TECHNO-WORLDNEWS

Google Street View gets photographic makeover

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:19:00 +0000

With his manipulated Street View imagery, photographer Aaron Hobson hopes to take viewers to "enchanted and remote lands."

Plenty of photographers have tapped Google Street View for imagery.

Doug Rickard travels the byways of the U.S. via Street View to find images that, in the words of the Museum of Modern Art, "comment on poverty and racial equity in the United States, the bounty of images on the Web, and issues of personal privacy."

Michael Wolf became a flashpoint for controversy when his project "A Series of Unfortunate Events" received kudos from the World Press Photo competition--could Wolf's Street View-based approach truly be called photojournalism?

And Jon Rafman, discussing his own Street View work, has cited "hard-boiled American street photography," Depression-era Farm Securities Administration photos, and the work of famous "decisive moment" photojournalist Cartier-Bresson, among other things.

Aaron Hobson, however, seems less concerned with the documentary and journalistic potential of Street View images. Hobson doesn't like his Street View images served raw. He likes to cook them a little.

Hobson ends up with images that one might not guess were culled from Street View at all.

Indeed, with a bit of finessing in Photoshop--some dodging and burning to emphasize highlights and shadows, some stitching together of separate photos to produce panoramas, some adjustments to color--Hobson ends up with images that one might not guess were culled from Street View at all.

Hobson, who refers to himself as the "Cinemascapist" and whose non-Street View worksuggests film stills or fashion shoots, says he discovered the potential of Street View after he was asked to help scout movie locations in Los Angeles.

Living in a small town in New York's Adirondack Mountains, he decided to respect his fear of flying, and protect his bank account, by experimenting with a little cyberscouting and traveling the roads of LA and its environs via Street View.

"I soon became addicted to going around using the maps, and the [Street View] project started from there," Hobson told the U.K.'s Daily Mail.

He subsequently spent nine months wandering the world for his "Cinemascapes - Street View Edition" project. As he told ABC News, he'd drop Street View's "little yellow guy" down somewhere and then, "as boring and tedious as it is, just drag that little guy from town to town--continuing North or South for hours and hours" until he stumbled on something that caught his eye.

Hobson limits his virtual wanderings to parts of the world (mainly Europe, he says, but also Brazil and Central America; Hong Kong; and South Africa) that were documented in a high-definition format, a fact that also helps differentiate his work from the pieces produced by other photographers who use Street View.

And, as you'll see, he likes to venture off the beaten path, "in search of enchanted and remote lands" typically reserved for the eyes of their inhabitants alone.

Can motors in wheels spark electric car revolution?

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:14:00 +0000

The SIM-LEI electric car can travel 333 kilometers on a single charge, say its creators.

There may have been more alluring electric cars on display at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, but the beauty of this prototype lies in its performance.

The SIM-LEI can travel 333 kilometers (more than 200 miles) on a single charge, say its Japanese creators SIM Drive, and it also boasts supercar-like acceleration -- 0 to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds.

The key to these remarkable statistics lies not, as you might expect, underneath the hood but in its wheels.

Most electric vehicles house a single motor in the area vacated by the petrol engine, but the SIM-LEI has four motors, which fit in the hubs its wheels.

Each one delivers 65 kilowatts, giving the car a total output of 260 kilowatts, compared with the 80 kilowatts of output available in, say, the Nissan Leaf.

A 24.5 kWh battery sits below the floor along with inverters and controllers, which fit into a unique steel monocoque helping reduce weight, according to SIM Drive.

More innovation: World's smallest car fuels nanotech advance

The SIM-LEI -- LEI stands for Leading Efficiency In-Wheel motor -- took 15 months to complete and builds on advances made with the fantastic-looking Eliica -- a super-fast eight-wheeler designed by SIM Drive CEO and President Hiroshi Shimizu.

His latest design may not look so sporty but the SIM LEI does come with low-friction tires and a low-set chassis, which helps reduce drag, says the company.

Recent technological advances are making in-wheel motors more attractive, says James Widmer, from the Center for Advanced Electrical Drives at the UK's Newcastle University.

"Motors have become more powerful for their weight and the volume they take up, which has made it more practical to get very good performance from putting electric motors directly in the wheels of cars," Widmer said.

And electric motors provide drivers with far greater control than internal combustion engines, he says.

"If you do put an electric motor in each wheel then there are huge possibilities with things like traction control and stability control," he added.

While car makers including Peugeot and Mitsubishi have used in-wheel motors in concept cars that have never been commercially available, SIM Drive hopes its four-seat sedan will go into production in 2013.

SIM Drive says the price will depend on how many it makes, but if the car ends up being mass produced, customers can expect to pay around ¥2.5 million ($32,000).

Google unveils 'Find My Face' tool

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Google's new Find My Face technology will suggest nametags for photos' subjects in Google+.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) -- Google made its first foray into the growing field of social facial recognition technologies on Thursday, introducing Find My Face, a tagging suggestion tool for its Google+ social network.

On the surface, it operates pretty much identically to Facebook's facial recognition technology, Photo Tag Suggest. Find My Face scans users' and their friends' photos for recognizable faces, and suggests nametags for the faces by matching them with users' profile photos and other tagged photos on the social network.

But Google's Find My Face technology has been built with some key differences that the search giant believes will help better ensure users' privacy.

For instance, unlike Facebook, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) prompts users to opt into the service before it starts automatically suggesting to their friends that they be tagged in photos. Only after a Google+ user opts into Find My Face will Google construct a face model of that person, using his or her profile photo and existing manually tagged photos on the site.

Google also requires the subject of a suggested tag to approve it before it goes public if the tagger isn't in the tagee's "circles." Facebook allows all tags to go live before notifying the subject.

"Privacy has been baked right into this feature," said Benjamin Petrosky, product counsel for Google+, at a facial recognition policy summit held by the Federal Trade Commission in Washington on Thursday.

Facebook suffered a heap of criticism from regulators across the globe after quietly turning on its facial recognition feature and opting in hundreds of millions of its users a year ago. The company apologized and developed a way for users to opt out of the suggestion feature.

The social network also took some heat for forcing users to adjust their privacy settings to opt out if they don't wish their faces to be used for tag suggestions.

On Thursday, Facebook received even more criticism by some privacy advocates at the FTC conference for not requiring pre-approval for tags.

Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy policy officer, said the company does enough to ensure its members' privacy by notifying them when they've been tagged and allowing them to remove tags once they've been made.

But privacy advocates say that's too late, since users can only remove tags once they've already gone public. Users can adjust their privacy settings to pre-approve tags before they are linked to their profile, but they still can't pre-approve tags before they are issued at all. For those users, the only way to avoid the situation is to adjust their privacy settings to completely disable the ability for others to tag them.

It wasn't just Facebook taking some heat. Though conference attendees generally applauded Google's efforts to ensure privacy, they also saved some criticism for Find My Face.

Unlike Facebook, which requires friends to mutually agree to befriend one another, Google+ members can place one another in circles without being "encircled" back.

That makes it more difficult for Google to know who to suggest tags to, leaving open the possibility that people you don't want tagging you will be getting automatic tagging suggestions for your face from Google.

"The goal is to only suggest tags for people that you know or we think you know," said Google's Petrosky. "It doesn't have to be bi-directional."

Petrosky said Google's algorithm works so that if all the sharing on its social network is coming from one user and not the other, that will tip off Google that those users don't have a real connection, even though one may follow the other. Plus, tags still have to receive approval if the person issuing the tag isn't in the subject's circles.

Tagging may be the digital equivalent of writing names on the back of a photograph, but in a world where people can automatically be recognized in photos by computers, it raises a host of privacy concerns that don't have clear or obvious solutions.

Both companies are treading lightly. Facebook and Google have eachsettled lawsuits with the FTC for violating users' privacy.

XXX domains an obvious failure

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:53:00 +0000

Is it just me or is the ICANN plan to corral online porn going terribly wrong? We already have reports that universities are snapping up XXX domains in an effort to get ahead of porn pranksters who want to besmirch a few good online names with smut.

I guess this turn of events was obvious to anyone with half a brain.

Legitimate porn sites have little interest in the triple X domains, which went on sale earlier this week, for their businesses because they see them as potential censorship and, more importantly, they thrive on people accidentally stumbling on their URLs.

In the early days of the web this was common because porn purveyors snapped up known names and brands -- none of which had to feature an obvious porn domain label. That's how "Whitehouse.com" ended up, for a time, as a porn site.

