Mobile Computing News

Photo: Google

When Google said it aimed to collect, organise and sort the world’s information, the company was not kidding. In its latest move, Google and the US-based Dish Network have partnered to add TV search, which includes listings search as well online video search, straight from your television on set-top boxes running Android OS.

Project specifics

The project is currently in the test phase, with a small group of Google employees and their families testing the TV search service on Dish Network for an unspecified period. This represents the convergence of two technologies that have been on a collision course with each other for some time – digital set-top boxes and the Internet.

The set-top boxes in question run Android OS, the mobile OS that powers mobile phones and a growing range of netbooks, too.

This also represents something of a concession on the part of satellite networks – Dish, at the very least – that online video content is no longer something that can be ignored and expected to go away.

Why, though?

Photo: Android

While the benefit for Google is clear, a bold ‘why?’ hovers over why cable and satellite providers like Dish Network would want to carry TV search. The answer lies in the common interest of these parties – advertising. Google is the world’s largest advertising company, and television networks rely on advertising for a large portion of their revenue, meaning Google’s rumoured plans to present advertising against the searches could be a meaningful enough proposition for networks to take it seriously.

Google everywhere

If this plan goes forward, rollout is likely to be slow, though, considering it would require the replacement of set-top boxes, which aren’t yet widespread, throughout the US.

With this initiative, Google would have presence on the Internet both online and in terms of broadband infrastructure, in your living room, and on mobile phones with Android OS. This video asks the question on everybody’s lips: are we giving Google too much power?

Photo: vpjayant

Famed comedian and social commentator Stephen Fry has translated his real world popularity to the Internet, where he’s added some new tricks to his repertoire: the ability to down websites with zero hacking skills.

Twitter killer

Fry, who has over a million followers on Twitter, told .net that he has had websites crash from sending out a single tweet with a link to that site. It’s gotten so bad, Fry said, that he’s actually gotten into the habit of contacting the websites maintainers before sending out these tweets to warn them of the impending doom. Fry says he’s often greeted with a ‘yeah, whatever, we’ll scale just fine’ type of response, only to have his Nostradamus-like prediction prove true when over 3,000 of his followers send requests per second to the site in question.

The social media joke

Photo: Twitter

What’s particularly funny about this soothsaying is Fry crashed .net itself when he linked to the aforementioned interview. It almost seems in Fry’s world, nobody seems to want to listen or learn from the man.

Fry’s ability to get people to click on a link at his will confirms the power social media has when in the right hands. With credibility and reach, as well as a relationship of trust, all this Facebook and Twitter business many previously dismissed as time killers has still untapped potential for commerce and publishing.

Tweets, jokes and revenue

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Other than Fry, many famous people from comedians to politicians, musicians and actors use Twitter as a direct line to their audience and fan base. Given the site’s extreme popularity, sending out over 50 million tweets daily and recently crossing the 10 billionth tweet mark, it’s clear Twitter has the world’s attention.

The company is set to finally turn the revenue tap on to see if they can replicate their community success with comparable revenue success. Fry, who’s a huge fan of the service, certainly hopes so, so that he can, at the very least, show off his unmatched online influence.

Photo: Google

Google’s recent acquisition of DocVerse, an online collaboration tool for Microsoft, for $25 million, shows that they’re all in, too, but in the Microsoft-dominated productivity suite space.

DocVerse

Photo: Stock.Xchng

Founded by a pair of former Microsoft employees, DocVerse is an online collaboration tool for Microsoft Office, which allows users to share their work as well as comment on the work in a manner that is visible to others. It also allows for editing of documents online, from Word to Excel and even PowerPoint slides. Having been funded an approximate $1.5 million and founded a mere two years ago, this $25 million Google purchase represents a good exit for the company’s founders.

The productivity suite race

In the productivity suite race, Microsoft Office wasn’t first to mass market – Lotus was – but Microsoft became the unassailable leader with its Office Suite. Google, however, beat them to the punch with productivity software in the cloud in the form of Google docs, and Google hopes DocVerse will fortify that position, as well as continue to erode Microsoft’s productivity suite lead. Microsoft are not ignorant to this threat, with Steve Ballmer admitting they were slow to start in cloud computing, but are reacting to Google’s advancement so as to protect, and ultimately grow, their business.

Some perspective

To give a little perspective as to how important Microsoft Office is to the Redmond-based company, the productivity suite accounts for nearly 90% of its business division’s revenue, which amounted to over $4 billion in revenue in the last quarter.

