Bigmouthmedia Search Engine News: /desktop-search/

Apple overtakes HP as biggest PC-maker

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:01:00 GMT

The late great Steve Jobs may have declared it the "post-PC era," but Apple just became the biggest maker of personal computers in the world.

Apple pulled ahead of Hewlett Packard in the fourth quarter of last year to become the largest vendor of personal computers, due in large part to the extraordinary demand for its iPad.

According to a report by market research firm Canalys, Apple shipped more than 15 million iPads and 5 million Mac computers in the quarter ending 31 December 2011 - representing 17 per cent of the total 120 million client PCs shipped globally in Q4.

The client PC market - including desktops, netbooks, notebooks and pads - grew 16 per cent year-on-year; however, take away pads from the equation and the PC market declined by 0.4 per cent.

Of the other top five PC vendors, only Lenovo managed to increase its market share - growing by just two points in comparison to Apple's six-point gain. Acer, Dell and HP all lost market share.

Now the second largest PC vendor, HP was the hardest hit as the company struggles to keep up with competitors following the end of its Touchpad.

"Currently, HP is pursuing a Windows strategy for its pad portfolio, producing enterprise-focused products, such as the recently launched Slate 2, until the launch of Windows 8," said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling in the company's official press release.

"However, questions remain over Microsoft's entry into the consumer pad space. While early demonstrations of the Windows 8 operating system seem promising, Microsoft must focus its efforts on creating an intuitive user experience that is far less resource intensive."

This is all continuing good Q4 news for the Cupertino-based company, after smashing Wall Street projections and announcing its highest quarterly profit on record.

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Mozilla's (intentional) enterprise slow-down

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:49:00 GMT

Mozilla has announced that its proposed Extended Support Release (ESR) version of Firefox is a go.

The open source outfit will be launching an ESR version of Firefox which will update less frequently for use by enterprises, public institutions and other organisations that centrally manage their Firefox deployments.

The release comes in direct response to the criticism Mozilla received over Firefox's rapid-release development cycle.

Corporations and other users had cited concerns that the release schedule didn't allow enough time for them to certify new releases of the products, as well as concerns that the end-of life policy exposes them to considerable security risk if they remain on older Firefox versions.

However, the ESR is an about-face from Mozilla's position six months ago, when its product director Asa Dotzler said, "Enterprise has never been (and I'll argue, shouldn't be) a focus of ours."

But, it now looks like Firefox will, indeed, be making enterprise a focus.

Jay Sullivan, Mozilla's vice president of products, wrote on the company's blog yesterday: "Release of the ESR will occur once a year, providing these organisations with a version of Firefox that receives security updates but does not make changes to the Web or Firefox Add-ons platform.

"We have worked with many organisations to ensure that the ESR balances their need for the latest security updates with the desire to have a lighter application certification burden."

The ESR release will go through a 12-week testing cycle, which Mozilla says will give businesses enough time to test early builds before deploying.

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Justin Timberlake brings MySpace back

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:01:00 GMT

Justin Timberlake is bringing MySpace back.

In the final moments of Panasonic's press conference at the CES conference in Las Vegas, actor-musician Timberlake took to the stage to announce a revamp of the fallen social network and a new partnership with Panasonic.

"The TV, long before the internet, was our supplier of true word of mouth, our originator of water cooler talk, and now with this exciting partnership of MySpace and Panasonic, we're ready to take television and entertainment to the next step - by upgrading it to the social networking experience," Timberlake said.

By partnering with MySpace, Panasonic is hoping to provide an integrated experience where users can watch TV and interact on the social platform simultaneously through a new app it calls 'MySpace TV'.

"We're giving you the opportunity to connect your friends to your moments as they are actually happening," Timberlake said.

"This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions - the television - and no we no longer have to crowd around the same one to experience it together."

MySpace TV will give users the opportunity to see what their MySpace friends are watching and will allow users to post comment through the television with the use of smartphone and tablet devices.

Even with the announcement, details on the service remain vague - Panasonic gave no indication of timing or pricing beyond saying the service would be available in "early 2012".

"Historically, social has been about what you have done, possibly what you're doing right now - the future of MySpace is about what you're going to do, about who you're going to become. MySpace TV is the first foray into that future," Timberlake said.

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Tobii interface lets users eyeball Windows 8

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:24:00 GMT

Technology firm Tobii has unveiled its eye control system for Microsoft Windows 8 PC.

The Swedish technology company will introduce and demonstrate its Tobii Gaze interface for Windows 8 at the 2012 International Consumers Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Microsoft Windows 8 was formally introduced and detailed at Microsoft's BUILD Conference for Windows developers in September 2011, and has been hailed for its touchscreen capabilities.

Tobii has taken the forthcoming operating system and made it operable with eye movement.

