Google to content farms: It's war

Google has set in motion the changes that it announced recently to combat "content farms"--companies that produce large amounts of inexpensive, search-engine-optimized content that have been frequently decried for their low quality.
But will there be sweeping changes in the way we view and navigate the Web? It's hard to tell just yet.
"In the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking--a change that noticeably impacts 11.8 percent of our queries--and we wanted to let people know what's going on," Google said in a blog post last night. "This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites--sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites--sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on."
Part of this strategy involves a Chrome browser extension called Personal Blocklist.
But Demand Media, the recent IPO at the forefront of the "content farm" controversy, said today that it's been unaffected by Google's algorithm change, so far. "It's impossible to speculate how these or any changes made by Google impact any online business in the long term--but at this point in time, we haven't seen a material net impact on our Content and Media business," Demand Media executive vice president Larry Fitzgibbons said last night in a blog post. Demand Media, nevertheless, leaves open the possibility that its content could be affected in the future.
Indeed, Google said the changes may not be visible immediately, especially as the modifications to its algorithm are currently affecting only U.S. users. "We're very excited about this new ranking improvement because we believe it's a big step in the right direction of helping people find ever higher quality in our results," the Google blog post explained. "We've been tackling these issues for more than a year, and working on this specific change for the past few months. And we're working on many more updates that we believe will substantially improve the quality of the pages in our results."
What's at stake for Google here is the fact that critics have said content farms are making search results less useful and less relevant. With pressure from the "social search" trend fueled by Facebook's success and from search rival Bing inching up in market share, this decision may be more pressing for Google than it appears at first glance.

Timeline: A look back at Kinect's history

The Kinect.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Kinect has turned out to be a big success for Microsoft, and Monday's news that the company is planning to officially bring the technology to Windows users marks an important step in Kinect's progress as a platform for new types of software and gesture-based user interfaces.
That said, if you take a look back, it's not like we didn't see this coming.
Even so, Kinect has turned out to be more successful than Microsoft originally imagined, with sales that dramatically beat estimates. It's also helped reform the image of the software giant from a company that's overly protective of its creations to one that's paying attention to what people do with a product once it's been launched--even if those uses fall outside the original intent.
Now's as good a time as any to take a look back at how the Kinect journey has played out, from scattered rumors of Microsoft developing a Wii remote competitor, all the way to the motion-controlled camera sensor that's gone on to make an immediate impact on Microsoft's bottom line.
Follow along to see how the product went from rumors to reality, and to check out several milestones on that route.

Feds seek new ways to bypass encryption

SAN FRANCISCO--When agents at the Drug Enforcement Administration learned a suspect was using PGP to encrypt documents, they persuaded a judge to let them sneak into an office complex and install a keystroke logger that recorded the passphrase as it was typed in.
A decade ago, when the search warrant was granted, that kind of black bag job was a rarity. Today, however, law enforcement agents are encountering well-designed encryption products more and more frequently, forcing them to invent better ways to bypass or circumvent the technology.

"Every new agent who goes to the Secret Service academy goes through a week of training" in computer forensics, including how to deal with encrypted files and hard drives, U.S. Secret Service agent Stuart Van Buren said at the RSA computer security conference last week.
One way to circumvent encryption: Use court orders to force Web-based providers to cough up passwords the suspect uses and see if they match. "Sometimes if we can go in and find one of those passwords, or two or three, I can start to figure out that in every password, you use the No. 3," Van Buren said. "There are a lot of things we can find."

If it's on the Internet, does that make it quotable?

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The news headlines in Grand Rapids, Mich., were dominated this week by local sports, a debate over wage raises for workers who receive tips, and a man who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for encouraging his dog to kill a raccoon. But there was also some newsroom controversy within the local Grand Rapids Press newspaper: Just how quotable is Twitter?
An entertainment reporter, Rachael Recker, wrote an article in which she quoted several Twitter users and identified them by username. For those of us accustomed to the tech press, this is no surprise--but for a local newspaper, it's unorthodox territory. Recker was met with criticism from readers as well as some of the Twitter users quoted, who, according to a column published earlier this week in the Grand Rapids Press, thought that the journalist "wasn't doing a full job of reporting, since she didn't contact them personally for a quote...(and) questioned whether it is appropriate to use tweets in an online story without specifically asking for permission."

This minicontroversy--if something is public on the Web, does that make it automatically open for quoting within the realm of copyright restrictions?--is not restricted to Twitter. One-to-one e-mails should be private. So should instant messages. Beyond that, it gets messy.
Question-and-answer site Quora has a little-known policy in which users can flag their answers, many of which are extensive and detailed, as "not for reproduction." Facebook, encouraging an ever-growing amount of public content, says in its terms of service that users grant it "a nonexclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free, worldwide license" to what they say and upload on the social network, but is very fuzzy on details when it comes to quoting and reproducing that content outside of Facebook. The Web has not just flooded the world with print content, it's flooded it with new kinds of content--public and semipublic e-mail lists, Facebook groups, blog comments, answers on question-and-answer sites--and the old rules of quotability don't always fit.
But here's somewhere to start: If something is public, it's quotable. If you don't want to be quoted, don't say it on the Internet. If you have a public Twitter account and say something, then, yes, it's public. Should Twitter users expect to be contacted and asked for permission to have their tweets reprinted? Don't count on it.
It can get a little more complicated, of course. Quora requires users to be logged in before they can browse anything, which means that content isn't completely public, and on Facebook it's hard to tell what isn't hidden behind any kind of contacts-only or co-workers-only restriction unless you log out and reload the page to see if it's still visible. So in both of those cases, quoting is significantly more ambiguous than on Twitter.
Then there's the Web's panoply of semipublic services, forums and groups and e-mail lists galore. I ran into this headlong when, in a story earlier this year, I quoted a user's post from NextNY, an e-mail list that I've been on since 2006 and to my recollection had joined without any trouble; the list openly solicits membership on its Web site, lists no reprinting policy, and has more than 3,000 members. I contacted that user to ask permission but didn't hear back, and with a deadline impending decided to just run with it. The user ultimately got back to me and asked if I might disassociate his name from the quotation. Digging a little deeper, I learned that the NextNY archives are not indexed in search engines, and while membership is openly solicited, I verified with an administrator that new users do have to be approved by a moderator. That was "nonpublic" enough for me. I ran a correction.
That was an instance in which the situation was ambiguous, but I now have a new rule of thumb for dealing with e-mail list and forum quoting in the future--and I now encourage my colleagues and acquaintances who administer e-mail lists to come up with policies for republishing content if they don't have them already. Journalists aren't the only ones who publish on the Web; a line from a semipublic e-mail list could easily be reproduced and disseminated by anyone with a Twitter account or a blog.
But in the case of the Grand Rapids Press incident, I side with Rachael Recker--as does her employer. "For the record, we consider tweets fair game for publication unless they appear in a direct message. Same goes for Facebook posts that are accessible to public viewing," the newspaper's column explained. "Almost everyone on Twitter retweets interesting comments, and no one asks permission to do so. You're sharing that person's observations with potentially thousands of people, depending if it is retweeted yet again."
(Or, potentially millions, if Ashton Kutcher comes across your tweet and decides he finds it brilliant.)
The Web is forcing us all to redefine what's public and what's private in many instances. We often don't know who might be listening, and we can never be sure who might be capable of broadcasting that information to the masses. In 5 or 10 years, we may have well-known rules and guidelines for dealing with quoting and republishing digital media--but not yet. GigaOM writer Mathew Ingram may have summed it up best in a tweet, which I am now quoting (how meta!) in which he riffed on the Quora "not for reproduction" policy.
"Here's a tip for anyone using the 'not for reproduction' thing on Quora," Ingram wrote. "Don't want your answer quoted? Don't put it on the Internet."

