Conduit president Adam Boyden said in an interview that small publishers and even plenty of larger ones are having trouble keeping pace as the number of mobile platforms grows.

“it gets really complex really quickly,” Boyden said, noting that publishers need not only to develop their apps, but also keep them fresh and updated, and find ways to promote them. Given how similar that is to the Web app business–and the growing power of HTML5 and Web apps in general–Boyden said he sees a huge opportunity in mobile. Conduit’s apps, Boyden said, will meet the standards to be included in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market.

Less clear, though, is how the company will make money. It plans to make development of the Web apps free, but will look to find ways to generate revenue as apps are successful.

“We are going to examine and experiment with lots of different models,” Boyden said. “We will work out a model where we can get remunerated in a way that makes sense for everyone.”

Currently, Conduit makes its money through its eponymous Web app site and as a big maker of custom toolbars. The company made some headlines last year when it switched from Google to Bing. About half of Conduit’s revenue comes from toolbars, with the other half coming from the Web app part of the business. The 200-person company is profitable, Boyden said.

Although the company has a lot of big-name publishers on the Web side, including companies like Univision and Major League Baseball, it is starting with a more modest list on the mobile side. Soccer team Liverpool and game makers Bigpoint and Exent are among its early mobile customers.

The company will be in Barcelona next week (as will Mobilized) for the big Mobile World Congress trade show, where it hopes to formally kick off the mobile push.

The event, at the Marriott Copley Place downtown, is just getting under way. I won’t bore you with every detail, but will post whenever things get interesting.

In the meantime, enjoy this take on Angry Birds for the BlackBerry.

Update, 10:17 am ET: The intro is still going on. RIM Vice President Alec Taylor is talking about the Cuban Missile Crisis for some reason. However, RIM was nice enough to pass out slides for the whole day. Here are some of the highlights:

BlackBerry Mobile Voice System
Launching in early 2011, this is an update to RIM’s effort to unify the desk and mobile phone, offering a single identity, voiceover Wi-Fi calling, a single voicemail box, dialing office extensions and more. RIM says the new version will support more types of business phone systems.

Other features coming later this year include automatic hand-off from Wi-Fi to mobile networks, a “move call from desk” feature and more.

BlackBerry Balance
A new effort to support mixing personal and corporate data on the BlackBerry. RIM is adding features such as the ability for IT to choose to wipe only corporate information from a device or to limit users from cutting work data and pasting it into a personal application or email. Other features include warnings when sending emails or calendar invites outside of the organization, the ability to encrypt media cards and options for preventing access to work data by third-party applications.

BlackBerry client for Microsoft SharePoint
Launching in early 2011, this will bring data from Microsoft’s portal software directly to BlackBerry handhelds. It will work with both the 2007 and 2010 versions of SharePoint and integrates into a number of BlackBerry programs, including E-mail, calendar, Documents To Go and the browser.

PlayBook
As for the forthcoming tablet, RIM says it will ship with 1GB of memory, have 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of flash memory, include a 3-megapixel front-facing and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and have micro USB and Micro HDMI ports. (I can’t remember if they have said all of that before.) The slides say only that it will ship this quarter and will be “competitively priced,” reiterating past company positioning.

According to the slides, the company also plans to talk about cloud-based device management and changes to allow one BlackBerry server to support multiple corporations.

10:35 am ET: The Cuban Missile Crisis is apparently over, and VP Pete Devenyi is now outlining the company’s business product road map and making the pitch for its strategy.

“We really do have a great story,” he says, noting that the enterprise is different from the “arms race” of the consumer market.

“It’s not just about the number of apps in App world,” he says, noting that businesses can and are building programs just for use within the corporation. Some businesses, he says, have hundreds of internal apps, none of which show up in the public storefront. BlackBerry, he says, also allows businesses better control than rivals over what programs are on a worker’s device. For example, Devenyi says, when workers change groups within a company, the programs they have access to can be updated automatically with programs deleted and added from their devices.

“That kind of power is power that no one else has,” he says. “We don’t read about that much.”

10:43 am: In addition to both the paid BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the slimmed-down free “Express” version of the server, RIM plans to launch an email system aimed directly at small-to-midsize businesses–MDaemon Messaging Server, BlackBerry Edition. The idea is to give smaller businesses a full email server that has full BlackBerry support. The product stems from an acquisition RIM made a year or two ago and offers what RIM says are features similar to Microsoft’s Exchange Server but at a fraction of the price.

The company is also launching “very, very soon” a modest update to its flagship server product, BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0.3. It will add more support for employee-owned devices (including the BlackBerry Balance feature described earlier), support for encrypted attachments and certification for Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and the latest version, known as Lync 2010.

11:18 am: RIM is launching yet another server this year, known as the BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware (BEAM). BEAM, which companies would have to buy in addition to their BlackBerry email server, aims to streamline enterprise content for use on a BlackBerry. ‘What that results in is a much more efficient application than you would otherwise have,” Devenyi says. It’s in beta now, he adds.

11:25 am: BlackBerry is launching its equivalent of Find My Phone, known as BlackBerry Protect, which will allow individuals to remotely wipe or post a message if a device is lost. Protect will launch later this year, Devenyi says.

Finally, the company is talking about a number of changes it is making to the core BlackBerry Enterprise Server so that it can run via the cloud. Launching later this year, RIM will have the ability for its server product to be remotely hosted and support more than one business. It’s not clear yet if this will be RIM offering BlackBerry as a cloud-based service or if this is a product for hosting partners, though it sounds more like the latter.

11:32 am: Devenyi told Mobilized that the company is just showing the architectural changes it is making, not saying how it will bring the cloud-based capabilities to market. “We’re still working through a number of those details ourselves.” Devenyi said. “It could be both, but we are not announcing.”

11:42 am: On to the PlayBook finally. Senior Product manager Ryan Bidan gives the spiel. He says there is a lot that the company isn’t ready to share. Addressing concerns around battery life, Bidan notes the PlayBook has a 5300-miliamp battery, but doesn’t give specifics on how much battery life that will translate to.

“We’ll have good battery life,” he says. “Don’t worry about the battery life.”

Other details:
Software updates will be pushed down to the device on an ongoing basis. There will be a version of App World on the device for downloading developer-created programs.

And with that, the formal part of the event is over.

I am considering buying an iPad, but am wondering if I should wait for the second edition which is rumored to be coming soon. What do you advise?

A:

I regard the current, original iPad as an excellent product, and can’t say you’d go wrong with it. But while Apple is famously secretive, I’d be surprised if there isn’t a new model announced in the next few months that will have added or improved features. There’s wide speculation, for instance, it will gain a camera or two. The company has a long history of improving its products, and, in the case of the iPad, must keep making it better to deal with a host of coming tablet rivals. So, if you can wait a few months, I’d do so.

Q:

I see that many of the newer wireless routers with attractive features do not support printer sharing. Does that mean you cannot connect a printer via Ethernet cable to the router and be able to access that printer through the wireless network? Why do so many of the newer routers not support printer sharing?

A:

In the context you seem to be using it, the term “printer sharing” referred to plugging in an otherwise non-networkable printer via USB to a router, which would then make the printer usable over the network. I presume that this feature has declined in popularity as more home printers now have wired or wireless networking built in, and the latest Windows and Mac operating systems make it much easier to share even a printer without its own network features through the computer’s connection to the network. If the printer has wired networking built in, you should be able to plug it into one of the Ethernet jacks on most wireless routers and make it usable on your wireless network.

Q:

I have an almost two-year-old MacBook Pro. The hard drive is nearly full, and I wondered if you knew of any tricks to free up some space. I’m particularly interested in cost-effective fixes.

