AllThingsD » Open

Get Ready for More TaskRabbit, With New Open API

Lauren Goode — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:00:27 +0000

TaskRabbit, the Bay Area-based start-up that farms out human “rabbits” to perform the odious chores you hate to do (like build IKEA bookshelves #firstworldproblems), is introducing a version of its application that allows other companies to tap into the rabbit-hiring.

In short, it’s offering an open API.

For casual app users and non-techies, hearing that a company is opening up its API may present yet another confusing tech acronym to puzzle out — or lead them to believe the company is opening up some sort of striped-awning storefront.

An open API, or application programming interface, is common among popular Web and mobile apps, enabling the growth of the application while other developers tap into the basic functions of what the app does. Google, Facebook and Twitter all have open APIs, which is why you can use so many applications that tap into their feeds and functions. On a much smaller scale, apps that create photo magnets and canvases emblazoned with your Instagram photos are tapping into Instagram’s open API; apps that offer “tips” on venues or remind you where you “checked into” a year ago are using Foursquare’s open API; and the list goes on.

Because TaskRabbit is a Web service that isn’t just a Web service — you use it to hire real people, who are vetted through a multistep approval process before joining the Task force — this means other apps can now have a button or feature that allows you to hire someone for your needs.

The best use case might be integration with a “to-do” app: Let’s say you’re using an app to stay organized, and hiring someone to walk the dog or digitize your contacts is on the list — now you can use a TaskRabbit to do it.

That’s exactly how TaskRabbit’s open API is rolling out: A “to-do” app called Astrid is integrating TaskRabbit into its Android, iPhone and Web apps, while task-management app Producteev is putting TaskRabbit-hiring options onto its Web app. For mobile, the TaskRabbit API will be available across iOS, Android and Windows platforms.

YouEye, a Web site for user testing and feedback, is tapping into TaskRabbit’s API for business purposes, to staff Rabbits as testers for its site.

TaskRabbit was founded in 2008 by Leah Busque, a former IBM-er who now holds a chief product role at the company, and is run by CEO Eric Gross, the former president of Expedia Worldwide. The service is currently available in ~~five~~ seven cities across the U.S., though it has detailed plans for aggressive expansion over the next year.

In December, the company raised $17.8 million in a Series B round of funding from existing investors, as well as from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Allen & Company and the Tornante Company; TaskRabbit brought former Disney CEO Michael Eisner on board as a strategic adviser.

As we’ve noted before, TaskRabbit is not alone in the market for outsourcing domestic duties: Competing platform Zaarly raised $14 million from Kleiner Perkins and Sands Capital Ventures this October, and added Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman as a board member. Another company, GigWalk, offers a mobile app that finds local workers for on-the-spot small jobs by tapping into the inherent GPS capabilities of smartphones.

(Photo courtesy of The.Sprouts/Flickr)

The Search Company's Social Network Finally Gets Search -- And Some Other Goodies

Liz Gannes — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:17:54 +0000

One of the bigger head-scratchers of Google+ was how a social network from the world’s dominant search company could debut without search functionality. Today, the 12-week-old product is addressing that odd omission.

Starting today, Google+ will include search of people, posts and popular Web content, Google said in a blog post, in which it also announced Google+ is open to anyone who wants to sign up (not that it was terrifically hard to get an invite before).

Along with search, Google released a pack of new features for Google+’s most distinctive feature, group video Hangouts.

Hangouts are now available for Android phones with front-facing cameras, for larger viewing audiences, and can include screen-sharing, basic sketching, Google Docs and public topic listings.

Google's Android Kingpin Andy Rubin Will Open D: Dive Into Mobile (Plus, One More Surprise!)

Kara Swisher — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:01:02 +0000

While everyone is considering whether to brine or deep-fry the turkey this week, All Things Digital HQ will be busy with our preparations for D: Dive Into Mobile.

That includes setting the program, which takes place in two weeks and will open with an evening interview with Google’s Andy Rubin (pictured here).

As the search giant’s mobile chief and principal force and creator of its Android operating system, Rubin is responsible for the ongoing development of the major rival to the Apple iPhone.

Many have challenged Android, including a recent jab from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, questioning its overall experience and whether or not it’s actually open.

Nonetheless, Rubin and Android have proven to be a disruptive and fast-growing force in the mobile space, aiming for dominance akin to Microsoft’s on the desktop.

Ironic? Yes.

Rubin started as an engineer at Apple and later worked at General Magic, where he participated in developing Magic Cap, an operating system and interface for handheld devices. When Magic Cap failed, Rubin joined Artemis Research, founded by Steve Perlman, which became WebTV and was eventually acquired by Microsoft.

After several years, Rubin left to found another smartphone effort called Danger, which was also acquired by Microsoft, in 2008.

Disillusionment with his ouster as CEO of Danger motivated him to found Android, which was later acquired by Google.

Now, it seems Rubin is poised to make good on his first efforts at making a truly smart smartphone ubiquitous.

And he is only one of many of the industry heavyweight speakers at D: Dive Into Mobile, among them: Dan Hesse, president and CEO of Sprint Nextel; Mike Lazaridis, co-CEO of Research in Motion; Mike McCue, CEO of Flipboard; Joe Belfiore, vice president of Windows Phone Program Management at Microsoft; Jon Rubinstein of Palm, now owned by Hewlett-Packard; Foursquare CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley; Google advertising czar Susan Wojcicki; and Glenn Lurie, president of Emerging Devices for AT&T.

Plus, there is also one more big speaker we’ll be announcing soon, so stay tuned.

D: Dive Into Mobile will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco on December 6 and 7.

It represents the very first brand extension of our flagship D: All Things Digital conference, now in its ninth year of grilling the big names in tech and media to sold-out analog audiences and scores more on the Web.

And, as always, there will be no PowerPoints, no panels and definitely no pontificating. What there will be are unrehearsed, unscripted and unexpected interviews, where real news is often broken.

But, unlike big D, D: Dive Into Mobile is topic-focused, drilling down deeply into the ubiquity of mobile technology and devices, and its implications for brands, organizations and consumers worldwide.

Along with Walt Mossberg and me, Mossberg Solution’s Katherine Boehret and MediaMemo’s Peter Kafka will be conducting the interviews.

As usual, we’ll be liveblogging the whole thing and also posting highlight videos.

But there’s nothing like being there, so you can sign up for the D: Dive Into Mobile conference here.

Open Mobile, According to Sprint's Dan Hesse (We'll Ask Him More About It at D: Dive Into Mobile)

Kara Swisher — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:04:46 +0000

Here below is a very interesting slide put up by Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse, who took to the stage at the Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco to talk about the latest trends in the arena.

In the “open continuum,” Hesse places his wireless carrier nearer to the middle, while competitors are closer to the closed end.

The most open “anything goes” side is uncharted territory.

Still, in a Q&A with BoomTown after his speech, Hesse noted that among the handset makers, Google was on that wilder end, while Apple sat on the other pole completely.

These are exactly the kinds of key topics Walt Mossberg and I will be discussing with Hesse and others at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, which takes place December 6 and 7 in San Francisco.

Other speakers include Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley, Google’s Andy Rubin, Mike Lazaridis of Research in Motion and more.

You can get more information about the event here.

And here is Hesse’s slide (click on the image to make it larger):

Apple Has $51 Billion and a Shopping List. Is Facebook on It?

Peter Kafka — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:58:07 +0000

Steve Jobs made a rare appearance during today’s Apple’s earnings call and spent most of his time beating up his rivals, past and present. Summary: The iPhone has left Research in Motion’s BlackBerry in the dust. And while Google’s Android phones and tablets-to-be looked impressive, they weren’t.

Great fun to listen to for Apple watchers. But not that meaningful, really–mostly positioning and spin. There was at least one important nugget, though: Apple has a specific shopping list, with some very big-ticket items on it.

Jobs wouldn’t lay those out, of course. But when asked if he planned on spending any of Apple’s $51 billion (!) in cash via a dividend or stock buyback, he explained that he had something else in mind. From my notes, a combination of direct quotes and paraphrase:

“We strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along that we’re in unique opportunity to take advantage of because of our cash,” and we want to keep our powder dry “because we feel that there are one or more” opportunities in the future.

M&A guys, start your engines!

The “what will Apple do with all its cash” speculation story is a time-honored tradition–I seem to remember writing one four or five years ago, when Apple had $6 billion or so lying around, and discussing whether it made sense for Jobs to buy a music company like Universal.

But I don’t remember Jobs every signaling his desire to go shopping quite as openly as this before (feel free to correct me in comments if I have this one wrong). Two caveats:

Jobs is famous for saying one thing and doing…something else. So don’t get too riled up about this.
Just because Jobs is talking about spending money on “opportunities” doesn’t mean he’s talking about buying a company. He could be talking about big, hairy capital expenditures, like the billion-dollar server farm Apple is finishing up in North Carolina.

Still. It’s hard not to read or hear that quote and not think that he’s thinking about some very big buys. Like what?

