PlayStation 4 development confirmed by Sony

And the company is looking to cut costs - Sony has begun development on the PlayStation 4, with the games giant confirming that work on the console was already underway.

In Sony's year-on-year results of its Networked Products & Services division – which comprises the PlayStation brand and PCs – Sony hinted that it was working on the PlayStation 4 but would not give any more details.

PlayStation 4 plans

"For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life," said Sony's Masaru Kato.

"But this is a platform business, so for the future platform – when we'll be introducing what product, I cannot discuss – but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there."

Kato also explained that some cost-cutting will happen with the development of the PS4.

Speaking to investors, he said: "It is no longer thinkable to have a huge initial financial investment like that of the PS3."

This makes sense considering the amount of money Sony pumped into the PS3 in its initial development phases.

It was only with the launch of the PS3 Slim that Sony could actually count on making a profit with its next-gen games console.

3:33 AM | 0 komentar | Read More

Zuckerberg wants pre-teen children on Facebook

MZ says Facebook plays a key role in education - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he will fight a long-standing legal ruling that prevents children under 13 joining the social networking site.

Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Facebook is prohibited from giving profiles to pre-teen kids.

However, with comments that are sure to provoke outrage, Zuckerberg claims that it is important for the education of children that they are able to join sites like Facebook from a younger age.

"That will be a fight we take on at some point. My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age," he said at the NewSchools summit in California.

"In the future, software and technology will enable people to learn a lot from their fellow students," he added.
Defend

Despite the legalities, it is already estimated that 7.5m children under-13 are already on the site because they lied about their age when signing up.

Zuckerberg came under heavy criticism in a US Senate committee last week for failing to protect children from predators as it does not employ enough people to review posts.

US Senator John Rockerfeller told one Facebook executive in attendance that "I want you to defend your company here because I don't know how you can."

3:51 PM | 2 komentar | Read More

Windows 8 coming in 2012, says Ballmer

Microsoft CEO refers to next-gen system as Windows 8 for the first time - Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer has confirmed that the company's next-generation systems will be out in 2012 and, in doing so, referred to the software as "Windows 8" for the first time.

Speaking at developers' conference in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, Ballmer confirmed that the successor to the successful Windows 7 platform will arrive next year for PCs, tablets and slates.

So far Microsoft has been careful not to refer to the forthcoming operating system as Windows 8 in any official capacity, but word from the big boss man leaves us in no doubt as to what it will be called.

More to come

He told developers: "We're obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows. Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year.

We've done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We've added touch, and ink, and speech.

"And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming.

"As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors."

It'll be interesting to see what Ballmer could mean by tablets and slates? Is a distinction being made there? Anyway, the countdown to Windows 8 is on.

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Twitter and Facebook Know Where You've Been Online? Do Not Like

For those who like to Like things on Facebook or tweet them to friends, beware: You're telling your social media much more about you than you might think.

A study carried out on behalf of the Wall Street Journal found that "Like" and "Tweet" widgets on websites track users' movements across the internet even when they're not used, with Facebook admitting to sharing data for advertising purposes only when the widget is clicked on. Twitter, meanwhile, claims to delete the information quickly, although a spokesman said that the company "could in theory use the data to 'surface better content' for users in the future."

The study, carried out by former Google engineer Brian Kennish's new comapny, Disconnect Inc., surveyed the 1,000 most popular sites online according to Google, and found that Facebook collected browsing data from 331 of them, with Twitter collecting data from "about 200." The collection of browsing data is described by their creators as an "unintended side-effect" of the way that the widgets work, with Facebook's CTO Bret Taylor telling the WSJ "We don't use them for tracking and they're not intended for tracking." Well, not yet, at least.

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Investors say RIM is the next Palm, due for a continued decline and eventual buyout

Hasn't RIM suffered enough? Investors don't seem to think so. According to many analysts, RIM is poised to continue their tragic plunge in value, and eventually become the next Palm, bought out by a giant like Microsoft or HP.

In 2008, RIM's shares saw their peak at $148 per share. Right now, it's valued at $43.56. And analysts say that it could be as low as the mid-30s by the beginning of 2012. If so, that would make RIM a tempting, albeit expensive, acquisition for a giant like Microsoft.

