Battling Apple's iPhone Isn't Cheap

BlackBerry maker spent more for Storm's snazzy features, according to component breakdown report.

Going head to head against Apple and its 3G iPhone isn't cheap.

In its quest to knock the high-flying iPhone off its perch, Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) spruced up components and design which led to higher costs for its latest release, the BlackBerry Storm 9530.

An iSuppli report released this week, estimates the Storm costs $202.89 in>materials and manufacturing.

That's $28.56 more than iSuppli says Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) $174.33 iPhone direct bill of materials (BOM) cost, and about $32 more than it estimates itcost RIM to make its BlackBerry Bold.

The news comes as consumers pull back on spending in today's recession. Yet wireless carriers are reaping big financial rewards thanks to data services revenues tied to snazzy full-featured smartphone offerings.

The Storm and iPhone both retail for $199 with two-year data services plans while the Bold carries a $299 price tag for data plan subscribers.

Verizon Wireless is the exclusive carrier for the Storm. AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone and Bold in the U.S.

RIM told InternetNews.com that carrier partners set BlackBerry prices and declined comment on the new iSuppli report.

AT&T has previously stated it pays Apple $300 for every iPhone 3G it sells. Calls to AT&T on what it pays RIM per Bold handset were not returned by press time. Verizon Wireless declined comment on what it pays RIM for Storm handsets.

Apple reportedly sold 13.7 million iPhones in 2008. Verizon Wireless told InternetNews.com today it has sold 1 million Storm handsets so far.

The Storm, in addition to being a bit more expensive to build than the iPhone, is also more complex in component count, noted the iSuppli report.

Much of that is tied to the fact that Storm brought a slew of 'firsts' to the BlackBerry lineup when it debuted in late November.

It's the first BlackBerry to feature a touchscreen. The handset also boasts 3G capability, the second RIM device to offer 3G, and lots of memory along with the familiar secure messaging platform.

The Storm uses a Qualcomm MSM7600 baseband processor, a first for a RIM product, according to iSuppli, as the vendor has used Marvell chips in the past.

The Qualcomm part provides support for the EvDO air standard, making it a more of a worldwide phone, according to iSuppli. It also eliminates the need for multiple basebands and radio frequency chains, which saves RIM some cost.

In the breakdown, the MSM7600 accounted for 17.2 percent of the total component price tag. The touchscreen cost was $15.50, and the 8GB MicroSD memory card cost $11.50.

The new features provided by the components, however, didn't seem to impress reviewers or buyers.

In fact complaints prompted exclusive carrier Verizon Wireless to push out a software upgrade shortly after launch that improved touchscreen accuracy and navigation.

iSuppli’s teardown analysis covers all parts and manufacturing costs, but excludes other expenses, including Intellectual Property (IP), royalties and licensing fees, software, shipping, logistics, marketing and other channel costs.

In its iPhone breakdown report last year, iSuppli said the original 8GB iPhone, which debuted in June, 2007, cost Apple about $226 to make.

Apple has since benefited from component price declines for a 23 percent reduction in its 3G iPhone hardware costs, said iSuppli. The 3G device arrived last summer.

The 3G iPhone's top five most expensive components are the 8GB NAND flash memory ($22), an improved touchscreen display ($20), application processor ($13.50) and digital baseband chip with High-Speed Download Packet Access, known as HSDPA. ($15).

iSuppli's Bold report revealed a direct BOM cost of $158.16 and manufacturing cost of $11.25 for a total of $169.41.

The Bold's component costs included a processor (the highest-priced device part at $34.34), keypad assembly (the cheapest piece at $1.85), camera ($9.90) and display ($16).

Source: InternetNews

Red Hat: The Facebook Of Software

The open-source software maker beat the odds with an annualized growth rate of 43%.
Red Hat Chief Executive Jim Whitehurst has gotten good at selling his company to investors and the public.

The open-source software maker, he says, is "sort of like a Facebook or Wikipedia for code. In the same way that thousands of people add, contribute and share information on Wikipedia, Red Hat (nasdaq: RHT - news - people ) and open source does the same, only with computer functionality."

Whitehurst's ability to translate Red Hat's business to the masses has no doubt helped the Raleigh, N.C.-based company produce annualized sales growth of 43% over the past five years, placing it at No. 11 on Forbes' 2009 survey of the 25 fastest-growing tech companies in the U.S. In the 12 months ended last February, Red Hat generated revenues of $523 million.

Not bad for a company that drew skepticism early on for trying to sell "free" software. Founded in 1993, Red Hat was one of the first companies to make open-source software a technologically viable alternative to traditional enterprise products from Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), SAP (nyse: SAP - news - people ) and Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ).

Another selling point: price. Red Hat sells its software as a subscription service, which is a lot cheaper than the hefty licensing fees charged by the software giants.

Still, IDC analyst Al Gillen notes that Red Hat owes some of its success to being at the right place at the right time. "Going public early on in the dot-com boom allowed Red Hat to receive funding to grow and extend adoption into different market segments," he says.

Today, Red Hat's subscription model could help it thrive as the recession forces companies to look for less expensive software services. Baird Research analyst Steven Ashley expects Red Hat's revenues to grow faster than Microsoft's. "In the December quarter, Microsoft grew its revenue 2% year-over-year. In the February quarter, Red Hat is expected to grow 18%. That gives you a comparison," Ashley says.

Source: Forbes

How Vista's failure hurt Linux

Once I got a good look at Vista, I knew desktop Linux was in for good times. Vista was, and still is, a disaster of an operating system. I was right too. When netbooks started coming out, it was Linux, not Vista, that ruled.

What I hadn't expected though was that Vista would be such an absolute sales flop that Microsoft would actually reverse course and bring back first XP Home and then, in December 2008, XP Pro.

Of course, Microsoft hasn't come right out and said, "Vista sucks, we get it, here have XP instead," but for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what they're doing. That's one reason why they're pushing Windows 7, aka Vista Lite, out the door as fast as possible.

Windows 7, unlike Vista, will run on netbooks. Once, Windows 7 is out, Microsoft will go back to the business of killing off XP.

In the meantime, though, Linux has gone from owning the netbook niche to no longer even holding a majority stake in it. What happened?

According to Gary Marshall on Tech Radar it's because users are being presented with a choice between "Windows XP versus a whole bunch of different distributions."

I don't buy that. Only a Linux fan knows the differences, or even the names, of the various Linux distributions on the netbooks. What a customer or a sales rep. knows about a netbook is what it looks like, its amount of RAM and storage space, and its price. That's about it.

So why is XP making such a strong comeback? Well, I think Microsoft is offering some very sweet deals to the OEMs to make sure that XP gets a lot of play. The OEMs, who feel like Microsoft owes them after sticking with the Vista stink-bomb, are happy to get low-cost XP.

Even so, Linux-powered netbooks are still cheaper than ones with XP, but the vendors, with the exception of Dell with its Ubuntu hardware, aren't doing much to promote them. Yes, everyone who's anyone in PCs now offers desktop Linux, but they're not advertising it.

I suspect all of them are happy to have desktop Linux now. I also suspect, however, that it's mostly so they can tell Microsoft to make them a good deal for XP and Windows 7 licenses because if Microsoft doesn't come across, they can always switch to Linux instead.

So what can Linux do? Well, for one thing, we need to get the word out that desktop Linux is available and every bit as good, when it's not better, than Windows.

The Linux Foundation is doing what it can to promote this by pushing forwards with its "We're Linux" video contest. Desktop Linux has gone about as far as it can without the support of the broader, non-technical market. With the ads springing from the Linux Foundations' work, easy-to-use Linux distributions, and pre-installed Linux laptops and desktops, it's up to Linux's fans and vendors to get Linux moving forward on the desktop again.

Source: ComputerWorld

Click fraud closed 2008 at all-time high

Thanks in part to armies of compromised computers, click fraud reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter.

Click fraud lets Web sites increase revenue from ads supplied by services such as Google's AdSense or the Yahoo Publisher Network, though those companies take measures to screen out bogus links so advertisers don't have to pay. But that doesn't stop people from trying, according to a new report from Click Forensics, a company that monitors for click fraud and sells detection services.

"The overall industry average click fraud rate grew to 17.1 percent for the fourth quarter of 2008. That's up from 16.0 percent in the third quarter of 2008 and from the 16.6 percent rate reported for the fourth quarter of 2007," the company said Wednesday.

Humans can click on ads, but increasingly fraudsters turn to botnets, the swarms of computers taken over through remote attacks that can do fraudsters' bidding without computer users' knowledge.

"Traffic from botnets was responsible for 31.4 percent of all click fraud traffic in the fourth quarter of 2008. That's up from the 27.6 percent rate reported for the third quarter of 2008 and the 22.0 percent rate reported for the fourth quarter of 2007," Click Forensics said.

Source: CNET

Microsoft's Netbook Woes Mean Linux Yays...Right?

When Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) specifically cited netbook PCs as a big reason for its weakening sales, the "L word" didn't get mentioned by name -- but it wasn't difficult to tell this was the flip side of that news tidbit about Linux-equipped netbooks being returned. So what's this mean for Win7 vs. Linux in what is fast becoming the battleground for the new desktop?

Jim Zemlin, executive director at the Linux Foundation, put it this way when asked for a few words on the subject: "Even if netbooks don't take away market share from Microsoft, they are already taking away margin, as there are now alternatives forcing them to lower prices. With netbook sales projected to jump 50% in 2009, and with an estimated 30% of those netbooks shipping with Linux installed, Linux can expect to see solid growth this year, even as sales numbers stall in the industry as a whole." (He also cited the middling response to Vista as more bad news, which no one needs to be convinced of.)

