Joe Wilcox

Today begins the great Google experiment. Will people really buy into the cloud?

On Sale Today

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LulzSec has started crowdsourcing its nefarious online activities by opening a request line for future assaults.

Yesterday, the hotline number went out via LulzSec's Twitter account: "Call into 614-LULZSEC and pick a target and we'll obliterate it. Nobody wants to mess with The Lulz Cannon -- take aim for us, twitter. #FIRE." I called the number today. There's something there. I didn't leave a take-down request.

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I got wondering, because the noise about it has quieted down since Google I/O last month. So I looked and, gasp, not much is different at all.

On April 1, only 2.5 percent of Android devices ran the newest versions -- 2.3 or 2.3.3, according to official Android Developers stats. The others: 63.9 percent Android 2.2; 27.2 percent v2.1; 3.5 percent v1.6; and 2.7 percent v1.5. Android 2.3 released about four months earlier.

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Let the mobile device wars begin. Like AMD and Intel battled for desktop chip dominance in the 1990s and Noughties -- the megahertz and gigahertz wars -- mobile devices are their new territory. But instead of speed, the new marketing mantra is longer battery life, lower power consumption and better graphics capabilities. Following last month's Intel announcements for Ultrabook and "Medfield" processors, today AMD jumped in with Accelerated Processing Units (APUs).

The nomenclature makes me think of some wonky, scifi "B" movie or George Orwellian-like novel. But AMD's APU pitch is something more monumental.

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Today, Nokia announced that it had resolved all patent claims with Apple, which will pay on-going royalties to the Finnish phone manufacturer. Apple also will make a one-time payment to Nokia. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees," Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, says in a statement. "This settlement demonstrates Nokia's industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market."

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The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook isn't instant-on. Don't believe any marketing messaging suggesting it. I had to wait an agonizing 4 seconds when flipping the lid before the Chrome logo appeared -- first bootup out of the box.

Instant On, Instant Setup, Instant Update

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Frak, do I have to root every friggin' Android device just to take screenshots?

Last week, while writing my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 first impression review, I had to take photos of the screen with a digital camera. On an iOS device, clicking the power and home buttons simultaneously would have captured the screen. C`mon, Google, must you make screen capture so difficult? There are third-party utilities, including Screenshot ER, which supports Honeycomb. But they require root access -- and, hey, I'm not going to root a tablet I haven't finished reviewing.

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Let me offer apologies for being asleep at the wheel. Somehow I missed the road sign -- or perhaps ran it down -- for Gartner's updated PC shipment forecast, released last week. The analyst firm reduced 2011 PC shipments -- again. Massive slowdown in netbook sales and increased media tablet adoption are major reasons.

For years, the PC market benefitted from strong laptop sales that offset declines on the desktop. But the times they are a-changin.

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If there was an award for most unpopular CEO, Steve Ballmer just might win it. There have been increasing calls to off his head -- to remove him and bring in anybody else. "Psst, Ms. Cleaning Lady, how would you like to run a software company?" But Microsoft's chief executive deserves more credit than he gets. The company closes its fiscal year in 17 days, with brighter future than any year since Apple announced iPhone in January 2007. Ballmer and his executive team delivered one of Microsoft's best years ever -- from a strategic perspective.

Sure, Microsoft is still running behind in mobile, and its cloud strategy is too tied to legacy products Office and Windows. But in many other respects, Microsoft delivered lots of promise, and the credit largely belongs to Ballmer and his larger executive team. One year ago, as fiscal 2010's close approached, I posted: "I have lost in faith in Steve Ballmer's leadership." In April came my turnabout post: "Steve Ballmer has restored my confidence in his leadership."

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Apple will deeply integrate Twitter into iOS 5 when it releases this Fall, but not Facebook. Now why is that? Facebook is the largest social networking platform on the planet, with more than 500 million users, according to the company (Hell, I thought it was closer 700 million based on multiple -- and unconfirmed -- press reports and blogs). Surely Apple already greatly benefits from the the social network's iOS app. Why not do more?

I can't speak for Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his executive team, obviously. Perhaps the major reason is nothing more complex than Apple and Facebook failing to reach terms either could agree to. After all, there would be more to it than just leveraging APIs. However, I see some very good reasons why deep Facebook integration into iOS would be a bad move for Apple.

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I hate rumor stories, especially on Fridays. The slowest news day of the week tends to magnify the smallest rumor into a gargantuan story linked and repeated across the web. Today's ditty: Apple supposedly is recalling Verizon 3G iPad 2s.

This is the kind of thing Apple simply doesn't confirm until there is some official statement.. So I didn't bother asking for comment right away. I started randomly calling U.S. Apple retail stores posing as a customer who had read about a recall on the Internet and wondered what he should do about it. At the first four stores, staff was unfamiliar with any recall -- or even trouble with Verizon iPads.

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Is Microsoft's contract with analyst firm IDC up for renewal? Hey, the software giant's fiscal year ends June 30, so it could be. What else, other than group insanity, can explain IDC predicting, again, that Windows Phone will be No. 2 in smartphone operating systems come 2015? It's -- get this --  the second time IDC made such a prediction in less than two months. I guess the first time wasn't enough to get the contract signed.

Mighty Suspicious Timing

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Meanwhile here in the United States the ads are so lame.

Watch the videos and you tell me, because I can't figure it out.

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Acer and Samsung Chromebooks are now available for preorder. Interest is so great it took a tweet from Google today for much of anyone to know about the sale. The Chrome OS-based laptops are available from Amazon and Best Buy. Hey, right now! Official launch is June 15 -- that's right, in six days.

My question for Betanews readers is easy: Will you buy Chromebook? Prices range from $379.99 to $499.99. Please answer in comments or email joe at betanews.com -- and, of course, everyone wants to know your reasons. Please give them.

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In a stunning defeat. The country's highest court ruled against Microsoft in its appeal regarding XML patents.

A lower court had ruled that Microsoft violated i4i payments, which was upheld on appeal. Rather than seek a reversal on the patent claims, or address whether or not Microsoft essentially pilfered i4i's XML technologies, the software giant attacked the patent process and how evidence about it is presented in court.

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