Analysts point to the BlackBerry PlayBook as one of their major attempts to rebound. But poor reviews, and reportedly meager sales have diminished their optimism. And that sheds some light on RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis' outbursts. If his board was telling him that the PlayBook absolutely needed to succeed, we can understand his emotional reaction.

RIM's other CEO, Jim Balsillie, recently admitted that their products are aging, and promised that a new generation of high-end BlackBerry devices was on its way. But, considering the time it will take to bring those to market, investors expect the decline to continue into next year. And we consumers have both a long memory, and limited loyalty. So RIM can't expect us to be waiting for them to blow our minds in 2013.

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Google Closes Newspaper Archive Project

Scanning all the news ever proves too strenuous - Google has shut its newspaper archive project down, after digitising around 2,000 titles.

The search engine had hoped to create a mass digital library of every article ever written, but Google has announced that it will not be processing any more files.

A spokesperson for Google said, "We work closely with newspaper partners on a number of initiatives, and as part of the Google News Archives digitization program we collaborated to make older newspapers accessible and searchable online.

"These have included publications like the London Advertiser in 1895, L'Ami du Lecteur at the turn of the century, and the Milwaukee Sentinel from 1910 to 1995."

Relevant

The statement continued, "Users can continue to search digitized newspapers at http://news.google.com/archivesearch, but we don't plan to introduce any further features or functionality to the Google News Archives and we are no longer accepting new microfilm or digital files for processing."

According to an email sent to newspaper partners, Google has drawn the curtains on the Google News Archives programme in order to concentrated on "newer projects that help the industry, such as Google One Pass, a platform that enables publishers to sell content and subscriptions directly from their own sites."

3:19 PM | 0 komentar | Read More

Mobile apps create smartphone loyalty, says Gartner

Research findings point to possible difference in thinking between platform owners and developers - Analyst firm Gartner released its latest mobile handset sales data yesterday, including a chart ranking Android, Symbian, iPhone, BlackBerry and Windows Phone by smartphone sales to end users in the first quarter of 2011. The "sales" part of that is important, since many other reports of this kind focus purely on shipments.

If Gartner's figures are on the money, then 36.3m Android smartphones were sold in Q1, with Google's OS having blazed past Symbian (27.6m), putting their market share of new sales in the quarter at 36% and 27.4% respectively. Apple's iOS takes third place with 16.9m sales and a market share of 16.8%, with BlackBerry in fourth with 13m and a 12.9% share.

Gartner pegs sales of Microsoft-powered smartphones at 3.7m units for Q1, with a 3.6% market share, although the company claims that only 1.6m of those were running the new Windows Phone 7 OS, suggesting that Microsoft will have to wait for the first Nokia WP7 devices before its platform takes off.

There's plenty of food for thought (and argument) for app developers there, but actually the most interesting thing about Gartner's latest research is this comment from its principal research analyst Roberta Cozza:

"Every time a user downloads a native app to their smartphone or puts their data into a platform's cloud service, they are committing to a particular ecosystem and reducing the chances of switching to a new platform. This is a clear advantage for the current stronger ecosystem owners Apple and Google. As well as putting their devices in the context of a broader ecosystem, manufacturers must start to see their smartphones as part of a computing continuum."

In a nutshell: apps are creating loyalty. Persuading someone to switch smartphone OS is about more than a whizzy new user interface or impressive hardware features in a new handset. It's about answering the question "Which of the apps I use now are available on your platform, and for the ones that aren't, what have you got that's better?"

This is partly why the iPod touch is such an important device for Apple, acting as a gateway device to the iPhone for owners of other smartphones – and particularly for the children whose parents are buying them an iPod touch in lieu of a DS or PSP.

The fact that apps create loyalty is also why Microsoft (and others, but it's being the most open about it) are fiercely courting the top iOS developers to bring their apps to its platform. Witness its soon-to-launch Must Have Games promotion on Windows Phone 7, which includes Doodle Jump, Plants Vs Zombies and Angry Birds.

