http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/07/eric-schmidt-tells-charlie-rose-google-is-unlikely-to-buy-twitter-and-wants-to-turn-phones-into-tvs/
t must be Google Week on Charlie Rose. Thursday, Rose interviewed product chief Marissa Mayer, and last night he had an hour-long conversation with CEO Eric Schmidt (embedded here, with a full transcript below). The wide-ranging interview touches upon everything from Google’s origins and how it fell upon its advertising business model by accident to how search and other technologies will change society over the next twenty years.
Asked if Google wants to buy Twitter, Schmdit responded: “We’re unlikely to buy anything in the short term partly because I think prices are still high.”
And echoing Mayer’s earlier enthusiasm for all things mobile, Schmidt painted a picture of Android-powered devices turning into TVs (and disrupting the current TV model):
It’s worth noting, by the way, that if you imagine the power of these mobile devices over a five or 10 year period, they must be possible to do almost everything that we do today with other means . . . . It should be possible to watch television and watch your show routinely on these devices, in very high quality. The technology is just getting there. And when that occurs, it’s a different experience because it’s a personal experience. When I turn on the television, it shows the same shows that I saw yesterday and I watch them and it doesn’t know that I watched them yesterday. What a foolish television. Why is it not smarter?
Below is the full transcript, with sections bolded for emphasis (I particularly love the story about how Bill Joy uses search to find new investment opportunities)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Monday March 2, 2009 1:56 PM CST - By: Michael Kwan
Click to ZoomAbout a year ago, we heard about the ambitions of creating the second-generation OLPC with dual touchscreen displays. The configuration got you to open the little laptop like a book, removing the physical keyboard altogether. It was certainly a novel concept, but it seems like the idea could be gaining some ground with Asus.
Over at CeBIT, Asus has revealed one of their latest creations: a new laptop that gets rid of the keyboard, opting instead for dual multitouch displays. This is almost exactly like the OLPC2, except it's from a major laptop manufacturer.
The Dual Panel laptop, as it's being called, allows for the use of a resizable virtual keyboard and touchpad, sort of like what you get on the iPhone only a lot bigger and with two screens. Holding the laptop horizontally, you could really use it like an e-book reader, flipping through the pages as if they were almost real.
Not surprisingly, there is no official confirmation from Asus that the company will actually pursue this design in a consumer product, but the concept is certainly an interesting one. Stay tuned, because netbooks just got a whole lot of new life.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090224/tecnology/ctech_us_microsoft
Microsoft says no new cost cuts, shares hit 11-year low
BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp outlined plans to offset revenue declines as the PC market shifts to low-cost netbooks, but it failed to announce more cost cuts, sending its shares to an 11-year low.
Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told an analysts' meeting in New York on Tuesday that Microsoft will offer robust versions of its yet-to-be-released Windows 7 operating software for netbooks, as the company looks to boost revenue from these hot-selling, low-cost computers.
But Microsoft shares fell more than 3 percent after Ballmer quashed the hopes of some investors for accelerated cost cuts. Microsoft had announced plans to lay off 5,000 workers on January 22 as part of a plan to save $1.5 billion in annual costs.
"I don't think it makes sense for us to come back and say, 'Could we take out another $2 billion in costs?'" Ballmer said at the analysts' meeting.
Avian Securities Jeff Gaggin said investors were disappointed with Ballmer's decision to hold off on further cost cutting measures, and that he chose not to reassure them that the board will maintain the company's current dividend.
"There was a lot left to interpretation," Gaggin said.
Microsoft, which a month ago blamed netbooks for weaker-than-expected quarterly profits, said it is planning to ship a low-end version of Windows 7 for netbooks, and make it easy for users to upgrade to more expensive editions.
"We will have high market share on netbooks," Ballmer said as he painted a grim outlook for the economy.
"I often think of this as an economic reset. It's not a recession from which you recover," he added.
Ballmer also said he still wants to team up with Yahoo Inc to compete against Internet search giant Google Inc, though he is not interested in buying Yahoo.
He said he hopes to discuss a possible search partnership with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, and added that he expects Google to start competing with the Windows operating system by offering a version of its Android operating system for laptop computers.
Google launched Android last year as an operating system for smart phones.
NETBOOK TREND
Microsoft had partly blamed last quarter's profit shortfall on a shift in personal computer sales to netbooks from full-featured machines.
Analysts say the low pricing of netbook software is hurting Windows profits, and estimate that Microsoft only reaps about half the revenue from PC makers for each netbook sold, compared to what it earns on sales of more expensive laptops.
