Vendors and enterprises seeking to capture the benefits of cloud computing without understanding the core principles will come a cropper, and cloud’s reputation will suffer accordingly, even if undeservedly.

3. IT management gets wired to the cloud

The days when cloud computing came in an unaccountable black box are drawing to an end. Enterprise buyers rightly demand oversight and governance of their computing, even if hosted by a provider. Instead of take-it-or-leave it service levels, there’s a new trend towards visibility and accountability. Examples include RightNow’s Cloud Services Portal or the detailed reporting and governance built into managed cloud offerings from the likes of OpSource and Rackspace. 2011 will see instrumentation bringing new depth and detail to cloud and SaaS offerings.

4. Data just wants to be mined

The volume of data being accumulated every day is exploding, and it’s yielding huge new value for those who know how to mine and refine it. This emerging new value equation is changing the relationship between data and security, as Wikileaks has shown. Governments and corporations today (not to mention consumers) are sitting on rich seams of data whose value they have barely realized. Others are mining that wealth, whether openly or surreptitiously. I can’t put it better than I wrote back in 2006: “Value comes from the views that you create to filter, join and represent data — whether it’s your data or someone else’s (more often the latter).”

5. Social technologies remake enterprise apps

The ability to collaborate in real time, to instantly initiate conversations or to develop a thread across follow-the-sun timezones — all these capabilities are bringing people together in new ways that cut across the old business processes of industrial-era enterprise applications. The old way was to put the organization and its process automation first. Now applications are being remade to put people at the center of process and have automation serve their needs. The outcome will break down the old silos of resource-centric process management, to replace them with new, people-centric automation stacks.

6. Business transformation becomes the big story

The tech industry is obsessed with its pursuit of the new, new thing. In 2011 the new, new thing is not a technology at all, but a new way of doing business that’s enabled by all of the above. The new year’s most telling innovations will not be in mobile, cloud or social technologies but in how smart, entrepreneurial business people adapt to the potential that blossoms from those technologies.

Wired vs. Wireless...which way to go when it's time to refresh?

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 00:33:02 PST

One of the schools I work with is looking at a major infrastructure refresh. The hundred odd switches that were state of the art when the school was built 13 years ago are rapidly failing and, combined with thousands of meters of Cat 5 cabling, are too slow to handle drastically increased utilization over that time frame. So the question is, should the school replace all of the hardware and cabling or go wireless?

It’s easy and not terribly expensive to achieve at least gigabit speeds with wired connections and off the shelf components. This school even has fiber connecting a head end room to each floor. Each room in the school is wired with at least 4 drops, if not 6 or 8, though, all of which run off of the Cat 5 cable which would prevent actual gigabit throughput. While replacing the switches isn’t a big deal since every floor has a wiring closet and all of the switches are centralized, one has to wonder if this is really the best choice.

After all, both Ruckus and Xirrus offer high-bandwidth, long-range wireless solutions that even work in the concrete fortresses that most schools tend to be. They will design appropriate solutions based on your site and requirements and provide total wireless coverage for a school. Former ZDNet blogger George Ou even describes ways to make high end wireless routers cheaply from commodity parts.

Wireless means not pulling new cable and far fewer switches being replaced. It also means investing in technology that isn’t going to hit those gigabit speeds that allow everything from telephony to multicasting videos. Not that modern wireless (and I’m not talking Apple Airports here) isn’t fast. It’s very fast, but there’s still nothing quite like Cat 6 to the desktop with a solid fiber backbone.

So what’s a school to do?

In fact, there isn’t an easy answer here. However, the companies that sell both wired and wireless equipment will be more than happy to come out and make recommendations. Obviously, recommendations from Ruckus probably aren’t going to sound like this:

“No, wireless really isn’t the best choice here. The interference from building materials and equipment is just too great. Give Cisco a call - they have some great managed switches and I bet you can get a deal on some cheap Cat 6.”

However, if the solution that a wireless-only company proposes starts sounding mighty expensive and hard questions about performance, range, and numbers of clients aren’t answered to your satisfaction, then some red flags should be going up. At the same time, companies like HP and Cisco sell both wired and wireless solutions. Their wireless products may not be in quite the same league as those installed by the big wireless players, but the pre-sales engineers who visit your school are happy to sell you whichever system from their respective companies will perform the best. They may be a much better source of objective opinions on wired vs. wireless than providers who only offer a single solution.

