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I'm watching a video interview Bloomberg's Emily Chang conducted with Apple-Samsung trial foreman Vel Hogan three days ago. At 9:17, he makes a provocative statement: "The Android operating system, clear and of itself, was not something that infringed".
Do you believe him? I ask, because pundits fell over themselves this week claiming that the jury verdict means big trouble for Android and Google.
In case you haven't already noticed, it's the quadrennial presidential election season in the United States; the time when the two dominant political parties state their goals and methods of attaining them, and work to put their chosen party leader into the office of President of the United States.
At the Republican National Convention this week, the Republican party both nominated Mitt Romney as its candidate for president, and outlined its platform, its "statement of who we are and what we believe."
Over the next five days, we will take a look at the platforms of both the Republican and Democratic parties to compare how they plan to handle issues of technology and innovation, and see who has the more outwardly tech-friendly platform.
On Cybersecurity/Cyberwarfare
Security companies such as Kaspersky Lab have repeatedly warned that a full-scale Cyber arms race is going on, and the Republican Party believes the United States needs an "active deterrence protocol" which includes increased offensive capabilities.
"The current deterrence framework is overly reliant on the development of defensive capabilities, and has been unsuccessful in dissuading cyber-related aggression. The U.S. cannot afford to risk the cyber equivalent of Pearl Harbor."
"We encourage an immediate update of the law that was drafted a decade ago to improve the security of government information systems."
"The government collects valuable information about potential threats that can and should be shared with private entities without compromising national security. We believe that companies should be free from legal and regulatory barriers that prevent or deter them from voluntarily sharing cyberthreat information with their government partners."
"We will pursue an effective cybersecurity strategy, supported by the necessary resources, that recognizes the importance of offensive capabilities."
On Intellectual Property Theft and Piracy:
Though piracy is not mentioned explicitly in the party's platform, intellectual property theft is mentioned a number of times, and China is singled out as the principal offender.
"Whether it is a nation-state actively probing our national security networks, a terror organization seeking to obtain destructive cyber capabilities, or a criminal network’s theft of intellectual property, more must be done to deter, defeat, and respond to
cyberthreats."
"Some governments have used a variety of unfair means to limit American access to their markets while stealing our designs, patents, brands, know-how, and technology—the 'intellectual property' that drives innovation. The chief offender is China, which has built up its economy in part by piggybacking onto Western technological advances, manipulates its currency to the disadvantage of American exporters, excludes American products from government purchases, subsidizes Chinese companies to give them a commercial advantage, and invents regulations and standards designed to keep out foreign competition."
"Counterfeit goods will be aggressively kept out of the country. Victimized private firms will be encouraged to raise claims in both U.S. courts and at the World Trade Organization. Punitive measures will be imposed on foreign firms that misappropriate American technology and intellectual property. Until China abides by the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement, the United States government will end procurement of Chinese goods and services."
"Our serious trade disputes, especially China’s failure to enforce international standards for the protection of intellectual property and copyrights, as well as its manipulation of its currency, call for a firm response from a new Republican Administration."
On Communications Technology
A major achievement of the Obama administration was the implementation of the National Broadband Plan in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission. The Republican party believes communications laws are too old to be applied to current technology.
"Today’s technology and telecommunications industries are overseen by the Federal Communications Commission, established in 1934 and given the jurisdiction over telecommunications formerly assigned to the Interstate Commerce Commission, which had been created in 1887 to regulate the railroads. This is not a good fit. Indeed, the development of telecommunications advances so rapidly that even the Telecom Act of 1996 is woefully out of date. An industry that invested $66 billion in 2011 alone needs, and deserves, a more modern relationship with the federal government for the benefit of consumers here and worldwide."
"We encourage public-private partnerships to provide predictable support for connecting rural areas so that every American can fully participate in the global economy."
On Net Neutrality
Clearly, the Republican party is against excessive government intervention in matters of the Internet, and believes the industry should be left to itself, with the exception of legacy technology, which it believes should not be given preferential treatment.
"The FCC’s net neutrality rule is trying to micromanage telecom as if it were a railroad network."
