Chrome OS to be released in Q4

Chrome OS to be released in Q4

Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai today announced that Chrome OS, Google’s open source web app operating system, would be released in the fourth quarter of 2010 reports the Chrome Source.

This news will be of interest to those who have begun to wonder whether Google should even contemplate introducing its web app focused operating system, particularly with the success of Android and the iPad.

GigaOm’s Kevin Tofel raises a valid point:

“Chrome OS was initially introduced as a platform for the netbook form factor, but if the market is shifting to tablets, Google will have to make some significant changes to it in order to make it finger-friendly.

However, Om Malik goes on to explain that he believes Google’s acquisition of BumpTop (a free flowing desktop app) is to play a significant role in transforming Chrome OS.

That said, the heaviest criticisms come from pundits and analysts who fear Google’s reliance on “the cloud” for its OS could be its major downfall.

Google Chrome OS will reportedly follow a three-tier architecture: firmware, browser and window manager and aims to leveraging web apps, HTML5’s offline modes, background processing, and notifications.

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Steve Jobs at D8: All you need to know.

Steve Jobs at D8: All you need to know.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the stage tonight at D, the conference for All Things Digital.  In his usual candid tone, Jobs addressed a number of questions, and left us with some memorable quotes.

Here’s a summary of the topics from this year’s interview but first up, a summary video courtesy of All Things D.

About Apple

Jobs stated that, when he returned to Apple, the company was 90 days from going bankrupt.  To take a company in that stage, then turn it around to surpass Microsoft is no small feat.

He then used this line of conversation to talk about Apple’s ethos, and the idea that the company simply wants to build the best products possible.

Foxconn

While building the best possible products, Apple has had some major issues lately with the press concerning suicides at Foxconn.  Jobs addressed these concerns, showing a humanitarian concern for the employees.

“Foxconn is not a sweatshop.  They’ve got restaurants and swimming pools.  For a factory, it’s a pretty nice factory.   We are on top of this. We look at everything at these companies. I can tell you a few things that we know. And we are all over this”.

Concerning Google

One of the longest sections of Jobs’ interview talked at length about Google.  Jobs confirmed that Google services would stay on the iPhone, but also conceded that Google “decided to compete with us… so they are”.

Jobs attributed the competition to the marketplace.  He states that Apple’s desire is to make better products and that if they do, they get to come to work tomorrow.

The Flash Debate

One of the hottest topics of the evening was Jobs speaking on Flash.  According to Jobs’ recount, Adobe threw the first punch.  Again Jobs pursues the idea that Apple wants to build the best products by using the best resources.  He very firmly stated that he didn’t feel that Flash was the best resource, opting instead to highlight the features of HTML5.

The iPad

In case you missed it, the iPad is doing pretty well.  I believe that’s putting it lightly enough.  Jobs didn’t miss the opportunity to talk about his beloved device, including giving a bit of history on it.

Asked if the iPad would save traditional media, Jobs was quick to point out that some traditional outlets have serious issues with which they need to deal.  However, in a very memorable quote from the section, Jobs went on to say that “I don’t want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers. I think we need editorial now more than ever.”

The App Store

Questions still remain as to the App Store approval process.  But Jobs took a very candid moment to talk about the pitfalls of doing something new.  He spoke of two separate platforms that are supported: HTML5 and the App Store.  When it came to the application approval process, Jobs pointed out that Apple approves 95% of apps, but they have made some mistakes and are working to correct them.

iAd

After speaking about the App Store, the question came about Apple entering the advertising market.  Jobs had a lot to say about this, but it primarily came down to user experience.  ”If you are playing a game, you are probably not going to make it back to the same place.”

With this in mind, Jobs addressed the iAd platform, and stated that the primary reason for it was simply to make money for application developers.  Jobs pointed to the idea that mobile users tend to use applications more than search so, if you wanted to provide money in a mobile environment, you had to provide advertising within the applications.

The Apple Ethos

A good number of Jobs’ comments, though related to certain products, serve as a reminder of how Apple chooses to do business.

Referring to the debacle of the lost iPhone prototype, Jobs stated that he was told that he should let it slide and not dig more into the problems.

“I thought deeply about this, and I concluded the worst thing that could happen is if we change our core values and let it slide. I can’t do that. I’d rather quit.”

