As 2009 becomes 2010, Google remains the most interesting technology company. Google is involved in so many--probably too many--things and the regulatory environment, if not competition, has begun to heat up.
With that in mind, I offer 10 "New Year's Resolutions" for the crew at the Googleplex, in the hope that Google can, in some cases, change its ways before government steps in to change them:
1. Do a better job of communicating with users regarding privacy. This seems obvious enough, but Google needs better help users understand what it is (and isn't) doing with the information it gathers about them and their habits.
Ultimately, Google will be ordered to submit to some form of external oversight, so perhaps the company should get ahead of the curve and fund an independent Google privacy watchdog. It would provide counsel to the company and transparency to its users.
I trust Google's current management--as I trust Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer--but users have reasons to fear Google's collection and use of information, even in its search index. There will be restrictions placed upon the company, and I believe that will be a good thing over the long haul.
2. Be more proactive in dealing with government. 2010 is likely the year the Feds will start moving in on Google. I am especially interested on how the company has used "free" services, underwritten with ad revenue, to stifle real or potential competition outside of its core search business. Ultimately, Google is going to court.
3. Stay out of the social network business. Google has tried social networking and failed. Knol and Orkut have not come close to success. Give up.
4. Google should decide it is not a hardware company. I do not like the idea of Google competing with hardware vendors. I though the Droid was supposed to be Google's idea of what a smartphone should be. Now it's the Nexus One. What will it be next week? My hope is the handset manufacturers will gang up against Google for this sort of behavior.
5. Likewise Chrome OS hardware. It's great for Google to create specs and reference designs, probably wrong for it to actually brand and sell hardware. I think "Made for Chrome OS" stickers are as far as it should go.
6. Make better applications. Am I the only one who notices that Google Apps don't nearly compete with Microsoft Office if you actually care what the output looks like? Or if you need features beyond the basic set Google provides?
7. Give up on the AdMob purchase. 2010 really is the year Google will bump into external restrictions, if it doesn't impose them itself.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/internet/12431/google-my-10-resolutions-2010
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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Top 10 Mobile Phones of 2009 Revealed
The device, which has 3.2in touch-screen, a five-megapixel camera and runs Google 's Android operating system, won plaudits for its easy of use, elegant interface and clever design.The Hero – which has been crowned gadget of the year by both Stuff and T3 – was praised by Omio for its useful features and slick social-networking tools. "The Hero is easily the next best thing to the iPhone," said Ernest Doku, an analyst with the phone comparison site.
The company compiled a list of the 10 most popular handsets of 2009, based on sales, praise and online buzz generated by gadget fans and industry experts. Apple's iPhone 3GS was beaten in to third place by another device made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC – the HD2, which runs the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.
"The HTC HD2 is equally at home being a business device as a multimedia powerhouse," said Doku.
Touch-screen handsets dominated the list, with phones from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Research in Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, featuring in the top 10. Devices that provided access to an "app store", which allows users to easily download extra software, programs and games on to their phone, were also popular.
"Apps have been one of the big stories of 2009, so it's not surprising that many of the most popular phones have had their own app stores," said Doku. "It's a trend that looks set to continue well in to 2010."
The 10 most popular phones of the year
1. HTC Hero
The strong design, slick social networking skills and beautiful implementation of the Android operating system with the ‘Sense’ user interface, has seen the HTC Hero grab an armful of ‘Best Phone’ awards this year, and rightly so. With its five-megapixel autofocus camera, 3.2in capacitive touch-screen and GPS in a unique, angular form factor, the Hero is possibly the best phone to demonstrate what Google’s new operating system is really capable of.
2. HTC HD2
The ‘wow’ factor of the HTC HD2 is definitely marrying Microsoft’s mobile operating system to that mammoth 4.3in touch-screen display, and is the first device running Windows Mobile 6.5 to support a multi-touch interface. With a five-megapixel camera and dual-LED flash, GPS and support for apps through Marketplace for Mobile, the HD2 is the perfect poster boy for the next generation of Windows phones.
3. Apple iPhone 3GS
Getting the design so very right first time has given Apple the ability to improve rather than revolutionise, and the iPhone 3GS is the second update to the groundbreaking formula. It improves on the iconic device with a three-megapixel camera, video recording, voice controls and up to 32GB of storage. The Apple iPhone 3GS is able to do it all, faster.
4. Samsung Genio Touch
The Samsung Genio Touch continues the popular range with a cheap and cheerful handset that brings touch-screen joy without the price tag. The 2.8in display offers the same TouchWiz user interface found on higher end devices, and with customisable covers as well as a two-megapixel camera, the Genio Touch punches above its weight in terms of both looks and specification. Little wonder customers are snapping this little beauty up in their droves.
5. Sony Ericsson Satio
A 12. megapixel wielding device that combines the strongest features of the Cybershot range, the Sony Ericsson Satio offers a powerful combination of features: there's the 12.1-megapixel camera, which has some of the best aspects of Sony's Cybershot camera range; and it boasts a fantastic Walkman-esque music player, married together with a slick, full touch Symbian-powered user interface. The 3.5in display is clear, crisp and responsive to the touch, and the built-in 3G connectivity and GPS set it on a par with the strongest smartphone contenders.
6. Palm Pre
Already a million-seller in the United States, the Palm Pre is a great device, boasting a 3.1in touch-screen and 3.1-megapixel camera. This socially-savvy handset pulls contact information automatically from networking sites, including Facebook, in to a single menu. The combination of cute pebble-shaped design, slide-out Qwerty keyboard and the debut of Palm's smooth new ‘Web OS’ operating system makes the Pre a worthy alternative to Apple’s iPhone.
7. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is the epitome of cool. With a plectrum for a stylus, endorsement from today’s fashionable young things and a full touch interface, the 5800 was bound to be a hit. A music phone at heart, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic ticks all the boxes, with 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi support, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a sharp 3.2in high resolution touch-screen display. Music is stored on an 8GB memory card, and the 3.5mm audio jack means that your favourite headphones can be plugged in with little trouble. It was outselling the iPod at one point as the UK’s biggest music player. The Nokia 5800 is one seriously hot handset.
8. Nokia N900
Taking cues from Nokia’s range of internet tablets, the N900 delivers a close-to-desktop browsing experience, as well as offering cutting edge smartphone functionality. The N900’s gorgeous 3.5in touch-screen, slide-out Qwerty keyboard and five-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens all impress, but it is the brand new experience that Nokia’s Linux-based Maemo platform offers that has early adopters in a frenzy.
9. LG Chocolate BL40
The latest in LG’s exclusive Black Label series, the BL40 boasts a 4in LED touch screen, a five-megapixel autofocus camera and an exciting new user interface. Watch movies in full-screen mode, and browse web pages in all their glory thanks to the screen’s unique 21:9 widescreen ratio. The quirky shape and multimedia credentials have definitely given shoppers a sweet tooth in recent months, with the Chocolate selling strongly since its September release.
10. BlackBerry Curve 8520
Courting the casual user and breaking taboos seem to be the primary aims of the Curve 8520, which gets rid of the famous BlackBerry "trackball" in favour of an optical pad, and adding dedicated media buttons. The Curve 8520 is still very much a messaging device, sporting the familiar Qwerty keyboard and push-email functionality that the BlackBerry brand has become famous for. With access to BlackBerry App World and a standard headphone jack so you can use it with your own earphones, the Curve 8520 strikes the perfect balance between fashion accessory and connected device.
Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/6872920/Top-10-mobile-phones-of-2009-revealed.html
Web Designers Chicago
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Consumer Groups Urge Block of Google-AdMob Deal
Two consumer groups have added their objections to Google's proposed acquisition of mobile advertising network AdMob, saying the deal would be anticompetitive and cause privacy concerns.
The Federal Trade Commission has already signaled that it wants to take a closer look at the $750 million deal, which was announced in November. AdMob runs an ad network across mobile sites and applications, and critics such as Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy are concerned that the company will give Google a big advantage in extending its dominant share of the search advertising market into the fast-growing mobile space.
"The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled," said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog and Jeffery Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, in a letter sent to the FTC Monday (click for PDF).
It's not clear exactly what the FTC is examining during its current review of the deal, but Google said last week that the receipt of a "second notice" would push back the expected completion of the deal by a few months. This is getting to be the new normal for Google, which is coming off a year during which it faced more government scrutiny of its growing online power than ever before.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10422400-265.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
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The Federal Trade Commission has already signaled that it wants to take a closer look at the $750 million deal, which was announced in November. AdMob runs an ad network across mobile sites and applications, and critics such as Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Digital Democracy are concerned that the company will give Google a big advantage in extending its dominant share of the search advertising market into the fast-growing mobile space.
"The mobile sector is the next frontier of the digital revolution. Without vigorous competition and strong privacy guarantees this vital and growing segment of the online economy will be stifled," said John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog and Jeffery Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, in a letter sent to the FTC Monday (click for PDF).
It's not clear exactly what the FTC is examining during its current review of the deal, but Google said last week that the receipt of a "second notice" would push back the expected completion of the deal by a few months. This is getting to be the new normal for Google, which is coming off a year during which it faced more government scrutiny of its growing online power than ever before.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-10422400-265.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Web Designers Chicago
Monday, December 28, 2009
Hackers Show it's Easy to Snoop on a GSM call
Computer security researchers say that the GSM phones used by the majority of the world's mobile-phone users can be listened in on with just a few thousand dollars worth of hardware and some free open-source tools.
In a presentation given Sunday at the Chaos Communication Conference in Berlin, researcher Karsten Nohl said that he had compiled 2 terabytes worth of data -- cracking tables that can be used as a kind of reverse phone-book to determine the encryption key used to secure a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) telephone conversation or text message.
While Nohl stopped short of releasing a GSM-cracking device -- that would be illegal in many countries, including the U.S. -- he said he divulged information that has been common knowledge in academic circles and made it "practically useable."
Intercepting mobile phone calls is illegal in many countries, including the U.S., but GSM-cracking tools are already available to law enforcement. Knoll believes that criminals are probably using them too. "We have just basically copied what you can already buy in a commercial product," he said.
The flaw lies in the 20-year-old encryption algorithm used by most carriers. It's a 64-bit cipher called A5/1 and it is simply too weak, according to Nohl. Using his tables, antennas, specialized software, and $30,000 worth of computing hardware to break the cipher, someone can crack the GSM encryption in real time and listen in on calls, he said. If the attacker was willing to wait a few minutes to record and crack the call, the total cost would be just a few thousand dollars, he said.
There are about 3.5 billion GSM phones worldwide, making up about 80 percent of the mobile market, according to data from the GSM Alliance, a communications industry association representing operators and phone-makers.
Because even discussing wiretapping tools can be illegal in the U.S., researchers have steered clear of this type of work. But after consulting lawyers with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Nohl and his collaborators set upon a way of conclusively disclosing the flaws in the GSM system without --they believe -- breaking the law.
Last August they kicked off an open-source project to create the cracking tables -- something that would take a decent gaming computer about 10 years to compute -- and they have shown which open-source tools could be used to intercept messages, but they have stopped short of designing a device to intercept the messages. This is, however, something that a technically sophisticated hacker could figure out, Nohl said.
"I don't think anything we did was illegal," Knoll said. However, "using what we produced in certain circumstances would be illegal," he added.