Quick Links: Simply Sachin | Sachin Through the Years | Video: Venue for the Opening Match Pakistan-Lanka rivalry promises to spice up World Cup

Sri Lanka's consistency will be pitted against Pakistan's unpredictability when the continental rivals meet on Saturday for what promises to be the most intense battle of the World Cup so far. Emotions will run high in the Group A match featuring the two former champions as it was a 2009 gun attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore that eventually cost Pakistan the co-hosts' status of the ongoing World Cup.

A consistent Sri Lanka look stronger on paper with a formidable batting lineup but form book will count for little when they take on a highly unpredictable Pakistan at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium.
Both sides have strong batting line-ups that have breached the 300-mark against associate teams in their respective tournament openers.
With the pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir serving bans on corruption charges, Pakistan's pace attack has a depleted look and a lot would depend on how Umar Gul and Shoaib Akhtar perform.
Sri Lanka also continue to fret over pace bowler Lasith Malinga, who seemed to have recovered from a back strain but the team management do not want to rush him back into action.
"He is 100 percent fit to be selected," captain Kumar Sangakkara said in Colombo.
"There are not any injury worries. Lasith is improving but we don't want to rush him."

Bricklayer's death carries a dreadful irony

Ross Bush finished his bricklaying work some time after noon on Tuesday and had stopped outside a bakery before heading off to his next job.
His daughter Liana Bush, 41, says he probably was about to get his usual - "a pie and probably a milkshake" - when tragedy struck him and hundreds of others.
Before he could go inside, the 6.3 quake that has devastated Christchurch shook the bakery facade off the building and pounded his car with bricks and rubble.
Yesterday, Liana Bush made an emotional visit to where he died on Riccarton Rd, partly for closure but also to try to retrieve his belongings.
Friends who had driven past couldn't see the car and she wondered whether it had been towed away. But yesterday, she and her partner Marcus White found it, flattened by debris.
"It's just wrong that he's gone like this. We went searching for him and managed to get through the cordon at the hospital," she said through tears.

A police officer who knew her father told her what happened to him and where to look. "He warned me it wouldn't be pleasant but if I had to go there I should go - but I wasn't expecting to see that."
She said it was ironic her father had been a bricklayer since he was 15 and it was "bloody bricks" that killed him. "He would have found that funny. That's the sort of sense of humour he had."
It was important for her to be able to take home his belongings. "That bag is probably 100 years old," she laughed. "He's a bricklayer so everything went into his bag. You know he doesn't have a computer or email so everything got written down."
Scrawled on the note pad found in the front seat was a list he'd made, probably the night before the earthquake. It was of things he had to do, each one carefully crossed out as it was completed.
One job remained for Tuesday at 2pm - to quote on a bricklaying job. That person later phoned, worried Mr Bush never made the appointment.
Liana Bush managed to salvage items including his comb, sunglasses and his gloves, which she put on.
"He was just so special, so old-school, such a good man. He was teaching me how to ride. I was just cycling with him the other day and he was pissed off 'cause I wouldn't put my cleats on. I kept riding in my normal running shoes."
Despite his 74 years, Mr Bush remained an avid cyclist. "Cycling was his life." He had 10 bikes at home and "all the flash cycling gear, like Lance Armstrong".
A well-known cyclist around Christchurch, Mr Bush represented New Zealand and started a cycling group on Wednesday nights.
As she searched through the grim scene yesterday Ms Bush wore an old tracksuit jacket her father was given when he made a representative team.
This weekend her family are gathering to remember him and times they'd shared. The funeral is a long way off being planned and his body still has to be formally identified.
Ms Bush said her father taught her and her sisters Nadine, Monique and Nicole and brother Greg good values.
"He was a humble man ... He achieved so much and taught us so much. He's got all these grandchildren who love him so much."
He also taught them hard work. "He always taught us we had to earn what we had. ... it's not what you earn in life, it's what you save."

Christchurch earthquake: Slow, difficult work continues in Cathedral

Recovery teams are making progress on painstaking work to remove bodies from the iconic cathedral labelled the "broken heart" of Christchurch.
Police believe up to 22 bodies remain inside Christchurch Cathedral and its spire.
Engineers have braced the west wall at the site and are removing loose and insecure masonry.
Two cranes are being used for the work, which engineers say is delicate and difficult.
Among the engineers was Ian Oliver from New Plymouth who was with a team on a raised platform assessing the damage.

Christchurch earthquake: Toll rises to 144

John Anderson stands outside his damaged home on Avonside

The official death toll for the Christchurch earthquake has risen to 144 this evening.
"We expect that number to rise," said Superintendent David Cliff.
The number of missing people for whom there are grave concerns remains at more than 200, he said.
Silence to remember victims
The Prime Minister has asked for a two-minute silence on March 1 "as a sign of unity for the people of Christchurch and out of respect for those that lost their lives".

