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All the entries posted in October.
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Home > Plugged In > Archives > 2007 > October
October 2007
What doesn’t Google have? A phone (but not for long)
Like there aren’t enough new mobile handsets on the market now.
Verizon Wireless is releasing a handful of new phones before Thanksgiving, and has been doing an advertising blitz on television to push them.
Motorola introduced the new, thinner RAZR in August at $250 and a phone called the “Q9” with a full keyboard like the Research-in-Motion’s Blackberry.
Now there’s talk of a Google phone. Google-designed software, presumably to more efficiently run applications such as Google Maps or Gmail or even the video service, YouTube, would be plugged into handsets. Nothing yet on which manufacturers would buy into it.
Here’s the details: (clink on link)
Never mind that Apple is planning to limit the sale of the iPhone to two per customers for the holiday season, the Associated Press said. The iPhone’s search capability will no doubt push others to make “search” easier.
“Search” has become so important when we use our computer at home — to get directions, check a movie listing or look for a job. It could easily become second only to voice calls themselves as the most oft-used function on a phone. Or will music or movie functionality ala iPod get more attention?
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250,000 iPhones still not activated
The New York Times caught an interesting tidbit in the glowing report of Apple’s record sales in the last quarter.
During the company’s conference call with Wall Streeters, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Cook, said 250,000 of 1.4 million iPhones that have been bought, have not been activated with AT&T. Here’s the Times’ take (link).
Apple figures many of them were purchased with the intention to unlock them for use with another carrier.
It’s tough to say whether the strategy is the result of enterprising buyers simply trying to make a quick buck with pals using other phone carriers or if people just simply don’t want to switch to AT&T.
It’s not just important for AT&T. Apple gets a cut of those service activations.
Microsoft beats out Google with Facebook deal
Putting smiles on the faces of Facebook investors and stickin’ it to Google at the same time, Microsoft said late Wednesday it has agreed to invest $240 million in the social-networking site, placing Facebook’s value at $15 billion.
Microsoft and Google had been courting the fast-growing site, which has about 49 million active members.
Microsoft also is expanding its advertising relationship with Facebook, making it the exclusive third-party ad partner and putting it in charge of selling international Facebook ads. That’s a big win, since 59 percent of Facebook users are outside the U.S.
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Bloggers find unreleased Dell on FCC site
A couple of bloggers have found paperwork and photos of an unreleased Dell computer on the Federal Communications Commission Web site.
The Dell XPS A2010 appears to be an all-in-one computer, a la the Apple iMac. It seems that the machine will be Bluetooth enabled and might come with an optional Blue-ray burner and TV tuner.
See the Gizmodo posting here, and the PC Joint posting here. Here’s the FCC site that the bloggers talk about.
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Domain names: The new real estate
You’d think that the Internet’s been around long enough for all the good domain names to be bought and sold, and actually be in use.
Earlier this month though, buyers spent $8.1 million on web-site names at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference & Expo at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, a meeting of domainers that happens three times a year. The main event is an auction of sought-after web names.
One of the movers in this crowd is Boca Raton’s Rick Schwartz, who owns 5,300 domain names himself. His nickname is “webmaster.”
More than a quarter of the total take — $2.2 million — went for Computer.com. When you plug “computer.com” into a web search, it redirects you to TigerDirect.com, the online computer and accessory seller.
Other names and what they went for were: Investment.com, $900,000; Sportinggoods.com, $450,000; Cowboys.com, $275,000; Table.com, $260,000, and Crosswordpuzzles.com, $210,000.
Some domain names using the new mobi suffix for web sites aimed at mobile devices sold for six figures, including Poker.mobi, $150,000, and Ringtones.com, $145,000. If you’ve never heard of dotmobi before, here’s Wikipedia’s entry for it, click here.
Here comes wireless video — fast
IBM Corp. plans to announce Monday it is teaming up with a Taiwanese company to develop and sell ultra-fast microprocessor chipsets that can wirelessly transmit high-definition video between computers, televisions and other devices in a fraction of the time it takes today.
Based on IBM’s technology, the tiny chipsets made by partner MediaTek Inc. can transfer up to 10 gigabytes of video or other media between devices in about five seconds, versus 10 minutes using current wireless technology, according to the companies.
As consumers increasingly turn to the Internet as a source for movies and television shows, and wireless networks become more prevalent in homes, finding a way to move large video files around the home wirelessly is one of the biggest problems facing tech and entertainment companies.
“The idea is to replace those bulky cables in the house,” said Mehmet Soyuer, a lead researcher in IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., which developed the technology.
IBM solution to replace all those cables used to connect computers, high-definition TV sets and cable set-top boxes comes in a very tiny package. Using a technology called silicon germanium, IBM expects to be able to mass-produce chips smaller than a dime that can be integrated into those devices.
IBM announced it had developed the technology behind the chips in February 2006. But it still needed a chipmaker to build and mass-produce the rest of the system-on-a-chip. That’s the role of MediaTek, which makes and sells TVs and DVD players and supplies parts to other electronics companies worldwide.
