Panda dung, robot undergrads, and the world's wackiest tech awards

By Michael Fitzpatrick, contributor

FORTUNE -- If you ever wondered if artificial breasts can survive scalding hot springs, whether panda dung will dissolve garbage, and if a robot could enter university, then Japan would be the to satisfy your curiosity.

Such esoteric research is meat and drink to certain branches of the $130 billion research and development industry here. To which, when the annual Ig Noble prizes are presented at Harvard today, its organizer Marc Abrahams will give silent thanks. He couldn't do without them, he says. "Japan has been putting up stuff for so long it's hard to miss," he says hinting today will be another bumper year for Japan.

He refers to research that, while attempting to solve problems and drive industry, has achieved some crooked profundity while generating the added bonus of making people smile.

So far, in the prize's 22-year-history, two nations stand out amongst others in eligibility says Abrahams. "Japan and the UK both have consistently produced impressive numbers of Ig Nobel Prize winners," he says. "I think that's partly due to something the two cultures share. Most other countries punish their eccentrics. Japan and the UK, in contrast, are proud of their eccentrics."

MORE: Fear and loathing in Japan

That certainly might be true of Japan. For the people who transformed post-war penury into the world's number two economy -- often thanks to persistence and tinkerers' ingenuity -- offbeat inventors do have a special place in the heart of the nation's inspiration-seeking salarymen. Some popular TV here is devoted to lone inventors and their innovations that seemed quirky at the time but quickly become novel or breakthrough. Nintendo's (NTDOY) Wii or the Tamagotchi are two examples.

Noble prize winners (18 so far) are appreciated, too. Japan wants to produce 30 Nobel prize winners over the next 50 years. And in that quest spends more on R&D as part of gross national product than any other (3.47% of GNP compared to US 2.81% and China 1.55%). While Japan has the third largest budget globally for R&D and over 700,000 researchers.

Ironically it is this driven, earnest approach to innovation that ingenuously sparks a fair bit of unconventional research, and the unintentionally funny. "I think the reason why we have a disproportion (of Japanese Ig Noble winners) is the strict matter-of-fact-ness of Japanese researcher," points out Masataka Watanabe, chief science promoter for one of Japan's great centers of innovation -- Tsukuba University.

"Such a paradox is caused by Marc Abraham's sense of humor. Japanese laureates don't see their research as funny. But Marc has found funny things in them." This admission to a sense-of-the-absurd-failure might be closer to the truth in the land where irony is as rare as a Zen barbecue.

The Japanese have so far romped 15 Ig Noble prizes after 22 years of roping in actual Noble prize winners to give out the tounge-placed-firmly-in-cheek awards, which like the real Nobles are divided into categories including Peace, Biology, and Physics. As a type of invention's homage to the god of unintended consequences, Daisuke Inoue's 2004 Peace prize for inventing karaoke and "providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other," was apt.

MORE: Welcome to the 'Republic of Fakes'

Japanese scientists have done particularly well in chemistry. Unknowing his research into why birds, literally, gave a miss to a metal statue in his local park would induce mirth worldwide, Yukio Hirose, a metallurgist at Kanazawa University, now sees the joke and gratefully received his prize in 2003. "The Japanese selected have been good sports for the most part," says Abrahams. "There were some who would not take part…" but he is quick to draw a veil over the details.

Some reveled especially in the media spotlight. The prize winner for that has to be "the one and only" Dr. NakaMats says Abrahams. "He is, above all, the Wizard of Oz." Modestly claiming to have invented the floppy disk, the fax and have patented over 3,000 other inventions beside, Dr. NakaMats, whose real name is Yoshiro Nakamatsu, is in a class of his own when it comes to Ig noble prize winners. In 2005 the 84-year-old won the Nutrition prize for photographing and analyzing every meal had eaten over 34 years.

He is better known in Japan as the country's favorite eccentric boffin who gets his ideas "while 0.5 seconds from death" holding his breath underwater. There is, he says, much method in his madness and the genius of Japanese invention. "There are many innovators in Japan. Because we are very poor in natural resources so we must use our intelligence and human resources," he explains.

Nakamatsu is now busy trying to save ourselves from ourselves as he watches humanity flail around fretting over energy. To such ends he claims he has invented an air-conditioner that uses just 1% of energy used by conventional units. Verifiable or not we need people like Dr. NakaMats to, as the Ig Nobles put it, "make people laugh, and then make them think."

mvella1271 20 Sep, 2012

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Occupy Wall Street activists join the Apple iPhone 5 queue

Peaceful protest? Photo: Jessica Mellow

FORTUNE -- Looks like the launch of the iPhone 5 is about to get political.

Veteran line-sitter Jessica Mellow, who's been camping out in front of the big glass cube of Apple's (AAPL) Fifth Avenue store since last Thursday, reports that at 10 p.m. Wednesday  -- a day and a half before the Friday morning launch of the iPhone 5 -- a contingent of activists from the Occupy Wall Street movement showed up and began settling in for the night.

"They took about 20 spots, and they have nicer sleeping bags than we do," she says. "I hear there are more on the way. All I know is that they are planning some sort of (peaceful) protest. They want to put up tents but I don't think they will be allowed. And they are protesting Foxconn and slave labor in China."