The company said in an official press release: "With its large tiles, Windows 8 Metro has been praised as a great interface for handheld touch devices.

"However, using your hands on a touch screen-enabled laptop or desktop computer is not an ideal ergonomic solution, and your hands would also interfere with the objects you would like to click on, drag, rotate or zoom."

Tobii's technology uses a sensor to track tiny eye movements to control a mouse pointer to around a quarter of an inch accuracy. Users can scroll, point and 'click' by blinking.

"Pointing at something by looking at it is intuitive, natural and immediate. Using a mouse to do the same thing is less so, as it involves and intermediate step of moving a mouse-pointer around," says Henrik Eskilsson, CEO and co-founder of Tobii Technology.

"Gaze is as natural and intuitive as touch, as precise as the mouse and more ergonomic and effortless than both. Once you have experienced Gaze, a laptop without it feels just as ancient as a laptop without a touch pad."

Tobii previously unveiled the first eye-controlled asteroids shooter arcade game, as well as the first eye-controlled laptop in partnership with Lenovo. All three systems - the arcade game, prototype laptop and Windows 8 interface - will be on display at CES later this month.

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Google home page gets a makeover

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:48:00 GMT

A new year, a new look for Google's home page.

In a bid to simplify the page and improve user experience, the titans of search are rolling out one of the biggest home page changes to date.

The revamp takes away the black bar that currently runs horizontally across the top of the Google home page and replaces it with a grey logo.

When a user clicks or highlights the new logo, a drop-down menu appears offering seven alternative services to the site's search page, such as Gmail and YouTube.

Experts are speculating the change was designed to promote more of Google's businesses while still maintaining its preferred uncluttered and plain minimalist front page.

A spokesperson for Google said that the roll-out was also designed to improve user-experience.

"Constant revision and improvement is part of our overarching philosophy," he said. "If you compare the original Google home page to today's version, you will see that the makeover every so often can certainly be refreshing."

Additionally, analysts have noted that the home page change now requires two clicks to enter services, such as Images and News, which only previously required one. Though, this may be to the site's financial advantage.

According to Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group, "For years we've all be extolling the virtues of minimising the number of clicks and it would appear to be a retrograde step.

"But for the sake of clarity it's better having the extra click. What it also means is that, for most people, their first route into the Google universe will be back through the search bar again, which helps the firm expose more people to advertising."

As such, Google is also facing scrutiny for the way its services appear in its search results.

Last month, two U.S. Senators called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Google was using its market power to steer users towards its own products. And, the European Trade Commission has examined claims that Google deliberately downgrades rival websites.

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Google and Mozilla remain friends - and competitors

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Recent research said Firefox users have higher IQs, so it appears that Google has made a smart decision to renew its search engine deal with Mozilla.

The Mozilla Corporation recently announced it "negotiated a significant and mutually beneficial revenue agreement" with Google for the next three years.

As a non-profit foundation, Mozilla relies heavily on the income generated by search partnerships.

"Under this multi-year agreement, Google Search will continue to be the default search provider for hundreds of millions of Firefox users around the world," said Gary Kovacs, Mozilla's chief executive.

Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president of search, commented: "Mozilla has been a valuable partner to Google over the years and we look forward to continuing this great partnership in the years to come."

The previous deal between Google and Mozilla, which was set to expire in November, had been signed before Google's Chrome browser gained a presence in the so-called 'browser war.'

Analysts heavily speculated Google would back out of the deal, as Chrome's launch and subsequent growth put it in direct competition with Firefox, all while Google remained financially responsible for Mozilla's survival.

However, Whit Andrews, an analyst for Gartner, said Google's decisions shouldn't be all that surprising.

"What Google really wants is more advertising on the internet. It's very simple. If it drives more ads on the internet, they're into it," he said.

"Google want[s] the shelf space. There's a shelf sitting there and they've got a product. The fact that the shelf is with a competitor, they don't really care. The alternative is that another competitor gets the shelf."

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Mac App Store reaches 100 million downloads

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 03:24:00 GMT

Whether you're a PC or a Mac, people have certainly been app happy this year.

Apple announced yesterday that the Mac App Store has sold over 100 million apps in less than one year, coming on the heels of Android's own annoucement last week that the Android Market downloads have reached the 10 billion mark.

Apple launched its online Mac App store in January, building upon the extraordinary momentum generated by its App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod devices.

The original App Store revolutionized the app industry, now offering more than 500,000 apps for Apple's smartphones and tablets. Customers have downloaded more than 18 billion apps and continue to download more than 1 billion apps per month.

"In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

"With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world."

The Mac App Store offers thousands of free and paid apps in various categories, including Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities. Users can browse for apps in the online store and then buy them using their iTunes account.