.XXX was designed to improve the situation. No more accidentally typing in, well, something you didn't intend. With a designated porn domain, it's unlikely anyone would end up in the wrong place.

Better yet, corporations and homes could easily block all .XXX domains. That's the plan, but if pornographers stay away and legitimate people, companies, businesses and universities race to snap up any and all XXX domain names that could be construed as theirs, then this triple XXX domain could be an embarrassing failure for the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

Think I'm exaggerating? The AP reports that 80,000 XXX domains were sold in presale and many companies like Pepsi and Nike lined up to purchase adult domains. The University of Kansas reportedlyjust paid $3,000 for a variety of XXX URLs.

It's unlikely anyone will ever type in www.KUgirls.xxx, but that's not the point. The university just wanted to be safe. I understand the impulse. Even as I'm writing this, I'm wondering if I, too, should try to protect my good name by buying the LanceUlanoff.xxx domain.

I know where to go. GoDaddy.com is registering them for $99 a year, making these domains considerably more expensive than standard domains (which you can buy at various sites at anywhere from $1.99 or $9.99 -- yearly maintenance fees are then more expensive).

According to the website, if I wanted to launch an adult website under that URL, I actually have to become an "Internet Community Member" and then confirm my status of "the sponsored adult entertainment community". My guess is that this is how the ICANN polices the URLs, to ensure that someone isn't registering someone else's brand as a porn site.

I have no plans to do so, which conveniently means I do not have to become a part of the "Community." GoDaddy tells me this too, and is -- fortunately, I guess -- only too happy to help me park my URL for the same exorbitant fee.

Atop GoDaddy's XXX domain registration page is this: "Let's be adult about it. Create an adult Web presence or protect your brand." This is followed by an explanation of why you'd want to register an XXX domain. Note what it starts with:

"Secure your brand. Protect your reputation."

"Perhaps you'd like to create an adult entertainment website. Or maybe you're here to keep your brand from being registered as a .XXX by someone else. Whatever your reasons for wanting a .XXXdomain, you've come to the right place. To check the availability of your domain, type the name you want into the search box above. "

GoDaddy has built its brand with coy references to sex (check out any of its Super Bowl ads), but it's not being coy here. The message is clear: If you don't want someone launching a porn XXX domain with your name or brand, you'd better let GoDaddy take your money and register it for you.

While I see the parallels with the early days of the web, this situation is different in one fundamental way: Those snapping up the domains for protection will never use them. No one outside the porn industry wants to run a live XXX domain website. These businesses and universities are simply buying them in what GoDaddy actually calls "Defensive Registrations" to hide them from view forever (and they'll pay GoDaddy yearly fees to do so).

Instead of creating a solution, the ICANN's apparently misguided efforts have spawned a new anxiety: "Your Brand Name in Porn." The fear is so strong that it's got all these people buying up domains just so the wrong people can't get them. As I see it, this could be quite a windfall for GoDaddy. The company should send the ICANN a thank-you note.

HP to offer webOS as open-source software

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:44:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BlackBerry PlayBook

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 09:58:00 +0000

After experiencing both the ups and downs in the smartphone market, Research In Motion (RIM) is now trying to make its way in the tablet industry as well. The new Blackberry PlayBook tablet is the company’s first effort in this regard. Released in April 2011, this tablet is working really hard to make some productive revenue for its developers, if nothing else. We’ll now take a look at the goods and bads of this device in detail. So jump in!

Blackberry PlayBook Specs and Features
The tablet features 1 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB of Random-Access Memory (RAM). It has a distinctive 7-inch LCD screen with WSVGA 1024 x 600 pixel resolution,and acapacitive panel with multi-touch capabilities. The compact screenmakes this tabletreally handy by reducing its total weight to 0.9 lbs, which is much lighter as compared to the iPad.

PlayBook is backed by the new Blackberry Tablet OS with QNX technology, an operating system that also supports symmetric multiprocessing. The device also flaunts twin 1080p HD cameras ideal for making high-quality videos and video conferencing. The rear camera is 5 mega-pixels and the front-facing camera is 3 mega-pixels, definitely better than the low-quality iPad cameras in every way.Not just that, this Blackberry Tablet also have 1080p HDMI output; GPS; accelerometer; stereo speakers and microphones; digital compass; micro USB port; and 6-axis motion sensor (gyroscope). In terms of connectivity, the device can be connected through Bluetooth (2.1+ EDR) or Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n).Later, it will be updated to support WiMax, LTE, and HSPA+ as well, probably by the end of this year.

The Blackberry PlayBook release took place on April 19, 2011 with Best Buy being its preferred retailer in the USA. The device is available in three models, differentiating each other on the basis of external storage and also prices. Therefore, the 16 GB PlayBook is priced at $499, 32 GB at $599, and the 64 GB version is available at $699 in North America.

BlackberryPlayBook Review

Even after having such amazing features and smart technology, the Blackberry PlayBook couldn’t manage to attract users like the iPad. Why? There are a number of reasons for that. Let’s find out!

First, the PlayBookapps are pretty limited, especially when we compare them with Apple or Android applications. This majordrawback automatically reduces its usability and makes the device less enjoyable. There’s no doubt that applications play a great role in maintaining the reputation of devices. That’s why the continuously growing app stores of Apple and Android do not let their devices fade out from the market so easily.

Secondly, the Blackberry PlayBook price is pretty much similar to the iPad 2, which makes it a lot easier for buyers to make their choice between the two. Of course, no sane person would want to spend their money on an unstable new device, when a highly rated device is available at the same price.

And lastly, the false promise! The Blackberry tablet claims to give a battery life of up to 10 hours, but it actually gives much lesser time when compared with other tablets.According to a test done by Engadget, the PlayBook displayed an average battery life of 7:01 hours, which was fairly less than the iPads, Motorola Xoom and even Archos 101.

Overall, the Blackberry PlayBook is purty, smart and unique but it is also true that the industry is already dominated by a name-brand tablet. Therefore, the new tablet developers should consider all of the various aspects including features, competitors, prices, and of course timing before releasing their final products in the market.

Yahoo wins $610 million from lottery scammers

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:20:00 +0000

Congratulations, you've won millions in a lottery that you didn't enter! Just wire us some money first to cover fees, and we'll send you your winnings!

These fake lottery email scams have become ubiquitous, with scammers sometimes posing as well-known companies to boost their credibility. In 2008, Yahoo sued several "John Does" for using its name and logo as part of a scam.

On Monday, a federal judge awarded Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) $610 million in damages from the Thai and Nigerian scammers that the company was eventually able to identify through Internet records.

Yahoo's complaint reveals that between December 2006 and May 2009, more than 11.6 million hoax lottery emails were sent through its email system. The court awarded Yahoo $50 per scam email, a total of $583 million, for its victimization through violations of the Can-Spam Act.

The remaining $27 million is an award for trademark infringement. Yahoo was also awarded attorneys' fees.

Yahoo could use the cash: The court's total award is about half of the $1.2 billion profit that Yahoo netted for 2010.

But Yahoo stands little chance of actually collecting. None of the defendants -- a group of Thai and Nigerian individuals, a Nigerian corporation, and a Taiwanese corporation -- have responded to Yahoo's complaint. Nigeria is a famous haven for e-mail scammers.

The New York district court judge, Laura Taylor Swain, noted in her ruling that "apart from minor variations in phrasing and style, the [individual] emails [in the scam] are strikingly similar."

Swain concluded that the "circumstantial evidence is sufficient to support the reasonable inference that defendants are co-conspirators."

'Grand Theft Auto III' coming to smartphones and tablets next week

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:12:00 +0000

The new "Grand Theft Auto III" for Android looks similar to the iPhone version.

In the 10 years since the debut of "Grand Theft Auto III," several video games have upped the ante in the naughty category -- including some other "Grand Theft Auto" games.

But the original open-world gangster-action game is doing a second drive-by with the December 15 release of "Grand Theft Auto: 10 Year Anniversary Edition."

The game will be available for download on Apple's iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch and on Android tablets and smartphones. It will cost $4.99.

Publisher Rockstar Games sells "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" in Apple's App Store, but this is the first game in the series to be released on Google's Android platform. The Apple version works on all iPads, the latest iPod Touch and the iPhone 4 and 4S. Rockstar has posted a list of supported Android devices as well.

From the first batch of screen shots released by the publisher, the game looks similar on the two mobile platforms. Instead of using a controller like on the original PlayStation 2 game, players will tap on-screen buttons to switch between weapons.