A:

One useful free utility for freeing up space on a Mac is called Monolingual, and is available at http://bit.ly/dqTCSC. This little utility allows you to remove all the obscure files on a Mac that allow the computer to operate in languages you can’t read or don’t use. For instance, if you only speak and read English, you can erase the files that enable the computer to run in, say, Albanian and Portuguese. Its maker says this can free up hundreds of megabytes of space. I have tried it and it works. Of course, whether you have a Windows PC or a Mac, you can free up space in many other ways, such as by deleting files and programs you don’t use, archiving or deleting old email, and removing temporary browser files.

Email mossberg@wsj.com.

Confused by all those options? There’s also a basic RunKeeper app that has enough tracking and reporting features for many users and has always been free. I wrote recently about its social features.

Apple recently said RunKeeper Pro was one of its top-grossing apps of 2010. FitnessKeeper, a small Boston-based start-up that just raised $1.1 million in funding, wouldn’t disclose revenue or download numbers, but said it has been cash-flow positive every month since it was founded two-and-a-half years ago.

The company announced this week it would take down one part of its pay barrier from now through the end of January, giving away RunKeeper Pro for free during New Year’s resolution season.

Launched yesterday on iPhone, that promotion has already been highly successful, with 171,000 RunKeeper Pro downloads yesterday on the iPhone, more than 10 times as many as it gets in a normal day. The app is currently quickly climbing the Apple App Store charts, now at No. 5 in the free app category (it was No. 12 this morning). The promotion is also launching on Android this afternoon.

And as of this writing, it’s only New Year’s resolution time in about half the world.

I have had a little disagreement with my IT guy. He says that when taking my laptop out in public, I should never type anything with passwords or confidential information. He says that someone can pick up my information. I say that I can’t believe that everyone in public is totally exposed. There must be some way to protect yourself while on a public network. Who is right?

A:

There’s no single correct answer. It’s true that thieves in public places can and do steal passwords and other sensitive information transferred over public Wi-Fi hotspots. But it’s also true that methods like Virtual Private Networks can mitigate this problem, and that most public hotspots are, just by the odds, unlikely to harbor these thieves at any one time. However, my advice is to avoid doing any sensitive tasks, like banking or stock trading, while using public hotspots. And, if you’re doing anything confidential on your company or home network remotely, use a VPN, which is like a secure tunnel through the internet.

Q:

I recently purchased a new iMac and am considering installing anti-virus/spyware/malware programs on it. Reader forums in MacWorld magazine say it’s not needed. A local newspaper computer columnist says he’s had Macs since the early ’80s and has never run an AV program and has had no problems. Other online computer advisers say Macs are always vulnerable and advise to run AV programs. Any recommendations here?

A:

No computer is inherently invulnerable to malicious software, and that includes the Macintosh. However, nearly every malicious program known is meant to run on Windows and simply won’t operate on the Mac operating system. The handful of Mac viruses and other malware that have been discovered are either proofs of concept, or have spread to very few users and done little or no damage. Most Mac users I’ve known don’t run third-party security software and haven’t had malware problems. So I don’t routinely recommend Mac security software.

There are two caveats, however. If you are running Windows on your Mac, you should install Windows security software, to run while Windows is in use. Also, Mac users are just as vulnerable as Windows users are to online scams, or to insecure public networks. So, even though you may never get a virus, you still have to be careful about doing sensitive Internet tasks via public hotspots or careless behavior like clicking on links sent you by unknown email senders.

Q:

My car has an audio jack that integrates any input into the sound system. I know that Kindle has a text-to-speech feature. Would I be able to use that feature via the audio jack in the car?

A:

Without having tested your car’s input jack, I assume the answer is yes. The Kindle has a standard headphone jack.

However, note that the text-to-speech feature works only on certain books, not all of them. Publishers have the right to allow or disallow it for any book.

Also, even if it’s enabled, it isn’t the same as an audio book, which is usually read by a trained narrator or by the author. Instead, it’s a computer doing the reading.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox and my other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Called as a witness for Oracle, Catz reiterated an earlier point made by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, saying that had SAP licensed the materials that its TomorrowNow subsidiary ultimately pilfered, it would have cost “billions.” She also reminded SAP’s legal team that her email on SAP/TomorrowNow as a competitive threat was written without knowing about TomorrowNow’s copyright infringement.

Worse, she dismissed SAP’s offer of $40 million in damages as laughable. “SAP paying us damages of $40 million would be a reward for their bad behavior. “It’s like taking someone’s $2,000 watch and hocking it for $20, and then offering to give us $20. It’s crazy. It completely undervalues the entire basis for our industry.”

A powerful jab, and one that’s making the rounds in media reports on the trial today.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Oracle Enlists Process Servers, Not PIs, to Find HP CEO
• Oracle-SAP Trial: Ellison Swaps Katana for Poison Darts
• Objection: Mr. Ellison Is Referring to the Defendant as “Choleric of Temper” Again
• Oracle Lands Early Shots in SAP Trial
• Your Honor, We Object to Mr. Ellison’s Repeated Use of the Term “Slimy Weasels”
• Oracle to HP CEO: Chicken!
• Oracle Vs. SAP: We Got a Right to Pick a Little Fight–Bonanza!
• SAP’s Tab in Oracle Case: $120 Million and Counting
• Gag Order Denied in Oracle, SAP Trial
• Ellison Taunts HP CEO a Second Time
• SAP to Ellison: Save the Drama for Your Mama
• Ellison to HP CEO: “Warrior, Come Out to Plaaeeay!
• SAP: Please Gag Oracle
• HP Scandal Sucks in New York Times Columnist Over Conflict of Interest
• Welch to HP Board: You Don’t Know Jack!
• Insiders Criticize Ellison For HP CEO Slam
• Was Apotheker HP’s First Choice of CEO?
• HP Names Ex-SAP Chief Apotheker as CEO

Sources in a position to know tell me that the PIs rumored to be searching for Apotheker are actually PSs–process servers, agents charged with delivering subpoenas to their intended recipient. And, as federal law dictates, their search extends no farther than 100 miles from the location of the trial, because if Apotheker is outside that 100-mile radius, they can’t serve him. And Oracle can’t compel him to testify. Which means it’s not really worth the company’s time or effort to hire Dog the Bounty Hunter to track him down in some Schwarzwald hideout.

As Oracle attorney David Boies said during a press conference after Monday’s proceedings, “Because of his role, we think it’s important for the jury to be able to see him live. But evidently, the embarrassment of avoiding trial is less than the embarrassment of testifying. We are trying to serve him. Still.”

PREVIOUSLY:

• Oracle-SAP Trial: Ellison Swaps Katana for Poison Darts
• Objection: Mr. Ellison Is Referring to the Defendant as “Choleric of Temper” Again
• Oracle Lands Early Shots in SAP Trial
• Your Honor, We Object to Mr. Ellison’s Repeated Use of the Term “Slimy Weasels”
• Oracle to HP CEO: Chicken!
• Oracle Vs. SAP: We Got a Right to Pick a Little Fight–Bonanza!
• SAP’s Tab in Oracle Case: $120 Million and Counting
• Gag Order Denied in Oracle, SAP Trial
• Ellison Taunts HP CEO a Second Time
• SAP to Ellison: Save the Drama for Your Mama
• Ellison to HP CEO: “Warrior, Come Out to Plaaeeay!
• SAP: Please Gag Oracle
• HP Scandal Sucks in New York Times Columnist Over Conflict of Interest
• Welch to HP Board: You Don’t Know Jack!
• Insiders Criticize Ellison For HP CEO Slam
• Was Apotheker HP’s First Choice of CEO?
• HP Names Ex-SAP Chief Apotheker as CEO

On the stand in an Oakland, Calif., courtroom today, Ellison was such a picture of moderation and restraint that you almost wondered if his handlers had shot him up before his appearance–like sedating a dog for air travel. As one SAP rep told me, Ellison “was anti-climatic given his vituperative statements of the last weeks.”