All that being said, schools with aging infrastructure owe it to themselves and their users to take a hard look at wireless. No more pulling cables, no more loops from careless students or techs, centralized management, and better service for an increasingly mobile set of users…It’s hard to argue with some of the major benefits of wireless, isn’t it?

Ask yourself a few questions before those pre-sales engineers come on out, though:

How fast does it need to be?
What sorts of files are moving across your network now? In 2 years?
How long do you want the system to last?
What sort of backbone already exists? Is there a good reason to stick with a vendor if your backbone is staying intact?
Just how much cable will you need to pull? Rewiring a building is time-consuming, labor-intensive, potentially hazardous (you know there’s asbestos in those ceilings, right?), messy, and probably more expensive than you’d expect.
What sorts of resources do you have to help with a major wiring project? How much time do you have? And can you tap local telecoms or cable distributors for donated cable?

One last thought: Know when to get help. Just because you’re a tech director, network tech, or even a really savvy building principal doesn’t mean that you’re going to know everything there is to know about the state of the art in cost-effective enterprise networking. The pre-sales engineers will help you, but so will parents or community members in the industry, your favorite systems integrator, or consultants who specialize in infrastructure projects. This decision is simply too big and too important to not admit when you’re out of your depth and need some outside expertise.

First PC game supporting Microsoft Kinect is confirmed

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 11:19:44 PST

Though there’s speculation that Microsoft will eventually provide Windows support for its Kinect hands-free control system for the Xbox 360, it seems like everybody is jumping the gun. Hackers have made it work with PCs almost from its launch, and now a Korean PC game developer is claiming its new title will support Kinect.

GamePrix told IncGamers that its game Divine Soul will include support for Kinect for its combat mode. The company also says that “there are many [PC] game companies that are trying to apply for this system.”

Questions abound concerning the announcement, including why GamePrix is divulging Kinect support when no other PC game company has, and does this mean an announcement about official Windows support for Kinect is coming sooner than later. Or is GamePrix just building support into its game and hoping that hackers take care of the rest? Maybe next month’s CES will provide a more definitive answer.

Five unpredictable predictions for the 2011 iGeneration

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 11:18:14 PST

It’s very difficult to predict what an entire demographic of broad level users will do in the upcoming year. It’s like predicting whether or not you’ll get hit by an engine falling from a plane while dressed as Hugh Jackman in drag.

However, some predictions may surprise you altogether. It has been a tough year of economic recovery and though the recession is widely over, the spending cuts from governmental budgets will hit the younger, spendthrifty consumer most.

1. The Generation Y will continue not to be put off by copyright laws

Copyright laws are weak. Even the newer digital laws are prohibitive and disproportionate. They are busting at the seams with irrelevant content which bears little know how of modern technologies, and are practically unenforceable. No wonder people have been taking advantage since the days of WinMX and the original Napster back in the 1990’s.

Cases which have enveloped the media with disproportionate fines and court battles turns the defendants, arguably the victim in these cases, almost into a martyr for the cause. Surprisingly public sympathy becomes divided, with a feel of modern day ’stealing a loaf of bread’ because they were hungry. I know it sounds odd, but copyright laws at the moment are as effective as the odds to winning the Euro lottery.

2. Rising inflation will impact Generation Y spending

As inflation rises so do the price of consumer goods. For many who are working on national minimum wage at £5-$12 an hour depending on age and country, this is not enough to maintain a technology filled lifestyle.

The technology already bought, ranging from mobile devices to laptops, either by parents or themselves during a time of economic downfall, will be safe. Yet with wages remaining the same, plus the hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) in the UK and similar taxes across the developed world, spending will significantly reduce.

I expect that those with higher incomes with little or no dependencies will have more expendable income. This may include some of the Generation Y, but not the iGeneration demographic as a whole.

3. High speed fibre/WiMAX broadband will be sought by colleges and universities

Even with rising tuition fees and universities and colleges still recovering from their own budget cuts since the recession, the recovery is on. One of the logical options for many will be a increase in bandwidth to their campuses to encourage growth, external research and development, and opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Bandwidth nowadays acts like a currency; the bigger the pipe, the bigger the wallet, and the more you can fit in and the more to spend. New York University could be getting the first taste the fibre pie with Google’s new office conveniently located above a hub of fibre activity.

4. Younger developers may be put off by increasing corporate bureaucracy

Back in the day, there was a good mix of development for enthusiasm but also development for revenue. With a more broad spectrum of devices and platforms to develop for, combined with the bureaucracy of terms and conditions, especially from Apple, this could hamper the efforts for younger developers who create for passion as well as money.

