Intel have announced that their open source projects will be merged with Nokias. They are urging the three main players from The Linux Foundation to join forces for future platform development.
The full press release can be found here.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Intel and Nokia Merge Software Platforms for Future Computing Devices
Intel have announced that their open source projects will be merged with Nokias. They are urging the three main players from The Linux Foundation to join forces for future platform development.
The full press release can be found here.
Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series: Too little too late?
Posted by Larry Dignan @ 2:30 am
Microsoft has finally come up with an answer for its mobile phone operating system conundrum: Take the Zune software and extend it into something unique and fresh. The big question is whether Microsoft has solved the Windows Mobile puzzle too late.
Microsoft said Windows Phone 7 represents a “fresh approach” that will layer in simplicity, context, applications and the Web. In a nutshell, Xbox Live games and Zune music are now features of Windows Phone 7. These phones arrive by holiday 2010.
First off, Microsoft appears to be generating some real return on investment for its Zune adventure. Sure, Microsoft is an also-ran on the music player front, but at least it started a mobile operating system. Kudos to the software giant for starting over from scratch.
The elephant in this mobile room is whether Microsoft’s move is a case of too little, too late. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that it is in “a crowded market filled with phones that look the same and do the same things.” Ballmer added that he challenged his team to deliver a new experience. The team actually built on the Zune experience.
All of that is swell, but at some juncture the mobile phone platform wars will settle out. I’d be more optimistic if Windows Phone 7 devices were going to launch in the second quarter. The fourth quarter launch complicates matters for Microsoft. If Windows Phone 7 devices land in September the software giant has a shot. If these phones launch in November, Microsoft may have issues.
Ten things we still don’t know about Microsoft’s next-gen Windows Phones
- Image Gallery: Windows Phone 7 Series
- Will all Xbox games work on Windows Phone 7 devices?
- Is Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 Series a game changer?
- Windows Phone 7 Series … what we know, and what we don’t
- Old dogs show they can still rock the mobile world
- Microsoft Phone press conference, Mobile World Congress ‘10
- Microsoft announces Windows Phone 7 Series with Xbox and Zune integration
Why? If Microsoft is taking share from any company it will be RIM. It’s highly unlikely that Google Android and Apple phone buyers will even consider a Windows-powered phone. In addition, RIM hasn’t rolled out its next-gen plans. If Microsoft beat RIM to the punch it would have a nice shot with Windows Phone 7.
We all know how this movie turns out. You have six companies duking it out. A few years from now it’s four. Then three. Then the days of a happy duopoly.
We’re far from duopoly days, but you have to wonder if Microsoft can make the first cut to four. Android is coming on strong with an army of devices. Apple’s iPhone’s App Store alone will keep it in the game. RIM needs to innovate, but still has a commanding 41.6 percent smartphone platform market share in the U.S., according to comScore. Microsoft has 18 percent behind Apple’s 25.3 percent in the U.S. based on comScore data.
Microsoft’s challenge will be to hold market share for about 7 months (best case scenario) as Android grows at a frenetic pace. Microsoft says its Windows Phone 7 devices won’t launch until the holidays. Meanwhile, the days where Microsoft could announce a platform and freeze a market are long gone—especially in mobile. How much will Microsoft have to play catch up by the holidays?
Chances are Microsoft will have a huge gap to close by the fourth quarter. ChangeWave Research recently documented future smart phone buying intentions. It’s all about the iPhone and Android. Windows Mobile is an afterthought at this point—and that’s the OS that’s holding the fort.
If you assume Microsoft’s mobile platform share further erodes the Windows Phone 7 launch will have to be big to compete. That’s why you hear the stray rumors about Microsoft buying Research in Motion.
There’s a lot to be excited about with Windows Phone 7. Indeed, I think Microsoft has finally figured it out. We’ll see if Microsoft has found the answers too late to matter though.
End note: As a Verizon Wireless customer with an upgrade available I just don’t see the point in moving. For starters, RIM’s OS upgrade has made the Storm more palatable. In addition, the app selection for the BlackBerry has improved dramatically (amazing what a Sirius app can do). Every time I research a platform I find some sort of dealbreaker—tethering is a big one. Simply put, there is no perfect platform yet. And given the way handsets are developing I see no need to jump on the latest greatest thing—especially when I know it’ll be trumped in 3 months anyway. While the mobile space is in a renaissance today, it must be damn confusing for the consumer that doesn’t follow this space daily.
Follow Larry on Twitter.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Task Squid: Task Management Meets Activity Streams [INVITES]
About 12 hours ago 
Quick Pitch: Collaboration focused on completing the tasks that ultimately complete the project. Its group tasks done easy.
Genius Idea: In the spectrum of project collaboration tools you have the completely free form Google Wave (
The Task Squid experience is centered around task management, with you as the focal point. Upon login, the service displays the tasks assigned to you or those that you assigned to others. The activity stream also highlights all recent items — tasks, subtasks, comments, files, time — in reverse chronological order and color-coded by type for an overview of all recent project activity.