Estimates aside, does all this really mean Linux eating Win7's lunch -- at least on the netbook side? Maybe not the whole meal, but what I do see happening is the emergence of a computing market that couldn't have existed before, one where Windows is optional at best.

The netbook gives a certain set of people exactly as much computing as they need. It's to computers what the $0 bare-bones handset is to cell phones. Those of us who don't need and don't want to shell out extra for all those bells, whistles, and blinky lights now no longer have to. Having Linux on board to run the whole show further drives the cost down.

There are plenty of people who don't see netbooks as a great thing. Witness this piece (warning: NSFW language) by Ted Dziuba at The Register, in which he spits and roasts the netbook in favor of smartphones, but ignores two things. One, no student I've ever met wants to type on a smartphone-sized keyboard to do their homework, BlackBerry addiction be darned; two, there's no discussion of how Linux makes it possible to have a smartphone or a netbook or a full-sized computer share that much more functionality without the prices becoming unmanageable.

Then again, Ted doesn't think much of Linux as an end-user OS anyway, even if we are indeed seeing a whole generation of computer users emerge for whom the Web is their operating system and have no particular attachment to any program.

The New York Times also gave voice to the unease of many big-league computer makers when they published a piece on how the $200 netbook is making more expensive computer variants a no-go for consumers -- or, at the very least, making it possible to buy exactly as much computer as you want for your money.

I don't see Windows disappearing entirely -- at least not until another generation of computer users has come and gone. But I'm hitting pretty hard on Linux being a big reason this drift away from Windows is possible now, since Linux the flip side of Windows in many ways other than the obvious ones.

Look at it: Windows is a brand, Linux is a technology that can surface under any number of brands; Windows is proprietary; Linux is not; Windows is limited in its elasticity and incarnations by its one maker; Linux can be bent and shaped any way you want it. Against odds like that, Windows can only continue to maintain so much headway -- especially now that people are not simply relying on the same mix of Windows / Office / Internet Explorer to get around and get things done.

Source: InformationWeek

Looking Back: First Apple Mac

I was blown away when Steve Jobs gave me a one-on-one preview of the original Macintosh in January 1984.

Before seeing the Mac, I had used an Apple II and, of course, an IBM PC. But the Mac was something different — something special. The first paragraph of my review in the Los Angeles Times was probably one of the most enthusiastic reviews I've written.

"I rarely get excited over a new computer, but Apple's Macintosh, officially introduced Tuesday, has started a fever in Silicon Valley that's hard not to catch," I wrote. "My symptoms started when I talked with some devotees from Apple and the various companies that produce software, hardware and literature to enhance the new computer. By the time I got my hands on the little computer and its omnipresent mouse, I was hooked. Apple has a winner."

I was, of course, writing about the original $2,495 128K Mac, which turned 25 last week. Not only was it sleek and easy to use, it also was portable, at least when compared with other computers of that time. "The entire system can be slipped into an optional ($99) padded carrying case to be hoisted over your shoulder or placed under an airline seat. The case and computer together weigh 22 pounds."

My biggest excitement was for the software that came with the machine — MacPaint and MacWrite: "MacWrite has most basic word processing features with one outstanding addition. It can vary the size and style of your type on the screen and on paper, when used with Apple's new $495 Image Writer printer."

"The main advantage of the Macintosh," I wrote back then, "is that it's very easy to learn and use. Apple claims that novices can learn to use the Mac in as little as 30 minutes. The company is banking on the machine's simplicity and modest price to attract 'millions' of users over the next few years."

My description of the user interface seems a bit quaint by today's standards: "To select a program, you move the mouse to the icon and press the button on the top of the little rodent. If there are any additional options, they are displayed at the top of the screen, so you can move the mouse to make the appropriate selection." I noted that "when this process was described to me, it sounded cumbersome, especially since I'm already comfortable with using a keyboard. But the mouse is so much more intuitive. As infants we learned to move objects around our play pens. Using a mouse is an extension of that skill."

In the column, I referred to Steve Jobs as "Apple's young chairman." Jobs, who personally supervised much of the Mac's development effort, isn't quite so young anymore. What strikes me about the past quarter century is how much influence Apple — and Jobs — had back then and how much they have today.

Apple didn't invent the mouse or the graphical user interface. But by putting them on an affordable, elegant and easy-to-use computer, it helped create the demand for them that Bill Gates took full advantage of by morphing his own operating system from its MS-DOS command-line roots to various versions of Microsoft Windows.

Windows always looked and worked a little like the Mac, but never gained the respect that Apple earned because its operating system and hardware always seemed to be just a bit more reliable, a little easier to use and a tad sexier. Those "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" commercials get it kind of right. The PC is functional — the Mac is cool. And by the way, I'm writing this column on a PC running Vista.

Fast-forward to Oct. 23, 2001, when Jobs introduced the iPod. Again, Apple wasn't the first company to market a digital music player, nor was it the last. But once again, it did it in such an elegant way that it defined the genre. The same can be said of the iPhone that revolutionized the smart-phone industry and remains the gold standard by which other smart-phones are judged.

In 1985 the Apple board of directors forced Jobs to temporarily leave the company, and earlier this month his health forced him to take a medical leave. While I hope for his speedy recovery and return to Apple's helm, there is certainly a possibility that he might not be able to return. Even if he does, there will be a time — perhaps 25 years from now — when Apple will have to carry on without him.

When Jobs last departed Apple, the company started to lose its luster with a decline in creativity and a dearth of interesting products that lasted until Jobs returned in 1997. If he does leave the company again, he'll be an extremely hard act to follow.

I hope that Steve Jobs is enjoying the Mac's 25th anniversary and that he gets to enjoy the 26th anniversary in good health from the CEO office at Apple.

Source: Mercury News

Russia to Develop Linux-based Alternative to Windows?

Details are scarce, unless Russian is your language of choice, but CNews is reporting that Russia plans to develop its own national operating system. The move is designed to reduce Russia's need to rely on foreign software and licensing agreements. And the alleged "open code" solution, likely a Linux/GNU derivative, will give Russia a greater degree of customization, as well as increased control over how the potentially free OS is used and accessed.

This isn't the first time Russia has dabbled with the idea of widespread open-source software distribution. According to Russia Today, a pilot program is already underway in three Russian regions to replace Microsoft-branded operating systems in Russian schools with Linux alternatives. All Russian schools are expected to make the software switch by 2009, according to Russian leaders.

Expect the national transition to put a large feather in the cap of Linux advocates worldwide. But will it spurn increased U.S. adoption of the open-source OS? The economic crisis might be more fuel for that fire. A "free the penguin" initiative aimed at increasing Linux adoption in U.S. academic institutions signed up more than 3,000 interested schools between September and December of 2008--that's 20,000 new open-source desktops across 29 separate states.

Source: Yahoo! Tech News

iWork Software Infects Macs with Trojan Horse

A company that makes security software for Mac computers is warning that copies of Apple's iWork productivity software that are available for download from peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks may be infected with a Trojan horse program. The malicious software appears to be designed to enlist infected systems in a bot army that is targeting Web sites with so much junk traffic they can no longer accommodate legitimate visitors.

In an alert issued today, Intego said some pirated versions of the $79 iWork software suite circulating on BitTorrent trackers are infected with what it calls OSX.Trojan.iServices.A. Intego said the Trojan is bundled so that it runs when the user installs the pirated iWork software.

iServices.A then opens up a "backdoor" on the victim's computer, effectively alerting the virus writer that a new system is infected and potentially allowing the attacker to upload new software to or perform other actions on the infected Mac.

An Intego spokesperson said it appears from looking at the figures from a high-profile torrent tracker site, as of 6 a.m. ET today, the installer program for the infected software suite had been downloaded at least 20,000 times.

A Mac software developer from Melbourne, Australia by the name of Pete Yandell said he infected his machine after installing this program. In a posting on his "Not a Hat" blog, Yandell said the Trojan installed a simple script that forced his computer to start flooding a Web site with junk traffic, ostensibly using his machine as part of an army of infected systems launching a "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attack aimed at knocking the targeted site offline.

"My copy of the iWork 09 trial installer contained a trojan," Yandell wrote. "This copy was passed to me through multiple hands. If I'd done the smart thing, and got my copy straight from Apple, I wouldn't have had this problem."

Yandell could not be immediately reached for comment.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote a blog post called "When Macs Attack," which profiled a collection of hacked Mac systems that was being used to launch DDoS attacks. That malware also was directed by malicious scripts. Interestingly, plenty of readers called "baloney" on that post, ridiculing the notion that someone would create a bot army that was specific to Mac systems.

"What can Mac users do to protect themselves from such nasties," is the question I'm getting a lot more from readers. Sure, Mac users can purchase and install software like Intego's, or other anti-virus software for the Mac. It may or may not stop attacks like this.

As we have seen before, Apple itself has been a tad inconsistent in its advice to Mac users on this front, first running ads saying Mac users don't have to worry about malware, then saying anti-virus is a good and necessary thing for Mac users, then pulling those recommendations.

If my employer hadn't already paid for a Symantec anti-virus software license on my Mac, I can tell you I certainly would not have paid for it on my own.

Leaving aside (hopefully) the question of whether Mac users need anti-virus, I've tried to impress upon readers the importance of avoiding risky behaviors online that could jeopardize the security of their systems. The reality is that installing programs downloaded from P2P networks is about the most insecure practice a computer user can engage in, regardless of the operating system in use.

