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BetaNews.Com (5 non lus)

Is Apple the real U.S. PC market share leader -- or soon will be?

Publié: août 20, 2010, 10:34pm CEST par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

The answer to the question depends on how iPad is classified and how the shipments add up combined with Macs. Is iPad a PC, like Windows tablets or low-powered netbooks? The definition is sure to generate controversy because of what's at stake -- which manufacturer is market share leader in the United States.
Late yesterday, I contacted Gartner and IDC, which both measure global PC shipments. But only Gartner responded to my question about how iPad is classified. It is clear from preliminary second quarter PC shipment data that neither analyst firm calculated iPad with PC shipments (Gartner explicitly explained so in its press release: "Gartner's PC group does not track media tablet sales in this PC shipment data, so iPad sales are not included in these results.") A Gartner spokesperson responded to my question about classification: "We don't have data for this category yet. We hope to have some stats for this category at some time shortly."
But what category is that? Media tablets? Windows tablets have been shipping for years, then there are slate netbooks. Don't these devices count as PCs? If so, then why not iPad? Apple's tablet has a microprocessor, graphics processor and storage disk, runs an operating system and third-party applications and connects to the Internet. That sure sounds like a personal computer to me. There's a touch keypad, or the user can attach a physical keyboard by Bluetooth. If PC classification requires a mouse, well, iPad doesn't have one of those. But should no mouse make iPad no PC?
So I'll ask you, before showing why the classification is so important: What is a PC? Please answer in comments.
In mid July, Gartner and IDC released preliminary worldwide PC shipments. Final numbers should be soon coming, now that Dell and HP announced quarterly results (yesterday). Both analyst firms placed HP No. 1 during second quarter for global PC shipments. HP and Dell ranked first and second, respectively, in the United States. Their rankings were based on estimated shipments. The analyst firms should have had final data from most other PC manufacturers before making the preliminary announcement.
Global Top 5, Gartner
1. HP, 14.455 million
2. Acer, 10.796 million
3. Dell, 10.283 million
4. Lenovo, 8.31 million
5. ASUS, 4.318 million
US Top 5, Gartner
1. HP, 4.608 million
2. Dell, 4.236 million
3. Acer, 2.028 million
4. Apple, 1.749 million
5. Toshiba, 1.565 million
According to Apple's fiscal third calendar-quarter earnings announcement, 3.472 million Macs shipped during calendar Q2. Apple also shipped 3.27 million iPads. If iPad counts as a PC and the numbers are combined, then Apple shipped 6.742 million personal computers during second quarter. That's high enough to raise Apple to No. 5 in global PC shipments.
Figuring US placement is dicier, because publicly-available information is incomplete. Apple announced 2 million iPads sold on May 31, which effectively means through the 30th -- or two days after international sales started. During the last month of the quarter, iPad was available in 10 countries. Apple hasn't released a geographic breakdown of sales and probably won't. The first million units came before Apple opened international sales, which is more than enough to push Apple ahead of Acer and snatch away third place.
But how much of that remaining 2.27 million units went to the United States? If 1.487 million (plus the 1 million for certain), then Apple would match Dell. If 1.859 million (plus the 1 million for certain), then Apple would match HP -- based on Gartner's preliminary data. To match Dell, international sales would be only 783,000 and 411,000 to match HP. However, IDC puts Apple unit shipments lower (1.618 million) and HP and Dell higher (4.721 million and 4.408 million, respectively). Based on those figures, it's unrealistic that Apple would rank any higher than third place. Again, the numbers are not exact. Gartner and IDC released preliminary shipments, and Apple's data stops two days before the quarter ended.
But what about third quarter? Could Apple top Dell or HP? The answer would depend on how iPad is classified. Is it a PC? If, yes, then based on analysts projections for PCs, Macs and iPads, Apple almost certainly could sell more units than HP or Dell in the United States. I've seen Wall Street analysts' iPad shipment estimates range from about 4 million to over 5 million units. Macs: Hovering above 3 million units. Assuming even half the combined Macs and iPads were sold here, Apple would be in striking distance of topping either HP or Dell.
In several previous blogs, I've asserted that iPad is the cheapest Mac that anyone can buy. But should iPad be counted as a PC? Netbooks are PCs, and ASUS recently reduced netbook shipments because of iPad competition. Apple's tablet certainly competes with PCs. Should it be counted as one? You tell me. In comments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Apple - United States - Gartner - IPad - Dell
Comcast-NBCU merger opponents make one last push at FCC