Still, Ballmer said he disagreed that growing netbook sales represent "downside" for his company.
Microsoft's goal is to boost its average revenue per netbook by persuading users to pay to upgrade low-end versions of the software to gain features included with more expensive ones in full-featured PCs.
The software maker will encourage that by limiting the functionality of low-end versions of the new Windows 7. As an example, Ballmer said Microsoft will restrict the number of programs that a user can run at once.
Netbook sales took off last year as the economy weakened, making their low pricing of $200 to $400 more attractive to consumers. Ballmer said he expects netbook sales to continue to grow as cash-strapped buyers avoid big-ticket, discretionary purchases.
"There is certainly going to be an economic effect on PC sales," he said. "We cannot control it. It will affect our revenue."
Most netbooks are now shipped with a stripped down copy of an older generation of Microsoft's operating system, Windows XP, because those machines don't have the computing resources needed to run Windows Vista, the latest version.
Cross Research analyst Richard Williams estimates that Microsoft gets about $35 for each netbook sold with Windows.
Analysts expect Windows 7 to be released before this year's holiday shopping season. Microsoft has declined to give a specific release date, only saying it will be out by January 2010.
Microsoft shares fell 33 cents to $16.88, after hitting an 11-year low of $16.36.
Microsoft says no new cost cuts, shares hit 11-year low
BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp outlined plans to offset revenue declines as the PC market shifts to low-cost netbooks, but it failed to announce more cost cuts, sending its shares to an 11-year low.
Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told an analysts' meeting in New York on Tuesday that Microsoft will offer robust versions of its yet-to-be-released Windows 7 operating software for netbooks, as the company looks to boost revenue from these hot-selling, low-cost computers.
But Microsoft shares fell more than 3 percent after Ballmer quashed the hopes of some investors for accelerated cost cuts. Microsoft had announced plans to lay off 5,000 workers on January 22 as part of a plan to save $1.5 billion in annual costs.
"I don't think it makes sense for us to come back and say, 'Could we take out another $2 billion in costs?'" Ballmer said at the analysts' meeting.
Avian Securities Jeff Gaggin said investors were disappointed with Ballmer's decision to hold off on further cost cutting measures, and that he chose not to reassure them that the board will maintain the company's current dividend.
"There was a lot left to interpretation," Gaggin said.
Microsoft, which a month ago blamed netbooks for weaker-than-expected quarterly profits, said it is planning to ship a low-end version of Windows 7 for netbooks, and make it easy for users to upgrade to more expensive editions.
"We will have high market share on netbooks," Ballmer said as he painted a grim outlook for the economy.
"I often think of this as an economic reset. It's not a recession from which you recover," he added.
Ballmer also said he still wants to team up with Yahoo Inc to compete against Internet search giant Google Inc, though he is not interested in buying Yahoo.
He said he hopes to discuss a possible search partnership with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, and added that he expects Google to start competing with the Windows operating system by offering a version of its Android operating system for laptop computers.
Google launched Android last year as an operating system for smart phones.
NETBOOK TREND
Microsoft had partly blamed last quarter's profit shortfall on a shift in personal computer sales to netbooks from full-featured machines.
Analysts say the low pricing of netbook software is hurting Windows profits, and estimate that Microsoft only reaps about half the revenue from PC makers for each netbook sold, compared to what it earns on sales of more expensive laptops.
Still, Ballmer said he disagreed that growing netbook sales represent "downside" for his company.
Microsoft's goal is to boost its average revenue per netbook by persuading users to pay to upgrade low-end versions of the software to gain features included with more expensive ones in full-featured PCs.
The software maker will encourage that by limiting the functionality of low-end versions of the new Windows 7. As an example, Ballmer said Microsoft will restrict the number of programs that a user can run at once.
Netbook sales took off last year as the economy weakened, making their low pricing of $200 to $400 more attractive to consumers. Ballmer said he expects netbook sales to continue to grow as cash-strapped buyers avoid big-ticket, discretionary purchases.
"There is certainly going to be an economic effect on PC sales," he said. "We cannot control it. It will affect our revenue."
Most netbooks are now shipped with a stripped down copy of an older generation of Microsoft's operating system, Windows XP, because those machines don't have the computing resources needed to run Windows Vista, the latest version.
Cross Research analyst Richard Williams estimates that Microsoft gets about $35 for each netbook sold with Windows.
Analysts expect Windows 7 to be released before this year's holiday shopping season. Microsoft has declined to give a specific release date, only saying it will be out by January 2010.