This is why I think it's important to call out this Trojan. Yes, it infects Macs, and that's something we don't see very often. But it's also a teachable moment to remind readers that no security software is going to protect the user who is intent on installing software that may be tainted with malware, as long as that user is willing to ignore any advice (or alerts) to the contrary.

Update, 11:16 p.m. ET: Yandell wrote in to say the site his Mac was programmed to attack was dollarcardmarketing.com. Yandell said he expects the attackers in control of the Mac botnet have moved on to other targets.

While the attackers may indeed be targeting other sites, dollarcardmarketing.com remains under a fairly consistent DDoS attack as of this writing, said John Valente, dollarcardmarketing.com's co-owner.

"Our site was attacked with the DDOS about a month ago and it stumped me and my host as my traffic and bandwidth were skyrocketed to over 600Gb of transfer," Valente wrote in an e-mail to Security Fix. "My host was nice enough to try and manage it, [even thought it[ temporarily crippled us a couple times. But ultimately, he had to ask us to either shut it down or find another host because he couldn't handle the resources it was consuming."

Valente said he doesn't know who's attacking his site or why, but he found another host, a company that initially tried to tell him the ongoing DDoS attack violated its terms of service.

"After some reluctance, [the new hosting company] turned my site back on and found someone within their staff with DDOS experience to fight it," Valente said. "They've been fighting it ever since and, as you've noticed, are winning. However, we are still under such attack and it was quite malicious and effective."

Source: Washington Post

YouTube the reference tool?

FACED with writing a school report on an Australian animal, Tyler Kennedy began where many students begin these days: by searching the Internet. But Tyler didn’t use Google or Yahoo. He searched for information about the platypus on YouTube.

“I found some videos that gave me pretty good information about how it mates, how it survives, what it eats,” Tyler said. Similarly, when Tyler gets stuck on one of his favorite games on the Wii, he searches YouTube for tips on how to move forward. And when he wants to explore the ins and outs of collecting Bakugan Battle Brawlers cards, which are linked to a Japanese anime television series, he goes to YouTube again.

While he favors YouTube for searches, he said he also turns to Google from time to time.

“When they don’t have really good results on YouTube, then I use Google,” said Tyler, who is 9 and lives in Alameda. Calif.

Tyler’s way of experiencing the Web — primarily through video — may not be mainstream, at least not yet. But his use of YouTube as his favorite search engine underscores a shift that is much broader than the quirky habits of children.

The explosion of all types of video content on YouTube and other sites is quickly transforming online video from a medium strictly for entertainment and news into one that is also a reference tool. As a result, video search, on YouTube and across other sites, is rapidly morphing into a new entry point into the Web, one that could rival mainstream search for many types of queries.

“There are an increasing number of people who are doing video searches to supplement and improve what they do in their offline lives,” said Suranga Chandratillake, the chief executive of Blinkx, a video search engine.

With inexpensive cameras flooding the market and a proliferation of Web sites hosting seemingly unlimited numbers of clips, it’s never been easier to create and upload video. You can now find an online video on virtually any topic. Web videos teach how to grout a tub, offer reviews of the latest touch-screen phones and give you a feel for walking across the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

The consumption of video has followed a similar trajectory. In November, 146 million Americans watched videos online, streaming a total of 12.6 billion video clips, or nearly double the number they streamed just 20 months ago, according to comScore.

YouTube itself has grown even faster. Its share of videos streamed soared to 40 percent in November from 17 percent in March 2007.

And now YouTube, conceived as a video hosting and sharing site, has become a bona fide search tool. Searches on it in the United States recently edged out those on Yahoo, which had long been the No. 2 search engine, behind Google. (Google, incidentally, owns YouTube.) In November, Americans conducted nearly 2.8 billion searches on YouTube, about 200 million more than on Yahoo, according to comScore.

This startling statistic prompted Alex Iskold, the founder and chief executive of Adaptiveblue.com, a Web start-up, to ask in a blog post, “Is YouTube the next Google?” In other words, is YouTube effective as a mainstream search engine, and might it supplant or rival Google some day?

To test the idea, Mr. Iskold, whose inquiry was inspired partly by a conversation with Ian Kennedy, Tyler’s father, about his son’s search habits, performed a series of queries on YouTube and rated the results. Not surprisingly, some searches (vacuuming carpets, Donkey from Shrek) produced better results than others (George Washington, astrophysics).

As more video is added to the Web, the proportion of video searches that deliver satisfactory answers will grow, too. The question is, how far will video go as an alternative to text?

Mr. Iskold said that two factors would naturally limit video’s potential to supplant text on the Web. First, much content doesn’t lend itself well to video. And the Internet derives much of its utility from the web of links connecting its sites. But Mr. Iskold said that a shift toward video would continue, and that young Internet users, like Tyler, would only accelerate it. (In the comments section of Ms. Iskold’s blog post, two other parents said that their sons also used YouTube as their primary search tool.)

At YouTube, Hunter Walk, a director of product management, said the move toward video might not necessarily lead to a decline in the consumption of text or other media. Video, text and other formats, he said, will complement one another in interesting ways.

Mr. Walk said a good example is provided by an ad for Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Democratic presidential primaries — the one in which a voice asks “Who do you want answering the phone?” at the White House at 3 a.m. during a crisis. A search for “Hillary Clinton 3 a.m.” on Google would bring up news stories about the ad and the controversy surrounding it. On YouTube, the same search brought up the original commercial, as well a response by the Barack Obama campaign, pundits’ commentaries and an assortment of spoofs, giving users a much different understanding of how the story unfolded, Mr. Walk said.

“Video is part of the discovery process,” he said. “Depending on the user and the type of content, users may want to start with video or text.”

YouTube won’t break out searches by category, but Mr. Chandratillake said that on Blinkx, some of the fastest-growing searches were in reference categories like money, travel, health and food. More traditional categories, like entertainment, sports and user-generated content, remain more popular but are growing at a slower rate, suggesting a shift.

Tyler’s father, Mr. Kennedy, who is a product manager at Nokia, said he has watched Tyler and his friends going from the Wii to the computer and back to the Wii enough times to understand how much the use of online video is changing. “All of us who are a certain age think of video as a medium associated with television, and not as a reference,” Mr. Kennedy said. “It’s another method of search that we don’t fully appreciate.”

Source: NY Times

Panda Security: Downadup worm infects 1 in every 16 PCs

Scans show 6% of PCs already hit with worm; figure may be as high as 30%

The computer worm responsible for the biggest attack in years has infected at least one out of every 16 PCs worldwide, a security company said today, and it may have managed to compromise as many as nearly one in three.

According to Panda Security, almost 6% of the Windows systems scanned with its antivirus technology were found to be infected with "Downadup," a worm that began aggressive attacks just over a week ago. Panda was one of the first security firms to sound an alarm over Downadup when it raised its security threat level on Jan. 12 as reports of attacks mounted.

Using data from antivirus scans performed by its consumer-grade security software and by a free online scanning tool that it makes available on its Web site, Panda found 111,379 PCs infected with the worm out of a pool of 2 million machines.

"I'm pretty confident in this number," said Ryan Sherstobitoff, chief corporate evangelist at Panda Security, as he cautioned it was just a snapshot. "Conficker is still infecting high volumes of machines and is a fast-propagating worm."

Conficker is an alternate name for the Downadup worm.

In fact, Panda's estimate is probably very conservative, Sherstobitoff said, since the bulk of the infected computers were scanned when their owners took the time to steer their browsers to the company's online scanner.

"The 6% was of people coming to our site and opting in for the scans. That's somewhat scary," said Sherstobitoff. "If we were actually to look at the [general] population, all the people who don't have antivirus -- or if they do, who haven't updated definitions -- the infection rate might be in the range of 20% to 30%."

While there has been some disagreement among security researchers about Downadup's infection volume -- last week, for instance, some disputed F-Secure Corp.'s estimate of 8.9 million infected PCs -- there has been little argument about the relative size of the worm attack. Nearly every researcher has pegged it as the biggest in years.

Today, Panda joined the chorus. "This is the biggest in at least six years," said Sherstobitoff.

Luis Corrons, the technical director of Panda's research lab, put it in the same terms. "[This is] a phenomenon we haven't seen since the times of the great epidemics of Kournikova or Blaster," said Corrons in a statement, referring to major worm attacks of 2001 and 2003, respectively.

And things will get worse before they get better, both Corrons and Sherstobitoff predicted. "This is an epidemic, and the worst may still be to come, as the worm could begin to download more malware onto computers or to spread through other channels," Corrons said.

"We're still getting lots of reports of infections," echoed Sherstobitoff. "It could be a week or a week and a half before it slows down."

On a related note, the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) today said that Microsoft's advice for disabling Windows' "Autorun" feature is flawed and leaves users open to attack from the worm.

Source: ComputerWorld

Microsoft, Moonlight reach across aisle to Linux desktops

Looks like the spirit of bipartisan cooperation in D.C. has already left its mark on the PC.

Last night, we’re told, Microsoft worked together with Novell-sponsored Mono Project and Moonlight team to enable Linux desktop users to view the inauguration events using the open source implementation of Silverlight.

Silverlight is Microsoft’s browser plug-in and was selected by the presidential inauguration committee to broadcast today’s inauguration events over the Internet. But it only supports Windows and Macintosh, and that caused some in the Linux community to cry foul.

Moonlight, the open source project working on an implementation of Silverlight for Linux, is still in beta. Yesterday, after protesters posted irate comments on Slash.com, we posted our own blog about the dispute. In it, Moonlight chief and Novell vp Miguel de Icaza indicated that the open source version wasn’t quite ready for the inauguration.