A lot of folks will assume that Jobs is talking about buying a big content producer. Music doesn’t make any sense, because there’s little value left in that business. But if Jobs wants to make headway in the TV business, perhaps it makes sense for him to snag a big broadcaster or programmer to give him the leverage he needs with the Comcasts, Viacoms and Time Warners of the world.

Or you could make the same argument for other content makers, like game studios. The biggest one, Electronic Arts, has a market cap of a mere $5.21 billion. Jobs could give ERTS shareholders a hefty premium and still have plenty of walking-around money.

Or perhaps it makes zero sense for Apple to be in the content business, because it’s done just fine not being in the content business to date.

So then what?

Feel free to throw your own guesses in, but I’ll kick off with my own: It’s a company that has yet to compete with or brush up against Apple in any significant way. And it’s one that Apple seems unlikely to be able to move aside, even if it wanted to. And it’s one that’s already competing directly with Google, which has to make Jobs like it even more.

And, if you believe this L.A. Times report, Jobs is already strolling around Palo Alto with its CEO: What do you think of Apple buying Facebook? Discuss….

Earlier

Apple investors who got their first look at the company’s earnings numbers don’t like them–AAPL is trading down seven percent after hours. Let’s see if Apple executives can soothe their concerns during the earnings call.

You can listen in for yourself via this link, or follow along in my liveblog below:

Live Blog

Apple or Apple’s IR company trying some very, very mellow string and piano stuff while we wait.

CFO Peter Oppenheimer kicks off. “Outstanding results” for September quarter. Highest quarterly revenue, earnings.

Mac products and services: 3.9 mm Macs. Record quarter. 27% y/y growth. Double market growth for Q.

IMac, Macbook, Macbook Pro all good. Asia/Pacific performing best.

IPods: 9.1 million.

ITunes revenue more than $1 billion.

IPhone. “Extremely pleased” with 14.4 million unit sales; basically doubled y/y.

$8.6 billion in sales value of iPhones alone.

Heaping praise on iPhone 4 (justified) and stressing iPhone’s move into corporate market, rattling off blue-chip customers.

IPad. “Thrilled” with momentum. “Great enthusiasm” from customers.

65% of Fortune 100 deploying or piloting iPad. Lists some of them.

125 million iOS device sales last month.

200,000 registered iOS developers.

“Very happy” with results of iAd so far.

On to Apple stores. More records here.

Expects to open 40-50 stores next year, 50% of them outside U.S.

IPhone sales mix “better than expected”–boosted overall margin.

$51 billion cash hoard. [Deep, longing sigh from everyone in media, tech business.]

For the year: 5x revenue and 10x earnings compared with five years ago.

“Very enthusiastic” about lineup, “extremely confident” in new product pipeline.

Rare appearance from Steve Jobs!

Had to drop by for first $20 billion quarter.

“We’ve now passed RIM, and I don’t see them catching up to us in the foreseeable future.”

They have to move into software/platform development, and I don’t think they can.

So what about Google?

Apple is activating 275,000 iOS devices per day on average over the past 30 days; peaked at 300k iOS devices some days. 300,000 apps in app store.

Unfortunately, there is no solid data on how many Android handsets sold each quarter.

Google loves to characterize Android as open, Apple as closed. “We find this a bit disingenuous.”

Windows is “open.” But Android is “very fragmented.” OEMs like Motorola install own stuff to make their phones stand out. We don’t do that.

Shout out to “Twitterdeck” ( I think he means Tweetdeck) and their challenges running 100 versions of Android client. “Compare this to iPhone, where there are two versions of the software…to test against.”

Meanwhile, at least four app stores on Android. “This is going to be a mess for both users and developers.”

Apple’s app store has 3x apps compared with Google marketplace.

“Even if Google were right, and the real issue was closed vs. open, it’s important to remember that open systems don’t always win.”

For instance: Microsoft’s [miserable] “PlaysForSure” strategy, RIP.

Google’s “open” argument is a “smokescreen.” Real issue is what’s best for customer–”fragmented vs. integrated.”

Integrated is a huge advantage for us, because it’s better for customers, and better for developers. “We are very committed to the integrated approach no matter how many times Google tries to characterize it as closed.”

Now! On to our tablet competitors:

First of all, only a few credible competitors.

Second, most of them are pushing 7.5″ screen. That means they are just at 45% size of our 10″ screen. “You heard that right….This size isn’t sufficient to create great tablet apps.”

Extolling features of iPad size vs. teeny tiny tablet competitors: They’re “tweeners”–too small to compete with iPad, too big to compete with smartphones.

IPad has 35,000 apps. New crop of tablets will have “near zero.”

Competitors having a hard time coming close to iPad pricing, even with their puny screens. We make our own everything, and this results in an “incredible product, at a great price.” Our competitors will “likely offer less, for more.” They’ll be “DOA. Dead on arrival.”

Questions and Answers

Supply constraints on iPad?

COO Tim Cook: We’ve got a handle on it. And note that we’re expanding distribution in the U.S. and internationally, with more countries to come.

Question about margins I didn’t quite catch.

Oppenheimer: Sold more iPhones than planned, and commodity prices came down, so that helped.

Q for Steve. Please talk about “iPad opportunity.” Size of business, etc., two years or more down the road?

Jobs: “The iPad is clearly going to affect notebook computers. The iPad proves it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.” Already seeing “tremendous” interest from education and “much to my surprise, from business.”

“The more time that passes, the more I am convinced that we’ve got a tiger by the tail here.” We’ve trained tens of millions of people on this OS via the iPhone. “I see it as really general purpose, and I see it as very big.”

Could it be the second biggest business after the iPhone?

“I try not to predict, I try to report.” We’re selling more iPads than Macs.

What about Flash? Any update?

“Flash memory? We love flash memory” [hohoho]

A question on iPhone demand, which I missed.

Q: Steve, “You are the tablet market.” Do you see tablet competitors cutting into your market in the same way you cut into RIM’s market? Won’t that fragment the market?

“I have a hard time imagining what those strategies…are.” Pricing won’t work. “Flash hasn’t presented any problem at all; as you know, most video on the Web is now presented in HTML5.” The iTunes store is dominant and “we’re not done” working on stuff for the future.

Q: Smartphones–”Do you see that as a zero-sum game?”

Jobs: As you know, most phones in the world aren’t smartphones. They’ll convert over time, so there will be room for multiple competitors, but “eventually it will turn into a zero-sum game, or close to that.”

Q: For Oppenheimer: Another margins question.

A: We do see a small sequential decline. Higher-than-expected mix of new iPods and new iPads. We’ve been very aggressive on pricing there, and that’s what’s pushing down margins.

Q: Steve, how’s your Apple TV “hobby” coming? And what’s up with streaming media?

Jobs: We don’t talk about unannounced products, but I’m happy to tell you what we know about Apple TV. We have moved to streaming. It’s all streaming. Everything is rented, and/or soon to be streamed from iPad or iPhone.

So far we’ve sold 250,000 new Apple TVs. “I’m thrilled with that.” And with Airplay set up, “it will give people another big reason to buy it.”

Another margin/guidance question. Seems to be the same one repeated each time, with the same answer.

Q for Steve: Key risks for company?

The goal is to make the best devices in the world. “It’s not to be the biggest. As you know, Nokia’s the biggest… but we don’t aspire to be like them.”

Android is the biggest competitor. Outshipped us in June quarter as we transitioned. We’re waiting to find out what happened in this quarter. “I don’t know how we’ll find out” though.

Our approach is to create products that “just work” and “their approach is very different from that.”

Questions for Steve and Tim: Aspirations for iPhone and iPad. In Mac, you didn’t aspire to high market share; in iPod, it was the opposite–you own that market. In the past, Tim you’ve described iPhone business as closer to the iPod model. Steve, you sort of said something different. Please resolve that difference: Biggest, or best?

Jobs: “Nokia makes $50 handsets. We don’t know how to make a great handset for $50.” We want to make “breakthrough, best products,” and “drive costs down” while making them better through “relentless improvement.”

We have a very low share in the phone market. Single digits. And a very high share in tablets. But we don’t think about it that way.

The reason we won’t make a seven-inch tablet isn’t because of price point, “it’s because we don’t think you can make a great tablet with a seven-inch screen.” And as a software company, we think of software first. Developers don’t want to build for all these different platforms and devices, and on this small screen. “It’s not about cost, it’s about value, when you factor in the software.”

Q: Okay, but if the market moves toward lower-functionality smartphones and “dramatically lower price points,” then you’ll cede share, right?

Jobs: “You’re looking at it wrong.” You’re looking at it as a hardware guy who doesn’t really know about software. You assume that software “can come alive on this product that you’re dreaming of. But it won’t” because developers want to build for better products, with faster processors and better screens.

Q: You have about $50 billion in cash. What are you going to do with that? Why not return it to shareholders?

Jobs: “We strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along that we’re in unique opportunity to take advantage of because of our cash” and want to keep our powder dry “because we feel that there are one or more” opportunities in the future.

Missing next question about iPhone and iPad penetration into corporate market.

[Market not sold on Apple's story yet, btw: Stock still down 5.84%.]

