In what appears to be an interesting development in the wake of the latest hack, Apple is hiring a security manager for the iPhone platform. The advertisement for the position was first spotted by Network World, and the description goes like this, "lead a team focused on secure booting and installation of the operating system, cryptographic services, partitioning and hardening its internal security domains, and risk analysis of security threats."

Admittedly, it isn't known if this is a new position or a replacement for an existing employee. Of course, perhaps the previous one was made redundant... Regardless, it is clear that Apple isn't going to tolerate the continual breaking of its security, and it is doing whatever it can to eliminate the last of these security bugs from its sacrosanct iPhone platform.

How much longer will it be before Apple tightens security to a point where jailbreaking is no longer possible? Time will tell, but if the endless patches coming out of Microsoft for the Windows operating system are any indication, it probably won't be any time soon.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Network World

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According to Computerworld, three out of the six security patches were listed as "critical." Four of them resolve problems with versions of Windows earlier than Windows 7; the remaining two will patch Microsoft Word and Excel.

Of particular note is that none of next Tuesday's security updates will affect the newly released Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. This would appear to imply that whatever measures the Redmond-based company is using are succeeding in reducing the number of security bugs that gets introduced.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at InformationWeek
- check out this article at Computerworld

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This opens the door to various types of exploitation: From an attacker being able to harvest a user's personal photos and data, to the stealing of one's credentials if auto-login is enabled.

Facebook has since rectified this particular problem by disallowing access from other applications to the affected subdomain. MySpace, on the other hand, took issue with the severity of the problem. It argued that it would only have exposed information that was already public. In any event, MySpace has also rectified the particular trouble spot too.

Well, until the next one is discovered...

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld

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However, the same vulnerability was discovered by an independent security researcher, who promptly posted about it on an Internet Engineering Task Force mailing list. As you can imagine, that blew Pandora's Box wide open, prompting PhoneFactor to come forward with the details of its findings.

The vulnerability in SSL is particular crippling because it is a protocol weakness, and not the fault of a programmer who implemented a code library wrongly. In a nutshell, all encryption technology that relies on SSL is affected by the vulnerability, and is open to eventual exploitation. Basically, it is now possible for an attacker with the right tools to execute a man-in-the-middle attack to hijack a bona fide SSL session.

To underscore the severity, Steve Dispensa wrote in a statement: "All SSL libraries will need to be patched, and most client and server applications will, at a minimum, need to include new copies of SSL libraries in their products. Most users will eventually need to update any software that uses SSL."

You can check out their blog here for more information.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at InformationWeek

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While this must be good news to Microsoft executives, it seems that the company's initial expectations could have been even higher. Indeed, analyst with the NPD Group, Stephen Baker noted that while this was good, he "wouldn't call it great."

A tough economy together with reluctance on the part of retailers to give up on Windows XP or Vista resulted in poorer than expected performance, says Baker. Despite outselling Windows Vista, Windows 7 has only brought about an 82 percent revenue increase over its predecessor so far. This was attributed partly to steep discounts that were dished out during the pre-sale period for Windows 7.

Of course, it'll be a while yet before Windows 7 even achieves parity in terms of market share with Windows Vista. At the moment, a separate report by Net Applications revealed that Windows 7 has three percent of the PC market as of the beginning of November. In contrast, Microsoft currently commands a hefty 92.52 percent of the entire market.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek
- check out this article at Computerworld

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A proposed revision would put patent challenges in front of patent  judges instead of patent examiners. It would provide uniform standards for hearing appeals and a tight time frame for the procedure. Too complicated for you? Big technology companies argue that the proposed process would strengthen the patents that make it through. And it may be the single best way of speeding up ways to get patents approved in real time instead of taking years like it does right now.

The review would be "essential to maintaining high-quality patents because it allows the validity of questionable patents to be tested," said Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel of Microsoft.

IBM says the process is "a low-cost alternative to litigation," but smaller companies and start-ups don't like it. Many small companies fear that rich businesses could attempt through the review to keep innovative products from hitting the market. "This may be catastrophic for a start-up or small inventor," said Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, the highly successful personal electric scooter.

A coalition of major technology companies, the Coalition for Patent Fairness, is also opposing changes in the legislation because it would "dilute in any way the efficacy of post-grant challenges."

What will happen? Our guess is that patent reform legislation will collapse once again and the lengthy process to get a patent and fend off challenges will continue indefinitely.

For more on patent reform:
- see this Wall Street Journal article

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The report surveyed 198 senior financial executives from around the world. It was no surprise that it found that companies remain under pressure to cut costs even as they emerge from the worst recession in decades. And companies look to IT as a way out of the recession, to improve efficiency and provide a competitive advantage, according to the survey. Nearly three-quarters of respondents believe that IT is absolutely essential to their competitive positioning as the economy returns to strength, the survey found.

There was other surprising news. More than half of the respondents said their companies remained committed to most IT projects approved before the downturn. Only 2 percent of respondents say their organizations are stopping IT projects without any expectation of restarting them.

Respondents had very specific ideas about the future, too. When asked what IT investments would prove most valuable as the economy improves, respondents cited improvements in administrative efficiencies as well as solutions that boost employee productivity. One key to their thinking: When deciding to move forward on a project, survey results indicate that finance is partial to projects that will produce a swift and positive return on investment.

Nearly two-thirds, 64 percent, said they are likely to consider how long it would take a project to realize ROI before making IT investments.

For more on the CFO and IT:
- see this channel.insider.com article
- see this press release

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The lawsuit is similar to ones filed against Intel in Asia and Europe. In May, the European Commission filed Intel a record $1.45 billion for antitrust violations. In the New York case, the charges claim that Intel pressured computer makers and retailers to pick the company's microprocessors instead of competing products from A.M.D.

"Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," Cuomo said in a statement. "Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices."

The New York attorney general's suit is the first formal antitrust action against Intel by any government agency in the United States in more than a decade. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said the company will contest the suit. "Neither consumers, who have consistently benefited from lower prices and increased innovation, nor justice are being served by the decision to file a case now," he said. "Intel will defend itself."

For more on the lawsuit against Intel:
- see this New York Times article

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R&D certainly appears to be recession-proof. That rate of spending was less than in 2007 when R&D spending rose 10 percent. Nevertheless, the survey found that 70 percent of the companies intend to maintain or increase R&D outlays in 2009.

"The thing that surprised us was that R&D spending didn't actually drop," Barry Jaruzelski, a Booz partner, told the New York Times. "But innovation is a fundamental strategy for these companies to hold onto their markets and gain an edge on their competitors. So it's sort of an arms-race issue. They don't want to disarm, despite the short-term economics."

That doesn't mean that anything new will be coming from the high-tech sector anytime soon. It does means that the recession did not slow down the quest for new products and new ways to move ahead.

For more on high-tech R&D:
- see this New York Times article

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The numbers are still coming in, but 2009 saw explosive growth of social media, according to Nielsen Online.

Twitter registered more than 7 million unique visitors in the U.S. just in February and there are plenty more numbers to come. So what will social media look like in 2010? And if you are not onboard this train, you better get to the station really quickly.

A blog on Harvard Business Publishing sets the stage for 2010, giving you an idea of what to watch for and what is likely to be coming your way. It's going to be more popular, more mobile and more exclusive, according to a post by David Armano a member of the founding team at Dachis Group, an Austin-based consulting service delivering social business design services.

Here are his predictions for 2010:

• Social media begins to look less social as groups start to filter out the clutter.
• Corporations jump in as more companies recognize that social networking can serve customers more effectively and leverage cost savings.
• Social networks turn serious as business recognizes the importance of using internal and external networks.
• Your company will formalize a social media policy that includes how employees conduct themselves.
• Mobile becomes a social media lifeline especially for employees whose companies ban them from using social networks during the workday.
• Sharing no longer means email. There likely will be an increase in users to share with their networks what they used to do with email lists.

For more on the explosion of social media:
- check out this Harvard Business Publishing article

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In a nutshell, Virtual Wi-Fi allows the single wireless card found in laptops to be virtualized, simultaneously connecting to an actual Wi-Fi access point while allowing other Wi-Fi devices to connect to it.

Alex Gizis, the CEO of Nomadio elaborated more to PC World, saying: "A year ago, Microsoft talked a lot about this as a big feature in Windows 7. But driver support didn't get finished. The low-level code is in there, but the driver-level stuff isn't. And there's no app or setting in Windows to turn it on."

I have already downloaded the Connectify beta application, which is currently available for free, though I did not have the opportunity to try it out yet. According to Gizis, the final version will be ready in about six weeks, and he will likely charge for it. The software sounds interesting to me, and at least one application of it comes to mind, such as sharing of a hotel room Wi-Fi access with other laptops as well as my iPod Touch.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at PC World

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Personally, I don't agree with counting an e-book as an application in the App Store. However, having purchased an iPod Touch myself recently in order to get access to more e-books from Amazon, I can attest to the fact that the iPhone platform is by far the best e-book reader in the form factor of a smartphone. As such, I am not against the assertion by Flurry that "the iPhone and iPod Touch are in a position to start grabbing market share from the Kindle"

Do you read e-books on the iPhone? What is your opinion on this?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at InformationWeek
- check out this article at eWeek

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Andrea Lelli, a security analyst with Symantec Security Response, wrote that this new malware works by first logging into the mobile version of Facebook. It then moves on to check the notes section of the site for its "orders." Depending on what is found there; up to four different reactions will be triggered, which includes contacting a third party server for additional commands. 

Lelli took pains to stress that there are no Facebook exploits or flaws of any kind in Facebook. Indeed, this malware merely logs onto a Facebook account in order to use it as a central node to receive further orders.

Ultimately, Lelli concedes that the Trojan seems to represent a targeted attack. Personally, I reckon this technique of using a specific Facebook account is probably a fast way for its creator to quickly shut everything down by deleting the account.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Symantec Connect
- check out this article at CNET News

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This was used by others to carry out nefarious deeds such as launching denial-of-service attacks or placing prank calls that resulted in raids by heavily armed police teams.

He has authored a book titled "Hacking the Cable Modem," and hosts an online forum dedicated to this topic, Harris took scant measures to keep his illicit activities secret. Noted Bill Pollock, founder of No Starch Press that published his 2006 book, the question of whether uncapping a cable modem is illegal is "not clear."

Based on the grand jury indictment unsealed on Monday however, Harris could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail as well as a $250,000 fine. You can be sure that the various cable Internet providers in the United States and overseas will be watching this one closely.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld
- check out this article at The Register

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Using his own cracking application--that can handle 9.36 billion keys per hour, Campbell calculated that it would cost a cool $1.5M to brute force a password that is 12 characters long. Campbell is working based on the assumption that the password will consist of just lower-case letters. A similar password with just 11 characters though, will cost just $60,000 worth of computer cycles to crack.

Throwing numbers and other symbols in the mix will obviously increase the cost, though Campbell told The Register that a short (eight character) password containing an additional 32 different characters will cost just $106,000 to crack. So the longer the length, the better it is.

What is more chilling perhaps, is the idea that criminals could already have access to a super computer-level of computing resources by harnessing the power of cloud computing. But won't it be too costly for them? Well, not if they throw some good old fashioned crime into the technological mix.

Campbell summed up the situation. "Using stolen credit cards, they [hackers] could create a super computer that would be faster potentially than what the three-letter agencies have and they wouldn't be paying for the CPU cycles."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Register

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Computer World has come up with a list of 10 signs pointing to an IT upturn. Take a look at evidence from the third quarter and you'll feel optimistic, too. Here are a few of the indications:

• The Obama stimulus plan has set aside billions of dollars for clean technology. That's already being reflected in companies that deal with this industry. For example, SunPower Corp's third quarter revenue was $466 million, compared with $298 in the second quarter.
• Venture capital investments are increasing. In Q3, there was a 17 percent increase to $4.8 billion in 637 deals, driven by clean tech investments.
• Hard drive maker Western Digital Corp. said last week that finished its most recent quarter with 44.1 million hard drive shipments, compared with 39.4 million shipments same quarter last year.
• Apple Computer Inc. sold 3.05 million Macs during the third quarter, a 17 percent increase over the year-ago quarter, providing evidence that for consumers, some things are indispensable.

The beauty of Computer World's list is that it looks at specific companies to see how well individual firms are doing. And it is finding many that are doing quite well, thank you very much. That doesn't mean the recession is over or that it's time to let your guard down. It just means that the news is no longer grim and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

For more on 10 ways the tech economy is getting better:
- see this Computerworld.com article

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Believe it or not, it has taken the the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, six years to reach this point.

"The statistics show that over half of the users of the Internet today don't use the Roman alphabet in their first language," Rod Beckstrom, chief executive of Icann, tells the Wall Street Journal. "It's an issue of national pride in some cases and cultural identity."

There is a patchwork system in place in some parts of the world. For instance, in China, websites generally use Roman letters to spell out Chinese words. In some cases, the Chinese use a series of numbers that rhyme with Chinese words, according to the newspaper.