Publié: août 20, 2010, 10:21pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

The final comment period before the Federal Communications Commission makes its ruling on whether or not to approve the Comcast-NBC Universal merger ended on Thursday, and opponents made one last effort to stop it in its tracks.
Comcast fought off those complaints, calling them "nothing more than preexisting or industry-wide grievances" that should not be part of the decision to approve the merger. It also accused some of those attempting to put additional conditions on the deal were attempting "to foist unprecedented and onerous burdens on the combined entity."
That certainly is not the opinion of some of its closest competitors. In its own filing, satellite provider DirecTV expressed concern that Comcast could intentionally make it more difficult for its rivals to get NBCU programming, whether that be by raising carriage rates or moving programming online and then restricting access from there.
The nation's largest cable provider has already stuck its finger in DirecTV's eye once before: Comcast has refused to sell either it or Dish Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which is the single largest carrier of Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers games in the region. Comcast either owns or has a significant stake in all three teams.
While larger cable firms such as Time Warner filed in support of the deal, an organization representing smaller cable providers -- the American Cable Association -- asked for conditions similar to what DirecTV asked for.
"Comcast-NBCU will have unmatched leverage in traditional and online media markets to harm competitive cable and satellite operators by driving up their programming costs to very troublesome levels," ACA President and CEO Matthew Polka said in a statement.
Others are going for an outright rejection of the merger, such as media interest group Free Press. It along with three other groups filed comments in opposition, and pointed out that 94 percent of the comments filed so far with the FCC have been in opposition.
"Comcast has failed to demonstrate that the benefits of the merger will outweigh its considerable harms," Free Press policy counsel Corie Wright said. "In its current form, the proposed merger suffers from a sizable public interest deficit."
Comcast executive vice president David Cohen responded to critics by saying these groups were blowing things out of proportion, and that comparatively to other major media deals, the Comcast-NBCU merger was relatively small.
"Not surprisingly, a few perennial critics of entertainment and communications companies have made apocalyptic predictions, just like they've made for years and years," he wrote on the company's blog. "The credibility of their arguments is thoroughly undercut by today's dynamic competitive media marketplace."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Federal Communication Commission - Comcast - NBC Universal - DirecTV - FCC
Scitable pulls scientific research out from behind the paywall

Publié: août 20, 2010, 8:57pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

I experienced quite a personal shock when I aged out of having access to my university's research portal. The vast catalog of peer-reviewed journals, empirical studies, and thorough analytical research I had at my disposal as a student was boarded up behind a distinct paywall not long after I finished school.
The fast-moving news, blogs, forums, and free tools I had been taught to eschew were suddenly all I had. My principal option (besides re-enrolling in school) was to become a member of a research service like LexisNexis or NewsLibrary; but those portals cost several hundred dollars a year each. I suddenly recognized that the best information on the Web is not free.
But Nature Publishing group, the publishers responsible for the academic journal Nature, and the consumer publication Scientific American are changing that.
The group has spent the last year advancing a service called Scitable, which removes that academic paywall, and puts high-quality, vetted scientific learning materials online freely for anyone to use.
While this is itself useful, Open Access is only half of Scitable's mission; the other half is Open Discussion. To achieve this, Scitable has built-in collaboration tools that let teachers, researchers, and students hold online discussions about science topics 24 hours a day in the form of message boards, chats, private message threads, and "learning paths."
Currently, Scitable is limited to articles in the field of genetics, which are intended for college undergraduate faculty and students. But the site will eventually grow to include other topics.
This means students from different schools can share discussions on common subjects, or connect with researchers in a subject that they're studying; and teachers can utilize the information as a supplement to their textbooks and learning materials.
It is, in effect, a Collaborative Learning Network, a social construct that the Linux community has long embraced, except instead of basing it on communal knowledge, it is based upon information approved by an academic source.
Scitable is completely free, but receives funding from sponsors Intel, Roche Applied Science, Tata Consultancy Services, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and New England Biolabs.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Scitable - Nature - Tata Consultancy Services - Education - Journals
Nokia beefs up mobile developer support with Motally buy