According to Soyuer, chips developed through the partnership could hit the market within three years. They’ll likely add $50 to $100 to the price of a device such as a television set or computer, he said.
IBM isn’t the only company working on ways to move video faster around the home. Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., as well as other semiconductor makers, also are working on wireless chip solutions aimed at the home entertainment market.
IBM claims its new “millimeter wave” radio technology is the best for moving data quickly, however.
With IBM’s technology, data is transferred at super-high portions of the radio frequency — 60 gigahertz instead of the typical 2.4 gigahertz used by wireless home networks or cordless phones today, Soyuer explained.
By using the highest frequency portion of the unlicensed radio spectrum that can be used for data transfer, IBM’s chipsets can move data at rates 100 times faster than current Wi-Fi standards, comparable to transfers over wires or cables, he said.
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Can’t We All Just Get Along
Two troubling acts against users of technology; one resolved, one not.
When Apple issued its first software update in September for the iPhone, it inserted some coding to disable unofficial programs installed on the jazzy new phones without Apple’s approval.
This week, Apple finally caved to criticism from independent software developers and iPhone users, and will allow programmers to work directly on the iPhone. It will put out a developers toolkit in February for just that purpose.
Perhaps more troubling than Apple’s stinginess is Comcast’s attempt to block or delay uploads of filing-sharing programs. And it makes it look like the block is coming from the other receiving computer:
With the consolidation of Internet providers, net neutrality, or the equal treatment of Internet traffic such as file-sharing and email, is becoming a worry. Here’s a site that talks about the issue in greater detail, and you can decide for yourself if you want to get involved: click on link.
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More layoffs at AOL
Sometime Tuesday, about 2,000 employees at AOL are expected to get pink slips, becoming the Internet giant’s latest corporate casulaties.
In a note to workers that was picked up by the Associated Press and others, including former disgraced tech analyst-turned-blogger Henry Blodget’s Silicon Alley Insider AOL chief Randy Falco told workers (or as he puts it, “colleagues”) that the layoffs were necessary to cut costs after the latest in AOL’s repeated realignments in recent years.
AOL, a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., has become something of a symbol for high-tech layoffs. In blogs and message boards Monday, some employees described how they’ve survived a dozen cutbacks so far, and have no desire to stick around for any more.
The job cuts AOL plans to detail Tuesday will take place over the next several months and reduce the company’s global workforce by about 20 percent, to about 8,000.
In his memo, Falco (or as he puts it, Randy) says the cuts will help AOL “build the largest and most sophisticated global advertising network.”
Of course that’s something the folks at Google Inc. - which coincidentally is hiring workers as fast as it can get them - is sort of doing too.
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Teens and the social-networking contacts they make
A Pew Internet Project’s study released today of online teens found nearly a third have been contacted by a stranger via the Web, and a quarter of those felt scared or uncomfortable.
Girls (27 percent) are more likely than boys (15 percent) to report feeling scared or uncomfortable.
But surprising to me was that the percentage of online teens with social-networking profiles who felt scared is actually lower, 21 percent, than those without pages on such sites, at 28 percent.
You would think that if they open their Web pages to people they don’t already know, those teens on social-networking sites would actually report more contacts with weirdos.
Pew says the reason they don’t might be that half of social-networking teens say they use the sites to meet new friends, and may view an unwanted contact as a relatively minor “cost of doing business” in the online world.
It’s also worth reporting that 85 percent of those in the study who have social-networking profiles are on MySpace, so it’s tough to say what this study really means for kids on Facebook, Friendster and other teen-friendly sites.
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Tech job cuts ahead?
Most techies had a little more job security this year than they did a year ago - but the outlook isn’t too rosy for all.
Computer, electronics and telecom companies announced plans to cut about 26,200 jobs in the third quarter of this year, down 19 percent from the comparable quarter last year, according to a survey released Thursday by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Through the first nine months of this year, tech industry job cuts were down about 24 percent from a year ago.
Some areas were harder hit than others, and there are some signs of trouble ahead, though, according to the Chicago outplacement firm.
Semiconductor companies and other nuts-and-bolts electronics manufacturers announced 21,200 job cuts in the third quarter of this year - up 127 percent from a year earlier.
“The worry is that the job cuts in the electronics industry represent the canary in the coalmine warning us of bigger problems ahead,” John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm said in a news release. “After all, this (sector) provides many of the materials and components that go into computers, cell phones and other technology products.”
Furthermore, Challenger said, economic uncertainty and credit issues are causing some companies to postpone or consider postponing purchases of equipment such as computers. As a result, “conditions seem ripe” for more job cuts in the tech sector.
“The third-quarter decline in computer cuts may be the calm before the storm,” said Challenger.
Just in time, perhaps, for the holidays.
Is Microsoft headed toward a virtual world?
Microsoft Corp. has been exploring the business of virtual worlds and social networking for months, and could launch its own entry into the realm of “Second Life” or “Ultima Online” within a year, a top Microsoft executive said.
“By next year, you’ll probably know more about why I’m up here,” Daniel Schiappa, general manager of strategy for Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division told attendees at a virtual worlds conference in San Diego.