But there is a problem with this plan. What happens if you have a keyboard that only has the Roman alphabet? Are you out of luck or is there a way to adapt to navigate your way to the right address?

For more on the changing web alphabet:
- see this Wall Street Journal article

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CNET.com reports some lapses involving cloud computing that raise questions about how the data should be protected at every step of the way. The online publication points to Microsoft subsidiary, Danger that failed to put in effect adequate safeguards for customer's data. Amazon Web Services failed to uncover an obvious problem that kept one customer down for 20 hours. And Coghead recently agreed to sell to SAP without provisions to continue support.

It's important for cloud computing vendors to follow well-known protocols to protect the data, according to James Urquhart, a CNET blogger.

He makes two suggestions to help rid the cloud of any problems. Among them:

• Cloud consumer protection laws to enforce professional culpability
• Expand the law to allow cloud malpractice lawsuits that include damages for the wronged company

Cloud computing is a new industry, and there are bound to be a few pitfalls. It's time to elevate it to professional standards because everyone knows that it is here to stay and no one is quite sure how to protect themselves in the event of a slip up.

For more on cloud computing:
- see this CNET.com article

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Too often, it is the careless worker who downloads company files on personal computer and opens the door for the release of information you want to keep under lock and key. Here are some "dos" and "don'ts" of protecting your databases from eWeek.com:

• Never open an email attachment. It's the easiest way for a hacker to get into your system.
• Be cautious about social networking. Don't open links on those sites either.
• Keep security downloads up to date. When the help desk emails an employee to update one, do it immediately.
• Make sure workers do not surf unknown sites. It could be an invitation for a hacker to follow them home.
• Pick your password carefully and change it often. A password such as 1-2-3-4 is an open invitation.

These are all simple tips that should be in the employee manual. It's also a good idea to remind your staff to stay up-to-speed and pay attention to the small stuff before it becomes a big problem.

For more on teaching employees about security:
- check out this eWeek.com article

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And it's hard to beat the system. Malware is spread with the help of shortened URLs on Twitter which hide the real website address from users before they click on a link. That prevents them from self-filtering suspicious links. The company is examining about 500,000 URLs a day, finding between 100 and 1,000 a day that are hosting malware, according to an article from Wired.com.

Twitter began using a filtering system last summer developed by Google (Safe Browsing API) to detect malicious URLs. The filter works only on URLs that are shortened using Bit.ly, the default and most popular URL shortening service on Twitter. Other URL shortening services will not be caught with Twitter's filter.

So the warning on Twitter and all other social networks is: Be careful what you do. There are easy places to harbor malware and it is hard to detect.

For more on Twitter and malware:
- see this Wired.com article

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A new survey by CSO and CIO magazines finds that 7,000 businesses worldwide in government, health care, financial services and retail believe a CSO is an important addition to their staff, not a frivolous one.

"I have seen examples where companies are making bigger investments in training over time to make internal staff more security savvy," says Miguel Lopez, a Los Angeles-based IT security practitioner who has worked for such companies as MSC Software and Stamps.com.

Companies may still have problems finding the best quality of data security, but most executives agreed that security cannot be ignored, according to the survey reported by CIO magazine. The CIO also found that more than 60 percent of those surveyed said their budgets will hold steady or increase in the next year. Only 12 percent said their spending on security would drop. The survey found that 85 percent of respondents are hiring CSOs or chief information security officers (CISOs). That's a dramatic increase, up from 56 percent last year and 43 percent in 2006.

The real question becomes whether there are tools good enough to prevent most hack attacks? And the answer is: Probably not.

For more on CSOs:
- see this CIO.com article

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In the United States, 63 percent of the companies surveyed have seen increases in security threats at a time when the recession has caused most of these companies to freeze their IT security budgets. More than 70 percent of midsize U.S. businesses also say a serious data breach could put them out of business.

The trends couldn't be more ominous. Midsize companies may be underestimating their risk, according to McAfee. More than 90 percent of companies with less than 500 employees don't think they face the same threats as larger companies do.

So what's a company to do? Save on IT security protections and be at risk or blow it's budget in order to protect itself? Most experts will tell you that it's far better to be safe than risk the aftermath of a cybersecurity attack, not to mention its costs and damage to your system and your reputation among your customers.

"Our research shows that organizations that put more effort on preventing attacks can end up spending less than a third as much on those that allow themselves to be at risk," advices Darrell Rodenbaugh, senior vice president of global midmarket at McAfee.

For more on midsize firms and data breaches:
- see this CNET.com article

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The largest advantage over NAND flash memory technology though, could well be its longevity. According to Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle group, "PCM has a shelf life of about 300 years and wears out much more slowly than flash memory, so it can be reused more often."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at InformationWeek
- check out this article at Ars Technica

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I suppose this shouldn't come as a total surprise, given that many organizations are prone to fixing the immediate problems while missing out on the actual attack vector. This could range from compromised account credentials, vulnerabilities in web applications or even via advertisements from nefarious sources.

According to a Dasient spokesperson, the rise in websites hosting malware is at least partly related to increasing complexity of websites. The spokesperson noted that "... modern websites themselves are becoming more complex and dynamic, and are increasingly sourcing in content from other places."

I tend to agree with the comment related to the complexity of websites today. If you recall, the New York Times website was infected with malware that redirected people to a site that sold rogueware. Despite being alerted to the problem, site administrators took some time to identify and eliminate the source of the infection, highlighting the inherent complexity of a modern website.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at CNET News

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Microsoft is normally extremely careful in testing Windows Update patches before they are pushed out. I suppose the problems show that even Microsoft can be daunted when faced with a record number of software patches.

Susan Bradley, who is the chief technology officer of an accountancy firm, summed up the situation, "This is the patch month that will not die." Fortunately, all the discovered issues have been resolved, though customers affected by one of the issue will need to re-run their update tools to ensure they are patched.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld

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If you've been following the news of Intel's SSD, you will know that this would be the third time that problems with its firmware have been reported. The first time was when the reviewers at PC Perspective discovered early this year that the X25-M degraded significantly with heavy use--sometimes performing even worse than the regular hard disk drives (HDD) used in laptops. While denied by Intel initially, it was subsequently fixed with a firmware update.

A second generation of improved X25 SSD were afflicted with a lockout problem on certain systems. Discovered at a relatively early stage, this was resolved via firmware as well, though not without shipments being delayed.

Ars Technica noted that this latest problem "underscores a long and disturbing trend of strange bugs in SSDs from Intel and other drive makers." While there is little doubt of the performance advantages that SSDs have over that of normal HDDs, the truth is that SSDs are a relatively new technology.

Exacerbating the issue for end-users is the fact that newer laptops shipping with SSDs tend not to advertise the manufacturer of these drives, making troubleshooting problems that much harder. Have you had problems with an SSD before?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica

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While current power consumption peaks at 45 watts, Intel envisions that a dual-core processor based on its "Clarkdale" family will be out in early 2010 and consume only 30 watts. Intel hopes to eventually bring the power envelop of the entire microserver--not just the processor--down to 25 watts of power.

So why microserver? Jason Waxman, general manager of Intel's high-density computing group was quoted as saying, "At most websites hosting providers, do you know what the server does? Nothing. It just sits there." Hence the idea of a low-powered system that comes with "reasonably good performance."

And how exactly does the concept of the microserver differ from the blade servers of yesteryear? Unlike a blade system, the microserver is just a plain server at a simple, low cost. There is no attempt to mesh interfaces like storage and networking via a proprietary fabric.

What about virtualization? Waxman said, "For some service providers, virtualization is messy." He added, "You may need to have central storage for example."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Register
- check out this article at CNET News

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The big question for every IT exec these days is how to keep their top talent when the economic climate gets better and new jobs start appearing. IT workers who endured salary and benefit cuts, may now turn around and snatch up a cushier job, according to Caroline Simard, director of research and executive programs at the Anita Borg Institute for women and technology.

Women IT workers may be more likely to look for new jobs if they have lost professional development, mentoring and flexibility in the workplace, Simard said. "Flexibility is a key point, but during the downturn, when everyone is afraid of losing their job, they stop asking for flexibility required for a work-life balance--and this change in culture impacts women more than men," Simard added.

So watch out and be aware that people have been testing the waters for a better economic climate and the IT talent you need the most may be headed out the door.

For more on keeping good IT workers:
- see this CIO.com article

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Nearly two-thirds of those data centers plan to get a new mainframe. But another third--33 percent of them--said they are ready to replace the mainframe with a different type of high-end system.

"Does the mainframe decline in the long run? Yeah, probably, but one of the big surprises of the last 10 years to most people outside of IBM is how strong the mainframe has remained," Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff told Computerworld.com.

IBM, the biggest seller of mainframes, saw its revenue drop 26 percent for mainframe sales. But a spokeswoman said Big Blue is optimistic demand will stay strong for mainframes.

For more on mainframes:
- see this Computerworld.com article

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Right now, the idea is falling short on some essential issues, especially manageability. However, researchers are predicting that IT shops will spend more than half their budgets on private clouds by 2012.

Alan Boehme, senior vice president and head of IT strategy at ING Financial Services in San Francisco, tells Computerworld.com that a private cloud differs from the old way of thinking about systems architecture. "It's not just servers, storage or networks; it's every component," he argues.

While the idea is still finding its way, Gartner is finding that both public and private clouds are growing dramatically, totaling over $3 billion this year, up from $2.5 billion in 2008.

The bottom line is that the cloud is here to stay. The question is, in what ways will it be fully embraced?

For more on private cloud computing:
- see this Computerworld.com article

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The Government Accountability Office reported this week that if the swine flu outbreak reaches a pandemic, a surge in telecommuting could bog down local networks. And if that happens, it's unclear what kind of response the federal government would have in order to clear the runways, the GAO said.

It's also unclear what kind of response a company may have that counted on telecommuting to keep its business running and now is forced to look for other resources to carry on business.

The Department of Homeland Security, in charge of communications networks during national emergencies, doesn't have a plan yet to deal with overloaded Internet networks.

Network operators could add bandwidth capacity and lay down private lines for essential workers, but that is expensive and would take too long. An Internet service provider could decide to slow all connections in a certain neighborhood, but then that network operator would be violating customer agreements, according to the GAO.

What's a company to do? Sit tight and hope the predictions don't come true.

For more on potential Internet problems in a pandemic:
- see this Washington Post article

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"Organizations probably have not allocated enough resources for virtual private networks nor tested VPNs for the fact that 80 percent of their staff could be working from home," Al Berman, executive director of the Disaster Recovery Institute, a New York-based business training and certification body, tells ComputerWorld.com.

If a company sees high rates of absenteeism, they should be proactive and send a strong message to their workers to stay at home if they are sick, according to flu experts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 flu outbreak a pandemic in June and elevated the health emergency alert to Level 6--its highest level.

With a Level 6, the Centers for Disease Control is asking companies to appoint a workplace pandemic coordinator or team. The coordinator would be responsible for monitoring employees and making sure they follow basic hygiene rules.

In addition, companies should be far along with how to make it possible for employees to telecommute, using networks to communicate with the office and other workers who are working remotely. But it remains unclear whether companies have followed this direction and are making sure they are ready to handle an outbreak of H1N1.

For more on dealing with a pandemic:
- see this ComputerWorld.com article

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"At times we're doing better, and at times we're holding our own," Jerry Upton, executive director of MAAWG, told DarkReading.com.

ISPs said abusive email has hovered around 90 percent over the past year. It hit one of its highest rates in the fourth quarter of 2008 when ISPs reported seeing that 94.2 percent of all of their email traffic was spam, malware-ridden or from other abusive sources.

Researchers from Symantec, McAfee and Cisco, also reported slight dips in spam and email abuse in the third quarter although the numbers were different. Experts pinpoint spam coming from a number of countries including Vietnam, Brazil and Romania. Spam coming from Russia has dropped significantly, according to experts.

Newcomers on the spam scene are countries in South America: Venezuela, Argentina and Columbia lead the pack.

For more on the dip in spam:
- check out this DarkReading.com article

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The study finds that green IT is a priority for two-thirds of organizations surveyed. But the study also found that the ROI is a tough sell for 80 percent of organizations.

"Some green IT purchases have longer payback periods," said Tim Herbert, vice president of research, CompTIA. "But the survey data suggests many organizations are willing to invest in greener IT products even when the return isn't realized immediately."

An article from eChannelLine.com reports that the survey found that 60 percent of organizations have in place partial or comprehensive green IT strategies that cover issues such as energy consumption, equipment usage, recycling and managing their carbon footprint.

The study also found that 75 percent of organizations expect to have a comprehensive green IT strategy in place in the next five years. But is that too long to wait for a plan that could save a company money in energy consumption? Why are agencies taking so long and shouldn't they be moving faster?

The survey found there are obstacles faced by companies trying to go green. That includes implementation cost (65 percent), a lack of resources (47 percent) and the difficulty of calculating the ROI of green initiatives (35 percent).

"Regulatory compliance issues and positive publicity may be driving interest in environmentally friendly IT products and services," said Herbert. "But having in place a dedicated or executive-level champion may also help drive adoption of environmentally friendly practices in the absence of a demonstrable return."