Concerning intellectual content protection:

“Well the content creators are trying to protect this stuff, and they’re grabbing at straws. Sometimes they grab the right ones, and sometimes they don’t. If we want access to this stuff, we have to play by some of their rules. I feel your pain.”

Small comments can sometimes speak volumes about a person.  And when it comes to Apple, there is simply no other company that runs by a set of values so strongly tied to one person than Apple does.

Overall, a great couple of hours spent with the mind of Steve Jobs.  With WWDC coming soon, we’re sure to see some major announcements and I think that we have had some previews of those tonight.

From TNW, we’d like to extend a massive thank-you to both Ina Fried from Cnet, and Joshua Topolsky from Engadget for their stunning coverage of the speech.

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Facebook Likes and Shares Go Kaput Across The Interwebs

Facebook Likes and Shares Go Kaput Across The Interwebs

You might have noticed issues with Facebook liking our content over the last few hours. We assumed this was something on our end, but a quick browse of a few other prominent sites reveals Likes and Shares to be down across the web.

Posting to Facebook itself also seems to be down, at least in the way it normally works. Facebook won’t grab thumbnails, titles or snippets of any of the content – it needs to be entered manually.

Facebook is aware of the issue and working to resolve it according to this tweet and a bug update. It has been almost 24 hours though it seems…

@tiagom, @nicole_nejati, @matnlarn & others: We are aware of the temporary issue with posting links and are working to resolve it ASAP.Tue Jun 01 17:57:27 via HootSuiteFacebook
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Survey: More Than 80% of Businesses Support the iPad

Survey: More Than 80% of Businesses Support the iPad

ipad_chart_0531.pngIn a new survey (which is still accepting responses for the rest of today) Citrix is asking its IT customers to characterize their support for iPad in their businesses. Currently, over 80% of respondents expect to purchase the iPad for their company. Even more respondents are saying they will support personal iPads for their employees.

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Survey Results

The Citrix team has shared an overview of the preliminary results.


  • While 84% of organizations will support personal iPads, 50% expect their organization to purchase the device for them.

  • 80% will purchase and use the iPad for business.

  • The high level of adoption of the mobile device illustrates the confidence IT has that they can provide secure, safe access to company data and virtual desktops.

  • Support, according to respondents, for the use of personal iPads for work will open the door for more Bring Your Own Computer programs

  • The largest perceived benefits include the mobility to work remotely without interruption, greatly improving productivity for even the most remote workers.

  • Considerations

    Realizing that the audience being surveyed is more likely to be interested in iPad due to self selection, it is still interesting the high level of support within business for the new device.

    Here are a few additional thoughts about iPad's momentum in the enteprise.

    • Cost is a factor of volume. One of the big surprises of the iPad launch was the price offered by Apple for the device. For the functionality offered (especially as it gets closer to parity), it's a revolution in IT budgeting to consider this low-cost option for a hardware solution. The big win for Apple in the enterprise is going to be made on volume. If the company is successful, as it seems it will be, in continuing to have a "low SKU" approach to the market, it will continue to gain advantage through volume alone.
    • "Bring your own computer." In a way, this phenomenon is a big change. If Apple makes it acceptable, "Bring your own phone" may be close behind. This may break the logjam we see now where enterprises hand out corporate phones, yet consumers buy their own and carry them with them in the office (and then negotiate with IT for access to apps, for example).
    • Mobility as the killer enterprise app. The iPad with 3G has an unlimited data plan option that may be too good to pass up for IT managers who want to deploy mobile solutions or support the mobile workforce.
    • iTunes for corporate assets. The opportunity to deliver corporate content as subscriptions, podcasts, and video libraries could be a new wrapper on corporate assets. The ability to easily catalog resources is one thing that big intranets and internal corporate networks have been challenged with in the past. Perhaps the structure of a library approach will also target enterprise employees and reduce the friction in content distribution.

    It's amazing to see the growth of momentum for iPad in business computing. This survey suggests the dynamics of iPad seem to be trending in Apple's favor. It's still a long way off before we see it create a large dent in enterprise laptop or desktop sales, but this movement is creating a new set of opportunities - and problems - in the enterprise.

    Discuss

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Google Abandons Windows for Better Security

Google Abandons Windows for Better Security

In the wake of the China attacks that resulted in Google’s public threat to leave China, the search giant is abandoning Windows due to concerns over security.