5. Computing students will become more ‘creative’ and less ‘technical’

There always has been a disparity between the creative and the practical industries; like political parties, one occasionally holds the top spot until the other leads the polls.

From what I have seen and heard on my studenty-travels, the creative industry for university students has been on a downwards trend, as the recession recovers from ‘non-vital’ infrastructure and technical staffers. The creative industry bridges the technical world with the ordinary consumer, and at long last now that money has hit the economy like a wet fish, more money can be invested into areas which spur on the ordinary consumer.

5 things you're telling me about greentech

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:17:58 PST

It is illuminating and simultaneously very humbling to receive the daily and monthly traffic reports for this blog, especially since I broadened my horizons to cover entire green tech coverage universe in mid-2010. That universe is always expanding, of course, so those reports help me pick my battles.

With that in mind, I just scoured my top posts for the year with an eye to picking out the themes that you care about most not just to help guide my future coverage for 2011 but also to report back on what you were reading this year.

Here’s what I discovered:

People are really intrigued by the idea of cheap solar. My top most-read blog of the year was an item from September called “Coming Soon: Sub-$1,000 plug and play solar.” The item details the dream of Clarian Power to come out with technology next spring that could be sold at the likes of Best Buy, CostCo, or Lowe’s. It’s too early to say whether or not this company will be successful, but you can bet I’ll be checking. And, in fact, I’ve just talked to another company, Armageddon Energy, that is also seeking to make residential solar more affordable. Look for my post about them after Christmas. There were another four posts about solar in the top 20 posts for the year.
You have an insatiable appetite for news about LEDs. There were two LED-related posts in the top 10 (and one that was No. 11). The first two were strictly consumer: “GE brings LED to light with new replacement bulb” and “Sub-$20 LED bulbs no on Home Depot shelves.” These articles are clear evidence that we are all watching — and have an opinion about — the forthcoming phaseout of incandescent bulbs. Next year will be another big year both for mainstream products and for debate over the phaseout, which starts in 2012. I also thought it worth pointing out No. 11, “Let there be lumens,” because that post dealt with the LED’s potential downfall: the fact that it isn’t as bright, which could be a drawback, especially in commercial situations.
The intersection of information technology and energy storage fascinates us. What else could be the explanation for the amazing traffic I got for my simple post about Bloom Energy? That item, “The Bloom Box: Kind of like Legos for building a power ’server’ “ was the No. 2 post for the year and a related one, “Distributed computing works, why not distributed energy? was No. 4. Since that time, Bloom has signed some additional high-profile customers, including Adobe, eBay, Coca-Cola, Walmart and (more recently) Fireman’s Fund. Another company to watch in 2011 to see whether it can execute as promised.
You love practical green IT advice. A great example is the piece I did called “Breathe life into an old hard drive, avoiding electronic waste.” The $50 device in the story from Cirago Technology can be used as a docking station for old drives, which means you don’t necessarily have to migrate all your old data when you upgrade. ASUS’s decision to opt for longer life batteries from Boston Power, which can help triple the lifespan of the batteries, is another great example, as was this short piece about recyclable, checkpoint-friendly laptop bags from Mobile made out of corn stalks. A piece that I wrote about a software utility that saves you ink if you MUST print, also made it into the Top 10.
You’re checking out the green credentials of cloud computing. I personally haven’t made up my mind about how green cloud computing might be, so I’ve been trying to write about it as often as possible. My coverage of an Uptime conference presentation, “4 power advantages of cloud computing,” received the most traffic of all these posts. I’m curious to see how this plays out in 2011, as more businesses opt for software delivered as a service.

FCC chair gives preliminary approval to Comcast-NBC Universal merger

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:17:13 PST

FCC Chairman Julius Genchowski has issued a draft order approving the Comcast-NBC Universal merger - with conditions - and is putting the deal up for a vote among the rest of the commission, according to a Washington Post report.

There are reportedly five areas of concerns, including distribution of Comcast and NBC content over the Internet, the sharing of shows and the impact on competing cable and satellite firms.

Separately, the Justice Department is conducting its own anti-trust review and has not given indication of whether it is leaning toward approval or not. Analysts expect that the deal will be approved with conditions, as early as next month.