For more on green IT and its obstacles:
- see this eChannelLine.com article

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According to CNET News the Administration announced the switch to the Associated Press with a nod toward the software's transparency and taxpayer-friendly price tag. The endorsement may make others in the private and public sector more comfortable with open source, quieting some enterprise-users reluctance to join the movement due to security fears.

Still, one would hope the White House is watching the site closely to prevent vulnerabilities. CNET News notes, that "as with all open-source software there's no guarantee that debugging and security patches automatically arrive faster or that software is easier to maintain than with proprietary software."

For more:
- read the ComputerWorld article
- read the CNET News article

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According to eWeek, the company's iMesh two-dimensional interconnect works like a communications switch to each core, eliminating the need for an on-chip bus. Together with a Dynamic Distributed Cache system that allows the local cache to be shared across the chip, Tilera officials say that its family of processors can scale "almost linearly with the number of cores."

The processors will come in various speeds up to 1.5GH, and Tilera officials claiming that its 10-core chip alone will offer four-times the performance of any current processor on the market,

Ultimately, its success hinges not solely on its technical prowess, but on its ease of programming and the needs of the market. Success hardly seems guaranteed though, as Tilera's 100-core processor is only expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2011. In the meantime, established chip makers such as Intel and AMD are furiously developing processors with a greater number of cores.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek

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"We are working on upgraded antivirus and malware detection, alert and eradication capabilities, as well as implementation of controls to deny network access to unauthorized USB flash media and revised operating procedures for scanning and cleaning flash media," wrote Robert Carey, the chief information officer for the Department of the Navy on his blog recently.

Additional details of the systems being put in place are not available, though it is understood that only authorized individuals will be able to make use of the flash drives, system or not. Has your organization encountered any data leaks or security incidents resulting from the use of flash drives?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at CNET News

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For those just raring for a look at it now, the promised documentation is unfortunately still in the "early stages." However, Microsoft promised that it will eventually be released under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise. According to Microsoft, this means that "anyone" will be able to freely implement the format on any platform without having to seek permission or to even inform the company.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at CNET News

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Below are some tips offered by Google on how to stop malicious online ads in their tracks:

• Know who you're working with: Google recommends running a background check on the company's website, as well as information in the domain records of the company. Be vigilant about potential red flags such as a recent domain registration date, or false or hidden contact information.
• Secure partners: Google notes that not all ad networks or exchanges may implement strong security. Obviously, running ads from such partners is not a good idea.
• Perform a comprehensive Q&A on ad content: Media files such as Flash files and PDF files should be scanned using various online tools such as Wepawet and Adopstools to ensure that malicious code is not being loaded on the sly. This includes JavaScript, which could be easily obfuscated to hide its real intention.
• Quick reaction: The New York Times debacle took place over a weekend, no doubt by design. A strong incident response plan with a team on stand-by would help ensure rapid response to neutralize and rectify threats.

For more:
- check out the original slides from eWeek

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Gartner experts said employees should get used to a greater corporate presence in their social networking lives. "We can't stop social networking, but harnessing the passion of employees and educating them about the responsibilities is essential," Rozwell said.

Nevertheless, it's impossible to cut off social networking, says Paul Proctor, another Gartner vice president. "Don't try to shut down the two-way flow of information because you can't stop it," Proctor says. "Transparency is in."

He mentions that it's important that IT security is in effect. But it's also crucial that IT security staff thinks carefully before exercising a reflex to prevent employees from communicating with Facebook or other social networks.

For more on social media and the workplace:
- see this CNET.com article

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Meanwhile, IT pay continues to shrink, according to a survey by Janco Associates. A survey released in June found that the total compensation for IT professionals fell nearly 20 percent between January 2008 and June 2009.

What does all this mean for you? You could lose staff with a pay cut, but it's likely that IT workers will stick around because there are cuts all over the place these days. You may have to deal with sullen moods or workers not willing to work their hardest. On the other hard, your employees may understand what is happening, and go the extra mile. 

Cutting the pay of IT professionals is risky, David Foote, CEO of Foote Partners, an IT compensation research firm in Vero Beach, Fla., tells CIO.com. "Retention is a huge problem in IT, and [companies] need to start realizing that. If you make across-the-board pay cuts, the best people will leave," Foote said. "What companies are doing is firing people and putting the work on the backs of other people," Foote added. "We see a lot of highly paid but burned out people in IT."

Until the rocky road of today's economy stabilizes, be ready for change in all forms. It may come as layoffs or pay cuts, but it may be coming down the road whether you like it or not.

For more on today's IT economic twists:
- check out this CIO.com article

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Although the last year has been tough on everyone, including IT workers, there are predictions that the next few years will see an explosion in the number of IT-related jobs available. That will make it hard to hire and keep employees with tech skills, according to an article from DocuCrunch.com.

Experts say one of the driving forces will come from the federal government for more computerization in the health industry. The stimulus plan earmarked $19 billion for hospitals and doctors' offices to move to e-health records with penalties for those that don't make the switch by 2015.

The feds are expected to increase spending in other IT areas, such as energy research and green building projects, and that will trickle down to many private companies.

The upshot: Experts estimate they'll be anywhere from 41,000 to 200,000 new jobs, Dr. William Hersh of Oregon Health & Science University tells DocuCrunch.com.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics agrees. It estimates demand for network systems and data communications analytics will go up more than 50 percent by more than 50 percent. Demand for other IT skills such as database administration will rise at least 20 percent, BLS said.

You've heard it before, we're sure, but these predictions don't always come to pass. Budget constraints have kept IT departments from growing and kept departments understaffed.

Who knows what the future holds? It's good to hear these predictions. It's better when they come true.

For more on IT growth:
- see this DocuCrunch.com article

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We've all sent emails to the wrong address before, but hopefully the message didn't include confidential information about 1,300 customers.

That happened recently to a bank employee in Wyoming who sent an email with an attachment that contained information about more than 1,300 individuals. What a headache! The employee sent the information to the wrong Gmail account and didn't realize it until after he hit the send button.

The bank emailed the recipient, asking that the message be deleted without reading it, but there was no response. The bank then asked Google about the Gmail account but Google refused to provide any information because of privacy.

Then it went to court but lost out when it tried to get the judge to order the information kept secret. The bank lost. That is why there is plenty of information out on the Internet that had been sent to the wrong address and could be used against any one of the 1,300 people.

For more on mis-sent emails:
- see this Docucrunch.com article

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The startup company, Systems In Motion, is planning to create a handful of U.S.-based centers offering world-class IT services at competitive prices.

The company hired personnel at their first development center in Michigan and expects 150 people on the job by the end of next year. It is also planning to invest $15 million in the company. In addition to the funding, the founders expect that their experience running an IT-services company will help them hit their targets for growth.

Is this an idea whose time has come? It will be interesting to see how this firm develops and uses its know-how to get an American company out of the starting gate. While there are plenty of critics who think outsourcing is relied on too frequently, it will be interesting to see if an American company can make headway in the competitive world of production, where price is everything.

For more on inshoring:
- see this InformationWeek.com article

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Although this does not sound like much, the decline is expected to continue until the economy is out of the dumps.

"It's not pretty at all out there," Gian Fulgoni, chairman of comScore, tells the Washington Post. "The consumer just doesn't have spending power."

There are some bright spots, though. Amazon's stock shot up 27 percent last week after it reported excellent third-quarter earnings driven by low prices and the growing popularity of Kindle. But other online retails didn't do as well. eBay's marketplace division fell 1 percent in the most recent quarter.

It's a far cry from the more than 20 percent growth of the last several years that created the $130 billion online industry. Experts expect an uptick next year. The question is when?

For more on falling online sales:
- see this Washington Post article

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Still, I can't help but pick out some of the most useful and interesting news pertaining to Windows 7. So do check out the informational, interesting, and downright zany news--and videos--about the operating system everyone loves to hate, below.

First of all though, you really got to check out these couple of hilarious new YouTube videos based on the long-running "I'm a PC, and I'm a Mac" series of ads. Here are two of them, hilarious stuff:

• Would you trust someone who has repeatedly broken promises of a better experience? Watch the video
• Would you stick with something familiar...if it's all pain and frustration? Watch the video. Watch the video

Do check out the following news too:

• Windows, Kindle sync announced. Read about this joint announcement
• Microsoft is touting Windows 7 as the prefect platform for developers. Check it out if you are a developer, or work with one.
• After making fun of Microsoft (above), Apple has announced that it will upgrade Boot Camp to support Windows 7. Read more here
• Microsoft is marketing the development of Windows 7 as a culmination of what a user wants. So if Windows 7 doesn't work, does it mean it's your fault? (Video)
• Some reasons to stick with Windows XP until Microsoft comes out with Windows 7 service pack 1. Check out the reasons why here.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld

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According to this mole--from a top tier PC maker--the delay on this front will hinder the wide-spread adoption of USB 3.0, as it "won't get real traction until it gets integrated in the chip sets." 

However, the delay on the chip-set front doesn't appear to be any part of a diabolic scheme. According to this same source, the reason that Intel has put USB 3.0 on the backburner is simple: Intel's chip set teams are currently busy with other things. This includes focusing on improving Nehalem new QPI and DMI buses, working through a transition to the 5 GHz PCI Express 2.0 spec, and 6GBps Sata.

While vendors such as NEC and Fujitsu are already shipping SuperSpeed controller chips, the need for system makers to purchase discrete host controllers makes a higher cost inevitable. With this in mind, I would agree with the insider's assessment of a slower pick-up rate for USB 3.0.

Talk of delays aside, I find myself looking forward to the general availability of USB 3.0. I believe that a new wave of peripherals will be made possible by the greatly increased bus speed; and devices such as portable solid state drives will start to become practical. Let's hope that Intel will change its mind.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at EETimes.com
- check out this article at The Register

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Titled "Capability of the People's Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation," the report stated that "Technical assessments of operational tradecraft observed in intrusions attributed to China are the result of extensive forensic analysis and discussions with information security professionals who follow these issues closely."

One attack, that was believed to be China-based, was detailed in the report: Two groups of hackers worked in tandem on a sophisticated operation to steal data from an unspecified "large" U.S. business and several other companies. One group worked to crack the security systems while another moved specific files--without needing to open them first--onto severs that have higher throughput for downloading.

For more on this story:
- the entire report can be downloaded from here (.pdf)
- check out this article at InformationWeek

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For now, it wasn't clear if the service is a download or a stream service. The service is expected to be announced next Wednesday, October 28. Even before its launch though, I imagine that this new audio service from Google will quickly find its way into tight integration with Google's Android smartphone platform.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at TechCrunch

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For one, the administrator interface for the device was protected by nothing more than some flimsy JavaScript code crafted to hide the admin commands on the web interface from unauthorized users. As you can imagine, disabling JavaScript on a web browser was all it took to expose these privileged commands.

This was not the only problem, however. The really shocking fact is the revelation that the web interface was by default accessible from anywhere on the Internet. And a call to Time Warner's security department with news of this mega security problem netted an incredible response: "We are aware of it but we cannot do anything about it."

Probably as a result of the media scrutiny, Network World has reported mid-week that "it has patched the problem until the manufacturer can provide a permanent fix." I take that to mean that it has blocked access to port 80 for all its users or something similar.

Whatever the case, the sheer fact that Time Warner was fully aware of such a damning security problem, yet allowed it to remain unresolved just cannot be condoned in my eyes. I would love to hear your take on this situation. And yes, you can read the full account at Chen's blog here.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Network World

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An article in Politico, reports that high-tech executives and entrepreneurs are throwing their hats into the ring for 2010 House, Senate and governors' races. Some of these wanna-be's are leaving companies at the pinnacle of their careers. Others see an opportunity because the electorate wants people outside the political arena who can bring change.

"Who better to start with than a group of hyper-ambitious men and women with millions of dollars burning a hole in their pocket, all looking for the next big thing to do in their life?" Bill Whalen, an expert on state and national politics at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, told Politico. "These are all people who have achieved and overachieved."

Not only that, these high-tech executives have the ability to pour their own money into these fledgling campaigns. Whitman, for example, has already committed $19 million of her own money to the race. Will these high-tech execs make it to the finish line? Some of them probably will. And they will bring along the innovation and brashness that made their companies a success and could possibly do the same thing for government.

For more on the aspirations of high-tech candidates:
- check out this Politico article

So how is this recovery different from others? The coming uptick will bring IT budgets back to where they were in 2006, he told ZNet.com. It will still be tough going because CIOs will have the same priorities they've had for the last three years without extra money to make it happen. So there will continue to be plenty of ground that needs to be made up when things get going again. 

Two Gartner experts, Ken McGee and Dale Kutnick, call the new normal the era of zero percent IT growth. 2010 will be a year of new priorities without the money to do it, they say.

So what's a CIO to do? Get creative, apply the knowledge you've learned in this year's downturn, work harder at consolidation and, unfortunately, continue to put off projects that don't need to be done right now.

