If the Apple tablet emerges as expected, this will be another big device market, following media players and smartphones, that the PC industry cedes to Apple.
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Tablet: Is this the best WinTel-HP can do?
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)The writing is already on the wall already for Microsoft and smartphones, as spelled out in a previous post and as documented in shrinking market share numbers.
That's not to say that Microsoft, Compaq (later Hewlett-Packard), and Intel didn't have a chance. Remember the Compaq iPAQ PDA that debuted way back in 2000, powered by an Intel StrongARM chip running an early version of Windows Mobile?
That device had a lot of potential. The operative word being "potential." An iPAQ could have been an iPhone. Or at the very least an iPod. And everybody could be drooling over iPAQs today instead of iPhones. Or using iPAQs instead of BlackBerrys. But of course things didn't turn out that way.
Fast forward to 2010 (January?). Apple announces a tablet and suddenly everyone wants a tablet. (Or iSlate, if you will.)
Whatever happened to this Intel-powered Asus MID?
(Credit: Asus)And what have Microsoft, Intel, HP, and others been offering in the interim years when they had every opportunity to come out with a blockbuster tablet? Unattractive, bulky, half-baked convertible laptops that, let's put it this way, have not taken the PC market by storm.
So, here's the $64,000 question, uh, make that the $64 billion question. Why can't the combined R&D smarts, market clout, and overall technological resources of Microsoft-Intel-HP-Dell come up with a thin, sexy compelling tablet and/or media pad that will turn heads and convince the unbelievers (the average why-would-I-need-something-like-that consumer) that a tablet is a must-have product?
Answer: Because Apple will.
Here's a not unlikely scenario. Apple brings out the tablet/media pad, wows U.S. (and world?) consumers, sells a ton of units, Microsoft-Intel-HP-Dell follow suit with slavishly copied devices that don't sell very well comparatively.
iPAQ PDAs: Missed opportunity?
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)That's how the market for successful newfangled devices works these days. Apple creates the market and everyone else follows in a panic.
Then there's the Intel factor. Intel also wants to be a player in this space. But Intel and its coterie of PC makers can't get off the traditional-design laptop gravy train. Plus, as formidable a chipmaker as Intel is, it is still behind the Qualcomms and Texas Instruments of the world in building the power-efficient system-on-a-chip silicon that goes into smartphones and will likely go into tablets.
So, here's my question for Intel et al: How many people will be buying Netbooks or Intel-based MIDs (mobile Internet devices) in 2011 if Apple has a more compelling alternative? Answer: a lot less if the Apple tablet exists.
OLPC tablet concept: Can't a PC maker do this?
(Credit: OLPC)And add Asia-based device makers offering tablets using an Nvidia Tegra 2 chip to that. A number of these tablets are expected too in 2010. In fact, Nvidia is already doing what Intel should have finished doing a long time ago: make a competitive system-on-a-chip that powers small devices. Intel had the chance to make XScale (what StrongARM eventually became) into something big for small devices six years ago. But it didn't. And now Intel is trying to reinvent the wheel by squeezing the upcoming "Moorestown" Atom chip into smartphones.
Intel, I'm sure you think Moorestown is a great idea, but it's a little late. Apple beat you to it by about three years.
Microsoft and Intel this week are finding themselves on opposite sides of antitrust favor, while Facebook may find itself in the crosshairs.
Microsoft and the European Commission have settled their differences over the choice of Web browsers in Windows. As part of the settlement, Windows PCs sold in the European Economic Area will now present users with a Choice Screen, allowing them to install alternative browsers beyond Internet Explorer.
The Choice Screen will offer users the ability to install up to 12 of the most widely used Web browsers that run under Windows. The choices will include the more widely known browsers, such as IE, Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox, Opera, and AOL's browser, and lesser-known products including Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir, and Slim Browser.
Microsoft initially proposed stripping a browser out of Windows 7 entirely, a move first reported by CNET. Both competitors and the EU balked at that idea though, instead favoring some sort of ballot screen. Microsoft eventually relented, though the company and its rivals have gone back and forth for a while over the details.