We're going to have to check it out.

See also: iPhone 5: Customers in the Big Apple camp out 8 days early.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 20 Sep, 2012

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Apple's iOS 6: The reviews

FORTUNE -- The sixth major update of Apple's (AAPL) mobile operating system is old news to the developers and tech writers who've been playing with it all summer. But the formal reviews of iOS 6 only began to appear on Wednesday, when the software became available for download to the other several hundred million owners of Apple mobile devices.

With the caveat that some of the features the reviewers describe only work on the most recent models of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (check here for details), here's a sample of what they had to say:

David Pogue, The New York Times: Loses Google Maps, but Adds Other Features. "In the end, iOS 6 is to software what the iPhone 5 is to hardware: a big collection of improvements, many of which are really clever and good, that don't take us in any big new directions. Lots and lots of nips and tucks — that's Apple's motto lately."

Dan Moran, Macworld: Refined iOS 6 highlighted by stunning Maps overhaul. "Following on the heels of the massive update that was iOS 5, iOS 6 might seem like merely a modest update. But that doesn't make it insignificant by any means: A key app has received a substantial overhaul in this latest update, Apple has added an intriguing new—if yet unproven—built-in app, and the company has even, for the first time, removed a piece of software present since the iPhone's launch."

Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch: The Highs, The Lows, And Everything In Between. "Overall, iOS 6 is a big step forward, but that's hardly surprising given Apple's track record. As always, there will be those who say it doesn't push the envelope enough, and Maps has already ruffled quite a few feathers. But that Maps has raised such an outcry is perfect example of why Apple's generally doing things right with iOS updates: it stick out like a sore thumb, and in truth, it's not a big enough step backward to do anything beyond mildly inconvenience a few folks. Plus, it's inevitable that Google will offer up its own standalone Maps app to address that single deficiency."

Jacqui Cheng, ArsTechnica: iOS 6 gets the spit and polish treatment. "Does Apple's latest OS deliver the kind of improvements that Apple's existing and potential user base has come to expect? After having used iOS 6 for several months from the beta period through the final release, our answer is a qualified yes. It's clear that Apple's current focus with iOS 6 is refinement rather than revolution, but we're not just talking about small refinements here; iOS is more robust than ever, with a few significant improvements to the kinds of things Siri can do, a complete overhaul of Maps, improvements in privacy controls, a far more useful Photo Stream, and new phone call and Do Not Disturb features. That's in addition to a generous helping of fixes and feature improvements sprinkled throughout the rest of the OS."

Federico Viticci, MacStories: Thoughts on iOS 6. "Adding features for the sake of adding is not innovation. Users want their devices to keep working with the same degree of functionality, which is why I see Maps as a real, tangible problem today. But this doesn't mean iOS 6 isn't a notable update. iOS 6 is a good improvement over iOS 5 with several welcome refinements and additions like Facebook, more languages for Siri, and a faster Safari. In my opinion, iOS 6 has, right now, worse Maps and App Store search; especially for Maps, if you rely on features like Street View and public transit directions, I can't recommend the update until an official Google Maps app comes out. For everything else, iOS 6 improves on almost every aspect of the operating system, and sets the stage for a stronger platform in the future."

Rene Ritchie, iMore: The definitive guide to Apple's iOS 6 software features for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. "iOS 6 is nowhere near as audacious as iOS 2, which brought the App Store, or iOS 5, which cut the iTunes cord, took us to the iCloud, and brought Siri along for the ride. It doesn't remove user and developer pain points the way iOS 3 did with cut/copy/paste or iOS 4 did with multitasking. iOS 6 is more of a soft-reset and a way to set the stage for iterations to comes. It strips Google almost completely out of iOS and introduces an all-new Maps app and increased Siri intermediation. It introduces Passbook, which isn't a digital wallet, but does provide a single repository for tickets and balances, and starts to make mobile transactions convenient and comfortable. It abstracts and outsources sharing with new Facebook and enhanced Twitter integration, so Apple no longer has to worry about creating awkward new networks of their own. And it increases support for China, which has become a hugely important market for Apple."

Raymond Wong, BGR: Refining the world's most refined mobile OS. "In the end, iOS 6 is yet another welcome update to polish off what was already a solid OS. It's got a ton of small features to make daily inconveniences that much more manageable, and that's really what technology should be; it should work to make our lives easier. iOS 6 does that in the simplest of ways. It doesn't break previous conventions for anything bold and new, but who cares? iOS worked beautifully when the original iPhone was released and it'll work again with the iPhone 5 — with virtually zero 'learning' required."

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 20 Sep, 2012

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HP and IBM: Two paths, one future

By Kevin Kelleher, contributor

FORTUNE -- On the face of it, Hewlett-Packard and IBM have a lot in common. Both are storied brands with rich legacies that shaped high-tech. Both are working with companies large and small to help manage their technology. Both are angling for a piece of the markets -- like cloud computing and big data -- that promise years of growth.

And both have new chief executive officers: Meg Whitman moved into HP's (HPQ) CEO office a year ago; Virginia Rometty took the reins at IBM (IBM) in January. Both companies share a similar vision for success. And both face similar challenges to get there, like a sluggish global economy and the rise of disruptive new technologies.