For more on tough times for the CIO:
- see this ZNet.com article

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The agreement settles a case by the Federal Trade Commission that charged the company with violating terms of a settlement following a databreach in 2005 that led to hundreds of cases of identity theft.

It's the latest charge against the consumer data broker. In 2006, the company--now a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier Inc.--paid $15 million to settle charges that it let criminals purchase sensitive financial and personal data on at least 163,000 people.

At the time, ChoicePoint was supposed to take positive steps to protect consumer data, but the FTC alleged that in April 2008 the company switched off an internal electronic monitoring system designed to watch customer accounts for signs of unauthorized or suspicious activity.

ChoicePoint blamed the incident on a government customer that failed to properly safeguard one of its user IDs needed to access ChoicePoint's AutoTrack XP Product.

Like many breaches these days, it's often a combination of a failure to follow protocol or keep an eye on the ball in safeguarding data that causes the problem. And it is essential that companies tighten their procedures and systems to prevent any data breaches.

For more on ChoicePoint:
- see this Washington Post article

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It might be enticing to post a management update on Twitter if you can tweet it with 140 characters. But the real question is whether the CIO should use it, and how?

If you want to show you are a forward-thinking executive then of course you should use it. But it might be more valuable to other members of your staff--your service management staff, for example.

Still, Twitter is something that every CIO must understand and use at times. If you don't, you'll appear stuck in the 20th century, unable to move to the 21st. More importantly, it could cost you business or the disdain of your employees.

"I've definitely seen a few of the use cases--everything from industry analysts to executives--who tweeted when they shouldn't and it's led to everything from lawsuits to lost market share," said Jim Haughwout, vice president of Technology and the CIO of Neighborhood America (NA), an enterprise social networking software development house. He spoke with CIOUpdate about the challenges of tweeting.

So be careful how you tweet. Like any written piece of communication, think before you write and then read it again before you send it. Sounds easy, doesn't it? But remember, there have already been plenty of cases where bad-tweeting has created major headaches at the workplace.

For more on whether you should tweet:
- check out this CIOUpdate article

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What does this mean for you? First of all, it means that the tech industry is still depressed and the expected rebound is slow in coming. Second, it means the growth is slower than expected, and that could impact your business in both direct and indirect ways.

High tech was the single largest merchandise export sector in the U.S. in 2008, representing 17 percent of all U.S. exports in the world. In Q4 '08, high-tech exports were down eight percent compared to Q4 '07. The drop became steeper with a 22 percent decline in Q1 '09 and a 22 percent decline in Q2 compared to their 2008 quarters.

"These high-tech exports support nearly 1.2 million American jobs, and if exports decline it is safe to say that jobs will be lost as well," said Christopher W. Hansen, president, TechAmerica Foundation, in a press statement.

On the flip side of the picture, the United States imported the most high-tech products from China--$116.8 billion--followed by Mexico--$51 billion. So how does the tech economy find a happy medium? Hard to say in these turbulent times. It's unclear when it will settle down and find the equilibrium it desperately needs.

For more on the state of technology:
- see this TechAmerica report

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If email is crucial for your business, and it probably is, then it's too important to use a free web-mail service, according to Business Week magazine. You could be faced with some gaps in service if you do. Service can fail for hours, messages can be delayed or lost entirely. Often, there's little or no recourse for the customer who loses data or productivity.

But if you choose to use free email, you should be asking some questions about what happens if there is an outage? Make sure you read your terms-of-service agreement before you sign up for the account and ask about a disaster recovery plan. And once you are signed up for the service, back up your email and local information on a local hard drive and at least two other places, according to the magazine.

Shop around before you sign up for a free service because plenty of web-based email services have sprung up and new deals may be out there The lifeblood of your company may be its email service, so be careful what you choose. And remember, just because it's free doesn't mean it's great.

For more on the perils of free email:
- see this Business Week article

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Sondergaard painted a picture in which companies are delaying the replacement of their servers and other IT equipment, despite a gradually improving economy. The number of such delayed replacements is expected to reach 10 percent where servers are concerned by next year. According to Gartner, the replacement schedule for three million servers has already been delayed around the world in this year alone.

On the whole, enterprise IT expenditure is expected to decline 6.8 percent this year, with a slow recovery back to 2008 levels expected to take place over the next three years.

With virtualization already having made such substantial inroads into the enterprise, my personal opinion is that this can only have some kind of positive effect on cloud computing as the enterprise explores additional methods of stretching existing hardware past it's optimal replacement date. How much equipment has your company put off replacing this year?

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld

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For now, the Windows Presentation Foundation Add-on remains on the blocklist, though the .NET Framework Assistant has been re-enabled by Mozilla after Microsoft clarified that it is not a known vector for the security issue.

Additional information about how Mozilla is able to block Firefox Add-ons that are "known to cause stability or security issues" can be found on Mozilla's Knowledge Base page here. Given the difficulty in uninstalling the Windows Presentation Foundation Add-on, the use of a blocklist makes sense. Including Microsoft's, there are nine blocked Add-ons at the moment, which are simply not by Firefox.

In the meantime, vice president of engineering at Mozilla, Michael Shaver has said that he is working on a post to clarify events over the past few days. Shaver added, "We're hard at work on improving the experience for (especially enterprise) users who wish to override the blocking of the WPF plug-in before we remove it from the blocklist."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek

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Graeme Gobbett managed to get his way by not accepting the default Windows End User License Agreement (EULA), opting to thrash the entire partition with the Linux distribution of his choice instead.

In a nutshell, Gobbett basically sent a number of carefully worded emails to Dell's customer support to reject the default EULA. He then asked for a refund, leveraging on the terms of the EULA exit clause. Bottom line: It took two months and 14 email exchanges with Dell, but he got his refund.

Of course, Gobbett did acknowledge that it was unlikely that Dell bothered to get the money from Microsoft for that license he wriggled his way out of. He suggests that there could be a cumulative effect if more users followed in his footsteps, in terms of "PC manufacturers' next round of negotiations with Microsoft, gently loosening their tight monopoly grip on the operating system market."

For the full account of what Gobbett did, check out his blog entry here.  

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Register

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The first is what the company calls an MLC enterprise NAND chip. What is different about Micron's MLC chips is the fact that they are capable of achieving some 30,000 write-cycles. Spokesperson Kirstin Bordner noted that this represents a six-fold increase in the number of writes compared with current-generation MLC NAND. On the SLC front, Micron has also introduced a 34-nanometer SLC NAND that is capable of 300,000 write cycles, or a threefold increase over the highest--so far--in the industry.

Micron says the new NAND chips are currently sampling and expected to be in volume production in early-2010. Unless other flash memory makers have similar aces up their sleeves, 2010 could prove to be a good year for Micron.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at eWeek

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The Droid also brings with it the Android 2.0 SDK, which promises a host of enhancements for developers and users alike. The updated SDK--available for download here--introduces new APIs for sync and Bluetooth. "Using the new sync, account manager and contacts APIs, you can write applications to enable users to sync their devices to various contact sources," writes Android SDK tech lead Xavier Ducrohet on the Android Developers Blog. "With the new Bluetooth API, you can now easily add peer-to-peer connectivity or gaming to your applications."

Major user additions to Android 2.0 include Quick Contact, which provides instant access to a contact's information and communication modes--for example, users can tap a photo and select whether to call, text or email the individual in question. Other applications like Email, Messaging and Calendar can also reveal the Quick Contact widget upon touching a contact photo or status icon. Android 2.0 additionally boasts support for Exchange, a combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page and search functionality for all saved SMS and MMS messages. The software upgrade also boosts camera functionality, introducing built-in flash support, digital zoom, scene mode and related visual effects. An improved keyboard promises to simplify text input and improve typing speed, while the framework's multi-touch support guarantees key presses aren't missed during two-finger typing sessions.

Perhaps the most significant browser enhancement in Android 2.0 arrives via support for HTML5, which enables browser-based applications to behave more like native apps. Speaking in February at Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona, Google vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra trumpeted HTML5 as one of the cornerstones of the modern, cutting-edge mobile browser. Gundotra also emphasized the value of application cache support for offline use and geolocation API support, both featured in Android 2.0 as well. The update also adds a refreshed UI with actionable browser URL bar, enabling users to directly tap the address bar for instant searches and navigation, as well as bookmarks with web page thumbnails and support for double-tap zoom.

Not all developers are eagerly awaiting the Droid's debut, however. Last week Google confirmed the launch of Google Maps Navigation (Beta), a free turn-by-turn navigation app premiering in conjunction with Android 2.0. According to Google, the mobile app boasts all the familiar bells and whistles of premium GPS-based navigation systems, like 3D views, voice guidance and automatic re-routing, but was built to take advantage of smartphones' constant connection to the web, enabling features like real-time traffic views, street and satellite views, updated maps and business data. "Obviously, we like the price of free and consumers like that as well," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said during a preview of the service, adding the company can figure out how to make money from the product later. If the application is a hit, rival navigation software developers earning revenue via subscription-based solutions may find themselves forced to devise new business models as well. -Jason

To enter Trackappalooza, developers must sign-up for a Motally account and integrate the Motally API into their live applications by Dec. 15--tracking metrics from the month of Jan. 2010 will determine the winners. To register, click here.

For more on Trackappalooza:
- read this release

In August, Research In Motion acquired WebKit solutions developer Torch Mobile, creator of the Iris web browser for mobile and embedded devices. Torch announced the acquisition on its website: "Our team of developers will join RIM's global organization and will now be focused on utilizing our WebKit-based mobile browser expertise to contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the BlackBerry platform... As part of RIM, these developers will continue to be active participants in the WebKit development community." WebKit already powers mobile browsers on competing device platforms including the iPhone, Symbian S60 and Android.

For more on RIM's WebKit developer search:
- read this Engadget article

Related articles:
RIM trumpets BlackBerry OS 5.0 enhancements
RIM introduces BlackBerry Developer's Blog
RIM touts new features, markets for BlackBerry App World

Although Pinch Media's findings indicate that premium App Store downloads average $12,100 in revenue ($8,500 net to the developer), the firm is quick to point out that the arithmetic can be misleading because the most popular applications generate a very disproportionate percentage of sales. Pinch notes that a small segment of developers earn substantially more than $8.500 per app, and most do far worse. Pinch data also indicates that the average 99-cent iPhone app is not downloaded significantly more often than the average $4.99 app--in fact, its research suggest that the relatively strong sales performance of apps priced at $4.99 is an indicator of their quality.

For more on the iPhone app revenue projections:
- read this Pinch Media blog entry

Qualcomm Innovation Center brings together a dedicated group of engineers under Chandhok's leadership. The QuIC team will focus on open-source initiatives including Linux and Webkit as well as operating systems like Symbian and rival Android.

A total of five stores--Nokia's Ovi Store, Samsung Applications Store, AT&T's MEdia Mall, China Mobile's Mobile Market and Sony Ericsson's PlayNow arena--support Symbian Horizon; the directory is live in beta, and developers can submit their Symbian-signed apps for inclusion free of charge. In the months ahead, the Symbian Foundation will revise the submission process, offering developers the option of automatically adding their apps to the Horizon directory. In addition, developers will be able to register online and edit their application and developer profiles, providing both stores and consumers with complete information about their products. The Symbian Foundation adds that it will begin a comprehensive program targeted at processing thousands of applications in the year to come. It also will seek input on options for funding the program.

"The world doesn't need yet another app store," said Symbian Foundation director Lee Williams during his opening keynote address Tuesday morning. "We're here to help developers with promotion, translation, and channel and store access. This is a real opportunity for them to get to market."

Related articles:
Symbian Horizon promises simplified app publishing 
Symbian Foundation outlines new roadmap
Open season for the Symbian Foundation

Nokia says it's now approving 500 new content items for distribution each week. But the company isn't disclosing the number of Ovi Store downloads or the total number of content units available to consumers, so it's impossible to gauge just how the store is faring so far. The company did respond to criticisms about the Ovi Store user experience: "We realize there are many things to make better in Ovi Store," said Nokia director of platform marketing Aapo Bovellan. "We wanted to create something that works across multiple devices and platforms, meaning we run into different obstacles than the other guys."

And while Nokia's presentations Monday heavily emphasized Ovi Store's geographic scale, stating that content is now available in six different languages, the social half of the effort's promised Social Location recommendation model was barely mentioned. I asked Perry about Social Location's evolution in an interview following the press event: "We're still shoring things up," he admitted. "Next year, our goal is to have a cohesive relevancy experience. When you're dealing with consumers' purchasing habits, you can't just flip a switch to make everything happen. But we are seeing user trends emerge as more applications get in to the store."

Nokia also will strive to elevate Ovi Store's awareness among consumers and developers alike. Marketing head Srinkanth Raju said the company plans to feature third-party applications in forthcoming promotional efforts, and is training retail representatives to walk customers through apps in-store--in addition, Perry said developers can expect "more outbound marketing and evangelism" as Nokia looks to woo programmers who've turned their energies elsewhere, with an emphasis on the company's "total addressable market." Nokia won't have trouble convincing developers it's bigger than its rivals--it's convincing developers that it's better that poses the real challenge. -Jason

For more Symbian news and live coverage from the Symbian Exchange and Exposition 2009 conference in London, check back with the FierceDeveloper website throughout the week.