Question for Oppenheimer. Guess what? It’s about gross margins. Any change in manufacturing, etc? Any color at all?

Oppenheimer: Don’t provide product-specific gross margins. Always trying to lower costs, though. “We were happy” with gross margins for quarter. Down slightly because of product mix, as I’ve said over and over.

Q: Talk about demand from carriers to pick up iPhone 4.

Cook: The pressure I’m feeling is about supply. That’s the problem. At the country level, we have 166 relationships in 89 countries. In many countries, we went to more than one carrier. Latest one of those is Germany.

IPhone 4 in 85 of 89 countries. Will be in all 89 by end of year.

What happens to margins and subsidy when you go nonexclusive?

We don’t give information out on specific markets, but you can see that our ASPs have stayed above $600.

For Steve: Why do you have advantage in price on iPad, as opposed to PC?

Jobs: We engineer so much of it ourselves. Everything from chip to battery to enclosures. We’ve learned so much. We’ve learned a lot, developed a lot of our own components, where competitors have to go through middlemen. “This is a product we’ve been training for for the last decade.”

Call is over. You can hear the whole thing on a podcast later this evening.

Jobs on Android: The Fight Isn't Closed Vs. Open, but Integrated Vs. Fragmented

John Paczkowski — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:18:26 +0000

CEO Steve Jobs made a special guest appearance on Apple’s Q3 earnings call today and used the opportunity to fire a few shots at Google while reframing the comparison between iOS and Android.

Talking about Google’s characterization of the Android platform as open and Apple’s as closed, Jobs said, “We find this a bit disingenuous.” The open vs. closed argument is a “smokescreen,” Jobs said. The real issues, in terms of satisfying consumers, are the advantages of Apple’s integrated approach in contrast to the multiple flavors of Android as adapted by various manufacturers and carriers.

Noting too that there will be at least four Android app stores, as opposed to Apple’s one-stop shop, Jobs said that “this is going to be a mess for both users and developers.”

Android may be Apple’s biggest competitor in the mobile market, Jobs said, but Apple’s goal is to create products that “just work” and “their approach is very different from that.”

Furthermore, he said, “Even if Google were right, and the real issue was closed vs. open, it’s important to remember that open systems don’t always win.”

“We are very committed to the integrated approach, no matter how many times Google tries to characterize it as closed,” he said.

Google Asks Court to Toss Oracle's Android Lawsuit

John Paczkowski — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:50:45 +0000

Silicon Valley’s latest Goliath versus Goliath battle is officially on.

Google today responded to Oracle’s (ORCL) claims that its Android OS infringes copyrights and patents related to Java, which Oracle acquired as part of its purchase of Sun Microsystems earlier this year. This morning, the search sovereign filed an answer to Oracle’s suit, denying all seven of its patent-infringement charges, and asking that the company’s copyright-infringement claim be dismissed because Google (GOOG) feels it is “legally deficient.”

And, interestingly, the answer calls Oracle out as a hypocrite–a company that pushed for a fully open Java platform when the OS was owned by Sun, only to blatantly ignore the open source community’s requests to fully open source it after its acquisition of Sun closed.

“It’s disappointing that after years of supporting open source, Oracle turned around to attack not just Android, but the entire open source Java community with vague software patent claims,” the company said in a statement. “Open platforms like Android are essential to innovation, and we will continue to support the open source community to make the mobile experience better for consumers and developers alike.”

Google’s prayer for relief makes that disappointment quite clear. In it, the company asks not only for a judgment dismissing Oracle’s complaint against it with prejudice, but also for a judgment in favor of Google on all of its counterclaims; a declaration that Google has not infringed, contributed to the infringement of, or induced others to infringe, either directly or indirectly, any valid and enforceable claims of the Patents-in-Suit; a declaration that the Patents-in-Suit are invalid; a declaration that Oracle’s claims are barred by the doctrines of laches, equitable estoppel, and/or waiver; a declaration that the Oracle’s claims are barred by the doctrine of unclean hands; a declaration that this case is exceptional and an award to Google of its reasonable costs and expenses of litigation, including attorneys’ fees and expert witness fees; and such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.

Here are three of the more pointed graphs from the answer, followed by a copy of the document in its entirety.

7. Sun came under significant criticism from members of the open source community, including Oracle Corp., for its refusal to fully open source Java. For example, in August of 2006, the Apache Software Foundation (“ASF”), a not-for-profit corporation that provides organizational, legal, and financial support for open source software projects, attempted to obtain a TCK from Sun to verify Apache Harmony’s compatibility with Java. Although Sun eventually offered to open source the TCK for Java SE, Sun included field of use (“FOU”) restrictions that limited the circumstances under which Apache Harmony users could use the software that the ASF created, such as preventing the TCK from being executed on mobile devices. In April of 2007, the ASF wrote an open letter to Sun asking for either a TCK license without FOU restrictions, or an explanation as to why Sun was “protect[ing] portions of Sun’s commercial Java business at the expense of ASF’s open software” and violating “Sun’s public promise that any Sun-led specification [such as Java] would be fully implementable and distributable as open source/free software.” However, Sun continued to refuse the ASF’s requests.

8. Oracle Corp., as a member of the Executive Committee (“EC”) of the Java Community Process (“JCP”), the organization tasked with managing Java standards, voiced the same concerns regarding Sun’s refusal to fully open source the Java platform. Later that year, in December of 2007, during a JCP EC meeting, Oracle Corp. proposed that the JCP should provide “a new, simplified IPR [intellectual property rights] Policy that permits the broadest number of implementations.” At that same meeting, BEA Systems – which at the time was in negotiations that resulted in Oracle Corp. purchasing BEA – proposed a resolution that TCK licenses would be “offered without field of use restrictions . . . enabling the TCK to be used by organizations including Apache.” Oracle Corp. voted in favor of the resolution.

9. Just over a year later, in February of 2009, Oracle Corp. reiterated its position on the open-source community’s expectation of a fully open Java platform when it supported a motion that “TCK licenses must not be used to discriminate against or restrict compatible implementations of Java specifications by including field of use restrictions on the tested implementations or otherwise. Licenses containing such limitations do not meet the requirements of the JSPA, the agreement under which the JCP operates, and violate the expectations of the Java community that JCP specs can be openly implemented.”

UPDATE: Oracle has issued this statement on Google’s answer.

“In developing Android, Google chose to use Java code without obtaining a license. Additionally, it modified the technology so it is not compliant with Java’s central design principle to ‘write once and run anywhere.’ Google’s infringement and fragmentation of Java code not only damages Oracle, it clearly harms consumers, developers and device manufacturers.”

UPDATE: Engadget’s Nilay Patel has a good analysis of Google’s strategy, here — as well as some potential holes in it.

2010.10.04 – Google Answer and Counterclaims _filed_ –

Meet Nokia's New CEO: Elop's BoomTown Video (Plus His Vision Quest)!

Kara Swisher — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:21:39 +0000

Just as the chickens always come home to roost, BoomTown always has a video ferreted away of someone who makes it to the bigs.

In this case, here is a video interview I did in April of 2009 with new Nokia CEO Stephen Elop (pictured here), just a year after he had taken over as president of Microsoft’s Business Division.

I caught Elop just after he had given a speech where he talked about how the software giant had gotten the “open” religion and was becoming “the most interoperable company in the world.”

I am still not sure about Microsoft, but one thing’s for sure: Elop has turned out to be one of the most interoperable of tech execs.

Along with his stint at Microsoft (MSFT) running that powerful franchise, he has been COO of Juniper Networks (JNPR) and CEO of Macromedia, which was acquired under his tenure by Adobe (ADBE).

His new job at Finland’s telecom giant is going to be a big one, given how far Nokia’s star has fallen in the mobile market, with the fast growth of the Apple (AAPL) iPhone and the Google (GOOG) Android mobile operating system.

Elop also has five kids–including triplet 11-year-olds–so how do you say “babysitter” in Finnish?

Here’s my interview with him, as well as another video Elop ordered up while at Microsoft as part of an “Envisioning” series.

These “world of the future” videos were done by Microsoft Office Labs as part of a “Productivity Future Vision” series that sketched out a world of smartphones, touchscreens everywhere and a whole lot of innovative interacting.

It will be interesting to see if Elop can bring such a big vision to Nokia (NOK), where it is sorely needed.

Until then, enjoy Elop unplugged–as you will see, he is a very compelling dude.

(You can also watch the unembeddable–get on it, since sharing is big on phones now, Steve!–video press conference about his new job today at Nokia here.)

[ See post to watch video ]

Steve Jobs on Why Facebook Is Not Part of Apple's New Ping Music Social Network: "Onerous Terms"

Kara Swisher — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:05:03 +0000

Yesterday, at the Apple music event in San Francisco, I had a short chat with Apple CEO Steve Jobs as he strolled through the demo room for the media, just after he had announced various updates for the iPod, Apple TV and iTunes onstage.

One of the those was the introduction of a new social network for music called Ping that Apple (AAPL) has integrated within iTunes 10 and which looks an awful lot like the experience you get on Facebook.

