Love focus of this Company

I am yet to see LinkedIn doing something else than their core business. Simply, one pony trick but they are doing it well. As long as our technology or intellectual property based jobs are there, LinkedIn will be there. Yet to see any other better business model..

Biggest threat to LinkedIn is still gorilla's of Social side which are FB and Google++. But for them to come into this area which is more or less niche will be tough.. Moreover, trust is really low on these guys (FB & Google++) when it comes sharing or accessing your personal information for commercial advantage.. LinkedIn has still maintained that trust level with their customers.

LinkedIn thriving by being less social 

Revenue, profit, share price surge as others struggle

By Brandon Bailey

bbailey@mercurynews.com 

MOUNTAIN VIEW — One of the most successful social networking companies in Silicon Valley saw tremendous growth last year, primarily because it’s not a place for posting vacation photos, rating restaurants or playing online games with friends.

While Facebook and other “social” companies struggled with uneven stock performance and other challenges in 2012, LinkedIn saw its revenue, profit and share price surge by 80 percent, thanks to its membership of 200 million professionals and the prospective employers who pay to reach them.

LinkedIn’s “main product is selling access to talent,” explained Michael Pachter, an Internet business analyst at Wedbush Securities.

And by doing so, experts say, the networking site has turned the world of recruiting and hiring on its head. As more people post their resumes on LinkedIn, corporate headhunters are increasingly using the site to identify potential employment candidates — including people who aren’t actively looking to change jobs — rather than wait for them to submit an application. 

“It has absolutely changed the way that we do everything,” said Martin Millington, senior vice president for human resources at Quantros, a Milpitas-based health care technology company. Instead of just posting openings and hoping for a response, he said, recruiters use LinkedIn to search for prospects who meet their criteria, view their professional connections and even contact them discretely. 

Went public in 2011 

LinkedIn, which started 10 years ago and went public in 2011, promotes itself as an online network for people who want to post their resumes and maintain professional contacts in a more business-oriented format than Facebook or other social sites. 

The company makes some of its money from showing ads and selling premium features to members. But more than half its nearly $1 billion in annual revenue comes from employers and recruiters who pay for what LinkedIn calls its “Talent Solutions,” including job listings, corporate pages and online software that can perform sophisticated searches of LinkedIn’s member database. 

LinkedIn recently upgraded that software, adding algorithms that “recommend” potential job candidates — based on such factors as experience, recent promotions and even where they have lived — and other tools to help hiring executives keep tabs on prospects they may want to recruit in the future. 

Those changes won’t be apparent to most LinkedIn members, who are more likely to notice the recent redesign of individual profile pages and new features that let members “follow” well-known business leaders and other public figures. But the recruiting tools are a key to the company’s future. 

“Talent Solutions is our largest and fastest-growing business,” according to Parker Barrile, a LinkedIn senior product director, who said more than 16,000 companies currently use the tools. While declining to discuss growth targets, he added, “We think we have a tremendous amount of headroom to reinvent the way people hire.” 

Added 1,340 workers 

LinkedIn did some hiring of its own last year: The Mountain View company added 1,340 workers, bringing its payroll to 3,458. Along with a planned second campus in Sunnyvale, CEO Jeff Weiner recently told analysts the company is expanding in Hong Kong, Brazil and Europe. 

Weiner, a former Yahoo executive recruited in 2008 by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, has also pushed the company into new lines of business and beefed up its service for smartphones and tablets. 

LinkedIn recently began offering additional content to members, including business news and expert blogs. It’s experimenting with a subscription service to help salespeople find customers through their contacts at other companies. LinkedIn is introducing that service slowly to make sure it doesn’t come across as too “spammy” or annoying to members, according to Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. 

That’s been a concern with another new program that aggressively encourages LinkedIn members to endorse each other’s skills. While it spurs activity on the network, said Macquarie Securities analyst Tom White, the program risks diluting credibility by encouraging people to give endorsements too freely. 

LinkedIn had some growing pains in June when it confronted a data breach and theft of 6.5 million member passwords. The company said it contained the breach and increased security before members suffered any major harm. 

Analysts say the biggest threat to LinkedIn’s future is the prospect of a larger company, such as Facebook or Google, launching a competing service. But as LinkedIn continues to grow, White said rivals may face difficulty convincing people to move their resumes and contacts onto a new platform. 

Unlike Facebook or Twitter, many people don’t see a need to visit LinkedIn every day, Pachter noted. But in a world where no job is guaranteed forever, he added, “a lot of us value being on LinkedIn, just in case we need to be.” Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey 

“ Talent Solutions is our largest and fastest-growing business. We think we have a tremendous amount of headroom to reinvent the way people hire.” 