Which is true. But his testimony was still quite damning–to my ears anyway. For one thing, he said that Oracle could have charged SAP $4 billion to license the programs that its TomorrowNow subsidiary wrongfully downloaded. For another, he said Oracle would have had trouble paying its employees if it allowed its rivals unfettered access to the software and support libraries at issue in this case.

“I’m not sure we would go out of business but pretty close to going out of business,” Ellison said during questioning by attorney David Boies. “If they could get that software for nothing, we’d have a hard time paying 100,000 employees.”

If that was the case, then why didn’t Oracle make a bigger stink over SAP’s acquisition of TomorrowNow when it was first announced? SAP’s legal team was quick to pick up on this and hammered Ellison, claiming there’s “not a shred of documented evidence” demonstrating Oracle’s concerns. But they didn’t get much of anywhere with that because it turned out there is some.

“When SAP announced the TomorrowNow acquisition,” Ellison said, “I made a public statement….I thought they might cheat around the edges in terms of our copyrights…and I publicly warned them that while they have every right to support our software, they have to respect our intellectual property–[they] can’t just redistribute it without paying for it.”

And, indeed, Ellison did do this during the company’s 2005 analyst day. “SAP has every right to provide support for PeopleSoft applications as long as they don’t violate our intellectual and contractual property rights,” he said. “It might make it awkward for them. That’s our intellectual property, and they should be cautious.”

Driving those remarks was Ellison’s fear at the time that with TomorrowNow, SAP might do Oracle real harm. “I thought this was a major program with a huge potential to do severe damage to Oracle,” Ellison said today, adding that his vision of how SAP planned to go about it wasn’t quite how things played out. “It was a brilliant idea to take our customers, but to execute it properly they had to go out and hire hundreds, if not thousands, of engineers to maintain PeopleSoft and JD Edwards and Siebel. That was going to be expensive. I certainly didn’t think they would simply take our intellectual property and then resell it to their own customers. I never thought that could happen.”

SAP’s attorney, Tharan Lanier, challenged Ellison on these points as well, suggesting Oracle is exaggerating when it claims that TomorrowNow’s infringement jeopardized as much as 20 to 30 percent of Oracle’s customers from its acquisition of PeopleSoft and 10 percent of those from the later acquisition of Siebel Systems. And in the end, Ellison conceded that only about 350 customers were lost as a result of TomorrowNow’s infringement. But he also managed to again suggest that potential losses were far, far greater.

“I think taking our intellectual property is a two-edged sword,” he said. “For [SAP] it means they have access to all our engineering output. They have regulatory updates at the same moment we have them. They have new versions of our software at the same time we have them. They have bug fixes at the same time we have them. So they should be able to provide the same quality of support that we’re providing except that they’re doing it at a very low cost, while Oracle bears the cost of all that engineering.”

The other side of that sword is running an irrational risk by taking our software. That’s a risk I certainly would never, ever undertake.”

PREVIOUSLY:

• Objection: Mr. Ellison Is Referring to the Defendant as “Choleric of Temper” Again
• Oracle Lands Early Shots in SAP Trial
• Your Honor, We Object to Mr. Ellison’s Repeated Use of the Term “Slimy Weasels”
• Oracle to HP CEO: Chicken!
• Oracle Vs. SAP: We Got a Right to Pick a Little Fight–Bonanza!
• SAP’s Tab in Oracle Case: $120 Million and Counting
• Gag Order Denied in Oracle, SAP Trial
• Ellison Taunts HP CEO a Second Time
• SAP to Ellison: Save the Drama for Your Mama
• Ellison to HP CEO: “Warrior, Come Out to Plaaeeay!
• SAP: Please Gag Oracle
• HP Scandal Sucks in New York Times Columnist Over Conflict of Interest
• Welch to HP Board: You Don’t Know Jack!
• Insiders Criticize Ellison For HP CEO Slam
• Was Apotheker HP’s First Choice of CEO?
• HP Names Ex-SAP Chief Apotheker as CEO

[Image credit: Pre-Ellison Samurai image by Artem Mirolevioch]

The five-year deal consolidates previous agency-by-agency agreements under one contract with the tech giant. The new agreement is expected to save New York $50 million over the next five years.

“We need better collaborative tools and we need better access to technology,” said Stephen Goldsmith, deputy mayor of operations. “Yes, it’s a way that we save $50 million, but more importantly it adds a substantial building block and transforms the way we work.”

No contract has been signed yet. The final financial details are being hashed out and will be wrapped up before the end of the year, city officials said.

The deal is a coup for Microsoft which has been battling with Google Inc. to win contracts with local, state and federal government agencies. Those customers have been trying to cut costs by moving from software installed on their own computers to web-based programs.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Intel (INTC) CEO Paul Otellini said that last week, hinting at the announcement Google (GOOG) made just moments ago: A new software platform for set-top boxes and televisions that promises to marry broadcast TV with the Internet. Its name: Google TV. Its tagline: “TV meets Web. Web Meets TV.”

Announced at this morning’s Google I/O event, Google TV’s purpose is, in the words of Senior Product Manager Rishi Chandra, “to bring the entire Web to the television set…to take the best of what TV offers these days and the best of what the Web offers and combine them.”

Anyone remember WebTV?

With Google TV, the aim is to rethink the navigation of TV and make it more like the Web. “The Web has a very simple and elegant model for finding information: A search box,” Chandra said. “We want to give you that same experience with television.”

To do that, Google (GOOG) has extended the breadth of its search to TV programming. The platform’s “quick search box” returns results from the Web, as well as TV listings. These include programs available for purchase on sites like Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX)–both partners in this effort, apparently.

Says Chandra: “To a user it doesn’t really matter where I get my favorite content, whether it be live TV, DVR or the Web. We just want easy access….Google TV makes the Web a natural extension of the TV itself….It’s just as easy to go to any site on the Web as it is to go to any channel on your television.”

And to Web-based advertising as well, of course. Remember there are some four billion TV users worldwide.

“Many times I see and interesting ad, but I can’t do anything with it,” says Chandra. “But advertisers have Web sites and with picture-in-picture functionality, I can now click on an ad and see them….Now every ad on TV has the potential to become interactive.”

And presumably, there’s potential here for Google to make a small profit from each of them.

So how will all of this work? Google TV’s software is built on Android 2.1 and uses Google Chrome as its browser. Because of this, Android smartphones can be used as remotes and Android applications can actually be used on televisions running the platform–something some observers have been encouraging Apple to do with AppleTV for years. Google’s Android Marketplace will be accessible via Google TV.

On the hardware side, there will be Google TV set-top boxes, TV sets, and Blu-ray players. Sony (SNE) is developing a full line of integrated TVs and a Blu-Ray player as well. Logitech (LOGI) is producing a set-top box. And Intel (INTC) is providing Atom chips for all of them. We should begin seeing Google TV devices at Best Buy (BBY) this fall.

“We’re coming to market soon and we’re coming in a big way,” says Chandra.”…Our goal is to have the same impact on the TV experience that the smartphone had on the phone experience.”

If Daring Fireball’s John Gruber is correct in parsing Apple’s new developer agreement, then Apple (AAPL) is preventing Adobe (ADBE) from using a tool that will port applications created in Flash to Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating systems.

Adobe has been pointing to that workaround as its answer to Apple’s anti-Flash campaign, arguing that developers could create programs that work on most of the Web as well as Apple’s platforms. Now it appears that Steve Jobs and company are forcing developers to choose: Our way or no way.

If true, it’s yet another blow to publisher Condé Nast’s efforts to build tablet magazines with Adobe’s help. Last year, the publisher seemed confident that its effort with Adobe would allow it to create a single digital format that worked on all kinds of iPad-style tablets. But by the end of February, it was rethinking that and began pulling back on plans to work with Adobe.

Caught in the crossfire: Condé’s Wired Magazine, which is supposed to be the first title produced by Adobe that works on the iPad. On the flip side, the other path that Condé has been pursuing–creating less ambitious versions of its titles directly for the iPad, like the GQ app it started selling last weekend–now looks very smart.