"Canterbury will recover and we will do all we can to ensure it does.
"For now we must do all we can to show its people that all of New Zealand grieves with them."
John Key met with the families of those still missing earlier today, who have been waiting for days for news of their loved ones.
"They fear the worst but there is still a glimmer of hope," he said.
"The urban search and rescue crew made it clear that this was still very much a rescue effort, not a recovery.
"People can survive for considerable periods of time without water and food, and we're working as hard as we can to find those who might have survived this tragedy but might be trapped."
Mr Key thanked the family of Private Kirifi Mila - who was recently killed in Afghanistan - for cancelling the scheduled military funeral so that military resources could be redirected to Christchurch.
The Government will announce an economic package on Monday.
"It won't be the final solution. That's a very complex issue but it is an attempt for those who have lost their income and livelihood - and there is a substantial number of those - that they have some immediate help to get them through."
The packages are likely to last for a month, when further arrangements will be made.
"We are dealing with some very difficult circumstances here."
Mr Key said he had a spoken to a man this afternoon who had lost his home, his business and his wife.
"That is the magnitude of loss that some of them are facing. We have been inundated with support from around New Zealand and around the world, and it's important that those families know at this critical point in time that they are not alone, and they are not abandoned."
One woman he spoke to wanted to thank the Telecom workers who carried her through the CBD on a board to the hospital, despite her substantial injuries.
He said search and rescue teams had searched the entire central city except for the area around the Grand Chancellor Hotel, because of the danger the hotel posed if it collapsed.
He said a lot of buildings in the city would have to be rebuilt.

Libya: Gaddafi vows to fight as oppn closes in

Tripoli: Muammar Gaddafi vowed to "crush any enemy" on Friday, addressing supporters in central Tripoli as Libya's popular uprising closed in around him and Western powers set about punishing him for attacks on his own people.

"We will fight if they want," the 68-year-old leader declared after a day of clashes in parts of the capital between security forces and crowds of protesters, which Gaddafi's opponents said had left some districts in their hands.

With eastern Libya firmly under opposition control after a week of unrest, protesters held the centre of Zawiyah, west of the capital, a witness said, and laid makeshift defences to fend off government forces after successive fierce attacks.

Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, talking to foreign journalists flown to Tripoli under escort, acknowledged his forces had "a problem" there and in the city of Misrata, 200 km (120 miles) east of Tripoli. But everywhere else was calm, he said, and talk of state brutality merely "lies" put about by hostile media.

Residents of the capital took a different view. "There have been gunshots non-stop," one woman said, who spoke of a friend seeing people shot down by security forces in the Souk al-Jumaa neighbourhood. "She saw them shoot straight at the protesters."

Libya: US imposes sanctions; closes embassy

Washington: Going ahead with unilateral sanctions against the Muammar Gaddafi regime, the US on Friday suspended its military ties with Libya and temporarily closed down its embassy in Tripoli.

Toughening its stand against the authoritarian Libyan government, White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, said more

measures against Libya are in the pipeline and would be announced in due course of time.

The US is also in talks with its international partners with regard to collective action against the Libyan regime including those at the United Nations.

"There has never been a time when this much has been done quickly," Carney said, adding that the US which has very

limited military relationship with Libya and also very limited military sales with them, both of which have been suspended.

"Col Gaddafi has lost the confidence of his people. His legitimacy has been reduced to zero in the eyes of his people," Carney said but was quick to add that it is a matter for the people of Libya to decide on the leadership of the country.

"The status quo is not acceptable," Carney said. The US President, Barack Obama, would meet the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday, he said.

"Given current security conditions in Libya, coupled with our inability to guarantee fully the safety and security

of our diplomatic personnel in the country, the Department of State has temporarily withdrawn Embassy personnel from Tripoli and suspended all embassy operations effective February 25, 2011," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said.

UNSC to take action to stop Libya violence

United Nations: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has asked the powerful Security Council to take "concrete action" against Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya to stop his forces' bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters, warning

that any delay would add to the death toll which has already crossed 1,000.

"It is time for the Security Council to consider concrete action," he said in his address to the 15-member body, including India, which held its second meeting on Libya in less than a week.

The loss of time means more loss of lives, Ban said last evening, adding that the estimated death toll in the violence in Libya in recent days was more than 1,000.

The UNSC meeting is scheduled to continue on Saturday as well during which the Council would consider a draft resolution, "including specific targeted measures aimed at putting an end to violence, helping achieve a peaceful solution to the current crisis, ensuring accountability and respecting the will of the Libyan people," its President for this month, Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, said.

"These accounts - from the press, from human rights groups and from civilians on the ground - raise grave concerns about the nature and scale of the conflict. They include allegations of indiscriminate killings, arbitrary arrests, shooting of peaceful demonstrators, the detention and torture of the opposition and the use of foreign mercenaries," he said.

Some 22,000 have fled to Tunisia and a reported 15,000 to Egypt, Ban said.

"It is time for the Security Council to consider concrete action. The hours and the days ahead will be decisive for Libyans and their country, with equally important implications for the wider region.

"The statements and actions of the Security Council are eagerly awaited and will be closely followed throughout the

region," Ban said.

Later, Ban told reporters that he has urged the Security Council to go through a wide range of options.

"I understand that the Security Council is very seriously considering all possible options but that is up to the Member States of the Security Council - to determine what course of action should be taken at this time," he said.

"I am not sure, after having spoken extensively with Col Gaddafi, whether he will yield to the calls of the international community. Of course, whenever it is necessary, I am willing to do anything to protect civilian populations and to stop the violence. But he has been trying to justify and defend his position; I have been trying to talk to all the leaders in the region and I will continue to do that," Ban said in response to a question.

Libya: efforts underway to bring back Indians

Video

New Delhi: As the unrest in Libya intensifies, New Delhi's evacuation efforts are gathering momentum to rescue 18 thousand Indians trapped there. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that the evacuation process to bring back Indians stuck in Libya has begun.

The first civil ship is expected to sail from Alexandria to Benghazi where it will pick up the first batch of a thousand labourers. Air India flights are still waiting for clearance to land in Tripoli, Benghazi, Sabah and Kufra - where more Indians are waiting. Back home, their families are praying for a safe return.

Two special Air India flights are expected to reach Tripoli any time now to bring home the first batch of 700 stranded immigrants.

New Delhi: As the unrest in Libya intensifies, New Delhi's evacuation efforts are gathering momentum to rescue 18 thousand Indians trapped there. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that the evacuation process to bring back Indians stuck in Libya has begun.The first civil ship is expected to sail from Alexandria to Benghazi where it will pick up the first batch of a thousand labourers. Air India flights are still waiting for clearance to land in Tripoli, Benghazi, Sabah and Kufra - where more Indians are waiting. Back home, their families are praying for a safe return.Two special Air India flights are expected to reach Tripoli any time now to bring home the first batch of 700 stranded immigrants.