According to the Financial Times, the technology titan has been slowly phasing out the use of Windows internally since January, not long after it was assaulted by Chinese hackers. For example, new hires are no longer offered Windows PCs — the choices are now an Apple Mac computer or a PC loaded with Linux.

Google’s policies surrounding the internal use of Windows aren’t clear-cut, though. Some employees can still install Windows on their laptops, but not their desktop computers. However, Googlers need explicit permission from “quite senior levels” in order to keep using the Windows OS.

The move makes sense: Windows and Internet Explorer have been implicated as vectors in which hackers accessed personal accounts and confidential data from Google’s servers. And, of course, Microsoft is also one of Google’s primary competitors.

It’s important to note that later this year, Google is expected to release Chrome OS, the company’s web-centric operating system. However, the decision to leave Windows behind doesn’t seem to be motivated by the impending release of its experimental OS.



For more technology coverage, follow Mashable Tech on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook



Tags: Google, Linux, mac, Mac OS, microsoft, Windows, Windows 7

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Loopt Star: A Digital Loyalty Card For Your iPhone

Loopt Star: A Digital Loyalty Card For Your iPhone

Location-based social service Loopt is launching a new mobile rewards game called Loopt Star. Loopt Star will let users check in to different locales to not only compete with friends (a la Foursquare and Gowalla), but to also earn rewards from retailers and organizations. Loopt Star is basically a virtual loyalty card with a built-in social game.

Using the free iPhone app (other platforms are being evaluated, but Loopt Star will be for the iPhone only at first), users can check in at participating organizations and earn rewards, points or discounts, based on a set of factors designated by the establishments. That means that rewards and reward amounts can be altered depending on time of day, day of the week and how frequently the person has checked in in the past.

While other location-based services like Foursquare have offered discounts and loyalty rewards to users based on where they check in and how often, the focus hasn’t been specifically on earning and offering rewards. With Loopt Star, that’s the focus.


What Is Loopt Star


Loopt Star does borrow a lot of its social game elements from Foursquare — there are badges, leaderboards and the ability to become the “Boss” of a location — however, it also differs significantly from the other location-based services already available.

  • Loopt Star is based entirely on Facebook Connect. Instead of having to build or import your social graph, Loopt Star simply uses Facebook. We think this is pretty brilliant because it lets users get started immediately. Users can then share their current location in real time with their Facebook friends and alert them about special Loopt Star offers via newsfeed.
  • Brands can customize campaigns based on location, the number of visits, how many people are in a group, time of day or day of the week.
  • Wi-Fi location technology is used to limit cheating.
  • Users can view “Nearby Rewards” in the app and also get updates of rewards for places they have been before or that their friends share with them.

Loopt has already signed more than 20 sponsors and will launch with several large companies including The Gap, Universal Records, Burger King, Starbucks and Stanford University. New brands will be rolled out each week in the application.

What rewards users get depends on the brand. For instance, if you visit The Gap twice, you’ll earn a 25% discount. Meanwhile, Burger King customers in New York City who want to “have it [their] way” three times will get a free coffee or soda alongside a qualifying sandwich.

Universal Music will be giving away MP3s to users who check in at certain bars and Starbucks will offer special badges and discounts for the most frequent customers, much like it does with Foursquare and Brightkite.


Simplicity = Smart


What we like best about Loopt Star is that it’s extremely simple. The app plugs into your Facebook social graph and then makes it easy to share location info and check in to places to earn points and rewards.

In a recent editorial post about why location hasn’t gone mainstream, Leah Betancourt argued that its value to advertisers was questionable. Loopt Star isn’t designed to be its own social network; Facebook and Twitter and other services can do that better. Instead, it can be a location guide and a virtual loyalty card. The coupons and the simplicity offer the user value, while the ability to set parameters around offers and to better target existing users offers businesses and advertisers value.

When I spoke with Loopt CEO and Founder Sam Altman about the new product, he stressed that even if Facebook does get into location on its own terms, that doesn’t cannibalize what Loopt Star is doing. On the contrary, it makes the overall service even more valuable as Facebook better integrates with location. If everything is coming in from the same stream and everything is based on the same social graph, Loopt Star can offer its sponsors and users a certain experience while still tying into the core Facebook ecosystem.