— Parker Barrile, LinkedIn 

Boston Marathon Bombing

I am still not able to understand rationale or logic of these bombings. I think lot of answers are yet to come, but still why will anyone from Chechnya will support or sponsor this operation.. is beyond my comprehension. Two suspects of Chechen origin are/were good kids with more or less flawless record. Don't know how they got into this mess. It has to be extremely powerful brainwash to recruit these kids.

Moreover, Why will any Chechen rebel group support this? They already have big and strong enemy in Kremlin. why will they create another powerful enemy who is known to be ruthless when it comes to protecting themselves. Politically it doesn't make any sense.

I can understand Al-Qaida's support behind this operation.. If somehow, they get Chechen rebels involved into this mess or their mess.. and US goes behind Chechen rebels as well.. it will give or rather gift Chechen rebels to Al-Qaida.. But for Chechen rebels.. it is loose loose situation..

Either I am too naive to see the bigger picture here..or there is something wrong with entire story so far.. I simply can't understand logic for Chechen support behind these bombings.. I am sure there is someone else behind this who wants either Chechen Rebels to work with Al Qaida or simply want Chechen rebels to be finished.. there has to be more on this.. I strongly feel that these guys were used as front to do such heinous act.

Lastly, let us say if these two brothers didn't had any support from any terrorist organization and they pulled this entire thing on their own.. then there is fundamentally something wrong with system out here.

If two kids can create such big scare and following events like complete shut down of a city like Boston.. then Congress needs to act and clean up this mess they have created.. If this is the case, then this is even bigger event than Connecticut school shooting incidence couple of months ago. That had more sentimental value but this has even bigger strategic value in terms of scare and terrorism any one can create with available guns and ammunition.. If Congress/Senate failed to pass any gun measure and can ignore the Connecticut School shooting incidence, they definitely can't ignore this event. I hope that they are getting this message loud and clear..

Twitter Music - Interesting Use Case

Seems interesting app from Twitter.. finally looks good use case for monetization of such a great service. I am personally not a great music fan and read about this app in newspaper only. Out of curiosity downloaded it. First glace really liked it.. It is quite easy interface and lets you play lot of popular music. I think it can be used easily used as DJ type of application. If you have Spotify and Rdio then complete song otherwise just preview of song from iTunes store..

However, some of the pages were more or less blank for me as I wasn't following any singer yet.. and worse case was that none of my followers or people whom I was following were following any singer.. so it was total blank.. I hope that this service will bootstrap this singer followup more and more and will ultimately result in even better following on twitter..

Good job Twitter!!

#NOWPLAYING

Twitter launches music service

Social net work ’s app on iTunes with plans for Android

By Heather Somerville

hsomerville@bayareanewsgroup.com 

Twitter’s new #music service made its public debut Thursday when the app appeared on iTunes and the company pulled back the curtains on music.twitter.com.

The service, the latest offering from Twitter that aims to give its 200 million active users a more engaged multimedia experience, uses Twitter activity to highlight popular tracks, introduce new songs and emerging artists, and connect fans with their favorite musicians. According to a company blog post, users can tweet songs directly from the app and view suggestions for new tunes. A #NowPlaying feature lets users view and listen to the same songs their friends are tweeting about.

The official launch ends a week of speculation after Twitter released the service “by invite only” and posted a static #music Web page April 11. A select group of celebrity Twitter users got first access to build hype, and “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest did his part by promptly tweeting that he had used the app to start a dance party. 

The free service is now available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. While the app is currently only for the iPhone, Twitter said it has plans to bring it to Android as well. 

The service was welcomed by musicians, who get another platform to promote their work. 

Other big winners are music services Spotify and Rdio, which Twitter has integrated with for the musicplaying portion of the service. Users have the option to play either a few-seconds clip of a song on iTunes, or to use the service with Spotify or Rdio to play the full track and an entire playlist. 

Anthony Mullen, an analyst with Forrester Research, said the new service is “an astute move” and will appeal across the board to music newbies, DJs and performing artists. 

“Twitter’s ability to personalize has always been there, but with the music recommendation service they can really begin to get going,” Mullen wrote. “Twitter has the big data skills to do something good here.” 

But Russ Crupnick of The NPD Group cautions that the music service landscape is already pretty crowded. From Pandora to Grooveshark and Rhapsody, consumers have plenty of options, and Twitter may have a battle to pull ahead of the competition. 