Three naval warships will also set sail for Malta on Saturday. The island across the Mediterranean has become an evacuation hub for several countries.

Additionally, a passenger ship will set sail for Benghazi on Sunday; it is expected to return with Indian evacuees to Alexandria the same day.

Two more ships are also being pressed into service and a military aircraft is also headed to Egypt for bringing back a group of 90 Indians who crossed over by road from Libya.

“Two aircraft will be reaching Tripoli and we are hoping that the evacuation from Tripoli to Alexandria can take place and from there other arrangements can be made. We are thinking in terms of evacuating around 18,000 people,” Foreign Affairs Miniater SM Krishna told the newsmen.

Meanwhile, another Indian casualty has been reported in the country. Ashok Kumar passed away in Tobruk city. he was among the 5 Indians hurt in a road accident while fleeing the country.

Worried families are now regretting the departure of their relatives to work in the violence-stricken and politically volatile region. They have been constantly appealing to the GOI for their immediate release.

Google adds new e-books category to its Android Market store

Google has added a new Books category to its Android Market webstore in the US, offering a selection of e-books to buy.
Apple has its iBooks store for iOS, and now Google has its own version. The company has started selling e-books through its Android Market webstore in the US.
IntoMobile discovered the new section and printed screenshots of a biography of Raymond Carver being sold for $9.99 as proof. Android e-books are previewable, and once bought are added to a user's Google account, so they can be read on devices other than their Android smartphones or tablets.
The move is the first to add non-app or game content to Android Market, although Google is tipped to be bringing music and movies into its store in the near future.
There are already several e-book store apps available for Android, including Kindle, Kobo and Aldiko. For now, Google's e-books appear to only be available in the US.

Google moves to shuffle down low-quality sites

Google has made a significant change to its search engine that will push further down in its rankings websites that pilfer content from other places on the Internet or do not offer high-quality information, the company said in a blog post on Thursday.
The changes to its algorithms impact 11.8 percent of all queries, a significant change considering most people barely notice incremental changes the company makes. Initially, the change only applies to Google users in the U.S. but the company said it plans to roll it out further.
"We believe it's a big step in the right direction of helping people find ever higher quality in our results," wrote Amit Singhal, a Google Fellow, and Matt Cutts, a principal engineer. "We've been tackling these issues for more than a year, and working on this specific change for the past few months. And we're working on many more updates that we believe will substantially improve the quality of the pages in our results."
Many websites will cut portions of, for example, news articles with a small summary, which is usually cut directly from the story. The publisher of the site may offer little or no original content, but the sites can rise in the search rankings.
Other websites known as content farms may generate more original content, but it tends to be lower quality. Nonetheless, the websites do rise in Google's rankings but may force better content further down. Additionally, most people who search for something rarely go beyond the first page of results.
Google said it did not adjust it algorithm on the basis of a newly launched product called Personal Blocklist, an add-on for the company's Chrome browser that filters out domains a user doesn't want to see in their search results.
However, Google found that the changes to the algorithm affected 84 percent of those blocked domains "which is strong independent confirmation of the user benefits," Singhal and Cutts wrote.

Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs Talks Firefox 4, Competition With Google's Chrome and More! (Video)

Yesterday, BoomTown paid a long overdue visit on the Mountain View, Calif., HQ of Mozilla, the unusual public-private company that makes the Firefox browser, to chat with its (relatively) new CEO Gary Kovacs (pictured here).
There is a lot to talk about with the new exec, especially the near-to-official launch of Firefox 4, the increasing coopetition with Google and its Chrome efforts and where Mozilla goes next (mobile).
Kovacs, in fact, has a deep mobile background, having arrived in the late fall of 2010 to take over from John Lilly, who moved on to a stint as a venture capitalist.
Before Mozilla, Kovacs worked on a range of products at Sybase–until after its purchase by SAP–and also on mobile and devices at Adobe. Before that, he played a key role at Zi Corporation, a company specializing in embedded software and services for mobile and consumer devices.
He’ll need all that expertise if Firefox is to do as well on mobile devices as it has in gaining market share on the desktop, an effort that has been challenged by a continual and intense effort at upgrade and improvement by No. 3 Google especially.
According to a recent poll, for example, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer holds the dominant 56 percent share, with Mozilla’s Firefox at almost 23 percent and Google at just above 10 percent. Apple’s Safari and Opera follow.
Of course, Firefox has been playing nicer with Chrome cousin Android, which is beginning to dominate the smartphone market and is moving aggressively into the tablet arena. In fact, Mozilla just released a new beta in the marketplace for Google’s mobile operating system.
Still, some have fretted as Mozilla delayed its official release of Firefox 4 several times since last fall.
Nonetheless, by dislodging IE from its dominant market position, Firefox has proved not only that open-source projects can provide better software, but that it’s possible for a particularly well done one to become an everyday consumer application.
Despite its success, Mozilla still has to keep up its innovation and technical prowess. But given its unusual status as both a profit and nonprofit, it is hindered in that it is not likely to go public and shower its Silicon Valley employees with giant gobs of overhyped stock.
In the video below, Kovacs talks about Mozilla’s relationship with Google (not easy!), feature improvements in Firefox 4 (a new Chromish user interface!), how to hold onto talent in Silicon Valley (also not easy!) and what it’s like to deal with Apple (definitely not easy!).

Google's New Algorithm: Morning Tech Bytes

NEW YORK  - Google(GOOG_) said Thursday it is changing its search algorithm to improve the rankings of high-quality sites, while pushing down low-quality sites. The change, which will affect 11.8% of all search queries, is reportedly directed at reducing the visibility of content farms like eHow that have a low value add for users.Shares of Google rose 0.4% in pre-market trading Friday to $611.
News Corp(NWSA_) is kicking off its process to explore strategic alternatives for ailing social network Myspace, according to reports. The media conglomerate has hired investment bank Allen & Co to help with the process.
AOL(AOL_) announced Thursday several executive changes in the aftermath of its $315 million acquisition of the Huffington Post, and is considering layoffs, according to reports. Jon Brod, the current president of AOL's venture capital unit, will become Chief Operating Officer of Huffington Post Media Group, while AOL Media President David Eun said he is leaving the company.
SAP(SAP_) has filed a motion to reduce the amount of damages it owes to Oracle(ORCL_) in a copyright infringement lawsuit. A jury ruled in November that the software giant must pay Oracle $1.3 billion.
Shares of SAP fell 0.2% in pre-market trading Friday.
Instagram, the popular photo editing and sharing app for iPhone, announced Thursday a new interface that would allow developers to build applications using its platform. Instagram hopes that by letting developers leverage its technology it will encourage more sharing and increase its user base. Launched in October, Instagram boasts over 2 million registered users.