Creating loyalty isn't just about matching what Apple and Google have on their app stores, though. Every platform owner is keen to have unique apps and games, whether through their own features (Xbox Live being Microsoft's example), or through developers making use of their APIs to add platform-specific features. RIM wants BlackBerry developers to make "Super Apps", for example, while Microsoft wants Windows Phone 7 apps to conform to its platform's visual aesthetic.

The conflict may come with developers who want to launch their apps across as many different smartphones as possible with the minimum of porting hassles. Or to put it another way, developers are focused on creating a loyal base of users for their apps, more than reworking those apps to help create loyalty to particular platforms.

2:57 PM | 0 komentar | Read More

HTC: 'Nokia Windows Phone 7 deal will help us'

HTC reaffirms commitment to Microsoft's mobile OS - HTC's European boss thinks that the company will also benefit from Nokia's agreement to make Windows Phone 7 handsets.

Despite the likelihood that the Finnish smartphone giant will become Microsoft's favourite manufacturer, Florian Seiche says that HTC can profit from the platform's raised profile.

He told the Reuters Global Technology Summit: "[The Nokia deal] will not change our commitment to Microsoft.

"With a new player entering, it should actually help to elevate the relevance of that platform ... we actually feel that we should be able to benefit.

"The long-term opportunity with Nokia entering will definitely bring Windows back to critical mass."

Flyer performing well

During the summit Sieche also revealed that the company is pleased with the sales performance of its first Android tablet, the HTC Flyer, but refused to be drawn on actual figures.

"It's early days but we feel very good about it," he says.

"In five years' time, schools will have tablets probably instead of physical notebooks. I think that's going to be such a massive wave of additional penetration in society... I think we can't even guess the potential."

Sieche also said that the Taiwanese giant plans to launch its first NFC-enabled smartphone within the next twelve months.

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Bing: 'Google's search model is failing'

Microsoft's Bing head sees the end of traditional search - The director of Microsoft's Bing 'decision engine' has criticised Google's search service for being outdated and failing to keep-up with the needs of its users.

Stefan Weitz told the Huffington Post that Google's tried-and-trusted algorithm, of providing top results based on how frequently other sites linking back, is now failing users across the world.

"Search itself hasn't changed fundamentally in the past 12 years," said Weitz.

"Traditional search is failing. The standard notion of search, looking at the texts in the page, the backlinks, all that stuff doesn't work anymore."

Social search

Weitz says Bing's approach is to incorporate a more social aspect to search and also anticipate what the user's needs really are to enable them to make decisions more easily and quickly based on the results.

The latest example of this is Bing's incorporation of Facebook's 'Like' system. From this week, sites will be given preferential treatment in Bing's search results if the user's friends have liked that brand or site on Facebook.

"Our mission is literally to deliver knowledge by understanding intent. What that implies is that we understand the web as this digital representation of the real world," Weitz said.

"We've now mapped almost every single square inch of the planet, we know where buildings are, we know who the people are, we know what tasks people are accomplishing - we are literally creating a semantic model, or a model, for everything in the world."

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Android Permissions will be made Clearer, says Google

Schmidt: Written by lawyers approach not working - Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has stated that the company is working hard to simplify the often bemusing Android permissions screen when installing apps.

Currently, users are given a list of what services and data an app has access to, which often overstates exactly what it will do with that data.

Schmidt – talking at Google's Big Tent event in London – explained that the legal necessities should not degrade the user experience, and said the company is working on a solution.

Written by lawyers

"These things [permissions] are written by lawyers and they are completely accurate over five paragraphs instead of saying "we're going to do this with your data".

"We're working on a series of projects looking to simplify and we intend to do it."

Schmidt also expressed his surprise that the work being done on translation for the mobile phone was not getting more plaudits, describing the increasingly effective technology as 'earth shattering'.

Cloud translation

"We forget how far we have come," he said. "To me the most interesting thing in the last year was the fact that we can speak into our phones and out of the other end comes a language that I don't even speak.

"So I speak in English, that goes through a decoder into text, that text is translated into text in a foreign language and then a speech generator speaks it out at the other end, all using cloud computing.

"That's earth shattering to me."

