With Linux merge, expect Android flowers to bloom

by Stephen Shankland March 22, 2012 8:16 AM PDT

Developers outside Google who want to build on the mobile OS's foundation should be able to stretch out and blossom. That should pay dividends for building a better Android.

Ordinary folks may not notice much right away from the fact that Google's Android programmers are bringing their work back into the Linux kernel fold. 

But it's an entirely different situation for a smaller but important group: the programmers who like to experiment with Google's open-source mobile operating system. 

So predicts Tim Bird, the Sony programmer who's centrally involved in the merge of Google's Android Linux work with the "mainline" Linux kernel project. That cooperation took a big step Sunday when Linux leader Linus Torvalds released version 3.3 of the heart of Linux with some fruits of the cooperation.

Android is open-source software, though the months of delays bringing Ice Cream Sandwich-based phones and tablets to market show how difficult it is to adopt that source code once Google is done building a new version behind closed doors. Android has plenty of higher-level components such as the Dalvik virtual machine for running apps and Google's own collection of apps. But down below all that is a Linux kernel that Google has forked from the mainline kernel Torvalds publishes at the Kernel.org Web site. 

Google is working to develop at least some of its features along with the mainline kernel now, though, and that should pay dividends for programmers wanting to see what Android offers and how it can be improved.

In Bird's words:

This makes it easier for developers to do 2 things: 1) use Android features in non-Android systems, and 2) experiment with Android user space with a vanilla [mainline] kernel. The first of these is useful to analyze how the Android-specific features might integrate with or leverage other related features in the kernel. There have already been some good discussions on the kernel mailing list and on the Android mainline mailing list with ideas about moving forward.

Google hasn't tried to work in complete isolation, but some attempts to merge Android's Linux code with the mainline kernel didn't' work out well. 

"A few previous attempts by Android developers to submit code to mainline resulted in stalemates--disagreements over how to proceed," Bird said. "A few general features (some of them high-profile, like wakelocks) ran into roadblocks and were delayed indefinitely. Some features were never seriously submitted to mainline for consideration."

Wakelocks are a mechanism an app can use to keep a computing device from going into a low-power idle or sleep state.

Bird noted that a lot of Android work for board support--in other words, the software necessary to use various central and supporting processors--has arrived in the mainline kernel already. And there's a good deal more to come after what made it into version 3.3 of the kernel, he said, including power management:

There is a large amount of customization work (particularly in the areas of graphics performance and power management) that is still needed on top of a mainline kernel, to ship a commercial-grade Android product. So people shouldn't assume that what is in 3.3 is sufficient for that. But it's a great start, and having a base that works in mainline makes it much easier to initiate a project with the Linux kernel and Android.

Bird already has seen programmers demonstrating the higher-level AOSP components running unmodified atop a mainline kernel with "a very small number of patches" to get it working. That bodes well for those trying to see what Android can do without clinging to Google's skirts.

In particular, it should be useful for those working on other Linux-based mobile devices.

And given that Google's browser programmers also have been working more closely with the WebKit browser engine project from which Google Chrome got its start, perhaps the company is convinced it's now missing out on benefits to sharing its code more constructively.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

CLSA Analyst Estimates Facebook Is Worth $100B-$130B

Eric Savitz, Forbes Staff

CIO NETWORK

3/19/2012

8:25PM

First!

CLSA Asia Pacific Markets analyst James Lee appears to be the first Wall Street analyst to weigh in with a report on Facebook, which is now in registration for a $5 billion initial public offering.

Lee’s take: the company is worth between $100 billion and $130 billion.

“Facebook is becoming the connective tissue of the Web, linking people’s social, interest and knowledge graphs,” he writes in his 56-page reports on the company. “We expect it to continue to increase its user base and time spent on the site, especially in international markets, creating an enormous opportunity for advertisers to deliver personalized marketing on a global scale. We expect Facebook to outperform other digital-media platforms and enjoy a 40% earnings [growth rate].”