"The Internet offers a communications system uniquely free from government intervention. We will remove regulatory barriers that protect outdated technologies and business plans from innovation and competition, while preventing legacy regulation from interfering with new and disruptive technologies such as mobile delivery of voice video data as they become crucial components of the Internet ecosystem."
"We will resist any effort to shift control away from the successful multi-stakeholder approach of Internet governance and toward governance by international or other intergovernmental organizations."
"We will ensure that personal data receives full constitutional protection from government overreach and that individuals retain the right to control the use of their data by third parties; the only way to safeguard or improve these systems is through the private sector."
Nuclear Power versus Renewable Energy:
The consumer electronics industry as a whole is one in favor of nuclear power. Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association, has been a big proponent of Nuclear Energy. The Republican Party platform for 2012 includes putting nuclear power ahead of renewable energy projects, dismissing them as a gamble.
"Nuclear energy, now generating about 20 percent of our electricity through 104 power plants, must be expanded. No new nuclear generating plants have been licensed and constructed for thirty years.
"We call for timely processing of new reactor applications currently pending at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal government’s failure to address the storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel has left huge bills for States and taxpayers. Our country needs a more proactive approach to managing spent nuclear fuel, including through developing advanced reprocessing technologies. We encourage the cost effective development of renewable energy, but the taxpayers should not serve as venture capitalists for risky endeavors."
On Small Businesses and Startups
Finally, the Republican Party platform takes a rather generic approach to small business and startup development, with no specific innovations for harboring the creation of new businesses. Instead, advocacy and encouragement are stressed.
"We will reform the tax code to allow businesses to generate enough capital to grow and create jobs for our families, friends and neighbors all across America. We will encourage investments in small businesses. We will create an environment where adequate financing and credit are available to spur manufacturing and expansion. We will serve as aggressive advocates for small businesses."
The Democratic Party is expected to release its platform next week, and we will compare its topical content next, and then poll experts to see which party is most friendly to the United States tech sector. Stay tuned!
Image: Carsten Reisinger/Shutterstock
If you’d like to find a good proxy server to keep you anonymous online then there are plenty of online sources which claim they can help. These lists aren’t always reliable, though -- some recommended servers may not work any more, others aren’t as anonymous as you might think -- and you can spend quite some time manually checking their various suggestions before you find anything that suits your needs.
If all that sounds too much like hard work, then, you might prefer to use the free A+ Proxy Finder, which automates the process of locating and evaluating HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS proxies.
Launch the program, click Start, and it’ll automatically download lists of proxies from multiple sources, displaying them all in a table. On our test run this uncovered more than 2,000 servers right away.
Next, A+ Proxy Finder begins to check each one. Servers which appear to be down are greyed out, so you don’t waste any time on them, and the program will determine the server type, host name, and country of origin for everything else.
And perhaps best of all, A+ Proxy Finder even runs multiple tests to rate each proxy for anonymity, sorting the list accordingly so it’s easy to see your best options.
This can of course take a while, particularly when there are thousands of servers to be checked, so you’ll need to be patient on the program’s first run.
In future, though, you might try increasing its maximum number of “verification connections”. A+ Proxy Finder can check up to 500 servers simultaneously, if your system and internet connection are up to it, and that will make a real difference to performance.
And there are many other configuration options which can help. Once you’ve built up a core list of servers which you know are active most of the time, for instance, you can have the program verify only those, ignoring its web sources entirely.
Put it all together and A+ Proxy Finder is a comprehensive and capable tool, then, and an excellent way to more quickly locate working and effective proxies.
Photo Credit: nmedia/Shutterstock
A soap opera. That's how I would describe this week's revelation that Samsung is cozying up to Microsoft and the forthcoming Windows Phone 8. Still stinging from its recent court loss to Apple, the South Korean juggernaut appears to be hedging its Android bets by embracing one of the two remaining underdogs in the mobile OS race (the other being Research in Motion).
No matter how you slice it, Samsung's executives are running scared. And who can blame them? Apple will do whatever it takes to crush the little green man from Mountain View (it's a Jobsian legacy thing). And the fact that its chief hardware rival is getting squeezed in the process is simply gravy.
The whole thing reminds me of those classic rom-com storylines of love vs. fate. Like some desperate, dateless teenager on prom night, Samsung has now turned to the heavy-set girl in the corner of the hall (Microsoft) in the hopes of scoring a quick consolation prize. But in the immortal words of Tom Petty, even the losers get lucky sometimes.
