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To: Sea Otter who wrote (211164)	6/17/2011 5:48:24 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361203

Facebook Seeks Bigger Role in Software for Mobile Apps ______________________________________________________________ By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER And YUKARI IWATANI KANE The Wall Street Journal online.wsj.com Facebook Inc. is angling to play a bigger role in shaping the way software gets developed for mobile devices. The social network, which has turned its popular website into a platform for developing games and other add-on programs, so far hasn't wielded the same influence on mobile gadgets like Apple Inc.'s hit iPhone and iPad. But there are signs the company is trying to change that situation. Facebook executives, among other things, are encouraging developers who write Facebook apps to do so for mobile devices using a relatively new technology standard called HTML5. The company has also been using HTML5 to enhance its own mobile offerings, which are used by more than 250 million people to tap into its services. Some app developers and analysts believe Facebook's underlying motivation is to position itself as an alternative development platform for programmers that now tailor mobile apps specifically for Apple's iOS operating system or Google Inc.'s Android. Technology blog TechCrunch reported that Facebook is working on a mobile platform dubbed "Project Titan" that was designed to bypass Apple by using the HTML5 technology that works with the iPhone and iPad's mobile browser, Safari. Bret Taylor, Facebook's chief technology officer, wouldn't discuss forthcoming products. But he did express strong support for HTML5, an update of the Web's fundamental programming technology that is expected to allow apps to be written for use in browsers on different operating systems—including iOS and Android—without needing to be completely rewritten for each. Mr. Taylor said the technology can help Facebook and app developers reach new users and "close the gap" between existing Web and mobile user experiences. But he doesn't view HTML5 and apps written directly for iOS and other operating systems as an "either-or" decision. "Facebook and all of our developers will choose both," Mr. Taylor said. "You want to reach as many people in as many places as possible." Facebook could in the future also play more of a role in helping users discover apps on mobile phones, he said, but declined to specify how it would do so. HTML5, developed with contributions from many tech companies and organizations, has a growing number of supporters in Silicon Valley. Apple, for example, is backing the technology as an alternative to Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash technology as a way to add interactivity to Web applications. Such technologies can address major pain points for mobile-app developers—for one thing, making it possible to create one version of a program that works on multiple devices, rather than devoting scarce resources to making multiple versions of apps. Facebook could use its own popularity and data about the habits of users' friends to help mobile-app developers gain greater visibility, say some developers Facebook has been courting smaller developers for its HTML5 project, promising those who use it greater promotion of their apps, one developer said. App companies, in theory, could also more quickly update Web-based apps. One of the limitations of the Apple App Store system is that developers must submit app changes to Apple, which then has to approve the changes before the apps are updated. However, developers that write Web apps using HTML5 could instantly push out changes, one developer said. An Apple spokesman declined comment. But app developers say Facebook's effort faces challenges. For one thing, HTML5 applications such as games can look dated compared with apps written for specific mobile devices. Those apps also are better at exploiting a mobile device's camera, location, graphics circuitry and other hardware features than Web-based apps. Outfit7, which developed a popular app called Talking Tom Cat, said it has been in communication with Facebook in recent months. But it has decided not to support HTML5 for now because the company doesn't see how it could help the user experience. "Native-like experience doesn't mean the experience is the same," said Andrej Nabergoj, Outfit7's chief executive. He said HTML5 doesn't have the voice and video support necessary for its apps, and that HTML5 presents more performance challenges the more complex an app becomes. "We have to care about what is in the best interest for the user," Mr. Nabergoj said. Facebook, for the moment, is a long way from being as dominant in mobile as it is on the Web. Currently, its software for mobile phones doesn't allow users to directly access the apps that many users use on Facebook's ordinary website. The apps are a growing source of revenue for the company, which makes money from displaying ads and taking a 30% cut of virtual goods sales, whose transactions take place in Facebook's own currency called Credits. Facebook already offers a software-development kit so that iOS apps can incorporate many aspects of Facebook's technology, such as signing into games and services with users' Facebook accounts, Mr. Taylor said. -Write to Geoffrey A. Fowler at geoffrey.fowler@wsj.com and Yukari Iwatani Kane at yukari.iwatani@wsj.com

To: Sea Otter who wrote (211164)	6/18/2011 12:55:50 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361203

Steve Blank and Ben Horowitz debate whether there is a "tech bubble": economist.com

To: Sea Otter who wrote (211164)	6/18/2011 5:07:42 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361203

Apple vs. Wintel: t.co

To: Sea Otter who wrote (211164)	6/18/2011 3:41:40 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 361203

Oracle expert claims Google may owe up to $6 billion mercurynews.com By Brandon Bailey Mercury News bbailey@mercurynews.com Updated: 06/18/2011 04:18:44 AM PDT Calling it "breathtaking" and "out of proportion to any meaningful measure," Google (GOOG) attorneys revealed late Friday that an expert working for Oracle (ORCL) has estimated Google may owe $1.4 billion to $6.1 billion in damages in a patent dispute over the popular Android mobile operating system. Google is hotly disputing Oracle's claims in a patent lawsuit that raises potentially far-reaching issues for the mobile computing and commercial software industries. Many of the details of the case have been filed under seal in San Francisco federal court, as both sides have sought to protect competitive information about licensing agreements and revenue. But documents released this week shed new light on the size of the dispute. "It's a very high-stakes case," said analyst Al Hilwa, a software expert for the IDC research firm, who noted that it centers on the commercial value of one of the most widely used programming languages in the world. Oracle acquired the rights to the Java programming language last year when it bought Sun Microsystems, whose engineers created Java more than a decade ago. Oracle now contends that Google's Android software, which is used in smartphones and tablet computers, infringes Java patents. Sun had never made large amounts of money from the programming language, although other companies have used it, under open-source licensing agreements, to create a host of commercial software products. Many analysts had predicted Oracle would move more aggressively than Sun to develop Java's income potential. But Google attorney Scott Weingaertner argued in a letter to U.S. District Judge William Alsup that the low end of Oracle expert Iain Cockburn's estimate of damages was more than 10 times the amount that Sun earned in a year "for the entirety of its Java licensing program." "Cockburn's theory is neatly tailored to enable Oracle to finance nearly all of its multibillion-dollar acquisition of Sun," Weingaertner wrote. Oracle paid $7.4 billion in the Sun deal. Oracle, which declined a request for comment earlier this week, has asserted in its court filings that its claims "are based on both accepted methodology and a wealth of concrete evidence," which its attorneys and experts will present and defend in coming weeks. Google has denied violating patents and has not conceded any liability. The two sides are engaged in pretrial maneuverings in a case that is not scheduled for trial until fall. While the dispute involves a range of complex legal and technical issues, Alsup has issued several rulings aimed at narrowing the focus to a limited number of arguments. Hilwa, who has followed the case, noted that it's possible both sides could reach a settlement out of court. "Just because Google is arguing about what the damages might be doesn't mean they think they're going to lose," he added. "You just don't know how this is going to pan out."