Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Google to open 'Google Ideas' global technology think tank
Hoping to apply technology solutions to solve the world's problems, Google is hiring Washington technology insider Jared Cohen.
Jared Cohen in 2007. Image Credit: Washington Life Magazine
A rumor surfaced last month which put Washington insider Jared Cohen on the fast track to Google-dom. Cohen is famous for his work as 'Twitterer in Chief' of the State department where he has lasted through two administrations.
He's a fascinating fellow.
Cohen was hired during the Bush Administration by Condoleezza Rice's State Department's policy planning staff at age 24, just after getting his M.Phil at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Since then, he has become an incredibly well connected and well traveled diplomat versed in '21st Century Statecraft'. He's also written a book called Children of Jihad where he advocates for the use of technology for social upheaval in the Middle East and elsewhere.
We've been told that Cohen is busy building a new entity for Google which is tentatively called Google Ideas. Ideas is a global initiatives 'think tank' office inside of Google and will be run out of New York. Cohen will be working for Google full time by this fall. His job will be to spearhead initiatives to apply technology solutions to problems faced by the developing world.
Another source tells us that Cohen's current boss, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is aware of his impending departure. Google told Fortune that it doesn't comment on topics of this nature. Cohen didn't respond to requests for comment.
Cohen counts among his friends Twitter and Square founder Jack Dorsey as well as entertainment figures like Whoopi Goldberg and Jimmy Buffett.
He's no stranger to Google either. Below is a talk in March with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Jared Cohen and Alec Ross.
I've bookmarked the end but the full video is highly recommended. Or, view a shorter, easier to watch interview here.
This Stanford article tells the story of Cohen's rise to prominance in Washington:
Cohen who has traveled widely in the Middle East, was tracking developments on the ground by following the English and translated Farsi postings of Iranian dissidents and opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi on Twitter. Their protests about fraud in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, and the violent government crackdown that followed it, were flying to the outside world in 140-character-or-less bursts of comment.
Cohen read that the microblogging service was about to shut down its operations for maintenance. Although the shutdown would be routine and brief (and in the middle of the night in U.S. time zones), the prospect chilled the dissidents' leaders. Because the government was blocking cell phone texting, Twitter had become a lifeline. The protests were reaching a crescendo: What might happen if Twitter went silent in the middle of a turbulent day?
So Cohen emailed his friend Jack Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder and chairman. Dorsey had been part of a Silicon Valley delegation that Cohen had led to the Middle East earlier that spring to explore prospects for rebuilding Iraq. In a series of emails, Cohen asked Dorsey if the company was aware of the suddenly prominent role that it was playing on the international stage.
The rest—more or less—is history. Twitter agreed to postpone its upgrade for a few hours, and the pipeline of free expression continued uninterrupted in Iran. The Iranian government accused the Obama administration of meddling in its internal affairs, but a spokesman said Cohen's call was "completely consistent with our national policy. . . . We are proponents of freedom of expression." By the end of the year, CNN was including Cohen's call to Twitter on a list of the Top 10 Internet moments of the decade, along with the launch of Facebook and the introduction of the
iPhone .
From that same Stanford article is a collage of interesting meetings:
Image Credit: Stanford
Follow Google 24/7 and author Seth Weintraub on Twitter.
Libyana reaches a 1mil subscribers in 5 years, and Etisalat celebrated 15mil in 3 years
On the other hand, in a neighbor country: Egypt, Etisalat a United Arab Emirates based international mobile phone service provider, which started offering its services in Egypt about 3 years ago, becoming one of the few phone service provides able to survive in a very competitive market, with Vodafone and Mobinil buzzing in the air. Etisalat celebrated 15 million customers milestone in this very short period of time, becoming one of the best mobile phone service providers ever worked in Egypt.
Etisalat according to Egyptian public opinion drives its success from offering quality service with low prices, although its coverage area does not compete with Mobinil or Vodafone, but it is very popular for its offers and prices.
Leading me back to Libya, where the telecom sector could not compare to a neighbor country, and Libya is still relying on national operators with no service, marketing, or technology experience, and have to pay a lot to import services from moderate and unreliable service providers such as ZTE and Huwawi, where some of which have proved failure in other countries, so will Libya open its telecommunications market for major international service providers such Etisalat, and gain from its success in a tough market such as Egypt? We will wait and see.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
E3 2010: Sony launches PSN Plus
Premium subscription for PlayStation Network users unveiled at E3
Sony has announced PSN Plus, a premium subscription-based service for its PlayStation Network, at the E3 expo in Los Angeles. Sony president Jack Tretton said PSN Plus users would gain access to an exclusive set of features and content, such as preferred early downloads of demos and select betas, as well as free content including full PSN games, themes and avatars.