Lee adds that from a monetization standpoint, he sees the company following the path of search – from organic to paid. “We saw the transition to paid search as a key inflection point for Google and are starting to see the tip of the iceberg for Facebook’s monetization,” he writes. “By 2015, we expect the company to triple its advertising revenue to nearly US$10 billion, yet still command only 6.5% of the total global online-advertising market share.”

The analyst adds that growth opportunities – including international expansion, mobile ads, new transaction businesses, ad network and content syndication should boost the company’s addressable market by $145 billion. “We see optionality value in yet- to-be-announced businesses such as ad network and content syndication,” he writes.

Here’s the basics of his financial forecast:

2012: Revenue $5.602 billion, adjusted profits 66 cents a share.

2013: Revenue $8.182 billion, adjusted profits 87 cents a share.

2014: Revenue $11.002 billion, adjusted profits 97 cents a share.

2015: Revenue $14.159 billion, adjusted profits $1.19 a share.

Microsoft Gives Office a Metro Makeover

By Rachelle Dragani

TechNewsWorld 

03/19/12 11:54 AM PT

Officially, Microsoft's Office 15 is in a hush-hush preview stage, available only to select testers sworn to secrecy. But at least one reviewer claims to have gotten hold of a copy, and he's reported that the next version of Microsoft's Office suite carries some obvious nods to tablet users and makes significant use of Windows 8's Metro interface.

Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) next version of its office suite, Office 15, is currently available as a private preview for beta testers. However, a reviewer not bound by Microsoft's non-disclosure agreement claims to have used a copy, and he says the new version has a Metro look and feel to it that ties in Office to the minimalist aesthetics of Windows 8.

The changes to Office make it seem as though the product received a revamp to be a Metro app, even though it was designed for the desktop, according to Paul Thurrott in a review on his Supersite for Windows. He tested a desktop app of the product running in the consumer preview of Windows 8, which is an open preview available to everyone.

Microsoft Word in particular underwent a few changes. The Ribbon, or the command strip atop the document, is still there, but it is minimized by default to create the cleaner design pattern resembling Windows 8 and Metro.

Microsoft Word is also now available in touch mode. That option, as well as the full-screen mode for documents, is what Thurrott categorize as a nod to tablet computers.

Cloud Priority

There is also an emphasis on cloud integration throughout the newest Office line. When a user signs in, they are automatically signed in with a Microsoft ID and can access and manage connected services. For example, Thurrott reported that he was connected to Flickr, My Office, SkyDrive, Windows Live Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger.

The program that's being tested right now is only available to a select group of beta testers under a non-disclosure agreement. Microsoft didn't officially divulge much information about the product to the public, but it's called Office 15 its most ambitious undertaking yet in the Office line. It's also promised a more complete product will be made available for the public this summer.

The company didn't return our requests for further comment.

Taking on Competitors

Office 2010 has the ability to integrate via the cloud, but the upcoming product will represent the first time that all Microsoft's cloud services, servers and clients from mobile and PC, Office 365, SharePoint, Lync, Project and Visio will be simultaneously updated in the cloud.

The company made this a central point in Office 15 by adding icons for Microsoft's SkyDrive and other Web locations when a user is saving files and by making it possible to connect to other services via the Office products.

"If there's a problem Microsoft has, it's relevancy, and it's losing relevancy," Larry Walsh, president of the 2112 Group, told TechNewsWorld.

Some of its competitors, such as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Docs, offer no-cost or lower-cost options to file, share and store documents. Microsoft has to remind users that it's still the leader in office-related services, said Michael Silver, research vice president and analyst at Gartner (NYSE: IT).

"It's hard to say on the office front that they're losing a ton of customers, but they have lost a lot of business to competitors, and there are definitely threats out there," he told TechNewsWorld. "The biggest one is probably Google."

In addition to relying on changes to cloud integration, one way for Microsoft to keep itself relevant is to get a piece of the app market now, said Silver.

"There are a few apps out there from smaller players, but without full compatibility," he explained. "Microsoft showing up could be a significant change to that market and a way to keep embedding themselves in users lives."