Rockstar plans to release more details and a trailer video to coincide with the game's release next week, the company said. A spokesman didn't immediately respond to a question about whether the anniversary game would have different missions from the original.

The "Grand Theft Auto" series has sold more than 114 million copies worldwide since it debuted in 1997. In November, Rockstar released a trailer for "Grand Theft Auto V," which is in development.

The holiday season has been active with anniversary games. Microsoft released "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary," Sega put out "Sonic Generations" and Konami had "Metal Gear Solid HD Collection."

Why Apple may never catch Microsoft in TV

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:10:00 +0000

Microsoft's Kinect system for the Xbox console has been a hit. Apple's forays into TV have been less successful.

"The problem with innovation in the television market is the go-to-market strategy," Steve Jobs told Hillcrest Labs' Dan Simpkins at the D8 conference in 2010.

"It's not a problem of technology; it's not a problem of vision; it's a fundamental go-to-market problem."

I don't think Jobs was trying to throw Apple-watchers off the track with a coy answer. I don't think we've taken this problem seriously enough when it comes to the future of television and living-room entertainment. And I don't think either Apple's current set-top box approach or the endlessly renewable speculations about a fully integrated big-screen Apple television set solve this problem.

The best approach we've seen to this problem, and the best approach we're likely to see for some time, has been Microsoft's efforts with Xbox 360. I want to explain why I think Microsoft is beating and will continue to beat Apple in this space. Then I want to outline what Apple would need to do differently in order to beat back Microsoft, Sony, Google and all other contenders if it wants to conquer the living room.

Xbox is winning because of content, not Kinect

For me, a light bulb went off when I saw Microsoft's Black Friday sales numbers for Xbox 360 and Kinect. In the U.S., Microsoft sold 960,000 Xbox consoles and 750,000 Kinect sensors, including both standalone units and bundled with Xboxes.

It was Xbox's biggest week ever; mighty impressive for a six-year-old game console likely to be displaced by a next-generation model in a year or so. But the total numbers are less interesting to me than the spread between them. It means there are at least 200,000 people, and quite possibly hundreds of thousands more, who are buying brand-new Xbox consoles without Kinect.

As ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley writes, "who is buying all these Xboxes?" Are they gamers disaffected with the PS3 and Wii? Xbox superfans who want a second unit for the bedroom or basement? Media center shoppers who see the Xbox as an upgrade over the Apple TV or Roku boxes? Or Black Friday crazies who don't know any better?

The mix doubtlessly includes all of these. But it suggests to me that Xbox's growing popularity has less to do with Kinect than we might think. The emerging market isn't being driven by the attraction of new user interfaces. It's extremely price-sensitive, and it's fundamentally driven by the availability of content. And that includes content of all kinds, from movies to gaming.

Xbox is selling more units because the available content has gotten drastically better. On Twitter, Joystiq's Chris Grant writes that "six years after the launch of Xbox 360, we're seeing games really push the thing: Gears [of War] 3, Rage, Crysis 2. They all look incredible." And now, software updates bring live and on-demand TV content from both cable programmers like HBO and cable companies like Comcast and Verizon, plus a slew of other featuresthat integrate all this content.

The fundamental mistake of Apple-watchers (and almost everybody else)

The major mistake made by most gadget reporters and future of technology speculators is drawing too close an analogy between smartphones and smart televisions. We've assumed that the next generation of televisions would have a silver-bullet user interface, as gesture-enabled touchscreens were for smartphones. And every time a new user interface comes along, whether it's Microsoft's Kinect or Apple's Siri, we argue that it's the future of television.

As a consequence, we've misunderstood television's user interface problem. It's not really about too many cables and too many remotes, as annoying as that can be. It's really about having the right kind of user interface for the task at hand.

That means pluralism, not minimalism. It means that remote controls and game controllers, with all their ugly buttons, aren't going away, because they're actually quite good at what they do.

Instead, they'll be connected to and complemented by specialized interface devices like cameras, microphones, and touchscreen smartphones and tablets. These will take over some functions, introduce new ones, or even duplicate functionality.

It's not one ring to rule them all. It's e pluribus unum.

What will Apple do?

Let's be clear; we don't know what Apple is going to do. So when I say "Apple is wrong," I really mean that the conventional wisdom about what Apple will do is wrong. If true, it's the wrong strategy to bring a product to the market. I also have my doubts that this is what Apple will actually do.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who's been beating the drum like mad for an integrated Apple TV since at least early 2009, thinks he knows exactly what Apple will do, telling audience members at the Ignition conference that they should wait to buy a new TV set until Apple releases its own in 2012. (Note: On Wednesday, I called and emailed Piper Jaffray to ask for a copy of Munster's full analyst report and an interview, but they haven't responded; I'm unfortunately stuck with relying on secondhand accounts.)

In 2009, Munster thought the Apple TV set would be a large HDTV and would sport a built-in Cable Card and DVR, and replace both the cable box and TiVo; now, he thinks it will come in many different sizes, will still require a cable box, and will be controlled by Apple's new Siri voice/AI technology.

Munster also thinks that Apple TVs will be priced at roughly twice what comparable "dumb" TVs would cost; i.e., if a 40″ LCD TV costs around $1000, a 40″ Apple TV will cost $2000. In this way, Apple will be able to both pack serious tech into the guts of the TV set and turn the high-volume, low-margin business of selling TVs into something closer to the high-margin, high-end computing product market that has propelled it into the most profitable tech company in the world.

I think Munster's argument has become more or less the conventional wisdom for what Apple will do next with television. This was reinforced by Jobs' statements about his vision for television to his biographer Walter Isaacson. (If anyone else has articulated a better or radically different vision or interpretation of what Jobs meant, please let me know.)

Now, I think this conventional wisdom is wrong for a handful of reasons.

It's the wrong price for the market. The bulk of television buyers are extremely price-sensitive. I know, I know; mobile phone buyers were (and are) price-sensitive, too. But 1) people replace their phones a lot more often than they replace their television sets, and 2) the iPhone didn't take off when it cost $700, but when it cost $200. Likewise, the MacBook Air didn't take off when it cost $1800-$3100, but when it dropped below $1000. If an Apple TV costs double its equivalent, it's like the Mac Pro, or the first Apple TV; a specialty product, a marker, a hobby. I think Apple is through with hobbies.

It doesn't match Apple's strategic trajectory. Now, a premium television set could be a strong, profitable product. And Apple could start at a high price and gradually work to lower the cost and bring it to more customers, like they did with the iPod, iPhone or MacBook Air. But this seems more like a move Apple would have made ten years ago, or even four, when its products didn't have great market share, and its customers were overwhelmingly concentrated in the U.S., where it sold premium computers to a dedicated base.

Everything Apple's done in the last three years has been moving in the opposite direction. So has the market for HDTVs. I don't think either of those will backtrack easily. And if they do, it's actually a step backwards, not forwards. If Apple's going to succeed in television, I think it will be by surprising everyone like they did with the first iPad: by bringing in a product right away that's both inherently compelling and priced much lower than everyone expects. That will also keep copycat products from Google, Sony, Samsung or whomever at arm's length.

It's the ecosystem, stupid. The iPad was a success because it stood on the shoulders of the iPhone, the iPod Touch, the rejuvenated Mac lineup and the iOS App Store. At this point, Microsoft is trying to go in the other direction, borrowing elements from Xbox to drive interest in Windows Phone and Windows 8. In order to succeed, an Apple television set will have to employ the same kind of leverage. Only part of this can be the networked interaction between Mac and iOS devices or even apps common to all of them.

We've written before about the role Apple's iPods still play as a gateway device to the iPhone, iPad and Mac. It's been easier for Microsoft to drive content agreements for Xbox because it can point to its fifty million units. Apple needs to do something similar for TV. iPads are part of that, but so is that little Apple TV box.

If Apple introduced a new television set, don't be surprised if they also overhaul that little box, but with much greater capabilities. It's the iPod; it's the Mac Mini; it's their best chance to quickly turn an ecosystem of millions into tens or hundreds of millions.

A cool interface will not save you. Siri is remarkable, and over time, I can see both its voice interface and AI elements playing a huge role in search and commands on the television. But just like Kinect, Siri alone won't get it done. Munster argues, and I agree, that the UI will have to incorporate and accommodate a mix of remotes, voice and touch control.

The problem is that still doesn't get you applications like group chat or any serious gaming. You can wave around an iPhone or iPod like it's a Wiimote, or play Angry Birds on a big screen. But if you're otherwise still stuck plugging in your Xbox or Wii to the new Apple TV, aren't we just back to the cords-and-remotes problem again?