But it looks like Microsoft — or Novell — reached across the aisle to get the matter resolved. de Icaza posted his cheerful update today. Proprietary Microsoft and Linux backer Novell promote two different operating systems yet have collaborated in the past to enable interoperability. Why not on this?

A Novell spokeswoman sent this note to this ZDNet blogger:

“With millions of people flooding the streets of the Capital and temps expected to be in the low teens today in D.C, one of the best places to see the historic swearing in ceremony may be right in front of your computer. Thanks to the Moonlight team working late into the night last night with Microsoft to offer an open source implementation of Silverlight, Linux and Power PC Mac users will also be able view today’s inauguration event streaming online,” she wrote.

Wow, talk about a new era. Microsoft has worked hard as of late to prove it is serious about interoperability with Linux and supporting open source projects. Let’s hope it continues through this presidential term.

Sorry to say I got this note too late to try it out myself . I was busy watching the events on TV, the legacy broadcast device that it is.

Source: ZDNET

Apple chief’s leave not the end of the world

Last Wednesday, I received a news release with an e-mail CEO Steve Jobs sent to all Apple employees.

In it he stated that his health-related issues were more complex than he originally thought and that he had decided to take a medical leave of absence until the end of June to “focus on his health and to allow everyone at Apple to focus on delivering extraordinary products.”

Since then, the story has been debated, disputed and discussed endlessly. Has Steve’s pancreatic cancer returned? Has Apple been completely forthcoming? Will operations chief Tim Cook, now in charge of day-to-day operations, be up to the task? Will Steve really be back in June?

So much has already been said that I considered writing about something else this week. But I’ve had nearly a week since the story broke to get a little perspective.

First and foremost, Apple will be fine. It has an excellent senior management team in place, all handpicked by you-know-who. Furthermore, most of them have been at Apple for a long time, so they know how things are done. Finally, as Steve’s e-mail message states, he plans to remain involved in major strategic decisions while he is out.

So I think, at least for the next six months, it’s going to be business as usual for Apple. The big difference is that Steve won’t be in the office every day. And don’t forget that products we see in 2009 have been in the pipeline for a while, so they all have the Steve Jobs seal of approval.

In other words, I think what’s going to happen at Apple over the next six months without Steve Jobs is pretty much the same as what would have happened with him.

As for his health, come on. He told us that he’s sick and taking time off to recover. Why not just take him at his word? Only he and his medical team are privy to the facts, and I assure you they’re not about to share them. It’s none of our business anyway, so let’s just stop with the speculation and let the poor guy recover in peace.

In conclusion, allow me steal a line from Mr. Jobs: I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this for now.

Source: Houston Chronicle

Top 3 Linux Introductions for Beginners

From where I sit, a new Linux user needs a Linux that's close enough to the desktop they already know-almost always Windows-so they can quickly start using it. That way, they can clearly see the benefits of Linux, such as its stability, security, and speed, without being slowed down by the need to learn new ways of doing things.

The easiest way to start is to buy a PC that already has Linux installed on it. That way, all you have to do is turn it on. All the major vendors have at least one Linux PC, laptop, or netbook for sale these days.

My personal favorite is the Dell Mini 9 with Ubuntu Linux 8.04.1. Dell's $299 Ubuntu-powered netbook uses the 1.6GHz Intel Atom 270 Diamondville CPU.

This netbook comes with from 512MBs or 2GB of RAM. For storage, you can choose from 4, 8, or 164GB SSD (solid state drives). The display is 8.9-inches and its graphics are supported by the Diamondville's built-in 945GSE graphics.

Dell's Ubuntu-equipped PCs, including the Mini 9, also comes with a legal commercial DVD player and the ability to play MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio), and WMV (Windows Media Video. In other words, Dell's Ubuntu computers are Windows-user friendly.

You don't have to buy Dell. There are other Linux netbooks where Windows users will feel somewhat at home. These include the ASUS Eee PC 1000 with Xandros Linux, which looks and feels a lot like Windows XP, and HP's forthcoming 2140 Mini-Note for business users. While the 2140's Linux, Novell SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 SP2 isn't especially Windows user friendly, it is very Windows network friendly. This makes it an interesting choice for businesses considering desktop Linux.

Let's say you don't want to buy a Linux-equipped PC. How can you try Linux with no tears then? In this case, your next choice is to try Linux with a Live Linux CD or USB. These are Linux distributions that will boot and run from either a CD/DVD drive or a USB stick.

Live Linux won't run as fast on your PC as a native installation, but in every other way it will let you know what Linux will be like on your own computer. Most, but not all, distributions now support Live CDs and/or USB sticks. For example, the big three community Linux distributions, Fedora 10, openSUSE 11.1 and Ubuntu 8.10 all support Live CDs.

For a new user, though, I think your best choice would be Linux Mint 6 aka Felicia. Mint, which I'll write about in detail soon, is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that includes easy access to proprietary software. It also has an especially easy to use new software installer and updater.

Like Ubuntu with Wubi, Mint comes with a program, mint4win, that lets you set up Linux on your Windows PC pretty much just as if it were a Windows application. Its performance won't be good as if you had set it up in a good virtualization program such as VMware Workstation or Sun's VirtualBox, but it will better than running it from a CD. This gives you a chance to live with Linux with little effort and minimal changes to your Windows PC.

Finally, if you're ready to bite the bullet and install a Linux, besides the other distributions, I've mentioned, I'd like to tip my hat to MEPIS Linux 7. MEPIS is a Debian-based distro that I've been using for years. I agree with its creator, Warren Woodford, when he says, "SimplyMEPIS just works." It does.

You can try it in its Live CD version first, but if you're ready to give Linux a full try, you'll soon find yourself installing it for good. I'm currently using MEPIS 7 as my main desktop Linux on a Dell Inspiron 530s PC. This is powered by a 2.2GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800MHz front side bus, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB SATA drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 Graphics Media Accelerator. MEPIS isn't just a good beginner Linux; it's a great Linux desktop distribution for any user.

So, there you go. You can buy a ready-to-go Linux system, try a Live Linux distro, or, just bite the bullet and run Mint, MEPIS, or another easy to use Linux. Which ever course you take, I think if you give desktop Linux a fair shot, you'll find yourself using Linux from that time on.

Source: Computer World

Press Ticked Off at Apple

Does CNBC's Silicon Valley bureau chief owe viewers an apology?

Emotions are flaring in the media in the wake of Steve Jobs' announcement earlier this week that he plans to take a five month leave of absence for health reasons.

While the announcement from Apple was straightforward (a terse e-mail from Jobs to employees), It comes only a week after Jobs downplayed his health issues as a hormone imbalance he was being treated for. Jobs is a survivor of a rare form of treatable pancreatic cancer.

"That announcement was more like a Facebook status line," said Nell Minnow, founder of The Corporate Library, told InternetNews.com. "This is the ultimate, alpha example of a problem [with disclosure] we see at a lot of big companies, but in this case Steve Jobs is the brand, the asset."

With the possibility of investor lawsuits looming, news outlets, including this one, have been digging in to Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) lack of forthrightness on its CEO's health and whether even this week's admission by Jobs that his issues are "more complicated" than he said last week, goes far enough.

Over at CNBC, a verbal food fight erupted Thursday when a guest panelist suggested the cable channel's Silicon Valley bureau chief owed viewers an apology for towing to Apple's earlier line that Jobs was fine. "You should apologize to your viewers for having gotten it so wrong," Dan Lyons said to CNBC's Jim Goldman. He also said "Apple has played fast and loose with the truth for six or eight months now."

Lyons, who now works at Newsweek, wrote the wickedly, satirical fakestevejobs blog until last year. He reportedly canceled the blog out of concern over Jobs' health.

By that measure, he has no concerns over Goldman's health, ripping the TV reporter on air.

"There are two kinds of reporters, the kind that are snowed and realize they're getting played by Apple, and the other kind that suck up in order to get access, that get played and punked like your Valley bureau chief," said Lyons.

But the timing of Lyons' critique was ironic. Goldman had just got done questioning Apple's credibility given the turnabout of Jobs' latest announcement.

"What has happened the past week is bordering on deplorable," said Goldman. "I don't understand how Steve Jobs himself can come forward just a week ago that he is suffering from an easily treatable hormonal imbalance and how in a matter of mere days he suffered this medical whiplash and all of a sudden he needs a six month leave of absence because these health issues have suddenly become far more complex. It just doesn't work at all."

As for Lyons' specific charges, Goldman said he can only report what his sources tell him "which I trust" and what he hears from Apple.

What to believe?
It all quite amusing to longtime tech pundit John C. Dvorak, known for his acerbic column in PC Mag.

"I love it," said Dvorak.

But although he's never been shy about criticizing tech companies, including Apple, Dvorak said he's taking a wait-and-see attitude on whether Jobs deliberately misled or lied about his condition. Apple told InternetNews.com earlier this week, that Jobs' e-mail on his leave of absence is the only information the company could provide on the matter.

"The question everyone wants to know that's relatively simple, but no one wants to bring up is, 'is Steve Jobs dying?' But as far as I'm concerned, if Apple says he's not and Steve says he's not, I assume he's not," Dvorak told InternetNews.com.

"But if it turns out Apple has gone out of its way to play the media, they'll pay a price for that. As a publicly held company, there'll be hell to pay."

Source: InternetNews

Apple shares fall after Steve Jobs health announcement

Shares of Apple Inc. fell 4 per cent in early trading Thursday as investors struggled to parse the latest disclosure from CEO Steve Jobs about his health and his need to go on leave until the end of June.

The 53-year-old Apple co-founder, a survivor of pancreatic cancer who appeared gaunt last year, said Wednesday after the stock market closed that he is stepping away from his daily duties because his health problems have become “more complex.” Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, will take over.