Word Lens picture becomes blurry

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 08:15:47 PST

When it hit the App Store this week I compared iOS app Word Lens to magic, but it seems to have drawn the ire of several of its users.

Since its release, Word Lens has been hammered with bad feedback on the App Store. It currently has a two-star average rating with 720 (out of 1296) users rated it one-star (and many requesting refunds).

Patrick Questembert, founder of Scanbizcards.com and developer of a leading iPhone business card scanning app shared his insight about Word Lens.

We don’t compete with Word Lens at all but share the same technology - OCR - so we know all too well the challenges in accurate text recognition - not easy even on good photos let alone when taking into account noisy field conditions.

Word Lens is slow, inaccurate, extremely sensitive to light conditions, focus, how noisy the background is and whether the font is standard enough - just to name a few. It’s the nature of OCR, much like speech recognition, it is still a work in progress and not as smooth as portrayed in the app description. The fact they support only one language and still charge $5 for it doesn’t help: there is no objective measure for what an app is worth but in iPhone standards this is expensive. But wait, that’s not all: once you paid $5, you only get one direction (say English -> Spanish), you need to pay $5 more to get the other direction (Spanish -> English).

What’s your take on Word Lens? Potentially useful? Or all hype?

Broadband networks: Returns on invested capital stink

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:13:44 PST

The last decade has been golden for telecom user, but network providers have barely broke even on their broadband buildouts.

That’s the crux of a recent research note by Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett. His data, published in a book called “Capital Punishment,” shows how it’s hard to build networks and even harder to get returns.

Moffett notes that the last 10 years have been great for consumers. Big phones have become small computers. Internet access is faster than ever and there are more television choices than ever. He writes:

As the decade of the 2000s drew to a close, the iPhone was already four years old, more than nine out of 10 Americans (including infants and the infirm) had a wireless phone, and smartphones — what had been “the next big thing” — were ramping toward ubiquity. Cable had captured one-quarter of the nation’s residential phone business, broadband had soared to more than 60% household penetration, and the TelCos were delivering video to more than five million households.

And yet for all the technological strides the industry has made, the returns on invested capital, or ROIC, during the decade have been, at best, anemic. Even before considering the atrocious deals that mark the past decade of telecommunications, the business of building networks is so capital intensive that economic value creation by the group we cover here has been, in aggregate, barely positive.

Wireline networks have the weakest returns on invested capital with a 1.5 percent gain over the last decade. Wireless networks had a meager return of 0.3 percent. Cable garnered a 2.5 percent return. Satellite networks had the best return on invested capital at 5.5 percent. It’s no wonder that DirecTV shares have trounced other companies in 8-year returns. Others stocks—AT&T, Comcast, Dish, Sprint and Verizon—have negative returns.

But here’s where the returns get tricky. Once you add up the costs of various telecom deals—MCI, AT&T, BellSouth etc.—the returns look much worse.

This chart illustrates the returns on invested capital once you include goodwill related to acquisitions.

Apple gives Google TV a raspberry: Apple TV to hit 1 million units

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:06:43 PST

Apple said it expects to sell more than 1 million new Apple TV units this week in a move that is timed perfectly to mock Google TV.
Steve Jobs’ “hobby” is a $99 box that brings iTunes, Netflix, YouTube, Flickr and MobileMe to an HDTV. The first Apple TV didn’t sell so well. Jobs took those lessons, simplified and made some headway.

But more importantly for Apple’s announcement is the timing. Apple is almost taunting Google with 1 million units of Apple TV even as connected Google TV sets aren’t selling all that well. Best Buy has said 3DTV and Internet connected TV hasn’t lived up to industry expectations. Meanwhile, Google seems to be slowing its Google TV reviews over mixed reviews. Google TV won’t be making a huge splash at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Google’s problem is that it saw Google TV as a blend of the Internet, TV and computer. The problem is that Google TV may have been too complicated. No one is going to use a keyboard and mouse on the couch.

Like Apple learned, scaling down a TV effort can work—even though modestly. Google will learn the same. At some point these tech giants will get TV right.

Microsoft breaks silence on Windows Phone 7 sales

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:02:37 PST

Microsoft has unexpectedly broken the silence over sales of its new Windows Phone 7 handsets to announce that over 1.5 million were sold to mobile operators and retailers during the first six weeks of availability.