• Microsoft top lawyer: EU deal opens new chapter
FTC sues Intel over 'anticompetitive tactics'
The agency says Intel has robbed consumers of both choice and innovation in microprocessors, "running roughshod over the principles of fair play."• FTC wants Intel to mend its ways
• Graphics chips a new legal front for Intel
• Nvidia CEO: FTC action 'transforms' industry
FTC may enter latest Facebook privacy debacle
Scattered griping about the social network's new privacy policies could turn into a firestorm, as EPIC complains about the decision to push more member content public.• FTC's new strategy: Kick 'em when they're down
More headlines
Microsoft: We did copy Plurk's code
The software maker says that an investigation shows that the Juku microblogging application on MSN China did swipe code from a rival.• Plurk holding Microsoft's feet to code-copying fire
• Start-up claims Microsoft China took its code
• Microsoft investigating charges it stole rival's code
• Microsoft pulls China blog site amid code-theft charges
787 Dreamliner takes to the sky
After two years of delays, Boeing's new plane finally got off the ground Tuesday. Its first flight was witnessed by thousands of company employees and excited fans.
Google phone looks 'supersharp'
After Google distributes its Android phone to employees to test, CNET gets a look. The slick-looking unlocked HTC "mobile lab" device runs the Android 2.1 operating system.• Inside the Google phone: A 'snappy' chip
Facebook sues men for allegedly phishing, spamming
Facebook's latest lawsuit accuses three men of getting access to Facebook user accounts by phishing and then sending spam from their accounts.• Facebook's audience is diverse--carve it up, advertisers
• How to hide your Facebook friends list
• Russian firm DST on a roll, upping stake in Facebook?
• Facebook helps reunite woman with her rescuers
• Forgot your anniversary? Facebook's got it covered
Firefox, Adobe top buggiest software list
Open-source Firefox reports all holes, putting it at the top of the list for bug reports, while Adobe replaces Microsoft in the second spot, reports find.• Adobe to patch zero-day Reader, Acrobat hole
• Firefox 3.6 beta released
Study: The road ahead for electric cars
Decisions made in 2010 will play a crucial role in shaping how consumers and the auto industry adopt all-electric and hybrid vehicles.• Struggling Saab finds partner on electric vehicles
• Yet another hybrid supercar
• Plugless power is coming
Also of note
• Biden to unveil $2 billion in broadband grants
• Windows 7 leaving Redmond's help desk less busy
• PC shipments turn positive in third quarter
Google fellow Amit Singhal explains Google's strategy on how to present real-time search results.
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)Google's deal with Twitter is paying off.
Google announced the fruits of its earlier deal with the microblogging site, showing off how it has decided to present real-time Internet content within search results.
Google will build a section called "latest results" into the regular Google search results page that automatically refreshes Internet content from sources like Twitter. A demonstration showed off how a search for "Obama" would bring up tweets, Web pages, and other Internet content related to the president as it was generated. At the Web 2.0 conference in October, Google struck a deal with Twitter to get access to the service's "firehose" of tweets.
• Google hopes to turn the river into a canal
Days after Google announced its plan for integrating content from sources such as Twitter and blogs, Yahoo launched its own feature to integrate tweets into search results. Microsoft already displays Twitter results for queries placed on its Bing search engine, although they are displayed on a separate page that is not directly integrated into the main search results.
More headlines
For AOL and Yahoo, it's deja vu all over again
With AOL's spin-off from Time Warner becoming official, the once-iconic media company finds itself face to face with old foe Yahoo as both try to resurrect media empires.• AOL's first day: We want to believe
Google's glad to dance to Vevo's tune
The Web titan's role in helping to build Vevo, the long-awaited music-video service, is yet another peace offering to the content industry.• Vevo CEO confirms it's all about business
• Bono, Lady Gaga, Schmidt at Vevo bash (photos)
Intel shifts focus to laptop graphics technology
After scrapping the initial Larrabee processor, the chip giant will focus on graphics technology for laptops.• Ghosts of projects past haunt Intel graphics chip
Facebook details new privacy settings
All Facebook users will soon be required to configure their privacy settings, though the company encourages people to keep some information public.• Facebook's new privacy system: Pros and cons
• How to fix Facebook's new privacy settings
• Study: Facebook users willingly give out data
• Facebook forms safety advisory board
• Facebook in Vietnam: Social-networking blues
Apple confirms acquisition of music site Lala
Apple acknowledges that it has purchased the struggling streaming service but declined to comment on reports that Lala was bought for very little money.• Did Apple pay $80 million or $17 million for Lala?
AT&T considers incentives to curb heavy data usage
Wireless chief Ralph de la Vega says AT&T may consider alternatives to curb heavy wireless data usage.
CrunchPad reborn as JooJoo
Chandra Rathakrishnan, the chief executive of former TechCrunch partner Fusion Garage, reveals plans to proceed with release of new Web-browsing tablet.• Hands-on with the JooJoo
• JooJoo first look (photos)
• TechCrunch files suit over CrunchPad
Virgin Galactic unveils rocket plane thrill ride
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic finally unveils SpaceShipTwo, a commercial rocket plane designed to launch space tourists on the ultimate thrill ride--a suborbital flight into space.• Virgin Galactic unveils sub-orbital spacecraft (photos)
Also of note
• Google debuts news story experiment
• With draft standard, 3D Web closer to reality
• Seagate enters solid-state drive market
Microsoft is adding another player to its portfolio of health care offerings.