Despite this bedrock sameness, HP and IBM are pushing forward on different paths. HP is in the midst of a multi-year turnaround, while IBM is building on a long-term plan outlined years ago. Neither company's path was charted in large part by its current leader. Why? First, their views on the role of hardware versus software in the future of IT; and second, their approach to mergers and acquisitions.

IBM's last decade has been marked by steady leadership pursuing a long-term course. To move forward from its recent history as a maker of big computers, the company famously pushed into IT-consulting services and software, taking a step away from hardware in 2004 by selling the PC division to Lenovo for $1.75 billion.

MORE: What does power really mean to women?

Like IBM, HP saw years ago that the future of big tech was not in selling big computers to companies, but in taking on the increasingly complex tasks of managing them and all the antecedent technologies. But unlike IBM, HP maintained that hardware would continue to play a key role in its tech outsourcing business -- a bet the company made when it spent $25 billion for Compaq in 2002.

After Compaq, HP continued to grow. It went from a company that made $57 billion in revenue in 2002 to one that made $127 billion last year. By contrast, IBM grew relatively slowly -- from $81 billion in revenue in 2002 to $107 billion last year.

Over the past decade, HP has trumped IBM in revenue growth through its aggressive acquisitions. Under Mark Hurd's tenure, between 2006 and 2010, HP spent big on tech brand names like EDS ($13.9 billion), 3Com ($2.7 billion), Palm ($1.2 billion) and 3Par ($2.4 billion). Under Hurd's ill-starred successor Léo Apotheker, HP spent $1.6 billion on ArcSight and $11 billion on Autonomy, two software companies.

IBM, by contrast, has made many mergers and acquisitions since spinning off its PC division, but only once in that tine has it spent more than $2 billion -- for business software maker Cognos for $5 billion in 2008. Instead, it's made a handful of billion dollar deals in that time span: Internet Security Systems ($1.6 billion), data analytics firm Netezza ($1.7 billion), Sterling Commerce ($1.4 billion), and others.

MORE: IBM's Ginni Rometty looks ahead

But there is another aspect to the story. Ever since Lewis Platt stepped down as HP's CEO in 1999, the company has gone through seven different leaders, including two interim CEOs. That's as many CEOs as IBM has seen since Thomas Watson, Jr., retired from IBM in 1971.

The pace of CEO turnover can be crucial: While IBM has had the luxury of laying out five-year plans, HP has shifted from hardware execs Fiorina and Hurd to software exec Apotheker to e-commerce veteran Whitman. And those transitions -- or lack thereof -- have had a big impact on the two companies' strategies.

In other words, HP's M&A moves in the past decade chronicle the strategy of a tech giant pushing into hardware and software alike, a clear bet on a future that would rely on both. IBM, by contrast, saw its future more in the zeros and ones of software than the physical machinery of hardware.

HP paid big for its bets on hardware, wagering it would win out in the end. IBM, meanwhile, made lots of smaller bets on software, which has proven to be a cheaper business to start-up than hardware. That doesn't mean IBM won't pay out for acquisitions: The company has indicated it will spend $20 billion on deals through 2015 -- more than it has spent in the last 10 years.

MORE: Investing in the Most Powerful Women

What it means is IBM believes its big investments will be in software companies that are only starting to show their stuff. HP, of course, will also be looking for good software investments, but it wants to counterbalance them against some of the hardware companies that it bought over the past several years. It's a debate between pure software versus a mix of software and hardware.

HP's bet is risky because the world of tech is more and more driven by software. Hardware is and will always be an important component of tech, but in many areas -- personal computers, servers, switches and routers -- software is driving efficiencies and innovation. Hardware, while ever improving, is increasingly seen as more of a commodity business that delivers low margins.

Software, of course, has long been a high-margin business. Even though HP, through its years of acquisitions, has seen its revenue grow faster than IBM's, it is IBM that has enjoyed the bigger profits. Last year, IBM's operating profit was 27% of its revenue, versus an 8% margin for HP.

That's where IBM and HP stand today. The bigger question for their new CEO's is, where will these companies go? Where can their leaders take them?

Rometty has indicated she will build on the strategies set down by her predecessors, although she is willing to put a bold stamp on the company if that's what it needs. Whitman has been frank about the challenges facing HP, yet willing to make tough calls on its future. Whitman resisted demands from investors to spin-off HP's PC business. And this week, she reiterated her desire to make the company a player in the growing market for smartphones.

There is room for both companies to thrive, whenever the global economy finally improves. IBM will tell companies it's got the consulting, infrastructure and software expertise they need to push into the brave new era of tech. HP will say it offers the same, but it has the soup-to-nuts solution -- from consultants to apps to PCs and smartphones -- that's even more comprehensive. Both will battle other giants in the space, like Oracle (ORCL) and Dell (DELL).

Will both thrive? The financial markets measure a discrepancy. IBM is up 13% so far this year. HP is down 29%. IBM has a market cap of $236 billion. HP is valued at $36 billion, or less than a sixth of its rival's value.

But before you consider any of those statistics, consider the single metric that many people believe says more about a tech giant's future than anything. IBM has spent $18 billion in research and development over the last three years, or 6.0% of its revenue in that period. HP has spent $9 billion in the same period, or 2.5% of its revenue. To plan for the future may mean spending less on high-ticket acquisitions and more on research and development. As both companies steer toward a brighter tomorrow, that strategy seems one well worth betting on.