Nokia promises to launch new Symbian devices

Handset giant reiterates support for platform despite Windows Phone 7 deal

Nokia has promised to continue supporting the Symbian platform, and will even release new handsets despite the shock announcement of its backing for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform earlier this month.
The company said at the announcement of its partnership with Microsoft that Windows Phone 7 is now Nokia's primary smartphone platform, and gave quite strong hints that Symbian was effectively being dropped.

 

However, at the Singapore launch of the Nokia E7 this week, Nokia's Vlasta Berka was reported as saying that "Symbian is here to stay", and that the company still has obligations around the platform to users, developers, business partners and customers.
Nokia has further clarified its position in a statement sent to V3.co.uk, saying that it will "continue to support great mobile products based on the Symbian platform for years to come".
This will include "completely new smartphone devices and improved hardware performance such as gigahertz-plus processing capabilities and faster graphics speeds".
Nokia also disclosed details of a revamped user experience for its handsets, including a refreshed home screen, widgets and a new browser, which will be delivered over the air to users of its latest Symbian-based devices, such as the C6, C7, N8 and E7.

Given the huge installed base of Nokia handsets around the globe, it makes sense that the company cannot simply turn its back on the Symbian ecosystem at the drop of a hat.
Nevertheless, Nokia said that it plans "a controlled transition from a smartphone strategy based on Symbian to one based on Windows Phone".
The transition will progress in line with local market priorities and product availability, the company said.

Microsoft Engages Google in Public School Fight

Microsoft and Google both seem to understand the value of “getting them while they’re young.” Google has been working full-throttle to convert school districts from Microsoft email and collaboration products, as Digits reported Tuesday, but Microsoft has been fighting right back.
On Wednesday, the Redmond, Wash. software giant said that public schools in Portland, Oregon are moving its faculty and staff to Microsoft’s Live@edu cloud computing platform, and will soon be giving its high school students Microsoft Live accounts.
There is more at stake here than simply providing a public service–both vendors are hoping that making students familiar with their products at an early age will transform them into long-term consumers.
Steve Nelson, the chief IT strategist for the Oregon department of education, told Digits that his aim was to provide schools with “access to both [Microsoft and Google products] and use the strengths of each.”
Nelson’s office has signed agreements that give individual school districts access to either, or both, platforms. According to Nelson, this strategy is intended to ensure that students “are prepared to join the modern workforce or higher education… When you allow choice for a district, you give them the opportunity to realize greater productivity and enhanced student learning.”

The web weighs in on Apple's new MacBook Pros, Thunderbolt technology

On February 24 Apple showed off an updated MacBook Pro family with high-speed Thunderbolt data transfer technology, next generation Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors and FaceTime HD cameras and tech blogs and websites are offering their assessments.

Rumors suggested that Apple's new MacBook Pro line might feature slimmer bodies similar to the recently announced MacBook Air range, but the majority of updates have been made on the inside of the new MacBook Pro line.

"These new models aren't exactly revolutionary with the same basic unibody casing, layout, and batteries," says CrunchGear's Matt Burns. "The updates are evolutionary in nature, just steps towards the next generation of MacBook Pros."

Initial benchmark tests, however, show the new MacBook Pros to be much more powerful than their predecessors.

"Some of the very earliest benchmark tests of Apple's new MacBook Pros have shown them fast enough to outperform some Mac Pro workstations," says electronista. "The new MacBook Pros are some of the first quad-core portables to keep a thin profile and long battery life, and their performance relative to much larger and more expensive workstations may be part of a rare closing of the gap between desktop and mobile."

The MacBook Pro range is the first to integrate Intel's "groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology - "a new wired connection technology that combines data transfer and video output capabilities," explained Gigaom.

The technology touts bi-directional transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps, or as TechCrunch calls it, "screaming-fast data transfers" that will "transfer a Blu-ray disk in less than 30 seconds." Thunderbolt aims to one day replace USB and Firewire connectivity.

"The class of Mac owner that stands to gain the most from Thunderbolt in the short term is the media professional," says Gigaom.

In an article titled "Why the new MacBook Pros aren't for most people," Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz says most consumers shouldn't opt for Apple's new MacBook Pros unless they are planning on using the laptop to edit "high definition video in Final Cut Pro, print-resolution images in Photoshop or 3D animation in Maya."

Instead, he advises regular users to invest in "[a] fast-enough machine with the lightest weight possible, ultra-thin, with a ridiculously long battery life," such as the MacBook Air.

Diaz adds that "my biggest disappointment about the 2011 MacBook Pros is that they are not the MacBooks of the future that I imagined."

But as Matt Burns chips in, "[w]ith prices set at the same levels as the previous models, there's no reason to hate on the latest. They're just more computing bang for your credit card buck."

The new range of MacBook Pros are available now starting from $1199 for the base model 13", $1799 for the 15" and $2499 for the 17".

Will SL win its first WC tie versus Pak on Feb 26?

Colombo, Feb 25: Contests rarely get more intense than those between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the one-day arena. At 117 encounters played between these two sides, they have seen a fair bit of each another. But come Saturday, Feb 26, Sri Lanka will be wary of the fact that Pakistan leads them by 70 wins to 46 in the overall head-to-head and by a staggering 6:0 in World Cups. Will this weekend mark the time when Sri Lanka reverses history and breaks the jinx?

The Sinhalese have a lot going for them. Since the last World Cup, they have beaten Pakistan 8 times and lost on 5 occasions. In that period, they were defeated in the May 2007 series in Pakistan 1-2, but came back to win the subsequent two series 2-1 in Jan 2009 and 3-2 in July-Aug the same year. Sri Lanka howEver, didn't play Pakistan last year at all and considering the the latter's side has undergone an upheaval of sorts in terms of its composition, they might be in for a confrontation with a relatively new-look team.