Achim Berg, Microsoft’s vice president of business and marketing for Windows Phones, broke the news as part of a broader Q&A on the Microsoft News Center website:

Sales are ramping well as our reputation is growing for offering users a unique experience and are in line with our expectations – especially when compared to other new platform introductions. With a new platform you have to look at a couple of things, first of all customer satisfaction. As I mentioned before, we’ve seen great response on the complete mobile phone experience.

Another is phone manufacturer sales – phones being bought and stocked by mobile operators and retailers on their way to customers. We are pleased that phone manufacturers sold over 1.5 million phones in the first six weeks, which helps build customer momentum and retail presence.

Note that the figure quoted here is stock shifted from manufacturers to retailers, and NOT handsets sold to consumers.

When asked how sales stacked up compared to the competition, Berg had this to say:

It’s a bit of apples and oranges comparison; our numbers are similar to the performance of other first generation mobile platforms. We introduced a new platform with Windows Phone 7, and when you do that it takes time to educate partners and consumers on what you’re delivering, and drive awareness and interest in your new offering. We’re comfortable with where we are, and we are here for the long run; Windows Phone 7 is just the beginning.

That’s a good, solid start for a new platform.

Windows Phone 7 after two months; impressive sales and Marketplace apps

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:00:05 PST

While I was on my flight to Alaska, Mary Jo beat me to the punch with the news that more than 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 devices have been sold by the manufacturers since the launch in late October (Europe) and early November (U.S.). While these numbers do not show the total bought by consumers, it still is pretty impressive and much more than what some have predicted. Device sales isn’t the whole story with Windows Phone 7 though as we also see a huge growth in applications with over 4,000 apps now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Device sales

I think it is pretty impressive that over 1.5 million phones have been sold by manufacturers given that there are two carriers with only four phones that were available at launch in the US and five more phones on multiple carriers outside the US. I would be interested in seeing the breakdown between the US and non-US figures as well. In the US, we have three phones on AT&T and AT&T is the carrier that is focused on iPhone sales. It must take some major advertising and education for people to go into a store and buy a Windows Phone 7 device instead of an iPhone 4. I have seen a ton of LG WP7 commercials on TV so maybe good advertising is working.

T-Mobile only has a single device, the HTC HD7 (see my hands-on look), available in stores and with nearly the same form factor as the failed HTC HD2 Windows Mobile 6.5 device it seems like people are pretty hesitant to try this device out. Dell has had some major issues with the Venue Pro and it is just this week arriving in people’s hands after some ordering snafus. You can check out the Pocketnow.com and PhoneArena.com reviews to see this may actually be one of the best Windows Phone 7 devices and people haven’t even had a chance to use it much yet.

We know there will be Sprint and Verizon Windows Phone 7 devices launching in early 2011 and hopefully we see more cool devices announced at CES in a couple of weeks.

Windows Phone Marketplace

As you can see on the Bing visual search page there is something like 3,000 apps for the US market with a reported 4,000+ available worldwide. The iPhone had 0 apps for a year before Apple decided to roll out support for 3rd party applications. The App Store opened on 11 July 2008 with 500 apps. After two months there were 3,000 apps, which is just about where we are with Windows Phone 7 at the moment. Apple hit the 15,000 app mark at six months.

The Android Market launched with the release of Android devices in late 2008 and after a couple of months there were 800 free apps. It wasn’t until 17 February 2009 that priced apps were available. Data I found showed that there were 2,300 total apps in the Android Market after six months. Here we are at nearly two months with Windows Phone 7 and we are already at the 4,000 apps level with many of these much higher quality than what we saw in the early Android Market. Games on Windows Phone 7 are all still much better than what we have for Android and games are the hottest selling application category.

So, in regards to the number of apps, Windows Phone 7 is showing they are very competitive to Apple and Google so far. There are also a reported 18,000 developers working on apps for Windows Phone Marketplace.

Thoughts on Windows Phone 7

I have been showing off my HTC HD7 to a lot of folks and I haven’t met a single one that was not impressed with the responsiveness and fluid user interface. I have a few people at work who are waiting for CDMA versions to launch and I haven’t heard of too many people giving up on Windows Phone 7 once they try it. My T-Mobile SIM flip flops between the HD7 and Nokia N8, with most of its time spent in the HD7. It is not perfect and there is definitely room for improvement, but the top notch email experience, full Exchange support, enjoyable gaming, and fun user interface keep me using it as my daily device.

I think we can all acknowledge that Windows Phone 7 is no KIN.