Publié: août 20, 2010, 8:20pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

In a move likely aimed at putting it on a more even keel with Apple's App Store, Nokia on Friday announced it had acquired mobile analytics firm Motally. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the acquisition is expected to complete before the end of the third quarter.
Motally's metrics help developers understand how their users are interacting with their applications. Nokia would adapt the company's technologies to work with its Symbian platform as well as Meego, Qt, and Java, although it plans to continue serving current customers.
The company currently has tools compatible with Apple's iOS platform, as well as BlackBerry and Android.
Nokia says the acquisition will allow developers for its platform to better monetize their applications. It also certainly appears that the company seems to understand that its overall offering is beginning to fall behind its much larger competitor Apple.
The Cupertino company has put a good deal of focus on the backend of the App Store, giving developers analytics tools as well as other services -- such as iAd -- intended to make applications more profitable. Ovi, Nokia's answer to the App Store, so far has not done that.
While Apple has certainly led the industry in terms of mobile application development and support, Nokia's Symbian operating system still has the largest share of the market overall. Data from research firm Gartner indicated it had just over 41 percent of the market in the quarter ending June 30, leading all other platforms.
Nokia did acquire a mobile ad service back in 2007 called Enpocket. However, the market did not take off as fast as the company may have expected, and plans to fully implement Enpocket into its services have been slow to occur.
Motally, based in San Francisco, Calif., was founded in 2008 and has a staff of eight people.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Nokia - San Francisco - Android - Apple - BlackBerry
'Innocent Infringer' copyright defense for downloaders goes to U.S. Supreme Court

Publié: août 20, 2010, 5:12pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The case of Whitney Harper, the first defendant in a peer-to-peer copyright infringement suit to use the "innocent infringer" defense, was submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the form of an Amicus brief Thursday by a group of "Cyberprofessors" led by digital copyright reformer Professor Charles Nesson.
Nesson's group, calls this the "next generation of P2P lawsuits."
In 2004, when Harper was only sixteen years old, copyright monitoring company MediaSentry found that she was sharing 544 copyrighted songs on peer-to-peer network KaZaA. Harper's father was subsequently taken to court in the Western District of Texas by Warner Brothers, Sony BMG, Maverick Recording Co., UMG Recordings, and Arista Records for violation of the Copyright Act of 1976, requesting minimum statutory damages of $750 for each song.
Harper admitted to using KaZaA, but said that she had no reason to believe she was breaking any laws, and that she believed KaZaA was "similar to online radio stations." The district court allowed this "innocent infringer" defense, but it was overturned in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In their appeal, the labels argued that copyright warnings on physical CDs should serve as enough of a warning against P2P downloading, saying "one need only have access to some CD and see that the recording is subject to copyright."
Even though Harper may have never seen the CDs, their existence was enough of a safeguard for the Appellate court to reverse the District Court's "innocent infringer" ruling.
"Copyright notices on album covers in record stores are no substitute. To a person viewing an Internet file in cyberspace who genuinely does not know or have reason to know that file is copyrighted, they provide neither actual notice nor reasonable notice of copyright. They provide no basis for disregarding Harper's state of mind in downloading digital files," Thursday's brief said. "Not all music is copyrighted, and from the viewpoint of the music downloader on the Internet, copyright-restricted files often appear to be no different from noncopyrighted files."
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

MediaSentry - Arista Records - Sony BMG - Copyright Act of 1976 - Copyright infringement