Why should Google wait for Microsoft to launch Office 365 tomorrow, when it can diss today?
Tomorrow morning, in New York City, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will break out the band and play tribute to Office 365 -- the company's hosted app companion to its PC productivity suite. It's not rocket science understanding Microsoft's motivations, fending off competition from Google Apps among small businesses and enterprises and providing customers with what they really need -- anytime, anywhere access to their stuff on anything.
Google's cleverly titled "365 reasons to consider Google Apps" blog post gives anything but 365 reasons. If Google can't find 365, Microsoft should do so for its cloud suite launch. That would be great counter-marketing tactic.
Next iPhone to begin production in August
Apple is set to begin manufacturing of the next-generation iPhone in late August, claims one analyst, with a release date sometime in late September. Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty made the prediction in a research note following meetings in Taiwan, which were likely with some of the Cupertino company's suppliers.
The prediction lines up with those of other analysts and Apple watchers, most of which have targeted September as the time for the introduction of the new iPhone. Huberty wasn't explicit on what she expected the next-generation iPhone to be, although she did say two million units are expected to ship in the fourth quarter.
Has Stephen Elop doomed Nokia?
The N9 and N950 clearly show that Nokia had good smartphones already in the development pipeline, but new CEO Stephen Elop never gave them a chance. He bet the company on Windows phone, which will be good for Microsoft but not so great for Nokia.
Analyst predictions tell the story, in the simplest way. As measured by operating system, IDC predicts that Symbian will go from 20.6 percent global market share this year essentially to zero in 2015. Meanwhile, Windows Phone -- Nokia's new primary mobile operating system -- will reach 20.3 percent in four years. That's less than a zero-sum gain, since Nokia isn't the sole Windows Phone distributor.
Let the rape, murder and mayhem begin: Supreme court says kids can play violent video games
Six years ago, California adopted a state law that criminalized the sale of violent video games to children under 18, and called for stricter regulation of video game labeling. Since the law's passing, it has been challenged by the video game industry in all levels of the U.S. Judicial system.
Today, the Supreme Court upheld the 2009 District Court ruling and declared the California law to be a violation of the first amendment to the Constitution.
If you're a video junkie buy iPad 2, because Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn't for you
My overall first impression of Galaxy Tab 10.1 was quiet favorable. Except for the odd shape, presumably to get that 16:10 aspect ratio, the Samsung tablet pleased out of the box. But further usage led to simply shocking surprises, particularly consuming video. If you're a video junkie, buy iPad 2. Tab 10.1 isn't for you.
Forget Hulu and Netflix
What is LulzSec afraid of?
Or stated differently: Have the ill-winds of fate caught the Lulz Boat's sails?
Today, quite unexpectedly, LulzSec Security announced its retirement. "This is our final release, as today marks something meaningful to us. For the past 50 days we've been disrupting and exposing corporations, governments, often the general population itself, and quite possibly everything in between, just because we could", according to a statement from the hacker group. "Our planned 50 day cruise has expired, and we must now sail into the distance, leaving behind -- we hope -- inspiration, fear, denial, happiness, approval, disapproval, mockery, embarrassment, thoughtfulness, jealousy, hate, even love".
Pale Moon 5 outshines sibling Firefox 5
Firefox 5 may be short on visible new features, but look under the hood and you'll find plenty of useful tweaks that both cut resource use and improve performance. If you like the browser but would prefer even more speed, though, there is an alternative in Pale Moon 5, which was released today.
The program looks more or less exactly like Firefox 5, which is no great surprise as it's based on the same source code. So there's no learning curve, everything works more or less as it always did, except Pale Moon has been carefully optimized to improve its speed and efficiency.
Tip: Optimize your Internet connection, for free
The web is packed with tools which claim they're the best choice to accelerate your Internet connection. Most of them promise too much and deliver nothing at all, though, so installing another probably isn't high on your list of priorities.
But wait. Auslogics Internet Optimizer, a free version of a module in the company's BoostSpeed 5 suite, is different -- and it could be worth a closer look.