The software powerhouse said Thursday that it plans to buy Sentillion, a privately held company that supplies software to health care professionals. Microsoft hopes to combine Sentillion's technologies with its own Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS). The goal is to offer integrated technology that can help health care providers more easily access patient data from across multiple sources.
As doctors and hospitals ramp up to make better use of e-health technology, they face a confusing array of tools and systems that could make their jobs more difficult. Through the Sentillion acquisition, Microsoft said it wants to streamline access to different IT systems for health care providers, reducing the amount of time they spend struggling with the technology.
"Microsoft and Sentillion share a vision of a connected health system in which the free and rapid flow of information, coupled with streamlined access to a hospital's myriad health care applications, empowers doctors and nurses to perform their roles with greater insight, speed and effectiveness," said Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of Microsoft Health Solutions Group, in a statement.
Sentillion's software is meant to integrate access to a variety of health care applications--Windows-based, Web-based, and older legacy software, said Microsoft. Sentillion counts more than 1,000 hospitals among its customer base.
Microsoft's Amalga UIS also tries to integrate the vast quantity of information available from different databases and health care systems for doctors, nurses, and administrators. Microsoft said that Amalga UIS is now used by more than 115 hospitals, such as New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
Staying at its headquarters in Andover, Mass., Sentillion will continue to supply its own products to both new and existing customers, while Microsoft will focus on combining the health care technologies of both companies.
Microsoft expects the deal to close in early 2010. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Like other tech firms sensing a good opportunity, Microsoft has been aggressive in the health care arena. But as head of the company's health care division, Neupert also has urged the government to proceed cautiously and spend money wisely in its attempt to digitize the health care industry.
(Credit:
IBM)
IBM is continuing its investment in cloud computing with a new lab in Hong Kong, expanding the presence of its IBM China Development Laboratory (CDL), the company's largest with more than 5,000 developers on staff.
The laboratory builds on the e-mail technology of Outblaze Limited, a Hong Kong-based company whose messaging assets were acquired by IBM earlier this year and incorporated into the Lotus brand. The new lab claims to be the first of its kind in Hong Kong and shows both the importance of global development teams and IBM's focus on growth in emerging markets, a user segment that is theoretically more adaptable to different methods of application consumption and likely well-acquainted with browser-based applications.
Overall, the fourth quarter of 2009 has seen several interesting cloud-related announcements from IBM, including the LotusLive service that launched in October and already claims more than 18 million active users. Big Blue also launched the Cloud Academy program designed to help educators and students pursue cloud-computing initiatives and better take advantage of collaboration technology in their studies.
IBM has taken a leading role in the development and adoption of cloud services while other large vendors such as SAP, HP, Oracle, Sun and Microsoft have all made cloud-oriented announcements with few proof points that their efforts will be successful. There is no certainty that IBM will be successful either, but the company has at least made consistent progress in both technology and user adoption.
IBM representatives told me that the company will continue to focus on delivering "the most reliable and secure cloud services" architected to meet the needs of consumers as well as their mainstay enterprise buying audience. Totally logical, and still surprising that the other big vendors haven't figured out how to attract their core user base to cloud platforms and services.
The cloud remains a bit of an anomaly in the tech world, dominated by Amazon, an e-commerce site, while stalwart IT vendors like Microsoft continue to take baby steps toward mainstreaming their efforts.
My blogging colleague, James Urquhart, wrote this week about Microsoft's new business unit that merges its cloud and on-premise server group into one development team, which makes sense, at least in theory.
Practically speaking, Microsoft is way behind the curve and has a lot of ground to make. I've written in the past that the opportunity is theirs to lose, and it's hard to see how they plan to win, even with this new structure.
A cable giant becomes an entertainment star, while a search giant gets into the DNS business and a software titan becomes map maker.
Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, is buying a controlling stake in the TV network and movie studio NBC Universal in a deal valued at $37 billion. The deal will make Comcast a major media player with several very profitable cable channels, including USA, CNBC, MSNBC, and Bravo. It will also have control over NBC's broadcast networks and TV stations, its film studio, and its amusement parks.
The deal is likely to be scrutinized by government regulators, namely the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. A marriage between the nation's largest cable and Internet service provider and one of the nation's three broadcast TV stations could ignite old fights over media ownership, a la carte billing, retransmission consent, and cable prices.
