This piece in the New York Times on Stephen Colbert gives me an all-new respect for one of the funniest men on television.
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Motorola: Blame Carriers for Android Fragmentation
Chris Ziegler, from an interview with Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha:
We also talked about OEMs’ perennial press to skin the operating system — a trend that looks poised to continue in Android 4.0 — which developed into a full-blown conversation about the conflict between the mythical “stock Android device” and the realities of business between manufacturers like Motorola and carriers. “Verizon and AT&T don’t want seven stock ICS devices on their shelves,” he said, insisting that he “has to make money” and that there simply isn’t a way to profit on a device that isn’t differentiated. “The vast majority of the changes we make to the OS are to meet the requirements that carriers have.”
‘Expecting A Letter From The Queen...’
Congrats to Pat and Myke for making it to episode 100 of the Enough podcast. If you don’t listen to this show, shame on you.
PlayBook OS 2.0 Surfaces
Version 2.0 finally brings a native mail client to the BlackBerry tablet, along with calendar and contact apps. RIM also made some general aesthetic changes, and added a bulked-up version of BlackBerry Bridge and an eerily familiar “reading view” feature in the browser.
Thank goodness. RIM is saved!
On Windows 8 and that ‘No Compromises’ Mantra
Steve Ballmer, at CES last night:
There’s nothing more important at Microsoft than Windows. You saw Metro in the phone, you saw Metro in Xbox. It’s everywhere. And you’ll experience more and more natural user interface in Metro. Together, all of us in this industry, in thousands of new ways, will use the software and services to invent new things. Metro will drive the new magic across all of our experiences.
HelpSpot & Open Source Help Desk List [Sponsor]
Thanks to HelpSot for sponsoring the 512 Pixels RSS feed this week.
At HelpSpot we’re big supporters of open source software and simply couldn’t run our business without it. So, 6 years ago we created Open Source Help Desk List to assist companies looking for an open source help desk software solution. It’s success has been beyond our wildest expectations; serving as an invaluable tool for thousands of companies to find the solution they need. We hope it can help you as well.
‘Pushing Boundaries’
It’s hard to breathe during this 20-minute interview of David Steel, Executive Vice President of Strategy for Samsung North America due to all the bullshit in the air.
On Apple’s Plans for Big Ben
Roland Greenfellow at Scoopertino:
For starters, Sir Jony Ive himself will redesign Big Ben to reflect Apple’s superior aesthetic sensibilities. The stodgy 153-year-old landmark will soon be covered by a shroud —and when that shroud is removed on June 1, 2012, Big Ben will display time, date, weather and battery status.
Yes, battery status. Once the aging guts of Big Ben have been removed, there will be ample room for Apple to install a large lithium-ion battery. In the event of a power outage, Apple promises that renovated landmark will continue to function for up to seven days.
On Microsoft’s CES Keynote
Ryan Seacrest, “hugging” Ballmer. Is this happening, or am I dying? d.pr/kWhk
— 512pixels.net (@512px) January 10, 2012
I’m live-tweeting tonight’s keynote over at @512px. Come join the fun.
$2,319,515,000
From Apple’s 2012 Proxy SEC filing Statement:
In 2011, Mr. Jobs’s compensation consisted of a $1 annual salary. As of the end of 2011, Mr. Jobs owned approximately 5.5 million shares of the Company’s common stock. Since rejoining the Company in 1997, Mr. Jobs had not sold any of his shares of the Company’s stock. Mr. Jobs held no unvested equity awards. The Company recognized that Mr. Jobs’s level of stock ownership significantly aligned his interests with shareholders’ interests.
Trollem Ipsum
Ubuntu TV Announced
The surprise was ruined, but Canonical is indeed bringing a TV to CES. But it’s not about hardware just yet: Ubuntu TV is a brand new derivative of Ubuntu, with a full-in TV-optimized UI inspired by Unity, and full-on media center and DVR features. There’s a movie, TV and music store, a YouTube app, and of course it’s all optimized for a lean-back remote experience. The software will be free for manufacturers to package with their TVs, and Ubuntu says there will be TVs on shelves by the end of the year.