You see, the Redmond, Wash. behemoth's dance card is already full of Fins with broad patent portfolios. And while Nokia may have seen better days, the company has made it clear that Microsoft is now its true one-and-only (I hear Nokia CEO Stehen Elop and Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer have even exchanged keys to their respective G5s). No matter how hard Samsung tries to cut-in, at the end of the night, we all know who Microsoft will go home with.
Which leads us to RIM. Awkward and a bit shy, the company seems like an easy mark. But every time the suave South Korean tries to make a move, someone changes the music and the feisty canuck starts dancing with itself again (think RIM CEO Thorsten Heins dressed like Billy Idol circa 1980 -- not a pretty sight). Maybe if RIM would put its BB10 "rebel yell" on hold for a minute the two could hook-up. But for now, the company seems content to keep pushing its retro solo act in the hopes that the public will take notice.
In the end, as the credits roll and the various couples exit the gymnasium on their way towards romantic bliss, we find poor Samsung, sitting alone in the back of a darkened car, playing with its little Bada. Sure, the company could settle for a supporting role as a plucky sidekick or goofy-yet-endearing third wheel (insert Asian typecasting joke here). However, the one-time leading man has tasted true love and now yearns for something more.
Perhaps there is still hope for Samsung. Some twist of legal fate could restore the company's status and free it to once again pursue its dreams in the post-PC spotlight. But for now, with its love affair with the little green man coming to a close, the former star of the mobile stage must be content with its new role as a bit player in a much larger production.
And as the screen fades to black, cue the classic J. Geils vinyl: "Love Stinks!"
Photo Credit: Cheryl Casey/Shutterstock
There is no denying that Ubuntu is one of the most popular and easy-to-use Linux distributions available and at the same time a viable alternative to the conventional operating system of choice, Windows. Before you decide to install, you should test it on a virtual machine first, which is where Oracle VirtualBox comes into play.
With Oracle VirtualBox you get all the benefits of installing Ubuntu on a virtual machine but without paying for virtualization software like VMware. It's powerful and easy to set up -- perfectly suited for the job at hand.
Prerequisites:
In order to start the process, Oracle VirtualBox must be installed and the Ubuntu ISO file must be downloaded as well.
Let's install Ubuntu in Oracle VirtualBox by following the next steps:
Depending on your configuration you might receive a prompt while the virtual machine starts. Just click "OK" and/or disable the prompt permanently.
You can now test and experience a fully working Ubuntu inside Oracle VirtualBox.
Windows 8 is just over a month from hitting the market and my sense is that this initial release, at least, will be at best controversial and at worst a failure. Microsoft is simply trying to change too many things at once.
What we have here is the Microsoft Bob effect, where change runs amuck simply because it can, compounded in this case by a sense of panic in Redmond, Wash. Microsoft so desperately needs Windows 8 to be a huge success that they’ve fiddled it into a likely failure.
What About Bob?
Microsoft Bob, if you don’t remember its fleeting passage in 1995, was a so-called social interface for Windows intended to be used by novices. The idea was that Bob should be so intuitive as to require no instruction at all. And it succeeded in that, I suppose, though was appallingly slow. I was at the Bob introduction and remember Bill Gates requiring 17 mouse clicks (I counted) just to open a file during his demo. I knew then that Bob was doomed and said so in print.
Just like every other writer who mentions Bob, I’ll take the low road here and recall that the Microsoft product manager for Bob was Melinda French. Who was going to tell the future Mrs. Gates that 17 clicks were too many?
But back then Microsoft, not Apple, was the $600 billion gorilla and could afford such indulgences. The company's market dominance has allowed it to survive any number of bad OS releases. Remember Windows ME? Remember Windows Vista? But those days are past, desktops are in decline and Microsoft doesn’t control the emerging mobile platforms. So the company tries very hard to use this new Windows release to help gain the upper hand in mobile.
It won’t work.
It won’t work because you can’t takeover mobile by hobbling the desktop. By adopting a common code base for both desktops and mobile all Microsoft is doing is compromising both. This is not good but I’m fairly confident it will also be shortly reversed.