For more on the Symbian microkernel release:
- read this release

Related articles:
David Wood leaving Symbian Foundation
Symbian Foundation outlines new roadmap

For more on QuIC:
- read this release

Related articles:
Qualcomm confirms work on Android platform
Qualcomm adds Flash to BREW Mobile Platform SDK

Calling the build "faster, sleeker, more touch-friendly and in my opinion, a much better upgrade than 6.5," respected Microsoft blogger Long Zheng adds "With all these changes and more already implemented and polished, I have to wonder why faced with inevitable criticism that WM6.5 is not enough of an improvement Microsoft didn't hold off until all these changes were implemented for the official Windows Phone relaunch...Until Windows Mobile 7, this is probably as good as it's going to get on Windows Mobile 6."

For more on Windows Mobile 6.5.1:
- read this Computerworld article

Related articles:
Ballmer says Windows Mobile 7 must "kill"
Microsoft adopting chassis strategy for Windows Mobile 7
Can Microsoft woo iPhone developers to Windows Mobile?

BlackBerry OS 5.0 will also include:

• New user interface APIs promising easier UI creation and advanced customization. New features include date/time picker, file picker, and location picker and layout utility managers--mew customization APIs enable developers to install and use custom fonts, apply screen transitions, customize menu look and feel, and add submenus.
• New networking APIs, such as network API and hotspot API, to simplify making network connections.
• A new SQLite API enabling Java developers to manage their application data in a persistent database. RIM says that along with support for SQLite with the enhanced BlackBerry Browser, developers can now create applications that enable access and management of data stored on the smartphone both in and out of network coverage zones.
• Further enhancements to the BlackBerry Browser to improve website rendering and deliver faster JavaScript and CSS.

RIM adds that an update to its BlackBerry Java Development Environment v5.0 beta 4 release is now available here. The manufacturer said BlackBerry OS 5.0 is expected to be available on devices including the BlackBerry Bold 9000, BlackBerry Tour 9630 and BlackBerry Curve 8900, 8350i and 8520 within the next few months.

For more on BlackBerry OS 5.0:
- read this release

Related articles:
RIM introduces BlackBerry Developer's Blog
RIM touts new features, markets for BlackBerry App World
BlackBerry LBS apps four times pricier than iPhone

But looking beyond 2009, research firm Gartner forecasts that by 2012, Android--which currently represents less than 2 percent of all smartphones sold--will grow to 18 percent of worldwide smartphone OS market share, accounting for 94.5 million of the expected 525 million smartphones sold three years from now. While the iPhone will generate sales of 71.5 million in 2012, its overall market share is only expected to grow to 13.6 percent between now and then--Symbian, with an anticipated 196.5 million units sold in 2012, will represent 37.4 percent of worldwide OS market share, while BlackBerry, at 73 million units sold, will edge past iPhone to account for 13.9 percent. (The big loser in Gartner's forecast: Windows Mobile, which will generate anticipated 2012 sales of 47.7 million--just 9 percent of the global market.)

Gartner isn't the only firm predicting the iPhone's dominance will wane in the years ahead--according to Ovum, while the App Store is presently responsible for about 70 percent of the total application download market, its share will decline to less than 20 percent by 2014. Ovum expects the total number of application downloads (including both free and premium applications) will grow from 491 million worldwide in 2008 to 18.7 billion in 2014, a CAGR of 83 percent across the forecast period. Ovum estimates that the global market will grow by a CAGR of 153 percent between 2008 and 2011 before dropping to around 33 percent between 2011 and 2014, a decline blamed on the emergence of browser-based services and other substitutes for app downloads. Whether you agree or disagree with the Gartner and Ovum forecasts, it does seem like the smartphone market is about to enter a distinct new phase in its evolution, galvanized by a groundswell of operator and manufacturer support for Android--no one's suggesting the last few years have been boring, but it looks like things are about to get even more interesting. -Jason

"We've seen interest across a wide range of areas for which the developer community wants to use Wolfram|Alpha--researching cancer through computational biology, augmenting web and meta-web search with computed knowledge, enriching online journalism with interactive content, building artificial intelligence systems on our domain expertise, leveraging our data analysis for decision support, optimizing renewable-energy efficiency, and even determining the optimal temperature for draft beer based on the current weather conditions.," writes Wolfram Research technical development specialist Schoeller Porter on the firm's blog. "Clearly, a straightforward API that enables applications to access advanced computations based on trusted information and backed up by a supercomputer-class infrastructure invites developers to explore ideas that were not otherwise possible."

In related news, Wolfram issued a WolframAlpha application optimized for Apple's iPhone--the app, priced at a whopping $49.99, promises to replace virtually any kind of calculator or reference book, delivering expert-level answers to questions complete with dynamically-generated visualizations and tables. The app includes a native iPhone interface with a special notation keyboard, customized output, editable history and integration with maps and other services.

For more on the WolframAlpha API:
- read this blog entry

Ballmer also responded to comments by Laura Fitton, founder of the Twitter application storefront oneforty.com, who said very few developers are creating WinMo-based Twitter apps. Ballmer said Microsoft realizes it is engaged in a lengthy campaign to lure more developers into writing apps for Windows Mobile.

For more on Ballmer's comments:
- read this Boston Globe article

Related articles:
Microsoft adopting chassis strategy for Windows Mobile 7
Can Microsoft woo iPhone developers to Windows Mobile?
Talking with Microsoft about its mobile future

Google also used the earnings call to promote the growth of its mobile search services. "On a quarter over quarter basis, mobile searches grew 30 percent on Google," CFO Patrick Pichette said. "It tells you something about the mobile space, the smartphones, and how they are transformative. They are basically transforming how people live on a mobile basis. If we move forward the adoption of these mobile phones by lowering the cost because it is open source, think of how many searches [will follow]."

For more on Google's Android boasts:
- read this TechCrunch article

Related articles:
Motorola ditches LiMo for Android
Google releases Android 1.6 SDK
New phones, seller tools improve Android Market's fortunes
Google releases Donut update for Android developers

According to Wood, he is leaving Symbian to explore "alternative career options and future scenarios," citing his recent 50th birthday as fuel behind his desire to pursue new paths. Among the subjects he hopes to tackle: The future of energy, accelerated climate change, artificial intelligence, life extension, nanotechnology and smart robotics. "I need to open up time for wide-ranging discussions with numerous interesting individuals and companies, both inside and outside the smartphone industry," Wood says. "I look forward to finding a new way to balance my passionate support for Symbian and smartphones with my concern for the future of technology." Wood adds that he's presently handing over his Symbian Foundation responsibilities to colleagues and partners.

For more on Wood's exit:
- read his blog entry

Related articles:
Symbian Foundation adds Access VP Larry Berkin
Symbian Foundation outlines new roadmap
Open season for the Symbian Foundation

The menus, the categories, the product descriptions, the terms pages, the buy links all need to be beautiful. They need to be drop-dead gorgeous, fully optimized to the phone, colorful, clear, pristine. They need to be consistent and well-engineered, and they need to actually load up on a phone without crashing. Apparently I'm asking too much because what I get is least-common-denominator, white background, small print, asterisks, goofy looking buttons, input boxes that don't fit, broken links, teeny tiny icons, circular links, and giant warning messages that remind users that this whole thing is really not a good idea.

It's as if everyone runs out of R&D budget at exactly the same place.

Billing. I want to know, in advance, if my prospect has a billing relationship with the storefront before I send my prospect into that store. I can do that with carrier storefronts, because if I send a Sprint Nextel customer to the Sprint vending machine, I know they have a billing relationship. But when it comes to other stores, I have no idea what the experience will be. Imagine a marketing campaign where I've hooked a BlackBerry user on my product. All they need to do is buy it. So where am I going to send that buyer to fulfill their purchase? Where can I send them that is the least likely to end badly? I did all the work, I found the buyer, all I want to do is take their money and deliver the files.

If the storefronts don't solve that problem, why wouldn't all developers simply make their own storefronts and be done with it? One could argue successfully that if a developer has secured a prospect through their own discovery mechanism, they shouldn't refer that customer to any other storefront than their own. You may as well take your own chances. If the store is going to prompt for a credit card, would they have any more luck doing it than the developer would?

Demographics. We know almost nothing about our customers. Simple things, like whether they are male or female, or their age, household income or geography. What other products do they buy and how much money do they spend annually on mobile content purchases? What kind of phone do they have? How often do they switch phones? Are they on a family plan?

I understand that there are privacy issues around identifying each individual customer's data, but I can't believe that this data can't be provided in some kind of aggregate form. But we get nothing, so we have no idea how to adapt our products or our marketing messages to attract new buyers. Are they price sensitive? Do they respond to special offers and incentives? Are they premium or budget-minded?

We don't even know what the makeup is of the buyers within an entire storefront. If we were selling to Wal-Mart they'd tell us absolutely everything. We'd be swimming in data and it would be our responsibility to know how to use it. But in mobile, where everything about the transaction is digital, ironically we know absolutely nothing at all.

Administration. The administration of these storefronts is incredibly painful. It's a combination of half-working websites, poorly implemented upload procedures, and lots of dead-ends and minefields. In other words, whatever you do, don't touch THAT button, because if you do, well, it will be bad, it will be really really bad. In fact, the last guy who pushed that button, well, you don't even wanna know.

It's so bad, that there are actually companies who make their living from pressing the buttons for you, because the administration of files, screenshots, metadata, previews and everything else is such a nightmare. And since everyone is left to decipher this on their own the result is a storefront that is frankly a vast, digital, disparate mobile content flea market. You think any two company's preview files actually look alike? Are the product descriptions perfectly honed to produce maximum impact and provide the end-user endless assurances that this is all money well-spent? No, it's all self-serve. Each developer left on their own to produce a completely random set of product adventures. The entire mobile industry would double their sales if someone would just pick up the phone and call Hammacher-Schlemmer and beg them to help us.

Let me reiterate this point for emphasis. It is the operator of the storefront, not the developer, who should decide exactly what the customer sees from discovery through to purchase. The screenshots, the descriptions, the feature sets, pricing--everything, should be completely managed by the storefront staff. And if anything is required from the developer, it should be extremely well-specified and carefully reviewed before being accepted.

Marketing support. We need the implementation of every trick in the book for marketing. I mentioned just one of them above, which is unlimited affiliate ID codes that are tracked all the way back to the purchase reports. How about dynamic A-B testing on the marketing pages that lead up to a sale? Show half of the users version 1, the other half version 2, and in 3 hours you'll know which copy is best and you can optimize sales. Bring the request for A-B testing to any storefront operator and you'll get a very blank stare.

We also need to be able to do marketing within the store, whether that means buying a digital "endcap" or some simple banners across the top. Problem is, we never know where the sales came from, so we have no idea if the banner ads sold the product or the categorization sold the product. Unless, of course, you're willing to do some voodoo, which every storefront has, and which will cost you several conference calls and the double-entry of all your data into the system.

We need a co-op marketing program. We'll promote our product and remind users that they can buy it in your store. So all we need is a clean, simple, deeplink into your store (from our banner) that will issue a quick, seamless, painless transaction. Can someone please give us a deeplink that doesn't suck? That would be the one that includes an affiliate ID, a beautiful marketing page, a one-click purchase and immediate reporting so I can adjust my marketing campaign parameters this evening. You see, if I fish in Pond A where my cost-per-add is $3, and Pond B yields a CPA of $2, it's really important to know that Pond A users are buying subscriptions while Pond B users are opting for the free trial. That tells me to fish in Pond A, even though it's more expensive. The deal is, I need to make that decision in a couple of hours before my client runs out of marketing money, and I can't do that if I get reporting 3 days later, without affiliate ID tracking.

One great store. Even though the mobile content space is saturated with storefronts from all directions (carriers, manufacturers, independents, self-managed), I still believe there is an opportunity for a single strong player to swoop in and completely devastate the existing landscape of retailers. The reason I say that is because after all this time, and all these initiatives, no one store really does it right. No single mobile storefront is really great. "Insanely great," as Jobs would say. It's still there, for the taking, the whole thing, if someone could just get it right.

In the meantime, I'm going to go log into my admin console and see if I can download some quarterly Excel reports...

Konny Zsigo is a 20-year veteran of the wireless data industry. His company, the WirelessDeveloper Agency, creates and executes mobile Web marketing campaigns to directly increase content sales and drive users to action. WDA also supports mobile publishers with North American distribution, licensing and production of mobile content (video, games, apps, ringtones, wallpapers, themes and more).

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There are at least three different groups of companies creating storefronts. Not all of them, incidentally, were created in response to Apple's success. In fact, many of them have been around a lot longer, which means they had a huge head start and should be amazing right now, but they're not. There are carrier storefronts, independent storefronts and handset manufacturer storefronts. Dozens of them in the U.S. marketplace alone selling mobile games, apps, ringtones, wallpapers, videos and so on. And yet, it seems with all that choice we really don't have very much choice at all. Each of them has a limitation, or issue, or some big glaring problem that prevents it from succeeding in a way that all of us need them to.