During the initial setup process you can connect your Twitter (
Tasks themselves can be basic notes or robust action items, which means you can include stylized text, rich media (including flash), add files, assign multiple owners and add a due date. Each task also supports comments (with replies), subtasks and time entry options. Tasks can even be shared via direct URL or Facebook and Twitter, though login will be required to access the shared task.
For those of you with a penchant for aesthetics, TaskSquid doesn’t disappoint. The experience looks and feels clean, and the comments are treated as colored chat bubbles that make back and forth repartee visually appealing. Task Squid won’t work for everyone’s project collaboration needs, but it does get simple task management right.
The service is still in beta, but Mashable (
Windows 8 Will Blow Your Mind. Hopefully Not Like Vista
About 1 hour ago The folks at Microsoft Kitchen dug up some cool quotes from Microsoft employees about the upcoming Windows OS, currently codenamed Windows 8. Though it does bring up painful memories of what was promised about Vista (the marketing campaign, you may remember, was called “the wow starts now”), Microsoft did partially redeem itself with Windows 7, so we can put some (if not all) trust in what’s said about the next version.
First, John Mangelaars, regional VP of consumer and online at Microsoft EMEA, simply said that Windows 8 will be “mind-blowing.” Doesn’t really reveal much, but OK, we can set our expectations to “unreasonably high” if that’s how Microsoft wants to play this.
Another quote, this time from an unknown employee, tells us a little bit more:
“So what are our plans for this next version…The minimum that folks can take for granted is that the next version will be something completly different from what folks usually expect of Windows – I am simply impressed with the process that Steven has setup to listen to our customers needs and wants and get a team together than can make it happen. To actually bring together dozens and dozens of teams across Microsoft to come up with a vision for Windows.next is a process that is surreal! The themes that have been floated truly reflect what people have been looking for years and it will change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them. It is the future of PCs…”
So besides “mind-blowing”, we can now add “surreal,” “the future of PCs” and “completely different”. I’m not exactly sure I want to enter an altered state of mind upon launching my brand new Windows 8 PC for the first time, but I agree it’s time for something completely different. Because, you know, Windows 7 wasn’t really all that different from Vista…
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Adobe's Flash flap: Are concerns overblown?
by Larry Dignan @ 5:57 am
Adobe’s well-publicized battle with Apple over Flash’s future on the iPhone and iPad may have cast some doubt on the ubiquitous software, but the flap is way overblown, according to an analyst who is putting his money (or at least his buy rating) where his mouth is.
Jefferies analyst Ross MacMillan upgraded Adobe to a “buy” because the flap over Flash has drawn attention away from a more critical component: The Creative Suite 5 (CS5) buying cycle.
In a research note, MacMillan writes:
We continue to believe that the CS5 product cycle will be decent, driven by attractive features, some new product additions, a healthier end-market, some pent-up demand and perhaps a little tailwind from Windows 7 upgrades. If total cycle revenues with CS5 resemble total cycle CS3 revenues, as we believe, there is money to be made here. If we are wrong, we like the fact that the company’s late CY09 cost reduction provides EPS support. We also think concerns over the future of Flash are overblown. While we don’t think Flash will be the only rich media container for the web, neither do we think it will disappear. More importantly, Flash has almost zero bearing on revenues for Adobe over the next 18 months.
Also: Adobe’s creative legacy & the proprietary aspirations of Apple & Google
It’s hard to argue with MacMillan on the Flash point. The big argument is that HTML5 is going to make Flash irrelevant. And HTML5 just might—years from now. This HTML5 vs. Flash debate, which according to early adopters you’d think was already decided, played out on the Enterprise Irregular email list recently. Among the key points:
- Flash is a runtime. HTML5 is a specification. Today, they aren’t all that comparable.
- Enterprises and most of the content companies that build around Flash aren’t going to suddenly drop support.
- Flash is more than videos—it’s about rich clients on thin computing devices.
- The Flash ecosystem is rich and that attracts developers.
- It will take a decade for HTML5 to eradicate Flash if everything goes just perfectly (it won’t). Keep in mind Web standards are messy and take time to develop.
Regarding that final point, MacMillan writes:
We believe the stock has come under additional pressure recently, due to concerns over the future of Flash. Apple’s ongoing persistence to not include the Flash plug-in or run-time on the iPhone/ iPad coupled with Steve Job’s comments regarding Flash is one thing. Google’s YouTube Beta using HTML5 and the H.264 video codec (as opposed to Flash) is another. Adobe has retorted, with the CTO explaining Adobe’s position and point of view on his blog. The bottom line for us is that we think it likely that Flash’s share on the web will likely decline over time, but it is not going away. First, there is no agreed video tag for HTML5 today (with sparring tag technologies of H.264 and Theora supported by various camps). Second, HTML5 in its current specification does not support many of the features that Flash supports, such as audio streaming or games.
Strip away the concerns about Flash and you have a good old fashioned buying cycle to play, according to MacMillan. Instead of worrying about Flash fear, uncertainty and doubt it’s more productive to follow the revenue of CS4 and the launch of Acrobat 10 in the second half.
Follow Larry on Twitter.
Google Maps for Android Get Buzz Support
Google Maps for Android Get Buzz Support http://mashable.com/2010/02/10/google-maps-for-android-get-buzz-support/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