Microsoft shares fell 33 cents to $16.88, after hitting an 11-year low of $16.36.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
PC Technology Market
PC industry facing 'unprecedented' decline due to weak global economy
By Luann Lasalle, The Canadian Press
MONTREAL - The weak global economy is causing the worst decline ever in the personal computer industry, although demand for mini-notebooks will keep the market from "falling apart" in 2009, a new forecast says.
Market researcher Gartner Inc. said Monday that PC shipments will decline almost 12 per cent this year, with a total of 257 million to be shipped worldwide, the biggest drop in PC history.
"It's an unprecedented drop, much deeper than in 2001," Gartner research director George Shiffler said of the recession that hit the technology sector earlier this decade after the dot-com bubble burst.
He said mini-notebooks, also called netbooks that are smaller and less expensive than laptops, will prop up the PC market.
"They're big enough to keep the market from falling apart, but not big enough to keep it from going down," Shiffler said from San Jose, Calif.
Shipments worldwide of mini-notebooks are expected to total 21 million units in 2009, or about eight per cent of the total PC market, according to Gartner, an information technology research firm headquartered in Stamford, Conn.
Last year, 11.7 million mini-notebooks were shipped globally.
Netbooks are less powerful than current laptops and run between US$200 to US$500 and are designed for basic tasks like email and surfing the Internet.
Even still, even the most basic of today's personal computers have abilities that are far beyond what was available on the market when IBM Corp. brought out its original Personal Computer in 1981.
IBM's machine, the first to use an operating system from Microsoft, essentially thrust computers for individual users into the business world and, in the process, broadened the appeal for computing beyond the hobby and education markets pioneered by Apple, Commodore and Tandy-Radio Shack.
The PC is now considered a necessary tool for businesses and student, and a source of entertainment for many others, but many markets have long ago become saturated.
The current drop in demand for PCs will come from both emerging and mature markets worldwide, Shiffler said, adding that consumers and businesses will take longer to replace PCs in the economic downturn.
"We do think that going forward the fact that the global economy is continuing to deteriorate is going to depress demand," he said. "I don't see things really get kind of cooking, as it were, until the first half of next year."
Shiffler said the decline is causing a ripple effect on other companies that make PC hardware and software and is tough on computer chip makers and on makers of chip equipment.
Gartner's report follows thousands of job cuts announced by Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT), Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) and other companies that depend on sales of PC hardware and software.
Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL), the second-largest computer maker behind Hewlett -Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), has announced it plans to cut US$4 billion in annual costs by the end of its 2011 financial year, $1 billion more than previously planned. It said the rising popularity of netbooks pushed revenue from consumers down seven per cent.
Shiffler said the coming release of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, a successor to Vista, could help the computer industry rebound.
"Depending when Windows 7 gets released, we're probably talking the big effects showing up a year later which would put it toward the end of 2010."
Analyst Darin Stahl said the "mom and pop shops, the PC support folks, the geek squads of the world" will benefit from the PC industry's decline.
"The only winners in this space are going to be the second-hand, used computing market for both enterprise and consumers," said Stahl, lead analyst at Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont.
"I think those guys or those businesses are going to see a bit of an uptick as people hold on to this equipment a little longer," Stahl said.
Stock analyst Nick Agostino said even incentives may not even get consumers to replace their computers sooner.
"To me, it boils down to necessity," said Agostino of Toronto-based Research Capital Corp.
"If the one that you have at home is still adequate, that's not necessarily wise spending in these economic times. On the other hand, if you've got zero PC or if that thing is beyond repair and is just busted and you need that PC, then the incentive is just the added bonus."
When the economy turns around, there will be a pent-up demand for PCs and suddenly people will begin buying them again, he said.
LIKE IT? LET OTHERS KNOW
By Luann Lasalle, The Canadian Press
MONTREAL - The weak global economy is causing the worst decline ever in the personal computer industry, although demand for mini-notebooks will keep the market from "falling apart" in 2009, a new forecast says.
Market researcher Gartner Inc. said Monday that PC shipments will decline almost 12 per cent this year, with a total of 257 million to be shipped worldwide, the biggest drop in PC history.
"It's an unprecedented drop, much deeper than in 2001," Gartner research director George Shiffler said of the recession that hit the technology sector earlier this decade after the dot-com bubble burst.
He said mini-notebooks, also called netbooks that are smaller and less expensive than laptops, will prop up the PC market.
"They're big enough to keep the market from falling apart, but not big enough to keep it from going down," Shiffler said from San Jose, Calif.