Two years ago, hackers David Hulton and Steve Miller embarked on a very similar project, but they did not complete their work, Nohl said.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/phones/12370/hackers-show-its-easy-snoop-gsm-call
Web Site Design
In a presentation given Sunday at the Chaos Communication Conference in Berlin, researcher Karsten Nohl said that he had compiled 2 terabytes worth of data -- cracking tables that can be used as a kind of reverse phone-book to determine the encryption key used to secure a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) telephone conversation or text message.
While Nohl stopped short of releasing a GSM-cracking device -- that would be illegal in many countries, including the U.S. -- he said he divulged information that has been common knowledge in academic circles and made it "practically useable."
Intercepting mobile phone calls is illegal in many countries, including the U.S., but GSM-cracking tools are already available to law enforcement. Knoll believes that criminals are probably using them too. "We have just basically copied what you can already buy in a commercial product," he said.
The flaw lies in the 20-year-old encryption algorithm used by most carriers. It's a 64-bit cipher called A5/1 and it is simply too weak, according to Nohl. Using his tables, antennas, specialized software, and $30,000 worth of computing hardware to break the cipher, someone can crack the GSM encryption in real time and listen in on calls, he said. If the attacker was willing to wait a few minutes to record and crack the call, the total cost would be just a few thousand dollars, he said.
There are about 3.5 billion GSM phones worldwide, making up about 80 percent of the mobile market, according to data from the GSM Alliance, a communications industry association representing operators and phone-makers.
Because even discussing wiretapping tools can be illegal in the U.S., researchers have steered clear of this type of work. But after consulting lawyers with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Nohl and his collaborators set upon a way of conclusively disclosing the flaws in the GSM system without --they believe -- breaking the law.
Last August they kicked off an open-source project to create the cracking tables -- something that would take a decent gaming computer about 10 years to compute -- and they have shown which open-source tools could be used to intercept messages, but they have stopped short of designing a device to intercept the messages. This is, however, something that a technically sophisticated hacker could figure out, Nohl said.
"I don't think anything we did was illegal," Knoll said. However, "using what we produced in certain circumstances would be illegal," he added.
Two years ago, hackers David Hulton and Steve Miller embarked on a very similar project, but they did not complete their work, Nohl said.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/phones/12370/hackers-show-its-easy-snoop-gsm-call
Web Site Design
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tourism Agency Goes Web 2.0
From the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Just in time for the hectic holiday season and the many visitors it brings to the stateline area, the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a new version of its website, www.gorockford.com. With enhanced, user-friendly navigation, improved functionality and complete social media integration, the RACVB's new website serves as the perfect one-stop guide for the community to find entertainment for their visiting friends and family.
Highlights of the new website include:
*Full social media integration through Share This, an application that allows users to share their favorite content on popular social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.
*Full integration with TripAdvisor, complete with hotel, restaurant and attraction listings.
*Complete integration with RACVB's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
*A JackRabbit feature that allows users to search for available hotel rooms and then book directly on the hotel's website.
*The ability to translate the website into German, Spanish, Swedish, French, Chinese and Italian through Google Translation.
*The ability for meeting planners and tournament organizers to submit a request for proposal via the website.
"After countless hours of working on the design elements, updating content and re-imagining a better, more user-friendly website, we're very pleased with the finished product," said Stacy Kiejko, an RACVB spokesperson. "New elements on the site, such as the direct hotel booking capability and the TripAdvisor visitor reviews, allow us to provide a more complete user experience. Instead of visiting multiple websites to get the information they need, visitors can find it all on our site."
Refreshed sections of gorockford.com, such as the Calendar of Events, restaurant listings and attractions listings, provide users with a one-stop resource on the Rockford Region. Visitors can book a hotel room and create a customized, printable itinerary for their trip, providing a stress-free vacation-planning experience.
For area residents, the site serves as a complete, get-out-and-go guide. Not only can locals reference the site for places to take visiting friends and family, they can use the calendar of events to find out what events are taking place in the area, or get tips on dining and nightlife hotspots.
"While the new website serves as a great guide and welcoming agent for visitors to the Rockford region, it also provides a much-needed resource for area residents," said John Groh, RACVB President/CEO. "GoRockford.com is a comprehensive guide to our region and offers a wealth of information to help local residents find something to do -- from scheduled events and activities to ongoing recreation at the region's many sites and attractions."
The RACVB's website was last refreshed in 2004.
Source:
http://www.wifr.com/economy/headlines/79902887.html
Web Design Firms Chicago
Just in time for the hectic holiday season and the many visitors it brings to the stateline area, the Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a new version of its website, www.gorockford.com. With enhanced, user-friendly navigation, improved functionality and complete social media integration, the RACVB's new website serves as the perfect one-stop guide for the community to find entertainment for their visiting friends and family.
Highlights of the new website include:
*Full social media integration through Share This, an application that allows users to share their favorite content on popular social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook.
*Full integration with TripAdvisor, complete with hotel, restaurant and attraction listings.
*Complete integration with RACVB's social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
*A JackRabbit feature that allows users to search for available hotel rooms and then book directly on the hotel's website.
*The ability to translate the website into German, Spanish, Swedish, French, Chinese and Italian through Google Translation.
*The ability for meeting planners and tournament organizers to submit a request for proposal via the website.
"After countless hours of working on the design elements, updating content and re-imagining a better, more user-friendly website, we're very pleased with the finished product," said Stacy Kiejko, an RACVB spokesperson. "New elements on the site, such as the direct hotel booking capability and the TripAdvisor visitor reviews, allow us to provide a more complete user experience. Instead of visiting multiple websites to get the information they need, visitors can find it all on our site."
Refreshed sections of gorockford.com, such as the Calendar of Events, restaurant listings and attractions listings, provide users with a one-stop resource on the Rockford Region. Visitors can book a hotel room and create a customized, printable itinerary for their trip, providing a stress-free vacation-planning experience.
For area residents, the site serves as a complete, get-out-and-go guide. Not only can locals reference the site for places to take visiting friends and family, they can use the calendar of events to find out what events are taking place in the area, or get tips on dining and nightlife hotspots.
"While the new website serves as a great guide and welcoming agent for visitors to the Rockford region, it also provides a much-needed resource for area residents," said John Groh, RACVB President/CEO. "GoRockford.com is a comprehensive guide to our region and offers a wealth of information to help local residents find something to do -- from scheduled events and activities to ongoing recreation at the region's many sites and attractions."
The RACVB's website was last refreshed in 2004.
Source:
http://www.wifr.com/economy/headlines/79902887.html
Web Design Firms Chicago
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Soyuz Craft Docks, Boosts Space Station Crew
A veteran Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese shuttle flier, and a NASA astronaut making his first space flight docked with the International Space Station Tuesday after a two-day orbital chase, donning Santa hats to mark the holiday season.
With Commander Oleg Kotov monitoring a problem-free automated approach to the huge lab complex, the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft docked at an Earth-facing port on the Russian Zarya module at 5:48 p.m. EST, as the two spacecraft sailed 220 miles above the Atlantic Ocean east of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Hatches were opened about an hour and a half later, after leak checks to make sure the Soyuz was firmly latched in place.
Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams and cosmonaut Maxim Suraev were standing by to welcome Kotov and his two crewmates--Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer--on board to boost the lab's complement back up to five.
"It's great to see all you guys on orbit," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's chief of space operations, radioed from the Russian mission control center near Moscow. "Have a great Christmas, a good New Year. I can't think of a better family to have in space than you. I'm here with your families in the control center, so have a great expedition."
"Thank you, Gerst, it's good to hear your voice, it's great to have these guys on board," Williams replied. "It completes the complement of Expedition 22."
"Oleg, hello, we're so happy to see you aboard the station one more time," a family member radioed Kotov. "Daddy, I'm so proud of you. You're the best father in the world! We wish you the best of luck."
"Thanks to you for coming, thank you for your words, I love you very much and I'll talk to you soon," Kotov replied.
Said Creamer: "Everything's doing really great here. It's better than great, it's 154 times better than great. So thanks for the well wishes."
Williams and Suraev have had the station to themselves since December 1 when cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, and Canadian Robert Thirsk returned to Earth after a six-month stay in space.
Kotov, Creamer, and Noguchi plan to remain aboard the lab complex for a six-month tour of duty. Williams and Suraev will return to Earth in late March, but three more crew members are scheduled for launch in early April to boost the crew to six.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10420812-239.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Chicago Website Design
With Commander Oleg Kotov monitoring a problem-free automated approach to the huge lab complex, the Russian Soyuz TMA-17 spacecraft docked at an Earth-facing port on the Russian Zarya module at 5:48 p.m. EST, as the two spacecraft sailed 220 miles above the Atlantic Ocean east of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Hatches were opened about an hour and a half later, after leak checks to make sure the Soyuz was firmly latched in place.
Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams and cosmonaut Maxim Suraev were standing by to welcome Kotov and his two crewmates--Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi and NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer--on board to boost the lab's complement back up to five.
"It's great to see all you guys on orbit," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's chief of space operations, radioed from the Russian mission control center near Moscow. "Have a great Christmas, a good New Year. I can't think of a better family to have in space than you. I'm here with your families in the control center, so have a great expedition."
"Thank you, Gerst, it's good to hear your voice, it's great to have these guys on board," Williams replied. "It completes the complement of Expedition 22."
"Oleg, hello, we're so happy to see you aboard the station one more time," a family member radioed Kotov. "Daddy, I'm so proud of you. You're the best father in the world! We wish you the best of luck."
"Thanks to you for coming, thank you for your words, I love you very much and I'll talk to you soon," Kotov replied.
Said Creamer: "Everything's doing really great here. It's better than great, it's 154 times better than great. So thanks for the well wishes."
Williams and Suraev have had the station to themselves since December 1 when cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, European Space Agency astronaut Frank De Winne, and Canadian Robert Thirsk returned to Earth after a six-month stay in space.
Kotov, Creamer, and Noguchi plan to remain aboard the lab complex for a six-month tour of duty. Williams and Suraev will return to Earth in late March, but three more crew members are scheduled for launch in early April to boost the crew to six.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19514_3-10420812-239.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Chicago Website Design
Monday, December 21, 2009
Mobile Phones Become Essential Tool for Holiday Shopping
The mobile phone is quickly becoming Santa’s biggest helper.
Powerful software applications for devices like the Apple iPhone are making it easy for bargain-hunting consumers to see if another retailer is offering a better deal on a big-screen HDTV or pair of shoes and to use it to haggle at the cash register.
Online retailers are revamping the mobile versions of their sites so consumers can make purchases without tedious typing. And offline retailers, battling for every last dollar, are sending cellphone users electronic coupons to lure them away from competitors.
One in five shoppers said they intended to use their cellphones to shop this holiday season, according to an annual survey by Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm. Of those, 45 percent said they would use their phone to research prices, 32 percent said they would use it to find coupons or read reviews and 25 percent said they would make purchases from their phones.
“We are at the cusp of this technology really driving a lot of activity during the shopping season,” said Stacy Janiak, United States retail practice leader at Deloitte. “It is both an opportunity and a challenge for a retailer, because you can have a consumer who can cross-shop your store with other bricks-and-mortar stores or online, all from the convenience of your aisle.”