Steve Jobs: ‘Death Is The Single Best Invention Of Life’ – OpEd

Written by: Ria Novosti
October 6, 2011

By Larisa Sayenko


Steve Jobs, the man behind Apple, passed away just as his company unveiled the new iPhone 4S at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Users skeptically studied the new device, critics competed to see who could find the most faults with it, and the company’s shares plummeted. These were Steve Jobs’ last hours on this earth.


“The world is immeasurably better because of Steve,” Apple’s board said in a statement issued upon his death.
The bad news spread quickly, popping up on the screens of millions of smartphones and tablets. Not everyone believed the announcement immediately, as Jobs has been reported dead or dying before. He had a disease that was “incompatible with life,” and it is a miracle that that skeleton of a man, dressed uniformly in a black turtleneck and blue jeans, could hold out for so long. Despite his condition, he was the brains, the soul and the face of Apple.
“Death is very likely the single best invention of life,” the designer of the iPod, iPhone and iPad said six years ago in his commencement address at Stanford University. It was his last public speech, and he took it much deeper than could typically be expected of a techie presenting his “revolutionary products.”

Jobs’ bequest to the iGeneration

Jobs’ address within the walls of that elite university in essence became his bequest to the next generation. “Almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important,” the tech guru said.
The public opinion of Jobs varied dramatically. Some said that he transformed the computer industry, the way we look at gadgets, and indeed ourselves, who have grown accustomed to leafing through pages on our touchscreens. He knew how to fulfill our dreams before we had even put them into words, creating devices that thousands of people lined up for on the day of their release.
“A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them,” Jobs said. His successor at Apple, Tim Cook, called Jobs “a visionary and creative genius.”
Jobs once said that the Apple designers create their products for themselves and don’t concern themselves about what group of people will use their Macs or iPhones. “We do no market research. We don’t hire consultants,” he said. “We figure out what we want.” He has a portfolio of over 300 patents that range from screens to mice.
But perhaps his passion for his work and his ability to always be at the very crest were even more important than his talent as a designer. In fact, the path of the world’s most influential businessman was not an easy one.
The founder of Apple was expelled from his company in 1985 after losing an office battle to Apple CEO John Sculley. His departure caused a 68% crash in Apple’s stock. Jobs later said that he was so dispirited at the time that he thought of leaving Silicon Valley forever, but his love for his job proved to be even stronger. He founded a new computer company, NeXT, which was bought by Apple ten years later. Steve again became Apple’s chief, leading the victorious advance of his company across the world.

“Your time is limited”

Jobs’ death stirred up a storm within social networks. He was a man who kept to himself, disclosing neither the plans and the designs of his company, nor his personal problems.
The news that Jobs had cancer was first reported in 2003 by U.S. media outlets, which cited Apple sources. Prominent politicians and top managers in the United States are expected to tell people about their health problems and diagnoses. Jobs hid the truth, perhaps in the interest of his business, or maybe because he simply hated to do so and saw no connection between his personal affairs and his business.
Steve was a courageous man battling a deadly disease. He wanted no sympathy because he himself harbored none for the weak, at least not in his company, which he left on August 24 amid worldwide Applemania, when it was revealed that Apple had more cash than the U.S. Treasury and the iPad became the world’s bestselling tablet.
Messages on Twitter and personal blogs posted last night read “ThankYouSteve” and “iHeaven.” Everyone expressed their sympathy, from President Barack Obama, who said, “Steve was among the greatest of American innovators,” to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who thanked Steve “for being a mentor and a friend.”
I’m sure that on October 14, when the iPhone 4S goes on sale, we will see long lines of Apple and Steve Jobs fans in New York. This will be the ninth day since Jobs’ death, the day when, according to Orthodox Christians, God commands the angels to bring him the soul of the deceased. But Jobs was a Buddhist who believed that the path of the Buddha is open to everyone, and that life is only a moment.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking,” said Steve Jobs, who died at 56.
In his own “moment,” spanning just half a century, he managed to accomplish much more than most.