Gregarius » BetaNews.Com » décembre 16, 2010

BetaNews.Com (7 non lus)

A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 3: Living with Flash

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 11:11pm CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

I've spent the last six weeks living the serene computing life, like being back on a Maine farm, with dusty roads, upward-reaching pines and Milky Way spanning night skies. Switching from the 11.6-inch MacBook Air to Google's Cr-48 brought back city congestion and bursting neon signs. Adobe Flash is back in my life, and it's hurting my Chrome OS experience.
"Whether or not Flash?" is topic for Day 3 of my week-long usage experiment, and it's a question many other people are sure to ask. Previous posts in this series: "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 1: Getting acquainted" and "A week with Google's Chrome OS laptop, Day 2: Becoming a cloud citizen."
Quick recap: Starting last week, Google dispatched 60,000 12.1-inch laptops with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor running Chrome OS to lucky testers. I received my unbranded Cr-48 laptop on December 13, then embarked on a week-long user journey and storytelling.
Google doesn't plan on ever selling the Cr-48 or anything like it. But the laptop is a reference design for PC OEMs to follow. I presume that six months or so from now, commercially shipping models will have faster processors and better something. Surely Chrome OS will shape up in the interim, too. But I must evaluate based on the reference design and software available now; Google wants feedback, and testers like me are supposed to give it. Simply put, Flash sucks.
Flash Video Is Not
Chrome OS running on the Cr-48 feels fast enough, except when it doesn't. Generally, it doesn't when even one tab is open to a page with Flash ads. Rotating Flash ads are the worst performance suckers. The little frakkers are seemingly everywhere. I had forgotten because MacBook Air's Safari browser doesn't come with Flash, and I refused to install it.
On Day 1, I went to YouTube and watched Sara Bareilles' "King of Anything" music video in full-screen mode. The video played smoothly and sounded good. On Day 3, I casually conducted another test expecting similar results. I went to Hulu and chose December 11th's "Saturday Night Live." The video played in spurts -- totally unwatchable -- even small size, although audio was clear enough. What the frak? I replicated similar behavior. Perhaps Chrome OS is optimized for YouTube or, even, gasp signaling HTML5 video instead of Flash. All I know, where I can identify video content as Flash, performance disappoints at best.
Now compare this to iPad, which offers Hulu Plus as an app. I watched the same clip on iPad, where it looked and sounded great. By the raw hardware specs, Google's unbranded laptop should do as well or better. But there are other considerations. In a Cr-48 review posted today at the Droids, Ryan Trevisol sizes up Flash video performance:
Let's talk about Flash. It's been mentioned numerous times that Flash sucks on Chrome OS. For Flash video, it does, to the point of being unusable. However, other flash-intensive uses are plenty usable...The thing to remember about Flash on Chrome OS is that it's built on Linux, and Linux doesn't have a hardware-accelerated h.264 API, meaning it can't use CPU or GPU hardware directly to decode most Flash video. Adobe has acknowledged this, and I'm sure in future versions of Chrome OS we'll see performance improvements.
Adobe isn't shy about admitting there's a problem. In a December 9th blog post, Adobe's Paul Betlem explains:
In terms of Chrome notebooks specifically, as with many aspects of the device, Flash Player 10.1 support remains a work in progress. Video performance in particular is the primary area for improvement and we are actively working with the engineers at Google to address this. Enabling video acceleration will deliver a more seamless experience on these devices...The work we're doing on acceleration for video in Flash Player is a top priority because the vast majority of video on the web is delivered using Flash.
Sucking Up the Battery
Perhaps, there will be better video performance someday. Even so, Flash video is hardly the only problem. On Day 2, I signed up for Pandora and started streaming music. The service requires Flash to use, and pesky Flash ads continuously run. Before the first song played the length of an iTunes sample, battery at 73 percent charge immediately dropped to 4 hours 23 minutes remaining from more than 7 hours. Soon as I closed the Pandora tab, battery time remaining jumped to 5 hours 17 minutes, then 5 hours 57 minutes before topping 6 hours 20 minutes.
For comparison, on Day 3 I started up MacBook Air and unplugged the power. Charge remaining: 4 hours 28 minutes. I opened up Pandora in Google Chrome and started playing music. Within 10 seconds, charge remaining time dropped to 2 hours 20 minutes. Whoa. Results might vary -- perhaps even be better -- in other browsers. Only Chrome matters here because Flash is baked into Google's cloud-connected OS.
So I wonder why Google is pushing Flash and if perhaps Apple has a point after all. One of Apple's major Flash gripes is battery consumption. Another is the user experience, which Apple Steve Jobs has faulted. But Chrome OS is supposed to be all things Web, and right now Flash is very much apart of the Net-connected experience. More significantly, many of the Rich Internet Applications Google should want Chrome OS users to have require Flash.
I've been a happy camper running Safari on MacBook Air without Flash. The browser is more responsive, and I'm less distracted by the ads while reading, which increases retention. I hadn't realized how annoying are Flash ads, until going without them for nearly two months. More significantly as someone trying to evaluate Chrome OS, I'm appalled by how much Flash negatively affects the experience. As expressed earlier. Chrome OS performs well when it doesn't, and when it doesn't Flash usually is the reason.
Day 4 will focus on my life in the cloud and using applications there who the cloud is for. If you're up in the Chrome OS cloud, too, please share in comments about your Cr-48 user experience.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Opera 11 final version published