Michal Lev-Ram, writer 20 Sep, 2012

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Salesforce's major transformation

FORTUNE -- Salesforce has long been known for its cloud-based customer relationship management software for salespeople. That's why, after all, its ticker symbol is CRM.  But during a lengthy keynote speech at the company's annual Dreamforce conference on Wednesday, CEO Marc Benioff unveiled a slew of new products he hopes will be snapped up by HR and marketing teams, among other business groups.

Much of the new software is the product of recent acquisitions. Take Work.com, a feedback and performance review tool that was started by a small company called Rypple, which Salesforce acquired late last year. San Francisco-based Salesforce says Work.com will "liberate performance management from a top-down, once-a-year process into an integrated daily solution that makes a meaningful impact on business performance."

How exactly? By putting feedback and rewards capabilities within apps that employees and managers use regularly. (Of course, its success will at least partly depend on the company's ability to build Work.com into all sorts of apps, not just those made by Salesforce). Salesforce also announced the Marketing Cloud, which helps companies track and manage social media activity and is a combination of technology from recent acquisitions like Buddy Media and Radian6.

MORE: Intel wants to reinvent computing--again

Branching out from its core product isn't an option for Salesforce -- it's a necessity for the company to keep growing and keep investors happy, not to mention stave off increasing competition from larger enterprise players who are entering the cloud-based software space. At last year's Dreamforce Benioff pushed Chatter, his "Facebook for the enterprise." But it's clear Salesforce is ramping up its efforts to expand, and is making the necessary acquisitions to accelerate the process.

Of course, new products bring new competitors, and even though Salesforce has made a name for itself as the cloud-based CRM vendor, it's new to the hotly contested, so-called "human capital management" set of software tools used by HR departments. Meanwhile, large, traditional enterprise software companies like SAP (SAP) and Oracle (ORCL) have thrown billions -- not just millions -- of dollars on similar acquisitions.

There are also plenty of smaller, nimble competitors that Salesforce will be up against with Chatterbox, yet another new product that was officially announced this week. Chatterbox will allow customers to manage and share business files -- it's no surprise Salesforce is calling it the "Dropbox for the Enterprise." Several other players have already made headway in the file sharing business, like Box, which says it is being used in 120,000 companies (customers include AARP, Red Bull and P&G).

MORE: Can the Lumia smartphone save Nokia?

So what's next for Salesforce? Expect the company to expand its HR offerings with recruitment tools and other software. And expect more acquisitions and more attempts to push itself as a platform for developers, not just an application provider. Oh, and you can also expect Dreamforce to continue to be one of the most over-the-top technology conferences out there. Salesforce pulled out all the stops for this year's 90,000 attendees -- both MC Hammer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed.

Michal Lev-Ram, writer 20 Sep, 2012

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New Internet lobbying group takes on Big Media

FORTUNE -- The media industry has been lobbying Washington since before the Silent Film Era. The tech and Internet industries, which are increasingly pitted against Hollywood and the music business (mainly over piracy) have been slower to establish themselves on K Street.

That's been changing in recent years, and today marks the launch of the Internet Association, banding together such companies as Facebook (FB), Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY) and several others to fight for what it calls "a free and innovative Internet."

There are good reasons for the industry's initial reluctance to plant a foothold in Washington: the commercial Internet was created largely by fast-moving, fast-growing companies often run by technolibertarian types and financed by venture capitalists who by and large felt no need for Washington's help and no desire to entangle themselves in politics. Unlike many new industries in earlier times, information technology and the Internet grew during a long period of deregulation, and government mostly left those industries alone (with certain notable exceptions.)

That's changing, with government now taking on issues such as intellectual property, antitrust, and taxation. At the same time, Silicon Valley -- in particular, the Internet industry -- has finally learned that it must counter the media industry's formidable political power with some power of its own.

Intellectual property is the new group's main concern, at least for the moment. Silicon Valley was spooked by the attempts to pass the Stop Online Privacy Act (or SOPA, in the House) and the Protect IP Act (or PIPA, in the Senate). Those bills were basically shouted down early this year by a public led by various interest groups. But it was considered a near-miss by a Hollywood that seems intent on imposing highly restrictive rules on Internet traffic through its dubious effort to fight piracy.

The group calls itself "an umbrella public policy organization dedicated to strengthening and protecting a free and innovative Internet." The association's CEO, Michael Beckerman said in a statement that the member companies "are all fierce competitors in the marketplace" that nevertheless "recognize the Internet needs a unified voice in Washington." The "future of the Internet is at stake," he said. Beckerman is a former staffer for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Internet and telecommunications policy.

The other companies in the group are: AOL (AOL), Expedia (EXPE), IAC (IACI), LinkedIn (LNKD), Monster Worldwide (MWW), Rackspace (RAX), salesforce.com,TripAdvisor (TRIP), Yahoo (YHOO) and Zynga (ZNGA). Notably absent are Apple (AAPL)  and Microsoft (MSFT).

Dan Mitchell, contributor 20 Sep, 2012

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How good is Amazon's new Kindle Fire really?