Heather Reed, a mother in Cypress, Tex., is one of those mobile power-shoppers. She uses several apps on her Samsung Moment phone to whittle down her spending. She was recently considering a $29.99 Hot Wheels video game for her son at Wal-Mart. With a quick scan of the bar code, an application called ShopSavvy found it at Target, just across the freeway, for $19.99. Another app from MyCoupons.com provided a Target coupon that sliced off $10 more.
“It went from $29.99 to $9.99, all in five minutes, no searching the Internet or spending hours trying to find a deal or a coupon,” she said. “It’s all right there in your hand.”
Of course, mobile shopping technology is still somewhat clunky, between erratic Internet connections, outdated pricing data and balky product scanners.
But smarter phones and a heightened bargain-consciousness among consumers are spurring a level of innovation in e-commerce last seen during the height of the dot-com boom a decade ago.
In addition to ShopSavvy, mobile apps from RedLaser, TheFind, ShopStyle and PriceGrabber.com allow customers to compare prices across a range of retailers. Retrevo, an electronics review site, has a service called RetrevoQ that lets users send a text or Twitter message with the name of the product they are considering and get an immediate response with a recommendation of whether to buy it and a range of online prices.
While searching for prices is easy, buying from the screen of a cellphone is more difficult. It generally involves clicking to the retailer’s Web site, which is often not customized for a mobile phone’s tiny screen, and then entering shipping and billing information using the tiny keyboard.
To fix that, some retailers are building sites and applications specifically for cellphones. The iPhone app for the Tommy Hilfiger online store, for instance, shows select products based on what shoppers are looking for so they do not have to scroll through pages of clothes. Those who are registered on the Web site need only enter their e-mail address and password to check out.
“Retailers need to realize that if you give people a way to make it easy, people will shop on their phones,” said Kelly O’Neill, product marketing director for ATG, which provides e-commerce technology to retailers and built Tommy Hilfiger’s app.
EBay’s iPhone app sends people notifications if they are outbid in an auction and lets people check out with just a few clicks if they have a PayPal account. Mobile shoppers will spend $500 million on eBay this year, the company said.
By improving ease of use, savvy online retailers are snatching sales from bricks-and-mortar ones. Matthew Tractenberg, for example, was recently shopping in a Silicon Valley bookstore, where he picked out five books for a total of $80. Before taking them to the counter, he typed the titles into the Amazon app on his BlackBerry Curve. Amazon had the books for $50 and would not charge sales tax or shipping. He placed the order on the spot and left his small pile of books in the store.
“It’s almost easier than doing it on a computer,” Mr. Tractenberg said.
Offline retailers are feeling the pain. Armed with competitive price information, shoppers are haggling as never before.
Although most stores refuse to match prices, especially from Web retailers, it is difficult to simply allow a customer brandishing a lower price to walk out the door.
Best Buy, for example, officially says it will not match prices of online electronics retailers and will match offline prices only if the customer brings in an ad or receipt. But several ShopSavvy users report having luck getting individual stores to match prices they find using the app.
Pacific Sunwear, a clothing and accessories retailer, said it would match lower prices found in stores or online. According to Chad Petrillo, a clerk at the chain’s San Francisco store, more people have been showing him competing prices on their phones, most often for shoes. The store will honor them after calling the other store to verify the price, he said.
For most shoppers, price is only one factor, to be weighed against the time it takes to drive to another store or wait for a Web site to ship an item. That could be a boon for offline stores, according to Ron Levi, vice president of products at TheFind, a shopping comparison Web site. “Your proximity to that retailer gives them an advantage,” he said. “It’s theirs to lose.”
Michael Robison, a Coast Guard petty officer from Guernewood Park, Calif., routinely uses ShopSavvy to check prices, but that doesn’t mean he always goes with the lowest one. He just bought a Victorinox laptop case for $45 at Macy’s, even though it was $30 at eBags. For that amount of money, “I would much rather walk out with it than wait,” he said.
Another problem with the mobile apps is accuracy. When Mr. Robison scanned a Nintendo hand-held gaming device at Radio Shack recently, ShopSavvy told him he could get it for $110 online instead of paying $170 at the store. When he got home, he discovered that online bargain was for a used machine.
Aware of the power of mobile phones, some offline retailers are using the technology to fight back.
If someone standing in one store scans a product with ShopSavvy, for example, a retailer down the street could deliver the shopper a coupon for the same item. A major retailer is already doing that in a few test cities, including Seattle, said Alexander Muse, co-founder of Big in Japan, the start-up that created ShopSavvy.
Other applications, including Yowza, use the GPS location information in cellphones to send shoppers coupons for stores within walking distance of where they’re standing.
“This empowers consumers to make a smart decision,” Mr. Muse said. “Already, retailers are starting to figure out, ‘I need to be in this game.’ ”
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/technology/18mobile.html?_r=2&ref=technology
Chicago Website Designers
Powerful software applications for devices like the Apple iPhone are making it easy for bargain-hunting consumers to see if another retailer is offering a better deal on a big-screen HDTV or pair of shoes and to use it to haggle at the cash register.
Online retailers are revamping the mobile versions of their sites so consumers can make purchases without tedious typing. And offline retailers, battling for every last dollar, are sending cellphone users electronic coupons to lure them away from competitors.
One in five shoppers said they intended to use their cellphones to shop this holiday season, according to an annual survey by Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm. Of those, 45 percent said they would use their phone to research prices, 32 percent said they would use it to find coupons or read reviews and 25 percent said they would make purchases from their phones.
“We are at the cusp of this technology really driving a lot of activity during the shopping season,” said Stacy Janiak, United States retail practice leader at Deloitte. “It is both an opportunity and a challenge for a retailer, because you can have a consumer who can cross-shop your store with other bricks-and-mortar stores or online, all from the convenience of your aisle.”
Heather Reed, a mother in Cypress, Tex., is one of those mobile power-shoppers. She uses several apps on her Samsung Moment phone to whittle down her spending. She was recently considering a $29.99 Hot Wheels video game for her son at Wal-Mart. With a quick scan of the bar code, an application called ShopSavvy found it at Target, just across the freeway, for $19.99. Another app from MyCoupons.com provided a Target coupon that sliced off $10 more.
“It went from $29.99 to $9.99, all in five minutes, no searching the Internet or spending hours trying to find a deal or a coupon,” she said. “It’s all right there in your hand.”
Of course, mobile shopping technology is still somewhat clunky, between erratic Internet connections, outdated pricing data and balky product scanners.
But smarter phones and a heightened bargain-consciousness among consumers are spurring a level of innovation in e-commerce last seen during the height of the dot-com boom a decade ago.
In addition to ShopSavvy, mobile apps from RedLaser, TheFind, ShopStyle and PriceGrabber.com allow customers to compare prices across a range of retailers. Retrevo, an electronics review site, has a service called RetrevoQ that lets users send a text or Twitter message with the name of the product they are considering and get an immediate response with a recommendation of whether to buy it and a range of online prices.
While searching for prices is easy, buying from the screen of a cellphone is more difficult. It generally involves clicking to the retailer’s Web site, which is often not customized for a mobile phone’s tiny screen, and then entering shipping and billing information using the tiny keyboard.
To fix that, some retailers are building sites and applications specifically for cellphones. The iPhone app for the Tommy Hilfiger online store, for instance, shows select products based on what shoppers are looking for so they do not have to scroll through pages of clothes. Those who are registered on the Web site need only enter their e-mail address and password to check out.
“Retailers need to realize that if you give people a way to make it easy, people will shop on their phones,” said Kelly O’Neill, product marketing director for ATG, which provides e-commerce technology to retailers and built Tommy Hilfiger’s app.
EBay’s iPhone app sends people notifications if they are outbid in an auction and lets people check out with just a few clicks if they have a PayPal account. Mobile shoppers will spend $500 million on eBay this year, the company said.
By improving ease of use, savvy online retailers are snatching sales from bricks-and-mortar ones. Matthew Tractenberg, for example, was recently shopping in a Silicon Valley bookstore, where he picked out five books for a total of $80. Before taking them to the counter, he typed the titles into the Amazon app on his BlackBerry Curve. Amazon had the books for $50 and would not charge sales tax or shipping. He placed the order on the spot and left his small pile of books in the store.
“It’s almost easier than doing it on a computer,” Mr. Tractenberg said.
Offline retailers are feeling the pain. Armed with competitive price information, shoppers are haggling as never before.
Although most stores refuse to match prices, especially from Web retailers, it is difficult to simply allow a customer brandishing a lower price to walk out the door.
Best Buy, for example, officially says it will not match prices of online electronics retailers and will match offline prices only if the customer brings in an ad or receipt. But several ShopSavvy users report having luck getting individual stores to match prices they find using the app.
Pacific Sunwear, a clothing and accessories retailer, said it would match lower prices found in stores or online. According to Chad Petrillo, a clerk at the chain’s San Francisco store, more people have been showing him competing prices on their phones, most often for shoes. The store will honor them after calling the other store to verify the price, he said.
For most shoppers, price is only one factor, to be weighed against the time it takes to drive to another store or wait for a Web site to ship an item. That could be a boon for offline stores, according to Ron Levi, vice president of products at TheFind, a shopping comparison Web site. “Your proximity to that retailer gives them an advantage,” he said. “It’s theirs to lose.”
Michael Robison, a Coast Guard petty officer from Guernewood Park, Calif., routinely uses ShopSavvy to check prices, but that doesn’t mean he always goes with the lowest one. He just bought a Victorinox laptop case for $45 at Macy’s, even though it was $30 at eBags. For that amount of money, “I would much rather walk out with it than wait,” he said.
Another problem with the mobile apps is accuracy. When Mr. Robison scanned a Nintendo hand-held gaming device at Radio Shack recently, ShopSavvy told him he could get it for $110 online instead of paying $170 at the store. When he got home, he discovered that online bargain was for a used machine.
Aware of the power of mobile phones, some offline retailers are using the technology to fight back.
If someone standing in one store scans a product with ShopSavvy, for example, a retailer down the street could deliver the shopper a coupon for the same item. A major retailer is already doing that in a few test cities, including Seattle, said Alexander Muse, co-founder of Big in Japan, the start-up that created ShopSavvy.
Other applications, including Yowza, use the GPS location information in cellphones to send shoppers coupons for stores within walking distance of where they’re standing.
“This empowers consumers to make a smart decision,” Mr. Muse said. “Already, retailers are starting to figure out, ‘I need to be in this game.’ ”
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/technology/18mobile.html?_r=2&ref=technology
Chicago Website Designers
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Oracle Earnings Jump 15 Percent in Q2
Oracle on Thursday reported second-quarter earnings of $0.29 per share, a rise of 15 percent over the same period last year. Total revenues rose 4 percent to $5.9 billion and net income jumped 12 percent to $1.5 billion.
New software license revenues, a key indicator of growth and stability, were up 2 percent to $1.7 billion.
Excluding special charges, earnings per share rose 15 percent to $0.39 on revenues of $5.9 billion, beating estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who had on average predicted earnings of $0.36 per share on revenues of $5.7 billion.
The company also expects European regulators "to unconditionally clear" its acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January, Oracle President Safra Catz said in a statement. The deal has been on hold while the European Union conducts an antitrust review.
Sun will quickly improve its market share and financial performance once the merger closes, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said in another statement.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/business-issues/12145/oracle-earnings-jump-15-percent-q2
Custom Web Design Chicago
New software license revenues, a key indicator of growth and stability, were up 2 percent to $1.7 billion.