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 10:49pm CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Opera Software Thursday released the completed version of the Opera 11 browser, which has been available in various states of pre-release since October. This version of the browser breaks new ground for Opera, and includes support for extensions and introduces a new tab management system.
If you have been using the beta version of Opera 11, which was last updated on November 23, there isn't going to be a tremendous amount of change that is immediately visible aside from a few changes to the search dropdown, speed dial background, and extension installer UI, but a handful of usability improvements have been made.
Under the hood, however, support for more HTML5 content has been added, including support for the progress and meter elements, and the form input types: "search," "file" multiple, null placeholder, "color", and "tel." The complete log of changes between Opera 11 beta and the final release candidate is available here.
If you've downloaded any of the Opera 11 release candidates pushed out in rapid succession over the last two days, this is the final version, but it has the same release number as RC3, which is 1156.
Download Opera 11 for Windows in Fileforum now!
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
It's the holidays, how do you use your phone to shop?

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 7:57pm CET par Joe Wilcox
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

I ask because of a surprising mobile shopping report made available today. What caught my interest was methodology -- survey by mobile phones -- and sample size of 12,533. Briabe Media put together the survey, conducted on MocoSpace's mobile network of 14 million registered users. Among the 31-page PowerPoint report's findings: 62 percent of respondents used their phones to research products or pricing before going shopping. Forty-six percent used their phones to comparison shop once in the stores.
Can you say personal shopping assistant? What the report doesn't reveal is where mobile users do their comparison shopping. Is it using the Amazon app or perhaps Google Googles? Something else? I rarely buy anything selling for more than $20 without comparison shopping in the store. What about you?
I generally look lightly on reports like this one -- built-in conflict-of-interest. Both parties directly benefit from promoting the data, meaning it's not conducted by a neutral third party. But the methodology is interesting enough and information provided in the report detailed enough for me to reasonably trust the findings. Additionally, there is excellent attention given to demographics, such as race and age. That said, the data is somewhat skewed by the disparate gender representation -- 71 percent female and 29 percent male. By age: 14-19, 22 percent; 20-29, 35 percent; 30-plus, 43 percent.
Some quick findings:
- 32 percent of respondents consider their mobile phone as "very important" during this holiday shopping season
- 76 percent give some level of importance to their mobile phones for holiday shopping
- 40 percent of African Americans consider their mobile phone as "very important" this holiday shopping season -- caucasians ranked lowest, 24 percent
- Half of Asian Americans have used their phones to comparison shop while in the store
- 14 percent of respondents have used mobile coupons, and 30 percent are more likely to do so during the holidays
As I've for so long asserted, mobile phones are more personal than the personal computer. The PC's biggest benefit is it's unusual Jack-of-all-trades characteristic, something smartphones share but more portably. The phone goes everywhere, including the mall.
I'll ask again: How do you use your phone to shop? Please answer in comments.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Nokia takes Apple patent fight to British, German & Dutch courts