Contact Heather Somerville at 925977-8418. Follow her at Twitter.com/ heathersomervil. 

RIP Margaret Thatcher

In my view, the best way to remember her is by this Wish:

"We desperately need you Mrs. Thatcher here in California!!" or rather.. someone like you.. Who can handle growing menace of all kinds of unions in California.. Be it Teachers Union..  or Police or Firemen or any damn union..

I wanted to write about Mrs. Thatcher for some time..  but was busy with other things.. well that is not excuse..  However, after reading this news on WSJ about her funeral service:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324493704578427961176489542.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsForth

I simply couldn't stop writing on her.. It was shocking and really disturbing that there are still some people (or better.. morons) in Britain who are opposed to her policy.. In my view, I think what ever is left of Britain today is because of her.. If it were not her policies, Britain would have been third world country by now.. Nothing more can be said..

This is Innovation!! even though it is forced one..

Even though it seems crude old way of watching over the air streams of TV on your iPhone or any other smart phone.. it is decent option and if improvised, it could result in great alternate viewing experience.

Aereo is real great innovation on it's own. But the path looks tough as they are going to get hard time from broadcasters who are feeling tricked and left out. Aereo's service is real killer when it comes to process innovation and providing great service at the expense of broadcasters.. Broadcasters are in kind of soup I feel.. slowly, they are loosing their bargaining power. If and IF.. Aereo is validated by Supreme Court, where it will go sooner or later.. Then only alternate for these guys will be to move most of the good content to paid Cable Channels forcing people to dump over the air altogether. Don't know how it will pan out in future.. Here are some of the pics of Aereo antenna which clearly explains concept.. Third image is screen shot from Aereo's web site for future plans. Right now they are limiting to NYC area only.

Coming back to these Dongles.. they may be quite a good alternative to watch these shows.. However, if they just stick to live broadcast then they will have very limited usability. If somehow, they can leverage iPhone or iPad's local storage to automatically record over the air content and then allow app on iPhone/iPad to watch it later with skipping ads etc.. that would be killer deal.. In this case, I would not take a second to switch to Android devices where I can plug in my SD card and store and play as  much content on my mobile/tablet device. May be it is already there.. I need to check detailed specs of these dongles..

Yeah.. it is there.. They have DVR type of feature.. though there are some issues on quality of video and also specs are not clearly outlined on their sites.. Most of the local channels over the air have HD quality.. though it depends on your location and type of antenna.. I don't know how well these miniature antennas will perform for these HD signal.. It is matter of time before they will also mature..

It could be ideal if Apple or Google can include this antenna in iPad/iPod/Nexus 7 as built in feature.. just like 3G/4G/LTE  mobile radio this could be another option.. As these external dongles have two minor issues.. #1 you have to carry yet another device.. #2 and this is more important.. you can't charge your iPad/iPhone while watching this over the air video, unless these guys comes up with plug in option for their device and use that power and even pass it on to iPad/iPhone..

Interesting.. Though, I will still go for Aereo type service.. where I not only get my own antenna in cloud but also cool DVR. Which is independent of my location. I guess, internet access is going to be ubiquitous and won't be any problem in very near future..







‘Dongles’ battle video service

TV broadcasters back device in fight with upstart Aereo

By Ryan Nakashima

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — The key weapon in TV broadcasters’ fight with Internet video upstart Aereo is something inelegantly known as a dongle.

The miniature TV antenna picks up free, mobile broadcast signals. It attaches to iPhone and iPad power ports and extends about 7 inches, allowing users to view live local TV channels at not-quite-highdefinition quality.

The device scans the airwaves for signals with the help of an app. The antenna doesn’t sap a user’s data plan or rely on Wi-Fi signals, but it does need to be recharged. “If you’re at a ball game or a Starbucks and everyone’s trying to access the news, you’re not going to get (video stoppages),” says Karen McCall, a marketing representative with Dyle Mobile TV, the venture backing the devices.

The dongles are on display at the annual gathering of broadcasters, the NAB Show, taking place this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Dyle says it plans to release units for Android devices soon.

Dyle is actually a coalition of 12 major broadcasters including Fox and NBC. Those networks, along with ABC and CBS, are waging a legal fight against Aereo, a service that pulls down broadcast station signals with thousands of tiny antennas and sends the signal to mobile devices or computers over the Internet. Aereo users don’t require a dongle, just a wireless Internet or cellphone connection.