Tretton said that subscribers to the new service would also receive discounts for products on the PlayStation Store and a variety of online services including automatic downloads and firmware updates. He said that PSN Plus will be made available to US PlayStation 3 owners from June 29, with a one-year subscription costing $49.99, and a three-month pass costing $17.99. Sony will be offering free access to PSN Plus for a three-month trial period.
Sony plans to update PSN Plus content every month "in order to provide more value for subscribers". In the first month PSN Plus will offer the full game of Wipeout HD, a full game trial of InFamous, Minis and classic PlayStation One titles such as Age Of Zombies, Field Runners and Rally Cross.
Sony has promised that all features currently available on the PlayStation Network will remain free; only PSN Plus features will carry the subscription price tag.
PSN Plus’s arrival on the PlayStation Network follows months of speculation about Sony’s plans to introduce a premium service on PSN which PS3 owners would have to pay for. It was announced as part of Sony’s E3 keynote press briefing at E3, which also saw the unveiling of 3D games for the PS3 and some gaming demos for titles which make us of the Sony PlayStation Move wireless controller.
YouTube launches online video editor
Cloud-based application enables people to edit videos online before uploading them to YouTube
YouTube has launched a cloud-based video-editing tool to enable people to edit their videos online before uploading them to the video-sharing website.
"The editor is ideal for merging single, short clips in to a longer video," said Rushabh Doshi, a Google software engineer, and Joshua Siegel, a Google product manager, in a YouTube blog post. "For example, you can transform clips from your vacation in to a video travel diary set to music, or create a highlights reel from footage of your last basketball game.
"It's also great for trimming a long video down to the moments you really care about. Say you've uploaded a wedding ceremony – a beautiful event, but do you really need to see all the guests shuffle in? The video editor lets you easily remove unwanted footage so you can capture just the moment when they say, 'I do'."
Google, which owns the video-sharing website, has made the editor available through the TestTube section of YouTube, which hosts new and experimental features.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
They ban YouTube and forget Google Videos!
It seems that banning YouTube, which has been the most viewed video posting web destination for various age groups in the last two years, especially in Libya, it seems banning it influenced a lot of teenagers in the country.
The justification remains a dilemma, specially with the action being simultaneous with the shut-down of at least 5 independent Libyan electronic newspapers.
The question that puzzles me: is Libya behind this, and if it is behind banning YouTube, did they forget about: Google Videos, the same based web based video posting site, and did they forget about Google being YouTube's owner?
I read somewhere that YouTube is banned from Google, but why would Google risk loosing a market share that is estimated to be at least 200,000 internet users.
The reason will be explained I believe, its just a matter of time!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The five best products of CES 2010, for business users
Every year when I go to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, while most attendees are ogling over televisions and video games, I scour the show looking for the products that will have the biggest real world impact for businesses. This is my list of the five best from CES 2010.
Keep in mind that most of these products deal with mundane things like battery charging and printing, and aren’t very flashy, but I think they can offer some good value nonetheless.
5. Targus Premium Laptop Charger
Computer accessory-maker Targus unveiled its new Premium Laptop Charger at CES. There are several features that make this thing innovative. First, it allows you to charge both your laptop and cellphone from a single outlet. Second, it works as both an AC charger for a standard socket and a DC charger in your car. And third, it is future-proofed because it has interchangeable tips and Targus offers free tips for the life of the product (as long you register the product online). The only thing you pay for the tips is about five bucks for shipping.
The product comes with tips for nine different laptop brands, a mini-USB tip, and a tip for iPod/
I’m not sure many business folks will run out and buy this to replace their current chargers, but if you need a replacement laptop charger or you want a second or third charger then this one could be a great option.
4. Lexmark Platinum Pro905
There’s hardly any technology less exciting than printers but at CES Lexmark showed off its new Platinum Pro905 all-in-one that offers a great opportuntiy for small businesses and remote offices to save money on printing costs. Its black ink cartridges cost just $4.99, and each of its three color cartridges are $9.99. The device itself, which serves as a printer, copier, scanner, and fax machine, retails for $399 and comes with a five-year warranty.
The product also offers 802.11n wireless, printing directly from an
3. Powermat Wireless Charger
Powermat’s wireless charging system for smartphones and other small devices was one of the big hits at last year’s CES when it was first announced. The product officially hit the market in the U.S. at Best Buy and Target in the fall and has reportedly sold over 250,000 units.
Powermat allows you to replace your device batteries with Powermat batteries and battery doors (adding a little weight and bulk) and then simply laying them on a mat to charge them instead of plugging them in. At CES 2010, Powermat showed off the next generation of its product, which includes a new selection of mats in various shapes and sizes and, most importantly, new technology that makes the doors and battery covers integrate much more seamlessly and without adding any weight or bulk to the devices, especially smartphones.