Shipments worldwide of mini-notebooks are expected to total 21 million units in 2009, or about eight per cent of the total PC market, according to Gartner, an information technology research firm headquartered in Stamford, Conn.
Last year, 11.7 million mini-notebooks were shipped globally.
Netbooks are less powerful than current laptops and run between US$200 to US$500 and are designed for basic tasks like email and surfing the Internet.
Even still, even the most basic of today's personal computers have abilities that are far beyond what was available on the market when IBM Corp. brought out its original Personal Computer in 1981.
IBM's machine, the first to use an operating system from Microsoft, essentially thrust computers for individual users into the business world and, in the process, broadened the appeal for computing beyond the hobby and education markets pioneered by Apple, Commodore and Tandy-Radio Shack.
The PC is now considered a necessary tool for businesses and student, and a source of entertainment for many others, but many markets have long ago become saturated.
The current drop in demand for PCs will come from both emerging and mature markets worldwide, Shiffler said, adding that consumers and businesses will take longer to replace PCs in the economic downturn.
"We do think that going forward the fact that the global economy is continuing to deteriorate is going to depress demand," he said. "I don't see things really get kind of cooking, as it were, until the first half of next year."
Shiffler said the decline is causing a ripple effect on other companies that make PC hardware and software and is tough on computer chip makers and on makers of chip equipment.
Gartner's report follows thousands of job cuts announced by Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT), Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) and other companies that depend on sales of PC hardware and software.
Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL), the second-largest computer maker behind Hewlett -Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), has announced it plans to cut US$4 billion in annual costs by the end of its 2011 financial year, $1 billion more than previously planned. It said the rising popularity of netbooks pushed revenue from consumers down seven per cent.
Shiffler said the coming release of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, a successor to Vista, could help the computer industry rebound.
"Depending when Windows 7 gets released, we're probably talking the big effects showing up a year later which would put it toward the end of 2010."
Analyst Darin Stahl said the "mom and pop shops, the PC support folks, the geek squads of the world" will benefit from the PC industry's decline.
"The only winners in this space are going to be the second-hand, used computing market for both enterprise and consumers," said Stahl, lead analyst at Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont.
"I think those guys or those businesses are going to see a bit of an uptick as people hold on to this equipment a little longer," Stahl said.
Stock analyst Nick Agostino said even incentives may not even get consumers to replace their computers sooner.
"To me, it boils down to necessity," said Agostino of Toronto-based Research Capital Corp.
"If the one that you have at home is still adequate, that's not necessarily wise spending in these economic times. On the other hand, if you've got zero PC or if that thing is beyond repair and is just busted and you need that PC, then the incentive is just the added bonus."
When the economy turns around, there will be a pent-up demand for PCs and suddenly people will begin buying them again, he said.
LIKE IT? LET OTHERS KNOW
Linux Touch Screen
http://www.h-online.com/open/Touch-Book-Linux-based-touch-screen-device-announced--/news/112755
Touch Book: Linux based touch screen device announced
The Touch Book, with detachable screen
ZoomThe Touch Book, with detachable screen
Always Innovating have announced a new ARM based touch screen/tablet computer, which they plan to start shipping the US in May/June with a price starting at $299. The Touch Book will come with the Touch Book OS, based on the Angström Linux distribution. The company says the Touch Book is not limited to their OS and that it's possible to "install many operating systems on the device, including Google Android, Ubuntu, Angstrom, and Windows CE, though we would not recommend the latter."
The Touch Book motherboard is based on the Beagle Board and the schematics for it have been released under the GPL by Always Innovating. With an 8.9" diagonal 1024 by 600 resolution touch screen and an ability to play up to 720p video content, the Touch Book is being sold as a companion to, rather than a replacement for, a user's main machine.
The Touch Book sports a number of unique features in a small device. The keyboard is detachable, allowing the device to used as just a tablet, and the back of the tablet is magnetic, letting a user stick the device to a fridge or other metallic surface. The device weighs less than two pounds, but offers a ten to fifteen hour battery life. However, there is a catch; the two parts of the Touch Book, the tablet and the keyboard, have their own separate batteries. The tablet alone has 3 to 5 hours battery life, with the keyboard battery extending that to the ten to fifteen hours.
Another interesting design feature is the inclusion of internal USB ports. These allow readily available 3G dongles, memory sticks and other USB devices to be fitted within the unit, avoiding the problem of accidental disconnections. The quiet and cool design doesn't need a cooling fan due to its use of the low power OMAP3 ARM processor from Texas Instruments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