We think that’s extremely shrewd. We also think that giving advertisers and business owners more options and granular control over their campaigns will lead to more creative and expansive uses. We’ve been waiting for a location-based service to eschew the pretense of being a social network and instead embrace the advertising opportunities


A Competitive Space


Loopt was at the forefront of the location-based space, but despite having a diverse suite of mobile apps and support for lots of platforms, the service has taken a backseat as social gaming services Gowalla and Foursquare have moved to center stage.

With Loopt Star, Loopt is getting into the social gaming space but with a very clear purpose. From the offset, Loopt Star wants to offer value to users and offer value to advertisers. The value for advertisers is crucial because the companies that will end up leading this space are those that are most able to sell a cost-per-visit strategy to business owners and retailers.

To be sure, Foursquare and Gowalla have crazy momentum right now, with Foursquare reporting nearly 1 million checkins a day. However, this is a space that has yet to truly explode and there are still plenty of opportunities for other companies and services to get a shot at claiming some of this virtual (and physical) space.

By using Facebook as the basis for the Loopt Star social graph, we think that Loopt is on the right track to building a service that users will actively use. Now it will just be up to the company to secure the sponsorships and partnerships to ensure that the rewards are valuable.

What do you think of the idea behind Loopt Star? Let us know!



For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook



Tags: facebook, foursquare, geolocation, iphone apps, loopt, loopt star, social gaming

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Turn by Turn Augmented Vision Coming Soon with Wikitude Drive

Turn by Turn Augmented Vision Coming Soon with Wikitude Drive

Wikitude_may10.jpgAugmented reality (AR) developers Mobilizy, makers of the Wikitude World Browser, are close to releasing their latest creation, Wikitude Drive, an app that combines AR technology with turn-by-turn driving directions. The app works by taking live video of the road captured by a smartphone mounted on the dashboard or windshield and super imposing the direction data onto it. The company announced late last week that beta testing with 2,000 volunteers had been concluded, signaling that the company may be close to publicly launching the app on the Android marketplace.

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As the company points out, taking your eyes off the road to look at a 3D map on your GPS device can be dangerous. With Wikitude Drive's directions (provided by Navteq) placed onto a live video of the road, the dangers of glancing at an illustrated map are reduced. To get an idea of how the app works, check out the video below released by Mobilizy last week showing some road tests.

As you can see, the app quite skillfully places the directions on the live video of the road, but the size of the path and arrow still leaves a large blind area for drivers. You can also see the directions jitter a bit when the car is in a tunnel, a problem with the GPS signal weakening in the tunnel. What this also tells us is that the app is not yet able to take advantage of the live video feed as much as it would like to.

Due to platform limitations, the app cannot digest the live video and map the directions more accurately to the road. While it does a fair job of guessing where the road is, the ability to process the road and run it through image recognition technology would make it much more accurate. Mobilizy says they are working on an iPhone version of the app as well - a platform that will soon support live video processing with an upcoming OS update.

With Wikitude Drive, users can quickly switch to a traditional elevated 3D map view by touching the screen, but which perspective will drivers use? Depending on the price of the app, Android users may download the app for the basic directions to save some money. The other common concern with these apps is what happens when a phone call comes in while providing directions? Can users easily answer and call and continue to receive directions? Or will they be interrupted and forced to later relaunch the application?

Either way, Wikitude Drive seems like a great use of augmented reality and a logical next step for the platform. Mobilizy says it plans to integrate the Wikitude World Browser, and it's database full of points-of-interest, into Wikitude Drive in the future. Combine this type of direction capability with GM's idea for an augmented reality windshield and a fascinating future of cars with heads-up-displays could be just around the corner.

Discuss

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Rumored $99 Apple TV to Feature Cloud Storage, iPhone OS

Rumored $99 Apple TV to Feature Cloud Storage, iPhone OS

atv_150_may10.jpgAfter Google's announcement last week of their upcoming Google TV service, many speculated whether Apple would respond by refreshing its neglected Apple TV. Though Steve Jobs called the product a "hobby" at its launch, the rumor mill has begun to churn as reports point to an overhauled Apple TV with cloud storage and an attractive $99 price tag. According to gadget blog Engadget, a "a source very close to Apple" has confirmed speculation that a simplified version of the set-top box closely resembling the internals of the upcoming fourth generation iPhone is currently in development.

