Microsoft Q4 2012 by the numbers: $6.2B charge saps record quarter
Microsoft closed its fiscal year in relatively good shape, despite globally slow PC sales that weighed down Windows division sales and product transition period that affected some others. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has a heap load of new products in queue for the next three quarters, causing some customers to delay purchases.
However, a one-time $6.19 billion impairment goodwill charge, related to the Online Services Business, and $540 million deferral led Microsoft to post a 6 cents-per-share loss -- or $492 million, after taxes. The deferral covers upgrade guarantees related to Windows 8's launch.
Senator Schumer sides with Apple and publishers in ebook price fixing case
A prominent Senate Democrat sided with Apple this week, and called on the Justice Department to drop its ebook lawsuit against the Cupertino, Calif. company. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote in an opinion piece that appeared in the Wednesday edition of the Wall Street Journal that a victory by the DOJ could be detrimental to the entire publishing industry.
"The suit will restore Amazon to the dominant position atop the e-books market it occupied for years before competition arrived in the form of Apple", Schumer argued. "If that happens, consumers will be forced to accept whatever prices Amazon sets".
Why isn't Windows Phone more successful?
As Nokia reports its earnings, I can’t help but feel bad for the company's efforts here in the United States. To me, 600,000 units in North America (and supposedly that includes other devices besides Lumia 900) is not exactly what I would call a win.
But that’s just me. I’m a Windows Phone user. It’s a fantastic platform. The interface is gorgeous, and the OS is fast. I haven’t had issues with Windows Phone that I have had with Android. So in my opinion, the platform deserves a spot at the table with Android and iOS. So why hasn’t it been very successful?
Researchers take down botnet responsible for a fifth of world's spam
If you notice a huge drop in the amount of pharmaceutical spam you're receiving, you're not imagining things. Security researchers say they were able to take down "Grum", the spam server behind about 18 percent of global spam.
The process began when researchers blocked the botnet's command servers in the Netherlands and Panama on Tuesday. Grum's administrators acted quickly to restore the server, and shortly thereafter had set up new command servers in Russia and Ukraine. Researchers were still hot on their trail, and Militpas, Calif.-based security firm FireEye along with UK-based anti-spam group SpamHaus worked with Russian security experts to take down Grum again on Wednesday morning.
Marissa Mayer is not facing a Steve Jobs-type opportunity at Yahoo
I see an interesting trend among people emailing me to comment about Marissa Mayer: They see her hiring at Yahoo as some kind of trick by Google. Ms. Mayer is Google to the core, readers say, and she’s going to Yahoo simply as a commando to pick and choose future Google acquisitions.
No, she isn’t.
Crowd funding: How to limit the risk of getting ripped off
The Kickstarter website has moved crowd funding into mainstream media. There is virtually no news site, newspaper or TV network left out there that has not reported on recent funding success stories. You may have heard about Double Fine Adventure's million Dollar ride that got the ball rolling for some serious game funding on the site, or Pebble, the e-paper watch for iPhone and Android that managed to rake in more than $10 million.
People who pledge a certain amount of money often get something in return. In the case of Double Fine it is a copy of the adventure game that the developers want to produce with the money, and for Pebble, it is one of those iconic watches. Pledges can be retracted for as long as the funding has not ended. Afterwards, the money is only transferred if the funding has reached the desired goal. If that is not the case, backers are not charged a single dime. It gets fuzzy when a project has crossed the funding goal and reached the end of the funding stage. Once the money has been transferred, there is not really any transparency as to what happens with the money from that moment on forward.
Pay-per-click ads are taking over Google search results [infographic]
If you use Google search (and who doesn’t), you may have noticed that sponsored results (pay-per-click, or PPC, ads) have been taking over more and more of the search engine results page.
Here at WordStream, we’ve noticed that too! So we decided to do some research into what impact all of these new, bigger, more prominent and engaging ad formats are having on the average Google searcher. The results are astonishing: Clicks on paid search listings beat out organic clicks by nearly a 2:1 margin for keywords with high commercial intent in the US.
Nokia Q2 2012 by the numbers: Losses lessen, Lumia lights up sales
It’s tough to be in Nokia’s shoes right now, with so many people expecting them to fail. Today, the Finnish phone manufacturer released second-quarter financial results and, despite public expectation, financials aren’t what we might expect. If we're to believe all rumors posted on the Internet the past days about Nokia’s financial state there wouldn’t be a need to read their press release. Reality is different. Phone sales increased quarter on quarter and year on year, with Lumia Windows Phone exceeding predictions.