Bobbing for Trouble
Using Windows 8 preview the first time, three words came out of my mouth were “How do I?” and then frustration. Have you tried it? It is not intuitive. Power users will persist and figure it out, but Mom and most everyone else will not be happy.
Microsoft took away the Start button and forces you to boot on the Modern side (Metro). There is not much in Metro for traditional PC users.
Removing the start button will confuse everyone and is a step backwards.
And developers, a vital Microsoft constituency, don’t like it either.
This too shall pass: I predict that Windows 8 Service Pack 1 will add the Start button back and allow you to boot directly into your desktop again.
Microsoft is a resilient company and will survive this misstep just as it has so many others. But what’s important here is not the bonehead design moves, but that they’ll be little to no help in the tablet and phone markets where Microsoft so desperately needs to succeed.
Just to be clear, here’s Microsoft’s internal business strategy as I understand it: In order to regain mobile momentum the company deliberately hobbles the desktop side. That way Microsoft can reasonably claim desktop sales as mobile sales and vice versa. What better way to pick up 100+ million “mobile licenses” in the next 12 months?
Only it’s BS. And even if it weren’t BS, even 100 million licenses aren’t enough to be the first or second player in a product space that will shortly have a billion units.
By overreaching with Windows 8 Microsoft not only won’t succeed, it is for the first time in 30+ years in a position to truly fail as a company.
This is Microsoft's best shot and so far appears to be blowing it.
If you’re not happy with your PC’s current fonts then a few seconds at Google will find you thousands more, easy to install and, often, entirely free of charge.
If your needs are very specific, though, the free Type light could help you to alter an existing font, or even create something entirely new to your own specifications.
The program can open, save and convert both TrueType and OpenType fonts, for instance. It’s able to map all Unicode characters, allows you to enter all the core font and glyph metrics, and provides basic drawing tools to help create the font you need.
Type light doesn’t make any concessions to beginners, unfortunately, so if you’re a font creation novice then initially the program will feel rather confusing. Click Font > Metrics, say, and you’ll be confronted with values such as WinAscent, WinDescent and ‘x’ Height, and there are no clues within the interface to help you figure things out.
The program does include a genuinely helpful user manual, though (click Help > User Manual), and whatever your level of font-related knowledge it’s worth browsing this before you begin. You’ll find plenty of useful hints to help you get more from the package.
And once you properly understand the basics it’s relatively easy to start drawing lines and curves, creating shapes, adjusting points and contours and generally bringing your ideas to life.
So if you really need to create your own custom fonts, don’t be put off by Type light‘s apparently steep learning curve. Invest just a little time in properly figuring out how everything works and you’ll soon be using the program productively.
Photo Credit: Denys Shentiapin/Shutterstock
Two months ago my colleague Patrick Roanhouse wrote "ADOBE FLASH IS DEAD -- on mobile!" and that looked like the end of Flash Player on Android, but as it turns out it is not. According to the BBC, Adobe has brought back Flash Player on the Google Play UK. What made them change their mind?
Flash Player for Android's UK revival can be attributed to pressure placed by strategic local partners. BBC requested the San Jose, Calif.-based corporation to postpone axing Flash Player, since the underpinning of the organization's iPlayer is Flash. The interesting bit is that BBC has refused to comment on its request to bring back Flash to Google Play, but acknowledges working with Adobe on an alternative video player -- sure sounds like great timing to revive it until a new product replaces iPlayer.
Flash Player might not be dead now, but don't expect it to live for long. The software is no longer updated and once the "strategic partners" get up to speed with newer technology, it will vanish forever. That is, if there are no unforeseeable requests in the future.
Dropbox has announced a major update to its pre-release Experimental Edition backup and sync software. Dropbox Experimental Edition 1.5.27 has been rebuilt using Python 2.7 (the current stable build, Dropbox 1.4.17, is based on Python 2.5).
Dropbox describes the result as “a Dropbox client that is faster to run, and easier for us to develop new features”. By way of example, version 1.5.27 includes a number of major new features, largely aimed at OS X users.
The major benefit of building Dropbox Experimental Edition in Python 2.7 for all users is performance. It also promises improved web logins from the client.