Photo: Microsoft

Google, using its usual strategy to disrupt most of the industries it gets involved in, has made DocVerse available for free, even for users who were paying the subscription fee for the premium features. The company has indicated it will roll out across Google apps so as to allow users to make the transition from desktop to online easier. How’s that for a direct assault on Microsoft’s cash cow?

Photo: Google

The Internet brought with it a brand new market place, that initially lived parallel with physical retailing of goods, or existed in a space physical goods could not, and, in the most extreme cases, began killing the physical goods and service industry. To this extent, many mega companies were birthed and experienced meteoric growth and success in very short periods of time.

While many businesses would be well pleased with reaching $100 million dollars in annual sales in 20 years, tech giants like Google, Amazon, eBay, Apple Inc. and Microsoft do several billions of dollars in sales annually, and, as a result of necessary growth and expansion, find themselves competing against each other. Below are three of the most interesting technology face-offs with a brief account of how they came to be and where things may go.

Google vs. Apple

The most interesting emerging corporate conflict is between Apple and Google. These friends, turned estranged acquaintances, turned sworn enemies comes as a result of Google playing in a space Apple Inc. feels they have no right to – the mobile phone industry.

Photo: Apple

With Android devices taking on the iPhone, the company found by Steve and Steve showed their intent by advancing into Google’s industry – the mobile advertising market, and by extension, advertising in general. Both these companies do however rely on services, software and hardware provided by the other, so as this web becomes more tangled, what might be the single greatest technology standoff could be unfolding.

Microsoft vs. Amazon vs. Oracle

Larry Ellison of Oracle, whose best man at his wedding was none other than Steve Jobs of Apple, has always had a grudge against Microsoft as a corporation, but now Amazon has emerged as a niggle in an industry Oracle all but owns – enterprise-grade hosted data services. Amazon’s S3 service has raced to the front as the preferred hosting options for web developers who need hosting or cloud computing services, sidestepping both Microsoft’s advances and Oracle’s defense to give the two tech giants much to think about. Microsoft, naturally, being the company they are, have competitors everywhere, but this could very well be one corporate conflict Steve Ballmer and company are not prepared to lose without throwing every available resource at it.

Amazon vs. Apple

Photo: Amazon

Amazon is a content company. Apple is a hardware company. Which means, from corporate aspirations, when looking at the Kindle and iPad, one company wants to sell you digital books via its hardware platform (Kindle), whereas the other wants to use its digital books platform to sell hardware to you. Given desperate publishers sit in the middle of this conflict, neither Apple Inc. nor Amazon is afraid to threaten and woo these publishing companies into siding with their strategies. Furthermore, the CEOs at the helm of these tech giants are considered visionaries in their respective fields, so it goes to reason that the rules of engagement here have certainly been escalated.

One market too many

The problem for tech companies is, though their founding visions and markets may differ widely, markets eventually overlap and fascinating conflicts emerge. Corporate conflict of this kind are often protracted, with clear winners emerging to the detriment of the other companies, but strategic development and technological advancements are all the better for it.

Photo: BlackBerry

As if the distractions mobile technology has brought with it aren’t bad enough, Blackberry owners – the people responsible for keeping business and corporations humming – are now able to stream the BBC iPlayer on their mobile phone via a webpage.

As you would expect

Photo: BlackBerry

The service streams on-demand video in the BBC iPlayer’s catalogue from a webpage that’s compatible with the Blackberry. This does not come without limitations, though. Firstly, the service is exclusively wi-fi based, which means getting BBC iPlayer through 3G is not possible. The second thing that is more a requirement than a limitation is that the base Blackberry OS will support this in version 4.2, all the way through to version 5.

Turmoil

The iPlayer on Blackberry is one positive revelation in light of a period of turmoil for the BBC. A leaked document pertaining to the organization’s long-term strategy indicates that 25% of the BBC website staff will lose their jobs in light of the website being downsized by a full 50%. Furthermore, to the ire of users of social media, BBC’s 6 Music will also be abandoned by the organisation.

Photo: BlackBerry

The reasons cited for this admittedly disappointing revelation are cost cutting measures as well as the appeasement of a potentially conservative government who want to see the BBC competing less with privately owned media corporations. This has been met with fury, disappointment and much debate. While the reasons for doing this are very easy to understand, people wonder if the BBC is not giving too much rope to private corporations who should, like in all business environments, fend for themselves.

An even better experience

Blackberry, which has long been positioned (and purchased) as the phone for business people, will now have one more tool at their disposal to distract its client base from doing what business people do: work.