I’ve asked Apple and Condé Nast for comment. Here’s Adobe’s response, via spokesman Russell Brady: “Can’t say that much at the moment other than that we are aware of the new SDK language and are looking into it.  We continue to develop our Packager for iPhone OS technology, which we plan to debut in Flash CS5.”

The network is the only one of the four broadcasters offering much programming on Apple’s device at launch Saturday. As previously reported, the Disney (DIS) unit is offering about 20 of its shows, including “Lost” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” for free via a new app.

But that’s about it. Come Saturday, CBS (CBS) will only be streaming full episodes of “Survivor” at its iPad-friendly site. And News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox and GE’s (GE) NBC aren’t streaming any full-length shows at all. If you want to watch “CSI,” “The Simpsons” or “30 Rock” on your Web browser this weekend, you’ll need to use something other than an iPad.

CBS says it will offer more shows over time, but NBC and Fox aren’t even promising that. When the Hulu app arrives, those two networks’ shows will be available there, but under current plans, they’ll be available only to paying subscribers.

The holdouts’ logic is that the iPad is a mobile device. And while the networks are basically okay with streaming their stuff for free on the Web, they think that mobile is a different ballgame, and one they can charge for (though even that’s confusing — NBC does stream full-length shows for free to the iPhone, but won’t do the same for the iPad).

But if that’s the reasoning, why is ABC, which joined up with Hulu a year ago, putting up its stuff for free on the iPad? The fact that Apple (AAPL) boss Steve Jobs is Disney’s largest single shareholder can’t be the only reason.

ABC may be able to thread the needle here because it is only making its shows available via Wi-Fi streaming, not over AT&T’s (T) network. But that kind of “windowing” is going to seem awfully arbitrary to most casual users, and those are the ones both Apple and the networks are supposed to be targeting here. So something’s going to have to give. Stay tuned.

But TiVo is being squeezed. Cable and satellite companies now offer boxes with DVR capabilities. And other tech companies are rolling out competing set-top boxes to get Internet video to televisions.

TiVo (TIVO) is responding with a new model, the TiVo Premiere, that aims to seamlessly blend programming from conventional TV and the Internet. It is slimmer, has a slicker user interface and holds more recorded programming than earlier models—45 hours of high-definition programs, up from 20 hours in the prior model, the TiVo HD. A more expensive version of the Premiere, the XL, has the same new software and holds 150 hours of HD shows.

I have been testing the new Premiere, and it worked as advertised, with conventional cable programming and with the available Internet sources TiVo (TIVO) supports. But, in my tests, it showed some flaws and, in my view, it doesn’t go nearly far enough in tapping the Internet.

Like prior TiVos, I’d rate the Premiere as better than the standard cable-company-supplied boxes I’ve seen. But, if you already own a recent-model TiVo, I don’t believe the Premiere justifies an upgrade, unless you need the greater built-in storage.

The TiVo Premiere goes on sale Sunday at Best Buy (BBY) stores for $300, plus a monthly fee of $13, or an annual or lifetime payment plan ranging from $129 for a year of service to $399 for the life of the device. The Premiere XL costs $500, plus the same fees. Both will be available Monday at tivo.com.

TiVo calls the Premiere “the One Box,” because it better integrates regular TV and Internet content. However, it actually has no additional Internet services compared with recent TiVo models. It allows you to get movies, TV shows and videos from YouTube, Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX) and Blockbuster (BBI), which are available on competing set-top boxes. It also includes a number of online music and photo services.

The company says a couple of added Internet services will be available later this year. These include the Pandora streaming music service and a widget system displaying things like news, stock prices and Twitter updates. However, the widgets won’t allow you to interact with Twitter and won’t be viewable while you’re watching TV or Internet video.

The biggest changes in the new Premiere involve the user interface. The TiVo Central screens, where you find and manage recorded shows and other content, are now presented in high definition and wide screen. This allows more menus on a single screen. The screen containing your recorded shows is now called My Shows instead of Now Playing.

You also can now watch TV in a small window while you’re on the menu screens, and there is a 30-second skip button on the remote.

The new TiVo Premiere

Also, a new Browse function lets you look for programming without typing search terms, by scrolling through colorful icons that include “collections” of related content, such as Oscar or Emmy winners.

Both Search and Browse now integrate regular TV shows with Internet content. If you start typing letters into the search box, TiVo will respond not only with TV shows that match, but with movies and TV shows that you can download from Web sources. You can also easily find YouTube clips related to a favorite show.

A new Discovery Bar of icons appears across the top of the Tivo Central screens. It’s filled with icons of TV shows and available Web content TiVo thinks you might like.

But there are some big downsides to the Premiere. You can’t watch videos on popular sites like Hulu (owed in part by News Corp., which owns The Wall Street Journal and its Web sites), CBS.com, blogs or news Web sites. This may be partly due to media-company restrictions, not TiVo’s shortcomings, but it means the Premiere omits vast sources of Internet video.

The new HD interface was slower than the old standard one in my tests, with frequent delays, even in scrolling through a list of recorded shows. TiVo says this is a bug being fixed.

In addition, I found the Discovery Bar a distraction, cluttering the menu screens, with no way to turn it off unless you revert to the old interface (a buried option.) This is partly because TiVo hopes to sell ads on the bar.

Finally, the new HD interface isn’t available when watching live TV. You have to constantly bounce between the new and old software designs.

All in all, TiVo Premiere looks incomplete. It seems more like a platform for a future set of offerings TiVo hopes one day to have, rather than a way to deliver new content right now.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free of charge, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100324/new-tivo-mixes-tv-and-internet-but-falls-short/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100316/xobni-review/ http://allthingsd.com/20100316/xobni-review/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:08:08 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=1117 In the same way cellphone address books helped people stop memorizing phone numbers, the magic of auto-complete helped them stop memorizing email addresses. This feature, which is built into most email programs, lets users type as few as one or two letters before seeing and selecting from a list of addresses that may or may not be saved in the email program’s address book. Too bad auto-complete on your mobile device doesn’t work the same way.

On mobile devices, the suggested names in the “To” line only include those of contacts that are saved in a device’s digital address book. This leaves people stuck mid-thumb, trying to remember an email address, or worse, being forced to wait until they return to their desks to send a message.

This week, I tested an app that generates contact information for every person a user has ever communicated with in Microsoft Outlook—or if Outlook isn’t a factor, just with the device. I tested Xobni Mobile for BlackBerry, available as of March 16 at http://xobni.com/mobile. Xobni Mobile costs $10 as a stand-alone app from Xobni Corp. or $7 if it’s bought with Xobni One, the company’s new cloud-based storage service that costs $4 monthly. One year of Xobni Mobile with the Xobni One service costs $40.

I tested Xobni Mobile on my BlackBerry Curve 8900 and used the Xobni One service to connect with Outlook, which was running on my PC with Xobni’s desktop program installed. This app makes a big difference for people like me, who rarely sync their devices with their PCs, don’t primarily correspond with people in their corporate Exchange networks and don’t like taking the time to manually add names, email addresses and phone numbers into the Contacts section of the BlackBerry. This app also uses Xobni’s analytics feature to rank people, thus returning results sorted according to how much a user emails with someone.

More Meshing

Xobni Mobile could stand to do a better job of meshing with the BlackBerry’s operating system, especially considering that the company worked with Research in Motion (RIMM) to build a deeply integrated app. I’ll admit that it comes close—a finger swipe up on the email-compose screen opens the Xobni app. But as my high-school economics teacher always said, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The process required to open the app, type the contact’s name, select the name from within the Xobni app and return to the compose screen can feel too long and a bit clumsy.

Another downside is that the Xobni Mobile app doesn’t yet integrate with text messaging or dialing numbers, so rather than pull up a phone number from within the device’s texting or dialing interface, users must open the app and select a contact before calling or texting. A Xobni representative said the company is working with RIM on deeper integration.