Xbox solves this problem with some elegance; Kinect gives you motion and voice, remotes give you familiar interfaces that work for 80% of you want to do, paired smartphones give you added versatility, and wired or wireless controllers give you complete control for serious gaming. It's easy to forget how huge the gaming industry is, and how closely it's become tied to television, the broader world of entertainment, and global markets.

But Apple hasn't forgotten. They know how exactly how many games they sell for iThings. They have to deliver something that takes advantage of that opportunity.

You have to deliver compelling content. Google tried to make a software-driven TV with a snappy interface that hooked into a cable box. Content makers and intermediaries balked. Google TV was stillborn, and the company's now mulling getting into the cable business itself. Apple is and always has been much better at dealing with the entertainment industry than Google.

But its content strategy isn't as clear as Microsoft's, which has been willing to partner with anybody and everybody to bring movies, televisions, games and applications to Xbox.Does Apple continue on with iTunes a la carte model? Does it switch to a subscription model? Does it partner with the cable companies or try to route around them?

Either way, you're stuck with the two problems Jobs identified back in 2010. If you partner with cable providers, you're stuck with the fact that there are no truly national providers in the way that there are national cellular carriers. If you try to disrupt cable providers, you have to overcome the inertia that comes with a subsidized cable box, and that tangled mess of cords and remotes once again. There are no good moves here; Microsoft's strategy so far has been the best. But Apple could always pull a rabbit out of its hat.

Microsoft has been more successful at partnering with telecom operators like Comcast and Verizon because it already has a large installed hardware base and because it has software developers who can work with content companies to create compelling Xbox-native experiences. It's also not limited to the domestic market, but can roll out content partnerships globally. That's where Apple needs to get in order to bring a comparable product to market.

I fully believe that Steve Jobs did have a vision for how he wanted television to work. I believe Apple has the technology to bring that vision to fruition. But remember where we started: It's not a problem of technology. it's not a problem of vision. It's a problem with the market.

There are two ways to read Jobs' now-famous line about television, "I finally cracked it." The first is exuberant, a promise of an achieved future en route to delivery. The second is wry, ironic, wistful: the pronouncement of the consummate salesman who knows exactly what he wants to do, but also that he doesn't have enough time to bring it all the way home.

UK spy agency asks hackers to crack code

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:54:00 +0000

Can you crack the code? That's the question Britain's electronic listening agency, GCHQ, is asking in an online campaign to find the next generation of cyber specialists.

Facebook bug sees Zuckerberg pictures posted online

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:41:00 +0000

A series of private pictures of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have been posted online by "hackers" to highlight a bug in the social network.

Pictures showed Mr Zuckerberg and his girlfriend cooking

In total 14 pictures of Mr Zuckerberg were posted to image site Imgur under the headline: "It's time to fix those security flaws Facebook".

The bug related to tools designed to allow users to report inappropriate images.

Facebook said that it had fixed the glitch.

Privacy

Mr Zuckerberg and... a chicken

"Earlier today, we discovered a bug in one of our reporting flows that allows people to report multiple instances of inappropriate content simultaneously," the firm said in a statement.

"The bug allowed anyone to view a limited number of another user's most recently uploaded photos irrespective of the privacy settings for these photos.

"This was the result of one of our recent code pushes and was live for a limited period of time. Upon discovering the bug, we immediately disabled the system, and will only return functionality once we can confirm the bug has been fixed," the statement read.

The BBC asked Facebook's permission before publishing the photographs of Mr Zuckerberg. The firm said that as the pictures were now in the public domain it would not be pursuing copyright infringement claims.

Loophole

The bug was discovered by members of a bodybuilding forum who went on to post step-by-step instructions on how to view private photos.

When users reported a public profile picture of someone as inappropriate, they were invited by Facebook to view more of the person's pictures to look for similar content. The thumbnails shown to them were easy to enlarge and download.

The "hackers" used the loophole to break into Mr Zuckerberg's pages, as the most high profile member of Facebook's 850 million users.

The images of Mr Zuckerberg included shots of him preparing food with his girlfriend, holding a chicken by the leg and meeting US President Barack Obama.

The embarrassing incident comes a week after the Federal Trade Commission slammed changes made to Facebook's privacy settings two years ago. It accused the social network of deceptive practices and demanded it subject itself to regular audits over the next 20 years.

Google's Android racks up its 10 billionth app download

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:35:00 +0000

More than 10 billion apps have been downloaded from Google's Android Market.

Google is picking apps and pricing them at 10p to mark the 10 billionth Android download

To mark the moment Google said that for the next 10 days it would cut the price of some top apps to 10p each.

The search giant announced the milestoneon its blog adding that the store's apps were being downloaded at a rate of one billion a month.

However, some industry analysts played down the figure saying Google should do more to address poor-quality programs.

Cheap deal

Google said the pace at which apps were being downloaded was starting to accelerate. Its figures show Android took 22 months to reach one billion downloads but only one month to go from nine billion to 10 billion.

By contrast, Apple hit one billion downloads after nine months. Although the iPhone maker still maintains a lead, some experts believe it will be short-lived.

"Apple announced the 15 billion download mark in July so it's clear that Android's momentum in device activations is translating to application downloads and usage," said Geoff Blaber from analysts CCS Insight.

"We'd expect Android to overtake Apple in application downloads in the first half of 2012."

However, added Mr Blaber, such swift growth posed a challenge of how to help customers discover useful software from all the other code on offer.

"It's an issue for developers and consumers alike but a significant opportunity for whoever solves the problem first," he said.

Best-seller

Google's Android smartphone platform became the world's most popular in early 2011 when it overtook Nokia's Symbian.

Google says it sold its 10 billionth app last weekend

Sales are believed to have been helped by the appearance of Android tablets such as Amazon's Kindle Fire.

The celebration of the 10 billionth download will last for 10 days during which Google will pick a series of top programs and drop their prices.

Among the first titles to be discounted are Asphalt 6 HD, Minecraft, Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro and Swiftkey X.

Carolina Milanesi, from analysts Gartner, said download numbers were a poor measure of success.

"The number game matters to industry watchers and helps advertising but it is not changing the bottom line," she said.

"Quality of the apps and the store in general and curation in particular should be the focus for Google," she said. "This is where I still see a difference between the Apple App Store and Android Market.

"This might not impact downloads but it will eventually impact the revenue opportunity for developers," she told the BBC.

Microsoft reveals details of its Windows Store plan

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:29:00 +0000

Details of the Windows Store have been released by Microsoft.
Microsoft's Windows Store is set to launch in February 2012

The service will allow users to buy applications online for Windows 8-based PCs, desktops, laptops and tablets when the system launches next year.

Microsoft is offering best-selling developers a bigger share of sales than rivals' stores. Users will also be able to use some apps on a trial basis.

Experts say the move hastens the death of boxed software sold via retailers.

Traditionally most software has been purchased from High Street stores or downloaded directly from developers' websites.

However, Valve's Steam videogames service, Apple's App Store, Google's Android Market and the Blackberry App World have helped create a shift towards one-stop software stores.

Microsoft already runs a Windows Phone Marketplace where it sells third-party software.

In February 2012 it will extend that model to other devices to coincide with the beta release of the next version of its operating software.

Microsoft says the store will be global, enabling developers to sell their apps in 231 markets and in more than 100 languages.

Sales split

Developers can offer their software for free, but otherwise the minimum price is $1.49 (95p), which is higher than the 99 cents minimum found on most other stores.

The firm also distinguishes itself by offering software writers 80% of the revenue from app sales and in-app purchases using its payment process, if their app earns more than $25,000.

Below that threshold it offers the same 70% split offered by Apple and Google.

Microsoft will also allow developers to use their own transaction platforms for in-app sales, helping them keep track of subscribers. The software firm will not take a share of earnings if this is the case.

By comparison Apple insists all in-app purchases should go through its systems and it will not share information on its subscribers unless they give their permission.

This has frustrated many newspaper and magazine publishers and led to the Financial Times' mobile app being dropped from Apple's store.

'Predictable'

Microsoft also boasts of a "transparent approval process".

"We want to increase predictability and eliminate any capriciousness in app certification," Ted Dworkin, partner program manager for the storewrote in a blog.

Microsoft will allow newspapers to operate their own in-app subscription payment systems

Microsoft promises to publish a set of clear, updated policies and is offering software to help developers see how far their app has progressed along its approval process.

Apple has been criticised for not always being clear about its decisions, despite having published guidelines in October last year.