Excluding special charges, earnings per share rose 15 percent to $0.39 on revenues of $5.9 billion, beating estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who had on average predicted earnings of $0.36 per share on revenues of $5.7 billion.
The company also expects European regulators "to unconditionally clear" its acquisition of Sun Microsystems in January, Oracle President Safra Catz said in a statement. The deal has been on hold while the European Union conducts an antitrust review.
Sun will quickly improve its market share and financial performance once the merger closes, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said in another statement.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/business-issues/12145/oracle-earnings-jump-15-percent-q2
Custom Web Design Chicago
Thursday, December 17, 2009
iTunes Store adds Movie Bundles
This holiday season, you may find yourself with an awful lot of spare time on your hands. That is, besides the cooking, cleaning, shopping, and shoveling snow that you're supposed to be doing. Ahem. So why not spend a little of that time enjoying some specially priced bundles of movies from the iTunes Store?
That's right--Apple has rolled out a Movie Bundles section, which pairs up popular films at discounted prices. You could get your fill of Patrick Swayze's Dirty Dancing with a Cuba-based prequel that's, well, okay. Enjoy the crime classics Reservoir Dogs and Bad Lieutenant in the Harvey Keitel Double Feature. Scream with terror as you bear witness to the horror of not one, but two Charlie's Angels films. There are also bundles for Dane Cook, Bad Boys, X-Men, Scarlett Johansson, pre-Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more.
Prices for the bundles start at $10 to $15 for two films and rise up to $35 for as many as four films. The X-Men Quadrilogy, for example, runs $30 as a bundle, instead of $45 if purchased individually. While you can find most of these titles for much less at discount DVD stores, you still can't beat the convenience of digital downloads. No HandBrake required.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/entertainment/12162/itunes-store-adds-movie-bundles
Chicago Web Design
That's right--Apple has rolled out a Movie Bundles section, which pairs up popular films at discounted prices. You could get your fill of Patrick Swayze's Dirty Dancing with a Cuba-based prequel that's, well, okay. Enjoy the crime classics Reservoir Dogs and Bad Lieutenant in the Harvey Keitel Double Feature. Scream with terror as you bear witness to the horror of not one, but two Charlie's Angels films. There are also bundles for Dane Cook, Bad Boys, X-Men, Scarlett Johansson, pre-Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, and more.
Prices for the bundles start at $10 to $15 for two films and rise up to $35 for as many as four films. The X-Men Quadrilogy, for example, runs $30 as a bundle, instead of $45 if purchased individually. While you can find most of these titles for much less at discount DVD stores, you still can't beat the convenience of digital downloads. No HandBrake required.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/entertainment/12162/itunes-store-adds-movie-bundles
Chicago Web Design
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
MySQL Creator Launches Campaign to 'save' Database
The creator of MySQL has launched a Web-based campaign to "save" the open-source database from the "clutches" of Oracle, which is attempting to purchase its current owner, Sun Microsystems.
Oracle announced plans to buy Sun in April for US$7.4 billion, but the deal has been held up while European authorities conduct an antitrust review. One key concern of regulators, as well as open-source advocates, is the future of MySQL under Oracle, which holds a healthy share of the database market with its own proprietary product.
But if users speak up now, European authorities could stop the merger or force Oracle to provide certain concessions and guarantees around MySQL, Michael "Monty" Widenius said in a blog post.
He claimed that Oracle has contacted "hundreds of their big customers," asking them to lobby the European Union to support the deal. Oracle has told customers it would invest more money in MySQL's development and that even if it abandoned the database, offshoots of the codebase would "take care of things," according to Widenius.
Widenius himself is behind one such project, MariaDB.
Still, such efforts aren't enough, according to Widenius.
"Just putting money into development is not proof that anything useful will ever be delivered or that MySQL will continue to be a competitive force in the market as it's now," he said. And an offshoot "is not enough to keep MySQL alive for all future, if Oracle, as the copyright holder of MySQL, would at any point decide that they should kill MySQL or make parts of MySQL closed source," he added.
Ten years ago MySQL was mostly used for Web applications but has since become "very functional, scalable and credible," and used for a variety of purposes, he added.
"This not only scares but actually hurts Oracle every day," he said. "Of course Oracle has a lot more features, but MySQL can already do a lot of things for which Oracle is often used and helps people save a lot of money. So I just don't buy it that Oracle will be a good home for MySQL."
Widenius is asking like-minded users to publicize their concerns by sending letters to the E.U., blog on the issues and speak to executives at their companies.
Users had mixed initial reactions to Widenius' plea.
"Let's stand up today to face the evil!" said a poster identified as "Ryan Chan" on the MySQL mailing list.
But others took a laissez-faire attitude to the merger.
"You sold MySQL (and that's OK)," said one person who commented in response to Widenius' blog post. "Oracle is free to do whatever they want to do with it, I mean they bought it so they own it, period."
An Oracle spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Widenius' 11th-hour campaign may be in vain, as the E.U. appears set to approve the merger.
On Monday, Oracle issued a statement containing 10 commitments to MySQL's users and developers. The pledges, which would be valid for five years following the close of the merger, are "an important new element to be taken into account in the ongoing proceedings," the E.U. said in a statement. The E.U. also reiterated Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes' recent remark that she is optimistic the matter can have a satisfactory resolution.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/business-issues/11927/mysql-creator-launches-campaign-save-database
Web Design Firms Chicago
Oracle announced plans to buy Sun in April for US$7.4 billion, but the deal has been held up while European authorities conduct an antitrust review. One key concern of regulators, as well as open-source advocates, is the future of MySQL under Oracle, which holds a healthy share of the database market with its own proprietary product.
But if users speak up now, European authorities could stop the merger or force Oracle to provide certain concessions and guarantees around MySQL, Michael "Monty" Widenius said in a blog post.
He claimed that Oracle has contacted "hundreds of their big customers," asking them to lobby the European Union to support the deal. Oracle has told customers it would invest more money in MySQL's development and that even if it abandoned the database, offshoots of the codebase would "take care of things," according to Widenius.
Widenius himself is behind one such project, MariaDB.
Still, such efforts aren't enough, according to Widenius.
"Just putting money into development is not proof that anything useful will ever be delivered or that MySQL will continue to be a competitive force in the market as it's now," he said. And an offshoot "is not enough to keep MySQL alive for all future, if Oracle, as the copyright holder of MySQL, would at any point decide that they should kill MySQL or make parts of MySQL closed source," he added.
Ten years ago MySQL was mostly used for Web applications but has since become "very functional, scalable and credible," and used for a variety of purposes, he added.
"This not only scares but actually hurts Oracle every day," he said. "Of course Oracle has a lot more features, but MySQL can already do a lot of things for which Oracle is often used and helps people save a lot of money. So I just don't buy it that Oracle will be a good home for MySQL."
Widenius is asking like-minded users to publicize their concerns by sending letters to the E.U., blog on the issues and speak to executives at their companies.
Users had mixed initial reactions to Widenius' plea.
"Let's stand up today to face the evil!" said a poster identified as "Ryan Chan" on the MySQL mailing list.
But others took a laissez-faire attitude to the merger.
"You sold MySQL (and that's OK)," said one person who commented in response to Widenius' blog post. "Oracle is free to do whatever they want to do with it, I mean they bought it so they own it, period."
An Oracle spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Widenius' 11th-hour campaign may be in vain, as the E.U. appears set to approve the merger.
On Monday, Oracle issued a statement containing 10 commitments to MySQL's users and developers. The pledges, which would be valid for five years following the close of the merger, are "an important new element to be taken into account in the ongoing proceedings," the E.U. said in a statement. The E.U. also reiterated Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes' recent remark that she is optimistic the matter can have a satisfactory resolution.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/business-issues/11927/mysql-creator-launches-campaign-save-database
Web Design Firms Chicago
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
From The White House to (no kidding) Microsoft, Open Source Shined in '09
For open source and Linux, 2009 has been another year of big and surprising milestones, from the White House adopting open source technology to Microsoft submitting code for the Linux kernel.
11 open source companies to watch for 2009
The struggling economy turned out to be favorable for Linux and open source, as IT teams scrambled to do more with shrunken budgets. And throughout the year, the open source community saw milestone events and emerging trends that will likely continue into 2010 and beyond.
Perhaps the most shocking event was Microsoft's submission of code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPL license that Microsoft once tagged as a threat to capitalism itself. But it was not so much an olive branch as it was a brain freeze: Microsoft had inadvertently included some open source code in the virtualization drivers it eventually submitted for the Linux kernel and was more or less left with little choice.
Microsoft ended up in that same spot later in the year when a tool it released to create bootable USB drives for Windows 7 also was found to contain open source code. That tool also was pushed into the open source community.
Open source also showed up in other prominent places, most notably as the back end for Whitehouse.gov, which in October converted its content management platform to Drupal. It was a clear indication that President Obama's administration is extending its open and transparent strategy to technology.
"It was a big milestone for Drupal, and I think for open source in general it provides us great credibility," says Dries Buytaert, the creator and project lead for Drupal.
It was also a sign that the government did not view open source as a second-class citizen or security risk, a fact that was broadcast by the Department of Defense shortly after the White House's October surprise.
The Defense Department clarified its guidance on open source by saying the technology was equal to commercial software in almost all cases and by law should be considered by the agency when making purchase decisions.
Another watershed moment came in April, when Oracle made a $7.4 billion bid to acquire Sun, a move that could make Oracle the largest open source company. At stake are the futures of projects such as Open Solaris, Open Office and MySQL.
Speaking of software projects, in 2009 the Apache Foundation turned 10 and celebrated with a membership of 300 members working on 65 active projects.
"Today, our model is getting stronger and that is bringing more projects into Apache," says Doug Cutting, a member of the ASF board of directors and the creator of Apache's Lucene project.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/linux/11949/white-house-no-kidding-microsoft-open-source-shined-09
Chicago Website Designers
11 open source companies to watch for 2009
The struggling economy turned out to be favorable for Linux and open source, as IT teams scrambled to do more with shrunken budgets. And throughout the year, the open source community saw milestone events and emerging trends that will likely continue into 2010 and beyond.
Perhaps the most shocking event was Microsoft's submission of code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPL license that Microsoft once tagged as a threat to capitalism itself. But it was not so much an olive branch as it was a brain freeze: Microsoft had inadvertently included some open source code in the virtualization drivers it eventually submitted for the Linux kernel and was more or less left with little choice.
Microsoft ended up in that same spot later in the year when a tool it released to create bootable USB drives for Windows 7 also was found to contain open source code. That tool also was pushed into the open source community.
Open source also showed up in other prominent places, most notably as the back end for Whitehouse.gov, which in October converted its content management platform to Drupal. It was a clear indication that President Obama's administration is extending its open and transparent strategy to technology.
"It was a big milestone for Drupal, and I think for open source in general it provides us great credibility," says Dries Buytaert, the creator and project lead for Drupal.
It was also a sign that the government did not view open source as a second-class citizen or security risk, a fact that was broadcast by the Department of Defense shortly after the White House's October surprise.
The Defense Department clarified its guidance on open source by saying the technology was equal to commercial software in almost all cases and by law should be considered by the agency when making purchase decisions.
Another watershed moment came in April, when Oracle made a $7.4 billion bid to acquire Sun, a move that could make Oracle the largest open source company. At stake are the futures of projects such as Open Solaris, Open Office and MySQL.