In contrast, as recently as Jan. 5, Mr. Jobs tried to assure investors and employees that he had discovered his weight loss was caused by a treatable hormone deficiency. In that statement, he said he had begun a “relatively simple and straightforward” treatment and insisted he would remain at Apple's helm.

Mr. Jobs' reversal sent Apple shares sliding to one-year lows in extended trading Wednesday, but by Thursday morning they had recovered slightly, and were down $3.49, 4.1 per cent, at $81.84 (U.S.).

Apple's stock has surged and tumbled over the last year in step with rumours or news about the CEO's condition. While the top executive's health is an issue for investors in any company, at Apple the concern reaches fever pitch because Mr. Jobs has a hand in everything from ideas for new products to the way they're marketed.

Mr. Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 at the dawn of the personal computer revolution. He was forced from the company in 1985 but returned as CEO in 1997, slashing unprofitable product lines and helping rescue the company from financial ruin.

Since then, under Mr. Jobs' demanding leadership, Apple has churned out a string of sleek gadgets, from the iMac and the iPod to a new line of aluminum-covered Macbooks and the coveted iPhone. Many investors fear that without Mr. Jobs, Apple would not be able to sustain its growth or its high-end minimalist style.

Last week, Mr. Jobs said his disclosure of his hormone problem was “more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say” about his health. It came on the eve of Macworld, the biggest Apple trade show of the year, at which Mr. Jobs traditionally delivered the keynote address to avid fans.

In December, Apple said Mr. Jobs would not take the stage as usual, stoking more rumours and prompting Mr. Jobs' Jan. 5 letter, which he said he hoped would allow everyone to relax.

The limited amount of information in that announcement and Wednesday's update left medical experts guessing. Some specialists said Mr. Jobs' past pancreatic cancer could be the problem, given the organ's role in digestion and nutrition.

Apple's overall secrecy and its history of keeping information about Mr. Jobs' health under wraps is only increasing the speculation. The company waited until after Mr. Jobs underwent surgery in 2004 to treat a very rare form of pancreatic cancer — an islet cell neuroendocrine tumour — before alerting investors. That type of cancer is easily cured if diagnosed early, unlike the deadlier and more common adenocarcinoma.

And last summer, Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple insisted Mr. Jobs' weight loss was due to a common bug.

The New York Times reported Thursday, citing two undisclosed people familiar with Mr. Jobs' condition, that Mr. Jobs was not suffering from a recurrence of cancer, but that his body was having trouble absorbing food.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling would not elaborate on Mr. Jobs' condition or what he discovered in the past week.

“They'll tell you the least they can tell you,” longtime industry analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technology Associates said. “They're trying to have it both ways, to protect their guy's privacy and feelings and at the same time somehow signal the market.”

Mr. Cook, who ran Apple for two months in 2004 when Mr. Jobs was recovering from his cancer surgery, is seen as one of Mr. Jobs' most likely successors, along with Apple's top marketing executive, Philip Schiller. American Technology Research analyst Brian Marshall — who last week predicted Mr. Jobs would step down this year — said Wednesday's announcement tips the bets in Mr. Cook's favour.

“The company has been soft-signalling to the Street for a while now that Steve Jobs is not going to be CEO forever,” he said. “This will be sort of a trial period for Cook to be chief executive.”

Mr. Cook, 48, lacks Mr. Jobs' charisma and showmanship, but is seen as a solid pick.

“Tim Cook is a very experienced and highly regarded chief operating officer,” said Calyon Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi. “He's qualified.”

Source: GlobeandMail

Linux: Ubuntu 9.04 Test Drive

There are only two days left until the third Alpha version of the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) will be available (for testing), and... we couldn't resist the temptation to take the current daily build for a test drive, before our usual screenshot tour, and taste the "sweetness" of that evolutionary EXT4 Linux filesystem. Announced on Christmas Eve, the EXT4 filesystem is now declared stable and it is distributed with version 2.6.28 of the Linux kernel and later. However, the good news is that the EXT4 filesystem was implemented in the upcoming Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha 3 a couple of days ago and it will be available in the Ubuntu Installer, if you choose manual partitioning (see the screenshot below for details). The bad news is that EXT4 will not be the default filesystem for the Ubuntu OS until version 9.10, due for release in late October this year.

OK, OK... so how will the end user benefit from this EXT4 filesystem? Well, first of all, the whole system will be much faster and more reliable compared to one with EXT3 (I guess that some of you still remember the Firefox/Ext3 issue), it will boot faster (the current article proves that) and it's able to handle files with sizes of up to 16 TB (terabytes). But these are just a few of the features brought by the fourth extended filesystem, for more details you can check the Wikipedia entry for EXT4.



We've tested the boot process of a default Ubuntu 8.10 and 9.04 Alpha (Build 20090112.1) installation on two machines, an AMD Sempron 1.8 Ghz, 80 GB IDE hard drive with 512 RAM DDR and an Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 running at 2.2 Ghz, 250 GB SATA hard drive with 4 GB RAM DDR2. Here are the results of our tests:

· Ubuntu 8.10 with EXT3 filesystem boots in 31.8 seconds (on the AMD Sempron system);
· Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha (Build 20090112.1) with EXT3 filesystem boots in 28.3 seconds (on the AMD Sempron system);
· Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha (Build 20090112.1) with EXT4 filesystem boots in 23.1 seconds (on the AMD Sempron system).

· Ubuntu 8.10 with EXT3 filesystem boots in 26.8 seconds (on the Intel Core 2 Duo system);
· Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha (Build 20090112.1) with EXT3 filesystem boots in 24.5 seconds (on the Intel Core 2 Duo system);
· Ubuntu 9.04 Alpha (Build 20090112.1) with EXT4 filesystem boots in 21.4 seconds (on the Intel Core 2 Duo system)!

The boot times were calculated from the moment the GRUB boot loader appeared on the screen and until the login manager was displayed. As you can see, there is an approximately 10 second difference between an Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) installation and an Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) one. But this does not stop us from hoping that the boot times will decrease even more until the final version of Ubuntu 9.04 hits the streets.

Currently, EXT4 can only be applied from the text mode installation of Ubuntu 9.04 (the Alternate CD). Don't forget to check our website on Thursday for the screenshot tour of Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) Alpha 3 when we will reveal even more goodies from the Ubuntu land.

Source: Softpedia

25 Dangerous Coding Errors

The US National Security Agency has helped put together a list of the world's most dangerous coding mistakes.

The 25 entry list contains errors that can lead to security holes or vulnerable areas that can be targeted by cyber criminals.

Experts say many of these errors are not well understood by programmers.

According to the SANS Institute in Maryland, just two of the errors led to more than 1.5m web site security breaches during 2008.

It is thought that this is the first time the industry has reached agreement on the worst things that can creep into software as it is being written.

More than 30 organisations, including the US National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft, and Symantec published the document.

THE TOP 25 MOST DANGEROUS PROGRAMMING ERRORS
CWE-20:Improper Input Validation
CWE-116:Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
CWE-89:Failure to Preserve SQL Query Structure
CWE-79:Failure to Preserve Web Page Structure
CWE-78:Failure to Preserve OS Command Structure
CWE-319:Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
CWE-352:Cross-Site Request Forgery
CWE-362:Race Condition
CWE-209:Error Message Information Leak
CWE-119:Failure to Constrain Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
CWE-642:External Control of Critical State Data
CWE-73:External Control of File Name or Path
CWE-426:Untrusted Search Path
CWE-94:Failure to Control Generation of Code
CWE-494:Download of Code Without Integrity Check
CWE-404:Improper Resource Shutdown or Release
CWE-665:Improper Initialization
CWE-682:Incorrect Calculation
CWE-285:Improper Access Control
CWE-327:Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm
CWE-259:Hard-Coded Password
CWE-732:Insecure Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
CWE-330:Use of Insufficiently Random Values
CWE-250:Execution with Unnecessary Privileges
CWE-602:Client-Side Enforcement of Server-Side Security
Source: SANS Institute

"The top 25 list gives developers a minimum set of coding errors that must be eradicated before software is used by customers," said Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer with Veracode.

"There appears to be broad agreement on the programming errors," says SANS director, Mason Brown, "Now it is time to fix them."

"We need to make sure every programmer knows how to write code that is free of the top 25 errors."

"Then we need to make sure every programming team has processes in place to find and fix these problems [in existing code] and has the tools needed to verify their code is as free of these errors," he said.

Patrick Lincoln, director of the Computer Science Laboratory at SRI International, told the BBC that if programmers prevented these errors appearing in their code, it would deter the majority of hackers.

"This list is primarily for people who have first responsibility for designing a system. Veteran programmers have probably learnt the hard way whereas a brand new programmer will be making more basic errors."

"The real dedicated serial attacker will probably find a way in even if all these errors were removed. But a high school hacker with malicious intent - ankle-biters if you will - would be deterred from breaking in."

Previously, most advice has focused on vulnerabilities that can result from programming errors. The top 25 list examines the actual programming errors themselves.

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the principal adviser to the President, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council also lent their support to the list.

In a statement, they said: "We believe that integrity of hardware and software products is a critical for cyber security. "

"Creating more secure software is a fundamental aspect of system and network security, given that the federal government and the nation's critical infrastructure depend on commercial products for business operations."

"The top 25 is an important component of an overall security initiative for our country. We applaud this effort and encourage the utility of this tool through other venues such as cyber education."

Source: BBC News

Why launches of Chrome for Mac, Linux so late?