Broadcasters contend that Aereo illegally steals signals from the air without paying for the rights before reselling them to customers. Aereo has prevailed so far. It won a preliminary ruling in an appeals court last week that allowed it to continue offering its service in the New York City area. It plans to expand to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington and 18 other U.S. markets this spring.

Dyle began selling its dongles, made by companies such as Elgato and Escort, late last year on Amazon. com.

Elgato’s EyeTV Mobile sells for $83.98 or more, while Escort’s Mobile Digital TV lists for $119.99.Compared to the $8-amonth streaming service by Aereo, the price seems high, but the dongles have the backing of major broadcasters.

The Elgato and Escort devices were designed before Apple reduced the size of the power ports on its newer iPhones and iPads. As a result, people who use the latest iPad and iPhone 5 will need to employ an adapter, which can make the contraption extend somewhat precariously.

The gadgets receive signals only from stations that specifically broadcast to mobile devices. So far, the dongles will work for the signals from 116 stations in 39 markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Signals come from affiliates of NBC, CBS, Fox, Univision and Telemundo among others.

This is very slippery slope..

Honestly, I feel sorry and ashamed about this decision.. I am sure there will be thousands of good reason or so called humane reasons for this decision. But this is simple and pure theft. What is wrong is wrong.. no good humane reasons can justify it..

If I had any capacity to do so.. I would have retaliated by quick and fast penalty on all the companies who will be benefitting from this total cheating and theft of intellectual capital. If you care so much about life then you will bloody figure out ways to pay for it.. rather than simply stealing from someone else's hard work.

I would totally support US governments imposition of penalty on all the exports from such countries who don't respect the very basic foundational laws which create better life and hence better world for everyone..

India rejects Novartis patent

Drugmakers find upgrading medicines problematic in many emerging markets

By Linda A. Johnson

Associated Press

The India Supreme Court’s rejection of a patent for an improved version of a costly cancer drug by Novartis could have big implications for the world’s largest drugmakers. The ruling, which was handed down on Monday, signals the latest shift in the world of drug development in emerging markets such as India and Brazil, where drugmakers have been looking for growth. Western governments routinely grant patents for slightly improved versions of medicines whose patents are about to expire. That enables drugmakers to get many patients to upgrade to their new, generally more expensive versions rather than the cheaper, generic knockoffs even though some doctors and patients argue that the improvements don’t justify the high cost.

But India, Indonesia and some other developing countries have been bucking that trend. They’ve been shooting down Western patents and licensing local pharmaceutical companies to make cheap generic versions of medicines that most of their residents otherwise could not afford.

Major drugmakers such as Pfizer and Bayer on Monday declined to say what they might do regarding the ruling and other recent decisions by poor countries to let local drugmakers sell cheap generic versions for medicines that have monopolies under patents in Western countries. But some industry insiders — including a Novartis executive — predict that multinational drugmakers will decide against doing drug development in India.

“Novartis will not invest in drug research in India. Not only Novartis, I don’t think any global company is planning to research in India,” Ranjit Shahani, the vice chairman and managing director of Novartis India, said after the ruling.

Erik Gordon, a professor and analyst at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, agrees. He said the ruling means that there’s “no reason to do research and development in India” because of its “national policy of hostility toward medicine patents.”

One thing is clear, though: Emerging markets are not the gold mine that optimistic pharmaceutical executives have been making them out to be.

India’s move casts significant doubt on the companies’ predictions that within a few years, emerging markets will generate one-quarter or even onethird of their global revenue. They’ve been counting on governments and a rising middle class in emerging markets to spend more on their brand-name medicines rather than the locally made drugs that are more likely to be counterfeit.

“Less patent protection in huge, developing markets means less revenue, and growth stories that are going to look like fantasies,” Gordon said.

Recently, India has overturned patents for several cancer drugs, including Bayer’s Nexavar, AstraZeneca’s Iressa, Pfizer’s Sutent and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sprycel, according to Mark Grayson, spokesman for the big drugmakers’ trade group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

“Certainly companies will take this into account in deciding ... whether India’s a good market,” he said.

Chromebook - Pixel - Can it shake Apple?

I think it will definitely put pressure on Apple about medium / long term future and hopefully make them work harder for next set of innovations on their Mac Book Pro/Air line of laptops. At present personally I only see Google's pride in this release of Pixel. I am sure they will find some niche buyers for sure but it is not going to make any dent in market yet. It may inspire Samsung and other Korean/Japanese manufacturers who are investing their time in Chromebook. Hope to see more practical chromebooks from Samsung in near future..