Reporting. Probably my biggest single complaint is reporting. The content we're selling is digital, the storefront is digital, the transaction is digital, yet the reporting is ... manual? The first thing about reporting is that it needs to be on-demand, and it needs to be instant. If something is sold, we should know immediately, not at the end of the month, or the end of the quarter, or 30 days after the end of the quarter. Repeatedly, I am told that the reason I can't get reporting immediately is that it is un-reconciled and might be wrong. Well duh. Maybe the user's credit card won't clear, or they won't pay their bill, or maybe they slipped through the cracks and made an illegal purchase. We know all this and we know it's not accounting grade detail, but it's still very valuable and we can't wait even three days to get it.

We also need to know a lot more about how and when the sale was made. If a report tells us that 265 copies of a specific mobile game were sold yesterday, there are many unanswered questions. First, what category were the game sales made from? If the sales came from the "What's New" category vs. the "Board Games" category, that's vitally important. Sounds simple, but we don't even know what the word "yesterday" means. What time zone is "yesterday?" At what time of day were the sales made?

We also need to know a whole lot more about the person that made the purchase. For example, has this person ever bought mobile content before, or are we responsible for their "first time purchase?" What else were they looking at before they decided to buy my product?

When we run marketing campaigns, some stores allow us to pass in an affiliate ID code of some kind. Of course, we want an unlimited number of IDs that we can trace all the way back to the banner ad that produced the purchase. Do you think we can get that? Heck no...

Instead, in many cases we have to ask for an affiliate code, and getting one is a big deal. And that's ONE code. I want a million codes!! Do you know what I can do with one lousy code? All I can do is tell you that a person made a purchase from one of multiple simultaneous campaigns, but not which one. So that means I have no idea which marketing campaign is effectively converting customers. Useless?

And I also have a beef about how I get the reporting. Most of our reporting comes in Excel spreadsheets produced somewhere by little elfkins that can't always add. It's true, I have gotten many royalty statements in Excel that did NOT add up. The "total" column isn't a formula, if you know what I mean. I don't even want an Excel spreadsheet! I want XML transactions, row by row, with all the detail in full glory so that my system can interpret the results (don't get me wrong, your graphs are pretty...)

A decent buy-page. I am astonished at the poor quality of the end-user experience on mobile storefronts. Being in the business as long as I have disqualifies me as an objective test subject, but sometimes even I get confused. At what exact point in the purchase process have I committed myself to a purchase? Will the real buy button please light up!...Continued

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Adobe Flash group product marketing manager Adrian Ludwig took exception to Baker's summation: "I don't think 'end-around' is accurate," he said. "Flash developers want their content available through the browser, and we're working with Apple to see what we need to do as a software company, and as developers, to make that possible." However, Ludwig declined to comment when asked whether Adobe had informed Apple that a series of applications already submitted for App Store approval were built with a preliminary version of Flash Pro CS5, and not Apple's own iPhone development environment.

Adobe has long aspired to bring Flash to the iPhone--this summer, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch told The Wall Street Journal that the software firm has assigned engineering teams to all major smartphone operating systems, but its absence from the iPhone platform had little to do to with technological challenges: "We need to have Apple's agreement before we can do it," Lynch said. In March 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs infamously contended the iPhone requires a media player more robust than the existing Flash mobile solution, and has not softened his stance over the year and a half to follow. Developers indicate that Adobe's latest move will do little to improve its relationship with Apple, noting iPhones still won't be able to successfully download the majority of web pages heavy on Flash-based graphics.

"Adobe's not putting Flash into the iPhone, no matter how hard you try to read between the lines," Hottrix CEO Steve Sheraton told The Wall Street Journal, adding "If it sounds too flashy to be true, it probably is." Pangea Software CEO Brian Greenstone was even more critical of Adobe's approach, telling the Journal "it just means we'll have a flurry of C-grade apps suddenly appearing on the App Store." It's far too early to pass such a sweeping judgment on the quality of these new Flash Professional CS50-based apps, but it does look like they will be coming in droves. "Whether the iPhone can bolster a good enough performance to do intensive mobile Flash games, we are unsure of," John Cooney, head of development at Flash gaming firm Armor Games, said to Wired. "But if it can, it's going to open up doors for several Flash game developers, including myself personally, to become iPhone developers." -Jason

Other Handango winners included e-Mobile Software Inc (for BlackBerry Developer of the Year), Lonely Cat Games (for Symbian Developer of the Year), Lonely Cat Games (which won Symbian App of the Year for LCG Jukebox) and TetherBerry (whose eponymous application took home BlackBerry App of the Year). For the first time, consumers were invited to participate in voting across categories including Developer of the Year, Best Business App, Best Social/Messaging App and 2009 Groundbreaker. For the complete list of winners, click here.

For more on the 2009 Handango Champion Awards:
- read this release

Related articles:
BlackBerry displaces Windows Mobile atop Handango Yardstick
Mobile games, BlackBerry apps dominate Handango Yardstick
Entertainment tops Handango Yardstick

In August, the LiMo Foundation announced a new round of LiMo-compliant mobile Linux handsets from NEC and Panasonic Mobile Communications, bringing its total number of approved devices to 42--the largest number of commercially available mobile handsets produced by any global collaborative development platform organization, the group adds, and far greater than the number of Android smartphones currently available. The LiMo Foundation's ranks total close to 60 members.

For more on Motorola turning away from LiMo:
- read this InformationWeek article

Related articles:
LiMo Foundation announces platform updates
Verizon Wireless spurns Android for LiMo
LiMo Foundation unveils phones, adds members

In related Android news, the AndroidGuys website reports developers may now market their Android Market applications by targeting specific operators' subscribers as well as particular geographic regions." For example, if you are showing your app in the United States, you can now choose among Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless," reads a recent Google mail sent to Android programmers. "If your apps are intended for users of specific carriers, please go to the Android Market developer website at http://market.android.com/publish (in the Publishing Options section under Locations) and target your applications to those carriers accordingly."

For more on the Android 1.6 SDK upgrades:
- check out the Android Developers Blog 

Related articles:
Google slaps Android developer with cease-and-desist letter 
Google releases Android 1.6 SDK

New phones, seller tools improve Android Market's fortunes

Google releases Donut update for Android developers

The iPhone SDK update is similarly low-key. Most notably, instruments can now profile iPhone and iPod touch applications on a device via WiFi connection--also, the iPhone Development grouping now collects crash logs, install bundles and provisioning profiles in a single location. In addition, iPhone OS 3.1 Simulator uses frameworks more closely matching the device. A version is available for developers running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Developers can download iPhone SDK 3.1.2 here.

For more on iPhone SDK 3.1.2:
- read this iPhone Blog article

Related articles:
Apple issues iPhone OS 3.1 beta
Analyst says Snow Leopard could extend iPhone battery life

BlackBerry Widgets can be distributed over-the-air, via BlackBerry App World or through BlackBerry Enterprise Server to smartphones running BlackBerry OS 5.0, which will include an enhanced BlackBerry Browser with support for Gears, SQLite and the new BlackBerry Widget APIs.

For more on the BlackBerry Widget SDK:
- read this release

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BlackBerry browser adding Flash and Silverlight support?
RIM unveils new BlackBerry app development tools

Source: Daniel Bouie via YouTube

While Microsoft will launch Windows Marketplace for Mobile in conjunction with its first Windows Mobile 6.5 devices, the company is looking forward by looking backward: "We've also discussed following this launch with an update that will include support for Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 by the end of the year," Brix writes. "More specifically, we're targeting November for phase two. In addition, this second phase will bring the PC based catalog and shopping experience, user generated app reviews, advanced key-based anti-piracy protection and other enhancements that expand your business opportunity and make it easier for a larger number of customers to find and buy your application."

WinMo 6.5 arrives amidst grave doubts about the future of the Windows Mobile platform. Following August's announcement that longtime mobile adversaries Microsoft and Nokia will partner to integrate Microsoft Office software into upcoming Symbian smartphones, research firm Gartner was ready to stick a fork in Windows Mobile--"Despite loud protestations that Microsoft is deeply committed to WinMo, they wouldn't have needed this alliance with Nokia if WinMo were the leading smartphone operating system," Gartner analyst Nick Jones wrote. "I worry that WM7 could even be the last throw of the dice. Imagine you're [Microsoft CEO] Steve Ballmer, and in two years time WinMo was still 4th in smartphone market share. How much longer would you keep throwing money at it?"

But in a research note issued last week, market analysis firm iSuppli maintains Windows Mobile not only will survive, it will thrive, tripling in smartphone usage between 2009 and 2013 to emerge as the second most popular OS in the global market, behind only Symbian. iSuppli forecasts that 67.9 million smartphones will run on WinMo in 2013 (up from 27.7 million in 2009), translating to a 15.3 percent share of the global market behind Symbian's projected 47.6 percent. iSuppli maintains WinMo can rebound because it's part of a complete infrastructure offering: "The battle over smartphone software has spread beyond the operating systems," argues iSuppli senior wireless communications analyst Tina Teng. "To win in today's environment, a company needs not only an operating system but also device support, an application store, a broad portfolio of applications and support from the developer community. While Windows Mobile is losing some share to competitors in 2009, most of the alternatives cannot match Microsoft's complete suite of offerings."

Teng also contends that Palm and Motorola's respective focus on webOS and Android will have little impact on WinMo's fortunes: "Palm never used Microsoft for all of its smartphone operating system needs, so it never represented a large amount of business... Furthermore, it was known that Palm was working on its own smartphone operating system for the Pre. As for Motorola, the company's shipments and market share in the mobile handset business have been declining in recent years, making it a less significant player." iSuppli believes the losses are offset by Microsoft's partnership with LG, which has pledged to produce 50 Windows Mobile handset models.

Even iSuppli admits that WinMo is its own worst enemy, charitably noting "the Windows Mobile user interface looks poor compared to some of its slicker competitors--particularly Google's Android and Apple's iPhone." So the iSuppli forecast pins its hopes on the long-in-incubation Windows Mobile 7 and its promise of a revamped operating system, an enhanced user interface and web browser and multi-touch controls. That's a lot riding on an OS that's still largely an enigma--although iSuppli's bet on Windows Mobile 7 is nothing compared to the wager Microsoft is making, of course. -Jason

In related news, Verizon Wireless announced the creation of the 4G Venture Forum, a new initiative promising to bring together financial investment, developmental incubation and market validation for products and services earmarked for 4G networks.  The 4GVF brings Verizon together with network infrastructure providers Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson as well as venture funds including Alcatel-Lucent Ventures, Charles River Partners, New Venture Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners  and Redpoint Ventures.  Verizon reports that participants have identified up to $1.3 billion as available for 4GVF development; participating venture capital firms presently have more than $9 billion under management.

For more on Verizon's 4G efforts:
- read this release

Related articles:
Verizon Developer Community membership soars in first month
Verizon kicks off Apply Your Ideas developer contest

Adobe has long aspired to bring Flash to the iPhone--this summer, Lynch told The Wall Street Journal that the software firm has assigned engineering teams to all major smartphones, but its absence from the iPhone platform had little to do to with technological challenges: "We need to have Apple's agreement before we can do it," Lynch said. In March 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs contended the iPhone requires a media player more robust than the existing Flash mobile solution.

In related Adobe news, the company announced the introduction of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for smartphones, smartbooks, netbooks, PCs and other web-connected devices, promising a consistent runtime release enabling uncompromised web browsing across multiple platforms. According to Adobe, the browser-based Flash Player 10.1 runtime uses the productive web model of the Flash Platform to enable designers and developers to reuse code and assets, effectively slashing the cost of creating, testing and deploying content across different operating systems and browsers. In addition, it leverages the power of the Graphics Processing Unit to accelerate video and graphics while conserving battery life and minimizing resource utilization. Flash Player 10.1 also boasts support for smartphone features including multi-touch, gestures, mobile input models, accelerometer and screen orientation.

Public developer betas of the browser-based runtime optimized for Windows Mobile, Palm's webOS and desktop operating systems including Windows, Macintosh and Linux will surface later this year--public betas for Android and Symbian will follow in early 2010. In addition, Adobe and Research In Motion announced a joint collaboration to bring Flash Player to BlackBerry smartphones, while Google will join close to 50 other industry players in the Adobe-led Open Screen Project initiative.

For more on Flash for iPhone:
- read this release

According to Flurry, more than 5,000 Android, BlackBerry and J2ME developers have signed up for its analytics service since the solution launched in Jan. 2009. Flurry now tracks over 200 million end-user sessions per month, and aggregates data from applications used in more than 200 countries across more than 200 carriers and over 1,000 unique handset models.