Essentially, it is a vertical version–in this case for music–of the powerful social networking site.

Facebook has noodled for years about creating its own social music offering, including doing a partnership with Lala, which was bought by Apple last year and shuttered in June.

But its efforts have largely gone nowhere.

And Facebook is nowhere on Ping, either. Currently, there is no linking, sharing or participation of any kind with Facebook–or Twitter or MySpace–on Ping, which will work only on the iTunes software on computers, iPhones and iPods.

When I asked Jobs about that, he said Apple had indeed held talks with Facebook about a variety of unspecified partnerships related to Ping, but the discussions went nowhere.

The reason, according to Jobs: Facebook wanted “onerous terms that we could not agree to,” related to connecting with Facebook friends on Ping.

For those who are struck by the word, the definition of onerous, according to an online dictionary: “Involving an amount of effort and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome; Involving heavy obligations.”

Jobs did not elaborate on those troublesome terms and also would not say if Ping would incorporate connecting with Facebook or even using Facebook Connect–which would make it much easier to find friends to share music with.

“We could, I guess,” he shrugged.

And when I asked how to find friends, Jobs offered, noting iTunes had 160 million users across the globe: “You can type their names into search or send them emails inviting them to join.”

Okay, although being more open would work too!

As MediaMemo’s Peter Kafka noted:

“Maybe Apple plans on joining the rest of the Web, via an open API that will let Facebook, Twitter et al–maybe even the to-be-launched Google (GOOG) music service–play nicely with Ping. We’ll see.”

Facebook–including some execs who are definitely irked about how closely Ping resembles Facebook, right down to the blue color scheme–hopes so.

Consider the statement issued by Facebook to me–after attempts to get it verbally failed, due ironically to several dropped connections on the iPhone of the exec I spoke to:

“Facebook believes in connecting people with their interests and we’ve partnered with innovative developers around the world who share this vision. Facebook and Apple have cooperated successfully in the past to offer people great social experiences and we look forward to doing so in the future.”

In other words: Zing, Ping.

UPDATE: Oddly enough, a Facebook connection feature appeared to be in Ping when some signed up–not for me–as noted by Cult of Mac. And Silicon Alley Insider’s Dan Frommer even spotted the wording in Jobs’s stage presentation. I have an email into Apple PR asking for a comment on the change.

In any case, at the Apple event, Jobs told me he had great hopes for the social music service, adding that Ping could be the most significant thing to come out of yesterday’s announcements.

But soon enough he moved right on to the new iPods, declaring enthusiastically: “Isn’t the nano amazing?”

Decoding Google's Net Neutrality Proposal Blog: The Pixie Dust-Free Edition!

Kara Swisher — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:51:51 +0000

The opening line of the classic J.M. Barrie book “Peter Pan” reads, “All children, except one, grow up.”

Actually, that one grew up, too, and now the whole Internet is angry at Google (GOOG) and taking shots, because of the Silicon Valley search giant’s recent joint public-policy proposal with Verizon (VZ) over net neutrality.

Many are claiming Google–in the most cynical of ways–sold out its long-standing commitment to the open Internet to make a corporately favorable deal.

Thus, Google–in this case, Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel–took to the corporate blog yesterday to explain it all away in a post titled “Facts About Our Network Neutrality Policy.”

It practically begs for translation, so BoomTown shall not disappoint:

Google wrote: Over the past few days there’s been a lot of discussion surrounding our announcement of a policy proposal on network neutrality we put together with Verizon. On balance, we believe this proposal represents real progress on what has become a very contentious issue, and we think it could help move the network neutrality debate forward constructively.

We don’t expect everyone to agree with every aspect of our proposal, but there has been a number of inaccuracies about it, and we do want to separate fact from fiction.

Translation: Wait, the hypnotic multicolored letters aren’t working anymore? What about the cute logos on the homepage–didja see our whimsical “Wizard of Oz” montage? Hey, our founders still wear wacky shoes!

And look over here at the Googleplex: Segways with wings and coconut-water lattes for all!

Okay, we’ll come clean: This band of Lost Boys–and Wendy who runs search–didn’t want to grow up, either.

But Sheryl Sandberg did an Indian talent raid and convinced Tinkerbell to take all her fairy dust to work on magical social-marketing features at Facebook. Also, Captain Hook and that alligator are working up some geo-location thing with the ticking clock over at Foursquare.

In other words, that’s Mr. Peter Man to you now.

Google wrote: MYTH: Google has “sold out” on network neutrality.

FACT: Google has been the leading corporate voice on the issue of network neutrality over the past five years. No other company is working as tirelessly for an open Internet.

But given political realities, this particular issue has been intractable in Washington for several years now. At this time there are no enforceable protections–at the Federal Communications Commission or anywhere else–against even the worst forms of carrier discrimination against Internet traffic.

With that in mind, we decided to partner with a major broadband provider on the best policy solution we could devise together. We’re not saying this solution is perfect, but we believe that a proposal that locks in key enforceable protections for consumers is preferable to no protection at all.

Translation: We caved. In fact, we spelunked. All right, we journeyed to the center of the earth. Second to the right and straight on till morning, times a google.

But it is not technically selling out, since we got no money in the deal. I mean, not yet.

That comes later, when we and Verizon control all the tolls on the private and exclusive Schminternet, named for Fearless Leader and CEO Eric Schmidt (pictured here), coming to you in 2020!

We’re not saying the solution is perfect. But we believe that a proposal that locks in key moneymaking fees for us is preferable to having to struggle later–like those losers at Microsoft (MSFT) do today–when the search business goes the way of boxed software.

Google wrote: MYTH: This proposal represents a step backwards for the open Internet.

FACT: If adopted, this proposal would for the first time give the FCC the ability to preserve the open Internet through enforceable rules on broadband providers. At the same time, the FCC would be prohibited from imposing regulations on the Internet itself.

Here are some of the tangible benefits in our joint legislative proposal:

* Newly enforceable FCC standards
* Prohibitions against blocking or degrading wireline Internet traffic
* Prohibition against discriminating against wireline Internet traffic in ways that harm users or competition
* Presumption against all forms of prioritizing wireline Internet traffic
* Full transparency across wireline and wireless broadband platforms
* Clear FCC authority to adjudicate user complaints, and impose injunctions and fines against bad actors
* Verizon has agreed to voluntarily abide by these same requirements going forward–another first for a major communications provider. We hope this action will convince other broadband companies to follow suit.

Translation: Did you ever do the Hokey Pokey? Jockeying for political power in Washington is like that, except someone always loses an eye.

You put your eternal soul in,
You put your ethics out;
You put your corporate standards in,
And you shake them all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!

Which is why they say you should never watch sausage being made.

Google wrote: MYTH: This proposal would eliminate network neutrality over wireless.

FACT: It’s true that Google previously has advocated for certain openness safeguards to be applied in a similar fashion to what would be applied to wireline services. However, in the spirit of compromise, we have agreed to a proposal that allows this market to remain free from regulation for now, while Congress keeps a watchful eye.

Why? First, the wireless market is more competitive than the wireline market, given that consumers typically have more than just two providers to choose from. Second, because wireless networks employ airwaves, rather than wires, and share constrained capacity among many users, these carriers need to manage their networks more actively. Third, network and device openness is now beginning to take off as a significant business model in this space.

In our proposal, we agreed that the best first step is for wireless providers to be fully transparent with users about how network traffic is managed to avoid congestion, or prioritized for certain applications and content. Our proposal also asks the Federal government to monitor and report regularly on the state of the wireless broadband market. Importantly, Congress would always have the ability to step in and impose new safeguards on wireless broadband providers to protect consumers’ interests.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the future of wireless broadband increasingly will be found in the advanced, 4th generation (4G) networks now being constructed. Verizon will begin rolling out its 4G network this fall under openness license conditions that Google helped persuade the FCC to adopt. Clearwire is already providing 4G service in some markets, operating under a unique wholesale/openness business model. So consumers across the country are beginning to experience open Internet wireless platforms, which we hope will be enhanced and encouraged by our transparency proposal.

Translation: By transparency, we mean a backroom deal so covered in the fog of compromise that it was like the Smoke Monster in “Lost.”

And you know what happened when he (she? it?) showed up. Not pretty.

Neither was the fact that we had to throw wireless–the most promising of networks–under the bus right now. While there is likely to be some crushing of competition and mangling of the bones of this little baby, you can be sure Congress can always step in to protect consumers’ interests with regard to wireless broadband.

In fact, Congress just hired Kate and Jon Gosselin to give parenting tips on how not to completely take advantage of the wired Internet’s most valuable offspring.

Google wrote: MYTH: This proposal will allow broadband providers to “cannibalize” the public Internet.

FACT: Another aspect of the joint proposal would allow broadband providers to offer certain specialized services to customers, services which are not part of the Internet. So, for example, broadband providers could offer a special gaming channel, or a more secure banking service, or a home health monitoring capability–so long as such offerings are separate and apart from the public Internet. Some broadband providers already offer these types of services today. The chief challenge is to let consumers benefit from these non-Internet services, without allowing them to impede on the Internet itself.