Google, by contrast, allows any submitted app to be published, and then removes software if users complain that it is malicious or it otherwise breaches the firm's terms and conditions. Analysts say this laissez-faire approach has allowed poor quality apps to get through.

Ultrabooks

Microsoft says its platform will also support time-based and feature-based trials allowing customers to try out software before committing to an in-app purchase without the need to reload a separate version of the code.

Analysts say the move is timely bearing in mind the growing popularity of ultrabooks - portable laptops that do not have built in CD/DVD-drives.

"The death knell for boxed software was sounded some time ago but this is another nail in the coffin," said Patrick O'Brien, principal analyst at Verdict Research.

"Software is increasingly being downloaded over the internet instead of via CD-Roms. But in this particular case it will be particularly useful in drawing consumers who want the reassurance of a big name like Microsoft and might have felt uncomfortable handing their credit card details to a small third party developer."

Google+ iPhone app updated with search, better photo uploads

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:05:00 +0000

The Google+ iOS app now offers built-in search.
Google has tweaked its Google+ app for the iPhone to add built-in search and a couple of features previously only available on the Web site.

Users of the social network can now search for specific people or posts, just as they can on the Google+ Web site. A search field appears at the top of the mobile app where you can enter your query by name or keyword.

The app can now handle full resolution photographs, so your images should retain their higher resolution after you upload them. You can also now recommend a photo to the folks in your circles by tapping on the familiar +1 button next to the image.

In addition to the above changes, Google says it also threw in some bug fixes and performance improvements, though it wasn't specific about what needed fixing or improving.

One improvement yet to surface is iPad optimization. The app continues to be designed for the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod Touch, so iPad users will still need to run it in a small window or in the lower-resolution full-screen window.

Galaxy Nexus to arrive in U.S. on Friday, report says

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:01:00 +0000

Samsung's Galaxy Nexus

Verizon Wireless will begin selling its version of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone on Friday, according to documents purportedly from an authorized Verizon retailer.

An e-mail and PDF posted by RootzWiki say UPS will ship the phones to Verizon stores on December 6 and gives an "official launch date" of Friday, December 9.

"Do not receive the product in via your scanner (this is a change in procedure)," the e-mail warned those collecting the shipments to stores--perhaps in response to the frequency with which sales plans have been revealed through screenshots of retail inventory systems.

Verizon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The phone has been highly anticipated because it marks the U.S. debut of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich version ofAndroid. But where some companies give advance notice about when new models will go on sale, Verizon has been very cagey, saying only that the Galaxy Nexus would arrive before the end of 2011.

The Galaxy Nexus will cost $299.99 with a two-year contract, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

The Galaxy Nexus has gone on sale in the United Kingdom, though it's a slightly different version than the model Verizon will sell. Verizon's uses 4G wireless networking with the LTE standard, compared to 3G in Europe.

RIM bets the house on QNX

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:55:00 +0000

TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion, facing analyst stock price target downgrades after its steep profit warning on Friday, is willing to absorb huge losses on its unloved PlayBook because the success or failure of the tablet are key to RIM's hopes of revitalizing its BlackBerry.

PlayBook is RIM's poor-selling entry into the tablet market created by Apple's iPad, and is crucial to RIM's efforts to move to a new operating system that will power BlackBerry smartphones from early next year.

Since PlayBook is the first device to feature the QNX system - soon to be renamed BBX - the company can't abandon the tablet, analysts say.

"QNX is important not because the tablet itself is important but because they have to attract developers to this platform because it's the pathway to BBX and obviously BBX is crucially important to the company's future," Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt said in a telephone interview.

"This is their last shot, their only real shot to revive the business."

The need to stick with the PlayBook while it makes QNX/BBX work has forced RIM to offer heavy discounts on unsold PlayBooks. On Friday it announced a $485 million pre-tax writedown on the inventory and said full-year profit would not meet earlier forecasts.

Getting QNX right has been no simple task, and analysts worry RIM's evident struggle to make the software work with legacy systems to handle email or run Android apps bodes ill for the next round of BlackBerries.

"Investors may be underestimating what it will take to transition to BBX - that's still a big unknown," Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said in a phone interview.

On Friday, RIM said it had sold just 150,000 PlayBooks - one for every 74 iPads sold by Apple in its last quarter.

RIM also needs to get the BBX-powered BlackBerry up and running as soon as possible. Last week it said it expects to ship fewer BlackBerry smartphones in the three months to early March than in the previous quarter, implying weak demand for the latest phones powered by its legacy operating system.

"BlackBerry 7 is just not selling like it should," Morgan Keegan's McCourt said, referring to that latest line. "The fundamentals will be tough until BBX launches."

The once-dominant Canadian smartphone company's share price and U.S. market share have shriveled as consumers flock to Apple devices and others using Google's Android software.

The BlackBerry sales data is "further underscoring (RIM's) current lack of competitive edge and its urgent need to accelerate the migration to QNX-derived BBX," Exane BNP Paribas analyst Alexander Peterc wrote in a note to clients.

But McCourt says RIM needs to make sure the BBX-equipped BlackBerry is ready before launching the product. "If BBX fails it's clearly over, so why would you rush that," he said.

UNSOLD STOCK

Nomura says RIM likely has a stockpile of at least 1 million unsold PlayBooks. The 7-inch device has no in-built email, lacks other standard functions and has a dearth of the kind of third-party applications that help sell rival devices.

RIM had hoped to get some Android apps to run on the PlayBook by the North American summer, but it has delayed that until a February software upgrade that will link the device to RIM's private network, which suffered a massive failure in October.

"The company seems to be mis-executing in hardware, software and service - the entire operation," wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Brian Modoff wrote.

At least four brokerages cut their price targets on RIM's U.S.-listed stock on Monday.

CIBC slashed its price target $25 from $55, while Nomura cut its target to $18.90 from $26. "This is the highest price we think any financial bidder is likely to offer in a take-over bid," it said. Speculation has been rife that RIM could be the target of a strategic buyout.

"An indefinite period of decline has now begun," analyst Matthew Robison at Wunderlich Securities said, cutting his price target on RIM's stock to $16 from $24.

After a plunge of almost 10 percent on Friday, RIM's Nasdaq-listed shares closed 1.5 percent higher at $17.02 on Monday. Its Toronto-listed stock gained 1.3 percent to C$17.30. The stock has lost more than 70 percent of its value this year. ($1 = 1.0131 Canadian dollars)

iPads become child's play

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:38:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Make room in the toy box for the iPad.

Crayola allows tots to doodle on the iPad using its iMarker just as they would a crayon on a coloring book. Tweens are able to belt out their favorite Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez tunes on a Disney microphone that turns the tablet into a karaoke machine. And technology accessories company Griffin enables teens to fly its toy helicopter by using the iPhone as a remote control.

This holiday season, toy makers have turned Apple Inc.'s pricey tablet and smartphone into playthings for kids. They figure in this weak economy, parents will be willing to splurge on toys for their children that utilize devices they already have — or want — themselves.

Tiffany Fessler of Gainsville, Ga., certainly was willing to do that even though when she initially bought her $829 iPad she never imagined she'd be sharing it with her 20-month-old son. But whenever she sat down to check emails on the iPad, he'd climb into her lap wanting to use it.

So, Fessler decided to get him the $29.99 Crayola iMarker, which transforms the iPad into a digital coloring book using a Crayola's free ColorStudio HD application that parents can download. Kids can draw and color using the iMarker, which has a soft tip so it doesn't scratch the tablet's glass screen.

"When you have a screaming toddler in a restaurant or any public area, you want to have something to calm him down with," says Fessler, 39. "This is just another way to keep him entertained."

That the iPad and iPhone have infiltrated the $22 billion toy market this season is no surprise. Smartphones and tablets — particularly Apple products — are more popular than ever with people of all ages. This year, Apple is expected to double the number of iPhones sold to 90.6 million worldwide, according to research firm Gartner, while the number of iPads sold is expected to triple to 46.7 million.

And Apple products have a certain "cool factor" with kids that toy companies, which can make up to half of their revenue during the holidays, are hoping to tap into. In fact, the iPad and iPhone are among the most coveted electronics this holiday season among kids. About 44 percent of 6- to 12-year-olds want the iPad this year, according to a survey by research firm Nielsen. The iPod touch came in the No. 2 spot with 30 percent, followed by the iPhone at 27 percent.

