Still trying to shake off its past, MySpace lays off almost half of its staff
MySpace, the social network that defined social networking in the dawn of the 21st century, is undergoing another round of massive cutbacks which will terminate 47% of its employees, parent company News Corp announced Tuesday. The site has been trying to re-invent itself as a music and entertainment hub as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other social communication services pick away at its rapidly dwindling audience.
The last round of layoffs at MySpace that were this severe took place in 2009, when 30% of the staff was laid off to compensate for "the realities of today's marketplace."
Google does an Apple in reverse -- will drop H.264 support in Chrome
Would someone please stop the "Twilight Zone" music from playing. I'm hearing it now following today's Google bombshell (Yes, there is other news besides Verizon iPhone): Chrome will soon no longer support the H.264 codec. Google supports Flash Video, but Apple has abandoned it. Apple supports H.264, and Google is giving it up. Someone pinch me when there is something resembling sanity among these companies' positions. Perhaps Firefox can save us all and our online video streaming. No, wait! Mozilla also spurns H.264. Well, gulp, Internet Explorer anyone?
Apple's Flash abandonment is nutty enough, at least in the here and now, given how widely Adobe's technology is used on the Web. H.264 also is pervasive, making Google's plan as out of touch, from a user experience perspective. Then there is Google's support for Flash to consider. Am I missing something or isn't H.264 a primary Flash codec?
First U.S. LTE plans could be bad news, say consumer groups
Advocacy groups Free Press, Media Access Project, and New America Foundation sent a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday regarding the policies of MetroPCS, the nation's fifth-largest wireless operator, and the first one to activate its LTE 4G network. The groups complain MetroPCS' new "unlimited" wireless broadband service plans fall through loopholes in the FCC's new net neutrality plans, and could set a precedent for unfair content blocking.
Last week, MetroPCS unveiled new 4G LTE service plans which cost $40, $50, or $60 dollars. Each of the plans offers unlimited talk, text, and 4G Web browsing, but then the company puts up vague content barriers without defining what the usage cases are, and what consumers have access to.
Can you switch from AT&T to Verizon iPhone without paying hefty termination fees?
No, but you can act like you did. The iPhone's high resale value can cover early termination fees and possibly cost of a new handset from Verizon.
In December, I abandoned AT&T and iPhone 4, returning to T-Mobile with the Samsung-manufactured, Google-branded Nexus S. AT&T charges a $325 ETF for smartphones, which is prorated depending on number of months left on the contract. I signed up for new AT&T service is June, making my December ETF $275. That set the minimum price for which I would sell iPhone 4.
The rumors came true: iPhone 4 launches on Verizon Wireless Feb. 10
On Tuesday, one of the most fiercely demanded and most frequently rumored products was announced: the CDMA iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless. Lending credence to the long-running rumors, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam today said Apple has actually been testing iPhone on CDMA since 2008.
Most of the features of Verizon's iPhone 4 are identical to the one available on AT&T, aside from the different wireless radios. Contrary to recent rumors, it is not an LTE device, but EV-DO (rev A). 3G. Apple fans being what they are, it has already been noted that the faulty external antenna of the iPhone 4 that caused controversy in mid-2010 has been moderately redesigned with a series of notches visible in the chassis.
Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 will be available in March
Microsoft picked a helluva day to make its official Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 announcement -- what with techdom obsessed with the Verizon iPhone. But it's a brave lot of product managers up there in Redmond, Wash., or perhaps employees can't see past the benefits of their free Windows Phone 7 handsets. Whatever, this morning, Microsoft announced that Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 will be available through volume-licensing channels starting in March and from OEMs sometime in second quarter.
Here's the deal: Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 volume-license subscribers get the new version for free. "If customers want to purchase MultiPoint Server today, they simply need to purchase with SA in order to have the rights to MultiPoint Server 2011 upon availability," writes Dean Paron in a Microsoft blog post. Software Assurance customers can get the newer version in March.
Would you buy Verizon iPhone?
It's the question of the morning, now that Verizon has announced iPhone 4 is coming to its network. Verizon made the announcement just after 11 am ET at a press briefing in New York -- a venue that is sure to please Wall Street analysts and investors. But for all the rumors and speculation and now answers to if or when the real question is: Will you buy Verizon iPhone? Would you switch from another carrier for Verizon iPhone? More significantly, would you give up iPhone on AT&T to get it? Please answer in comments or e-mail joewilcox at gmail.com.