We have a number of key protections in the proposal to protect the public Internet:

* First, the broadband provider must fully comply with the consumer protection and nondiscrimination standards governing its Internet access service before it could pursue any of these other online service opportunities.

* Second, these services must be “distinguishable in purpose and scope” from Internet access, so that they cannot over time supplant the best effort Internet.

* Third, the FCC retains its full capacity to monitor these various service offerings, and to intervene where necessary to ensure that robust, unfettered broadband capacity is allocated to Internet access.

So we believe there would be more than adequate tools in place to help guard against the “cannibalization” of the public Internet.

Translation: Yes, the very same government that protected its citizens from the sub-prime mortgage mess by monitoring those giant, risk-mad banks so well.

The same government that was making sure oil giants like BP adhered to strict safety standard for its offshore wells.

The same government…well, you get the general idea, but you should have no fear of cannibals.

Of sharkish telcom companies, yes. Of man-eating lions from the cable business, certainly.

But of multicolored, letter-decorated piranhas who look harmless with their big squishy balls and organic guava smoothies but will cut you as soon as you stick one consumer finger in the digital pond?

Let’s just say: Don’t go in the water.

Google wrote: MYTH: Google is working with Verizon on this because of Android.

FACT: This is a policy proposal–not a business deal. Of course, Google has a close business relationship with Verizon, but ultimately this proposal has nothing to do with Android. Folks certainly should not be surprised by the announcement of this proposal, given our prior public policy work with Verizon on network neutrality, going back to our October 2009 blog post, our January 2010 joint FCC filing, and our April 2010 op-ed.

Translation: Rachel, are you in London or back in Mountain View? Please ring us up asap, as you need to come up with some fancy new talk. I don’t think they are buying this policy-proposal-not-a-business-deal pablum.

In fact, I am even giggling every time I write it.

Google wrote: MYTH: Two corporations are legislating the future of the Internet.

FACT: Our two companies are proposing a legislative framework to the Congress for its consideration. We hope all stakeholders will weigh in and help shape the framework to move us all forward. We’re not so presumptuous to think that any two businesses could–or should–decide the future of this issue. We’re simply trying to offer a proposal to help resolve a debate which has largely stagnated after five years.

It’s up to Congress, the FCC, other policymakers–and the American public–to take it from here. Whether you favor our proposal or not, we urge you to take your views directly to your Senators and Representatives in Washington.

We hope this helps address some of the inaccuracies that have appeared about our proposal. We’ll provide updates as the situation continues to develop.

Translation: Indeed, two corporations are not legislating the future of the Internet.

In point of fact, there were at least a half-dozen of us on the G5 on the way back from divvying up the Web in D.C.

And we’re not so presumptuous to think that any two businesses could–or should–decide the future of this issue.

We are planning on including at least six or seven more businesses, since it will cost an awful lot of money to peddle all that influence in D.C.

Of course, that Mark Zuckerberg over at Facebook seems to be holding out and even criticizing our Verizon bear hug.

That kid has some guts all right–but he can’t live in Neverland forever.

At some point, you’ve got to grow up. You can’t clap your hands and believe you can fly. Even pixie dust eventually runs out.

And that’s something we at Google know very, very well by now.

And until the magic returns, please relish the incomparable Mary Martin in the famous stage version of “Peter Pan” singing “Never Never Land.” As Peter Pan described himself, “I’m youth, I’m joy. I’m a little bird that has broken out of the egg.” Martin is all that and more:

"Never Never Land"
Uploaded by computergirl07. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Hollywood Groups Weigh In on FCC Internet Reclassification

Kara Swisher — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:35:39 +0000

An alphabet soup of entertainment-industry groups submitted briefs to the Federal Communications Commission today as part of its request for comment on a framework for broadband services.

Specifically, whether or not to reclassify the Internet as a telecommunications service, which would trigger all kinds of juicy regulatory power.

The Internet has been classified as an information service and not a phone service–a problem now, since a court ruling earlier this year said the FCC has no legal authority over an information service.

Rut-roh!–especially since FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has wanted power to push for net neutrality and faster broadband.

There are all kinds of complex issues at stake, from net neutrality to piracy to open Internet to broadband access–and Hollywood groups have conflicting interests, all related to content distribution.

But everyone’s obvious concern is copyright infringement and how to create rules around it without also having too much regulation or not enough freedom.

Oh, so vexing to explain and so many lawyers clearly involved, so just read this pair of briefs–one a joint filing from AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), DGA (Directors Guild of America), IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees), SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America); and the other a different take from the WGAW (Writers Guild of America, West):

Broadband Reply Comments

And here is Genachowski talking about a lot of this in an interview with Walt Mossberg at the eighth D: All Things Digital conference in June:

[ See post to watch video ]

Full D8 Demo Video: Wordnik

Kara Swisher — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:33:00 +0000

As promised, All Things Digital is posting the full videos from our eighth D: All Things Digital conference, held in early June.

Today, it’s time for Wordnik, the innovative start-up aimed at, well, words.

Founded by Erin McKean, the former editor-in-chief of the New Oxford American Dictionary, Wordnik claims to have the word’s most complete map of the language you are currently reading.

In this video, she demos Smartwords, an open standard for sharing information about words.

But why use words when you can watch? Here’s the video of Wordnik’s demo at D8:

[ See post to watch video ]

Want to see it bigger? Click here.

Note: We’ll be posting full D8 videos on Mondays and Thursdays. Next up: The demo for Microsoft’s Project Natal, now called Kinect.

Waiting for Godot: Apple's Fall Event Is Definitely Happening, but Exactly When and What?

Kara Swisher — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:15:21 +0000

Oh, it’s coming.

According to several sources, and as has been widely expected, Apple will once again be holding its annual autumn special event, possibly closer to mid-September this time.

Apple (AAPL), which has had a fall hello-there confab every year since 2005, waited until August 31 last year to announce its “Let’s Rock” event on September 9 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco.

There, CEO Steve Jobs, in his first public appearance since his medical leave of absence, let loose with a bunch of mostly music-focused features.

That included introducing iTunes 9, as well as home sharing, Genius mixes and some updates of the iPod.

“I’m vertical, back at Apple and loving every day of it,” said Jobs last year.

Well, he’s still standing, but he has definitely not stood still, launching both the iPad and the iPhone 4 since then.

Still, because it is Apple, speculation is running high about what the iconic tech company will unveil next.

And most of it centers around the blinging of the iPod touch to bring it into line with many of the features on the iPhone.

That is likely to include front- and rear-facing cameras, which would allow the device to use FaceTime, Apple video-calling software that works over Wi-Fi.

With Jobs promising Apple would release the FaceTime protocol as a open industry standard, combined with the company’s ongoing skirmish with Google (GOOG) in the smartphone space, wouldn’t it be nice to have all those iPods turn into phones?

There could also be an A4 processor in the iPod, which will give it even more oomph.

Other rumors run the gamut, such as a new cloud-based, streamy rethink of Apple TV (possible and exciting), a smaller iPad (silly and unlikely) and a streaming music service (useful and most likely).

Or, because it is Apple, something else.

Oh, one more thing: It goes without saying that Apple PR majordomos passed on my perfectly reasonable request for the entire detailed schedule, including slides, for any special event in September.

What New Features Will Google Reveal at Mobile Event Thursday? Some Think It Should Be Integrated Video Calling.

Kara Swisher — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:00:23 +0000

Today, Google sent out a notice that it would be holding a press event Thursday morning at its San Francisco offices, where the search giant would be “unveiling a couple of cool new mobile features.”

Google mobile product management director Hugo Barra will demo the additions, which some think should include integrated video calling in the Android mobile operating system.

That’s not going to be the case, according to sources with knowledge of the announcements, who said the event will be more of a low-key show-and-tell of some slick features. A move like integrated video calling would likely get a lot more fanfare, too.

But many think Google (GOOG) should aim higher sooner, since it is critical that Android get off the stick in the video calling arena, especially given that Apple (AAPL) is reportedly planning an aggressive expansion of its FaceTime software in its many devices.

Who will dominate video calling in the mobile space is sure to be yet another point of contention between the two Silicon Valley superpowers, once allies and now, well, not so much.

Apple introduced FaceTime in June when it launched the iPhone 4, which allows picture-in-picture chat via Wi-Fi.

In addition, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the launch that the company would release the FaceTime protocol as a open industry standard.

With the surge in smartphone sales and the growing race between Google and Apple to attract customers to their offerings, key product differentiators such as seamless video calling will be critical.

While there are several Android phones and also apps that do live video, such as Qik, they are not integrated into the operating system, as Apple’s FaceTime is, and therefore are not under complete Google control.

Dropped phone calls are irksome, but glitchy video chat is going to be right up there as a consumer annoyance.

Other than integrated video calling, another feature that should be on Android users’ wish lists to match Apple might be a “find my phone” offering directly from Google, rather than from app providers, that can be used to retrieve lost or stolen mobile devices, as well as lock and wipe them.