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 6:43pm CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia on Thursday announced it had filed claims against Apple in the UK High Court, Dusseldorf and Mannheim District Courts in Germany, and the District Court of the Hague, Netherlands. The three new complaints join those already filed with the US International Trade Commission, and US Federal Courts in Delaware and Wisconsin.
Nokia had already accused Apple of 24 patent violations; 10 counts in its 2009 complaint, and 14 more in its 2010 complaint that responded to Apple's countersuit. The action announced today piles 13 more patents on the case; 4 in the UK, 7 in Dusseldorf, 5 in Mannheim, and two in the Hague.
"The Nokia inventions protected by these patents include several which enable compelling user experiences," Paul Melin, vice president of Intellectual Property at Nokia said today. "For example, using a wiping gesture on a touch screen to navigate content, or enabling access to constantly changing services with an on-device app store, both filed more than ten years before the launch of the iPhone."
Apple has not yet issued a statement regarding Nokia's complaints.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Apple crashes CES party with Mac App Store

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 5:28pm CET par Joe Wilcox

By Joe Wilcox, Betanews

Suddenly, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's Consumer Electronics Show keynote is a heavier burden. Ballmer will open CES, with a 9:30 pm EST keynote on Jan. 5, 2011. On January 6th, Apple will officially launch the Mac App Store, exclusively for Mac OS X 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard). Earlier this morning, Apple announced the store opening date, and you can be sure timing is deliberate.
For years, Apple has played a game of oneupmanship with CES, timing announcements so that they would suck away some of the excitement and press coverage around products debuted or updated there -- iPhone in 2007, MacBook Air in 2008 and iPad in 2010. Then there are the rumors, often obviously from internal leaks, ahead of big Apple announcements. Apple has a knack for marketing manipulation -- controlling the message and perception. Blogs' and news sites' ever quest for pageviews makes every Apple rumor worth another story. Then there is clear media bias favoring Apple.
But there's more than CES oneupmanship at work. I've long asserted that much of Apple's recent stock performance is as much about perception as corporate execution. About a year ago I asked "Are Apple stock price gains the reason for recent tablet rumors?" The answer was yes, when looking at share rises against the rumors. I'd argue that throughout much of 2009 and 2010, Apple rumors and product announcements pushed shares ever higher. Apple has gotten very good at managing perception. The best perception opportunity comes when there is something for comparison.
So, as Ballmer takes the keynote stage, many heads will be turned away to the Mac App Store. Apple will launch the store in 90 countries. Assuming global means local time, the store will already be available in some countries before Balmer takes the keynote stage. Even if Apple sets a Pacific local time for January 6th, the buzz will be deafening.
The good thing for Microsoft is the announced date; Ballmer and his executive team now know when. Previously, Apple had only indicated January. Ballmer knows what he's up against, and in a way Apple CEO Steve Jobs has issued a challenge. I say that because of the rumors Ballmer will show off OEM partners' new Windows-powered tablets and slates during the keynote and possibly Windows 8. It is against these products that analysts, bloggers and journalists will compare the Mac App Store. Jobs and Company are cocky, confident, that Microsoft won't have anything really exciting to show -- or anyone else during CES.
It's a strange attitude. The Mac App Store's value is marginal. "The App Store revolutionized mobile apps," Jobs asserted in a statement. "We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can't wait to get started on January 6." If not for Apple's mobile App Store success, its Macintosh counterpart would be nearly meaningless. Despite recent Mac market share gains, Apple cannot deny that the world runs on Windows. Presumably, the Mac install base is equally split, at best, between Snow Leopard and earlier Mac OS X versions. Remember, the Mac App Store is for Snow Leopard only, significantly reducing the real number of people who can use it. Something else: If mobile is the future, why is Apple investing so much in the PC past? Mac App Store is at best three years too late.
But the buzz, as it is with all things Apple, will make the announcement seem larger than life. The store isn't insignificant, as I explained in October, it's for now simply not as big as InterWeb gossipers and Apple cheerleaders make it out to be. The benefits as limited to Snow Leopard and iOS users and developers:
1. Applications can be made available across multiple-sized devices -- Macs, iPads, iPhones and iPod touches.
2. Developers can now scale their applications across devices.
3. Developers can sell apps for which they will be paid; the app store deters piracy.
4. Rights protection is built in so that customers aren't exposed to onerous piracy-deterring activation mechanisms.
5. The store makes applications easily available to customers and more easily searched for than scouring the Web.
Given the scope of availability, Mac App Store is more a perception builder than announcement worthy of the buzz I'm already seeing today. Big would be Ballmer unveiling a Windows application store, opening on January 5th. Such a store would reach hundreds of millions of Windows users and offer developers a reason to get excited again about desktop operating systems. Now there's a helluva perception builder.
If Ballmer focuses on tablets or Windows 8, and little else, analysts, bloggers and journalists will write, again, about visionless Microsoft poorly imitating Apple and missing out on yet another important market. Those claims would likely be made about a Windows app store, but they ultimately would be meaningless for the sheer number of people who would benefit.
Ballmer, some advice: You know what's coming. Change your keynote now. Do something better, and better means that generates some positive perceptions about Microsoft innovation and delivering something good that people can use January 6th -- not many months later.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Free Software turns DisplayLink docking stations into Linux client PCs