Xobni (“inbox” spelled backwards) started a couple years ago with its namesake product, a downloadable add-on for Outlook that analyzed and indexed all emails and ran in a side panel within the email program. Since its introduction, Xobni for Outlook has added enhancements, including the built-in ability to display an email contact’s Twitter and Facebook profiles. And some of these spill over into the mobile app.

Souping Up a Device

The Xobni desktop program currently works only on PCs (not Macs) that have Outlook installed, and runs only on high-end BlackBerrys, including the Curve 8900, Tour, Storm, Bold and Bold 2. The Xobni Mobile app connected to Xobni for Outlook using Xobni One considerably soups up the experience, adding an average of 10-times more contacts than the BlackBerry alone. The top 6,000 contacts (according to the analysis of who you email the most) will be stored locally on the device, as well as each contact’s photo, which gets pulled in from Outlook, LinkedIn, Facebook or a Xobni account. Additional services connected to Xobni include Hoovers, Twitter and Salesforce.

People who don’t use Outlook and/or don’t want to pay for the Xobni One service can still use the app by itself with Web-based email programs running on the BlackBerry.

Finding Mom

I found myself using Xobni on my BlackBerry a lot, despite its extra steps and slightly cumbersome interface. For instance, it gave me three different emails for my mom, rather than the one outdated email of hers that I long ago manually stored in my BlackBerry Contacts and hadn’t updated since. I also liked Xobni’s way of pulling photos for many contacts onto my device.

I didn’t see a noticeable change in my BlackBerry’s battery life while using the Xobni app, though its battery will be taxed when it grabs large bunches of contacts and photos from the server. By default, this only happens when the BlackBerry is charging.

The Xobni One service demonstrates the company’s move into the increasingly crowded realm of backup software programs. When the BlackBerry is charging, this service updates the PC’s Outlook program with any changes on your BlackBerry and sends new contact data added to Outlook to the BlackBerry. If I lost my BlackBerry tomorrow or changed jobs next week, I’d still be able to retrieve several years’ worth of Outlook contacts and their profiles on a new BlackBerry using my Xobni One log-in credentials. (These same credentials, an email and password, are required when installing the app on the BlackBerry.)

Xobni hasn’t announced any definite plans for integration with other mobile devices, but a representative said that the company is considering making iPhone and Android apps.

If you use a PC, Microsoft Outlook and a BlackBerry, Xobni offers a smart solution for automatically organizing all of your contacts into one place and allows for your contacts to be stored somewhere other than just in Outlook or just on your mobile device. If it was a little easier to access on the BlackBerry, I’d like it even more.

Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100316/xobni-review/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100310/wiping-hard-drives/ http://allthingsd.com/20100310/wiping-hard-drives/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:04:16 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/?p=600 Q:

Some time ago you wrote in an article about software that erases files and then records over them, as the safest way to clean off a hard disk. Could you identify the software?

A:

If you are using a Windows PC, there are multiple programs, both free and paid, called “file wipers,” that can do this. One I have recommended is Window Washer from Webroot, which, among other things, does what the company calls “bleaching” of files so they can’t be easily recovered. If you’re using a Mac, a similar feature is built into the latest operating system versions. It’s called “Secure Empty Trash” and is found in the Finder, the Mac’s equivalent of Windows Explorer.

Q:

In your recent article about transferring Internet video to your TV, you ignored Apple TV. Why?

A:

Because the article was about methods for wirelessly streaming video from multiple Web sites via a PC to a TV, and that’s not what Apple TV primarily does. It mainly takes audio, video and photos that are already on your computers and plays or displays them on your TV. It only directly streams in real time from YouTube and Internet radio sites, plus content being downloaded from iTunes. Unlike the two products I covered, Apple TV doesn’t allow you to stream movies or TV programs from a variety of Web sites you choose, like Hulu or CBS.com (CBS).

Q:

If I get a magicJack, when I call another magicJack, can we engage the computer’s camera to converse?

A:

No, magicJack is an audio device, not a video one. It isn’t like Skype, which can do both.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online at walt.allthingsd.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100310/wiping-hard-drives/feed/ 2 http://allthingsd.com/20100127/mozilla-thunderbird-review/ http://allthingsd.com/20100127/mozilla-thunderbird-review/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:04:53 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/?p=1156 The good thing about open-source software is that it harnesses the talents of techies around the world. The bad thing about open-source software is that it’s too often geared toward such techies, not average folks. That’s why there haven’t been many widely popular open-source products for mass-market computer users. The shining exception is the Firefox Web browser, which is published by the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation.

Now, Mozilla is trying for another win, with a new, overhauled version of the companion email program for Firefox, called Thunderbird. Unlike Firefox, Thunderbird never really caught on, partly because it was too complicated. The foundation has spent two years streamlining, simplifying and automating the email program. The result is the newly released Thunderbird 3, which will compete with products such as Microsoft Outlook on Windows and Apple Mail on the Mac.

While many people these days are content to store and manage all their email using Web-based interfaces provided by Yahoo (YHOO), Google (GOOG) and others, plenty of folks still want to use local programs. These save the messages to their own hard disks, include oodles of customized features, and can be more easily used offline.

But the choices among such local email programs are dwindling. Outlook, which can be bloated and slow for consumers, has driven out many competitors on Windows, and the new Windows 7 doesn’t even come with a built-in email program. On the Mac, most people seem to use Apple’s (AAPL) very good built-in email program, Apple Mail, but it’s hard for third parties to customize.

So, can Thunderbird 3, which is free and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers, become the Firefox of email, the go-to choice for average users looking for an alternative to the big guys?

After testing the new edition for about a week, I believe that Thunderbird 3 is a significant improvement over earlier versions of the product. It is indeed a step forward, with some interesting new features and generally simpler operation. But, in my view, all the techie rough edges still haven’t been sanded off and it’s still clumsy in a few places.

First, the pluses. Mozilla has brought tabs, now standard in Web browsers, to Thunderbird. If you simply double click on an email in a list, it opens in its own tab. That way you can consult key emails when you need them without opening a welter of overlapping windows. If you do a search, the search results appear in their own tab.

The new Thunderbird also has a very cool filtered search system. It not only brings up all messages containing your search term, but shows a graphical timeline of the message traffic on that search term. In a left panel next to the list of search results, it lists all the people mentioned in the messages turned up by the search—even if you weren’t searching for them—and lets you further refine the results by just clicking on their names.

There is also a rapid way to add email addresses in a message header to your address book: You just click on a star icon next to the name. There also are multiple ways to view folders. With one click, you can choose to see a list of only unread folders, or favorite folders, or recent folders.

Another cool feature is an attachment reminder. If you are writing a message and you include words like “attachment,” “attached,” or “enclosed,” Thunderbird will pop up a yellow warning at the bottom of the screen reminding you to attach a file.

And, throughout the program, the designers have tried to simplify things, so you don’t have to be an engineer to use it. One example, which is a catch-up feature, is an account set-up wizard that spares you from knowing the names of servers.

But there are still too many issues for me. Thunderbird can’t be set to automatically show a CC or BCC line in a new email you’re composing. Every new address you add is set as a “To” address, and you must click on a drop-down menu to change it to CC or BCC—an extra step that becomes tedious quickly.

In addition, unlike in Outlook or Apple Mail, you can only have a single signature for each account. The program also doesn’t support Microsoft Exchange for corporate mail, unless IT administrators make changes at their servers.

And I found that the program’s preferences and settings, while improved, can still be too techie. For instance, to tell the program to display certain graphics in email, even though they can pose a security risk, you must choose an option called “mailnews.message_display.disable_remote_image.”

To be fair, because Thunderbird is an open-source program, it relies on third-party add-ons and extensions for some features, such as multiple signatures. But some of the add-ins I tried, like a built-in calendar that can synchronize with Google, took multiple complicated steps that would likely deter a mainstream user.