The last time these two sides met in a one-day fixture, Sri Lanka won by a mere 16 runs, accentuating how evenly matched they are. It was during the Asia Cup when Sri Lanka posted a barely competitive 242 with Angelo Mathews making 55 off 61 balls and Jayawardene 54 off 64 balls while Shoiab Akhtar took 3/41 before the Lankans resticted Pakistan to 226 all out. And despite Shahid Afridi's defiant 109 off just 76 balls, Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga prevailed with 5/34 to take Lanka home.

In the batting department, individual performances for Sri Lanka have been far more robust than for Pakistan. Since May 1, 2007, Lankan opener Tillkaratne Dilshan has the highest batting average against Pakistan at 72.75 from 2 innings. But the second best batsman against these opponents - captain Kumar Sangakkara has been more prolific, notching up an average of 56.00 from 4 encounters.

Then comes Pakistan's Shoiab Malik with an average of 50.83 from 3 innings, but he hasn't made it to the World Cup squad, so Sri Lanka won't have to be hounded by this nemesis. He is followed by his team-mate Umar Akmal, with an average of 47.00 from 2 innings. Rounding off the top seven batsman in head-to-head encounters is Shahid Afridi who bears an average of 41.60 from 5 encounters, followed by Mahela Jayawardene, whose average is 41.50 from 4 innings.

Umar Gul comes out tops in the bowling charts in the recent encounters between Paksitan and Sri Lanka, taking a total of 15 wickets from 5 matches at an average of 16.50, while Lanka's own pace spearhead Nuwan Kulasekara comes in second with 12 scalps from 7 matches at an average of 20.00. Other noteworthy bowlers have been Lasith Malinga with an average of just 7.00, albeit from only one match, Dilhara Fernando with 18.20 from 2 matches, Thilan Thushara with 25.83 from 3 matches and the old off-spinner war-horse Muttiah Muralitharan with 25.16 from 3 matches.

The key men for Sri Lanka on Saturday will definitely be Jayawardene and Sangakkarra, fresh from their 100 and 92 respectively, against Canada at Hambatota on Sunday, while for Paksitan it will be Ahmed Shehzad and Misbah-ul-Haq, each of who bear averages of over 60 in their warm-up matches. Among the Sri Lankan bowlers, Malinga and Kulasekara will be the men to watch out for, while Pakistan's debutant Junaid Kahn and Wahab Riaz who each took 3 wickets against England in their warm-up match, might also prove to be pivotal figures.

So, a thrilling match is on the cards for Saturday. Can Sri Lanka continue its winning form against Pakistan and claim victory in its first World Cup match against these opponents?

Watson, Haddin set up easy 7-wicket win

Nagpur, Feb 25: The men from Down Under pulled out all the stops to thunder home by 7 wickets against New Zealand in the 8th match of the World Cup 2011, at Nagpur. The Aussies gave the Kiwis no quarter easily overhauling the latter's score of 206 in 34 overs. Openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin gave their side a robust 133-run stand before departing in quick succession. Though captain Ricky Ponting followed them back to the shed for 12, his deputy Michael Clarke and Cameron White warded off fears of a collapse and settled in well to eventually take Australia to victory.

Australia's innings kicked off swiftly as Shane Watson struck Tim Southee for a boundary off the first over. Then Brad Haddin got into the act, smashing fours in the 3rd, 4th and 5th overs as Australia climbed to 34/0. The battting duo teamed up to take 19 runs off the 8th over including two fours (and 5 wides from Kiwi fast bowler Hamish Bennett) as Australia crossed 50.

Then Haddin reasserted his dominance by carting Southee for two more boundaries in the 9th over. When Nathan McCullum came onto bowl his off-spinenrs, Watson took him for a four and then a boundary and six off separate overs. The Kiwis bowlers were clearly toiling to get a breakthrough as Australia raced to 100/0 in just 14 overs. Even Vettori didn't have much luck, getting clobbered for three fours by Watson in the 16th over.Nothing was going New Zealand's way as Williamson dropped Watson in the deep off Vettori in the 18th over with the score at 132/0. But just when things were looking downright hopeless for the Kiwis, Bennett made a double strike in the 19th over. He first removed Haddin for 55 off 50 balls when he had him caught at midwicket, before bowling Watson for 62 off 61 balls. However, at the end of the 19th over, Australia were 139/2 and still in a stong position.

New batsman Ricky Ponting slapped a four off Vettori to take his side past 150 in the 22nd over. But after a few quiet overs, Southee had Ponting stumped for 12 off 28 as Australia slipped to 167/3 in 26.4 overs. However, Michael Clarke stood firm and together withv Cameron White took the Aussies home with 7 wickets and overs to spare.

Sri Lanka to tour Pak in Oct 2011

New Delhi, Feb 25: Sri Lanka have generously agreed to help put Pakistan venues back on the international map by touring the country by touring the country to play three Test matches, five One-dayers and one Twenty20 match, in Oct-Nov this year.

Sri Lanka will thus become the first nation to tour Pakistan after the terror attack in March 2009 in Lahore.

Sri Lanka is scheduled to tour Pakistan in October this year under the Future Tests Programme.

The attacks on the Sri Lanka team bus on March 9, 2009, killed eight people and injured seven Sri Lanka players as well as their assistant coach, leading to the suspension of all international cricket in Pakistan.

The suspension also meant Pakistan has been forced to play their home series in the United Arab Emirates, England and New Zealand for the last two years.

Pakistan Cricket Board welcomed the statement of Chairman Sri Lanka Cricket, Somachandra de Silva, on playing in Pakistan for their next series in October, Gulf News reports.

Commenting on the development, PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt said, "The comments of De Silva are reassuring and will help a long way in restoring the confidence of international community in playing cricket in Pakistan."

Butt also went on to say: "Sri Lanka is a brotherly nation and they have always stood by our side whenever we have needed them. Whatever happened was tragic and every cricket loving Pakistani was feeling sad for the Sri Lankan Team in 2009."

Expressing the feelings of Pakistan fans, Butt said: "Pakistani fans are missing the big events of cricket at home and they are waiting for the international teams to visit Pakistan."

"We are in constant touch with International Cricket Council, The Task Team on Pakistan and the other Boards in this regard and are hopeful of international cricket return to Pakistan very soon", he added

Botha shines as Ire bowl out B'desh for 205

Dhaka, Feb 25: After Bangladesh got off to blazing start in the 9th match of the World Cup 2011, Ireland put on a remarkable performance in the field to peg the hosts back and eventually restrict them to 205 in 49.2 overs. Opener Tamim Iqbal top-scored with 44 off 43 balls, but following his exit the rest of the batting was hardly inspired with just Mushfiqur Rahim (36) and Raqibul Hasan (38) offering some resistance. Spinner Andre Botha led the attack admirably, taking 3/32 off 9 overs.