For more on the T-Mobile USA/Flurry partnership:
- read this release

Related articles:
Flurry debuts mobile analytics tools for iPhone, Android
Flurry intros mobile app analytics service

Brix recommends that developers and independent software vendors looking to accelerate the Windows Marketplace submission process should first read through the Application Submission Criteria, Policy Guidelines, Prohibited Applications List and Market Validation Guide. He also recommends using Application Verifier on for apps written in native code, as well as testing apps in the Windows Mobile 6.5 emulator.

Microsoft will launch Windows Marketplace for Mobile in conjunction with its first Windows Mobile 6.5 devices. "We've also discussed following this launch with an update that will include support for Windows Mobile 6 and 6.1 by the end of the year," Brix writes. "More specifically, we're targeting November for phase two. In addition, this second phase will bring the PC based catalog and shopping experience, user generated app reviews, advanced key-based anti-piracy protection and other enhancements that expand your business opportunity and make it easier for a larger number of customers to find and buy your application."

For more on Windows Marketplace for Mobile's launch:
- read this Windows Mobile Blog entry

Related articles:
Microsoft confirms kill switch for Windows Marketplace apps
Windows Marketplace for Mobile accepting app submissions
Microsoft lists Windows Marketplace for Mobile app restrictions

Another App Store milestone, and another opportunity to take stock of its impact. Roughly five months after the virtual storefront crossed the 1 billion iPhone and iPod touch application download threshold, Apple announced Monday that downloads have now exceeded the 2 billion mark--according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, consumers downloaded half a billion apps in the third quarter alone, while AppleInsider crunches the numbers to determine that users are now downloading an average of 6.3 million apps per day, up from 4.1 million in the App Store's first year. Apple adds that there are now over 85,000 applications in the store and more than 125,000 programmers in its iPhone Developer Program.

What does it all mean from a revenue standpoint? In a research report published Thursday, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates the App Store currently generates between $60 million and $110 million in quarterly revenue for Apple--a tiny fraction of the computing giant's total Q3 revenues of $8.34 billion. Sacconaghi believes the App Store contributes between two cents and four cents a share in profit to Apple per quarter--minus the 30 percent cut Apple takes on App Store downloads, the analyst estimates that iPhone software developers currently generate between $140 million and $250 million a quarter.

Sacconaghi adds that the average cost of a premium iPhone app is now about $3.00--mobile ad exchange Mobclix reports that while paid downloads make up 77.3 percent of the total App Store inventory, consumers continue to download more free apps. Apple notes that more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers in 77 countries are downloading applications in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel--however, Mobclix contends that games and entertainment alone represent more than 35 percent of all apps, with the smallest five categories (in order of increasing size: weather, medical, finance, photography and social networking) making up just 6.2 percent combined.

Determining what apps are worth to developers is one thing--determining what they're worth to consumers is another. According to a recent survey by mobile application development services provider Flurry, bargain-priced novelty apps lose their appeal virtually overnight, with news and reference apps retaining the most user attention over the long haul. The Flurry survey--which covers iPhone apps as well as the BlackBerry, Android and JavaME platforms--indicates that news apps are used at a rate of 11 times per week, followed by reference apps (10.7 times a week), weather apps (10.5 times a week), books (10 times a week) and lifestyle apps (8.0 times a week). Entertainment apps fared the most poorly over time, translating to just 2.6 uses per week on average. Here's hoping the next billion App Store downloads have more staying power. -Jason

• Improved installation and development platform support: Mojo now supports Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), Windows 7 Beta (32- and 64-bit) and Windows Vista 64-bit. Palm Developer Community Manager Chuq Von Rospach adds on the Palm Developer Network Blog adds Mojo SDK v1.2 also addresses a number of configuration and installation issues reported by webOS developers.
• New and improved SDK tools: The new palm-log tool promises more efficient app debugging by displaying or tailing an app's log output including JavaScript syntax errors and runtime exceptions. The v1.2 SDK also includes a new webOS Resource Monitor (WORM) tool to help developers monitor an app's memory usage, as well as an updated Palm Inspector with improved reload functionality and reliability.
• New and enhanced APIs: Mojo v1.2 addresses what Von Rospach calls "perhaps the single most popular request"--the new Download Manager API , which lets apps download and upload files over HTTP.

Consumers should begin receiving Palm webOS 1.2 as an over-the-air update delivered within the next few days. Marquee additions include support for premium application purchases from Palm App Catalog (users can enter their credit card information for when paid apps appear) as well as integration of LinkedIn contacts, media downloads from the Amazon MP3 Store over 3G, and cut-and-paste for webpages and emails.

The webOS update reportedly does not restore synchronization with Apple's iTunes digital media storefront--last week, non-profit industry standards group the USB Implementers Forum sided with Apple in response to a complaint filed by Palm that alleges Apple restrains trade by blocking the Pre's iTunes access.

For more on Mojo v1.2:
- read this Palm Developer Network Blog entry

Related articles:
Palm dumps Windows Mobile in favor of webOS
Palm to release webOS SDK, allow legacy apps
New Palm OS touts constant connection to web

According to Navteq, geospatial platform provider deCarta will provide contest participants with access to its Drill Down Server web services, JavaScript API and Mobile API through the deCarta devZone, enabling contestants to quickly build applications that integrate Navteq map data to provide complex mapping, routing and spatial search functions. Remote online testing services provider DeviceAnywhere will enable all Global LBS Challenge contestants to test their applications on GPS-enabled real devices from anywhere in the world, and Tanla will offer contestants access to its license management and on-device payment solutions.

The registration deadline for developers in EMEA, the first of the five Global LBS Challenge regions, is Oct. 30, 2009. For more information, click here.

For more on the Global LBS Challenge:
- read this release

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Navteq taps Lonely Planet as travel companion
MetroPCS selects Navteq as preferred map provider

In an Android Developers Blog entry posted Sept. 25, Google's Android developer advocate Dan Morrill responds to the controversy, writing "[Services like YouTube, Gmail and Google Voice] are Google's way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself. We make some of these apps available to users of any Android-powered device via Android Market, and others are pre-installed on some phones through business deals. Either way, these apps aren't open source, and that's why they aren't included in the Android source code repository. Unauthorized distribution of this software harms us just like it would any other business, even if it's done with the best of intentions."

Kondik responded on the CyanogenMod blog: "I'd love for Google to hand over the keys to the kingdom and let us all have it for free, but that's not going to happen. And who can blame them." He adds that he plans to offer a revamped CynaogenMod as a "bare-bones ROM" that will enable Android users to make calls, send MMS and snap photos, but will no longer include Google apps.

For more on the CyanogenMod controversy:
- read this Register article

Related articles:
Google releases Android 1.6 SDK
New phones, seller tools improve Android Market's fortunes
Google releases Donut update for Android developers

Sprint also will emphasize the Android platform at its forthcoming Sprint Open Developer Conference, which begins Oct. 26 in Santa Clara, Calif. Several sessions will spotlight Android development, including information from HTC and Google--in addition, HTC will sponsor the conference, and the first 400 developers to arrive at the HTC coding lab on Oct. 26 will receive a free Hero smartphone complete with a month of Sprint service. For more information on the event, click here.

In addition, Sprint turned to its SprintDeveloper Twitter account to announce a new software upgrade for its Instinct devices that promises to open up mobile Java APIs, including LBS, to developers. 

For more on Sprint's Android efforts:
- read this release

Related articles:
Sprint Developer Sandbox launches at JavaOne
Sprint Professional Developer Program certifications announced

GetJar consumers not only fall into a desirable demographic profile--they're also agreeable to mobile advertising efforts. In fact, eight out of 10 GetJar users report consciously downloading applications containing mobile ads, 73 percent look favorably on brands that use mobile apps to promote their products and 74 percent say they would actively download an app sponsored or developed by a well-known brand.

GetJar doesn't generate the buzz that surrounds rivals like Apple's App Store or Google's Android Market, but maybe it should: It now boasts more than 50,000 applications available across about 1,600 handsets, including both smartphones and feature phones. GetJar exceeded half a billion application downloads in mid-July, and founder and CEO Ilja Laurs recently told the Guardian that the store racks up 55 million downloads per month, up from 18 million in January 2009. And late last month, GetJar announced that the Opera Mini mobile browser has been downloaded more than 25 million times through its storefront, which the firm says makes it the most downloaded application ever from any app store to date.  So who cares if GetJar doesn't generate buzz? It generates downloads, and ultimately, that's all that matters. -Jason

In mid-August, Palm said it will accept Pre apps that are useful and engaging to users, with an appealing design and user interface aligned with Palm UI guidelines. All apps must be written for webOS and leverage the platform and device capabilities, including notifications, multitasking/background processing, location services and accelerometer. Palm said apps with slow UI response or sluggish power will be rejected--it will also turn down applications that consume excessive device power.

For more on the premium Pre apps launch:

-read this All Things D article

Related articles:
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Sprint not troubled by scarcity of Palm Pre apps

The basic version of WidgetPad for iPhone allows developers to distribute their applications to iPhone users for free via generic WidgetPad client--the source code of those "public" applications is automatically shared among other programmers (MIT license) to forge a collaborative environment for the developer community. Later this year, WidgetPad will introduce a premium edition for "private" projects, enabling coders to distribute stand-alone applications through the App Store. In addition, upcoming versions of WidgetPad will enable developers to seamlessly port their applications to other smartphone platforms like Palm's webOS and Research In Motion's BlackBerry.

For more on WidgetPad for iPhone:
- read this release

This strategy is a smart one: Currently, very few consumers are even aware of Android, or know what it is. With the Droid brand, Verizon Wireless is likely hoping to change that, and to make Droid phones stand out in the consumers' minds in the same way the Apple iPhone does. Indeed, Android-based phones are highly differentiated products: They are the only phones that can connect to and download apps from the Android Market, an app store for mobile games, calendar and productivity applications. They also can access services such as Google Maps Navigation, which offers voice turn-by-turn directions. It's important to point out these differences to consumers, and a single Droid brand can help achieve just that.

Dashboard provides a summary of the data in Google products you use while signed in (if you're not signed in, that data isn't associated with you). For now, Dashboard aggregates Gmail, the photo service Picasa, Calendar, Google Docs, Alerts, YouTube, Web history, and some others. As early as next week, Google will start adding more services, such as Checkout, Google Groups, and SideWiki.

Google says Dashboard wasn't prompted by rising concerns about corporate use of people's data. But I don't doubt that Dashboard is intended to blunt complaints that Google collects so much data. In fact, Shuman Ghosemajumder, Google's business product manager for trust and safety, made a point of telling me that the company had briefed some regulators around the world on Dashboard.

On a clean system, all of the images on this page will show up. If it's infected, some will be missing. The site includes simple instructions on how to interpret the results and how to remediate an infected system. Run it on your PC. Better yet, run it on your mother's PC and your kids' PCs.

Conficker still remains something of a mystery. Experts have no real idea of who is behind it or what it was intended to do, says Tom Cross, manager of X-Force Research at IBM Internet Security Systems who has worked closely with the Conficker Working Group. Despite the fears of security experts, the bots infected with the worm were never used to mount any sort of serious attack. What remains unknown is whether the infection was some sort of elaborate rehearsal for a future attack or if the vigilance of the computer security community prevented something worse from happening.

He said that he expects we'll look back and see this as "a major inflection point." He believes the economy bottomed out in the first calendar quarter of 2009, began to recover in the second quarter and gained real momentum in the third. "The recovery is well under way," said Chambers.

Among many highlights, the company saw flat order growth in the US for the quarter ended on Oct. 30--a massive improvement from the 20% year-on-year declines of the last two quarters. While small businesses and phone carriers were much improved, the highlight was spending by US corporations. "We've seen a much faster recovery in their business than we had expected. The company seems to be well on the road to recovery," says Pacific Crest analyst Brent Bracelin. Indeed, Chambers forecast positive revenue growth in the current quarter, and even said it would begin limited hiring--though he warned any employees listening to the call that it would be "very targeted" on jobs that drive productivity growth or help grow into new markets.

The company warned shareholders not to assume the second half of the year would remain strong, and advised analysts not to update their models for the second half of the year given uncertainties about job growth and the sustainability of the recovery. "I just don't want us to get ahead of ourselves," said Chambers.

Still, the company did give a forecast for the current quarter, saying that it expects year over year growth of between 1% and 4%. That's in line with recent years, when the company averaged 3% growth in its second quarter--and much rosier than Wall Street analysts, who expected a revenue declilne. Gross margins could fall, due to product mix and some less expensive new products.

Given Cisco's huge size, product breadth and importance as a proxy for the health of the Internet, this is great news for tech in general. Bracelin notes that this marks the tenth out of twelve companies that sell primarily sell to corporations that has exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Some in the press have been raising questions about Chambers' long-term strategy, particularly the amount it has spent on acquisitions and on moving into dozens of "market adjacencies"--from Flip video cameras to heavy duty servers. Bracelin isn't one of them. With so many companies moving to virtualized data centers, "Cisco's goal is to be there as companies go through the biggest transition in many years," he says. "I think Cisco is doing all the right things, and it's way too premature to judge Cisco's strategy, when we're just coming out of the worst downturn since the Great Depression."