Facebook vs. Twitter: A closer look at the numbers for 2010 [infographic]

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:34:36 PST

Here’s a nice granular breakdown comparison of Facebook vs. Twitter demographics put together by Digital Surgeons. There are lots of interesting little nuggets in here. It’s no surprise that a higher percentage of Twitter users ‘update their status’ every day than Facebook, being that updating your status is the only way to actually use Twitter. For all you businesses out there, pay attention to the fact that 40% of all people on Facebook follow a brand, and 51% of those people will actually purchase a product or service from a specific brand. My speculation is that these numbers will go up at least 50% by end of next year as companies get smarter and continue to re-prioritize how and why they do business.

Some of the fonts in this chart can be a little small for our blog layout so if you are having trouble reading some of the smaller print, the larger size original gangster version of this infographic is located here.

Motorola will introduce Android tablet at CES 2011 (video)

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:31:59 PST

Motorola recently announced its own tablet plans, and now we have the new teaser video to drool over until CES 2011 next month.

Tracing the evolution of tablets from the Rosetta Stone to the iPad (dubbed a “giant iPhone), the video is overdramatic. And that bumblebee at the end will certain have people buzzing (pun intended) about Honeycomb.

But it is certainly worth a look. Enjoy.

"Video"

Indian startup Notion Ink shows how to completely botch a product launch

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:33:54 PST

I feel really bad while I write this for the simple reason that Notion Ink was going to take India to the global map of consumer tech products. They are the first Indian consumer tech company to generate interest among gadget enthusiasts around the world and when the time came they floundered, not with the product but with how they are launching it.

A few days back my twitter stream was filled with blog posts about their eagerly awaited Android based tablet – the Adam being available for pre-order. I clicked on most of them, one by one looking for a link to pre-order but didn’t find it! I ranted asking for the link and as it turns out the brilliant engineering minds behind Notion Ink (no puns there) had made a blog post a few days before the pre-order news that blog commenters would be sent emails with pre-order links. I laughed out loud.

Giving them the benefit of doubt, them being this new startup by really smart engineers but then there was news about them not having proper sales terms in place. The initial document seemed like it was drafted without help from competent lawyers. This led them to taking down the terms and publishing an updated one. I was inclined to write about this but decided not to given that it’s their first big launch and things don’t always go as planned.

Today however they went ahead and did something they clearly shouldn’t have. CEO Rohan Shravan has acknowledged the lack of hands-on videos and screenshots showing the interface, he made a short blog post today saying they’re sending a video to Android Police, a few hours later, Android Police claim no knowledge they don’t have it and enthusiasts continue to wait.

This is probably the most amateurish product launch I’ve ever read about. Notion Ink makes a strong case for the existence of Social Media Experts. Hopefully they’ll learn and the Adam becomes a success, India needs it to be one.

Vizio launches its largest HDTV ever: 65-inch passive-3D XVT3D650SV

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 10:32:27 PST

3D HDTVs may not be the big sellers that TV manufacturers and retailers were hoping for, but that hasn’t stopped the onslaught of new models. This week, Vizio has announced that its biggest set ever, the 65-inch edge-lit LED XVT3D650SV, makes use of the company’s Theater 3D technology, which requires cheaper passive 3D glasses rather than the pricier active-shutter specs.

Vizio claims that its system is superior to active-shutter 3D in the following manner:

Theater 3D is up to 50% brighter, has one half of the visual crosstalk distortion, handles fast action motion without blurring images, has a wider horizontal viewing angle and has none of the annoying flickering of Active Shutter 3D that may cause eye strain.

Whether any of this really results in superior 3D performance will be up to reviewers to decide, but one thing that sets this TV apart is that it comes with four pairs of 3D glasses. That’s right — not a single pair, not two pairs, but enough for a small family.

The set also comes with Vizio Internet Apps, its online widget service that includes Amazon Video On Demand, Netflix, Vudu, and the other usual suspects. Thankfully it has built-in dual-band Wi-Fi rather than a mere Ethernet connection, as well as a Bluetooth remote with slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

While the four pairs of glasses is a nice touch, you’ll have to be able to afford the actual TV, which isn’t cheap. It’ll be available this month at Costco, Sam’s Club, and online for the eye-popping (in 3D, of course) price of $3,499.99.

Facebook redefines the 'big fish'

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 05:25:47 PST

According to Wikipedia, “In economics, a monopoly exists when a specific individual or an enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it.” Next year, Facebook plans to acquire twice as many companies as it has this year to keep up with new ideas, innovation and technology.