FORTUNE -- When the first Kindle Fire arrived last year, some critics and users were quick to judge. The hardware could have been faster and better designed, the software less spastic. And where were the volume buttons?

Fast-forward a year or so and there's a slew of new Kindles to buzz over. The first to arrive, the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, is entirely new. Weighing in at 14.6 ounces, this tablet keeps that stealthy all-black scheme, but it's now wider and squatter. Instead of shrinking, the black borders around the screen are larger, some would say unnecessarily so. The corners and back are more rounded. That's mostly a good thing, as it's easier to hold for longer periods of time.

MORE: How Amazon can top the tablet market

Newer tablets seem to be adopting quad-core processors, but Amazon (AMZN) chose instead a dual-core Texas Instruments' CPU here, along with 16 GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, a gyroscope, a new set of built-in Dolby Digital Plus audio speakers, and dual WiFi antennas that CEO Jeff Bezos says translates to faster download speeds and more consistent reception. The display has been streamlined to reduce glare.

We spent a week with the Kindle Fire HD in tow, and  found it to be a significant improvement over last year's version all-around. For the most part, it feels like the hardware has caught up with software. Apps, books, videos and other media opened faster. Images are brighter and sharper on this new display, though in most cases, you still won't be able to read comfortably in the sun. As for those Dolby speakers? They're the loudest we've ever heard on any tablet: lacking in bass, but sharp and clear.

Amazon's software, a heavily customized version of Google's (GOOG) Android operating system, still resembles a book shelf, with a carousel-like row of recently browsed media to swipe through. But in lieu of a bottom row of favorited media, the row is now context-sensitive, changing based on the piece of media at the forefront of the carousel. If a book is highlighted, then the row below reveals several other works "Customers Also Bought." It's smart -- certainly another way for Amazon to potentially boost its sales even more via recommendations -- but  keeping the ability to somehow pin your favorite apps to the homescreen would have been useful. And for those wondering, the newest version of Amazon's Silk Browser is reportedly 30% to 40% faster. Anecdotally, we noticed Web sites loading faster, but not as fast as Chrome on other Android tablets or on Apple's (AAPL) iPad.

MORE: 5 ways the Kindle can become a top tablet

Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet may be a big improvement on last year's model, but there are some issues holding it back. The display may be sharper and brighter, but the tablet didn't always respond to our touch. (Opening a book for instance, sometimes required two or three taps.) We also never reached the 11 hours of battery life Amazon has advertised -- in the real world, it was more like 8.5. And we wish Amazon would include a power adapter in the box. Instead, that's a $20 item owners have to buy separately, which shouldn't have to be the case.

There's also the question of what you're using this for. Is it, as Bezos recently said, "the best tablet at any price?" No. Google's Nexus 7 is lighter, priced similarly and better geared towards multitaskers, though it offers half the storage that Amazon does. And of course, if price isn't an issue and you don't mind the somewhat larger size, the iPad still can't be beat where the union of hardware and software is concerned. But if you're invested in the Amazon ecosystem, the Kindle Fire HD is one of the better mobile solutions for accessing it.

JP Mangalindan, Writer 20 Sep, 2012

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Apple's iOS 6 due for release at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific

FORTUNE -- iOS 6, the newest version of Apple (AAPL) iPhone/iPad software platform, is scheduled to arrive today, Wednesday Sept. 19. The timetable below was posted on Twitter. Check it to see when software update will be released near you.

Click to enlarge.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 19 Sep, 2012

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The verdict on Apple's new map app: Compared with Google Maps, it sucks

Apple's and Google's map apps. Source: Mashable

FORTUNE -- "Here's the thing," Daring Fireball's John Gruber wrote in May when 9to5Mac first reported that Apple (AAPL) was about to replace Google's (GOOG) iOS Map app with its own. "Apple's homegrown mapping data has to be great. Mapping is an essential phone feature. It's one of those handful of features that almost everyone with an iPhone uses, and often relies upon."

The centrality of mapping (second only to e-mail) seems to have slipped Gruber's mind when he wrote his glowing review of the iPhone 5 running iOS 6 -- the first version of Apple's smartphone platform to be issued with Apple's map app, rather than Google's, on the home screen.

Among the reviewers who do mention it, however, the verdict is pretty much unanimous: Compared with Google Maps, Apple's map app sucks.

The most biting comments come from Waze CEO Noam Bardin in an interview with Business Insider's Megan Rose Dickey.

Bardin, it must be said, has a pony in this race, since Apple partnered with both Waze and Tom Tom for turn-by-turn navigation data and seems to have relied more heavily on the latter. Still, you might expect Bardin to be rooting for his partner's app. It certainly doesn't sound that way:

"Apple went out and partnered with the weakest player," he told Dickey. "They're now coming out with the lowest, weakest data set and they're competing against Google, which has the highest data set. What's going to happen with the Apple maps, is that you're literally not going to find things. When you do find them, they might be in the wrong place or position geographically. And if you do have it, the route to it may not be the optimal route."