Photo: gynti_46

Microsoft have announced that they’ve been humbled by Windows 7 sales that now exceed 90 million since its release late in 2009, making it the fastest selling operating system in history.

Peter Klein, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer, made the announcement at a Morgan Stanley conference on technology, media and telecoms.

The mojo is back

Photo: Taller-Hikari

Windows 7 sales have been spurred on by critical acclaim that is a welcome change for Microsoft off of the back of Vista. Part of the success is attributable to the abysmal performance – both from a commercial and critical standpoint – of Windows Vista. Vista, which was initially incompatible with much of XP’s software, had one too many security prompts (bordering on the draconian), ran too slowly on even good PCs and had an atrocious rollout, left Microsoft in a pickle where they found themselves trying to retail an operating system nobody wanted. It got so bad with Windows Vista that computer buyers and hardware companies like Dell reverted to Windows Xp in lieu of Windows Vista.

With Windows 7, Microsoft (who of late seem to do no wrong) had a fantastic advertising campaign that showed regular people using it, as well as a campaign that took on Apple’s ‘I’m a Mac’ campaign by showing the millions of ‘not-necessarily-cool’ people who prefer and use Windows, anyway.

Windows 7, the phone series

Microsoft hope the Windows 7 sales success will translate to Windows Phone Series 7, too. The mobile OS the Redmond-based company hopes it outdoes Android and upends the iPhone from its perch. Similar critical response followed the revelation of the mobile OS as was the case with the operating system and to the extent that the hardware and software integration is anything like what was shown at the press conference, Microsoft could well have a fighting chance.

With Bing, Xbox 360, Windows 7 and Windows Phone Series 7, it seems Microsoft has forgotten how to make mistakes and if the company continues on this trajectory and avoids making the same errors it always does, the venerable technology company may have a post-Bill Gates chapter yet.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

E-waste threatens the environment and the health of the populations of developing nations around the world – and it’s growing at an alarming rate. Environmental organisations say that these countries’ governments need to take big steps to deal with the problem, but until then everyone can learn more and help out in some way.

What is it?

The term e-waste isn’t clearly defined – it’s used loosely to describe any technological equipment that is no longer being used and, as a result, has been discarded and is polluting the environment. Whether or not the term also includes discarded kitchen equipment, for instance, such as old fridges, is up for debate. Whatever the definition, e-waste is a danger to the environment because of the components that they contain which can become very hazardous if they’re not disposed of properly.

The root of the problem

Photo: Stock.Xchng

The relatively inexpensive gadgets available today mean that people are buying newer models of computers and mobile phones sooner than before, and are able to simply discard older models. Wealthier nations are especially guilty, but it’s developing nations that suffer: not only do these countries produce large amounts of e-waste themselves because of their large populations, but they also receive large amounts of the waste generated by the more developed countries of the world. The problem becomes even worse when it begins to involve processes like ‘backyard recycling’, in which old technological devices are burnt in an effort to get to their valuable components. This, obviously, is very harmful to the environment.

The problem gets worse in developing countries

The levels of technological waste generated are climbing at alarming rates, with reports from developing countries indicating that increases of up to 400 per cent in South Africa and China and 500 per cent in India can be expected between 2007 levels and 2010 levels. That means five times more of a problem that’s already huge, and equates to a growth rate of around 40 billion tonnes per year.

What can be done?

The UN has urged developing countries to set up facilities and systems for the efficient recycling of e-waste products. In this way, the devices will be disposed of safely, and the materials gained from the recycling can be used to manufacture new products, saving on natural resources and the damage caused to the environment in the manufacture of these components. In places such as Bangalore, local collection initiatives have proved very successful in helping to recycle large amounts of e-waste, providing some hope that the rest of the world will be able to follow this good example and reduce environmental damage.

Environmental organisations suggest donating outdated items to needy organisations who can make good use of them, and finding a company to recycle those devices that simply don’t work anymore. With a small effort from everyone, the electronic waste problem can be dealt with effectively, and stopped before it gets entirely out of hand.

Photo: HTC

Vodafone looks set to start carrying the Google Nexus One this April. The HTC-manufactured Google-branded Android phone that has been available exclusively on Google’s online portal in the US will finally be available outside of that country.

Topsy-turvy releases

In a move that’s both bizarre and humorous at the same time, the HTC Desire, which is essentially the Nexus One’s successor, has beaten the Google-branded phone to market. The phones are pretty much the same thing, with the difference being the Desire is HTC-branded and has its own Android OS interface overlay, while the Nexus One is Google’s phone.

