Real-time tech set for 2010 awakening
February 18, 2010

Today's announcement that Twitter has seen a 9% boost in traffic since its updates were included in Google's search results has reaffirmed the importance of real-time technology.

The search giant has also announced that MySpace updates will also be included in its results to add more real-time capabilities. The enterprise is also getting in on the act, with salesforce.com unveiling Chatter, a real-time collaboration platform.

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Posted by Steve Evans at 10:04 PM | Comments (0)

In pictures: Toshiba's new business laptop range

Toshiba has revamped its range of business laptops with the release of the Satellite Pro S500, the Portégé M780 and the Tecra A11, S11 and M11.

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Posted by Steve Evans at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)

Morning roundup: pick of the comment

Our pick of the morning reading

1. Wikipedia wins the Google lottery - but why? (The Guardian)
The Wikimedia Foundation - the organisation that runs Wikipedia- scored its own unexpected windfall yesterday, when it officially announced that Google was donating $2m. Bobbie Johnson looks at the reasons behind the grant.

2. Reasons to be fearful? (New Statesman)
CBR editor Jason Stamper looks at the new advertising partnership between Yahoo and online loyalty programme Nectar. The deal once again sparked concern over people's privacy and the integrity of their personal data, he says.

3. Please Rob Me Makes Foursquare Super Useful For Burglars (TechCrunch)
Location-based services are all the rage right now. A new site throws the privacy issue back into the spotlight in a humorous way. Please Rob Me is a stream of updates from various location-based networks that shows when users check-in somewhere that is not their home. The idea, of course, is that if they're not home, you can go rob them.

4. Open source growing footprint in embedded market (451 Group)
There seems to be no let up in the continued consolidation and traction for open source in the embedded space, with Intel-Wind River, Google's Android, Cavium Networks-MontaVista and even some new open source efforts highlighting the vibrancy of not only Linux, but additional open source software efforts in embedded markets and devices.

5. How To Be Less Afraid of Everything With Visualization (RedMonk)
Stephen O'Grady looks at how we estimate risk - and the role virtualisation has to play in that. 

Posted by Steve Evans at 2:37 PM | Comments (0)

iPad therefore iAm?
February 17, 2010

One of the worst-kept secrets in technology is finally out. Apple is releasing a tablet PC, called the iPad. The 9.7-inch touchscreen device is being pitched as an alternative to netbook computers, something Steve Jobs called "slow, clunky, just a cheap laptop," while the iPad is "revolutionary and magical". But what did the blogosphere make of it? CBR finds out.

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Posted by Steve Evans at 8:39 PM | Comments (0)

Morning roundup: pick of the comment

Our pick of the morning reading

1. Google goes on PR offensive over Buzz flaws (The Guardian)
Google is apologising after criticism that Buzz invades user privacy - but there are some important lessons to learn, says Bobbie Johnson.

2. Skype and Verizon's Fear of the iPhone (GigaOm)
Verizon and Skype have teamed up to offer mbile services - but the real reason behind the deal is the threat from Apple's iPhone, says Om Malik.

3. Windows Phone 7 - so far, so good...but what's in the mix? (Gartner)
Microsoft's long awaited announcement of its mobile strategy at the Mobile World Congress this week did not disappoint, says David M. Smith.

4. It's (sort of) official - Google overtakes Microsoft in mobile (Financial Times)
Finally, after all the vague feel-good comments, a real fact about Android phone sales to sink your teeth into. Speaking at the big mobile industry bash in Barcelona Eric Schmidt said handset makers were currently shipping 60,000 units a day with the Google software platform installed.

5. Facebook login, Cancel Google and the perfect storm of idiots (The Telegraph)
Shane Richmond has his say on the ReadWriteWeb/Facebook fiasco and says that 'some people are just idiots'. 

Posted by Steve Evans at 2:38 PM | Comments (0)

Morning roundup: pick of the comment
February 16, 2010

Our pick of the morning reading

1. Google v Facebook. This time it's personal (The Times)
Mobile internet is the key to the future. It can tell advertisers where you are, who you're with and what you're thinking, says David Rowan.

2. Google Buzz copied FriendFeed's worst features, why? (Scobleizer)
More Google Buzz bashing, this time from web watcher Robert Scoble.

3. The Importance of Fear, Risk and Hacking (TechCrunch)
Sarah Lacy says that a little danger, risk and failure might be just the thing the younger generation needs for entrepreneurship to shine.

