Google Chrome

Google wants to change the world. Knowing what they know and not doing anything with it is anathema. Being able to see what people want, how they think, all this is part of their intention to build something different. That isn't a bad thing, they're not out for control in a cravenly sense, and they aren't positioning themselves as a kind of benevolent dictatorship. And Chrome, in its simplicity, telegraphs their plan.

Firefox replacement? Hardly. Microsoft replacement? Nothing like that. What Google is working on is an Internet replacement. Or rather, an alternative.

And Chrome fits into it like this: Google is creating some mental real estate with their own browser. They're never going to stop backing Firefox, they'll need their Mozilla compatriot down the road; I'd be surprised if they ever pull funding. But they want to get people used to the idea that they can browse with Chrome. Because while Microsoft starts small and works to big, starting with a Windows computer, then bringing in hardware people, software people, developers, artists, musicians, and whoever else they can populate their ecosystem with, Google is working from the other direction: collect and study every bit of data, develop a brand, build an infrastructure, create the idea of a platform, and then make something new.

Taking a step back, what has Google got already? They gots the datas; all of them, don't make any assumptions to the contrary. They'll always have that. This is the heart of their business and their product. Without Google, the Internet wouldn't be nearly as important or even valuable: think about it, it'd be a whole lot of crap pages tied together using banner ads and webrings. You remember 1998? You remember Netscape? It was worthless. So they fixed it, and now Google is a brand - even your mom knows the Google. It costs GOOG dollars. It's real.

Original Article

Microsoft admits Vista isn't up to their standards

To all the readers reading this blog, who has a Microsoft Vista? I'm sure that most of you who have it, first thought it was confusing to deal with. In a lot of people's perspective, Microsoft Vista is just a knock off version of Apple's software. And sure enough Apple has made their software a lot more different to use than PCs. But did Microsoft really think that Vista is failure? DELL noticed that their sales went down when switching to Vista, and wanted to get XP back. Let's face it, Microsoft can never beat Apple and we all know that those are the two largest companies when it comes to computer and software.

WITH TWO OVERLAPPING events, Microsoft admitted what we have been saying all along, Vista, aka Windows Me Two (Me II), is a joke that no one wants. The other equally monumental Me II failure? Gates in China launching a $3 version of bundled XP. Why is this not altruism? Well, it goes back to piracy and how it helped enforce the MS monopoly. If you can easily pirate Windows, Linux has no price advantage, they both cost zero.


Original Article

BlackBerry's Pearl Flip first in fold

I personally, am a blackberry owner. So when i heard that Blackberry was going to introduce a flip phone, it blew my mind. Never has blackberry had such thing available to the public so this news is very intriguing to Blackberry users and non users alike. Research in Motion (RIM), the manufacturer of BlackBerry phones, is set to unveil a phone that folds in half, a departure from the slab-like design that has defined its products.

The long-rumoured phone will be called the BlackBerry Pearl Flip and will be available from T-Mobile USA and from overseas carriers later this year, at an undisclosed price. The "flip" or "clamshell" design, where the display and keyboard are separated by a hinge, is a popular one for conventional cellphones, particularly in the US. Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive of Rim, said 70% of handsets in the country have this shape.

"Bringing this form factor to the smart phone category is, we think, very special," Balsillie said. Smart phones expand the features of a regular phone with applications like web browsing and e-mail access, which is RIM's forte. The Flip is the successor to the BlackBerry Pearl, which launched two years ago. It has a standard "candybar" shape. Both models have 20 keys and double up some letters on each key, in contrast to the wider, more professionally orientated BlackBerries that have more keys and assign only one letter to each key.

RIM has done very well with the Pearl, which was its first entry into the consumer smart phone market. It turned the BlackBerry from an accessory for corporate e-mail slaves into a hot item for consumers who wanted a bit more from their phones. Figures from research firm IDC showed that RIM nabbed 54% of the US market for smart phones in the second quarter, though that figure was probably inflated because buyers looking at getting an iPhone from Apple were holding off in the quarter, waiting for a new model to arrive.

Original Article

Starwars game hits the market

Gamers and Starwars fans alike got a new taste of the film classic on their game consoles as LucasArts released Starwars:The Force Unleashed Wednesday. Associated Press reported that the game has garnered mixed reviews, but a toy industry analst, Anita Frazier predicted good sales for The Force Unleashed given the iconic stature of the Star Wars franchise. Some complaints that have been gathered so far include the inability of the Wii controller to be used as a light saber. The Star Wars game was released in many platforms, "including Microsoft's Xbox 360; Nintendo's Wii and DS; Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PSP; and even Apple's iPhone and iPod touch." In doing so, Lucas Arts accomplished two milestones. First, it was the first time the game developer ever released anything for the Playstation 3 and Microsoft Xbox. Second, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the first time that a game of such iconic position was ever released for the Ipod and the Itouch. The goal of Lucas Arts is obviously to increase their bottom line, and that remains to be seen. But at least for now, they can bask in the historical victories of their accomplishment.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080918/bs_nf/61963;_ylt=AgTpoxtVWSeXhaF74mR5pywK77EF

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jldavid/2787471674/

Microsoft improves Zune connectivity

Microsoft has good news for its Zune users and prospective buyers. The company just put out a software that would make it easier for Zune users to download songs and discover new music. The free software is considered as a way to compete with the Ipod's product lineup, and will allow Zune users to download music straight from their players "either over a home wireless network or through Wi-Fi hot spots at more than 9,800 McDonald's restaurants in the U.S., courtesy of Internet access provider Wayport (Long 2008)." Associated Press reported that new technological changes have allowed Zune players to store information on a lot of songs over the radio. This means that folks can listen to a song on the radio and directly download it to their players. The new software will also allow Zune users to get music recommendations from the Zune editorial staff and also share their play list with select friends.These improvements, however, won't stop Microsoft from tweaking their products more, as they also plan to introduce new software that would allow the Zune "new 'channels' feature that the software giant describes as a hybrid between a playlist and a podcast. (Long 2008)" Several radio stations and magazines are already placing their bets on this measure.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080918/bs_nf/61964;_ylt=Au5UngRnexgkYsB3uiUjhWIN7YV4