Also sorely needed: Better wireless synchronization for music and other media.

(Personally, BoomTown–who is attending the event–is hoping it’s the Schminternet.)

Yahoo's Social Platform Dude Talks About Facebook/Twitter Integration and Why Foursquare Is Now Yesterday's News

Kara Swisher — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:30:06 +0000

Yahoo’s VP of Social Platforms, Neal Sample, is a very funny guy, riffing on a wide variety of Silicon Valley companies and topics with an easy sociability.

Well, he kind of has to be that way, given his job as the leader of the Internet giant’s open, social and publishing platforms.

That purview stretches from comments to Answers to status updates and, of course, Yahoo’s recent move to integrate social networks such as Facebook and Twitter deeply into the service.

The Facebook integration was the first to be completed last week, allowing users of both sites to link their accounts and view and share updates with friends across both networks, as well as share “Like” items across both.

Sample talks about this in the video below and manages to get in a funny dig about Yahoo’s recent attempt to buy Foursquare, noting that what the hot social location start-up offers is becoming quickly commoditized.

Sour–but probably entirely correct–grapes!

In any case, Yahoo (YHOO) leadership is hoping it will not get shut out too, by employing the strategy of an all-inclusive hug of every social networking service globally and providing users with a kind of social dashboard that is understandable amid all the noise.

It’s not innovative. But it is also not a bad idea, given how late Yahoo has been to the social party, and–as you will see–Sample makes a pretty good case as to its prospects for success, even compared with Facebook.

Here’s the video of the interview:

[ See post to watch video ]

Full Disclosure: ATD Adds Meebo Toolbar

Kara Swisher — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:11:30 +0000

As we have with every change to features and functionality on All Things Digital, today we are writing to give you details about a new Meebo toolbar on this site.

It appears at the very bottom of each page on our site.

The first thing you need to know: You can get rid of it whenever you like.

But we think you will like it, because it enhances our site’s navigation, highlights fresh content and provides instant-messaging functionality, all in one place.

Such as:

– Share Page: Drag the page–or individual page items, such as a headline or image–into social tools or chat tools to share with friends and colleagues

– News: The most recent headlines from BoomTown, MediaMemo and Digital Daily, as well as select headlines from The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron’s

– Reviews: The latest product reviews and analysis from Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret

– Hot Topics: Links to our aggregated coverage of recent product launches and timely issues

– Twitter: An “uber feed” that combines all our tweets

Per our All Things Digital Privacy Policy, any toolbar usage information will be shared with Meebo solely for the purpose of using this service or for targeting advertising on the toolbar.

Meebo may use cookies to target these toolbar ads; for more information please read Meebo’s Privacy Policy.

If you want to use a chat tool, you’ll be asked to log in with a user name and password. Again, please see Meebo’s Privacy Policy regarding collection and storage of your IM passwords.

And as I said at the start, if you prefer not to use the Meebo service, click the down arrow at the far right of the toolbar to hide the unit. If you change your mind, click that arrow and the toolbar will reappear.

In addition, below is a video interview I did with Meebo founder and CEO Seth Sternberg about the toolbar addition, as well as his company’s new XAuth announcement.

XAuth is an open authentication effort, which includes Meebo and partners Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO), Microsoft (MSFT), MySpace, JanRain, Disqus and Gigya. As described on its Web site:

XAuth is an open platform for extending authenticated user services across the web.

Participating services generate a browser token for each of their users. Publishers can then recognize when site visitors are logged in to those online services and present them with meaningful, relevant options.

Users can choose to authenticate directly from the publisher site and use the service to share, interact with friends, or participate in the site’s community. The XAuth Token can be anything, so services have the flexibility to define whatever level of access they choose.

Here’s the video with Sternberg:

[ See post to watch video ]

Comments? Ideas? Write us at feedback@allthingsd.com.

Apple to Adobe: I Know You Are, but What Am I?

John Paczkowski — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:31:10 +0000

Adobe’s caustic blog post announcing the company’s decision to scrap efforts to bring Flash to the iPhone and iPad evidently irked Apple (AAPL) enough to elicit a rare public comment from the company.

Spokeswoman Trudy Miller dismissed Adobe’s (ADBE) claim that Apple wants “to tie developers down to their platform, and restrict their options to make it difficult for developers to target other platforms.”

“Someone has it backwards,” Miller said in a statement given to News.com. “It is HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and H.264 (all supported by the iPhone and iPad) that are open and standard, while Adobe’s Flash is closed and proprietary.”

Apple rubber, Adobe glue…

Twitter's Developer Conference Starts Early, With a Group Therapy Session

Peter Kafka — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:32:50 +0000

Twitter was supposed to be assembling its far-flung network of developers in San Francisco this week for a pep rally and a peek at the company’s future.

Instead, it is trying to prevent a mass freak-out, brought on by Twitter’s apparent change in strategy last week: Rather than depending on outside developers to build out the service, it will compete with them, at least in some cases.

Twitter’s shift has worried enough of the messaging service’s top third-party developers that they’ve hastily scheduled their own summit for Tuesday. That’s a day before Twitter’s official “Chirp” conference kicks off.

The loosely organized gathering, assembled over the weekend via email, doesn’t have an official agenda. And Laura Fitton, the de facto ringleader, takes pains to describe it as something akin to a group therapy session (that’s my description, not hers).

“Nobody’s angry or irrational,” says Fitton, the founder of Twitter app directory oneforty. “People are just looking to gut-check each other, and see, if this worries you, what is it that worries you? And if it does worry you, what do you want to do about it?”

But other developers I’ve talked to who are planning to attend the pre-Chirp gathering are more explicit: They’re definitely worried.

“It’s a total mess. People just feel that the trust was broken,” says a developer who wants to remain anonymous.

“It’s very clear. The playing field is not going to be level,” says another, who also wants to keep his name out of print.

Twitter’s moves have even prompted some developers to sketch out a scenario in which they leverage their combined user bases to create a sort of alternative Twitter, based on an open platform. That one seems like an awfully long stretch, because it depends on convincing Twitter users–not just developers and their investors–that there’s a compelling reason to move.

A more likely scenario is that agitated Twitter developers take long looks at the advantages of working with other “real-time” platforms–Facebook, Google’s (GOOG) Buzz, etc.–while continuing to work with Twitter. That won’t help them with their core problem–they’re always going to be dependent on someone’s platform. But, in a best-case scenario, it gives them more options.

In the meantime, Twitter doesn’t have to wait till Wednesday to soothe frayed nerves. Ryan Sarver, who oversees Twitter’s platform team, plans on visiting the pre-Chirp gathering. And Fitton says the group will be happy to hear from him–once they’re done venting in private.

Tweet the People: Twitter VC Wilson and Federal CTO Chopra Talk Policy in D.C.

Kara Swisher — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:15:40 +0000

Ms. BoomTown went to Washington, D.C., this week to moderate a panel on the future of the digital arena for an event marking the 25th anniversary of the first .com domain.

Surprisingly, the panelists–Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson, Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington and VeriSign (VRSN) CTO Ken Silva–did not talk about geo-location jet packs and augmented reality for everyone.

Instead, due to their proximity to pols and government bureaucrats, they went wonkish, talking a lot about open government, data-retention regulations and, in Wilson’s case, pondering the “privacy heist” of consumer information by Silicon Valley social networking hotshot Facebook.

Now, to be fair, Wilson is a big and early investor in rival Twitter, so he might have his bias.

But the conversation was a refreshing change from pointless discussions on location wars between Foursquare and Gowalla and reporting-free speculation about whether MySpace is or is not for sale or will spin off or not.

In fact, it was almost erudite, except for the part about how the Federal Communications Commission gave me a giant paper-filled binder of the National Broadband Plan (more on that classic D.C. tree-killing move later!).

So that you too can get all federal, here’s a video I did with Wilson and Chopra, in which they talk tech policy:

[ See post to watch video ]

Yahoo Is Trying to Connect to the Social Boom Without Stepping in It Like Google Buzz

Kara Swisher — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:00:50 +0000

Is there more than one way to skin a social graph?

Yesterday, Yahoo (YHOO) took another step in its efforts to play fast catch-up in the social networking arena, by dramatically expanding its relationship with Twitter and integrating the microblogging service broadly throughout its Web site.

In much the same way it did recently with Facebook, Yahoo’s move is part of a massive integration of more innovative and popular third-party social networking sites across the giant Internet portal, which is code-named internally “Project Rushmore.”

Some think outsourcing the job to more capable companies is yet another monument to Yahoo’s failure at its own much touted plans to socialize itself.

And while this is true to a large extent, BoomTown is not so sure it’s a bad idea, especially compared with the flailing experienced by Google (GOOG) recently from its own attempts to compete with Facebook and Twitter via the rollout of Google Buzz.

That has certainly turned out to be a confusing mishmash so far and most definitely a privacy quagmire for the search giant, which–let’s be honest–might not be able to grok social even if it got poked in the head relentlessly.

And while Google execs have loudly claimed that they are not aiming at the social networking’s twin phenoms, the air of aggressive desperation–or maybe desperate aggression–is palpable.