• Can Comcast-NBC play nice with Hulu?
Google wants to unclog Net's DNS plumbing
The Net giant, ever eager for a faster Internet, debuts its Google Public DNS service. With it, Google could become even more central to the Net.
Microsoft Bing Maps Beta adds much richer images
New enhancements for Bing Maps include a Silverlight-powered Web application that brings very detailed satellite and street-level imagery to Bing, along with other tweaks.• Bing Maps Beta: Cool, but limited
• Google Earth peers into California's eco-future
More headlines
ComScore: So far, online holiday sales are up
Company releases metrics for Cyber Monday and the holiday season to date. And like statistics from other research firms, the numbers are heartening for retailers.• Study: Cyber Monday sees strong gains
• Cyber Monday bargain hunters out earlier
• Tools for creating holiday-shopping lists
• Study: Sites to bring in billions in holiday donations
In nod to media, Google News policy limited
Google's "First Click Free" policy allowed Google News and search users to discover news articles behind paywalls, but it was easy to abuse. Now, there are limits.
Fake CDC vaccine e-mail leads to malware
AppRiver warns of scammers preying on public interest in the H1N1 vaccine through an e-mail purporting to come from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.• Microsoft: November security updates are fine
AT&T gives up on Verizon ad lawsuit
AT&T has dismissed its lawsuit against Verizon Wireless for running advertisements it claimed confused customers about its 3G network.• Verizon nixes holiday ads to continue AT&T-bashing
Microsoft actively urges IE 6 users to upgrade
A shopping video and eBay promotion are part of Microsoft's effort to give IE 6 users a reason to upgrade. The company also is trying to move corporate customers away.• Dell brings Chrome OS to its Netbook
• Latest Firefox beta gets file-handling feature
Barnes & Noble Nook to hit stores later than expected
B&N says it will have the e-readers in some stores on December 7, a week later than expected, because the company is prioritizing delivery to customers who preordered.• Spring Design Nook injunction denied, but battle's still on
Psystar ceases sales of Mac clones
Following a settlement agreement with Apple, Psystar's Mac OS-loaded hardware is no longer available on its site.
Michael Jackson tops Google, Yahoo search in 2009
That No. 1 ranking should come as no surprise. Web traffic surged on word of the singer's death in June--so much that Google initially suspected an attack.
Google hosts energy experts amid climate talks
Next week, the international community plans to discuss climate change and green energy, and U.S. energy experts kicked things off at Google's offices.
Also of note
• Google runs a fade pattern on home page
• Mark Zuckerberg's grand missive: The translation
• Defense Dept. pulls software over privacy issues
Microsoft has begun a campaign to actively urge users of its 8-year-old Internet Explorer 6 browser to upgrade.
After launching IE 8 in March, Micosoft has concurred with critics that IE 6 is outdated. Many people have dropped the older browser, but the remaining users are often the tough cases--those who don't have a choice because of corporate computing policy or who aren't tech-savvy enough to realize there's a reason to move on.
This eBay 'Web slice'--basically a live bookmark in Internet Explorer 8--is part of Microsoft's effort to get people to upgrade from IE 6.
(Credit: Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)It's this latter population Microsoft is targeting with a campaign that runs through June 2010 that touts its own IE 8 as a better alternative. The campaign's first visible elements are a video aimed at online holiday shoppers and a Web slice to promote daily deals at eBay. Web slices are basically live bookmarks that can show miniature Web pages in the browser.
"What we're doing with the outreach is help users understand how to protect themselves against social engineering threats that exist and to help people understand how Internet Explorer 8 puts people in control of their own privacy online," said Ryan Servatius, senior product manager for Internet Explorer. Security was one of the big problems with IE 6, and Microsoft now boasts that security features in IE 8 block 2 million malware sites a day.
According to Net Applications' statistics, Internet Explorer 6 is still the most widely used browser, with 23.3 percent share of usage in October, followed by IE 7 at 18.2 percent and IE 8 at 18.1 percent. The newer browsers are gaining on IE 6, but so are rivals including Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari, and Google's Chrome.
Web developers often gripe about having to support IE 6, which doesn't support many modern features for more sophisticated Web sites and even applications. Microsoft acknowledges that it's holding back development of the Internet, too.
"The best thing a user can do to advance the Web is to help move people off IE 6," Servatius said.
Of course, many will upgrade to IE 8 by buying Windows 7. IE 6 was the browser that shipped with Windows XP, which remains entrenched, but there are signs Windows 7 is a more compelling successor than Windows Vista. That could help the corporate customers move away from IE 6, Servatius said.