Now coming back specifically to Chromebook reviews.. I agree that its price to performance ratio is yet to catch up with MBA/MBP. Personally, I would be inspired or let us say willing to entertain the idea of buying Pixel if it's price was in $700-800 range. Though, I have to admit that these do have clean look and great appeal.. kind of inspired by Mac Book Air and may be Legendary Thinkpad..

Regarding other limitations such as non availability of Skype and other applications... I am very hopeful that they will go away in matter of time. I am sure that most of applications will start running in browser (or Cloud) if they already don't. In worse case we have cloud based virtual desktops already there, which will take care of these emergencies and exceptions..

I think that Chromebook could be excellent choice for Enterprise customers. If Google can find some partners who can offer Virtual Desktop (VDI) kind of service on Chromebook and if they fix/add/enhance their VPN/Tunnel connectivity.. this device could be great choice for enterprise customers who don't want to keep any data on local disk but want to give seamless experience and connectivity to their employees. Since this device is built from scratch for this type of activity, it could be great option for such enterprise customers. If google can natively fix and divide personal and enterprise traffic and let personal traffic go to their google drive and enterprise traffic tunneled to enterprise Data Center they can potentially make killing in this segment.

It already comes with three years of 1 TB Google Drive which is ideal for enterprise leasing terms. In-fact Google itself can offer VDI type of service in their own Data Center or create hybrid cloud for enterprise customers they can make significant dent in this market... and this is huge market and generally with higher margin than direct consumer market. If they can do this.. then it can be a big threat to Apple who is making bigger inroads in Enterprise Laptop market right now.. as it is more or less fashion statement to carry Mac in office...

So Google just need to do minor tweaking in their offering and they will be ready for prime time with Pixel and it can become next fashion statement..

I am not really worried about connectivity or even LTE upgrade for Chromebook.. In fact I can't understand.. why anybody even buys 4G/LTE enabled Tablets  or even Chromebooks.. All the folks who will buy these things typically have smartphones and almost all smartphones including iPhone has this feature of hotspot. Essentially, this feature turns your smartphone as wi-fi access point and you can piggy back on Cellular data to provide connectivity to your other devices. Anyhow.. that is not main point.. main point is that we are almost ready for such cloud based devices..

Welcome to another round of upgrades or device refreshes!!!

Google’s Chromebook Pixel is pricey, limited

Intended as a flagship for its Chrome operating system, Google’s new Chromebook Pixel feels too much like overkill.

Chrome OS was conceived of as a simple and inexpensive computing platform.

The software is built around a Web browser and cloudbased applications; everything you do on a Chrome device is done through a browser window.

Previous Chromebooks were basic and inexpensive. They generally lacked the latest processors and didn’t come with any high-end features.

By contrast, offering premium features is the Pixel’s reason for being. It’s purpose is to show that Chrome doesn’t have to be relegated to low-end machines and to inspire Google’s partners to expand the range of their Chromebook offerings. Google representatives said the Pixel is their attempt to create a Chromebook that the boss would be proud to take home. 

In terms of design, the Google folks have achieved their goal. The Pixel is thinner and lighter than Apple’s comparable Mac-Book Pro, but feels just as sturdy. Like the Apple laptops, the Pixel’s case is made from aluminum, not from the plastic found on the less-expensive Chromebooks. The Pixel has sharper edges and is much more rectangular than the MacBook Pros, which gives it a sleek, modern look. 

The Pixel takes another page from Apple by including a high-resolution screen similar to Apple’s “Retina” display. 

In fact, the Pixel’s screen is even higher resolution than those in Apple’s new MacBook Pros. It’s beautiful and bright, making text and pictures super-sharp. 

But Google has also looked beyond Apple for inspiration. The Pixel features a touch screen like those found in many of the latest Windows laptops. 

And it includes a powerful Intel Core i5 processor, which is standard fare on Apple and Windows-based notebooks, but is unique for a Chromebook. 

The processor makes a difference. While the Samsung Chromebook I recently tested felt sluggish, the Pixel is snappy and responsive, instantly resuming from sleep and quickly switching among tabbed Web pages. The Pixel also offers some uncommon features. One model includes an LTE radio, which provides a fast Internet connection when you aren’t near a Wi-Fi hotspot. That model also includes a limited amount of monthly broadband access from Verizon for two years. All models of the Pixel come with 1 terabyte of space on the Google Drive cloud storage service for free for three years. That’s a bargain, because Google typically charges $50 a month for that much space. 

But despite all of its bells and whistles, the Pixel is still a Chromebook and suffers the same limitations as the others. 