We’ve all witnessed monopoly litigation in the news with battles like The United States vs. Microsoft and others. There are some very clear definitions by the U.S. Department of Justice on what a legitimate monopoly attempt looks like and what it doesn’t look like.

Last week Facebook announced it’s acquisition plans for 2011 and after reading the list of potential candidates (about 15 or so), I realized that as long as the people choose Facebook as their social network of choice and Facebook only acquires companies that only compliment their business (which is almost anyone they want) instead of competing with them, they for the most part have full carte blanch to build out their business however they want with no real competition in sight. In fact, they’ve now created a more rigorous competition in hundreds of industries around the world that are vying to get the attention of people on Facebook in a way that converts to real revenue. Companies are realizing that regardless of what industry they are in, they may soon start needing Facebook so that their business is where the people are. Foot traffic is becoming a thing of the past. Instead we’re all gonna be like virtual push-cart vendors going from profile to profile, trying to meet a need.

Think about it. The planets have aligned in their favor on a level that few (if any really), other companies have experienced. Successful companies almost always have some competition that drive them to create better products or services so they can continue to lead. Facebook can acquire any type of company that will augment and build on the foundation of behavioral data built by us, you and me, and over half a billion other human beings. Facebook has a customer base at their fingertips that is 100% opt-in by word of mouth referral. The beauty of it for them is that since they are in the business of people, by default they can get involved in ANY industry, without ever becoming a monopoly in the legal sense if they play their cards right.

Find me another business that has pulled something like that off, at that scale, in less than a decade of existence, and I’ll show you the rainbow covered unicorn that is running around my backyard.

Official PlayStation app coming to iOS and Android "very soon"

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 04:16:01 PST

Got a PS3? Got an iPhone, iPod touch or Android handset? There’s an app coming to your handset “very soon.” Well, depending on where you live.

iOS users will need to be running version 4.0 or higher, and Android users will need a minimum of version 1.6.

So, what ill you be able to do?

Check out your PlayStation Network trophies and keep up to date with your friends’ games and online status.
Discover all the latest games, news and hardware for your PlayStation 3, PSP and PlayStation 2.
Read all the announcements on the European PlayStation.Blog.
Share your favorite products or news with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail.

Sorry, no gaming!

But there’s a catch - The first version (1.0) will only be available in the following countries: UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands.

Limited edition 'Tron' Xbox 360 controller coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:30:43 PST

Wish you could jump inside the Tron world as well? You could get a little closer with this sleek, limited edition Tron Xbox 360 controller.

You’d think if Microsoft was going to jump on the Tron merchandizing bandwagon, they would have done something with Kinect and your body being the controller and all, etc. But this is simpler and probably easier to sell.

The Tron-themed controller is up for pre-order now for $39.99. Only 250 of these orange-accented accessories have been made, so act fast. Orders start shipping in late December.

Razer Scarab mouse mat sports Fractal 2.0 coating for precise tracking

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:29:17 PST

Razer is hoping it has the perfect gift for your high-dpi gaming mouse: the new Scarab hard mouse mat.

Dubbed as a sequel to the Razer Destructor, the Scarab is designed for both laser and optical mice. With Razer’s own Fractal 2.0 surface coating, this new mousepad ensures more precision than its predecessor with a “highly responsive and uniform” tracking system.

Gamers are also promised “feeling of awesomeness during usage,” which is a bit over the top, but let us know if that is the case for you.

Available worldwide on January 1, the Razer Scarab will retail for $39.99/€39.99.

Related coverage on ZDNet:

Creative now shipping Android-based 7-inch ZiiO tablet

noreply@blogger.com (Danish Ashraf) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:26:42 PST

As if there weren’t enough Android tablets crowding the market, Creative’s ZiiO is now ready for the taking.

Sporting a 7-inch TFT color touch screen, the Android 2.1-based ZiiO is a standard slate without any significant bells and whistles. The most notable feature might be the inclusion of a front-facing VGA camera. Other specs include:

480 x 800 resolution
ZiiLABS ZMS-08 HD Media-Rich Applications Processor
Bluetooth 2.1
802.11 b/g Wi-Fi
microSD card slot (up to 32GB)
Connectivity: mini USB, 3.5mm stereo jack

The Creative ZiiO is available now for $249.99 for 8GB of onboard storage or $269.99 for 16GB of storage. Orders are fulfilled by Amazon, thus this one qualifies for some free shipping!