It seemed the Bangladeshi openers were in their element, with Imrul Kayes and Tamim Iqbal each taking a four off Trent Johnston in the first over. The pair subjected Boyd Rankin to the same disdainful treatment in the second over. Then in the next over, Iqbal attacked Johnston, again getting him away for a couple of boundaries. John Mooney was brought into the attack to stem the run-flow, but Iqbal hammered even him for a four straight up. However, in his following over, Mooney had Kayes stumped for 12 and the hosts were 53/1 in 6.4 overs. A short while later, Junnai Siddique was run out for 3 and the Bangladeshis were in a spot of bother at 61/2 in 9 overs.

Then Iqbal himself joined the out batsmen in the shed when he smashed Botha straight into the palms of William Porterfield at point. The host has been seriously pegged back to 68/3 in the 12th over. Captain Shakib Al Hasan then counter-attacked by clobbering 3 fours in four overs and had a bit of luck when he was dropped off Rankin in the 15th over.

But what Rankin only threatened to do, Andre Botha pulled off - when he caught and bowled Hasan for 16. Bangladesh were in deeper trouble at 86/4 in 15.2 overs. Then Mushfiqur Rahim and Raqibul Hasan tried to stabilise the innings, taking their side past 100 in the 21st overs and pressing on. But after a 60-run partnership, the former batsman perished to Dockrell for 36 off 66 balls as the score now read 147/5.

Dockrell then picked up the key wicket of Mohammad Ashraful for 1 off 6 balls as the Bangladeshi slide continued at 151/6 in 35.2 overs. Raqibul Hasan was the next to go, courtesy a run out. He was on his way for 38 off 69 balls, before Naeem Islam upped the ante and smacked Rankin for two fours in the 39th over.

But Botha returned to peg back the hosts further when he trapped Sahfiul Islam in front for 2. Bangladesh was staring at the bottom of the barrel at 170/8 in 42.3 overs. Abdul Razzak and Naeem Islam tried to keep the innings going, but the former was bowled by Johnston for 11 off 16 balls, in the 48th over.

Naeem Islam and Rubel Hossian then took Bangladesh over 200 before Johnston accounted for the former batsman's wicket for 29, to wrap up the Bangladeshi innings for 205 in 49.2 overs.

iPhone 5 may break pattern and launch in September

If you were looking forward to getting the iPhone 5 in June or July you may be disappointed. As we all know by now, the summer has typically been the window Apple used to launch the latest iPhone. Unfortunately, Craig Berger, an analyst for FBR Capital Markets, believes that Apple will break its predictable cycle this year by releasing the iPhone 5 in September. Berger was quoted in a note to investors:

For the iPhone 5, we continue to hear that a July launch is unlikely, with various casing suppliers and touch suppliers still ramping up, with some chip vendors not having yet received firm iPhone 5 orders, and with other sockets like the image sensor (most likely going to Omnivision exclusively, but with some potential for Sony to split that socket) still in flux. Given these factors, we think a September launch is more likely, off from Apple’s traditional iPhone launch schedule, but giving the firm more time to enhance its next-generation instant communications on the phone.

Berger also revealed that Apple plans to build 100 million iPhones this year which is up from a previous estimate of 75 million.
Read more at Business Insider.
Brian’s Opinion
One reason that Apple may be off of its previous schedule is that the company must now consider availability for CDMA and GSM handsets. That may mean increased work developing two models or a single model can work properly with both CDMA and GSM networks. We’ll probably know more about this pending any iPad 2 news–if that runs across two different networks then you can bet the iPhone 5 will be able to.

Windows 7 SP1 update in the wild, sys admin package available

Unless you belong to one of Microsoft’s secret clubs, in which case it’s already been made available to you, the very first service pack for Windows 7 should be popping into your Windows Update right around now. For many system administrators out there, this news marks the start of a very long week. A week in which typically work must be interrupted, machines must be individually updated, and of course being ready in case anything goes wrong  (my condolences you are also running a Windows Phone 7 network).
One really notable feature to this update isn’t even in the update, but rather its deployment. Microsoft has made it easy(er) for system administrators to manually apply the Service Pack 1 update.
By making available a single massive file (2GB) with install capabilities for all versions and options within Windows 7, Microsoft has created an opportunity for both time and resources to be saved. No untimely network strain, no complicated set of installation instructions, no installing the wrong version accidentally. Just load the file onto a flash drive or compile an autorun CD and you are good to go. It’s an important step for Microsoft to achieve their goal of making sure that as many computers as possible are at the current version.
So for you home users why should you grab the SP1 update today? As always the service pack is, first and foremost, a compilation of the security updates that have been released up until this point. Additionally new stabilization methods have been implemented allowing for smoother function of features such as window recovery, designed to make sure your open folders are still there even if your computer powers down. Microsoft has also implemented a new licensing system for remote desktop, allowing for more secure remote computing experience.
To download SP1, simply go to the Windows Update icon in your control panel, and install the most recent updates. This initial process is brief, though will require a system restart. The total time for the update is estimated at 15 min. Good luck!

Apple releases Max OS X Lion developer preview via Mac App Store

We first got a sneak peak of the next version of Mac OS X, Lion, during Apple’s Back to the Mac live event in October. Now, after many months, we are getting closer to the official launch of Apple’s latest operating system, which set to go live this summer. So, in order to get members of Apple’s developer program ready, the company has launched the developer preview of Mac OS X Lion (10.7) through the Mac App Store.
Before you get too excited, keep in mind I mentioned that this was for members of Apple’s developer program. Therefore, you will need to know the redeem code in order to download the preview. In the meantime, you’ll have to settle for salivating over the additional features expected to be included in Lion which are:

• New version of Mail, with an elegant, widescreen layout inspired by the iPad; Conversations, which automatically groups related messages into one easy to read timeline; more powerful search; and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010;
• AirDrop, a remarkably simple way to copy files wirelessly from one Mac to another with no setup;
• Versions, which automatically saves successive versions of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, edit and even revert to previous versions;
• Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunch an app;
• Auto Save, which automatically saves your documents as you work;
• the all new FileVault, that provides high performance full disk encryption for local and external drives, and the ability to wipe data from your Mac instantaneously; and
• Mac OS X Lion Server, which makes setting up a server easier than ever and adds support for managing Mac OS X Lion, iPhone®, iPad and iPod touch devices.
• Includes Mac App Store