Because Chrome is designed to run Web-based apps, the operating system lacks many popular PC applications. You won’t find Skype, for example, or Photoshop or many high-end video games. And if you need to use special software for work or to connect to a device in your house, you can almost be certain that software won’t be available for Chrome. 

That lack of applications means you simply can’t do as much with a Chromebook as you can with a Mac or Windows PC. If you’re spending only $250 for a basic Chromebook, that shortcoming is acceptable. 

But it’s not when you’re spending $1,300, which is the starting price of the Pixel. For that money, you can get a very nice Windows machine or Apple’s MacBook Air. 

And some of the Pixel’s embellishments that help to drive up its price seem unnecessary. The touch screen in particular seems to have little use. 

Google hasn’t redesigned Chrome’s interface to take advantage of the touch screen. And unlike some of the new Windows notebooks, the Pixel’s screen doesn’t detach or fold back on itself, so you can’t use the device like a tablet. 

While the screen is wonderful, it has one huge drawback: it drains the device’s battery. Google says users should see up to five hours of battery life from the Pixel. That’s already less than you’d get on many of the latest Mac or Windows laptops. But in my testing, the battery life wasn’t even as good as advertised; I got around 4  1 ⁄ 2 hours of use at best. So while I understand Google’s impulse and appreciate the Pixel’s design and display, I’m not convinced that anyone yet needs a premium Chromebook. 

Contact Troy Wolverton at 408-840-4285 or twolverton@mercurynews. 

com. Follow him at www.mercurynews.com/troywolverton or Twitter. com/troywolv. 

We definitely need another really viable Mobile OS

even though it is late entrant to market.. I am sure it will perform great.. Pie is big enough and there will be tons of enthusiasts who would like to use Firefox phones..

Looking forward to this new Firefox OS as good alternative to iOS and Android.. I hope they will be able to package it in the middle taking ease of use from iOS and openness and flexibility from Android OS.

After really bad performance from MS and other mobile phone developers, I hope that this will emerge as really nice alternative to Android and iOS.

Mozilla to release Firefox phones

By Peter Svensson

Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain — Mozilla, the nonprofit foundation behind the Firefox Web browser, is getting into phones. But it’s not stopping at Web browsers — it’s launching an entire phone operating system.

The Mountain View foundation said Sunday that phones running Firefox OS will appear this summer, starting in Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. The Firefox OS will land in a crowded environment, where many small operating systems are trying to become the “third ecosystem,” alongside Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Together, those two account for 91 percent of smartphone sales, according to research firm IDC.Mozilla Foundation has an ally in phone companies, who are interested in seeing an alternative to Apple and Google, particularly one coming from a nonprofit foundation. Eighteen phone companies around the world have committed to supporting Firefox phones, Mozilla said. They include Sprint Nextel in the U.S., Telecom Italia, America Movil of Mexico and Deutsche Telekom of Germany. DT is the parent of T-Mobile USA, but plans to sell Firefox phones first in Poland. Sprint didn’t say when it would release a Firefox phone in the U.S.

Phone makers that plan to make Firefox phones include Huawei and ZTE of China and LG of Korea. All the phones will run on chips supplied by San Diegobased Qualcomm.

Can this save Yahoo? NO TELECOMMUTING!!

This call by Yahoo CEO Marissa started fierce discussions on merits of WF-Office or WF-Home.. In my view, it depends... It depends on the group.. it depends on the phase of work you are in.. it depends on your personal condition.. it shouldn't be either one way or highway.. We are all adults and should be capable to decide about it..

Though, I also agree that in general, working in the office is better for collaborative type of work. If there is collaboration needed, then there is no way you can replace face to face discussions or meetings with any kind of tool.

At the same time, depending on phase of work, you may need some un-interrupted space to work and focus.. There is tons of value in that as well.. Depending on your personality and kind of work you are doing, you may simply produce thousand times better quality work when you are left alone.

Finally, flexibility.. that is key issue.. Telecommuting is important tool which allows you to be flexible and helps you balance personal and professional life. In case you have to pick up or drop your kid and it is 15 min job from your home, but if you have to come all the way from work and spend hours in traffic to do it.. then you are better off with WFH. That is one corner case.. but then there are multiple corner cases like this..

Overall, I am in favor of working in the office even though it does creates problems like traffic and lost commute time etc.. In offices, you meet more people face to face and definitely will have better ideas or refinement in your own ideas by simple act of discussing it casually.. Our current economy is all about intellectually brilliant ideas.. and in that case, it is always One + One is Eleven.. mostly.. and this mostly makes me say that there has to be flexibility..