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 5:05pm CET par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

DisplayLink, maker of graphics-over-USB solutions, has partnered with Canadian company Userful to turn Displaylink-powered docking stations into Linux-driven CPU-less client PCs.
Userful makes a virtual PC solution for classrooms called Userful Multiseat Linux 2011. With this, a single PC can drive ten independent client machines running Edubuntu. Now that Userful has partnered with DisplayLink, owners of consumer docking stations with DisplayLink's USB Virtual Graphics technology (such as those made by Targus and Asus) can do the same thing for free, except in a more limited fashion.
All existing DisplayLink-powered USB docking station customers can now download Userful's software for free, which turns their laptop or PC and docking station into two independant computer stations. Userful's software solution and DisplayLink Linux drivers are compatible with the full line of DisplayLink chips, allowing plug and play graphics over standard USB cables, and the software can be installed as a dual boot, so it can be run without affecting any existing systems.
"We are excited to work with Userful on the development of drivers and MultiSeat Linux software solutions that enable the use of our USB virtual graphics on a robust open-source platform," Dennis Crespo, executive vice president of marketing and business development at DisplayLink said yesterday. "Now schools can spend less time and money configuring systems, and more time providing students with practical computing experience."
DisplayLink dock owners can freely download Userful's software here.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Google taps networking expert Medin to build out fiber network

Publié: décembre 16, 2010, 2:55am CET par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

As Google moves ever closer to its fiber-optic network plans, it has hired networking engineer Milo Medin to oversee its rollout. Medin is widely viewed as an expert in Internet networking, and is credited with pushing TCP/IP in the 1980s as a standard for Internet connectivity.
Medin will manage the fiber team and serve as vice president of access services. Google said in February that it planned to build its own fiber network. Hundreds of communities nationwide have vied to be the location where the planned 1 gigabit network will be built -- Google says it will announce a winner early next year.
"Over the past several months I've been following the progress the [fiber] team has already made--from experimenting with new fiber deployment technologies here on Google's campus, to announcing a 'beta' network to 850 homes at Stanford--and I'm excited for us to bring our ultra high-speed network to a community," he said.
Medin apologized for the delay in the announcement of the winning location(s), but stressed the company wanted to "get this right" and that it would have a decision as soon as it was comfortable making one.
In addition to his work with TCP/IP, Medin also helped start early high-speed access provider At Home. At Home would later merge with Excite in 1999, although it became a victim of the Internet bubble burst, and folded in 2001 after failing to reach key agreements with telecommunications providers.
More recently, Medin has ran M2Z Networks, an effort to bring free, nationwide wireless broadband service to US residents. It was not clear what role Medin would maintain with the company, if any. M2Z's website, however, is apparently down -- with its hosting account "suspended" according to a message on its site.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010