News and commentary from Buffalo to Brentwood » Technology

Google stock split helps Page, Brin maintain grip

BobL — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 06:55:41 +0000

Sergey Brin and Larry Page have found a way to retain voting control at a $200+ billion company while keeping the shareholders happy. Funny how huge profits will do that for a leader.

Brin and Page have certainly earned the right to continue to lead this company. Not much good can come from a multi-layered organization where every layer has input into decisions of the company. The organization where there is clear leadership, who will listen to feedback, and make their own decisions is generally going to operate best.

Obviously the leader cannot be just anyone. There is a special type. Look at Bill Gates and then follow that up with Steve Ballmer. Gates was the clear leader with a vision and an grip on the company. The company flourished. Ballmer has had a bit of struggle in comparison. Perhaps it is not a fair comparison. It could be said that Gates rode off into the sunset due to the fact that his company was far behind in the future growth areas. However, you cannot argue with the track record of Bill Gates. He dominated like Michael Jordan.

Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are also examples of the strong leader who retains that grip on the company. It is amazing what Steve Jobs was able to do with Apple and Pixar. Zuckerberg deserves a lot of credit, but the company is still very young. He was brilliant enough to retain voting rights to shares that the company sold to investors such as Digital Sky Technologies (Yuri Millner). He controls the voting rights to those shares. By doing so, Mark has the final say and probably the initial say regarding product, design, and direction. In fact, many say that the Instagram deal was purely Mark Zuckerberg’s doing. 24 hours after receiving funding at a $500m valuation, Zuckerberg agreed to pay $1b. Investors must have been celebrating that night. Mark probably owed someone a favor. Done!

Larry and Sergey continue to innovate and bring new products to market. Google could be an entirely different company in 10 years. Search, as we know it, might not exist and the projects that Sergey is working on might just be the future of Google. Google’s self driving car, Google Green/Energy, Google Glass (glasses). Time will tell.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc announced a stock split designed to preserve the control of co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin over the world’s No. 1 Web search engine, asking investors to trust their long-term vision.

Reuters: Top News

Viacom wins reversal in landmark YouTube case

BobL — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:21:52 +0000

(Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court has revived lawsuits by Viacom Inc, the English Premier League, and various film studios and television networks accusing Google Inc of allowing copyrighted videos on its YouTube service without permission.

Reuters: Top News

Report: Google TV coming to Europe in September

BobL — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:48:49 +0000

Source: www.engadget.com – Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Sony is making some more definitive statements on its plans to bring Google TV across to Europe. According to financial paper, Les Échos , Sony France’s marketing director said that two devices, a set-top box, priced at €200 ($ 266) and a Blu-ray player, selling for €300 ($ 399), will launch in France this September. The paper reports that it could launch across the UK, Spain and Germany at the same time. Sony’s Stephane Labrousse added that remotes for the new devices would also include a dedicated Android Market Google Play button to access the Android progenitor’s apps and media content. The Japanese manufacturer’s own Music Unlimited service will also be baked inside. Phew. There’s no word just yet on whether these are the older Intel-based models or the new, possibly cheaper, ARM range set to ship later this year . However, we expect to hear plenty more noise from Sony on its Smart TV intentions over the next few months. Report: Google TV coming to Europe in September originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Apr 2012 07:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink GigaOM | Les Echos | Email this | Comments

All Related

RSSMicro Search – Top News on RSS Feeds

Apple Is Working On A Killer 3D Camera (AAPL)

BobL — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:27:01 +0000

Source: www.businessinsider.com – Friday, March 30, 2012
Apple is working on a new 3D camera that could be used in the iPhone , iPad , and potentially other devices, according to a patent unearthed by Patently Apple . The camera would make full use of Apple devices’ Retina displays to show off 3D images in greater detail than any other 3D camera around today. It’ll also be capable of intelligent facial and gesture recognition. Keep in mind this is just a patent. It doesn’t guarantee we’ll see such a 3D camera any time soon. Patently Apple has all the full specs of the 3D camera patent, so check it out > Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook . Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Future Apple Gadgets Could Be Made Entirely Of Glass There’s Actually A Good Use For iPads Getting Too Hot REPORT: The iPhone 5 Screen Size Will Be The Same, But Everything Else Will Be Different

All Related

RSSMicro Search – Top News on RSS Feeds

Google Drive leaked screenshots show up to 5GB free storage

BobL — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:44:57 +0000

Source: arstechnica.com – Friday, March 30, 2012
Google Drive rumors have been piling up lately, with the service reportedly on the verge of launching in the first or second week of April. Now the site TalkAndroid says it has unearthed screenshots from a Google source that show up to 5GB of free storage for each user. Earlier this week, the site showed a screenshot indicating that everyone who signs up for Google Drive will get 2GB of free space. Yesterday, the site followed up with another shot indicating that the number will actually be 5GB for everyone. Purported leaked screenshot of Google Drive download page www.talkandroid.com Why the screenshots would show different starting sizes is unclear. Assuming the images are real, they could have been taken from different stages of development, or may not be representative of the final version that Google will offer. Google Drive has been rumored for years. The Wall Street Journal said in February that it would finally be released in as little as a few weeks. GigaOm reported this week that the release date is expected to be in the first week of April. There are already numerous online storage services offering free space. Dropbox, the most popular one, offers 2GB free to everyone, while Box offers 5GB for free. Read the comments on this post

All Related

RSSMicro Search – Top News on RSS Feeds

Mark Zuckerberg Helped David Choe Paint Mural

BobL — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:57:37 +0000

With the Facebook IPO looming it is very likely that you have heard the story of graffiti artist David Choe. Choe was hired to paint murals in the original Facebook offices (they have since move to a new Facebook Campus). Rather than taking cash for his efforts, Choe decided to let his artist brain decide and took his payment in the form of Facebook stock. That stock should be worth more than $200 million after the Facebook IPO (Facebook IPO looking like May).