Read more at Apple.
Brian’s Opinion
I’m a recent convert to the Mac religion after the purchase of my first Mac last year. That being said, this is my first experience of having to wait with bated breath for some new goodies that an OS upgrade will bring. While I’m sure many people are excited about the new version of Mail, I’m not a big fan of local mail clients so my interest resides around some of the new file and app management capabilities.
AirDrop, I have toa admit, encourages me to get another Mac in my house just so I can easily copy files from one computer to another. It’s pretty incredible to think this works with no setup. Hopefully, it is as seamless as they are making it out to be. The new Versions and Auto Save capabilities are a nice touch to enhance how files are managed since you will now be able to browse, edit and revert to previous versions of a document while not having to worry about losing your work because you forgot to save. I also like the fact that apps resume in the same state when re-opened with Lion. That’s pretty sweet.
Of course, I would be remiss not to say that some of the GUI changes that will make Mac OS X look more like iOS are very interesting. I’m looking forward to experiencing the auto-hiding scroll bars and an application launcher that displays an icon grid like in iOS.

Apple without Steve Jobs

Can you imagine the Apple Corporation without its motivating and innovative chief executive officer, Steve Jobs?  Well I guess Apple corporation share price will be in very much trouble without Steve Jobs. This is so because Steve Jobs were the brain behind iPod, iPad and iPhone. He made Apple Corporation a successful business unit, recording billions of dollars in sales. As we all know Steve is in very much weak physical condition these days. A video is recorded in which Steve Jobs in going towards its car and is losing balance. The video is of the day when Steve went to its cancer treatment center. The question is that will Apple be able to continue its success without Steve Jobs. What will be the future of ipad2 without Steve Jobs? Apple Mac Book pro series will be the newest sensation by Apple Corporation under Steve Jobs. Let’s hope that Steve get well soon and we will be having more and more innovations from Apple Corporation.

Yahoo Finance App MarketDash Available for iPad

Posted By vijay On 23 Feb 2011.

The latest great news comes for the fans or users of Apple iPad that Yahoo has just released or announced the most exciting app in form of Yahoo Finance. The latest Yahoo Finance app allows the users of iPad to access the information or data regarding their portfolios of stocks and shares through the usage of this Yahoo Finance App. The Yahoo Finance App named as MarketDash which the users of iPad can download and used them on their iPad. Yahoo developers also said that:

“The interactive app takes advantage of the iPad’s multi-touch capabilities so users can manipulate views of stock charts; the ability to scroll across hours, days or months of market action; plot points in time; and even compare multiple stock tickers in one compelling chart. Anyone interested in following the market, or specific stocks on the iPad can now use Yahoo! Finance’s reliable and personalized tools anywhere, anytime.”

If anyone wants to download this exciting MarketDash App then they visit the App Store.

Oscar Nominee’s on Motorola Xoom Gold

Posted By vijay On 23 Feb 2011. Under Blogs, Gadgets, Hardware, Netbook, News, Tablet PC  Tags: edition, Gold, Latest Motorola Xoom features, Latest Oscar News, latest technologies blog, latest technology blog, motorola, Motorola Xoom, Motorola Xoom Gold, News, Oscar Motorola Xoom, Oscar Nominee’s, Oscar Nominee’s on Motorola Xoom, Oscar Nominee’s on Motorola Xoom Gold  

Motorola Xoom is on top now because in this Sunday Motorola Xoom used for Oscar Nominee’s. We all know in the recent times Motorola Xoom wins and the hearts and minds due to their exclusive features, style and articulate crafting. We all know that Motorola offers the Motorola Xoom general black design to their customers around the globe. But here is exciting thing which I want to share with you peoples that in coming Sunday Motorola Xoom present the Motorola Xoom Gold on the world most grand finale or stage of Oscar. Motorola Xoom Gold has the limited edition of Motorola Xoom which present at Oscar and used for Oscar Nominee’s. Motorola Xoom Gold comes with customize Leather envelope case which allows the hosts of Oscar to present the Oscar Nominee’s on Motorola Xoom Gold in form of Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and many more on this exuberant Motorola Xoom Gold.

Android 3.0 SDK Now Available to All Developers

Posted By vijay On 23 Feb 2011. Under Gadgets, News  Tags: android, android 3.0, Android 3.0 SDK Now Available to All Developers, android honeycomb, honeycomb, latest technologies, motorola, Motorola Xoom, News, SKD for android, technology news  

Good news for android users and developers. The full SDK for android 3.0 or what we all it Honeycomb is now available to the developers.
Honeycomb or Android 3.0 is the section of the android which is specially designed for the tablet pc. So now on the developers are free to unleash new applications and through them in the android market as the API are final.
This thing come in such a time when the first ever Android 3.0 sporting tablet, the Motorola Xoom, is going to hit the markets in few hours. The users will be able to enjoy some new application on their tablets built specifically on and for android 3.0.

Verizon Offers Motorola Xoom at $599.99 or $799.99

Posted By vijay On 25 Feb 2011. Under Blogs, Gadgets, Hardware, Netbook, News, Softwares, Tablet PC  Tags: Android OS, honeycomb, Latest Android Tablets, latest technologies blog, latest technology blog, latest Verizon news, latest Verizon offers, motorola, Motorola Xoom, News, tablets, verizon, Verizon Motorola Xoom, Verizon Motorola Xoom wifi, Verizon Offers Motorola Xoom at $599.99 or $799.99, wifi version  

Does anyone want world first Android Honeycomb OS based tablet? If yes then come here because now you can hold the Motorola Xoom tablet which comes with Android OS 3.0 Honeycomb. The latest news comes now that Motorola Xoom is available at Verizon under two packages or contracts one is Motorola Xoom at $599.99 with 2 year contract while the other is splash out around $799.99 with LTE device. But still many of us waiting for Verizon Motorola Xoom wifi version but many rumors exist in market that Verizon soon will come with Motorola Xoom wifi version but any how there are many orders already fulfill under this latest release of Verizon Motorola Xoom offers. So go to Verizon outlets or visit their site to book your own Motorola Xoom. I also apply when Verizon release Motorola Xoom Wifi version.