If you’re looking for a new email client, the new and improved Thunderbird is worth a try, but it’s not yet the Firefox of email.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100127/mozilla-thunderbird-review/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100127/touch-up-apples-ipad-improves-its-multi-touch-and-gesture-capabilities/ http://allthingsd.com/20100127/touch-up-apples-ipad-improves-its-multi-touch-and-gesture-capabilities/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:19:09 +0000 Beth Callaghan http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=33600 Apple’s iPad, announced this morning, will definitely make waves in the e-reader market. Undoubtedly, much of its appeal will lie in its color display and ease of use. Much like other OS X applications, the user interface looks intuitive and appealing–very book-like. As seen on the big overhead screens at the presentation in Yerba Buena Center this morning, pages look as if they are written on paper.

“We use the e-pub format, the most popular open-book format in the world,” said Steve Jobs. “We think iPad is going to be a very popular e-reader not just for bestsellers, but for textbooks as well.”

Technology developed for the iPad’s e-reader application has already benefited other Apple programs. A new version of iWork, for example, was developed specifically for the iPad. Keynote, Pages and Numbers have all been optimized for multitouch. Numbers, in particular, has been souped-up; it now boasts a data-entry keyboard along with some 250 built-in functions. The software’s gesture capabilities put Excel to shame.

Apple is going to charge $9.99 for each program, and all three are compatible with their Mac versions.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100127/touch-up-apples-ipad-improves-its-multi-touch-and-gesture-capabilities/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100119/connecting-with-your-inner-earpiece/ http://allthingsd.com/20100119/connecting-with-your-inner-earpiece/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:17:22 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=1023 Apps are hot. These are the small programs that can be installed on a digital gadget to get it to do more than what it did when you bought it. Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and iPod Touch are the best app platforms right now thanks to the company’s App Store, which offers an estimated 125,000 apps. Research in Motion (RIMM), Android, and Palm (PALM) devices also work with apps.

But why should smart phones have all the fun? Yahoo (YHOO) Connected TVs from Samsung, LG (LG), Sony (SNE), and Vizio allow people to load app-like “widgets”—including Facebook, Twitter, weather and stock quotes—onto their big-screen TVs. And GPS navigation devices take advantage of apps for information on fuel prices and traffic.

This week, I tested a Bluetooth earpiece that also can be made smarter with apps: Aliph’s $100 Jawbone Icon (http://us.jawbone.com). Like many other wireless earpieces, it connects to your Bluetooth-enabled phone so you can talk, hands-free. Unlike other Bluetooth earpieces, the Jawbone Icon can be plugged into a computer and loaded with different settings and apps. This works using Aliph’s Web-based software platform called MyTalk (http://mytalk.jawbone.com) and some apps enable more than hands-free talking.

For now, there are only two apps that truly expand the functionality of the earpiece, in my opinion. But MyTalk is a good start in making this tiny Bluetooth device more sophisticated and encouraging more hands-free productivity.

The idea of connecting an earpiece to a PC is helpful in two respects. First, it turns the Jawbone into a dynamic product that can be updated and enhanced over time, rather than never changing from the day you buy it. Second, it lets users more easily adjust the settings of a device that’s too tiny to have its own screen, thus eliminating the need for more confusing buttons on the device. Over time, these earpieces could become even simpler and smaller as more of their settings are adjusted on the computer.

Since the Jawbone Icon and its MyTalk software platform launched this week, only five “dial apps” and 10 “audio apps” are available for synching to the earpiece. The former are apps that perform functions by dialing out on your phone, like hands-free text messaging; the latter are settings to adjust the voice making announcements in your ear, like telling you that the battery needs charging. As of now, only one of each app category can be synched onto the Jawbone Icon at any given time. Aliph plans to make the Icon capable of simultaneously running multiple apps sometime this year.

If you ever used one of the earlier Jawbone models and thought you weren’t hip enough to remember how its hidden earpiece buttons worked, the Jawbone Icon’s refreshingly simple design will bring a sigh of relief. It uses two easily detected controls. One is an obvious button on the top of the earpiece that controls the earpiece’s functions. The other is a tiny on/off switch on the inside surface that couldn’t be easier to use.

The Ace model personified

The Icon comes in six models with catchy names that match the “persona” of the audio apps: The Hero, The Rogue, The Ace, The Catch, The Thinker and The Bombshell—each literally has its own distinct voice. Each device weighs less and has a wider and shorter design than previous Jawbones. The Icons come in shades of black, silver, white, red and gold, depending on the model’s persona, and resemble handsome jewelry.

Each earpiece has a short, gray bendable USB connector that allows for easy access to a PC’s USB port. This is used for synching and charging the earpiece, though a separate wall charger also comes in the box.

I tested my Jawbone Icon by plugging it into both an Apple MacBook Pro and a Dell (DELL) running Windows 7. I logged onto http://mytalk.jawbone.com and requested an invitation to use the MyTalk software by sending Aliph my email since it’s still in a “private beta” or experimental phase. You’ll have to do the same until MyTalk comes out of its private beta stage sometime in the next few months.

After setting up an account using my email and a password, I followed on-screen instructions to get started with synching apps to my earpiece.

MyTalk’s dial apps include five programs that help you do more with your voice, so you don’t need to look down to type on a mobile device. Once synched with your Jawbone Icon, the app will activate as soon as you press and hold the earpiece button.

For now, only two of the five dial apps are really helpful for the headset: Jott and Dial2Do. Both let people use their voice to send themselves reminders, send tweets on Twitter, and send text messages—assuming the programs correctly interpret what is dictated. I had pretty good luck with this, though one test of the text-messaging function thought I said “needle” when I really said “noodle” and another interpreted “blinds” as “blind.”

Of the two, I found Dial2Do a little easier to use. Its Basic Account is free but is limited to sending yourself reminders, while a Pro Account costs $40 a year or $3.99 a month, and offers social-networking, emailing and text-messaging, among other things. Jott can only be used free for one week, but requires a credit-card number for signing up and will charge $2.95 a month after the trial week is over.

MyTalk’s remaining three dial apps aren’t too exciting: “Directory Assistance 411″ and “Voice Dial,” a feature that only works if your phone has built-in voice-dial capability, which most do now. Another app called 1-800-FREE411 lets users get 411 information without being charged carrier fees.

MyTalk’s audio apps include six playful voices, three in different languages (German, Spanish and French) and one plain, unaccented English voice. Each of the playful voices has a coinciding photo and name when you’re picking settings on the Web site. One called “The Bombshell” is represented by an attractive, blonde woman who speaks in a sexy voice. A voice called “The Rogue” says, “I am ready for my assignment,” when the earpiece is turned on. During most of my testing, I kept my Jawbone Icon set on “The Ace,” represented by a woman with a smart British accent who said, “They can wait,” when I declined calls.

The chosen audio app voice speaks every so often, like when the device is turned on, when you query the headset’s remaining battery life (an indicator light also tells you the remaining charge), when an incoming call is received or when you turn the headset off. But the Voice Dial app uses the standard voice that comes with your device’s voice-dialing capability—not the fun audio app voice you’ve chosen.

Another downside to the headset is that it isn’t yet able to tell you the name of whoever is calling even if you have them as a contact in your phone; instead, it only reads the phone number aloud. If you’re like me, you don’t know have many numbers memorized anymore, so this isn’t helpful. Instead, it forced me to look at my phone for the caller ID, defeating the purpose of a hands-free earpiece. Aliph hopes to fix this problem within a year.

The Jawbone Icon is the first earpiece to use a software platform for adding apps, and MyTalk makes synching easy. Although Aliph plans to offer more apps and software updates for the Jawbone Icon (and subsequent devices), there will likely always be some activities that are simply too difficult to perform using voice alone. But MyTalk is a good first step toward making the Bluetooth earpiece more useful.

Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100119/connecting-with-your-inner-earpiece/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20100112/google-threatens-to-leave-china/ http://allthingsd.com/20100112/google-threatens-to-leave-china/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:48:45 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=32520

“We actually did an evil scale and decided not to serve at all was worse evil.”

– Google CEO Eric Schmidt on the company’s decision to offer a censored version of its search services in China, Jan. 30, 2006

Evidently Google is taking its informal “don’t be evil motto” a bit more seriously these days. The search sovereign threatened late Tuesday to pull out of its operations in China after detecting a “highly sophisticated and targeted attack on [its] corporate infrastructure originating from China.” Targeted in the assault: The Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.

“These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China,” Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, wrote in a post to the company blog.

“We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all,” Drummond added. “We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”

Shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China? Hmm. What’s the Chinese word for “Bing”?

Drummond didn’t directly accuse the Chinese government of orchestrating the incursion, but he certainly seems to be implying there’s a link. And you’d think one would have to exist for Google (GOOG) to threaten pull out of a country that has more Internet users than the total population of the U.S.–even if its efforts to gain market share there haven’t met with the same success as in the rest of the world.

It’s tough to stake your claim in a country where the government favors the local rival and blocks your traffic if you fail to censor. Baidu’s share of the Chinese search market in the third quarter was 77 percent, up from 75.6 percent. Google’s share for the same period? Just 17 percent, down from 19 percent.

So, to some extent, Google can probably threaten to leave China because the country accounts for such a small portion of its revenue. On the other hand, China leads the world in Internet users and presents a hell of a market opportunity–large enough that Google willingly provided a censored version of its services as a prerequisite for doing business there. Or, rather, it used to.

At $395.50 Baidu shares are up more than two percent after hours on the news. Google shares are down 1.6 percent at $581.01.

Drummond’s post in full, below, as well as another on the safety of data on Google by Dave Girouard, President of Google Enterprise:

A new approach to China

Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident–albeit a significant one–was something quite different.

First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses–including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors–have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.

Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.

Third, as part of this investigation but independent of the attack on Google, we have discovered that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties. These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users’ computers.

We have already used information gained from this attack to make infrastructure and architectural improvements that enhance security for Google and for our users. In terms of individual users, we would advise people to deploy reputable anti-virus and anti-spyware programs on their computers, to install patches for their operating systems and to update their web browsers. Always be cautious when clicking on links appearing in instant messages and emails, or when asked to share personal information like passwords online. You can read more here about our cyber-security recommendations.

We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech. In the last two decades, China’s economic reform programs and its citizens’ entrepreneurial flair have lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese people out of poverty. Indeed, this great nation is at the heart of much economic progress and development in the world today.

We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results. At the time we made clear that “we will carefully monitor conditions in China, including new laws and other restrictions on our services. If we determine that we are unable to achieve the objectives outlined we will not hesitate to reconsider our approach to China.”

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.

The decision to review our business operations in China has been incredibly hard, and we know that it will have potentially far-reaching consequences. We want to make clear that this move was driven by our executives in the United States, without the knowledge or involvement of our employees in China who have worked incredibly hard to make Google.cn the success it is today. We are committed to working responsibly to resolve the very difficult issues raised.

Keeping your data safe

Many corporations and consumers regularly come under cyber attack, and Google is no exception. We recently detected a cyber attack targeting our infrastructure and that of at least 20 other publicly listed companies. This incident was particularly notable for its high degree of sophistication. We believe Google Apps and related customer data were not affected by this incident. Please read more about our public response on the Official Google Blog.

This attack may understandably raise some questions, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share some additional information and assure you that Google is introducing additional security measures to help ensure the safety of your data.

This was not an assault on cloud computing. It was an attack on the technology infrastructure of major corporations in sectors as diverse as finance, technology, media, and chemical. The route the attackers used was malicious software used to infect personal computers. Any computer connected to the Internet can fall victim to such attacks. While some intellectual property on our corporate network was compromised, we believe our customer cloud-based data remains secure.

While any company can be subject to such an attack, those who use our cloud services benefit from our data security capabilities. At Google, we invest massive amounts of time and money in security. Nothing is more important to us. Our response to this attack shows that we are dedicated to protecting the businesses and users who have entrusted us with their sensitive email and document information. We are telling you this because we are committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining your trust.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20100112/google-threatens-to-leave-china/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20091230/no-file-no-icon-litl-is-a-big-idea-but-still-cloudy/ http://allthingsd.com/20091230/no-file-no-icon-litl-is-a-big-idea-but-still-cloudy/#comments Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:31:29 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://ptech.allthingsd.com/?p=1130 One of the hottest ideas in the digital world now is the notion of dumping the traditional personal computer, where most programs and data are stored locally, for a stripped-down device that would operate primarily as a gateway to servers on the Internet, where your programs and data are accessed remotely. This approach is often called “cloud computing.”

In fact, the original netbooks, the small laptops that have become very popular, were designed around this concept of relying mostly on the Web. They used low-end processors, shunned Windows, and had very little internal storage. But a combination of consumer sentiment and industry maneuvering pushed them back into the fold, so that today, most are simply cheap, small conventional Windows laptops.

Now, a small Boston company, called Litl, is taking another shot at this idea, with a different twist. It is selling online a highly unusual laptop it classifies as a “webbook,” which attempts to meld cloud computing with a TV-like viewing experience—for the home. This shiny, colorful computer, named the Litl, is larger and more expensive than a typical netbook. It’s about the size of a small standard laptop, with a 12-inch screen and a weight of 3.4 pounds. It costs $699, or about twice the price of a netbook, at litl.com.

Yet the Litl doesn’t use Windows, or directly run word processors, email, or photo or music programs. It can only perform those tasks via Web sites and services like Gmail or Flckr, Google Docs or Pandora Radio. About the only local program it has that can run without an Internet connection is a virtual egg timer. It has no hard disk or any other way for a user to store anything locally.

The Litl’s user interface is a radical departure. There is no task bar or dock, no folders, no icons for files and programs; no traditional desktop. Instead, the Litl’s screen is filled with small cards that contain various kinds of Web content, from photos to news headlines, Facebook status and favorite Web sites. Click on a card, and its contents fill the screen.

The Litl webbook

And the Litl has another big difference from standard laptops or netbooks: something called “easel mode.” You can flip it around so the machine takes the form of an inverted letter “V,” with the screen facing outward. In that position, the machine can be used like a small Internet-based TV to display headlines, the weather, photo slideshows or videos from the Web. The company sells a $19 remote for controlling the computer in easel mode. You can also control it with a wheel built into the hinge.

I’ve been testing the Litl and I have mixed feelings about it. Some of the bold concepts behind the machine are refreshing, including the cloud-computing idea and the very simple interface and operating system, which demand much less work and attention from the user than a traditional PC does. The company also is promising many improvements, delivered via frequent over-the-air updates, including iPhone-type apps developed by third parties. It even offers a two-year money-back guarantee.

I was able to set up cards for Gmail and Yahoo Mail, and to send and receive messages. I also set up a card for Google Docs and was able to create and edit documents. I tapped into my Flickr account and could view slideshows of family photos I had previously uploaded. And I was able to watch TV shows via Hulu, both in easel mode and on my big-screen TV, once I connected the Litl to it.

But, in my tests, I found the device a bit clumsy and unsatisfying to use. For instance, as you add cards for your favorite Web sites or headline feeds (called channels), it becomes more difficult to scroll through screen after screen to find the one you want. There is no easy way to organize things.

In easel mode, when you see a headline that interests you, there is no way to click on it to read the whole story. Videos in easel mode too often stuttered. Worse, if you’re watching a video in easel mode, or through a TV, the Litl’s remote doesn’t let you pause, fast forward or back up. And the Litl doesn’t allow you to upload photos or videos to the Web.

The battery life is awful. The company claims 2.5 hours. In my tests, it conked out in less time. The company says that isn’t a problem, because the machine is designed for home use and will likely stay plugged in.