"As enterprises migrate from whatever operating system they're using today to Windows 7, that's going to help deprecate IE 6," he said. "What we're doing is working both with consumers worldwide and IT professionals to help them understand what the benefits of a modern browser are."
Peter Klein, Microsoft's new CFO
(Credit: Microsoft)Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell is leaving the company at the end of the year, the company announced Tuesday.
Liddell has been Microsoft's CFO since 2005, but the past 18 months have been especially long, as Microsoft debated whether to acquire Yahoo and navigated the choppy waters of the recession with its first-ever companywide layoffs. He will be replaced by Peter Klein, who had been serving as CFO of the company's Business Division, which develops and sells Microsoft Office.
In a statement, Liddell said he was looking to do something with his career beyond serving in the chief finance role.
"Chris and his finance team have accomplished a great deal over the past four and a half years. The team is deep and strong, and has an excellent record of building value for our shareholders," CEO Steve Ballmer said in prepared remarks distributed by Microsoft.
As of the close of Tuesday's stock market, the value of Microsoft's stock had increased by 18 percent since Liddell made his debut as CFO.
This story was clarified on Wednesday to reflect that the layoffs referenced above were Microsoft's first companywide layoffs. In the past, the company has cut jobs in specific units.
Developers get a full rundown on the cloud-based Azure OS and some tidbits about Microsoft's next browser, along with a beta of Office 2010.
Sinofsky's Windows plan: More data, less testosterone
In an interview, the president of Microsoft's Windows unit tells CNET why he does things the way he does.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 20, 2009 10:19 AM PST
Windows boss on building his first laptop
In an interview, Steven Sinofsky talks about what he learned as Microsoft partnered with Acer to build a laptop to give away to developers.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 19, 2009 4:00 AM PST
With IE 9, Microsoft fights back in browser wars
By showing its first glimpses of technology in Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft also is showing it's serious about building a competitive browser.(Posted in Deep Tech by Stephen Shankland)
November 18, 2009 3:02 PM PST
Office 2010 beta goes public
The test version is being released in conjunction with Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles. New features include a mechanism for connecting Outlook to social networks.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 18, 2009 10:15 AM PST
Windows Azure containers on display in LA
Microsoft has transported one of its data center containers to Los Angeles, giving PDC attendees a chance to see just what the cloud-based operating system is running on.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 18, 2009 10:00 AM PST
PDC Day 2 live blog: Office 2010, IE9 on stage
Microsoft talks about Office 2010, shows Silverlight 4, and shares the first details on Internet Explorer 9.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 18, 2009 8:28 AM PST
Ray Ozzie's view from the clouds
In an interview with CNET, Microsoft's software chief talks about Windows Azure, lessons learned from the Sidekick fiasco, and a future in which devices record everything imaginable.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 18, 2009 4:00 AM PST
Internet Explorer 9 not coming at PDC
Microsoft to talk broadly about plans for the next browser, but won't offer a preview version or announce a rumored move to the WebKit engine, CNET has learned.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 17, 2009 10:21 AM PST
Ozzie talks Azure and more
Microsoft's chief software architect kicks off the company's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles by announcing the formal launch of the cloud-based OS.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 17, 2009 8:14 AM PST
Office 2010 beta available for developers
The updated test version is now available to members of Microsoft's MSDN and TechNet developer programs.• Office 2010 beta leaks early
(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 16, 2009 1:45 PM PST
At PDC, Microsoft's (r)evolution on display
A key developer conference this week will reveal just how much progress Ray Ozzie has made in his efforts to remake Redmond for the cloud-computing era.(Posted in Beyond Binary by Ina Fried)
November 16, 2009 4:00 AM PST
Microsoft and a former employee have settled litigation involving allegations of patent infringement and trade secret theft.
Microsoft sued a former employee earlier this year for allegedly stealing trade secrets that were later used in a patent lawsuit against Microsoft partners, in which Microsoft later intervened as a party-defendant.
All parties deny any liability in the settlement, the terms of which were not disclosed, Miki Mullor, founder of Ancora Technologies, said in a statement.
Microsoft's lawsuit alleged that Mullor took a job at Microsoft in 2005 while he was still chief executive at Ancora. While working on the Windows team, Mullor allegedly downloaded confidential documents, according to the suit. Shortly thereafter, Ancora sued Dell, HP, and Toshiba claiming that their use of Microsoft technology violated a patent held by Ancora. Microsoft fired Mullor last year.
"I am pleased with this resolution and wish my friends at Microsoft's Windows division nothing but success with Windows 7 launch," Mullor said in the statement.
A Microsoft spokesman confirmed the settlement but said the company had no further comment.