Not to mention, anyone who's a parent knows all too well that babies and older kids alike love to fiddle with or drool all over mommy's iPad. Nearly 40 percent of 2-to 4-year-olds have used a smartphone, iPad or video iPod, according to a survey by nonprofit group Common Sense Media. That number rises to 52 percent for 5- to- 8 year olds. And even 10 percent of infants have used one of the devices before their first birthday.

"It's mostly something for kids to use in the car or at the doctor's office," says Chris Baynes, a toy analyst. "It's a way to get the kid to be quiet."

With that in mind, Crayola teamed up with Nashville, Tenn.-based Griffin Technology, which is mostly known for selling iPhone and iPad cases and car chargers, to make the iMarker and the ColorStudio HD app for kids. The iMarker, which is like a stylus that resembles a Crayola marker, is targeted at children ages three and up.

"Regardless of who they buy it for, once it is in the household, we know that kids use it," says Vicky Lozano, vice president of marketing at Crayola, which makes the iMarker.

Other toy makers also have gotten into the game:

— Griffin's $49.99 remote-controlled toy helicopter is aimed at teens over 14. Called the "HELO TC," it flies using a device that plugs into an iPhone, iPad or iPod. A free app turns the touchscreen of the devices into a cockpit that controls the helicopter.

— Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price unit is selling "The Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case" aimed at babies for $15. The case locks the iPhone into a colorful, easy to grab case that looks like a big round rattle. The case stops babies from making unwanted calls and protects the iPhone from something else: drool. Parents can open up three free apps that play music, read words aloud and count numbers. The company plans to release an iPad version of the case this spring.

— Disney has three offerings. The "Disney Spotlight" microphone, which is $69.99 or $99.99 for a wireless version, plugs into the iPad and allows kids to sing along to Disney songs from shows such as "Hannah Montana" — or to their own music — and record their own music video. Disney's $79.99 AppClix digital camera enables kids to upload their pictures to an iPad and a free app allows them add Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck into the photos. And Disney teamed up with Canadian toy maker Spin Master to create "Appmates," a toy car based on the characters from the company's "Car's 2" animated movie. One car sells for $12.99 while a two-pack goes for $19.99. Using a free app, kids can "drive" on different courses by moving the car across the iPad screen.

— Spin Master, which makes toys such as Air Hogs and Bakugan, started a new line this year of toys for the iPad and iPhone called "AppFininity." Its first toy in the line is the $19.99 AppBlaster, a plastic gun for kids over age eight. After slipping an iPhone or iPad touch on top of the AppBlaster, kids can shoot at aliens that pop up on the screen.

Analysts say these toys are just the beginning of a new niche for toy makers. Indeed, most of the companies say they plan to roll out more products for smartphones and tablets — including some that use Google Inc.'s Android software— next year.

"I think it's going to be a growing segment," says Jim Silver, editor-in-chief at toy review website TimeToPlaymag.com. "Next year, there will be even more (products) than you can possibly imagine."

Toyota unveils high-tech concept car

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:31:00 +0000

Toyota's president unveiled a futuristic concept car resembling a giant smartphone to demonstrate how Japan's top automaker is trying to take the lead in technology at the upcoming Tokyo auto show.

Siri's Mysterious Brain Fog

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:55:00 +0000

The dust-up over Siri's apparent inability to help users find abortion information has lead some to wonder why the virtual assistant clams up at the mention of the issue. Regardless of the reason, the situation's given Apple a small taste of what it's like to come up with search results that some people don't agree with.

The performance of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone voice-activated "personal assistant" when asked for information about abortion information has created a tempest of controversy for the Cupertino, Calif. company, though the problem is likely a technological one, rather than part of some hidden political agenda.

However, the gaffe could create potential trust problems for Apple in the future.

The issue came to light when several news outlets began reporting about complaints from iPhone 4S users that requests for abortion information was drawing a blank or in some cases, references to a pro-life clinic.

Apple did not respond to our request for comment on the Siri problem, but in a widely reported statement on the issue, the company said that while Siri can find a lot, it doesn't always find what users want. The company asserted that these are not intentional omissions, and it reiterated that Siri remains a beta product.

Search engine experts interviewed by MacNewsWorld agree with Apple's assessment of the situation.

Kindness of Others

Like Blanche Dubois, Siri depends on the kindness of others to answer questions asked of it. It doesn't have its own database of information from which it can extract answers, as a Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) or Bingdoes. It has to query other programs' databases for those answers.
Siri is a search agent, rather than a search engine, explained Jonathan Allen, director of Search Engine Watch.
"Search engines crawl the Web and try to index and rank the Web, while a search agent is programatically connected to other searchable entities," he told MacNewsWorld.
Siri can directly interface with traditional search engines like Google, Yelpand Wolfram Alpha and pull information from them for its answers to your questions, he added.
In addition, Siri also tries to determine if a question has a local spin on it. If it does, Siri will try to find a local answer for it. That can produce some befuddling results.
That could be what happened with the abortion search. Siri may be checking a local database and in some cases, finding no abortion clinics.
"The database doesn't come back with any answers almost certainly because abortion clinics don't call themselves 'abortion clinics,'" Search Engine Land Editor In Chief Danny Sullivan explained to MacNewsWorld.
The same thing would happen if you searched for a "tool store," he added. "When I do that, I don't get any answers," he elaborated, "and it's not because Siri is trying to prevent me from buying tools. It's because the tool stores aren't calling themselves 'tool stores.' They're calling themselves 'hardware stores.'"

Ethical Question

Another possible source for the problem is that Siri, which is still in beta, just couldn't parse the abortion question correctly, added Allen. Whatever caused the glitch, he continued, "it's not a moral thing."
Ironically, if the abortion query had been shipped off to Google instead of to a local database, the current controversy may not of developed. A search for "Where can I get an abortion?" on that engine produces a directory of abortion clinics high up in its search results.
While Siri may not be a search engine in the mold of Google and Bing, this latest dustup is giving Apple a taste of what the ferret set has gone through for some time. "These aren't new things," Sullivan observed. "Google has been dealing with these things for years."
"People get upset with Google because you can do a search that tells you how to pirate software, or you do a search that can tell you how to kill people or how to make bombs," he added.
However, not being a pure search engine could open Apple up to a different kind of criticism in the future. That's because there's money to be made from referring Siri users to the databases it's using to answer questions.
"The ethical question is," Sullivan said, "are you pointing to database that are the best for the user or are you pointing to databases because you're making the most money from them?"

YouTube Designs a More TV-Like Experience

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:53:00 +0000

Like it's done to many of its sites as of late, Google's given YouTube a facelift. The major changes include an emphasis on the video-sharing site's customizable channels to which users can subscribe. The center of the new home page has a new feed first introduced in the Cosmic Panda experimental UI YouTube unveiled in July.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has launched a major interface redesign for YouTube. This latest change revamps the site overall. It also provides a new home page and simpler, customizable channels.

"We want to grow the amount of time people spend on the site, and we feel that growing channels is a way to help them find the videos they love," YouTube spokesperson Chris Dale told TechNewsWorld.

"It's really about redesigning the entire YouTube experience around these channels and making sure that people get more information and love what they get on YouTube," Dale said

Look What They've Done To YouTube, Ma

There's a list of channels on the left-hand side of the new home page. They include trending, popular, music, entertainment, sports, science & technology, news & politics and gaming.
The center of the new home page has a new feed first introduced in the Cosmic Panda experimental UI YouTube unveiled in July.
Users can link their YouTube accounts to their Google+ andFacebook accounts and watch the videos their friends are sharing.
The channel design has been improved, with new channel templates.
YouTube's overall design has also been revamped based on suggestions users made when trying out Cosmic Panda. YouTube now has a consistent gray background, a more streamlined "watch" page and offers bigger video thumbnails.
"There's a group of power users on YouTube that use all the features and functionality built into the platform -- [and] we want to build the experience around [them] and grow the number of power users on the site so they become more mainstream," YouTube's Dale said.

I Don't Get No Satisfaction

Many users' comments on the YouTube blog announcing the site's new look and feel were negative.
Some didn't like the redesign, and others just wanted the old look and feel back.
"I think change is difficult for a lot of folks, and inevitably there's going to be a vocal minority of people that don't like the change, but our preliminary tests show users like it," YouTube's Dale stated.
Still others complained that Google seems to be emphasizing professionally made content that will get priority placement on the Channels section of the new YouTube front page, moving away from the amateur videos that have traditionally been its mainstay.

Money for Channels but Users Stay Free

"Google's trying to move to more professional content, but content owners don't trust them, which has been problematic," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld.
Google's partners "are going to be buying for that [Channels section], but a user can choose what they want to appear in that bar," Dale pointed out. "It's user demand driven, and totally in the user's control."
If that's the case, it's difficult to see how Google can monetize the Channels section, which seems to be its goal.