The company claims it is working on improving the Litl’s shortcomings. For instance, it plans a photo-uploading function and smoother video playback. So, it will likely get better. But, as of now, for $699, my feeling is that a standard laptop could perform many of these tasks in a more familiar, more versatile manner.

Cloud computing may one day be the standard way of doing things digitally, but the Litl, at least in its current form, isn’t the answer.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20091230/no-file-no-icon-litl-is-a-big-idea-but-still-cloudy/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20091222/opening-a-window-on-the-mac/ http://allthingsd.com/20091222/opening-a-window-on-the-mac/#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:13:05 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=990 ‘Tis almost the night before Christmas, and plenty of households are hoping Santa will slide down the chimney with a new computer in his pack. For longtime Windows users who receive new Apple (AAPL) computers, the unfamiliarity of the Mac operating system could leave them pining for their old PC.

I’ve put together a quick and dirty guide for new Apple users that explains some of the ways the Mac operating system differs from Windows. It’s true: The way you’ll quit programs is different, the keyboards are set up a little differently and even the mouse is different. But once you adjust to these changes, you’ll be fine. Here’s some help:

Key to the Keyboard

Your keyboard is missing a Backspace button, so just use the Delete button, which is set up by default to work as the Backspace button does on a Windows keyboard.

If you want to delete forward on a Mac laptop or a new iMac, hold the Function key (FN) while pressing Delete. And for keyboard shortcuts like pressing Control+C to copy or Control+V to paste on a Windows keyboard, use the Command key, which has a flower-like symbol, in place of Control. Likewise, use the Option key rather than Alt to type special characters.

If you miss Control+Alt+Delete, you can end frustratingly slow applications on the Mac by pressing Command+Option+Escape to force programs to quit.

Mousing Around

The mouse on a desktop Mac looks like it has only one button, and the trackpad on most Mac laptops has no visible buttons at all—the whole pad is a single, large button. These designs send people who usually use two-button mice into a tizzy about how to right click.

Never fear, right click is still near! On Mac laptops, right click by placing two fingers down on the trackpad (it’s easiest with your pointer and middle fingers) and click the trackpad with another finger (like your thumb). New MacBooks also will right click when you place two fingers on the trackpad and press down. Using a one-button Apple mouse, just press Control and then click to see the same right-click functionality. On the Mighty Mouse, enable right-click functionality in System Preferences, then just touch where the right-click button should be and it will work.

If you’re sick of these new shortcuts, just plug in a mouse with a real right-click button and it will likely work on the Mac.

Scroll up or down on any screen by placing two fingers anywhere on the trackpad and motioning up or down. New MacBooks have a large, glass trackpad that responds to iPhone-like multi-touch gestures like pinching to zoom in or out on a screen. Four fingers on the trackpad initiate one of three gestures: Swiping up clears everything off the screen to show the desktop; swiping left or right opens the application switcher view so you can select which application you want; swiping down launches Exposé, which shows all opened windows.

Maximize, Close, Quit

In Windows, users can hit one button in the top right corner of each window to maximize the window; Macs have a small green circle in the top left corner that makes a window larger, but not maximized, so this can be irritating.

Windows lets users close an application by hitting the “X” in the top-right corner; the Mac version of this is a small red dot in the top left, but clicking it only closes a window rather than quitting the application. To do that, you’ll need to press Command+Q or choose to quit from the application menu at the top left of the screen.

Where’s My Stuff?

Rather than opening My Computer as you would on a Windows PC, double click on the desktop icon representing your hard drive to see all files, folders, applications and software programs. Spotlight, located in the top right corner of all screens, can be used to search for anything on your Mac. The Dock, located by default at the bottom of the screen, replaces the taskbar to hold applications, folders and files.Items can be dragged into the dock for quick access. Applications are located on the left side of the Dock; Stacks are on the right and these enable instant folder access from the Dock.Two built-in Stacks come pre-loaded for Documents and Downloads.

The Apple menu, represented with a small apple icon in the top left of any screen, works like parts of the Windows Start menu.

System Preferences in the Mac Dock works much like the Control Panel on a Windows PC. Here, you can change your screensaver, desktop picture, mouse and keyboard settings, energy-saving options, parental controls and network setup.

An optional Mac version of Microsoft Office runs Word, Excel, and PowerPoint programs that are compatible with Office files from Windows PCs. Instead of Outlook, Microsoft (MSFT) includes in Mac Office a program with similar functions called Entourage. Macs come out of the box with Apple-produced programs that include Mail, Address Book and iCal. Mail works with a range of email services.

Where’s Internet Explorer?

Instead of Internet Explorer, Apple comes loaded with its own Web browser called Safari, represented in the Dock by a blue and red compass. Browsers like Mozilla’s Firefox or Google (GOOG) Chrome will work on the Mac if you want to download and install them, but Internet Explorer still runs only on Windows.

Ejecting Hurts

On a Windows PC, anything inserted into the computer—from memory cards to USB flash drives—can be pulled out almost anytime with no repercussions. On a Mac, you must first eject these items before you yank them out. Ejecting can be done by dragging the icon representing that item from the desktop into the Trash, Apple’s version of the Windows Recycling Bin, or by selecting an Eject button beside its name. If you delete something on your Mac, it’s tossed into the Trash, and an option in Trash will empty it just as you can empty the Recycling Bin in Windows. Macs offer a Secure Empty Trash command in the Finder that securely deletes files so no part of them can be recovered.

Ask at the Store

If you buy a new Mac, Apple retail stores will recycle your old computer free, and if you buy Apple’s $99-a-year One to One membership, you can take your PC into an Apple retail store to have its data transferred to the Mac or to get personal tutorials. Stores also offer free workshops. More information is at apple.com/findouthow/mac.

–Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20091222/opening-a-window-on-the-mac/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20091216/mossbergs-mailbox-17/ http://allthingsd.com/20091216/mossbergs-mailbox-17/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:43:03 +0000 Walter S. Mossberg http://mailbox.allthingsd.com/?p=517 I have an old but serviceable Apple eMac that I would like to give to charity. I have deleted all my files (I think) but am leery of having some of my personal info still retrievable. Would deleting and reloading the OS be of value, or are there other steps to take?

A: For peace of mind, you should use a secure file-wiping utility and erase the entire drive using it. Then, presuming you have the original disks, you can reinstall the operating system.

A file-wiping utility erases files, and then overwrites the portions of the hard disk they occupied, as well as free space on the drive, multiple times, usually with zeroes, so the original contents can’t be recovered.

I don’t know which version of the Mac operating system you have, but the original disks that come with most Macs contain a program called Disk Utility that can do this, if you select the “Erase” option and then the “Erase Free Space” option. You will have to first boot the computer up from the operating system disk.

I just got a netbook and need a free or cheap package to read, edit and create Word, Excel, PowerPoint-compatible files. Would Open Office or Google Docs work? I am open to using an online package.

A:Yes. In my limited testing of both, they have done a good job with typical, basic Microsoft Office documents. I can’t say how they’d perform if your documents are especially complex, but, as the programs are free to use, it’s certainly worth a try.

Can Windows 7 be installed on an iMac? Since many of my old files are from a Windows XP computer, would it be better for me to just purchase and load a copy of Win XP on my new iMac instead of trying Windows 7?

A: Windows 7 can indeed be installed on an iMac. Both the Parallels and VMWare Fusion programs that create virtual Windows computers on Macs now support Windows 7.

As for the data files from your Windows XP computer, there is no reason they shouldn’t run in programs under Windows 7 unless they require some older Windows program that isn’t compatible with Windows 7.

However, if you install Parallels or Fusion, you can also opt to set up two virtual Windows machines, one with Windows 7 and one with Windows XP. The only downside is that you’d have to buy and install copies of both versions of Windows.

I should also note that most common file types, like MP3 music files, text files, Microsoft Word files, and JPG picture files, can be handled by Mac programs without installing Windows.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

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