Certainly, Cisco seems as confident as I've ever seen it--and maybe more confident than any company I've ever seen. As Chambers pointed out, it did four large acquisitions in the last month, including $3 billion acquisitions of wireless services infrastructure company Starent and videoconferencing specialist Tandberg (although the bill for that deal may go up, given protests by Tandberg shareholders). What's more, the company is clearly ignoring critics who doubt that strategy. The evidence: the company okayed a $10 billion stock buyback. As Chambers told analysts, "There are some CEOs that are stepping on the gas pedal, but very few are doing what we're doing and pushing the gas pedal down all the way."

Here's why this is huge news: Until now, Android Market has not been as good at attracting smartphone users as the legendary Apple App Store, which now offers more than 100,000 apps to Android Market's 12,000. Most developers I've talked to say their Android Market sales have been tiny. The best apps have only sold thousands of copies in the Android Market vs. millions in the App Store. But all that well may be the thing of the past.

Devices that can tap into the Android Market have improved, and become easier to use: myTouch 3G represents only one of a bunch of new, compelling gadgets based on Android software developed by Google and its partners that are coming out en mass. What's more, Android Market's functionality has improved, and should evolve further in the next few months, making the store easier to use for both developers and consumers. Perhaps the Android Market will prove to be a Cinderella story yet.

A BlackBerry user can send 11 times the number of e-mails using up 50 Megabytes of network capacity than an iPhone user can, according to a recent report from Conaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek. A BlackBerry user can view 5,000 Web pages using the same amount of bandwidth as an iPhone would need to view 3,000 pages, according to the report. It's all the result of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion's global network of servers that efficiently pass the data to and from the device. Such a network would cost $50 billion to replicate, Misek figures.

Here's why this is a big deal: As more wireless networks and bandwidth-thirsty smartphones come online, wireless carriers' networks will be increasingly straining at the seams. Misek projects that network traffic is going to start exceeding capacity starting in 2010. To deal with this barrage of traffic, he expects carriers to start charging per Megabyte of data used. That means that iPhone users may have to pay 11 times more for the same number of e-mails as BlackBerry users. Those higher fees could make the iPhone much less appealing to consumers.

One solution: Apple and other smartphone makers may need to contract with RIM for the use of its back-end servers network, Misek says. Or, perhaps, its back-end infrastructure would prove valuable enough for some rival to buy RIM altogether.

The complaint alleges that Intel paid hundreds of millions and in some cases billions of dollars in rebates to PC manufacturers in an attempt to limit their use of chips from rival Advanced Micro Devices. When PC companies appeared to be getting too close to AMD, Intel would, the complaint says, threaten them with retribution by withholding payments they were receiving from Intel.

These payments, which Intel called "rebates," amounted to what Cuomo called "payoffs with no legitimate business purpose that Intel invented to disguise their anticompetitive nature."

"Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," Cuomo said in a statement. "Intel's actions not only unfairly restricted potential competitors, but also hurt average consumers who were robbed of better products and lower prices. These illegal tactics must stop and competition must be restored to this vital marketplace."

The complaint paints a picture of PC makers struggling to maintain their slim profit margins, fearing that Intel's payments might dry up if they used AMD chips in their computers. The complaint accuses Intel of threatening PC makers with retaliation if they did business with AMD. During the period from 2001 to 2006, the complaint alleges, Dell sold no computers with AMD chips in exchange for billions in payments from Intel.

In cases where PC makers did business with AMD against its wishes, the complaint says that Intel made efforts to limit how much business AMD could get. In 2002, the complaint says, Intel reached an agreement with Hewlett-Packard under which HP would cap the amount of AMD-based computers it would offer at 5%, effectively giving Intel a guaranteed 95% share of HP's computer business.

The complaint also covers the server business, a space where AMD made some serious competitive gains against Intel during 2005 through 2007. In instance, the complaint alleges that IBM agreed to cancel a server that was to use AMD chips after being offered a $130 million payment from Intel and various threats. Another server that used AMD chips was marketed only on an "unbranded" basis, the complaint says.

Intel didn't immediately return a call seeking comment, but I'll update this post as soon as I hear from someone there.

The entire 87-page complaint is embedded below. There's a lot more information after the jump.

Cuomo v Intel Complaint Final

The new Motorola device, which was released today to the general public, is being supported by the single largest marketing campaign that Verizon has ever launched for a single device.

So what does all that money buy? Well, lots of glitzy TV commercials but also some cheesy live marketing events. As I got off the train at Union Square, I noticed a long line of about 75 people. The people were waiting to get the chance to play a game in which you could scoop up a Droid phone in one of those boardwalk games with the little hand-operated cranes. All that was missing was a carnival barker shouting into a megaphone with a monkey perched on his shoulder.

Verizon is clearly pulling out all the stops to turn the Droid into a hit. And so far, it seems to be working.

-- Spencer Ante also publishes the Creative Capital blog. Click here to read more.

Tiny only a few years ago, China's gray market is now huge, it now accounts for nearly 13% of all legitimate global cell phone-sales. And total gray-market handset shipments are growing fast, expected to reach 145 million units in 2009, up 43.6% from 2008, according to a Nov. 3 iSuppli report. In contrast, worldwide unit shipments of legitimate cell phones will drop 8% this year, according to iSuppli. "Chinese gray-market handset suppliers have become so successful that they are grabbing share from major international handset [manufacturers]," says Kevin Wang, director, China Research, for iSuppli. And Apple is one of the manufacturers suffering as a result. While Apple waited to introduce the iPhone into the Chinese market, Chinese gray market vendors have filled in the gap with cheaper iPhone-like devices. So now, the locals see no need to rush out and buy the real thing.

In a blistering op-ed piece published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Nov. 3, Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, suggests televisions have become an easy scapegoat for regulators who are afraid to tackle thorny issues about the nation's aging electricity grid, including the notion of building expensive new electricity plants and citing power lines in California communities.

Groups representing TV makers say that instead California regulators are being deceptive by promoting old energy-consumption figures for televisions when in fact many newer models burn no more energy than two 75-watt household light bulbs (which also are being banned).

The Plasma Display Coalition says it has asked the Energy Commission to update energy-use information widely accessible on the state web site, to no avail.

California's proposed regulations actually would be less strict than new Energy Star guidelines adopted in September. The difference is that the Energy Star 4.0 and 5.0 specifications, which won't take effect for a couple of years, are voluntary. There's no penalty if manufacturers don't meet them.

But the state's energy-consumption rules would force some manufacturers to remove some models from one of the largest retail markets in the country.

In the end, the griping may mean nothing. The commission, with the endorsement of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, looks set to impose energy usage limits on sets in short order. Late Nov. 3, it delayed a potential vote until an Nov. 18 meeting to go over industry and consumer submissions and comments on the proposal.

One big question is whether any of the industry groups is considering whether to file suit against the state to stop the first phase from taking effect in 2011. So far they have been reluctant to reveal plans on that front.

The focus is on selling pre-configured, pre-tested "v-blocks," for customers that want to use standardized data center building blocks (otherwise, they can choose from the three companies' existing product lines). The companies say they are also melding their sales and support teams, and have even created a joint venture that will work with big customers to design customized data centers to solve their particular problems. The emphasis, according to the coompanies, is on freeing corporate buyers and carriers from being locked-in to any one supplier or technology. "This brings together three companies that have a record of being open," Cisco CEO John T. Chambers said. "We're not going to try to lock you in."

But for an announcement that's supposed to be all about openness, CEO's John Chambers, Joe Tucci and Paul Maritz looked a bit lonely up there, from my perspective. Just last March, Chambers attracted a who's who of luminaries to help Cisco launch the first part of its data center assault: it's entry into the server market back in March. On hand for that event were top execs froom Microsoft, Intel, Accenture and BMC, and the press release listed companies such as Oracle, Red Hat and NetApp as partners as well.

Indeed, the backdrop behind this smallish coalition is not about more industry cooperation, but more division. It's another sign that the battle lines are being solidified in the epic battle for cloud computing relevance. While Microsoft and Cisco have long claimed to be in existing in contented co-opetition with each other, the coalition is not good news for Redmond's ambitions in virtualization software. Cisco is expected to announce new collaboration technologies on Nov. 9, which should turn up the heat on the rivalry in this important market. More broadly speaking, don't look for the coalition to push Azure, the data center operating system at the hear of Microsoft's own cloud strategy.

Even more interesting is the impact on Cisco's all-out war with HP, and its weakening partnership with IBM. Both of those companies used to resell billions of Cisco gear, but are increasingly pushing other brands (HP has its own line, and Big Blue has a partnership with Juniper). Could the coalition put Cisco in any favored position with VMWare and EMC--both key partners for these big computer makers? And Chambers suggests that the coalition's approach will drive plenty of services business for its partners--potentially taking some from IBM and HP, who make a huge part of their money in this market.

That's not an empty threat. Many times in the past, Cisco has helped pioneer new markets--not only through new products (usually acquired from some hot start-up), but by creating the necessary services to help customers take advantage of them. That's how Cisco went from nowhere to No. 1 in the corporate phone market, for example. But rather than maintain long-term consulting and outsourcing deals for itself, over time it seeks to build up an ecosystem of service providers to develop the market themselves. That way, Cisco expands the market for its products, as well as its sky-high margins.

Then again, this coalition is a new kind of animal. As Chambers pointed out in the call, Cisco has an excellent record at making acquisitions work, and it has a long heritage of successful partnerships. But this deal takes partnering to a new, deeper level. "We'll behave as one company," says Chambers, who says the coalition will reinvent "how companies work together to serve their customers." Holding it together will be a great personal trust between the CEOs, they say. Tucci notes that he has known Chambers for 20 years, and was once his boss. "I'd trust Joe with my life," said Chambers. And it was Tucci that put Maritz, a former Microsoft executive, in the top job at VMWare.

My hunch is that Chambers would have rather done a deal based on equity, rather than solely trust. With more than $30 billion burning a hole in his pocket, it's likely Cisco sought to increase its 1.63% ownership of VMWare. He even admitted during the call that he envied EMC's majority stake (the storage maker owns 82% of VMWare).

The retailer appears to be trying to standardize at least some of the software that electronics makers such as LG, Samsung and Sony install on their devices to let consumers download movies, television shows and other content. Best Buy had already been using CinemaNow for online video downloads.

CinemaNow competes with Apple's iTunes and, to a lesser extent, Netflix's and Amazon's Unbox online download services.

Apple in particular represents a growing threat to Hollywood and retailers because it controls which movies and other software are funneled to its hardware, including computers, the Apple TV set-top box, iPods and iPhones. Cupertino (Calif.)-based Apple also has its own stores in which to sell products. As its devices grow in popularity, that king-making role is causing growing unease among Apple's rivals.

When the hardware is in place, customers can buy or rent movies and television shows from CinemaNow and watch the same piece of content on any device that offers the service. Sonic and Best Buy said they are working with the studios to offer more content for download on the same day that physical media is released to DVD rental services such as Netflix and Redbox.

Best Buy will be taking a stake in Sonic as part of the pact. CinemaNow makes its money with a one-time fee from device-makers who adds its service, and it takes a cut of every video purchase.

Although the book is based on extensive interviews with Paulson, Paulson is releasing a statement that disses the book, calling it a disappointment. The statement goes on:

"It contains numerous inaccuracies and fails to capture the essence of the credit bubble. The writing style is indicative of a gossip tabloid rather than respected financial journalism. Unfortunately, the opportunity to create a meaningful documentation of an important time in financial history was lost."

Now, it is not totally surprising that the subject of a book would be disappointed. That is the nature of biography writing. But Paulson's criticism seems to run deeper, and is even more surprising given that the book is largely laudatory to Paulson, describing how a "renegade" made financial history.

My main problem is that Paulson does not specify the "numerous inaccuracies." If he is serious about this criticism, he should detail the instances so the writer has a chance to defend his work. Providing further details would also help readers judge whether the alleged inaccuracies are minor mistakes or major lapses in reporting or judgement.

As for the gossip tabloid style, that claim seems to be a bit overstated. I have already read the first 100 pages of the book, and if that is any indication of the tone of the rest of the story, it does not read like a trashy tabloid, though there are a few parts where Zuckerman throws in unnecessary details about the personal problems of some characters to spice up the tale. For example, Zuckerman devotes a substantial amount of space chronicling the marital problems of one analyst who worked for Paulson, which didn't add much to the story.

It will be interesting to see how the publisher and the author react to Paulson's statement. They can't be entirely happy about it.

-- Spencer Ante also publishes the Creative Capital blog. Click here to see more.

"People want choice," Lees said, defending Windows Mobile against my assertion that the success of both Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's BlackBerry was due to the fact that they are vertically integrated products, controlled from top to bottom by a single company. "Part of what we bring is the ability to have a stylus, a keyboard, or a touchscreen."

The introduction of version 2.0 of Google's Android software on the Motorola/Verizon Droid this week raises the possibility that Lees may be philosophically correct, but he may be riding the wrong horse. The arrival of a much more mature Android means we are going to see a fair fight for the future of smartphones between the models of vertical integration and open platforms.