Choe is an interesting character who is incredibly talented. In the video below Mark Zuckerberg is helping with one of the murals. He paints a simple stick figure and Choe effortlessly turns that stick figure into a face. It is funny how a real artist can see things so differently. It was also funny to hear Zuckerberg state that he has never sprayed paint before. I guess he won’t be creating his own Pinterest projects anytime soon. Oh, wait, he won’t be building any Pinterest projects anytime soon. A more “Pinterest like” Facebook photo sharing feature should be coming in the near future.

Check out the David Choe / Mark Zuckerberg video below.

RIM posts loss as new CEO begins to clean house

BobL — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 03:36:27 +0000

Many question whether Research in Motion (RIM) will ever make it back to the top of the heap. Can they stop the bleeding of revenue, customers, and talent? It is impossible to know. If they are able to stabilize the ship and come out with revolutionary products that people want to buy again, they might be able to. Remember, Apple was literally a few months from bankruptcy at one point when Jobs came back. Steve Jobs righted the ship by getting in bed with the perceived enemy (Microsoft). Remember the keynote when Jobs announce the MS support and brought Bill Gates up via a video feed? The crowd literally booed. The Apple comeback was amazing and one of the greatest ever. The point is, that it is possible. Perhaps RIM has the engineering talent to create a new market for themselves. Being an also ran isn’t the best growth strategy.

Let’s see what the new CEO is able to do. My hope is that they can come out with a game changer. However, my fear is that they will end up like Yahoo. Struggling, losing share, failing to innovate, killing promising products, and twisting in the wind. Only time will tell.

Is RIM worth investing in? Perhaps. There is a lot of patent value there and MSFT could be a suitor. This should get interesting over the next 24 months. Good luck RIM. Remember, Nokia used to be a paper producer! It is possible to evolve.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion posted a net loss and its first slump in BlackBerry shipments for its holiday quarter since 2006, as its new CEO announced the initial steps in a strategic overhaul and would not rule out an eventual sale of the company.

Reuters: Top News

Apple CEO visits Foxconn’s iPhone plant in China

BobL — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:36:13 +0000

Apple and Foxconn are a force in the global economy. Is there another manufacturer who could step in and take Foxconn’s place as the principle manufacturer for Apple? Highly unlikely. This factory could be a model for others across the world. Apple is forced to ensure that is the case.

There were a number of suicides at the plant over the past year, but it is an enormous place that is essentially its own city. There are reportedly 450,000 employees at the Longhua, Shenzhen factory that is often referred to as Foxconn City or iPod City. There are 15 factories at the location and a quarter of the workers live on site. Some reports will reinforce the fact that suicide rate on-site is lower than the national suicide rate. That may be the case, but it is distorting the facts a bit. Compare the suicide rate of young/middle-aged, employed citizens, who have not be diagnosed with a mental illness. My hunch is that the suicide rate won’t look so hot anymore.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Apple Inc’s Tim Cook, on his first trip to China as the chief executive officer, has visited an iPhone production plant run by the Foxconn Technology Group, which is being accused of improper labor practices.

Reuters: Top News

Blogging From My IPhone

Scooter — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:35:14 +0000

Blogging From My IPhone

Ok fine. I’m probably very late on figuring out that you can download a free WordPress app and, within seconds, be posting to my website that’s so easy it’s ridiculous. Seriously.

While I’ve just admitted I’m probably behind, I hope I never lose the appreciation for what people with God given talent can accomplish. Not only does the WordPress app work, it does so without a hitch. The interface is so simple, it’s just awesome.

I have a busy life and was starting to get worried my blogging might suffer. With this Free WordPress app, I can blog whenever and wherever I am.

If you have a WordPress blog and, in my case, and IPhone, I highly recommend the free WordPress app.

The only thing it’s not letting me do, unless I’ve missed something, is post an image or insert keywords. I guess I’ll have to remember to edit my post another time. Oh well, nothing’s perfect right?

You can download the WordPress for iPhone app and give it a try yourself

Google Follow Your World Program

BobL — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:44:49 +0000

Google is an amazing company that has many many innovative products. When Larry Page took the reigns from Eric Schmidt, he axed a number of initiatives and folded many into other divisions within Google. One thing that Google still allows is the employee 20% time. Google employees are allowed to utilize 20% of their “work” time toward a project that they would like to work on. There are some great innovations that came from the Google 20% time. Perhaps the largest 20% project is GMail. I am sure there are many more.

In any event, I am writing this because of an e-mail that I just received from the Google Geo Team. They have a project that they call “Follow Your World”. This allows you to subscribe for updates to maps of specific locations. In this case, I signed up to be alerted when imagery of my office address was updated. I am not sure what can be done with this information other than “looky loo” activities, but this information is fun to keep up on.

Go to https://followyourworld.appspot.com to sign up yourself.