One thing that gets only a fraction of the attention that the iPad has generated is the question of its processing power. The iPad will be powered by a chip called the “A4″ and that’s about all that Apple has told anyone. It will be a System-on-a-Chip (SoC), similar to the iPhone and other devices, and speculation has been that it will be a new version of the Cortex-A8. One insider says it’s more like a stripped-down, “nothing to write home about” A8.
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Why Apple is Keeping the iPad A4 Under Wraps
Google may be pulling out of China as early as April 10, says Bloomberg. In January, Google responded with threats of leaving after it was learned that not only were the massive attacks on Google and others’ infrastructures and data perpetrated by people in China, but they were done by people in the Chinese government itself. An official announcement from Google is expected to come next week on March 22.
Bloomberg also reports that an ex-executive with Google in China says that the move by the search giant would probably mean burnt bridges and an inability for the company to return to the Chinese market.
Google has removed most filters from its Chinese searches, which is against the directives of the Chinese government. That move, meant mainly as a retaliation for the hack attempts, was met by stiff bureaucratic upper lips. Relations have reportedly been worsening and the search giant may be ready to just call it quits, leaving the largest Internet usage market (by users) in the world.
This move would be a large boost to competitors like Baidu, the leading China-based search engine.
Many are calling the potential move by Google the “right thing to do.” PCWorld blogger Ian Paul calls the move “socially responsible,” but questions the business decision on its loss of market potential.
To get a little political myself, I would say that Google pulling out is probably, in the end, in Google’s best interest. If the Chinese government sets rules and Google has followed them (which they were), operating under the premise that the nation’s laws are to be followed, and then that country attacks or funds people who attack their infrastructure and proprietary data.. Then who is in the wrong?
If attacks by the Chinese government’s cyberwarriors accessing and potentially stealing Google’s data being something that China sees no problem with while they at the same time demand that Google follow the laws of China or face expulsion or fines, the double-standard will eventually have to be dealt with. Given the potential losses, perhaps a pull-out by Google would be the proper thing to do.
According to a report in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Google is teaming up with Intel, Logitech and Sony to bring you a WebTV-like platform for Web viewing in your living room called Google TV. Everyone involved seems to have something in mind as to their own gains for doing this deal.
Funny, given their vision for this, none of them seem to have realized that the PlayStation and the XBox both already do everything that’s been said this new Google TV setup will do. Tell me if you can’t already do this on the new game systems on the market today:
- Surf the Web and use apps like Twitter and Facebook
- Use photo sites like Picasa or Flickr
What Google seems to want to bring the mix is to base the whole thing on the Android platform. That would be interesting, since it would leave it open to developers to create all kinds of nifty apps and wizbangs for the setup. Sony seems interested in capturing exclusivity on built-ins for TVs and DVD/BluRay players while Logitech will likely provide the underlying hardware with Intel doing the processor(s). Both Google and Intel have nothing in the realm of television, really, and Sony is fast losing market share thanks to their high price points.
ComputerWorld says that an SDK is going to become available as the technology progresses. If it does, then this whole idea will have some merit and could be very interesting. Watch for Apple to make a similar announcement in the coming months to keep up with the Joneses Google-es.
A much-anticipated upgrade to the Verizon/Motorola Droid OS will be coming tomorrow, beginning at noon. Android Central broke the story with a release of the memo of release notes. Further details are on the Verizon Wireless Droid Support page as well.
These include anticipated updates to the OS which appear to be giving the Droid feature parity with the Google Nexus One (also an Android-powered phone). Pinch-to-zoom, Gallery, Google Maps, new weather and news widgets, voice-to-text entry, 3D gallery layout, and several small pattern-lock and audio enhancements are included in the upgrade.
Endgadget mentions the live wallpapers and that the Droid won’t be capable of 3D app launching like the Nexus One, but otherwise will be on par with the Google phone.
The rollout begins at noon Easter Daylight tomorrow, March 18. It will be sent to 250,000 phones per batch and is expected to be complete in less than 24 hours. Most phones should receive their upgrade notice by Friday afternoon. Verizon did not give details as to how batches are chosen, but it is likely by tower location. This “slow roll” method of updating phones serves to keep the network from overloading with requests.