Google is finally acceding to customer demands for Mac and Linux versions of its open-source Chrome browser, promising to release full versions of Chrome for Mac and Linux in the first half of 2009.

According to Brian Rakowski, Chrome's product manager, more work is needed first:

That (Mac development) team now is able to render most Web pages pretty well. But in terms of the user experience, it's very basic. We have not spent any time building out features. We're still iterating on making it stable and getting the architecture right.

So progress needs to be made, but at least it's firmly on the agenda. The real question for me is, why wasn't it top of the agenda from the beginning? No offense to Windows users, but Mac and Linux users have tended to include a wide range of early adopters (especially in the Mac camp) and technically savvy people (especially in the Linux camp).

Aren't these the sorts of groups that Google would want using its software?

I understand the desire to cater to the mainstream majority that uses Internet Explorer, and I also can appreciate a subversive interest in smacking Microsoft around a little by offering a competing browser on the Windows platform, but I still find it odd to introduce a disruptive browser on that most nondisruptive of operating systems, Windows.

The evangelists live on the Mac. The geeks that will hack new extensions live on Linux. Both are devout and generally faithful to (formerly) underappreciated operating systems.

I would have started with these, but at least Google has now set a date for spreading to them.

Source: CNET

The New Frontier: In-car Computing

Cell phones and TVs converging with the Internet? That's so 2008. The next big tech trend may be the marriage of computer technology to your car or truck.

This month, Hyundai is launching a system that warns motorists when they drift out of the lane they're traveling in. Another manufacturer has developed pedestrian-detection software that works with heat-seeking cameras to alert drivers when someone is in their path.

In March, Ford will release a fully functional, dashboard computer -- complete with keyboard -- geared to contractors and other business folks who want to access the Web, review documents and log inventory while on the go. In the spring, AT&T will launch an in-car entertainment service with 22 satellite TV channels.

Industry executives hope the new technological bells and whistles will put some sizzle back into stagnant vehicle sales.

"Consumers want a vehicle that's always on and always connected," said Kieran O'Sullivan, vice president at Continental Automotive Systems, which supplies parts and technology to automakers. In the near future, he said, "consumers and carmakers will be able to customize the [dashboard] instrument panel to their individual tastes the same way that people customize their mobile phones."

O'Sullivan spoke Thursday at a panel discussion at the International Consumer Electronics Show subtitled, "The Automobile's Convergence with Consumer Electronics." Panelists, including executives from Microsoft, Nokia and GM's OnStar service, agreed the industry is just beginning to tap the potential of in-car computing.

"We'll someday use this information technology in ways we can't even predict today," said Tom Phillips, general manager of Microsoft's automotive unit. "To me, we're in the infancy in terms of the amount of evolution that's going to occur."

As consumers are growing accustomed to having mobile Internet through their smart phones, more car buyers are seeking connectivity in their vehicles that will allow them to move seamlessly between their digital lives at work and home, panelists said.

Half of the new vehicles sold in the United States are now compatible with MP3 players and 80 percent can connect with wireless Bluetooth headsets, said automotive technology expert John Waraniak, who served as the panel's moderator. iReport.com: Are you attending CES?

General Motors' OnStar service, which can remotely unlock car doors, reduce gas flow to a stolen vehicle or dial 911 if a car is involved in a crash, now has almost 6 million subscribers. Toyota said this week it plans to launch a similar driver-assist program on certain models beginning this summer.

Not to be outdone, Ford's similar Sync system, which now comes standard on many vehicles, is adding voice-activated, on-demand traffic, sports and weather reports, plus GPS-assisted navigation. In a keynote speech Thursday at CES, Ford CEO Alan Mulally said the automaker is learning to think more like an electronics company.

Ford will begin installing its Works Solutions package on its full-size pickups and E-series vans this spring. The dashboard computing system costs $1,195 plus a monthly Web access fee, has a 6-inch touch screen and runs on Windows. It will allow electricians and other contractors to create Excel spreadsheets, print invoices and even access other computers.

"Ford is truly making the office mobile," said Ford product development manager Bill Frykman while demonstrating the system Thursday to reporters in an F-150 parked in a large tent outside the Las Vegas Convention Center. "This bridges the gap between the full laptop and a smart phone."

Meanwhile, an entire hall at CES is devoted to the latest in automotive technology, from portable navigation units to rear-mounted cameras which, with the help of a dashboard screen, allow the driver to see what's immediately behind his vehicle while backing up.

Here's a quick peek at some other automotive technology on display at CES this week:

-- FLIR Systems, Inc. makes a thermal-imaging camera, an option on BMW's 6-series sedans, with a new pedestrian-detection feature. When the camera detects a heat source in the shape of a human being, the on-board computer alerts the driver by highlighting the pedestrian in yellow on the dashboard screen.

-- AT&T's CruiseCast service brings 22 satellite TV channels to your vehicle with the help of a small rooftop antenna, augmented by video-buffering technology that supposedly maintains the signal underneath overpasses and trees.

It will cost $1,299 plus a $28 monthly fee and is being pitched to parents with kids and pre-game tailgaters. "It's an extension of your living room," said Jackie Lapin, a spokeswoman for AT&T.

-- Nervous about handing the car keys to your 16-year-old? The CarChip ($119) plugs into any post-1995 model vehicle and records 300 hours of how the car has been driven, including mileage, speed, braking and acceleration.

Parents can remove the chip, download its data to a computer and use the information to verify driving agreements with their teens. Newer features even let parents set restrictions on their kids' driving.

"If you want to set it at a certain speed -- say, 'I don't want my kid going over 65 mph' -- it'll beep at them until they slow down," said Michael Copeland, sales manager for manufacturer Davis Instruments.

-- Hyundai's latest vehicles can be outfitted with a system that detects when a car is drifting across lanes, then sounds a buzzer or vibrates the wheel to alert the driver. Some Hyundai vehicles also contain ultrasonic sensors that help drivers to park by measuring the distance between a car and other objects.

In fact, the next generation of automotive technology may employ automatic steering and braking systems that relieve drivers of much of the responsibility for, well, driving.

"Maybe 15 years from now, cars will drive themselves. That's certainly a goal some companies have," said Jay James of FLIR Systems. "It's not just 'Jetsons' stuff now. It's really starting to happen."

Source: CNN

Windows 7 Beta Delayed Due to Traffic

Microsoft has delayed the Windows 7 public beta, due to traffic issues on the Microsoft Web site, according to a Friday afternoon post on the Windows Team blog.

"Due to very heavy traffic we're seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta," Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc wrote. "We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta."

As of 4:55 PM, the main Windows 7 page was not showing a link to the beta. The TechNet page was also reporting that the beta had been delayed: "Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta," the site reads. "The volume has been phenomenal -- we're in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand. We're sorry for the delay and we'll re-post the Beta as soon as we can ensure a quality download experience.

It's for reasons like these that the BitTorrent protocol was invented. Why not let your customers share the bandwidth burden, Microsoft?

Source: PC Mag

Chrome 2.0: Mac, Linux Versions Coming Soon

Google has rolled out an alpha preview of the next major revision for its Chrome web browser. Those undaunted by the current alpha status of 2.0 can get an early taste of what’s to come in Chrome.

The 2.0 preview has a number of new features, including an updated version of the WebKit rendering engine which boasts speed improvements as well as some additional CSS support. Other new features include bells and whistles missing from the current shipping version, such as form auto-complete, full page zooming, auto-scrolling, better profile support and very experimental support for Greasemonkey scripts.

The Chrome 2.0 alpha also has some big news for for Mac and Linux users who’d like to try Chrome: Chrome 2.0 uses its own HTTP network library rather than the WinHTTP library on Windows.

The Windows-only HTTP library was one of the main stumbling blocks to cross-platform support and now that it’s gone the Mac and Linux versions should see some significant progress in the near future.

Chrome is unique among the current field of browsers in that there are three ways to run it — the default, which is simply the latest stable release (currently 1.0), the beta channel, which offers monthly updates and could have bugs here and there, and the developer channel, which will give you the latest bleeding edge builds and is almost guaranteed to have bugs. [For the sake of clarity, what's unique about Chrome is that you can run the various builds from within the same container app; whereas, something like Firefox requires separate downloads for each version. Chrome's "channels" model, makes it somewhat easier to experiment with with the non-stable versions of the app.]

The latest Chrome 2.0 preview falls in the developer category and is not recommended for the average user, though if you enable it and it causes problems, it isn’t hard to switch back to the stable version.

If you’d like to enjoy the auto-complete feature or enable your favorite Greasemonkey scripts, make sure you have Chrome installed and then download the Chrome Channel Changer (.exe link); run that app and select the developer channel. Then open Chrome, click the wrench menu and choose “About Google Chrome” where you’ll need to click “Update Now” to install the current channel’s release. After that you’ll need to restart Chrome.

If the 2.0 alpha doesn’t live up to your stability expectations, just reverse the instructions to get the stable version back.

And remember, Chrome is an open project so you can track the progress of Chrome for Mac and Chrome for Linux.

Source: Wired

Yahoo to Bring Web Content to TV

Yahoo will work with several partners to bring its Web content to television sets.
The company said Wednesday that it would launch widget technology to deliver its content to the entertainment devices in users' living rooms. Yahoo Connected TV will use a Widget Engine to allow users to search for and watch "cinematic Internet" tailored for television.
The effort takes Yahoo's partnership with Intel for a Widget Channel a step further. Yahoo and Intel also announced the release of a Widget Development Kit this week. The kit is available to third-party developers, advertisers, and content producers. In the spring, consumer electronics manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics, and VIZIO will release Internet-connected television sets to support Yahoo's Internet content.
"Yahoo has combined key attributes of the Internet, including openness, community, and personalization, with the power of television," Patrick Barry, VP of Connected TV Yahoo, said in a prepared statement. "By creating this revolutionary new Internet experience and combining our technology with the global distribution of major consumer electronics partners, we enable consumers to access the relevant information and content to enhance their television watching experience."