Speaking of software projects, in 2009 the Apache Foundation turned 10 and celebrated with a membership of 300 members working on 65 active projects.
"Today, our model is getting stronger and that is bringing more projects into Apache," says Doug Cutting, a member of the ASF board of directors and the creator of Apache's Lucene project.
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/linux/11949/white-house-no-kidding-microsoft-open-source-shined-09
Chicago Website Designers
Monday, December 14, 2009
Graphics Issues Force Apple to Delay iMac Orders, Resellers Report
Apple has delayed shipping new 27-in. iMacs until it can figure out the cause of flickering screens and other display problems, according to reports from authorized resellers.
The move came just days after a Web designer created a site that tallied issues with the 27-in. iMacs, including screens broken in shipment, on-again-off-again flickering displays and screens that showed a jaundice-yellow tint.
Two Apple resellers -- independent dealers approved by Apple to sell Macs -- contacted the Apple iMac (Fall 2009) Issues site to report that all shipments of iMacs had been pushed back at least two weeks as Apple replaces the machines' graphics cards.
Canadian Web designer Scott Pronych built the tracking site after he received a 27-in. iMac with a shattered screen, saying he wanted to document the display problems. By digging through Apple's support forum and taking reports directly from others via a form on his site, Pronych has identified more than 600 users who have had issues with their new machines.
A thread on Apple's support forum dedicated to the flickering screen problem boasts nearly 1,200 separate messages and has a view count of over 173,000, making it easily the most-read of those on the iMac forum.
The resellers who contacted Pronych are in Europe. "I think they are feeling a bit frustrated as a lot of customers are blaming them for slow delivery, and likely they see my Web site as proof that there are some real problems with the graphics system of the new iMacs," Pronych said in an e-mail Friday.
On Saturday Pronych reached out to the resellers on Computerworld 's behalf, but both declined to comment on the record. "I don't want to hurt my ties with the Mac community," one of the resellers said in an e-mail to Pronych that he forwarded in part to Computerworld. "As you may or may not know, Apple is strong-arming resellers since opening their own Apple Stores," the reseller continued.
Earlier this week, Apple changed the shipping status on its online store for both 27-in. iMac models from "Ships: 5-7 days" or "Ships 7-10 days" to "Ships: 2 weeks." Although high volume sales could account for the change, Pronych said he had been told by some users that Apple had pushed back the projected ship dates for their already-ordered iMacs.
Some U.S. resellers were out of stock. A Mac Connection sales representative, for instance, said that the e-tailer's next shipment of 27-in. iMacs was expected Dec. 18. "I don't have any information regarding a reason for the delay," the representative said in a live chat Saturday. Amazon.com reported that a new 27-in. iMac would ship "within 1 to 2 months."ClubMac.com, meanwhile, said it wouldn't have 27-in. models until the end of the month. A sales representative from the California-based e-tailer said only that "Apple is not able to get us our shipments."
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/laptops/11911/graphics-issues-force-apple-delay-imac-orders-resellers-report
Web Designers Chicago
The move came just days after a Web designer created a site that tallied issues with the 27-in. iMacs, including screens broken in shipment, on-again-off-again flickering displays and screens that showed a jaundice-yellow tint.
Two Apple resellers -- independent dealers approved by Apple to sell Macs -- contacted the Apple iMac (Fall 2009) Issues site to report that all shipments of iMacs had been pushed back at least two weeks as Apple replaces the machines' graphics cards.
Canadian Web designer Scott Pronych built the tracking site after he received a 27-in. iMac with a shattered screen, saying he wanted to document the display problems. By digging through Apple's support forum and taking reports directly from others via a form on his site, Pronych has identified more than 600 users who have had issues with their new machines.
A thread on Apple's support forum dedicated to the flickering screen problem boasts nearly 1,200 separate messages and has a view count of over 173,000, making it easily the most-read of those on the iMac forum.
The resellers who contacted Pronych are in Europe. "I think they are feeling a bit frustrated as a lot of customers are blaming them for slow delivery, and likely they see my Web site as proof that there are some real problems with the graphics system of the new iMacs," Pronych said in an e-mail Friday.
On Saturday Pronych reached out to the resellers on Computerworld 's behalf, but both declined to comment on the record. "I don't want to hurt my ties with the Mac community," one of the resellers said in an e-mail to Pronych that he forwarded in part to Computerworld. "As you may or may not know, Apple is strong-arming resellers since opening their own Apple Stores," the reseller continued.
Earlier this week, Apple changed the shipping status on its online store for both 27-in. iMac models from "Ships: 5-7 days" or "Ships 7-10 days" to "Ships: 2 weeks." Although high volume sales could account for the change, Pronych said he had been told by some users that Apple had pushed back the projected ship dates for their already-ordered iMacs.
Some U.S. resellers were out of stock. A Mac Connection sales representative, for instance, said that the e-tailer's next shipment of 27-in. iMacs was expected Dec. 18. "I don't have any information regarding a reason for the delay," the representative said in a live chat Saturday. Amazon.com reported that a new 27-in. iMac would ship "within 1 to 2 months."ClubMac.com, meanwhile, said it wouldn't have 27-in. models until the end of the month. A sales representative from the California-based e-tailer said only that "Apple is not able to get us our shipments."
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/laptops/11911/graphics-issues-force-apple-delay-imac-orders-resellers-report
Web Designers Chicago
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Google Phone Looks 'Supersharp'
A blog post from a Google executive on Saturday morning dropped hints that the company would release a Google Android phone of its own.
In the post, Mario Queiroz, a Google vice president of product management, said the company had developed a "mobile lab" device that "combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android." According to Queiroz, Google has distributed the device to Google employees worldwide so that they could test the new technology and help improve it.
Quieroz's announcement came only a few hours after reported sightings of the device. CNET TV Associate Producer Jason Howell, who had a very brief hands-on with the gadget Friday night and first relayed the news on Twitter, confirms that the "mobile lab" device is an HTC phone running the Android 2.1 operating system.
"I knew it was an HTC device," Howell said. "It looked like the Touch, but was a lot thinner...it was a slick-looking thing and very nice." He also spotted a trackball and four standard Android menu controls, and he said the display was "supersharp" and rivaled that on the Motorola Droid.
Howell didn't get a chance to dig into the handset's specs or detail the changes from the 2.1 update, but he noticed animated wallpapers, slight visual enhancements to the user interface, and a camera on the rear face that resembles the HTC Touch Pro 2. Curiously, Howell said he didn't see any Google logo on the handset. TechCrunch published additional, though unconfirmed, details, including a Snapdragon processor, an OLED touch screen, and a voice-to-text feature, while TheUnlockr posted leaked photos.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the handset will be called the Nexus One. Although HTC made the hardware, the software and user interface is all Google, from the applications to the "look and feel of each screen."
The Journal also said Google will begin selling the device early next year, directly to consumers, thus bypassing the traditional carrier channel. As an unlocked GSM device, the Nexus One could be used with T-Mobile or AT&T, though it's unclear which carrier's 3G bands the handset will support. During his brief tour, Howell wasn't able to test the performance, but he said that the Nexus One he handled was running on an AT&T SIM card.
Reports that Google would release its own Android phone first appeared earlier this year. The move is significant, as it could pit Google against the carriers that it so far has used to distribute existing Android phones. Also, without a carrier contract and subsequent service rebates the Nexus One could cost a few hundred dollars. For those reasons, I was a little skeptical when I first heard the rumor, so count me wrong on this one.
Source:
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-10414406-251.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Web Design Firms Chicago
In the post, Mario Queiroz, a Google vice president of product management, said the company had developed a "mobile lab" device that "combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android." According to Queiroz, Google has distributed the device to Google employees worldwide so that they could test the new technology and help improve it.
Quieroz's announcement came only a few hours after reported sightings of the device. CNET TV Associate Producer Jason Howell, who had a very brief hands-on with the gadget Friday night and first relayed the news on Twitter, confirms that the "mobile lab" device is an HTC phone running the Android 2.1 operating system.
"I knew it was an HTC device," Howell said. "It looked like the Touch, but was a lot thinner...it was a slick-looking thing and very nice." He also spotted a trackball and four standard Android menu controls, and he said the display was "supersharp" and rivaled that on the Motorola Droid.
Howell didn't get a chance to dig into the handset's specs or detail the changes from the 2.1 update, but he noticed animated wallpapers, slight visual enhancements to the user interface, and a camera on the rear face that resembles the HTC Touch Pro 2. Curiously, Howell said he didn't see any Google logo on the handset. TechCrunch published additional, though unconfirmed, details, including a Snapdragon processor, an OLED touch screen, and a voice-to-text feature, while TheUnlockr posted leaked photos.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the handset will be called the Nexus One. Although HTC made the hardware, the software and user interface is all Google, from the applications to the "look and feel of each screen."
The Journal also said Google will begin selling the device early next year, directly to consumers, thus bypassing the traditional carrier channel. As an unlocked GSM device, the Nexus One could be used with T-Mobile or AT&T, though it's unclear which carrier's 3G bands the handset will support. During his brief tour, Howell wasn't able to test the performance, but he said that the Nexus One he handled was running on an AT&T SIM card.
Reports that Google would release its own Android phone first appeared earlier this year. The move is significant, as it could pit Google against the carriers that it so far has used to distribute existing Android phones. Also, without a carrier contract and subsequent service rebates the Nexus One could cost a few hundred dollars. For those reasons, I was a little skeptical when I first heard the rumor, so count me wrong on this one.
Source:
http://www.cnet.com/8301-19736_1-10414406-251.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Web Design Firms Chicago
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Intel May Give Larrabee Update in Late 2010, Analyst Says
Intel is likely to give an update on plans for its delayed graphics chip during the third quarter of 2010, an industry analyst said Wednesday.
Last week, Intel announced it was delaying indefinitely the release of a graphics chip based on its Larrabee architecture, which uses dozens of x86 cores to handle graphics processing and parallel processing tasks. The delay was seen as a blow to Intel's hopes of competing against standalone graphics chips made by Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel executives said the company will detail its future plans for Larrabee next year, without giving a specific date. However, an announcement could come during the third quarter of next year, when Intel hosts its annual Intel Developer Forum conference, said Jim McGregor, the chief technology strategist at market research firm In-Stat.
"I do think we will see plans from them next fall, but not a product until sometime later. I would also expect that it might have some significant changes as a result of the lessons learned," McGregor wrote in an e-mail, without speculating what kinds of changes might be made.
"You always learn something when you are trying to create a new hardware architecture and software programming model," he wrote.
While Intel shelved plans for the release of a Larrabee chip, it's promised to make samples available to developers as part of a software developer platform that will allow them to write and test applications.
Intel showed off a Larrabee prototype at IDF in September, where it was demonstrated running a video game, "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars."
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/graphics-boards/11820/intel-may-give-larrabee-update-late-2010-analyst-says
Chicago Web Design
Last week, Intel announced it was delaying indefinitely the release of a graphics chip based on its Larrabee architecture, which uses dozens of x86 cores to handle graphics processing and parallel processing tasks. The delay was seen as a blow to Intel's hopes of competing against standalone graphics chips made by Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
Intel executives said the company will detail its future plans for Larrabee next year, without giving a specific date. However, an announcement could come during the third quarter of next year, when Intel hosts its annual Intel Developer Forum conference, said Jim McGregor, the chief technology strategist at market research firm In-Stat.