4. More questions than answers about the Windows Phone 7 Series (The Guardian)
Microsoft made a splash by pre-announcing the Windows Phone 7 Series phone yesterday, but it might all be forgotten by the time phones appear for the (Christmas) holiday sales season, says Jack Schofield.

5. What I Couldn't Say... (Jonathan Schwartz)
The former boss of Sun Microsystems starts his own blog... one to keep an eye on.
 

Posted by Steve Evans at 2:09 PM | Comments (0)

In pictures: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 7
February 15, 2010

The big announcement of the day at MWC is Microsoft's unveiling of Windows Phone 7 Series, its smartphone operating system. With market share being lost to Apple, RIM and Symbian Microsoft had to do something special with its latest platform to keep up with the others, and initial reaction seems positive.

Click here to see more pictures of Windows Phone 7...

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Posted by Steve Evans at 9:02 PM | Comments (0)

Mobile firms gang up on Apple

A number of mobile firms from across the world have joined forces to fight Apple's monopoly on the app store experience.

The Wholesale Applications Community wants to make it easier for developers to build their apps, "irrespective of device or technology," the group said on its website. The open platform aims to claw back some of the market share gobbled up by Apple's App Store.

The 24-strong group includes O2, Orange, China Mobile and Sprint and hardware manufacturers like LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

Apple's App Store contains over 100,000 apps and has registered over 3 billion downloads, so it's no surprise to see other firms wanting to get in on the action. Gartner believes that app spending will hit $6.2bn while downloads will reach 21 million by 2013, generating $30bn in revenue.

The group aims to create an open global alliance, providing developers with greater freedom to create the apps they want to and removing the need to re-write it for each store.

Supported by a user base of over 3 billion, the alliance is looking to "unite a fragmented marketplace" dominated by the Apple, Android, BlackBerry and Nokia.

"Today, the route to market for developers is challenging requiring them to approach multiple operators," group said. "The alliance will provide a single gateway for developers to access a vast potential customer base. In addition, the alliance will utilise existing technical standards, rather than creating new ones to allow developers to access operators' assets, for example network capabilities or API's (Application Programming Interfaces) more easily. In practice this means that developers will only have to create one version of their application and this can be used on multiple types of devices and operating systems (such as Symbian, Android, Windows etc) which is not the case today."

The announcement comes as Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona. The mobile industry's annual shindig will play host to over 1,300 companies and 50,000 people are expected to visit MWC over the next few days.

Posted by Steve Evans at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)

Morning roundup: pick of the comment

Our pick of the morning reading

1. Turmoil at MySpace blamed on News Corporation (The Guardian)
Departure of Owen Van Natta, the social networking site's chief executive, calls into question Rupert Murdoch's digital strategy, says Bobbie Johnson.

2. Google Vs. Apple (GigaOm)
An interesting timeline of the battles these two tech giants have faced.

3. AIR For Android, And Adobe's Plan To Deliver Apps Across All Mobile Devices (TechCrunch)
The bane of all mobile app developers is the need to rewrite the same app over and over again for different devices, says Erick Schonfeld. Is Adobe about to change that?

4. Getting smart at Mobile World (BBC)
Rory Cellan-Jones takes a look at Mobile World Congress, the mobile industry's annual get-together in Barcelona.

5. Execution (dot) meme (Gartner)
It's all about the execution for businesses, says Eric Knipp.  

 

Posted by Steve Evans at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)

Morning roundup: pick of the comment
February 12, 2010

Our pick of the morning reading

1. Any answers to mobile phone crime? (BBC)
Rory Cellan-Jones visits the Home Office to see the latest in mobile phone protection.

2. Facebook has 100m mobile users - will its own phone be next? (Financial Times)
Tim Bradshaw looks into the possibility of Facebook producing its own mobile phone after the company revealed that 100 million people use the social network on their mobiles every month.

3. iSourcing - something we can ever expect? (Gartner)
There seems to be an inflation of terms in the sourcing world, says Frank Ridder. Multisourcing, Cloudsourcing, Crowdsourcing, Global Sourcing, Active Sourcing, Best Sourcing, Right Sourcing and many more. Why not iSourcing - following the 'i' philosophy of Apple?

4. How Google Failed Its Users and Gave Birth to an Internet Meme (ReadWriteWeb)
Mike Melanson tells the story of how an article about Facebook turned into the "the most epic comment thread" ever, and why it's all Google's fault.

5. Why LBS is 'just one aspect' of context-aware computing (CBR)
With Gartner predicting big things for both location-based services and context-aware computing, Steve Evans takes a look at when LBS ends and context-aware computing begins.

Posted by Steve Evans at 3:02 PM | Comments (0)