Finally, I am also big fan for great and free lunch at cafeterias.. Honestly.. think about it.. how much it could cost.. may be $10 or $20 for best of best meal served there.. How much is hourly rate in technology.. anything between 50-100 or even more.. If this great lunch saves you even 30 minutes (instead of going out for lunch) this is more than break even... I can't understand why some corporations can't figure this simple math..

Lastly (Finally.. Finally), I am dead against these shut downs or forced vacations.. to save some few penny.. bloody hell.. if you want to save money then close company for entire money.. won't it be better.. in that case you will save all the money on salary and office space and utilities.. and what not.. Amount of productivity loss due to forced shut downs actually sends your company even closer to death spiral..


Cheers!!! enjoy this article..

NO TELECOMMUTING

Yahoo CEO calls workers back to office

Order stirs an impassioned debate over a long-standing perk in valley

By Brandon Bailey

bbailey@mercurynews.com 

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to order telecommuting employees back to the office has sparked a passionate debate over the increasingly common practice of working from home.

Criticism from some workers, especially working parents, portrayed Mayer as abandoning a modern, enlightened approach that helps employees juggle conflicting demands.

Supporters said she may have reason to shake things up at the once-vaunted Internet company, which earned a reputation in recent years for falling behind in both innovation and competition.

The firestorm ignited Friday when Yahoo’s human resources chief sent a memo announcing that all employees will be asked to work in company offices starting in June. The memo quickly leaked to a prominent tech news blog, All Things D. 

It’s an issue that resonates sharply in Silicon Valley, where companies like Google, Cisco and others make Web-based software, videoconferencing systems and other high-tech tools that can help workers be productive at home. Yet some of Yahoo’s biggest competitors, including Google and Facebook, have spent heavily to design work spaces that encourage in-person collaboration, while providing free meals and other amenities that make it easier for employees to spend long hours at the office. 

‘Time together’ 

When people ask how many Google employees telecommute, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette told an Australian tech audience last week, he replies, “As few as possible.” Pichette explained, according to an account in the Sydney Morning Herald, that Google wants workers to talk informally over meals or coffee. “There is something magical about spending the time together, about noodling on ideas, about asking at the computer, ‘What do you think of this?’ ” Google and Facebook allow employees to work from home, relying on the judgment of employees and their managers, according to sources at both companies, which declined to comment on Yahoo’s policies. But both companies have said they see a benefit in the creative sparks that come with random meetings in corridors or cafeterias. When Facebook moved into the former headquarters of Sun Microsystems, it remodeled the buildings to create open clusters of desks, as well as “living spaces” with couches and kitchen equipment, where workers can talk shop and trade ideas. Google has similar features in its buildings. And both Facebook and Google are famous for offering all kinds of free treats, from gourmet meals to massages and yoga sessions, for workers on their respective campuses. 

Yahoo appears to be seeking the same kind of synergy. “We need to be working side by side,” Yahoo human resources chief Jackie Reses wrote in her memo last week. 

Reses cited the importance of “decisions and insights” that can arise from impromptu meetings. But in what some view as an indication that Yahoo’s new boss isn’t satisfied with telecommuters’ performance, Reses added that “speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” 

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment, so it’s unclear how many workers will be affected, but the company has not disputed the memo’s authenticity. 

Mayer, a former Google executive, has previously taken steps to improve work conditions at Yahoo, giving employees new smartphones and providing free meals, among other amenities. But critics said the Reses memo seemed hamhanded and oppressive. 

“A desperate move by a desperate company that has trouble trusting their employees,” Stewart Bauman, who works in tech but not at Yahoo, wrote in a post on the Mercury News Facebook page. 

Others said they saw hypocrisy by Mayer, who is both a new mother and a wealthy CEO — and who used her own funds to install a nursery next to her office, according to All Things D, which noted that other employees don’t have that option. 

Experts warned the memo could backfire. “The question is whether this move will result in an exodus among the company’s top talent,” John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, said in an email noting that “many Silicon Valley tech firms are battling each other to attract and retain the best talent.” 

A matter of skill level 

Surveys show telecommuting is increasing across the United States and elsewhere. In a paper published last week, Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom described a recent nine-month study of a Chinese online travel firm, CTrip, which found call-center employees were more productive and performed at a higher level when allowed to work from home. But Bloom drew a distinction between call-center workers and higher-skilled professionals, such as executives or software developers. He said the latter can benefit from the flexibility of working at home but also from collaboration in the office. 