In an interview later, Schiappa expounded a little. He hinted that Microsoft is considering launching some sort of virtual world offering that would span across its gaming, PC and mobile device offerings. Most likely, any foray by Microsoft into the world of avatars or social networking would begin with PCs, then move across its Xbox gaming business and finally into its mobile phone business, Schiappa said.
Don’t think that Microsoft, the purveyor of lowly Word and Excel can compete against the super-hip companies behind virtual worlds like Second Life and Kaneva?
Remember that many thought that Microsoft didn’t stand a chance in the video game business - back before its Xbox 360 and titles like Halo 3 became top-sellers.
Schiappa declined to give more specifics about Microsoft’s virtual world plans, but hinted that anything Microsoft does will likely involve its Virtual Earth mapping platform and probably its robust video game business.
Microsoft rival Google Inc. is also inching closer to virtual worlds, most recently by letting virtual world creators tap into its Google Maps and Google Earth programs. Many who watch the industry say Google may jump in with a bigger virtual worlds offering in coming months.
Schiappa acknowledges that Microsoft might be late to business, which today is dominated by the likes of Second Life and Atlanta-based Kaneva and massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft, Ultima Online and Lineage.
“It’s definitely a concern,” he said.
“But I think we’ve got a good understanding now of the landscape, we have a strategic plan in mind … now we have to decide how we follow-through,” Schiappa said.
“If a year from now we don’t have anything, then we probably won’t have anything,” in the virtual worlds space, he added.
Google buys microblogger Jaiku
The folks at Jaiku are still glowing after speaking the Web’s special three little words: “We’re joining Google.”
Jaiku, the Helsinki, Finland-based mobile social-networking provider known as the rival to Twitter, said today that Google is buying them for an undisclosed amount.
Jaiku is built around the idea of people sharing “activity streams,” which it describes as “a log of everyday things as they happen: your status messages, recommendations, events you’re attending, photos you’ve taken - anything you post directly to Jaiku or add using Web feeds.”
Some industry watchers were a bit surprised Google didn’t pick Twitter to get into the microblogging business, but noted Jaiku’s strength in mobile technology.
Given the search giant’s mixed record developing its acquisitions, what will become of Jaiku?
The companies would only say that “useful” technology is on the way.
(Image: Jaiku)
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For Verizon, sometimes less is more
The good people from Verizon Wireless dropped by the other day with a bag full of new mobile phones to show off.
They said they were launching five new phones by Thanksgiving. It’s just a coincidence that it’s the start of the holiday shopping season and that a couple of months ago, Apple and AT&T launched the iPhone and have since dropped its price.
It’s tough to top the iPhone and I’m not trying to help Verizon fight off AT&T. What I found interesting is the company acknowledges that not everyone wants an all-in-one phone, especially at $300 or $400.
Two models that fall well below that price range are worth discussing, and neither allows Internet browsing.
The company’s Coupe model is mostly a phone for the purposes of calling, although it does allow texting. The overarching feature though is the large numbers that flash on the screen when dialing is done. It’s aimed at senior citizens who have trouble seeing.
A second phone, the Juke, named for a hiphop dance and not the old-fashioned jukebox, targets young people who want to download music from their computer. It’s shaped like a disposable lighter and flips open like a switchblade.
Of course, Verizon has a model to compete with the iPhone. But I take comfort in the notion that there are still people who’ll save a little money and wait til they get home to browse the Web.
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Halo3 hits record
Master Chief is starting to make Mario look like a loser.
Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said sales of Halo 3, the space-age video game featuring the shooter known as Master Chief, hit $300 million globally in its first week, making it the fastest-selling video game in history and prompting Bill Gates to go ga-ga over the results.
“Halo is truly a cultural phenomenon, and the launch of Halo3 is an important milestone for Xbox 360 and for video games as entertainment and as an art form,” Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a statement. 
Microsoft earlier this week said Halo 3 shattered video game sales records, selling $170 million worth of copies in its first 24 hours following its Sept. 25 launch.
Thursday, the company also said more than 2.7 million gamers have played the first-person shooter game over its Xbox Live online gaming platform.
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Manhunt 2 gets real on Wii
Manhunt 2, the controversial videogame from Rockstar, is on sale now for Nintendo’s Wii game system and Sony’s PlayStation 2.
It apparently takes legal gaming in the virtual world a step further by giving the player the ability to make stabbing and other klling motions with Wii’s smart controller:
A story in USA Today questioned whether the game was a good fit with family-friendly Nintendo. But a spokesman for Nintendo told Joystiq.com that if parents are concerned about it, they can use the PIN-operated Parental Control features built into Wii. In other words, the game’s going to be a big seller.
I’ve watched friends, and my son, play video games, and many are already pretty violent. Even though they’re only pushing buttons, they’re slashing at the air, aiming a virtual gun or making some sort of motion with the controller as they play. Is this any worse?
The real question is whether this capability will lead to even more reality in lethal games like Manhunt. I’m curious to hear what some hardcore gamers think.
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