Yahoo's Widget Engine is based on the Konfabulator widget platform for PCs.

Yahoo's own developers and those from eBay, MySpace, CBS, The New York Times, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Showtime, USA TODAY, and Twitter, among others, are involved in the effort.

"Consumers are increasingly looking for a richer TV experience, including the ability to integrate personalized Internet content and interactive experiences on the screen," Allen Weiner, research VP for Gartner, said in a statement.

"Those companies who succeed as leading TV 2.0 portals will be those well positioned to make the connected TV a reality through strong global partnerships, innovative technology and expertise in creating open platforms. Developers will have the tools to bring the best of the Internet to TV, thus increasing the amount of Internet-enabled content and services available and ultimately transforming the TV viewing experience for millions of consumers," said Weiner.

Source: InformationWeek

Phoenix's HyperSpace fast-boot Linux add-on

PC BIOS giant Phoenix Technologies today launched a fast-booting Linux add-on for Windows PCs. This hands-on review finds "HyperSpace" works to redress slow boot times, WiFi connection hassles, and short battery lives typical of Windows PCs, but sacrifices a lot of flexibility in order to achieve these goals.

Increasingly, notebook and even netbook vendors are grafting fast-booting Linux environments onto Windows PCs. In fact, Linux Foundation Director Jim Zemlin recently theorized that the trend could result in Linux out-shipping Windows by year's end.

Fast-boot environments such as HyperSpace, DeviceVM Splashtop, Asus ExpressGate, Dell Latitude On, Toshiba Qosmio, and InterVideo's original InstantON are typically rebranded by OEMs, so few will realize they are using Linux. That could actually be a good thing for Linux's reputation on the desktop, given that many of these environments are pretty limited.

HyperSpace flavors and experiences

Phoenix offers a "Hybrid" version of HyperSpace that leverages virtualization hardware built into most laptop chips. This version lets the user cold-boot into Linux, launch a Firefox 3.0-based browser, acquire a WiFi connection, and begin working in about 40 seconds, we found in testing on a Lenovo T400. After that, suspend and resume is basically instant, and can be controlled by opening or closing the lid.

Thanks to virtualization support, the Hybrid flavor of HyperSpace lets you browse in Linux while booting Windows in the background -- about a four minute orde... er, process, for Vista Business with the T400's T9600 processor clocked at 2.8GHz. Once both OSes are up, the F4 function key or a sidebar widget can be used to toggle between them. Additionally, a rudimentary filemanager affords a view of "My Documents" from within Linux, though all documents -- even simple JPEG images -- must be opened only from within Windows.

Phoenix also offers a "Dual" version of HyperSpace for chips lacking virtualization hardware, such as Intel's Atom processor for netbooks. Without virtualization support, the Linux environment must be shut down in order to boot Windows. But, a nifty hand-off mechanism allows some communication between the OSes: clicking on an unsupported file type in the Linux environment's browser brings up the option to "open the file with Windows." Additionally, both versions of HyperSpace we tested were able to hand network connection information over to Windows, to avoid reconfiguration delays.

Phoenix says HyperSpace's Linux environment uses "up to 50 percent less" power than Windows, on some systems. While the wording is odd, we believe the power savings are significant, albeit with a price. The implementations of HyperSpace on our two test systems appeared to keep most peripheral circuits powered off when running in Linux-only mode. This affected our ability to connect USB mice and, in the case of the S10 netbook, an external amp and speakers. Additionally, the implementation in our test systems may have curtailed the Linux system's access to memory a little too aggressively as a power saving measure, because we experienced a few OOMs (out-of-memory errors) when using Firefox with Gmail.

Easy WiFi connectivity is another feature touted by Phoenix, and here, we could not dither. The interface is very friendly, and it even supports half a dozen cellular data cards (which we did not have to test, though).

Phoenix says its focus on network automation, fast boot, and battery life resulted from a forum that identified these as the top priorities among notebook consumers.

Other features and quibbles

HyperSpace appeared to work mostly as described by Phoenix on our two test systems. However, the technology is very new, and the tested systems were pre-production models. Thus, in addition to about a dozen bugs Phoenix admitted it is rushing to fix, we encountered these:

Hitting Ctrl-Alt-Backspace in the Linux environment "zaps" the Xorg server, causing an unrecoverable crash. Other implementers will hopefully build their Xorg binaries without this unfortunate Xorg "feature," a vestige of the antediluvian days when Linux window manager crashes were actually quite common (though even back then, it was usually better to ssh in from another system and respawn the wm)

The Linux environment really only offers a browser, Adobe PDF reader, Flash, and Java plugins at this point. Other fast-boot Linux environments offer media players, photo browsers, and so on. Presumably, some OEMs may choose to include other applications, such as Skype.

Users can't add browser plug-ins themselves, though Phoenix promises regular updates to paid subscribers. On the plus side, users can add Firefox extensions.

The systems' HyperSpace partitions appear to use non-standard partition types and/or filesystems unrecognized by standard Linux utilities such as grub and mount. The Windows partitions could not be resized with ntfs-resize, though I'm mystified as to why. The S10 netbook's disk actually had 14GB of unused space, which I used to install Debian Lenny (which ran perfectly, in limited testing). However, grub could not recognize the HyperSpace partition, so installing Lenny meant I lost access to HyperSpace. Things might have worked had I installed grub to a partition, instead of the MBR. Or, failing that, on a USB key.

The "HyperSpace" browser is actually Firefox 3.0, a glance at about:config confirms (Opera also says its browser can be used in the environment). Yet, its activity icon (similar to spinning globe in Firefox, or the spinning 'e' in IE) is actually the rippling Jolly Roger flag logo introduced with Windows 95. That's just weird.

A widget sidebar provides a kind of fancy graphical bookmarks list, but does not appear to be user-configurable

Conclusions

The test systems were pleasant to use. It's great to have something around that can hibernate for several days, quickly resuming to check email or look up things from time to time. There is a lot of promise here. I found myself reaching for the S10 several times to answer dinner table questions, instead of the usual Nokia N810.

However, it appears to be early days for the technology. More work needs to be done to make HyperSpace's Linux environment feel "complete." It seems silly to have to launch Windows just to stream an MP3 over the web, for instance.

Ultimately, it's really a shame that any PC should need two OSes. It's a Frankensteinian kind of thing. A friend of mine likened it aptly to a car requiring a second steering wheel for parking only.

It's truly a pity that Windows Vista takes so long to boot, shutdown, resume, hibernate, suspend, and so on. My own theory is that Vista, codenamed Longhorn and delayed five years, was actually intended to run on much faster processors than Intel and AMD proved capable of producing. Who knew that Moore's law would finally be broken, and everything would have to go multi-core?

And, it's a pity that Linux, despite getting better all the time, can't run the commercial software applications that users need. It's enough to make you think we're still in the "Model-T" era of computing, and that maybe Linux and free software won't be able to save the world, afterall.

Additionally, it's troubling that HyperSpace currently does not better support the installation of alternative operating systems. That just seems like a basic right of PC ownership. Hopefully, this is just a by-product of pre-production nature of the systems we tested, or possibly reviewer error (though I tried three distros, and ran chkdsk /f on the Vista partition dozens of times).

Source: Desktop Linux

Twitter Hacked

This morning we discovered 33 Twitter accounts had been "hacked" including prominent Twitter-ers like Rick Sanchez and Barack Obama (who has not been Twittering since becoming the president elect due to transition issues). We immediately locked down the accounts and investigated the issue. Rick, Barack, and others are now back in control of their accounts.

What Happened?

The issue with these 33 accounts is different from the Phishing scam aimed at Twitter users this weekend. These accounts were compromised by an individual who hacked into some of the tools our support team uses to help people do things like edit the email address associated with their Twitter account when they can't remember or get stuck. We considered this a very serious breach of security and immediately took the support tools offline. We'll put them back only when they're safe and secure.

Reacting Quickly and Fixing the Problems

In addition to this Monday morning madness we're coming off a wacky weekend where lots of folks were tricked into participating in a Phishing scam aimed at Twitter users. In both cases, our on-call team was able to attend to the matter quickly and prevent too many people from being affected. Our support team is definitely going to have a busy week because we reset a bunch of passwords just to be on the safe side.

Could OAuth Have Helped?

We plan to release a closed beta of the open authentication protocol, OAuth this month but it's important to note that this would not have prevented a Phishing scam nor would it have prevented these accounts from being compromised. OAuth is something we can provide so that folks who use third party applications built on the Twitter API can access their data while protecting their account credentials.

Source: Twitter

Freescale announcement heats up Apple netbook speculations

Chip manufacturer Freescale plans to commercially produce the highly integrated, 65 nanometre, .MX51 System on Chip (SoC) with a 1-GHz ARM core, in the second half of 2009. A picture included in their press release hints that the Freescale SoC may appear in a future Apple netbook. The vendor also envisages budget notebooks with Ubuntu Linux and i.MX51 under people's Christmas trees in 2009.

Formerly owned by Motorola, the Freescale chip division is hoping to profit from the current netbook trend, using a Cortex A8 core licensed by ARM (ARMv7) in their design, rather than the PowerPC processor that may seem a likely contender. However, the embedded i.MX51 combination processor, offers a lot of additional features, for example a 2D/3D graphics core and a DDR/DDR2 memory controller. For netbooks with i.MX, Freescale also offers a power management chip (MC13982), a sound chip (SGTL5000), an acceleration sensor and a touch-screen controller.