Let's kick off with the numbers: Nokia’s operating loss amounts to EUR826 million ($1.01 billion). The Finnish manufacturer reduced its operating loss from EUR1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) over the previous quarter, which surpassed predictions of a bigger financial loss. At the end of the quarter they’ve got EUR102 million ($125.5 million) in net cash, far better than the EUR590 million ($724 million) deficit of last quarter. Nokia posted net sales amounting to EUR7.5 billion ($9.2 billion), up EUR0.1 billion ($122 million) from the previous quarter.
Thunderbird 15 Beta 1 debuts Australis UI
After the furore surrounding Mozilla’s recent announcement that it’s to place its email client, Thunderbird, into an “extended support release”, the launch of Thunderbird 15.0 Beta 1 was always bound to attract attention. And it’s certainly turning heads, thanks to the official debut of a redesigned user interface.
Thunderbird 15 Beta 1 also debuts two noticeable new features in addition to the revamped user interface, extending the global search tool to cover the Chat module, plus implementing the “do not track” feature that debuted in Firefox last year.
Access OS X and Windows partitions with Paragon NTFS & HFS+ Beta
Owners of Android devices who work with both Macs and PCs should take a look at NTFS & HFS+ Beta. This newly unveiled app from software developer Paragon helps to overcome compatibility issues that you may have experiences with your cell or tablets and PC and Mac. Despite the fact that this is an early beta, it is an interesting tool.
If you are an Android owner with a Mac, you may well have formatted a memory card as an HFS+ drive. This is not ordinarily a problem, until the time comes when you want to access the files on a PC. Similarly, if you are a PC users, formatting a drive using NTFS could lead to problem with your Mac.
Windows 8 launches October 26
Steven Sinofosky, president of the Windows & Windows Live division, announced the date during a Microsoft sales meeting this afternoon. Windows 8 follows other October launches -- its predecessor (Oct. 22, 2009) and XP (Oct. 25, 2001). Vista should have been as well, but Microsoft couldn't ship soon enough, unbelievably missing Christmas 2006.
Microsoft plans to release gold code the first week of August and make Windows 8 immediately available to volume-license subscribers. Everyone else will wait for Windows 8.
PowerArchiver 2012 13.00 is seriously impressive
ConeXware has released the latest edition of its comprehensive archiving tool, PowerArchiver 2012 13.00. And it’s seriously impressive, with a stack of new and interesting features to explore.
Security sees several enhancements, for instance. We like the new password policies, which allow you to set rules for password length and the use of upper- and lower-case characters, numbers and symbols. And the program’s temporary files can now be securely wiped using US DoD-approved methods to ensure your confidential files stay private.
UK Judge tells Apple to run adverts Samsung doesn't copy iPad
According to the Bloomsberg News Agency a UK judge has ordered Apple to publish a notice on its website and in various newspapers and magazines (the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, Guardian Mobile magazine, and T3) informing visitors and readers that Samsung did not copy the design of the iPad. The judge, Colin Birss, also stipulated that the notice on Apple’s website should remain there for a minimum of six months.
The order follows Apple’s failed attempt to block sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablets in the United Kingdom and is apparently intended to correct any damaging impressions consumers may have been given about the South Korean company as a result of the litigation.
I don't know whether to cheer or cry for Microsoft
From one perspective, 2012 looks like a great year for Windows Phone, with about 17 percent year-over-year growth in the United States. Outstanding! But, uh-oh, that's from a tiny base. Get out your magnifying glass -- share will rise from 3.5 percent to 4.1 percent, according to Strategy Analytics. Ah, yeah.
The analyst firm's forecast is for actual number of smartphones sold, not shipped -- 123 million, 5 million of which will have Windows Phone. That's up from 101.8 million and 3.5 million, respectively, in 2011.
Watch out, Apple, HTC is coming for you
HTC is like a child with shiny new toy taken from HP and used against neighborhood bully Apple. Enjoying its December 2011 patent purchase, yesterday the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer filed a counterclaim in a Florida court, accusing Apple of infringing on two patents. HTC wants to keep momentum after a win against Apple in a UK court, invalidated the famous "slide to unlock" patent.
Apple has targeted major competitors -- HTC, Motorola Mobility and Samsung primarily -- with patent infringement lawsuits. While counterclaims are common, HTC has so far mostly been on the losing end against Apple. HTC purchased two patents -- US Patent No. 7,120,684, titled "Installation of network services in an embedded network server", and 7,571,221, named "Method and system for central management of a computer network". Both patents are claimed to be infringed by the fruit company.
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