That’s why what the Silicon Valley icon is doing might be the best solution for it at this point–if you can’t innovate, aggregate!

“We want to integrate across all social networks to give consumers a better experience,” said Cody Simms, senior director of product management for Yahoo’s open strategy, in an interview yesterday. “Yahoo then becomes a network of social networks, making it easier for users.”

And that effort to make Yahoo the one place to gather it all is just what it seems to be trying to do. In December, Yahoo announced it would integrate Facebook Connect with its many properties–from its powerful media sites to its Flickr photo service to its email.

That has now been followed by the weaving of Twitter’s real-time feed throughout the service in a variety of ways. Under terms of the deal, users can access the data stream of tweets while on Yahoo, make status updates and share Yahoo content.

In addition, Yahoo said that search and media properties “like News, Finance, Entertainment, and Sports will include real-time public Twitter updates across a variety of topics.”

Yahoo sources said the company would be striking similar deals with other social networking sites, and MySpace and LinkedIn are likely candidates for the next two spots on Yahoo’s social monument.

This kind of search and presentation improvement is key, of course, as Yahoo must present a more innovative palette of tools to consumers as Microsoft (MSFT) takes over its search technology and others offer users an increasing number of features.

Without naming Google Buzz, Jim Stoneham, Yahoo’s VP of Communities, said he thinks it is the best course at this point in the game, in which Facebook and Twitter have run far ahead with the social ball and do not show any signs of slowing down quite yet.

“I don’t think yet another social network, no matter how you try to force it on consumers, is what people want,” said Stoneham, in a not-so-veiled slap at Google Buzz. “So, Yahoo will obviously not be doing another social network.”

That’s the best news I have heard in a long time from Yahoo. Now, let’s see if it can turn not making something into, well, something.

Google VP of Engineering Andy Rubin: We're Building a Nexus One for Enterprise

John Paczkowski — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:06:26 +0000

Once an Apple (AAPL) engineer, Andy Rubin went on to co-found mobile computing outfits Danger Inc. and Android, Inc. He sold the former to Microsoft (MSFT) and the latter to Google (GOOG), where he is now now vice president of engineering. He’s also the guy quarterbacking development of the company’s Android mobile operating system and the Nexus One–the smartphone with which Google hopes to fundamentally change the way people buy cellphones.

In conversation with All Things Digital‘s Walt Mossberg today, Rubin talked about the mobile space, Google’s plan for an enterprise version of the Nexus One and its vision for the way phones should be bought and sold.

[ See post to watch video ]

Video clip: Highlights from Andy Rubin’s interview.

Walt starts off by asking Rubin about just how involved Google was in the development of Nexus One.

Rubin replies, “We threw out crazy ideas to our partners at HTC and they were pretty good about plucking the good ones out of the air and building them into the device.”

Walt asks about the new business model Google’s launched in concert with Nexus One. Was this something the company planned all along?

“This is the next phase of Android–taking the newest versions of the product, placing them online and allowing consumers to purchase them directly,” says Rubin. “What we’ve learned is that there are more efficient ways of connecting consumers with the phones they’d like to purchase…easier ways.” Purchasing a Nexus One through Google, says Rubin, is a casual process. “No one’s breathing down your neck,” he says. “No one’s trying to upsell you. … The experiment here is to allow consumers to experience the phone with no pressure, no upsell, they get into a product that best suits their needs.”

Walt: “You have T-Mobile as a launch partner, and the Nexus One is soon going to be available at Verizon and Vodafone. But you convinced T-Mobile to offer a specific plan for this device. T-mobile people told me that. You wanted a specific monthly price.” Why would you get involved in that if you’re separating the phone from service?”

“We’re trying to give consumers the best experience of our services,” Rubin replies. We wanted to provide something simple. People get confused with the current process … I get confused. We wanted a simple way to do it. Like the Google homepage … Simplicity is a big part of this.”

Interesting. Rubin mentions that Google is working on an enterprise version of Nexus One. What would a enterprise version of Nexus One look like? Would it support exchange? It might, says Rubin. “An enterprise version might also have a physical keyboard … it might be a world phone…” But then it’s a different device,” Walt suggests. Rubin: “Yes, it would be a different SKU.”

[ See post to watch video ]

Video clip: Andy Rubin talks Exchange support and future Nexus One devices.

Nexus One is aimed at consumers who love their Google services and live in the “Google world,” Walt notes. Yet, Google is encouraging developers to build new apps for Android and Nexus One. How do you reconcile that? Isn’t there something contradictory to saying “we’re an app platform, we’re open,” and then turning around and saying “we’re really a platform for people who love Google?”

Rubin obviously doesn’t think so. He stresses that an OS can’t be successful unless people are developing for it. “It reminds me of the accessory business,” he says. “The most successful phones have the most earbuds, car chargers, etc.”

Walt wonders if Rubin is at all surprised by the size of the apps revolution, by the fact that there are 100,000-plus apps in the iTunes Apps Store.

“I’m not surprised by it at all. This is what happens when you drop the barriers to entry,” he says, recalling how difficult it once was for developers to distribute their apps and how easy it is today.

This new purchasing model Google has created for the Nexus One puts the company at the center of the experience. People who purchase the Nexus One think of themselves as Google customers. Rubin says, “What we’ve done here is to offer a mobile platform where people don’t have to worry about the plumbing.”

Walt notes reports today about people unhappy the customer service Google is providing for the Nexus One; there is only e-mail customer service, and no phone support. “People are being told they’ll have to wait two days for service,” says Walt. “How is this a good experience for consumers.” Rubin concedes that there is no phone support and that there is sometimes a 3-day delay in response time. “We have to get better at customer service,” he says. “We have to close that three day gap to a couple of hours.”

[ See post to watch video ]

Video clip: Andy Rubin comments on the Nexus One customer service issues.

“So how important to the future is this app ecosystem,” Walt asks. “The app thing is a reflection of how many phones you’ve sold,” Rubin replies. That’s what developers invest in. There was a time when Android had as many apps as Palm has now.” “So on what date will you have 125,000 apps,” Walt asks, referring to Apple’s App Store. Rubin: “Well I’m sure someone could map that out with the right algorithm.”

Moving on to the issue now of 3G network performance, which is been a very real issue at CES, especially for AT&T. Rubin says Moore’s Law applies to bandwidth — 4G is on its way, and after that 5G. Walt suggests that the addition of new phones like the Nexus One and the host of other superphones going to exacerbate the problem. Rubin says that doesn’t have to happen; if carriers were more on point and did what was necessary to maintain and upgrade their networks dropped calls etc. would not be as much of an issue as they are for some carriers today.

In his interview with Kara Swisher earlier, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein–a former Apple engineer–said, “I don’t have an iPhone. I’ve never even used one.” In contrast, for those who may be wondering, Rubin says he does use an iPhone. “What do you expect? I’m a gadget guy.”

Yahoo's "Project Rushmore" Begins With Massive Facebook Connect Deployment Across Internet Giant

Kara Swisher — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:30:25 +0000

A few weeks ago, several sources at Yahoo begin telling BoomTown about a mysterious “Project Rushmore,” which was described as a massive integration of major social networking sites across the giant Internet portal.

Now, the first unveiling of Project Rushmore comes with this morning’s announcement that Yahoo (YHOO) will be integrating Facebook Connect with its many properties–from its powerful media sites to its Flickr photo service to its email.

Once deployed–in the first half of next year, said Yahoo–Yahoo users can monitor their full Facebook feed on the site and Facebook users will have their Yahoo activity displayed on their news feed, if they choose to.

The companies said no money will be exchanged in the five-year deal; nor will there be any other financial or advertising element.

This is a major step for Yahoo, which has long touted its openness, and a significant upgrade to the company’s relationship with Facebook.

It’s also more than ironic, as Yahoo had been very close to acquiring Facebook for just over $1 billion several years ago, in a should-have deal that went south.

Currently, Facebook users can update their status and access their stream via an app on the Yahoo homepage. They can also share to Facebook using buttons on Yahoo, and Facebook can access contacts on Yahoo.

But the relationship between the pair–which have some of the largest audiences on the Web between them–has been relatively thin until now.

This has been a glaring problem for Yahoo, which has also promised a lot of socialization throughout the service, but has not really provided it for users. The company hopes this tight link with the fast-growing Facebook will send users back to Yahoo.

Facebook–via Facebook Connect, which allows users to log on to participating sites with their identity on the service–is perhaps the bigger winner here.

The huge amount of data from the activities from one of the most trafficked sites on the Web–with upward of 500 million users–will further solidify its growing role as a central hub of a user’s Web life.

Another irony: This was the role Yahoo held for many years and has been losing to, yes, Facebook.

Yahoo is still aiming to be the central hub for a lot of people too, said Jim Stoneham, Yahoo’s VP of Communities, who noted that slightly more than half of Yahoo users also have Facebook accounts.

“That’s highly relevant that a lot of people use both,” said Stoneham. “So, there should be a strong bond across both sites.”

Added Stoneham: “This will be a done on a deep level into Yahoo.”