Until now, Freescale sold processors with ARM9 and ARM11 cores only within its i.MX series[icon:pdf]; the full data sheets for the more powerful i.MX35 and i.MX37 varieties aren't yet available. A number of different i.MX varieties – some of which, like the i.MX31, equipped with GPU IP cores from the PowerVR series by Imagination Technologies – are used as embedded processors, for example in mobile phones, smartphones, navigation devices, control systems and cars.

With its x86-compatible Atom processors and highly integrated SoCs, Intel is increasingly targeting these market segments that have so far been dominated by ARM's 32-bit micro controllers. Conversely, ARM is trying to conquer areas of application requiring higher CPU and GPU performance. They emphasise the specific advantages of ARM cores, especially pointing out their low power consumption and low prices. According to Freescale, this means that future i.MX51 netbooks with 8.9-inch displays and a battery life of up to 8 hours are feasible for less than $200.

The vendor suggests using the Ubuntu Linux operating system and also highlights the improved support of Adobe Flash (and AIR) for ARM cores. In recent months ARM announced co-operations with Adobe and Canonical to this effect. The GPU portion of the i.MX51 is planned to be OpenVR and OpenGL (ES) compatible. Linux drivers are also available for PowerVR MBX graphics. Pegatron, the component manufacturing division of Asus, is to supply an i.MX51 reference netbook.

Freescale gives no further details of the Apple netbook pictured in the press release for the i.MX51, which is apparently equipped with a touch-screen. Judging by the size of the two USB sockets located on the side (shown in the larger picture), the potential Apple netbook may be equipped with a 16:10 ratio, 12 inch display. The image suggests that Apple has ported Mac OS X to ARM cores, as it doesn't appear to show the iPhone OS. The price of a netbook with a 12-inch touch-screen is likely to be far higher than Freescale's projected price of around $200.

It has been speculated that future Apple netbooks will be equipped with PowerPC cores by P.A. Semi. However, P.A. Semi's mastermind Daniel (Dan) Dobberpuhl was also involved in the development of the StrongARM family. Tomorrow (Tuesday 6th of January 2009), Apple's vice president for product marketing Philip W. Schiller – not Steve Jobs – will give the keynote speech at the Macworld show. If Apple indeed plans to release a netbook with touch-screen, he might reveal more.

The marketability of netbooks without x86 processors has been a matter for speculation. The netbook boom proves that there is a brisk demand for affordable "mobile companions" that offer better performance and more functionality than smartphones, but are more compact and cheaper than traditional notebooks. The concept of a simple surfing companion device is far from new, but so far has been unsuccessful. Devices called web or surf pads have been available for years without making much impact. Palm, for example, discontinued its Foleo even before its release in 2007. One netbook for 180 euros, the Chinese Jee-PC 400S with MIPS Linux, is already available, and a tiny mobile messenger called iKIT with 320-MHz ARM (Marvell XScale) is scheduled for release soon. Both Nvidia (with its Tegra) and Qualcomm (with the QSD8672 "Snapdragon" dual core processor) also aim at making ARM netbooks feasible.

Freescale has denied the suggestion that it may be making an Apple Netbook, saying "Freescale’s current netbook approach is unambiguously an ARM/Linux play, and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate."

Source: Heise

Facebook for holiday cheer?

Did we turn to Facebook for Christmas cheer, or to cheer up Christmas?

The social-networking site, which has been experiencing explosive growth in membership, saw record traffic on Christmas Eve. Facebook achieved its highest-ever traffic level, accounting for 2.18 percent compared with a 1.42 percent average for November, according to numbers gathered by Hitwise. That's a 54 percent increase compared with the November average and a 53 percent increase year over year.

That pattern was mirrored in the U.K., where visits to the social networking site had a market share of 4.65 percent, accounting for one in every 22 Internet visits.

So, in this season when faithful friends gather near to us, are we substituting Facebook for face time with our loved ones?

Hitwise's Heather Hopkins offers some theories in a blog post on what might have caused the holiday traffic spike.

Facebook's top markets of New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia were all hard hit last week by severe weather, which may have prevented many people from getting out and visiting in person, Hopkins notes.

Noting that Christmas Day was Facebook's busiest traffic day in 2007 (one day later than 2008), Hopkins suggests that boredom--when coupled with the weather--may have contributed to the increase.

"I received 5 friend requests last week and many holiday wishes," Hopkins writes. "Maybe people were simply bored while stuck home with family and so escaped to computers to catch up with friends."

Perhaps the best explanation is that more people were using the site to send their late holiday greetings. Hitwise also saw increases in traffic at Yahoo Mail and e-greetings Web sites, Hopkins said.

Whatever the reason is for the record traffic, a better question is whether its revenue can keep pace.

The social network put out stats last month that peg its active-user count at 140 million. But Facebook's growth is primarily overseas now, and its international pull is responsible for those skyrocketing numbers.

Especially overseas, server power can be costly. Facebook has raised a ton of venture capital, is reportedly hunting for more, and says it's in good financial shape. That comes back into question, however, if it's growing faster than it ever expected to.

Source: CNET

Open-Source 3D Code for Linux Released

AMD has released code on the ATI R600 series concerning 3D acceleration so that the open-source Linux drivers can begin to support the newer ATI graphics processors. This Linux code is needed to begin fostering the development of an open-source R600 3D driver. The microcode for the newest GPUs has also been released.

Novell, AMD, and Red Hat developers have been doing a majority of the work taking advantage of the documentation, while internally at AMD they have been working to prepare the R600 documentation for release. Additionally, work has been performed to decide what code or documentation is needed for programming, sanitize it of any information not relevant to bringing up the 3D engine, remove any details concerning future ATI hardware, and then getting all of this work cleared by AMD's lead software and hardware architects so that it can be publicly released without any NDAs or other strings attached.

The newly released code is in a working state and is currently meant for developer usage.

Source: OpenSource Magazine

What Do Google Android Netbooks Mean For Microsoft And Apple?

It's no secret that Google (GOOG) is hoping its Android operating system can be useful for more than just mobile phones. So it makes sense that Google would want to get Android on "netbook" laptops -- small, lo-fi computers that companies like Dell (DELL), HP (HPQ), Acer, and Asus are selling like hotcakes to geeks and early adopter-types.

If that happens, and Google-powered computers take off, Microsoft is the biggest loser. Early netbooks ran Linux, but today's best sellers run Windows. For instance, the 10 top-selling laptops on Amazon (AMZN) right now are netbooks running Windows XP Home. While selling an XP Home license likely isn't as valuable to Microsoft as selling a Vista Ultimate license, it'd still be losing some potential license sales. And if netbooks start cannibalizing real laptop sales, Microsoft stands to lose market share, too.

What about Apple? The company hasn't joined the netbook market yet -- unless you count the iPod touch, or maybe the iPhone -- but will supposedly start selling larger tablet computers sometime next year. We see no reason why a Google-powered netbook would necessarily be better than an Apple-powered netbook. But they could be cheaper.

So who will win? Obviously too early to tell -- most of this is theoretical. But if Google and Apple both enter the market, we think it's a positive for both companies, and a negative for Microsoft. Some thoughts:

It will be hard for anyone to make hardware as nice as Apple's, especially if their multi-touch technology is involved. And their OS X is still more elegant and useful than Android (and Windows, many will argue).
Assuming Apple's tablets can access an equivalent of the iPhone App Store, it'll be hard for Google or Microsoft to catch up quickly with similar offerings of lightweight, powerful apps. Android's app market is a disappointment so far, and Microsoft's Windows Mobile apps would be useless on netbooks.
It will be hard for Apple (or Microsoft) to match Google's excellent, expanding base of free Web services -- which is the core purpose of a netbook -- ranging from GMail and Google Maps to Docs, Gears, and even an e-book store.

As long as these services run just as well on an Apple- or Microsoft-powered device as they do on a Google-based device, that's not a reason to buy a Google-powered device. However, if a special version of Google's Chrome browser is Android-exclusive, and makes Google apps much, much better, that could be an Android advantage.

It's always possible Microsoft has something up its sleeve -- the killer netbook platform, or something. But given the way they've punted so far in the next-gen mobile platform war -- Windows Mobile is weak compared to iPhone and Android -- we're not holding our breath.

Meanwhile, Google's best bet for making money still seems to be using Android as a tool to get more people using the Internet on more non-PC devices, and eventually viewing and clicking on Google ads. So... how's that mobile ad business going?

Source: AlleyInsider

Apple's Internet presence grows

The Mac operating system in December made a stronger showing among users accessing the Web, according to preliminary figures from Net Applications. Fortune's report on Net Applications' findings, which are based on browser data. The iPhone's toehold also is a record, more than tripling its December 2007 figure of 0.12 percent.

Windows continues to be the elephant in the room. It accounted for 88.68 percent of Web hits, according to the Operating System Market Share chart on the Net Applications site.

Third place went to the Linux operating system, with 0.85 percent. Other free or open-source operating systems, including FreeBSD and AIX, each accounted for 0.01 percent or less.

One caveat from Net Applications:

The December holiday season strongly favored residential over business usage. This in turn increases the relative usage share of Mac, Firefox, Safari and other products that have relatively high residential usage.

As the Fortune account points out, "Hidden in these monthly figures are the sharp spikes recorded by Apple's mobile devices around the holidays."

Net Applications accumulates its data from 160 million monthly visitors to its network of hosted Web site statistics.

Source: CNET