The example below shows the existing Powermat battery cover on the right (with the raised finish) and the 2.0 battery cover on the left (naturally integrated with the existing device design). This is how Powermat will work with virtually any case that has a removable battery. However, that does not include the
2. BlackBerry Presenter
Research in Motion unveiled a new accessory at CES: The BlackBerry Presenter. It’s a little box that connects to a standard conference room projector and allows you to run a PowerPoint presentation wirelessly from your BlackBerry.
If you have BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), you can even email the PPT file to yourself and then just run the presentation from that email message. It will enable a lot of road warriors to ditch their laptops when they travel to give presentations, especially on same-day trips. Hooking up a laptop to a unfamiliar projector is a chronic help desk problem. The BlackBerry Projector can make it a little simpler. Just connect it to a VGA port and click the button on the top to activate it.
The device costs $199 and it requires BlackBerry OS 4.6 or later.
1.PlasticLogic QUE proReader
The PlasticLogic QUE was one of the most anticipated product launches of CES 2010. A lot of information had been revealed or leaked beforehand, but most of us tended to think of the QUE as an ereader oriented toward newspapers and magazines and aimed at business professionals.
The reality exceed those expectations as the QUE proReader turned out to be what PlasticLogic CEO Richard Archuleta called a “wireless briefcase.” Not only does the QUE have deals in place with all of the top business periodicals, but it also syncs with Microsoft Exchange, provides “print-to-device” functionality, reads Microsoft Office documents and PDFs, and allows BlackBerry users to transfer data from their smartphones.
Unfortunately, there was another way in which the QUE exceeded expectations: the price. The two models cost $650 and $800. At that price, it will have to compete with tablet and slate computers.
Jason Hiner is the Editor in Chief of TechRepublic. Previously, he worked as an IT Manager in the health care industry. You can find him on Twitter, LinkedIn and at JasonHiner.com. To see the gadgets and personal tech he uses, view his gdgt profile.Date: January 12th, 2010
Author: Jason Hiner
Category: BlackBerry, CES, E-reader
Tags: Consumer Electronics Show, Battery, Product, RIM BlackBerry, Laptop Computer, Powermat Wireless Charger Powermat, Powermat, Engineering, Notebooks, HandheldsSpecial Reports » See more posts on: CES 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Diamond Phoenix and System Logistics Combine Strength to Bring a New Level of Innovative System Design and Integration to the World Marketplace
LEWISTON, MAINE -- Diamond Phoenix, a full service material handling technology supplier and systems integrator, has combined efforts with Italian company System Logistics to create a new, dynamic and fast growing company in the material handling industry. System Logistics is a global leader in providing integrated systems for pallet and case picking operations, with solutions that include automated storage and case picking, laser guided vehicles, system vehicle loops (SVL), and complete WMS software solutions for automated warehousing. Diamond Phoenix is one of the world’s leaders in supplying solutions for automating order picking and storage across a wide range of industries, with systems for automating order picking, unit sortation, case sortation, automated pallet handling and many other areas of warehousing and distribution. By teaming with System Logistics, Diamond Phoenix will offer even more solutions, backed by the creative talents of a global engineering team.
In addition, both companies also provide highly innovative technology solutions for storage and order picking. Diamond Phoenix will immediately offer the patented Modula line of Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs) to its clients, as well as continuing to offer its patented SMARTdepot multi-bay VLM. This greatly enhances the ability to add value through an ever growing range of innovative technologies.
System Logistics, headquartered in Modena, Italy, has been in operation for 30 years. Their dedication to creating value through creative design and technological innovation is one of the many reasons their acquisition of Diamond Phoenix will ensure the continued growth of both. “We are happy to now be a part of a company with such amazing capabilities. I really think we are well positioned to bring our customers material handling systems unmatched in the industry,” states Tom Coyne, President and CEO of Diamond Phoenix.
The merging of the two companies brings 90 years of combined material handling experience. “The US logistics market is an important investment for System Logistics. Diamond Phoenix and System Logistics will now work together to deliver a wide range of solutions from single bay vertical lift modules, each picking with carousels, voice picking, to huge distribution centers utilizing AS/RS and automated case picking,” said Mauro Pelliciari, General Manager of System Logistics.
The transaction combines Diamond Phoenix systems design and implementation capabilities with the global reach and additional technologies of System Logistics. The combined companies will have a unique blend of complementary capabilities to bring the best of system design and implementation to the world market. Both companies have common values focused on customer care, innovation and reliability with familiar, large company customer references.
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