"I do think we will see plans from them next fall, but not a product until sometime later. I would also expect that it might have some significant changes as a result of the lessons learned," McGregor wrote in an e-mail, without speculating what kinds of changes might be made.
"You always learn something when you are trying to create a new hardware architecture and software programming model," he wrote.
While Intel shelved plans for the release of a Larrabee chip, it's promised to make samples available to developers as part of a software developer platform that will allow them to write and test applications.
Intel showed off a Larrabee prototype at IDF in September, where it was demonstrated running a video game, "Enemy Territory: Quake Wars."
Source:
http://www.itnews.com/graphics-boards/11820/intel-may-give-larrabee-update-late-2010-analyst-says
Chicago Web Design
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Microsoft Reposts Windows 7 Download Tool
Microsoft said Wednesday it has reposted a tool to the Internet that aids installing Windows 7 on Netbooks and computers without an optical drive.
The software maker pulled the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool off its Web site last month after it was pointed out that the software appeared to use open-source code licensed under the GNU Public License (GPL v2). Microsoft later apologized and said that the code did in fact use GPL code. Microsoft said it would repost the tool and make it open source under the terms of the GPL.
Microsoft posted the open-source version of the tool on Wednesday, although it took longer than the company had originally anticipated.
"As we previously explained, the testing and localization took longer than we expected, but the project is now hosted on CodePlex.com, Microsoft's Open Source software project hosting repository," Microsoft open-source community manager Peter Galli said in a blog posting.
Also, the whole effort to get Windows 7 onto a Netbook now takes longer as several other pieces of code that had been included with the tool are now separate downloads.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10412826-56.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Professional Website Design Services
The software maker pulled the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool off its Web site last month after it was pointed out that the software appeared to use open-source code licensed under the GNU Public License (GPL v2). Microsoft later apologized and said that the code did in fact use GPL code. Microsoft said it would repost the tool and make it open source under the terms of the GPL.
Microsoft posted the open-source version of the tool on Wednesday, although it took longer than the company had originally anticipated.
"As we previously explained, the testing and localization took longer than we expected, but the project is now hosted on CodePlex.com, Microsoft's Open Source software project hosting repository," Microsoft open-source community manager Peter Galli said in a blog posting.
Also, the whole effort to get Windows 7 onto a Netbook now takes longer as several other pieces of code that had been included with the tool are now separate downloads.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10412826-56.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
Professional Website Design Services
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
India’s Social Web Index – More than 60% Upload Photos & 34% Blog
Recently a research has been conducted by TrendStream, who publishes the Global Web Index and the research is based on interviews with 32,000 Internet users in 16 countries including India. The research outputs a visualization that shows the different kind activities performed by online users in major countries across he globe called – Global Map of Social Web Involvement.
Interestingly the reports also shows some very positive aspects of India’s online activities such as writing blogs, using micr-blogging services, uploading videos and photos where it leads most countries (user volume in millions) like UK, Germany, Australia, Italy, France, Germany and Japan. Moreover, when it comes to percentage of total online users – More people in India write their own blogs and use Micro-blogging services in India than US.
The report is extremely useful for all those who are on verge of starting any internet or web startups in India or any countries listed in this report or planning to have one, with all these Social Web involvement matrix one can plan out a specific traits, features in their websites, portals or internet services to take advantage of what people are more prone to do with doing activities more than others.
Source:
http://www.indianweb2.com/2009/12/social-web-index-india-perspective-gwi/
Professional Web Design Chicago
Interestingly the reports also shows some very positive aspects of India’s online activities such as writing blogs, using micr-blogging services, uploading videos and photos where it leads most countries (user volume in millions) like UK, Germany, Australia, Italy, France, Germany and Japan. Moreover, when it comes to percentage of total online users – More people in India write their own blogs and use Micro-blogging services in India than US.
The report is extremely useful for all those who are on verge of starting any internet or web startups in India or any countries listed in this report or planning to have one, with all these Social Web involvement matrix one can plan out a specific traits, features in their websites, portals or internet services to take advantage of what people are more prone to do with doing activities more than others.Source:
http://www.indianweb2.com/2009/12/social-web-index-india-perspective-gwi/
Professional Web Design Chicago
Monday, December 7, 2009
AT&T iPhone Collects User Complaints About Poor Service
Would you like to let AT&T know when your iPhone has dropped a call? Well, now there is an app for that.
AT&T on Monday released a new application called "Mark the Spot," which lets iPhone users submit complaints about dropped calls, poor service coverage, and less-than-perfect voice quality.
The application is free and available in the iTunes App Store. It uses GPS technology in the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS to pin point where the user is when experiencing the problems. For first generation iPhones, it uses cell tower-triangulation to get a fix on problem areas.
Once the application is launched, users have several complaint options. They will see a screen that has buttons that let them report a dropped call, poor voice quality, or poor service coverage.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said AT&T plans to use the data collected to identify trends and prioritize the company's network investments.
"We think this is a great way to get customer feedback to improve our network," Siegel said. "We are always looking for ways to make it easy for customers to share their experiences. And this app lets customers report issues. It logs the time and location and automatically forwards the information to our network planning team."
iPhone owners have been complaining about AT&T's network since the Apple iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007. Complaints mounted after the 3G version of the phone was released a year later in 2008. And as more iPhone users come onto the network, more people, particularly in densely populated urban areas, such as New York City and San Francisco, have experienced problems with dropped calls and congested data networks.
AT&T executives have not admitted that AT&T has a problem with its network. But executives, such as AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan, have said that the company has seen a surge in data traffic attributed to iPhone users, who typically consume more wireless bandwidth than other AT&T wireless customers.
AT&T has been upgrading its network to keep up with demand. But problems persist. And AT&T's network recently got a poor ranking in terms of customer satisfaction in a Consumer Reports survey.
Verizon Wireless, AT&T's chief rival, has taken advantage of AT&T's struggles with a series of advertisements that point out AT&T's lack of 3G network coverage in certain parts of the country. Verizon is running advertisements that mock the Apple "There's an app for that," catch phrase with one that says, "There's a map for that."
AT&T fired back with a lawsuit and an advertisements of its own featuring actor Luke Wilson, who points out AT&T's strengths while taking a few shots at Verizon Wireless.
AT&T recently dropped its lawsuit against Verizon. And Verizon, which had been suing AT&T over claims that it has the fastest 3G wireless network, also dropped its lawsuit against AT&T.
Siegel said that the new "Mark the Spot" Application was not prompted by the bad publicity around its network issues nor was it prompted by the current ad wars going on between AT&T and Verizon. Instead, he said that the application was simply a part of AT&T's ongoing commitment to listening to customers.
"We are always looking at ways to get customer feedback in as timely a manner as possible," he said. "That's why we pay attention to Twitter, Facebook and blog. One of the great values of these social networking tools is that it's a great way to get instant feedback. And it helps us identify problems."
The "Mark the Spot" application can be downloaded onto all iPhones running version 3.0 or later of Apple's operating system or it can be access using iTunes and synchronized to the iPhone via a PC or Mac.
Siegel said that AT&T is testing the "Mark the Spot" app for other devices. And he said AT&T hopes to offer Applications on other smartphones in the future. No date has been announced yet. And Siegel didn't specify which devices might get the new application, but considering that AT&T sells a lot of Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices, it's likely it will create an application for that device. The app could be offered through AT&T's own application storefront or through RIM's BlackBerry App World.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10410869-266.html?tag=mncol;title
Professional Web Design Chicago
AT&T on Monday released a new application called "Mark the Spot," which lets iPhone users submit complaints about dropped calls, poor service coverage, and less-than-perfect voice quality.
The application is free and available in the iTunes App Store. It uses GPS technology in the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS to pin point where the user is when experiencing the problems. For first generation iPhones, it uses cell tower-triangulation to get a fix on problem areas.
Once the application is launched, users have several complaint options. They will see a screen that has buttons that let them report a dropped call, poor voice quality, or poor service coverage.
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said AT&T plans to use the data collected to identify trends and prioritize the company's network investments.
"We think this is a great way to get customer feedback to improve our network," Siegel said. "We are always looking for ways to make it easy for customers to share their experiences. And this app lets customers report issues. It logs the time and location and automatically forwards the information to our network planning team."
iPhone owners have been complaining about AT&T's network since the Apple iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007. Complaints mounted after the 3G version of the phone was released a year later in 2008. And as more iPhone users come onto the network, more people, particularly in densely populated urban areas, such as New York City and San Francisco, have experienced problems with dropped calls and congested data networks.
AT&T executives have not admitted that AT&T has a problem with its network. But executives, such as AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan, have said that the company has seen a surge in data traffic attributed to iPhone users, who typically consume more wireless bandwidth than other AT&T wireless customers.
AT&T has been upgrading its network to keep up with demand. But problems persist. And AT&T's network recently got a poor ranking in terms of customer satisfaction in a Consumer Reports survey.
Verizon Wireless, AT&T's chief rival, has taken advantage of AT&T's struggles with a series of advertisements that point out AT&T's lack of 3G network coverage in certain parts of the country. Verizon is running advertisements that mock the Apple "There's an app for that," catch phrase with one that says, "There's a map for that."
AT&T fired back with a lawsuit and an advertisements of its own featuring actor Luke Wilson, who points out AT&T's strengths while taking a few shots at Verizon Wireless.
AT&T recently dropped its lawsuit against Verizon. And Verizon, which had been suing AT&T over claims that it has the fastest 3G wireless network, also dropped its lawsuit against AT&T.
Siegel said that the new "Mark the Spot" Application was not prompted by the bad publicity around its network issues nor was it prompted by the current ad wars going on between AT&T and Verizon. Instead, he said that the application was simply a part of AT&T's ongoing commitment to listening to customers.
"We are always looking at ways to get customer feedback in as timely a manner as possible," he said. "That's why we pay attention to Twitter, Facebook and blog. One of the great values of these social networking tools is that it's a great way to get instant feedback. And it helps us identify problems."
The "Mark the Spot" application can be downloaded onto all iPhones running version 3.0 or later of Apple's operating system or it can be access using iTunes and synchronized to the iPhone via a PC or Mac.
Siegel said that AT&T is testing the "Mark the Spot" app for other devices. And he said AT&T hopes to offer Applications on other smartphones in the future. No date has been announced yet. And Siegel didn't specify which devices might get the new application, but considering that AT&T sells a lot of Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices, it's likely it will create an application for that device. The app could be offered through AT&T's own application storefront or through RIM's BlackBerry App World.
Source:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10410869-266.html?tag=mncol;title
Professional Web Design Chicago
Google’s Infinite Strip: The Brilliance in Google Wave
Imagine you had an infinitely-long strip of paper that you, and your friends, could write on anywhere along the strip. Imagine that you could write anywhere along that strip anytime, or even all at the same time.
That is exactly what Google Wave is. Except it’s not a piece of paper and using a Wave you can even have things automatically write to the strip (bots) and since we’re talking computers here we’re not limited to words, but videos, pictures, and, even information from other computer services, er, APIs. There are some new things you can do on a Wave too, like hold a vote. It’s a chat room, but not the usual text-only one-comment-after-another kind.