Google has said it is going to continue to make a native version of its map app for the iOS 6 -- albeit with ads and not pre-loaded on the home screen. It Apple approves the Google app, you should be able to download it -- for free -- from the App Store and, if you like, move it to the iPhone's home screen. You won't be able to get rid of the ads.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 19 Sep, 2012

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Today in Tech: Microsoft hires TV exec to boost original content

The iPhone 5 reviewed; Yahoo giving shareholders $3.65 billion.

iPhone 5 review: Finally, the iPhone we've always wanted [CNET]

Well, guess what? Now it has 4G LTE and...well, maybe not a giant screen, but a larger screen. That's not all, though: the already great camera's been subtly improved, speakerphone and noise-canceling quality has been tweaked, and -- as always -- iOS 6 brings a host of other improvements, including baked-in turn-by-turn navigation, a smarter Siri, and Passbook, a location-aware digital wallet app for storing documents like gift cards, boarding passes, and tickets.

The question is: a full year later, is that enough? For me, it is. I don't want much more in my smartphone. Sure, I'd love a new magical technology to sink my teeth into, but not at the expense of being useful. Right now, I'm not sure what that technology would even be.

With Hollywood hire, Microsoft bolsters entertainment efforts [THE NEW YORK TIMES]

Ms. Tellem will oversee a Microsoft production studio based in Los Angeles that will create both traditional "linear" programming and interactive programming that fuses video and gamelike content, they said. She will report to Phil Spencer, the corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios, part of the Microsoft entertainment division that oversees the company's Xbox console.

Yahoo to give shareholders $3.65 billion, Mayer explains why in leaked memo [BUSINESS INSIDER]

Yahoo will be keeping $650 million.

"This outcome is terrific for Yahoo," writes Mayer.

"It generates liquidity to create substantial value for our shareholders, while retaining a meaningful amount in the company to invest in our future."

"Also, because we still own 23 percent of Alibaba's common stock, we have the opportunity to benefit from future upside when Alibaba IPOs."

Rethink Robotics Inc. introduced Tuesday a low-cost—and cute—robot named Baxter that can do such factory chores as picking parts off a conveyor belt, so long as they don't weigh more than five to 10 pounds. ... Boston-based Rethink, founded in 2008, said Baxter eliminates the need to hire specialist technicians. Rodney Brooks, chairman of Rethink, said most workers would be able to learn to operate Baxter within half an hour. Rethink touts the robot as appealing for small and midsize manufacturers that previously haven't been able to afford robots and lacked the expertise to program them.

While conventional wisdom may hold that YouTube videos are amateurish and unprofitable compared to television, Maker Studios is making inroads to prove that wrong

Maker is one of a phalanx of new web-video powers, joining Machinima, FullScreen and Big Frame in pioneering the field. They aid prominent YouTubers in production, marketing and merchandise, while also amassing networks of and selling advertising for other YouTube channels.

Don't miss the latest tech news. Sign up now to get Today in Tech emailed every morning.

JP Mangalindan, Writer 19 Sep, 2012

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Apple's iPhone 5: The reviews

The Joy of Tech

FORTUNE -- Apple (AAPL), as usual, chose carefully whom to seed with pre-release review copies of the new iPhone: The biggest newspapers and magazines, the friendliest bloggers and, with pointed exceptions, the most influential tech sites.

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal: The iPhone Takes to the Big Screen. "The world's most popular smartphone becomes significantly faster, thinner and lighter this week, while gaining a larger, 4-inch screen—all without giving up battery life, comfort in the hand and high-quality construction."

David Pogue, The New York Times: IPhone 5 Scores Well, with a Quibble. "Apple calls its [charging connector] replacement the Lightning connector. It's much sturdier than the old jack, and much smaller — 0.31 inch wide instead of 0.83. And there's no right side up — you can insert it either way. It clicks satisfyingly into place, yet you can remove it easily. It's the very model of a modern major connector. Well, great. But it doesn't fit any existing accessories, docks or chargers. Apple sells an adapter plug for $30 (or $40 with an eight-inch cable "tail"). If you have a few accessories, you could easily pay $150 in adapters for a $200 phone. That's not just a slap in the face to loyal customers — it's a jab in the eye."

Ed Baig, USA Today: Apple iPhone 5 in front of the smartphone pack. "When Apple introduced the iPhone 4S last October, you could sense the initial disappointment. Many people were longing for an iPhone 5. The iPhone 4S that came instead may not have represented a dramatic upgrade, but it was a snappy handset with an excellent camera and a sometimes-obedient virtual digital assistant named Siri. It went on to become the best-selling iPhone to date. Nearly a year later the iPhone 5 is upon us. And what I detect this time is lust."

Peter Nowak, CBCNews: iPhone 5 not terribly innovative, but still a smart package. "Devices running iOS 6 will thus have Apple's new Maps app, which isn't as good as its Google-based predecessor. The new app is functional and includes transit stops, but these are incomplete. While there are plenty of streetcar stops marked in Toronto, for example, some subway stations are inexplicably missing. Real-time traffic data, for Toronto at least, is also almost non-existent. It also doesn't include Google's popular Street View, so you can't swoop down to take a pedestrian-level view of locations... If Apple allows it, Google is likely to release its own map app for iOS 6 and fight it out for supremacy."

Harry McCracken, Time: It's all about refinement. "Apple's mojo remains fully operational. The iPhone 5 features some upgrades which, though not groundbreaking in the least, are welcome, like its slightly-larger screen and zippy 4G LTE broadband. It sports an improved version of what was already the single best camera in phonedom. It makes Siri smarter. In short, it's the most polished version yet of what was already easily the most polished phone on the market."

Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg: IPhone 5 Gets Bigger, Thinner, Faster. "The result is a phone that's compact and feather-weight, yet, thanks to the materials used in its aluminum-and-glass body, conveys a sense of solidity and feels great in the hand. It also comes with newly redesigned headphones called EarPods that are the first ever from Apple that don't either immediately fall out of my ears, hurt or both."

Stuart Miles, Pocket Lint. The best iPhone yet? "It's the same iPhone, but it's completely different. That's the main takeaway point for the iPhone 5's design. It's something you can't really appreciate until you get up close and personal with the new phone, but when you do, wow, you'll really notice that difference."

TechCrunch's MG Siegler: With iPhone 5, Apple Has Chiseled The Smartphone To Near Perfection. "You pick it up and it almost feels fake. That's not to say it feels cheap; because it doesn't — quite the opposite, actually. It just doesn't seem real. Certainly not to someone who has been holding the iPhone 4/4S for the past two years. It feels like someone took one of those devices and hollowed it out."

Jim Dalrymple, The Loop: Review: iPhone 5. "That has been my takeaway from the design of the iPhone 5 — small design changes that make for big user experience improvements. It's important to remember that while the changes on the outside may be small to the naked eye, the changes on the inside are huge. Every major component of the iPhone has been changed in one way or another."

Scott Stein, CNET: Finally, the iPhone we've always wanted. "The good: The iPhone 5 adds everything we wanted in the iPhone 4S: 4G LTE, a longer, larger screen, and a faster A6 processor. Plus, its top-to-bottom redesign is sharp, slim, and feather-light. The bad: Sprint and Verizon models can't use voice and data simultaneously. The smaller connector renders current accessories unusable without an adapter. There's no NFC, and the screen size pales in comparison to jumbo Android models. The bottom line: The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe."

Luke Peters, T3: iPhone 5 Review: "Because various components have been reduced in size, the headphone socket has been moved to the bottom of the device, which comes with its pros and cons. On the plus side, your phone usually goes in your pocket nose first, which means the headphone cable has a clear run out to your ears. On the downside, the jutting jack interferes with your hand when holding it 'upright'. Not all apps will use the gyroscope to flip the screen 180-degrees, either, so you'll have to get used to that."

Tim Stevens, Engadget: iPhone 5 Review. "Thinner. Lighter. Faster. Simpler. The moment the iPhone 5 was unveiled we knew that it was checking off all the right boxes, folding in all the improvements and refinements people have been demanding over the past year -- yet plenty of folks still went to their respective social networks to type out their bitter disappointment. iPhone upgrade ennui seemed to be sweeping the nation, a sentiment that appeared to quickly dissipate when it came time for people to vote with their wallets."

John Gruber, Daring Fireball: The iPhone 5. "The meta story surrounding the iPhone 5 is the same as that of the iPhone 4S a year ago: a gaping chasm between consumers so excited to buy it that they stay up until (or wake up in) the middle of the night to pre-order it, and on the other side, a collective yawn from the gadget and tech press. That story a year ago was lost amid the tributes to Steve Jobs, who died the day after the 4S was unveiled. If anything, that chasm is growing. The collective yawn from the tech press was louder this year; the enthusiasm from consumers is stronger."

JP Mangalindan, Writer 19 Sep, 2012

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The greening of the football stadium

By Brian Dumaine, senior editor-at-large

A ring of solar-powered LEDs atop MetLife Stadium flashes New York Giants blue.

FORTUNE -- A new kind of NFL rivalry is forming, not on the gridiron but in the boardroom. Many NFL owners have suddenly gotten religion about the environmental impact of football: installing solar panels in their stadiums, recycling plastic cups, and even composting garbage. Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie wants to make his venue an environmental showcase. New York Giants co-owner Don Mara says he wants "to have the greenest stadium in the NFL." Jonathan Kraft, whose family owns the New England Patriots, says: "We hope to lead the way in sustainability."

MORE: Can the Navy really go green?

It's not just altruism that's driving these business titans. Their plans will help the bottom line. Take the solar systems the Patriots, Giants, Jets, Redskins, and others are installing. About a year and a half ago, David Crane, CEO of the New Jersey-based energy provider NRG (NRG), approached the NFL about converting to renewable energy. NRG, with $9 billion in revenue and a fleet of coal, gas, and nuclear power plants, says he believes that solar will be a disruptive technology. The problem, explains Crane, is that solar, which still counts for less than 1% of U.S. power production, wasn't gaining any traction. If he could get the NFL to embrace solar, he could use America's most popular sport to help spread the word. His pitch: At no capital expense to the NFL owners, NRG would install panels at their facilities. For the deal at Foxborough, Mass., one of seven NFL locales NRG is wiring, the Patriots get to hedge against rising electricity prices by locking into a long-term fixed-price contract. NRG profits from the cash flow. The utility has installed nearly a megawatt of solar panels, enough to supply 60% of the power for the stores and restaurants in the complex.

NFL games still consume lots of power and create lots of waste. But owners say solar is just a first step in a long drive toward sustainability. No word yet on harnessing the energy from the on-field tackles.