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yggg/299105788/

Investment sites experience online traffic

Associated Press reported Friday that investment companies dealt with more activity than usual on their websites. This surge, of course, was caused by brewing crisis in the stock market. The article noted that Scottrade, Inc. experienced the most online traffic, although company spokeswoman Kelly Doria said that Scottrade's website did not encounter any difficulties. Other investment sites who received more-than-usual online activity held up relatively well during the increased traffic. There were times during the day when the websites were not operating in 100% capacity, but the shortcomings were not too overwhelming. Associated Press reported that E-trade's website handled the increased online activity better than anyone. The article also reported that the web traffic did not spill onto banking websites, which is fortunate news because it meant that not a lot of folks were pulling their savings off of banks.

The increase in web traffic is probably going to calm down pretty soon, given the bailout plan that Congress is currently working on. Meanwhile, it is fortunate that internet technology was able to effectively hold up amidst a crisis. The bailout plan probably deserves a brunt of the credit for giving investors a psychological assurance (as shown by significant gains in the Dow Jones and other stocks) to continue to have faith in the market , but I would not count out the contribution given by the accessibility of the web to that boost in investor confidence.


ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080919/ap_on_hi_te/tec_meltdown_online_activity;_ylt=Ao58kztbHMjkoSfpPRzrYPQjtBAF

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/goodresolution/252377405/

Rumor: Macbook Touch?

Rumor has it, by October Apple will offer a new and improved computer that you would have never expected. It's like an iPhone..but 10x bigger! I'm already an iphone owner, I just think that I should stick with just one touch screen device. As I look at the pictures in this article, it really is like a huge iphone! but with much much more to offer. And Apple actually tries to take over the Architect strategies of doing blue prints though a special Macbook Touch just for designing as well!

UPDATE: A post over at AppleInsider might have some more light to shed on the story. At the recent earnings talk, Apple promised a product transition by the end of September with "technologies and features that others can't match" at a profit margin that no one else can approach (read: cheaper stuff). The plot thickens!

Original Article

Integrated circuit hits 50

50 summers ago, Jack Kilby skipped on the beach bum routine and toiled in his job to be the hero for all internet users. He ended up inventing the Integrated Circuit, a device that proved crucial in propelling all of us into an age where Internet is nearly ubiquitous. No less credit, however, should be given to another genius, Intel founder Robert Noyce. Leslie Berlin, "project historian for Stanford Silicon Valley Archives and author of a book about Noyce", said in an Associated press article that Noyce was tinkering around his tool box at just about the same time as Kilby was. Kilby ended up being the first person to actually present the IC chip to the world, but Noyce was the one who found a way to actually have the IC chip produced in mass numbers. Associated Press noted that the two men are credited equally for their contributions. And that is just about fair. Innovation is meaningless unless it actually becomes useful in the real world. Kilby and Noyce are both geniuses whose efforts are probably one of the most significant in the modern age and the future.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080913/tc_afp/usitinternetchipkilby;_ylt=AnTHHcmZTRluXoq2DAZO75gjtBAF
PHOTO SOURCE: http://bass.gmu.edu/images/IC-chip.jpg

Spam: free speech?

Jeremy Jaynes may not be in the wheelhouse of high profile criminals like Al Capone or Charles Manson, but his name sure has gained some level of notoriety, at least in Virginia. As a recent Associated Press put it, Jaynes is arguably "one of the world's most prolific spammers."

Jaynes was taken into custody but the Virginia Supreme Court overturned his conviction on September 12, saying that "the state's anti-spam law [was] unconstitutional." The court ruled that the law infringed on free-speech rights, especially because the law also prohibited the transmission of "unsolicited emails" from religious and political institutions.

The plaintiffs in the case were disappointed with the ruling, contending that spam mails were essentially an invasion of privacy "because the Virginia law bars trespassing on privately owned e-mail servers through phony e-mail routing and transmission information." Associated Press reported that Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell is planning to bring the lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

My opinion? McDonnell should have won the case. Email addresses are private property. Obtaining such information without owners knowing about it should be a federal crime. I agree that people have a right to free speech, whether it means selling something or simply spreading their political or religious ideas, but we have to do it in a civilized manner. We have to do it in such a way that we are not using shady methods to intrude into the private property of citizens.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_on_hi_te/anti_spam_law;_ylt=AqPmZDG4EIs0F.ZV.qUolDkjtBAF

A shot in the arm for India and the world's economy

Where there's love, businesses will flock. That is the central tenet of a free capitalist system. And for India, growing demand for electronic products is alluring new companies to set up shop in the developing country. According to a recent article from the Business Standard, three Asian companies and one American enterprise are planning to expand their market reach. These businesses include, "Japanese testing firm Saki, Hong Kong’s surface mount technology (SMT) company WKK, Singapore’s Mydata (SMT) and USA’s Indium (solder paste)." The Business Standard cited a study conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association, which predicted a 10% or $700 billion rise in demand for electronic products, ranging everything from cellular phones to laptops and video games. This promising sector has expectedly attracted many companies and is a battleground of stiff market competition between Asian companies, considered to be perennial leaders in the electronics manufacturing industry, and other emerging enterprises, particularly those in Mexico.

Whoever comes out on top of the heap, the synergy generated in the electronics industry could only mean better products and prices for consumers

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=334346