That is what is brilliant about Google Wave. Unfortunately they didn’t stop there and make that work right. Read a guest post in TechCrunch by Martin Seibert for a great analysis on where they went wrong (they stuck this infinite strip inside an email metaphor, which makes it nearly useless if you get more than 20 people interacting with you via Wave — my account is almost unopenable because it’s so unproductive).
But let’s forget the email interface because someday someone will strip Wave out of that crappy interface and give us its brilliance: just the infinite strip.
There still are some problems with just this part of Wave. There are two that I’ve found:
That said, these two things are fairly easy to fix. But first the Google Wave team MUST get rid of the email interface.
I wish I could tell the team to free their minds. You won’t get more adoption by putting it into something that looks like email. All you’ll do is hide the brilliance and ensure it remains unusable and undiscoverable for lots of us.
Source:
http://scobleizer.com/2009/11/27/googles-infinite-strip/
Web Design Firms Chicago
That is exactly what Google Wave is. Except it’s not a piece of paper and using a Wave you can even have things automatically write to the strip (bots) and since we’re talking computers here we’re not limited to words, but videos, pictures, and, even information from other computer services, er, APIs. There are some new things you can do on a Wave too, like hold a vote. It’s a chat room, but not the usual text-only one-comment-after-another kind.
That is what is brilliant about Google Wave. Unfortunately they didn’t stop there and make that work right. Read a guest post in TechCrunch by Martin Seibert for a great analysis on where they went wrong (they stuck this infinite strip inside an email metaphor, which makes it nearly useless if you get more than 20 people interacting with you via Wave — my account is almost unopenable because it’s so unproductive).
But let’s forget the email interface because someday someone will strip Wave out of that crappy interface and give us its brilliance: just the infinite strip.
There still are some problems with just this part of Wave. There are two that I’ve found:
- I can’t find where the good stuff is. I sat next to a Wave user at the Defrag conference in Denver. I could see that tons of people were putting good notes into a wave about that conference. But, quick, find the useful stuff inside that wave. You can’t. Why? For a whole lot of reasons. We’re going to need curation so that guys like me can overlay a map of where useful stuff actually is. Which brings me to point number two.
- There aren’t permalinks that we can figure out. We need permalinks for each few inches along the infinite strip so that we can link you to a Wave and say “there’s value right here.” Right now I can’t do that, so I can’t point you to specific places in the Defrag conference Wave and say “check out xyz’s notes here, they are most excellent.” Now, I’m sure some geek will point out there’s a way to do it, but I haven’t figured it out yet and the guy I was sitting next to couldn’t tell me, so it must require some sort of Sergey Brin decoder ring.
That said, these two things are fairly easy to fix. But first the Google Wave team MUST get rid of the email interface.
I wish I could tell the team to free their minds. You won’t get more adoption by putting it into something that looks like email. All you’ll do is hide the brilliance and ensure it remains unusable and undiscoverable for lots of us.
Source:
http://scobleizer.com/2009/11/27/googles-infinite-strip/
Web Design Firms Chicago
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Google Releases Page Speed Report In Webmaster Tools
In the wake of page speed becoming a ranking factor in 2010, Google has announced a new labs feature in Google Webmaster Tools.
The new feature is the “Site performance” report under the “Labs” section of the tool. The site performance basically shows you how fast your site loads compared to other sites. It also shows you, over time, if your site is getting faster or slower, with a nice graph. Google also lists out specific pages and their load time and then provides tips on how to improve those pages on a per page basis.
Here is a screen shot of one of the site performance reports that I am a webmaster over:
Source:
http://searchengineland.com/google-releases-page-speed-report-in-webmaster-tools-31036?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+searchengineland+%28Search+Engine+Land%29
Chicago Web Design
The new feature is the “Site performance” report under the “Labs” section of the tool. The site performance basically shows you how fast your site loads compared to other sites. It also shows you, over time, if your site is getting faster or slower, with a nice graph. Google also lists out specific pages and their load time and then provides tips on how to improve those pages on a per page basis.
Here is a screen shot of one of the site performance reports that I am a webmaster over:
Source:
http://searchengineland.com/google-releases-page-speed-report-in-webmaster-tools-31036?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+searchengineland+%28Search+Engine+Land%29
Chicago Web Design
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Virtual Infrastructure in Cloud Computing Just Passes The Buck
There are many good reasons to go down the virtual infrastructure road. The illusion that it’s cheaper than dedicated hardware solutions is not one of them.
I was reading an interesting predictive article on WAN optimization that contends that virtualized WAN optimization controllers (WOC) are, well, just better than sliced bread. One of the reasons why the author opined this way was presented as the great benefits of horizontal scalability (linear) in cloud computing environments.
blockquote Savings and scalability. This approach ensures that there is no need for dedicated hardware to support WAN Optimization, saving on CAPEX and OPEX. Cost savings will also be realized through virtual scalability. As enterprises add more services or applications to be accessed by additional remote workers via the cloud, the virtualized WAN optimization model will be able to scale linearly.
The implication here is clear: WAN optimization via virtual solutions saves CAPEX and OPEX over dedicated hardware and additional savings are achieved through virtual scalability. But that’s ignoring that the initial investment cost is simply shifted from CAPEX to longer-term OPEX when scalability enters the picture. Not just scalability of the solution, but the impact of application and virtual infrastructure scalability on the solution as well.
VIRTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS JUST PASSING THE BUCK
Back in the old days we used to deploy all our infrastructure as software. As you needed more compute resources, you deployed bigger, beefier servers on which to deploy said solutions. That’s vertical scalability. Today we prefer the cloud computing model: horizontal scalability. Pay as you grow, Compute Resources on-demand. Whatever you want to call it the appeal is certainly in the perception that it’s easier and, perhaps more importantly, cheaper than traditional hardware-based scalability solutions. But it’s not accurate at all to equate this model with what is essentially “cheaper” scalability. The operational expenses associated with management, the cost of additional licenses, integration, and the hourly costs associated with the cloud computing environment in question all must be factored into the equation lest we fall prey to the hype that encircles cloud computing today.
One of the reasons you see cost savings in cloud computing is that the costs of the hardware – the physical servers – are shared. You only pay a “nominal” fee per hour for using that hardware. The cost of that hardware is shared across hundreds of other customers, all seeking the same reduction in operating and capital expenditures. So far, so good. Sharing the physical hardware certainly does spread the cost around and results in a cheaper operating environment – at least for the customer.
But when you start virtualizing the infrastructure (as in virtual software equivalents) you generally don’t get to share the costs of the solution and you never share the costs of management. Most of the time you just share the same costs you do for any other generic virtual image: the underlying physical hardware. You’re also forced to scale horizontally based on the capacity constraints inherent in the virtual image. The provider and/or solution vendor sets the RAM/compute resources available for the virtual instance and if you need more resources when you’ve reached the largest configuration you’ll have to start scaling horizontally. Whether you want to or not. The second image incurs the same management costs as well as the hourly fees. Likely, too, you’re paying for the licensing because virtual versions of solutions aren’t free, after all, unless you’re leveraging open source solutions that are.
You don’t share those costs with anyone. They are yours, and yours alone. The buck passes from CAPEX to OPEX. CAPEX is reduced, yes, but OPEX? Not so much. Perhaps that’s better from an accounting point of view, but from a total cost perspective it doesn’t really change much.
SCALABILITY OF APPLICATIONS IMPACTS COSTS OF VIRTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE
You can, of course, choose the largest image and thus avoid horizontal scalability. But that is going to increase the costs of the solution overall. Consider the virtual equivalent of an application delivery controller delivered via Amazon EC2 on its largest (quadruple large) image is $4.80 / hour (based on pricing listed by Zeus Technologies for its virtual solution on Amazon). It is unlikely you’ll have any hour in which that solution is not used. Assuming even one request handled per hour, every hour, every day you’re looking at more than $42000 per year
Don’t forget, too, you may likely have additional charges for bandwidth – both ingress and
egress. Not nearly as “inexpensive” as purported. You could start smaller, but that means it’s more likely you’ll need to “upgrade” midstream. This is far easier to do with a virtual infrastructure than with hardware, at least from a physical deployment perspective, but it is just as disruptive a process and may lead to jumping onto the horizontal scalability path earlier rather than later because it is so easy to simply “add another instance” when compared to “upgrade to a new image.” Consider, too, that deploying Virtual Infrastructure means it is not integrated with the rest of the environment. That may not sound bad, until you realize that automatic scalability means new instances of applications – and perhaps other infrastructure solutions - may be popping up that you need to manage via the infrastructure. How is the infrastructure going to know about it? Either you are manually managing this process or you are going to be doing some integration work. That’s yet another soft-cost of “scalability” that isn’t factored into the equation when comparing hardware to virtual infrastructure.
Contrast that to a model in which services are provided via shared hardware infrastructure solutions. The cost of the hardware is not nominal. But like the rest of the physical infrastructure its costs are shared across all customers. Providing traditional network and Application Network Solutions as services is inherently better suited to a cloud computing environment in that it allows the management costs to be shared (the provider manages the solution, not the customer) and is completely on-demand. Scalability is not the concern of the customer and generally speaking the limitations on RAM/compute resources do not exist in the same way they exist in virtual solutions. Bandwidth in both scenarios can be limited or unlimited, depending on requirements and implementation. Integration should also be taken care of by virtue of the fact that it’s a part of the cloud computing environment and the provider likely wants to ensure that they are billed properly for services rendered.
The current method of deploying a virtual infrastructure actually breaks the “shared resources, shared costs” model of cloud computing and negates the cost savings associated with the elimination of CAPEX for the hardware with the OPEX costs of management, integration, licensing, and a more constrained operating environment that ultimately leads to the need to scale out sooner than would otherwise be required. Certainly a shared model could be implemented via virtualized software solutions, but this model has the same implementation roadblocks as hardware solutions that lead to non-implementation today. Virtual infrastructure shifts many of the management and maintenance-related burdens offloaded by a public cloud computing model back onto the organization and requires more vigilance and dedication to ensuring the overall architecture is operating as expected.
VIRTUALIZED INFRASTRUCTURE IS PROBABLY YOUR ONLY OPTION
Today, virtualized infrastructure may be the only option for an organization to obtain the control and choice that is currently lacking in today’s cloud computing environments. Deploying hardware solutions and associated services requires an investment on the part of the provider and additional time and investment in developing the means by which customers can take advantage of the solution via services. While most providers invest in hardware solutions without pause, they rarely take the next step in integrating its offerings as services for customers. This means that if you need specific infrastructure components – Application Acceleration, WAN optimization, web application security – that you’ll likely need to go the virtual infrastructure route. That’s not all bad; this path leads to control and isolation of implementation and configuration, which can be a requirement for conforming to organizational security policies. Organizations having concerns about the impact of other customers sharing infrastructure resources (they already do, but a service-based model brings this to the fore) will almost certainly want to take advantage of the isolation afforded by a virtualized infrastructure implementation.
I’m not arguing against virtual infrastructure in theory or against the control and choice they offer customers. There are challenges with such implementations, mind you, but that’s not really the point today. I’m simply arguing against the “it’s cheaper” mantra that is patently false and fails to take into consideration all the variables in the equation and instead focuses only on the most tangible ones.
There are certainly benefits realized from both deployment models and it is up to the organization to decide which model is right for them. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking virtual infrastructure is a “cheaper” solution, because when you step back and take a look at the entire cost of a solution, that’s just not the case and in fact a services-enabled infrastructure may be a much more financially advantageous solution – except for the provider.