1:33 PM | 0 komentar | Read More

The Psycology of Apple

You are a perfectionist
The iPhone appeals to perfectionists because it’s built by obsessives for obsessives – and perfectionists arc obsessional,” says psychologist Paul Buckley of the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. “My own research has found two different types of people love brands like Apple: people with low self-esteem and high self-esteem. Those with low self-esteem buy Apple products to boost self-image, while those with high self-esteem buy them to show off. The latter arc perfectionists, as everything they want to buy is branded, whether it’s trainers or phones. These people are driven, they want the best and feel they deserve it.”
You prefer to fit in

“Apple iPhone, iPad and Mac owners are worried about impression management,” stares Dr Buckley. “They feel the iPhone will create a good impression.” It all plays into the psychological concept called the “reference group”, explains chartered psychologist Tom Stewart. “Who we compare ourselves with is very powerful. iPhone owners like to feel that they are part of this Apple family and that they are being treated better than others. It also alienates another group of people who don’t even want to tolerate the idea that the iPhone might be good.”

You like simplicity and order
“The iPhone is a seamless, integrated perfect whole to the people who own one,” explains Buckley. “Ultimately, any tech manufacturer can make an Android phone if they want to. Apple maintains control and order, so its owners don’t have to. They feel that, perhaps wrongly, problems [with Apple products] are few and far between, if there are any issues. It’s more about functionality than it is about being a tech geek. If you buy an iPhone, an iPad, or a Mat:, you feel secure in knowing it’s going to work, because Apple design and make the whole thing.”

Aesthetics are important to you
“Almost two percent of consumers – we call them innovators- will buy almost anything at any price,” says Dr Buckley. They want the latest things when they come out, whether it’s an iPhone or the latest kit for the home. iPhone owners also tend to be fashion innovators. The appeal is all about being the real deal, rather than having a *me-too’ product. Apple is well aware that its products appeal to design lovers, hence they try their best to make their consumers feel like trendsetters.”

You find solace in first success
“It’s all part of this feeling of newness and wanting to be seen as different, but still conforming,” according to Dr Buckley. “Apple users take encouragement from the brand’s consumer success stories. It gives them something to talk about and fuels the belief that their tech evokes envy in others. Deep down that’s the main motivation for buying an iPhone: the need to be the first and to have something other people haven’t.”

Tom Stewart – Psychologist at British Psychological Society

Dr. Paul Bukley – Marketing and Consumer Psychology, Whales Institute

4:19 AM | 0 komentar | Read More

The Psycology of Android

You are a risk taker

“Android owners are willing to take more risks.” claims psychologist Paul Buckley. “They’re not so worried about the security of their device, especially as Android Market is more open. They’re not so concerned by status either. Having the top brand doesn’t matter, they Just want something that can do great stuff.” As fellow psychologist Tom Stewart explains, open-source Android is more risky by its very nature: There are Still significant differences between individual Android phones, whereas the iPhone is all about die seamless integration of hardware and software.”

You are assertive and open minded
“Android owners don’t care about brand.’ say’s Dr Buckley. “They don’t care what their mates think and they’re more practically minded – The brand of the phone doesn’t matter, it’s what they can do with it. Evidence suggests that the type of phone you have is about being different. People are tired of having die same phone as everyone else, hence people want to go for Android phones. It’s no coincidence that Android activations are surging as they release so many new handsets.”

You are a confident decision maker
“What you tend to find is that Android owners don’t want to pay the full whack for a new phone and don’t care what others think of that decision,” says Dr Buckley. “Maybe the box isn’t quite as nice and maybe the download software isn’t as neat as iTunes, but it’s a fraction of the price and you can do different things with it that Apple won’t let you do. You’re not at the mercy of [Apple's] development cycle either.” “It’s a control thing,” confirms Stewart. “Android owners look at Apple and see what Steve Jobs is telling them they can and can’t do. Even if it’s not that important to them, they don’t like being told they can’t do it.”

Tom Stewart – Psychologist at British Psychological Society
Dr. Paul Bukley – Marketing and Consumer Psychology, Whales Institute

You are anti-establishment
Apple’s growing reputation as a massive mainstream company is a factor too. “Basically, Apple built its reputation on being a maverick and now it’s mainstream,” says Dr Buckley. It’s no longer [Apple] who arc a bit different. There are large numbers of people who do not like that dominance and are willing to challenge it.”