All other new features are Mac-only: version 1.5.27 comes with new icons that promise Retina support. It’s also bundled with a new, simpler installer -- just double-click to install. There’s support for Mountain Lion’s new Notification Center, and a fix for the delay when bringing up the context menu.
As this is the first release of a major new build, Dropbox is keen to stress that issues will arise, and recommends all users intending to install Dropbox Experimental Edition should back up the contents of their Dropbox folders before installing it.
One major issue already noted at this early stage is slow startup times on OS X, which also has an effect on installation times, so users are asked to double-click just the once and wait. Other issues are also starting to be reported by end users -- visit the Dropbox forum to get rolling updates on these.
Dropbox Experimental Edition 1.5.27 is available as a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux users with a Dropbox account. Also available is the latest stable build, Dropbox 1.4.17.
Photo Credit: Sergej Khakimullin/Shutterstock
It’s late at night, and you’d like to watch a movie on your PC, but there’s a problem: Set your system volume at a level where you can comfortably hear the dialog and quieter moments, and action scenes are often way too loud, annoying if you’re hoping not to disturb the neighbours.
You could try to adjust your volume down to some compromise level, of course, or perhaps keep altering it throughout the movie. But it might be easier just to install Sound Lock, which allows you to resolve this issue in a single step. The idea is that you first set your system volume to a level where you can hear even the quietest parts of your movie (or music, or game, or whatever else you’re playing).
Click Sound Lock’s system tray icon and you’re then able to set your system’s maximum loudness, just by dragging a slider and clicking “On”. From that point the program will begin to monitor your audio levels. And while quiet scenes will play as normal, if there’s a sudden loud soundtrack moment then Sound Lock will automatically limit it to the volume you’ve set.
What you’re doing here is effectively clipping the usual range of your speakers, and this won’t always be a good thing. Some movies use sudden loud noises to make you jump, for instance, and if your audio is all at a very similar level then they’ll probably lose a little of their atmosphere.
If you just need to occasionally exert a little more control over your system’s volumes, though,Sound Lock is a simple way to get the job done. Especially as the program is also free, has no adware or other hassles, and typically requires less than 4MB of RAM when running in the background: sounds great to us.
Photo Credit: Eastimages/Shutterstock
CEO Tim Cook describes China as Apple's second-most important region. For good reason. IDC predicts that smartphone shipments to the People's Republic of China will pass the United States this year. There's the question, which benefits more: Android or iPhone/iOS?
"The PRC smartphone market will continue to be lifted by the sub-US$200 Android segment", Wong Teck-Zhung, IDC senior market analyst, says. "Near-term prices in the low-end segment will come down to US$100 and below as competition for market share intensifies among smartphone vendors. Carrier-subsidized and customized handsets from domestic vendors will further support the migration to smartphones and boost shipments. Looking ahead to the later years in the forecast, the move to 4G networks will be another growth catalyst".
Android manufacturers already benefit. Buoyed by China, and also the United States, ZTE shipments grew 300 percent during second quarter and Samsung's 172.8 percent, according to IDC.
For the year, IDC forecasts dramatic changes. In 2011, US share was 21.3 percent compared to 18.3 percent for China. This year, China is expected to reach 26.5 percent, while the United States falls to 17.8 percent.
"That China will overtake the United States in smartphone shipments does not mean that the US smartphone market is grinding to a halt", Ramon Llamas, IDC senior research analyst, says. "Now that smartphones represent the majority of mobile phone shipments, growth is expected to continue, but at a slower pace. There is still a market for first-time users as well as thriving upgrade opportunities".
As the United States cools and China heats up, Apple faces increasing competition from lower-cost Androids reaching people with lower incomes. "Regionally, we expect smartphone demand to flow down to lower-tier cities", James Yan, IDC senior market analyst, says. "After going through a period of sustained high growth, top-tier cities are likely to see decelerating smartphone growth rates. In contrast, secondary cities are expected to experience accelerated smartphone growth, with strong demand for low-cost models as well as high-end models, which are desired as status symbols".
Android manufacturers increasingly offer larger selection of smartphones with broader features, such as dual-SIM capabilities, not available from Apple. As smartphone demand rises, regional white box manufacturers and larger brands like ZTE, or even Samsung, are best positioned to benefit.