Additionally, Apple lets Mac developers set the prices for their apps and keep 70 per cent of the sales revenue. They are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees.

"We're using the Mac App Store to deliver new products and reach a growing base of new Mac customers," said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president of Platform Solutions and Emerging Business at Autodesk, whose products are in both the App Store and the Mac App Store.

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Chrome closes in on Firefox

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:49:00 GMT

Chrome may soon have the upper hand in the browser wars, as the Mountain View browser closes in on Mozilla's Firefox.

According to Net Applications latest worldwide browser usage measurements, Chrome is only 4 per cent behind Firefox - which dropped in popularity by 2 per cent since January.

Stiff competition from both Internet Explorer and Chrome have caused the popular browser's numbers to flag this year - Firefox numbers slipped 0.4 per cent while Chrome inched forward 0.7 per cent.

Firefox and Chrome now account for 22.1 per cent and 18.2 per cent respectively - compared to Internet Explorer which holds a clear lead with more than 50 per cent of the browser market under its belt.

"Firefox once was the prime challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which for years languished in the doldrums of software development. Now it shares that role with Chrome and, to a lesser degree, Apple's Safari," said Cnet's Steven Shankland.

While Internet Explorer remains in the lead with a 52.6 per cent share of the market, Microsoft is working to develop Internet Explorer to a high degree once more; with IE9 being considered a very creditable browser and IE10 anticipated to be another quality release.

After declining in popularity for many years - though still maintaining the lion's share of the market - IE's market share turned around in November and has started to increase slowly.

However, if Chrome continues steady growth at this rate, then the browser landscape could be somewhat different in a couple of years - in January Chrome held an 11.5 per cent market share - a number that has jumped to 18 per cent in less than a year.

As the gap between Chrome and Firefox continues to close, users could soon see the race for top browser heating up even further as the industry's best browsers go head-to-head for top spot.

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Apple needs a few good 'cloud' men (or women)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:37:00 GMT

Apple is hoping to boost their cloud leadership, as the company shifts the way their customers store and access their digital content away from downloadable software.

The Wall Street Journal reported the company has recently been looking to recruit new senior-level executives with experience in Web-based software.

According to the Journal's sources, Apple has approached at least one prominent Internet entrepreneur about a future position and recruiters have been informed about the company's needs.

The new recruitment drive indicates an interesting sea-change in Apple's position as pioneers in hardware and downloadable applications. However, consumers more and more no longer want their entertainment tied only to specific devices, and Apple certainly wants to meet those needs.

"We are going to demote the PC and the Mac to just be a device," said the late Steve Jobs in June. "We are going to move the digital hub, the centre of your digital life, into the cloud."

With the introduction of services like iCloud, a cloud-based storage and syncing service, and the more recent iTunes Match, a feature that lets users store music in the cloud and have them available on any device with iTunes - Apple seems to be doing just that, and now needs the talent to follow suit.

Recruitment experts believe Apple should be successful in luring Internet engineers from companies more traditionally associated with Web services, like Google and Facebook. They believe the company's strong culture, high stock prices and low turnover make them an attractive choice for recruits.

Consumers are likely to see even more from Apple in regards to the cloud in the future. Beyond the new talent search, Apple has also reportedly spent £1 billion to build the "orchard" - a 500,000 square foot data centre based in the United States.

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Mozilla goes mobile in bid to curb Chrome

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 04:37:00 GMT

Mozilla's reportedly replacing the engine that currently powers Firefox - Gecko - with an open-source mobile operating system that'll work on smart phones and tablets in a move that's set to rival Android-powered Chrome and miff Mountain View.

According to CNet.com, Mozilla researcher Andreas Gal recently let slip that the firm plans to replace Gecko with an open-source mobile OS called Boot to Gecko.

Interestingly, Mozilla plans to release Boot to Gecko's source code to the public in real-time, unlike Google, whose Android OS updates are only released to Chrome users months after Google's approved publication.

"We will do this work in the open, we will release the source in real-time, we will take all successful additions to an appropriate standards group, and we will track changes that come out of that process. We aren't trying to have these native-grade apps just run on Firefox, we're trying to have them run on the web," Gal said.

The developer also noted Mozilla will need to develop a low-level Android core so Firefox can run on Android-equipped devices, a privilege model and other security page-view features.

Gal said Mozilla would prioritise the creation of web APIs and prototype APIs so the new operating system can successfully support mobile features including telephony, SMS, USB, cameras, Bluetooth and m-commerce-powering near-field chips.

The developer also hinted Boot to Gecko should be considered a "starting point" that'll likely result in the creation of a device that runs Firefox for Android as its home screen, threatening Android and thereby "breaking the stranglehold of proprietary technologies over the mobile device world."

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