The questions are relevant, even though the phone won't be available for some time. Existing Verizon customers can preorder on February 3 and everyone else on February 10. Verizon's iPhone 4 will cost pennies more than AT&T's -- $199.99 for 16GB model and $299.99 for 32GB model, subsidized with two-year contractual commitment. But there's an extra bonus: Mobile hotspot for up to five devices.
IBM received nearly 23 patents per working day in 2010 -- will big companies become patent trolls?
The US Patent and Trademark Office awarded IBM an average 16 patents per day in 2010, for a total 5,896. Second-ranked Samsung received 12.5 patents per day, or 4,551 for the year. Not be left out, Microsoft's daily average was 8.5, or 3,094 last year. So, the three companies awarded the most patents, all from the tech sector, received 13,541 patents, or 37 per day. But wait! There are only 261 days in a typical working year, making the per-day totals for IBM, Samsung and Microsoft much higher: 22.6, 17.4 and 11.8, respectively.
Utility patent awards rose 31 percent year over year to 219,614 (according to IFI Claims Patent Services) from 167,349 (according to the US Patent and Trademark Office). IBM accounted for about 2.7 percent of patents issued -- with Samsung and Microsoft 6.25 percent. The top-10 receivers, all of them tech companies, were issued 27,594 patents, or 12.5 percent of the 2010 total.
AMD CEO Meyer steps down as CPU company evolves
Advanced Micro Devices CEO Dirk Meyer has resigned form his position, and will be replaced temporarily by CFO Thomas Seifert while the company shops around for a new head. The change in executive staff looks to be the ceremonial completion of AMD's integration with ATi.
Back in 2006, AMD announced it had begun a project to build a hybrid CPU/GPU platform called Fusion that was the result of a $5.4 billion cash and stock deal to acquire graphics company ATi. Originally, AMD said the new processors would be available in 2008 or 2009. One year later, AMD shifted its goals and told us that it would probably take a bit longer for the new design to come to fruition.
My first brush with one of Microsoft's greats -- Bob Muglia
The end of the Bob Muglia era at Microsoft is a memory-rouser for us who have been in the business for a while. Muglia has served in important roles with important products for a long time, and I've worked with him on several. Which brings me to the first time I met him (cue harp strumming).
It was July 4, maybe July 3, 1992, the very first Windows Professional Developer Conference, at the Moscone, in San Francisco. Heady days they were, as I was Technical Director at PC Week Labs, and we were at the beginning of Will Zachman-PC Week fight which, if you don't remember it, consider yourself fortunate.
Oh, my, look how Apple's fortunes changed in 8 years
This afternoon, I searched the CNET News.com archives to see if I had written something about Apple launching iTunes in January 2001. Hey, it's the 10th anniversary. But another story caught my attention: "Merrill Lynch to Apple Investors: Sell," from Jan. 7, 2003. On the eve of Macworld, with Apple shares at $14.85, analyst Michael Hillmeyer reinstated Apple coverage with "sell."
"Although Apple makes great products, in our view the new product pipeline looks skimpy and we expect continued market share losses," Hillmeyer wrote in a note to investors. "A product differentiation strategy is difficult in a business increasingly commoditizing."
Working the ARMs: Takeaways from CES 2011
If you've never gone to the Consumer Electronics Show, there's only one thing you really need to know: it's hell on the feet. The Las Vegas Convention Center is 3.2 million square feet, The Venetian ballroom and convention space adds 2.25 million square feet to that, and the Las Vegas Hilton tacks on yet another 35,000 square feet. So when you go, expect to traverse about 5.5 million square feet worth of technology company booths and presentation spaces, and this is all without even including the events, meetings, and parties tucked away in every hotel both on- and off the strip.
It's a lot of walking.
End of an era: Bob Muglia is leaving Microsoft
The leader of Microsoft's Server and Tools Business goes out with a slap in the face.
In an executive e-mail released by Microsoft today, CEO Steve Ballmer revealed Bob Muglia's departure. The Microsoft veteran played an essential role building up the Server and Tools Business division, and he is popular with software developers. Muglia joined Microsoft in 1988 and became president of the Server and Tools Business two years ago this month.
Live from CES 2011: Visteon iPad dock
The Visteon iPad dock provides a charging cradle for Apple's "I look cool" device. However, what's really cool about this product is its communicating with the vehicle's computer via a completely wireless network. Control of the HVAC, radio, phone and navigation system is possible from any seat in or out of the vehicle.
AT&T should shut up about Verizon iPhone
I see over on Business Insider that AT&T's PR boss is already bashing the Verizon iPhone that will be announced [this] week.
AT&T should shut up.
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