Google's antitrust defense sounds like Microsoft's
I was a late-comer to covering Microsoft's antitrust troubles in the United States. I missed the first case, which the software giant and Justice Department settled in 1995, a short time before Windows 95 shipped. But I was on the case(s) from 1997, logged many courtroom hours and can say without boasting that my reporting on the three antitrust trials -- 1997 extension of the first, the big one filed in May 1998 and remedy hearing in Spring 2002 -- was among the best in techdom. I've reported on the European case, as well. It's from that vantage point, I look at Google's response to its US antitrust investigation.
Yesterday, in a blog post, Amit Singhal, Google Fellow, confirmed that the US Federal Trade Commission had opened an investigation into Google's business practices. The FTC has broad authority, meaning it can and likely will look at more than just antitrust issues (I'll expand on that topic in a few paragraphs). Google also has put up a "Facts About Competition" website. Microsoft used similar informational tactics during its US antitrust investigation and trial -- and strangely, or not, Google's defense is eerily the same: That the company's products and services enable consumer choice and businesses to grow.
Why Nokia picked Microsoft: Windows Phone 7's 20,000 apps and counting
That number might not seem like much compared to the gazillion apps at Android Market or Apple's App Store, but those 20,000 apps answer a question on many techies' lips this week: Why didn't Nokia pick MeeGo? Windows Phone Marketplace passed the 20k threshold about a month ago.
The N9's unexpected launch on June 21 was one of the most perplexing mobile phone announcements in recent memory. The N9 is a stunning piece of hardware that runs smart-looking software -- MeeGo 1.2. But Nokia has all but abandoned MeeGo and Symbian, which despite market share declines is still the most widely used mobile operating system on the planet. The N9 had lots of gawkers drooling over its sexiness but disappointed that with MeeGo there's no point.
Conan's punchline is? Final Cut Pro X, and, oh, what a stinker [video]
Politicians and celebrities are used to being mocked during late-night talk show monologues or skits. But computer software -- and, gasp, made by the entertainment industry's beloved Apple? Quick, call the "Adjustment Bureau".
As if Final Cut Pro X wasn't proving to be enough of a stinker, Conan O`Brien and his video production team have thrown a little more angst into buyers' turbulent emotions. What's really scary about the video above? It might not have been made to be funny. This could be for reel.
LulzSec hack reveals secret tech used by drug cartels
LulzSec's theft and disclosure of "law enforcement sensitive" documents and personal information from the Arizona Dept. of Public Safety has caused quite an uproar over privacy and security, but it has also provided a glimpse into crime in the American Southwest, where cross-border drug trafficking is a major concern. For us, It has provided a look into the impact consumer technology has had on the criminal underworld in the last three years.
1. Laptop Drug Mule -- According to an intelligence bulletin from the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), a passenger flying on Copa Airlines from Colombia to New York in March was caught with 1.6 kilos of heroin smuggled inside an HP laptop, mouse, external hard drive, ipod speakers, digital picture frame and mp3 player.
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 3 -- free with registration
It's all very well buying a photo editing package with lots of bells, whistles and complicated tools, but actually having to learn and use all that functionality can, to put it mildly, be slightly off-putting. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 3 is designed to simplify the process of improving your photos by providing a number of one-click tools that can quickly improve individual photos or entire albums up to scratch.
Ordinarily, Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 3 would cost you $9.99, but the good news is that you can download and use the software for free via this link -- all you have to do is register by email within 10 days and you won't have to pay a dime.
How would you like to get more from your Firefox tabs?
If you're the kind of person who regularly runs Firefox with multiple tabs open, you might find keeping track of which website is where challenging. In those circumstances, Tab Scope for Firefox is the perfect add-on for your needs.
Tab Scope for Firefox allows you to preview any tab by rolling the mouse over it, just like the Aero Peek feature in Windows Vista and 7. A small pop-up preview of that tab's contents will appear, allowing you to quickly locate the tab you're looking for. But while that's impressive in itself, there's more: not only does Tab Scope provide you with some handy shortcuts for that tab via its preview window, it's also infinitely customizable too.
Opera Software co-founder and former CEO quits
Opera Software co-founder and former CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner announced he is leaving the browser company in one week's time, giving no word as to what his next move will be.
Von Tetzchner had been serving in an advisory position after stepping down from his position as CEO last year, and his resignation today came as the result of differences he held from the executive board.
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