Stoneheam declined to comment on whether and when the service would be striking similar deals with other networking sites.

But sources told me that Twitter and LinkedIn are likely candidates, as well as MySpace.

That would, of course, account for the four presidential stone faces on Mount Rushmore–George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.

Other big Internet companies are getting into the social act. Separately, both Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG) recently struck a data-mining deal with Twitter and Microsoft also did so with Facebook.

So, such an overall move by Yahoo is an important and necessary one–and also very late in coming–since it completely missed the social networking train and needs to figure out how to be part of it in a way that is useful to users and open.

“This relationship pushes us really far forward [toward openness],” said Cody Simms, senior director of product management for Yahoo’s open strategy. “And it helps our users be more social, which they want to be wherever they are.”

And presumably, Yahoo hopes these moves will keep users on Yahoo a little longer while doing that.

Here is the full blog post from Yahoo’s Yodel Anecdotal by Stoneham:

Update once to share with many on Yahoo! and Facebook

Posted December 2nd, 2009 at 6:29 am by Lucas Mast, Blog Editor

We have good news to share with everyone who uses Yahoo! and Facebook–in the first half of 2010 we will open the door between two of the Internet’s largest online communities. You will be able to see your Facebook friends’ activities on Yahoo! and share Yahoo! content–ratings, photos, article comments, and more–directly on your Facebook stream. We’re doing this by deeply integrating a service called Facebook Connect across Yahoo! properties worldwide, which we announced today.

As the place where over 500 million people visit every month, Yahoo!’s goal is to bring together social experiences from across the web, and provide one place for people to access information and stay in touch with the people they care about most.

Yahoo!’s integration of Facebook Connect will provide you with richer experiences across the Yahoo! products you use every day, such as Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Answers and Yahoo! Sports. In the future, you’ll be able to choose where you want to update your status message–from destinations across Yahoo!–or directly on Facebook.

We are doing this as part of our commitment to deliver more personally relevant Internet experiences, so watch for more details in the New Year!

Jim Stoneham, VP of Communities for Yahoo!

And, if you are a glutton for punishment, here’s the full press release from Yahoo:

Yahoo! Extends Facebook Integration to Bring Together Social Experiences From Across the Web

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 2, 2009–Continuing its commitment to be the center of people’s online lives, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) today announced further integration with Facebook that unites social experiences from across the Web to provide a place for consumers to enjoy meaningful content and stay in touch with the people they care about most.

“With this integration, we are opening the door for two of the Internet’s largest online communities to make it easier for people to stay connected,” said Jim Stoneham, vice president of Communities for Yahoo!. “It also enables us to further the Yahoo! Open Strategy, which is aimed at making experiences dramatically more open, social and personally relevant for the more than 500 million people that visit Yahoo! each month.”

Yahoo!’s Facebook Connect integration will give consumers richer experiences on Yahoo!, including in Yahoo! Mail and on properties like Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, and Yahoo! Finance. It will enable them to connect with Facebook friends on Yahoo!, view a feed of their friends’ related activity on Yahoo!, and share content–such as photos from Flickr or comments on news stories–with all of their friends on Facebook. The content that consumers share with Facebook friends will then create a loop that drives visitors back to Yahoo!.

This partnership extends the current Facebook integration on Yahoo! which enables Facebook users to access their stream and update their status from the Yahoo! homepage, provides “Share on Facebook” options across the Yahoo! network, and allows Facebook to access Yahoo! Contacts. People using both Yahoo! and Facebook will soon be able to share updates across both networks, creating a richer and more relevant social experience by connecting the broad range of Yahoo! content and services with their friends on Facebook.

“As one of the largest sites on the Web, Yahoo! is an ideal partner to integrate with Facebook Connect, enabling users to share meaningful content with their friends on Facebook from Yahoo’s wide range of category-leading properties,” said Ethan Beard, director of Facebook Developer Network.

The integration is expected to begin in the first half of 2010.

[Photo credit: Dean Franklin under the Creative Commons attribution license.

Dozen-Year Yahoo Tech Veteran Ash Patel to Take "Time Off"

Kara Swisher — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:59:17 +0000

Longtime Yahoo tech leader Ash Patel is taking some time off until early 2010.

Yahoo (YHOO) confirmed the break to BoomTown.

In recent days, many inside the company had mistakenly thought the 44-year-old EVP for Product Architecture & Strategy was departing the company for good.

Actually, it’s more of a sabbatical for Patel (pictured here). But it could turn out Patel will not come back from it at all.

For now, Yahoo is saying he will.

“Ash will be taking some well-deserved time off to spend time with his family,” said Yahoo in a statement to me. “He will be returning to Yahoo! in early 2010.”

In his latest of many jobs at Yahoo, where he has been employed since 1996, Patel works with its products organization, run by CTO and EVP of Products Ari Balogh, “to drive the development of a comprehensive product strategy, as well as potential strategic deals, helping to evolve and evaluate its audience product and technology strategy.”

It’s one of many leadership positions Patel has had at Yahoo, as the company has reorganized many times over the years, including as EVP of its Audience Products Division, EVP of Platforms and Infrastructure, SVP of Platform Engineering and chief product officer.

He also played a key role as architect of several major Yahoo products, such as MyYahoo!, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Chat and many others.

In fact, Patel ended up in a major exec role in a reorg that former Yahoo CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang did in the summer of 2008.

But the appointment of Patel to head the new Global Products group was greeted with some internal dissent, since many were pushing for faster change and new management at the Silicon Valley icon.

Yang was said to have insisted that Patel remain on as planned. He reported directly to President Sue Decker.

Patel stayed on after new CEO Carol Bartz got the top job in January, which was the subject of much interest among longtime Yahoo staff, since he has been one of the few true Yahoo veterans left in a high-ranking role.

In another reorg in late February, this time by Bartz, Patel got his latest title and was placed under Balogh.

Here is a video interview I did with Patel last December about the launch of some open and social networking initiatives at Yahoo (SVP Tapan Bhat, who had once reported to Patel, is also in the video):

Lawmakers Ask FCC to Probe Google Voice

John Paczkowski — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:59:54 +0000

Should Google be able to offer voice services unfettered by regulations that apply to broadband carriers simply because Google Voice is a free Internet application? AT&T certainly doesn’t think so, and it seems at least a few Congressional representatives agree.

Yesterday, A group of House members from rural districts called on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Google’s practice of blocking calls to numbers that use rural exchanges to charge inflated prices–something regulation prevents traditional telecom carriers from doing.

In their letter to the FCC, the lawmakers–among them Reps. Steve Buyer (R., Ind.), Charlie Melancon (D., La.), Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) and John Barrow (D., Ga.)–claim that rural consumers will be harmed if Google is allowed to “evade compliance with important principles of access and competition.”

“We understand Google has asserted Google Voice is not a ‘traditional’ telephone service–despite its use of 10-digit telephone numbers and its ability to connect calls between telephones through a local exchange carrier,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “Instead, Google maintains it ought to be allowed to block calls to rural telephone exchanges–a position we find ill conceived and unfair to our rural constituents.”

This, of course, is pretty much what AT&T (T) said in September when it slagged Google (GOOG) as “one of the most noisome trumpeters of so-called net-neutrality” and asked the FCC to order it to “play by the same rules as its competitors.” Google, however, insists those rules don’t apply in its case.

“The FCC’s open Internet principles apply only to the behavior of broadband carriers–not the creators of Web-based software applications,” Google telecom counsel Richard Whitt wrote in response to AT&T’s complaint. “Even though the FCC does not have jurisdiction over how software applications function, AT&T apparently wants to use the regulatory process to undermine Web-based competition and innovation.”

Eolas Sues Internet

John Paczkowski — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:29:45 +0000

Three years after squeezing a settlement out of Microsoft for alleged infringements of its controversial patent on embedded Web applications, Eolas Technologies hopes to do the same to a bunch of other big tech outfits.

This morning, the research and development company filed suit against nearly two dozen companies, accusing them of violating two of its patents–U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906, the same one Microsoft allegedly ran afoul of, and No. 7,599,985, an extension of the 906 patent that covers embedded apps using AJAX. Among the companies named in the suit: Adobe (ADBE), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG)–including YouTube–Sun (JAVA) and Yahoo (YHOO).

“All we want is what’s fair,” Eolas Chairman Dr. Michael Doyle said in a statement. “We developed these technologies over 15 years ago and demonstrated them widely, years before the marketplace had heard of interactive applications embedded in Web pages tapping into powerful remote resources. Profiting from someone else’s innovation without payment is fundamentally unfair.”

Sadly, “what’s fair” in this case threatens the very fabric of the Web, as Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist credited with inventing the World Wide Web argued back in 2003 when Eolas was pursuing Microsoft (MSFT). “The ’906 patent will cause cascades of incompatibility to ripple through the Web,” Berners-Lee said in an appeal to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “[It] is a substantial setback for global interoperability and the success of the open Web.”

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Yahoo's "Project Rushmore" Begins With Massive Facebook Connect Deployment Across Internet Giant

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