Finally, the Droid will be on par with the Nexus One and the Android family can all be happy again.
Twitter announced, via their blog, that they will soon be integrating a new platform called @anywhere which will allow interaction between websites and Twitter across the Internet. Partners in this endeavor will include Amazon, the Huffington Post, Yahoo!, YouTube, and others.
Simultaneous with the announcement on the blog was the keynote by Twitter CEO Ev Williams who demonstrated how the @anywhere platform will work. The demonstration, which took place live at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Texas, included a showcase of how it would work with, say, The Huffington Post where Twitter users would not only be able to comment on articles, but also follow the columnist or tweet directly from the website.
Mashable was also at SXSW and saw his keynote and mentioned another tidbit Williams let drop: Twitter does not plan to allow itself to be acquired by anyone for at least two more years. It’s been obvious that other Web giants like Google or Facebook might see Twitter as a highly desirable acquisition, so it appears they’re SOL.
More details on how the @anywhere setup works were available on PCWorld, where the new platform was compared to Facebook Connect – and not favorably for Twitter.
The reasoning behind the new setup may be more than what is being let on, though. The new @anywhere plan may not be to just build interactivity and information sharing amongst Twitter users, but more to bring in the ability to serve advertisements from trusted partners over the Twitter network. Since, in order to use the @anywhere API on your site you’ll be required to use special coding from Twitter, this may be a doorway into serving advertising as well.
Time will tell. The new feature is planned to launch in the next few months.
Tim Bray is best known as the co-inventor of XML and for his blogging on his website at TBray.org. Google has hired him as a “Developer Advocate” to promote and maintain the developers who interact with Google on the Android platform. Blogging about it on his site, Bray rants against Apple and the iPhone platform:
The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger.
I hate it.
I hate it even though the iPhone hardware and software are great, because freedom’s not just another word for anything, nor is it an optional ingredient.
With Android gaining ground on the iPhone as the two become the two largest rivals in smart phones, the inclusion of Bray at Google to work on further promoting the APIs for the various Android sets, and this direct attack on Apple’s closed-circuit development process may be just a marketing ploy, but it’s a good one.
Apple’s recent moves against app makers and removal of some iPhone apps they thought “questionable” from the AppStore brought controversy and, as CNet points out, gave Google with their long-running “No-Evil Zone” motto a big opening to compete with the rival smart phone maker.
Bray specifically hates the “closed system of development” for the iPhone and Business Insider predicts that Bray will be doing all he can to “destroy” that model.
While it’s questionable whether any one person (or anything, for that matter) can take down the Apple iPhone Juggernaut, it’s likely that this could be a large boost to Google’s Android platform and likely the Nexus One specifically.
Market competition is good, so whatever the outcome here, the power of competition will probably help both rivals bring out the best in themselves.
In exactly one minute, at 5:30am Pacific Standard Time, the Apple iPad will be available for pre-order on Apple.com. You still won’t see the unit until April 3rd, but you can pre-order today.
What, you’re still reading this? Click the Apple.com link already!
Alright. Are they gone? Good, that gets rid of the riff-raff and gadget freaks. I’m sure they’ll be back after Apple’s servers crash because millions like them ran to the store to refresh their screens endlessly until it finally popped up with an order screen.
You see, the news on when they would officially open their doors to the cyber-campers who stayed up all night guzzling Mountain Dew and Starbucks to wait for the big event broke last night on The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Then it proliferated and hit CNet, Mashable! and now I’m perpetuating it in a mad sort of Dr. Evil kind of way.
Oh, hell, it just occurred to me that you can also buy an iPad through the Apple Store on the iPhone. Now my service will be out, I guarantee it. Son ofa… with the… dagnab… fooz…
Good thing it’s Friday. Maybe Twitter will manage to stay up and running for a whole day today. That might make up for my iPhone being offline thanks to the iPad-buying dweebs.
Note to the reader: if you’re reading this with anything but humor, you really need to take a day off and relax a little. This is a joke, already. 