Sales failure

Photo: Apple

Initial sales of the Google Nexus One in the US were widely considered a failure, with the mobile handset moving only 20, 000 units in week one. This is a far cry from the Motorola Droid’s 250,000 week-one sales and the iPhone 3GS’s astronomical 1.6 million units. The reason sales were this low was mostly attributed to Google’s decision to sell the hardware themselves through their own portal and not through carriers. Not only was the move unusual in terms of reach, it was unusual in terms of Google’s lack of retail experience, especially with such a specialised device in a particularly competitive marketplace.

It seems Google aims to improve sales by selling the device themselves in the UK and marketing it, too. Vodafone, it appears, will provide no marketing muscle whatsoever, so it stands to reason that Google UK might have a better sales and marketing strategy than Google HQ did, or that Google has not learnt from its previous missteps.

Decent phone

Generally, the HTC-developed Google Nexus One was well received, with critics praising the fantastic integration with Google apps, and fantastic design finish. However, for an Android device in a post-iPhone world, very good no longer seems good enough to take the lead, nor does cutting out carriers of Vodafone’s muscle altogether wise.

Photo: Apple

Casual games maker, Popcap, has continued to prove it’s capable of printing money at will by smashing the iPhone record for the fastest selling paid app in app store history, with over 300 000 titles moving in a mere nine days.

Inevitable success

Photo: Apple

Plants vs. Zombies, which was released for PC and Mac in 2009, is a desktop tower defense game where you protect your house by lining your lawn with anti-zombie vegetation, which either shoots your enemies or protects your base. A pea transforms into a peashooter and an acorn is used as a path blocker zombies must first chew through to proceed. The title went on to become the fastest selling title in the history of Popcap, of Bejeweled fame.

At $1 (£0.64) per download on the app store, the company has reportedly earned over $1 million (£ 650 000) for releasing Plants vs. Zombies iPhone, which is essentially a port of a year-old game.

Not a single wrong step

Photo: Popcap

Popcap simply cannot put a foot wrong, on PC or the app store. The company has achieved what many other video game developers strive for: traction within a female audience without unnecessarily dumbing down the experience too much for more core gamers. It’s also managed to achieve ubiquity and unbridled success across PC, Mac and the iPhone with a small retail presence, since it derives the bulk of its revenue from online sales. This, in turn, means Popcap get to keep more money than other developers who have to share a large chunk of their revenue with distribution and retail partners.

Even then, Popcap has just taken in a massive round of venture capital – which it did not need – so as to finance accelerated growth. Whatever that means, gamers can rest assured the company is due to churn out titles of Plants vs. Zombies ilk that are more addictive and fun than a video game should legally be allowed to be.

Photo: Aiptek

Late last year Aiptek released a revolutionary e-reader for children. The InColor Storybook was the first e-book reader released in full colour, a much needed development in the e-book reader market, and also the first e-reader designed with children in mind.

Reading should be fun

With making learning to read fun in mind, Aiptek’s e-book reader allows children to read along with  the 20 stories that come along with its internal memory. Cute illustrations accompany the stories, and the interface is fun and easy for small people to handle.

Features

The InColor comes with a generous 8-inch 800×600 LCD display, and a 512 megabyte internal memory, which will hold up to 45 e-books. An expandable memory slot will accommodate up to 16GB, though. Four-way buttons allow children to search for books to read as though browsing through a book case, and the page up and down buttons simulate the natural movement of pages when reading.

Extras

The InColor can also play MP3s, save pictures of up to 30 megapixels, and display photographs, functioning as a digital picture frame. It also has a slideshow function for children to play with. While these features aren’t necessary, they will help distract children from the TV for a while, and the timer will stop them from damaging their eyes by reminding them to take a break from reading every 20 minutes.

Dubious content?

Aiptek’s website offers a range of e-books in Chinese and English, starting at $4.99 (around £3). All books for this device need to be bought from Aiptek, and there is no guarantee that the content of the e-books available for the InColor e-reader will be of the quality consumers have come to expect from Amazon and the Apple iPad store.

Is it worth it?

At $199 (Approximately £130), this is an expensive piece of technology to give to a four-year-old (the target age group for the InColor e-book reader is four to eight). It’s fun to use, and educational, but will demand that parents constantly monitor children while they read and listen to stories on it. It might be a better idea to stick to hard copies of children’s books until something better comes on the market.