Which may be the real reason the only option you ever have is a virtual one.
Source:
http://web2.sys-con.com/node/1206590
Web Design Firms Chicago
I was reading an interesting predictive article on WAN optimization that contends that virtualized WAN optimization controllers (WOC) are, well, just better than sliced bread. One of the reasons why the author opined this way was presented as the great benefits of horizontal scalability (linear) in cloud computing environments.
blockquote Savings and scalability. This approach ensures that there is no need for dedicated hardware to support WAN Optimization, saving on CAPEX and OPEX. Cost savings will also be realized through virtual scalability. As enterprises add more services or applications to be accessed by additional remote workers via the cloud, the virtualized WAN optimization model will be able to scale linearly.
The implication here is clear: WAN optimization via virtual solutions saves CAPEX and OPEX over dedicated hardware and additional savings are achieved through virtual scalability. But that’s ignoring that the initial investment cost is simply shifted from CAPEX to longer-term OPEX when scalability enters the picture. Not just scalability of the solution, but the impact of application and virtual infrastructure scalability on the solution as well.
VIRTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS JUST PASSING THE BUCK
Back in the old days we used to deploy all our infrastructure as software. As you needed more compute resources, you deployed bigger, beefier servers on which to deploy said solutions. That’s vertical scalability. Today we prefer the cloud computing model: horizontal scalability. Pay as you grow, Compute Resources on-demand. Whatever you want to call it the appeal is certainly in the perception that it’s easier and, perhaps more importantly, cheaper than traditional hardware-based scalability solutions. But it’s not accurate at all to equate this model with what is essentially “cheaper” scalability. The operational expenses associated with management, the cost of additional licenses, integration, and the hourly costs associated with the cloud computing environment in question all must be factored into the equation lest we fall prey to the hype that encircles cloud computing today.
One of the reasons you see cost savings in cloud computing is that the costs of the hardware – the physical servers – are shared. You only pay a “nominal” fee per hour for using that hardware. The cost of that hardware is shared across hundreds of other customers, all seeking the same reduction in operating and capital expenditures. So far, so good. Sharing the physical hardware certainly does spread the cost around and results in a cheaper operating environment – at least for the customer.
But when you start virtualizing the infrastructure (as in virtual software equivalents) you generally don’t get to share the costs of the solution and you never share the costs of management. Most of the time you just share the same costs you do for any other generic virtual image: the underlying physical hardware. You’re also forced to scale horizontally based on the capacity constraints inherent in the virtual image. The provider and/or solution vendor sets the RAM/compute resources available for the virtual instance and if you need more resources when you’ve reached the largest configuration you’ll have to start scaling horizontally. Whether you want to or not. The second image incurs the same management costs as well as the hourly fees. Likely, too, you’re paying for the licensing because virtual versions of solutions aren’t free, after all, unless you’re leveraging open source solutions that are.You don’t share those costs with anyone. They are yours, and yours alone. The buck passes from CAPEX to OPEX. CAPEX is reduced, yes, but OPEX? Not so much. Perhaps that’s better from an accounting point of view, but from a total cost perspective it doesn’t really change much.
SCALABILITY OF APPLICATIONS IMPACTS COSTS OF VIRTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE
You can, of course, choose the largest image and thus avoid horizontal scalability. But that is going to increase the costs of the solution overall. Consider the virtual equivalent of an application delivery controller delivered via Amazon EC2 on its largest (quadruple large) image is $4.80 / hour (based on pricing listed by Zeus Technologies for its virtual solution on Amazon). It is unlikely you’ll have any hour in which that solution is not used. Assuming even one request handled per hour, every hour, every day you’re looking at more than $42000 per year
Don’t forget, too, you may likely have additional charges for bandwidth – both ingress and
egress. Not nearly as “inexpensive” as purported. You could start smaller, but that means it’s more likely you’ll need to “upgrade” midstream. This is far easier to do with a virtual infrastructure than with hardware, at least from a physical deployment perspective, but it is just as disruptive a process and may lead to jumping onto the horizontal scalability path earlier rather than later because it is so easy to simply “add another instance” when compared to “upgrade to a new image.” Consider, too, that deploying Virtual Infrastructure means it is not integrated with the rest of the environment. That may not sound bad, until you realize that automatic scalability means new instances of applications – and perhaps other infrastructure solutions - may be popping up that you need to manage via the infrastructure. How is the infrastructure going to know about it? Either you are manually managing this process or you are going to be doing some integration work. That’s yet another soft-cost of “scalability” that isn’t factored into the equation when comparing hardware to virtual infrastructure.Contrast that to a model in which services are provided via shared hardware infrastructure solutions. The cost of the hardware is not nominal. But like the rest of the physical infrastructure its costs are shared across all customers. Providing traditional network and Application Network Solutions as services is inherently better suited to a cloud computing environment in that it allows the management costs to be shared (the provider manages the solution, not the customer) and is completely on-demand. Scalability is not the concern of the customer and generally speaking the limitations on RAM/compute resources do not exist in the same way they exist in virtual solutions. Bandwidth in both scenarios can be limited or unlimited, depending on requirements and implementation. Integration should also be taken care of by virtue of the fact that it’s a part of the cloud computing environment and the provider likely wants to ensure that they are billed properly for services rendered.
The current method of deploying a virtual infrastructure actually breaks the “shared resources, shared costs” model of cloud computing and negates the cost savings associated with the elimination of CAPEX for the hardware with the OPEX costs of management, integration, licensing, and a more constrained operating environment that ultimately leads to the need to scale out sooner than would otherwise be required. Certainly a shared model could be implemented via virtualized software solutions, but this model has the same implementation roadblocks as hardware solutions that lead to non-implementation today. Virtual infrastructure shifts many of the management and maintenance-related burdens offloaded by a public cloud computing model back onto the organization and requires more vigilance and dedication to ensuring the overall architecture is operating as expected.
VIRTUALIZED INFRASTRUCTURE IS PROBABLY YOUR ONLY OPTION
Today, virtualized infrastructure may be the only option for an organization to obtain the control and choice that is currently lacking in today’s cloud computing environments. Deploying hardware solutions and associated services requires an investment on the part of the provider and additional time and investment in developing the means by which customers can take advantage of the solution via services. While most providers invest in hardware solutions without pause, they rarely take the next step in integrating its offerings as services for customers. This means that if you need specific infrastructure components – Application Acceleration, WAN optimization, web application security – that you’ll likely need to go the virtual infrastructure route. That’s not all bad; this path leads to control and isolation of implementation and configuration, which can be a requirement for conforming to organizational security policies. Organizations having concerns about the impact of other customers sharing infrastructure resources (they already do, but a service-based model brings this to the fore) will almost certainly want to take advantage of the isolation afforded by a virtualized infrastructure implementation.
I’m not arguing against virtual infrastructure in theory or against the control and choice they offer customers. There are challenges with such implementations, mind you, but that’s not really the point today. I’m simply arguing against the “it’s cheaper” mantra that is patently false and fails to take into consideration all the variables in the equation and instead focuses only on the most tangible ones.
There are certainly benefits realized from both deployment models and it is up to the organization to decide which model is right for them. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking virtual infrastructure is a “cheaper” solution, because when you step back and take a look at the entire cost of a solution, that’s just not the case and in fact a services-enabled infrastructure may be a much more financially advantageous solution – except for the provider.
Which may be the real reason the only option you ever have is a virtual one.
Source:
http://web2.sys-con.com/node/1206590
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009
What If Oracle's Buyout of Sun Falls Through?
With Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems stalled by European Union deliberations, industry dignitaries offered mixed perspectives recently on the ultimate fate of the deal and what it could mean for Sun technologies if the deal falls through.
The $7.4 billion merger is stalled over EU concerns over the fact that the commercial database giant would own the open source MySQL database, which is now Sun property. And the stalled buyout has left Sun's fate up in the air, with customers and employees uncertain as to what will happen -- perhaps leading to an erosion of Sun's values as customers and employees begin looking elsewhere.
"There's been a pause or lull in the market regarding Sun products because Sun customers have been waiting" on the merger, said Gartner analyst Ray Valdes. There is a lack of clarity on which products Oracle will invest in, he said. (Oracle has offered some guidance, emphasizing intentions to continue technologies such as Java, MySQL, Sun hardware, and the OpenOffice application suite.)
Competitors are certainly noticing the effects: "I just wouldn't want to be one of those customers with uncertainty and ambiguity," said Tim O'Brien, Microsoft's senior director of platform strategy. Meanwhile, the layoffs at Sun keep coming, with 3,000 job cuts announced recently.
Sun's options if Oracle walks away
But what if Oracle walks away from the Sun buyout rather than accept conditions the EU might impose to protect MySQL? A failure to consummate the buyout would leave Sun in a weakened state but could in fact provide more clarity on the future of the Sun portfolio, said Valdes. Right now, Sun cannot say much about what it is doing, he said. (Oracle's Larry Ellison has stated publicly that he has every intention of completing the Sun buyout. Neither Oracle nor Sun would comment for this story.)
Still, if Oracle does walk away, it's likely Sun would then look for a new buyer rather than try to remain independent, said RedMonk analyst Stephen O'Grady. The recession of 2008-09 hit Sun at the worst possible time, and Oracle provided a safe haven in troubled times when it agreed to buy Sun last April. Since then, Sun's position has gotten worse, so it would still need a rescuer.
Source:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/mergers-and-acquisitions/what-if-oracles-buyout-sun-falls-through-454
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The $7.4 billion merger is stalled over EU concerns over the fact that the commercial database giant would own the open source MySQL database, which is now Sun property. And the stalled buyout has left Sun's fate up in the air, with customers and employees uncertain as to what will happen -- perhaps leading to an erosion of Sun's values as customers and employees begin looking elsewhere.
"There's been a pause or lull in the market regarding Sun products because Sun customers have been waiting" on the merger, said Gartner analyst Ray Valdes. There is a lack of clarity on which products Oracle will invest in, he said. (Oracle has offered some guidance, emphasizing intentions to continue technologies such as Java, MySQL, Sun hardware, and the OpenOffice application suite.)
Competitors are certainly noticing the effects: "I just wouldn't want to be one of those customers with uncertainty and ambiguity," said Tim O'Brien, Microsoft's senior director of platform strategy. Meanwhile, the layoffs at Sun keep coming, with 3,000 job cuts announced recently.
Sun's options if Oracle walks away
But what if Oracle walks away from the Sun buyout rather than accept conditions the EU might impose to protect MySQL? A failure to consummate the buyout would leave Sun in a weakened state but could in fact provide more clarity on the future of the Sun portfolio, said Valdes. Right now, Sun cannot say much about what it is doing, he said. (Oracle's Larry Ellison has stated publicly that he has every intention of completing the Sun buyout. Neither Oracle nor Sun would comment for this story.)
Still, if Oracle does walk away, it's likely Sun would then look for a new buyer rather than try to remain independent, said RedMonk analyst Stephen O'Grady. The recession of 2008-09 hit Sun at the worst possible time, and Oracle provided a safe haven in troubled times when it agreed to buy Sun last April. Since then, Sun's position has gotten worse, so it would still need a rescuer.
Source:
http://www.infoworld.com/t/mergers-and-acquisitions/what-if-oracles-buyout-sun-falls-through-454
Chicago Web Design
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