“It’s typical for high-end employees to work from home one or two days a week,” he said. “They get time away to think and time to be creative and to have a work-life balance. But it’s not helpful to have them permanently absent from the workplace.” 

Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/ BrandonBailey. 

“The question is whether this move will result in an exodus among the company’s top talent.” 

— John Challenger, CEO, Challenger Gray & Christmas 

Story of Best Home Entertainment System and Bad CBS!!!

In general, I am happy with Dish's DVR. Even though with older models, May be, I am used to it.. Even though with older models, I am fairly happy. This new system seems to be even better than the current model I have...

Though there may be some issues with them on pricing and other customer support side.. but still much better experience than many other cable service providers..

Best part of Dish is that they keep innovating and they try to use technology for better user experience of their customers. I enjoy their sling adapter based remote viewing any how.. This Auto Advertisement skipping feature is another example.. which CBS is really offended about. I am sure CBS executives will soon learn their lessons and won't be able to force their will on customers. I love CBS shows, but at the same time, they need to understand, unless they make their content so compelling that I am forced to watch moment it is broadcast-ed.. I should have free choice of skipping or playing their content which ever way I like..

If CBS things, that their shows are so great.. then may be they should ask Dish and all other service providers to some how enhance their DVR to stop recording CBS shows.. They know very well what a backlash they will get from not only Service providers but also from Customers.. Basically, there is no way they can enforce their will on the content which is broadcast-ed and more or less becomes my property. Well at least in terms of ways of viewing it.. People will find other easier ways to skip their commercials. Which could be even more brutal for CBS..

I any how skip all the advertisements when watching my recorded shows. What is wrong with Auto Skipper? If Dish won't do it, some one else will come with mechanism or process to put it in place. In any case, their are very few years left to watching our shows we watch today. CBS should be thankful to Dish to extend that period by making life of their customers better, who also happen to be CBS customers..

Let us see.. where this all goes.. Nevertheless, I am looking for upgrade from Dish soon..

Dish’s Hopper with Sling steals the show

Its commerical-jumping DVR went from ‘Best of CES’ toamess for CBS

As always, there were several stunning, very large TVs with five figure prices, but I always try and focus my efforts on finding things that the average consumer can afford and enjoy.

By far the biggest story of the show this year also involves one of the neatest products. Dish unveiled their Hopper with Sling, a whole-house DVR system that allows you to view your DVR recordings and live TV on your mobile device from anywhere with an Internet connection. It also features PrimeTime Anytime, to simultaneously record all the PrimeTime programming on all the major networks, AutoHop, which automatically skips commercials, TruVolume to keep volume from blasting during commercials, a Dish Explorer app that links your iPad to the Hopper, and a host of other features that make it the industry’s class-leading DVR. You can see it at www.dish.com.

The editors of huge technology website CNet were as impressed as I was and nominated the Dish Hopper with Sling as a “Best of CES” candidate. The nomination is an award in and of itself and Dish personnel were on their way to accept it when executives at CNet’s corporate owner, CBS, told CNet’s editors to disqualify Dish Hopper with Sling and give the award to someone else. CBS does not approve of the commercial-skipping feature and is involved in litigation to ban it.

CNet protested in the name of editorial and journalistic independence, but ultimately backed down and issued a statement on its website. Resignations from CNet occurred as a result of CBS’ heavy-handedness and it was later leaked out and confirmed that the Dish Hopper with Sling was not only a “Best of CES” candidate, it had actually won the “Best of Show” award as the best product introduced at CES this year. The end result has been a lot of good publicity for Dish, a perceived loss of credibility for CNet through no fault of its own, and a lot of bad publicity for CBS as it has endured universal journalistic scorn from many news outlets. What I find most frustrating is the media companies fight new technology to keep it from being introduced and when they eventually lose the fight they reap immense profits from it afterward. They fought the home VCR all the way to the Supreme Court and after they lost they made billions selling home movies on VHS and later on DVD. They fought and sued over online music until finally making billions from the iTunes music store and other downloading services.

They don’t always lose, though they usually do. If you have ever wondered why it has become so hard to record programming and store the recordings on tape or disc you can thank the media companies. It would be child’s play to design satellite and cable boxes with FireWire connections to Blu-ray recorders so subscribers could easily save their full-quality recordings on disc. This is the standard in many parts of the world such as Japan, where Blu-ray recording is ubiquitous. This standard was originally proposed for North America as well but the media companies would not allow it.

Next week I will have more neat stuff from the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show! Contact Don Lindich at www.soundadviceblog. com and use the “submit question” link on that site.

SOUND ADVICE

DON LINDICH