No Revamp Left Behind

This latest YouTube UI revamp is one in a long line of ongoing refinements Google's making lately.
Google announced in October that more content would be coming to YouTube. This would include channels created by well-known personalities as well as content producers from the TV, film, music, news and sports fields.
Content would also come from innovative new media companies and some of YouTube's own partners. YouTube will continue to roll out the new content over the next year.
In July, Google introduced Cosmic Panda as a test. This offered more page designs and better editing tools to let users customize their channels. It also had a new look and feel and let users of computers running the Google Chrome browser keep watching when moving between videos, playlists and channels.
Back in February, Google launched what at the time it called one of the biggest redesigns in YouTube history.
This incorporated a new playlist design and introduced an AutoPlay On/Off switch that would control whether or not a user would automatically go on to the next video after the current one ended.
YouTube also introduced a queue feature to video search and integrated text and video comments.
"We're always listening to our users and we launch early and reiterate according to user feedback." Dale said. "We'll incorporate user comments into our future design."

NASA Spots Possible Earth 'Twin' 600 Light-Years Away

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:51:00 +0000

Kepler-22b is the closest planet yet to Earth in terms of its potential for supporting life. However, it is so far away that we wouldn't be able to send any possible inhabitants a message, much less plan a visit. Still, "the discovery that the planet Kepler-22b is in the habitable zone around a sun-like star is a crucial step towards discovering life outside the solar system," said astrophysicist Mario Livio.

NASA's Kepler mission on Monday confirmed the discovery of a small planet 600 light-years away from Earth in the "habitable zone" of a star not unlike our own sun.

About 2.4 times the size of Earth, the newly confirmed planet -- called "Kepler-22b" -- is the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone, or the region where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface.

This diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The diagram shows an artist's rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles the sun. Image credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Though scientists don't yet know if Kepler-22b is primarily rocky, gaseous or liquid in composition, its discovery is a step closer to finding planets similar to Earth.

"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA.

Of 54 habitable-zone planet candidates reported in Feb. 2011, Kepler-22b is the first to be confirmed. The discovery will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.

A 290-Day Orbit

While Kepler-22b is larger than Earth, its orbit of 290 days around a sun-like star is much like that of our own world. Though it is smaller and cooler, the planet's host star also belongs to the same class -- dubbed "G-type" -- as our sun.

To discover such planets and planet candidates, Kepler measures dips in the brightness of more than 150,000 stars as indications of planets crossing in front of them. At least three such "transits" are required to verify that a signal is a planet.

A variety of instruments are used to review and verify observations made by the Kepler spacecraft, including ground-based telescopes and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Making that task more difficult, Kepler observes a star field in the constellations Cygnus and Lyra that can only be seen from ground-based observatories between spring and early fall.

More Than 1,000 New Candidates

"Fortune smiled upon us with the detection of this planet," said William Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Center, who led the team that discovered Kepler-22b.

"The first transit was captured just three days after we declared the spacecraft operationally ready," Borucki added. "We witnessed the defining third transit over the 2010 holiday season."

Kepler has also discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Included among those are 10 that are close to Earth's size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star, but follow-up observations will be necessary to determine whether they are true planets.

'A Crucial Step'

"The discovery that the planet Kepler-22b is in the habitable zone around a sun-like star is a crucial step towards discovering life outside the solar system," Mario Livio, a senior astrophysicist with the Space Telescope Science Institute, told TechNewsWorld.

While the fact that liquid water can exist on the surface of the planet "does not necessarily mean that there is life there, we think that liquid water is a NECESSARY ingredient for life," Livio explained.

Planets discovered by Kepler "are not the easiest targets for follow-up observations because of their distance," he added. Still, "they provide the important information that these planets do exist, and with time, they will provide us with information about the frequency of such planets."

Future telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope and its successors, will attempt to identify "biosignatures" in the atmospheres of these planets, Livio noted.

'We Couldn't Get There'

The discovery is an interesting one, but even if Kepler-22b does turn out to be habitable, it likely won't have any practical implications for humans anytime soon, Paul Czysz, a professor emeritus of aerospace engineering at St. Louis University, told TechNewsWorld.

"We couldn't get there if we had to," Czysz said.

The star system closest to Earth, Alpha Centauri, is just over four light-years away from Earth, he pointed out, meaning that it would take more than four years to travel there at the speed of light, or 40 years at one-tenth of the speed of light.

'We're Isolated'

We can't yet even come close to speeds of one-tenth of the speed of light, however, making the prospect of trying to travel the 600 light-years to Kepler-22b completely prohibitive, Czysz said.

Humans also haven't yet come up with a transmitter than can send a signal that far, Czysz added, making any prospect of trying to send a message in case there's life on Kepler-22b equally bleak.

"As it stands right now," he concluded, "we're isolated."

Amazon and eBay brawl over Web sales tax

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:49:00 +0000

Amazon and eBay had it out in a public brawl in Washington on Wednesday during a congressional hearing about allowing states to collect sales tax on Internet purchases.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) and eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) are an opposite sides of the lightning-rod issue -- and touchy about it. During their testimony, the two companies' lobbyists swapped barbs and accusations of everything from being misleading to outright profiteering.

"Let's recall, eBay has facilities in 20 states around the country, they have fulfillment centers in eight states around the country. It is not an isolated business, as it would suggest," said Misener, Amazon's vice president of global public policy. "They also, of course, are a multi-billion-dollar company."EBay's stance is that tougher sales tax collection laws would hurt the small merchants that use its sales platform. But when eBay executive Tod Cohen trotted out that argument, Amazon's Paul Misener fired back, saying eBay is hardly a small business.

Cohen countered that eBay wouldn't be the one paying sales taxes. Its buyers and sellers would pay.

"If eBay was a retailer, of course, where it had a physical presence, then we'd have an obligation. EBay is not retailer. EBay is a marketplace," said Cohen, who is eBay's vice president and deputy general counsel of global government relations.

Every year more shoppers are turning to the Internet. States, hard-pressed to plug giant holes in their budgets, are taking a fresh run at making sure they get every penny they say they're owed on online purchases.

Right now, federal law says online sellers can't be required to collect sales tax unless the seller has a physical presence in the jurisdiction imposing the tax. That means that for nearly two decades, most online companies have been able to undercut bricks-and-mortar retailers by selling their wares tax-free.

Several states -- most notably California -- have challenged that status quo, passing a patchwork of state laws that require firms to collect sales tax if they have "affiliates" in the area. These new state laws are aimedsquarely at Amazon.

After years of fighting all efforts to tax its sales, Amazon recently reversed course and said it would support a "simple, nationwide system of state and local sales tax collection." The company appears to have decided that it can't fend the states off forever -- and that it's better positioned than its rivals to survive the tax hit.

That's exactly the problem, in EBay's view. Cohen said such tax collection would "tip the scales further and benefit the larger stores."

At the hearing, Amazon's Misener accused eBay of "taking advantage of Texas hospitality" by accepting a $3 million state economic development grant to build a facility in Austin while not collecting sales tax there. Texas' budget depends heavily on sales tax revenue, since the state doesn't charge income tax.

But eBay's Cohen countered by reminding the hearing's attendees about Amazon's own charge of heart on the issue.

"That's Mr. Bezos from Amazon's position from two years ago," Cohen, said, referring to remarks made by Amazon's CEO.

"Well, things change, things happen," quipped Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat.

Facebook buys Gowalla

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:12:00 +0000

Facebook has acquired location sharing service Gowalla for an undisclosed sum, according to a source close to Gowalla.

Facebook declined to comment on the deal.

Most of Gowalla's employees, including founder Josh Williams, will move to Facebook's offices in Palo Alto. The team will work onFacebook's Timeline feature, which launched at this year's F8 conference and is gradually rolling out to Facebook's 800 million members."We don't comment on rumor and speculation," a company spokesman said.

Launched in 2009, Austin-based Gowalla went head-to-head with direct rival Foursquare -- and lost. Badly trailing Foursquare in user adoption, Gowalla recently shifted directions, recasting itself as a travel guide. The site had raised around $10 million over the years from backers including the Founders Fund, Greylock Partners and a collection of angel investors.