You don’t need others approval
“Android owners don’t seek approval in the same way iPhone owners do,” according to Dr Buckley. “There are different motivations for the two groups. If you look at the social breakdown of the two products, the iPhone is aspirational, whereas Android phones don’t carry the same status. Essentially. Android owners are most concerned with what makes them happy, rather than what makes others around them happy. Android owners can be described as the ‘early majority* rather than ‘innovators’. They’re still near the leading edge when it comes to consumer adoption. but they don’t require approval in quite the same way innovators do. Android phones aren’t aspirational gadgets, but that’s a key reason why certain people choose to buy them.”

4:08 AM | 0 komentar | Read More

What are People doing With Tablet Computers?

So, what are tablet owners doing most with their devices? According to a survey of 1,400 U.S. tablet owners by Google’s AdMob, 84% are playing games, followed by searching for information (78%), emailing (74%), reading news (61%), social networking (56%), consuming music and/or video (51%), and reading ebooks (46%).

Interestingly, 28% now use their tablets as their primary computers, while 43% spend more time with their tablets than their PCs or laptops. Those last two percentages seem to jibe with PC-shipment numbers IDC recently released, citing that Q1 2011 global shipments sank 3.2% year-to-year to 80.6 million units from about 83.2
million, marking the first contraction in the global market since “the end of the recent recession.” HP shipments dropped 2.8%, Dell 1.8%, and Acer 15.8%. Though “good-enough computing” is now a “firm reality, exemplified first by mini-notebooks and now media tablets,” IDC’s Jay Chou stated, falling PC shipments are also tied to “extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling new PC experiences,” stated IDC’s Bob O’Donnell.

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YouTube to add 3,000 Titles to Movie Rentals Service

Sharing site will take on Netflix with exclusive bonus content - YouTube will begin adding 3,000 new movies to its US-only movie rentals service from today.

The Google-owned video sharing giant will try and lure viewers from the likes of Netflix, Sony and Apple by offering "behind-the-scenes movie extras" to accompany full-length movies.

In a blog entitled "Welcome to the future of video," the company says it is also investing more money in producing original content through the YouTube partners scheme

"Today, we're going to start adding around 3,000 new movies available to users in the U.S. (more on this in a post later today) that will be accompa,nied by reviews and behind-the-scenes movie extras," YouTube says.

"Whether it's short movie trailers, funny movie parodies or full-length blockbuster films, we encourage you to sit back and settle in to the YouTube movies experience."

Massive audience
YouTube is yet to reveal which movies will come to the service (perhaps that will become clear in an update expected later today), but its clear that the company plans to use its massive audience to take on the giants of movie streaming.

There's still no word on whether the site plans to launch the service internationally. That will depend on how quickly it can make deals with the studios.

Update: YouTube will partner with studios Sony, Universal and Warner Brothers and films will be available to watch at YouTube.com/movies

6:20 AM | 3 komentar | Read More

Microsoft buys Skype for $8.5 billion

Pays for the company in cold, hard cash - Microsoft has officially acquired Skype for $8.5 billion, a deal which has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.

"Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about the deal.

"Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world."

ORIGINAL STORY

Microsoft has all-but sealed a deal to buy internet phone firm Skype, reportedly looking to pay $8 billion for the company.

Skype has been long sought after by many tech companies, with Google, Microsoft and Facebook all rumoured to be interested in buying the service but it seems that it is Ballmer and co. who have reached for the chequebook.

Although the deal is not yet official, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that it could be announced today – as long as negotiations go smoothly.

As part of the deal Microsoft is set to take on Skype's current debt, with the WSJ believing this will mean it will have to pay as much as $8.5 billion for the company.

Biggest ever buy

If the acquisition is successful then it will be the biggest ever for Microsoft, a company which has started to lose traction to the likes of Google.

Skype has been around since 2003 and is was bought by the folks behind eBay, who paid $2.5 billion for the web service back in 2005. It was then bought by private investors - who originally invested in Skype - in 2009 for around $2 billion.

In recent years Skype has found its way on to more and more products, including mobile phones and televisions.

6:08 AM | 0 komentar | Read More