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The device has apparently been described as "an iPhone without a screen," says Engadget's Joshua Topolsky. The CPU (Apple's A4 chip), storage (estimated at 16 GB) and OS will mirror those found on an iPhone, but this new device will reportedly also include support for full 1080p HD video. Though storage is limited, users will be able to access other local storage devices (supposedly local systems and networked storage devices) via WiFi, as well as cloud storage.

apple_tv_may10.jpgWith the current Apple TV selling at a hefty $229 with 160 GB of storage, this new product could be a significant pivot for Apple in the set-top box realm. The transition from local to cloud-based storage may have something to do with recent rumors that Apple's MobileMe service may soon be provided free to all users - a possible use for the new data farm the company is building in North Carolina.

The reported $99 price seems logical because the majority of the cost of the Apple TV goes toward 160 GB of storage. Additionally, by designing it to mimic the iPhone's specs, Apple can streamline the production of the product and remove the most expensive part of the phone - the screen. Topolsky says no mention was made of whether apps would be supported on the device, but he suggests that scaling up iPhone and iPad apps to a TV wouldn't look particularly attractive (not to mention the lack of a touch interface).

I wouldn't be surprised to see some integration with the upcoming iPhone OS release that would allow users to control and browse from content on their phones or iPads and watch it on their TVs. Jobs has been adamant about how "couch friendly" the iPad is, so it only makes sense that a refreshed Apple TV would interface with the company's existing handheld devices.

If the speculation is correct, Apple and Google are poised for a Web TV showdown - a competition between to fierce competitors that could lead to some great feature innovations for users. While this is all based on rumor and some reading of the tea leaves, many have speculated that Apple "leaks" information to the press intentionally to generate buzz or divert attention from other products. The timing of this information - a week following the Google TV announcement, and at the midpoint between iPad and assumed iPhone launches - seems a bit convenient for Apple, but whether that lends credibility to the reports is yet to be seen.

Through all of this, one thing is certain: it would be unwise to buy and iPhone or Apple TV any time soon.

Discuss

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Does the Mobile Web Need a Yahoo-Style Directory?

Does the Mobile Web Need a Yahoo-Style Directory?

taptu_logo_jun09.pngDo you remember the days when Yahoo was a Yellow Pages-like directory of websites? Back in the early days of the Internet, a number of companies created vast, human-edited databases that aimed to catalog all the Web - and some even sold these as printed books. According to mobile search engine Taptu, the mobile Internet is at a similar point today, where a directory is simply the easiest way to discover content. While Taptu's main focus is still on its crawler-based search engine for mobile sites, the company also just launched a Yahoo-like directory of touch-friendly websites.

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The Mobile Web is Going Through Its "Yahoo Phase"

taptu_touch_friendly_directory.jpgEarlier this year, AdMob's CEO and founder Omar Hamoui argued that the mobile Web is going through its "Yahoo phase," as it is still possible to find mobile apps using directory-like app stores instead of having to rely on more advanced search engines. While Hamoui was mostly talking about apps, the same could be said about the mobile Web in general. The number of touch-friendly mobile sites is still relatively small when compared the Web as a whole, and services like Taptu's new directory make sense at this point.

Taptu's Directory

To help its users find the best touch-friendly sites for mobile phones, Taptu decided to create a directory. Taptu notes that phones with touchscreens are quickly becoming mass-market devices, but a lot of these devices don't feature app stores. For Taptu, the top five traffic-generating phones include the Samsung Caliber, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Samsung Finesse.

Thanks to Taptu's focus on touch-friendly sites, the directory turns out to be a fun way to find interesting sites on the go, without the hassle of having to deal with sites that don't work well on small screens. To access Taptu's directory, just head over to the company's mobile site and look for the Categories icon at the top of the page.

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iPad Goes International

iPad Goes International

On Friday, Apple debuted their iPad tablet in nine countries. Apple already pushed back international sales a month with the explanation that the demand in the U.S. was too great to go international at that time.

May 28th saw the iPad on sale in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

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About a month ago, Apple had sold half a million devices and said inventory would not tolerate opening to foreign markets as soon as they had planned. Inventory is still an issue, according to the Wall Street Journal.

"Analysts estimate that Apple will sell about 1.7 million iPads in the April-to-June quarter and five million for the year world-wide."

Analysts also anticipate that about a third of Apple's sales will be U.S.-based and the rest shared with the remaining global market.

With over a million iPads sold, it has been described as "the fastest consumer product growth to the $1 billion revenue mark in history."

Discuss

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