"It's a perfect match," said the source, who asked not to be identified because the deal has not yet been publicly announced. "As far as the big picture, Gowalla's vision is about people telling stories, and Facebook's vision for Timeline is about stories about important moments in life.Some Gowalla employees will stay in Austin and work out of Facebook's local office there.Whether or not Gowalla's app will remain alive has not yet been determined. Facebook has a habit of buying promising startups and killing them off to deploy their engineers and developers on other projects. Its hit list includes Beluga, Hot Potato, Drop.io, Snaptu, Digital Staircase, among more than a dozen others.Facebook views takeovers as a good way to build up its talent bench. The company aims to make about 20 purchases in 2011, up from 10 last year, Vaughan Smith, Facebook's director of corporate development, told Bloomberg in August.

Tim Cook's first 100 days as Apple CEO

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:55:00 +0000

New Apple CEO Tim Cook has begun to put his mark on the company during the last 100 days.

(CNN) -- World leaders are often measured by what they do in their first 100 days in office. But what about business leaders?

As of Friday, it has been 100 days since Apple co-founder and longtime CEO Steve Jobs passed the company torch to Tim Cook.

Since that first day, August 24, Wall Street and legions of Apple fans have had their gazes fixed on Cook. As the man heading arguably the most influential and valuable technology company in the world, Cook wields a great deal of power.

After Cook took over, Jobs held the role of executive chairman but lost his long battle with cancer some six weeks later, on October 5. The day before Jobs died, Cook led a news conference to announce the iPhone 4S.

"I consider it the privilege of a lifetime to have worked here for 14 years," Cook said at that event. "I am so incredibly proud of this company."

Analysts described the presentation as crisp but lacking the excitement of a Jobs production.

"It's not going to be the Steve Jobs show that generates headlines worldwide," John Jackson, an analyst at Boston-based market research firm CCS Insight who attended the keynote, said in a recent interview. "These events aren't going to be the same as they ever were."

Even without Jobs' dramatic stage presence, the iPhone 4S became the fastest-selling phone over its launch weekend, selling 4 million units worldwide. Financial analysts worried that the aging glass-and-steel design would stunt sales, but the faster processor, better camera and Siri voice assistant -- plus the addition of a third major carrier, Sprint Nextel -- helped the smartphone maintain momentum.

Siri, which Apple describes as beta software, has experienced occasional outages since its October launch, but iCloud has fared much better than Apple's previous endeavors into Internet services. About 20 million people activated their free iCloud accounts in its first week, Apple said. ITunes Match, a $25-a-year music synchronization service, was delayed by a few days but has received positive reviews.

Like Jobs had done, Cook began e-mailing with some customers. He also personally addressed an inquiry by e-mail from Nancy Keenan, the president of a pro-choice foundation who was writing in response to a controversy over Siri directing abortion questions to pro-life clinics.

"These are not intentional omissions meant to offend anyone," Cook wrote.

So after a few robust launches, and a few bumps in the road, where do Cook and Apple go from here?

Jobs recruited Cook from Compaq Computer in 1998 to run Apple's operations. People who have worked with Cook at Apple describe him as quiet and confident, the peacekeeper at the conference room table. He'd entrust a roomful of Apple employees with company secrets and expect trust in return, according to Michael Grothaus, a former consultant for the company.

Jobs was hands-on in product development and had a knack for identifying which markets were ripe for invasion. Walter Isaacson's new "Steve Jobs" biography reveals that digital textbooks and Internet-enabled TV sets were among Jobs' next areas of focus for Apple. In the book, Jobs said Cook is "not a product person."

Analysts say Jobs provided guidance on products that wouldn't see store shelves for at least another year. But by August 2013, Jobs' magic touch is likely to have worn off and the products will be those of a Cook regime, said Gartner analyst Michael King.

Cook hasn't been given reasons to run away from the challenge.

He will be able to lean on a "strong bench" of executives that Jobs recruited and that Cook has long worked with, said Jackson, the analyst. "It's going to be business as usual for Apple in Steve's absence," he said.

Shortly after taking over, Cook broadened the role of Eddy Cue, a longtime executive working with Jobs. Cue is now the senior vice president of cloud services, which includes overseeing iCloud and iAds, the fledgling mobile advertising unit.

To give Cook a strong financial incentive to stay, Apple's board of directors granted him a million shares of restricted stock. The first half will be made available to him five years from when Cook officially became CEO, and the rest will vest five years after that, as long as he stays.

Cook had promised in a recent e-mail to his staff that Apple wouldn't change under his leadership, but he introduced at least one corporate program that would have been out of character for Jobs. In September, Apple began matching employees' charitable contributions up to $10,000. Jobs was not much of a philanthropist.

"Steve made our world a better place," Cook said at the Apple memorial for Jobs. "He left his fingerprints all over society, all over the world. He also leaves behind a company that only he could have built and a spirit that will be the foundation for this company forever."

Cook has instilled confidence in investors during his brief stints as CEO. In the last 100 days, Apple stock has gone up 4.3%. Now, he will need to continue to build on Jobs' steady foundation.

How to build your own app for free

noreply@blogger.com (khanstyle) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:42:00 +0000

Conduit offers a simple tool to build your own app.
Ever want to build an app for yourself?

It's actually not hard. There are a number of companies that offer the ability to create your own app for a minimal fee, which is great for small businesses looking to stay relevant in this increasingly mobile world. Or if you just have a lot of time on your hands.

Take Conduit. The company made its money creating branded toolbars found on your browser. But over the past few months, it has been expanding into the mobile world with a free service that allows you to build an app and mobile Web site in minutes. It's part of a planned shift by the company to build its consumer awareness after spending years serving other businesses in a white label capacity.

"We're trying to give companies a tool to really go mobile," said Ori Lavie, vice president of product strategy at Conduit Mobile. "It's sometimes a difficult struggle."

You can select how many categories, or tabs, you want on your app.

I've tried the service, and it's pretty simple to use. The best part: it's completely free. Conduit has a team set up that will take you through the submission process and it will even pay your fee to get the app up in the various mobile app stores. As with everything in life, there are some catches, and Conduit's offer is a limited-time promotion.

For the purposes of testing, I decided to build a mobile application out of my personal Tumblr blog, Annoying PR. Conduit's browser-based tool allowed me to select from a set template for how the app would look--including different appearances for each platform.

To add content to the app, I typed in the address for my blog, which drew in the feed. I also added my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

In terms of the look, I was able to change up the color scheme. I also chose a background, splash page, screenshots, and a logo for the app. You can pick images from a provided library of upload your own images.

There's also an option to run mobile ads on the app, in which Conduit and the customer would split any potential revenue. I opted not to run ads on my app.

Potentially get your app on multiple devices.

The tool worked very much like Wordpress, Tumblr, or any other Web site or blog creation service, and is fairly intuitive.

Within minutes I had an HTML5 mobile Web site built. The site worked a lot like an app, especially after I chose to put it on my iPhone's home screen. The address, which uses a Conduit-hosted URL, isn't exactly the catchiest.

(Point your mobile browser here to check out the HTML5 site.)

Of course, I care more about getting it into app form, which is where there are complications. Yes, Conduit will offer to take your app through the submission process--all while covering your fees--but only after its compliance team deems the app ready. It can kick back the app if it lacks content or uses copyrighted or offensive material.

Once the app is ready, an option comes up that allows you to take advantage of this promotion.

In my case, the app wasn't ready for primetime. I got a message from a Conduit team member saying my app had insufficient content and suggested I add more categories and images. I added more content from CNET's YouTube page and a contact tab and resubmitted it. I'm hoping for more luck the next time around.

Lavie said the review process by Conduit may take a few days and getting approval from iTunes and Samsung's Bada may take a few weeks. Beyond iOS, Android, and Bada, a separate Nokia app is created as well. It also creates a Web app for Microsoft's Windows Phone and BlackBerry, although the site says native apps were coming soon.

Its simple format means this is a better option for businesses without a lot of technical resources to pursue their own app. Large companies and major brands with money behind them are better off building an app from scratch, since it'll likely be able to take more advantage of the device. There's a reason why major companies are pouring money into building apps--they want to be a permanent fixture on a device you stare at dozens of times a day.

It's not just businesses; ambitious individuals are also getting into the app game. Lavie said opera singer Andrea Bocelli will have a personal app up through Conduit, as well as two NFL players who haven't yet launched their programs yet. He added he expects bands and DJs to be interested in the capability.

It doesn't have to be small business or celebrities. Conduit's offer removes any barriers and complications, meaning anyone with something meaningful to share could conceivably build an app. So this is my challenge to readers: use Conduit to build your own app. If I get enough responses, I'll highlight them in an upcoming Inside Apps column.