This story is from the September 24, 2012 issue of Fortune.

Fortune Editors 19 Sep, 2012

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Andy Zaky: Apple will cross $1,000 within 15 months

Zaky called that bottom in mid May

FORTUNE -- The last time Bullish Cross' Andy Zaky issued a public recommendation -- as opposed to the advice he administers daily to his paying clients -- was May 18.

That day Apple (AAPL) touched $522.18, which Zaky believed was a bottom, and he told anybody who would listen to buy at $530 to $550.

I mention this because Zaky, a former Fortune contributor who now runs the only Apple hedge fund I know of, has a pretty good track record on these things -- like four for four. (See here.)

In his May post he predicted that Apple would hit $750 sometime before the end of January. When the stock crossed $700 in after-market trading Monday -- up 32% since his last buy signal -- he followed up with another public posting -- this one laying out his Apple price targets for the next two years. He sees Apple going to

• $750 before the end of January 2013,
• $850 in late summer or early fall 2013,
• $1,000 in late December or early January 2014,
• $1,500 by the end of 2014, and
• $2,000 sometime in 2015

Mark your calendars.

You can read Zaky's reasoning here.

For a more mainstream view, see Analysts scramble to keep their targets ahead of Apple's price.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 19 Sep, 2012

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Analysts scramble to keep their targets ahead of Apple's price

FORTUNE -- On Sunday BMO Capital's Keith Bachman, citing "earlier availability" of the iPhone 5, raised the price he expects Apple's (AAPL) shares to reach in the next 12 months from $680 to $750.

He was already three days too late.

The stock, which opened September at $665.76, smashed through $680 last Thursday, closed Friday above $691 and broke $700 in after-hours trading Monday.

[Apple opened Tuesday at $699.47.]

Bachman is not the only Wall Street analysts having trouble keeping up with Apple's share price. More than half of the analysts we track raised their 12-month price targets this summer into the 750-900 range ($770 is currently median target, according to Thomson First Call). We expect they'll have to do it again before January.

Meanwhile, we've got several analysts at exactly $700 and at least two -- Pacific Crest's Andy Hargreaves ($690) and Morningstar's Michael Holt ($670) -- well under water.

At the other end of the spectrum, Topeka's Brian White set a Street-high $1,111 target in April and seems to be sticking with it.

mvella1271 18 Sep, 2012

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Fear and loathing in Japan

By Michael Fitzpatrick, contributor

FORTUNE -- A much diminished electronics sector in Japan is buckling further still. How much more retrenchment and pain is needed to succor its once triumphant tech industry is the question now as Sharp Corp, one of Japan Inc.'s bigger beasts, faces ruin. Japan analysts are also pondering who could be next.

Mirroring Japan's post-war rise from tinkering electronics amateurs to masters of the transistor age, Japan's biggest TV maker Sharp might not even make it past the 100-year-mark it celebrates this month suggest some observers. Wages and jobs have all been slashed, but Sharp is still suffering massive losses while its share price has fallen dramatically. (This year it is down 73%.) Meanwhile, the woes of other giants -- Sony (SNE), Olympus, and others -- are making the industry's fall from grace as palatable at home as a plate of Made-in-China McSushi. "The good old days walked out the door and no one noticed," says Hideki Onda former distributor for Apple (AAPL) Japan, referring to the sector's sudden loss of competitiveness.

What happened? Japan's electronic makers just failed to keep up he says. Unlike competitors such as Apple, Japanese manufactures of late have not engaged the world, nor even their domestic customers, and are now paying the price. Once undisputed Titans of the consumer electronics with combined sales of $600 billion -- equal to the economy of the Netherlands -- now Japan's top electronics makers are shadowed by the likes of Samsung's $163 billion capitalization and Apple's $634 billion. In contrast Sony, Panasonic and Sharp combined are now worth only $54 billion at current market values.

MORE: At Olympus, a drama with plenty of twists

Amid weak demand and a painfully strong yen, Panasonic (PC), Sony and Sharp together lost billions last year, while Sharp alone owes $31 billion to the banks and other bond holders. Such figures underline the beating given Japan's electronics industry by foreign rivals led by South Korea's Samsung Electronics.

It is not that Japan is short of engineering ability, brains or innovation says Gerhard Fasol a technology consultant based in Tokyo. But in order to thrive the country's major firms need to restructure and move to new business models. "Japan has not failed to capitalize on the digital revolution, but the successes/failures are not according to expectations...so many of them are in trouble," he says.

The once lauded "kaizen" system, implementing constant refinements to improve quality by tweaking the production process, mimicked world-wide, is now discredited in one view. "The Japanese business model has reached a dead-end," writes Yasuyuki Maruyama senior researcher at the Yomiuri Research Institute in a recent report.

And yet Japan still has much to offer in terms of intellectual property and innovation. But like Sharp, NEC and Panasonic are all in the same trap says Tokyo-based technology analyst William H. Saito. "They have a culture that is not required at this level [of innovation]. They are not converting to new products or markets. Instead they create low hanging fruit for other Asian economies."

MORE: The agony of Japan Inc.

More agile rivals such as Samsung and even Chinese competitors make it difficult for Japanese manufactures to compete. As such, analysts forecast that the bloodletting is far from over yet. "Japanese corporations are unable to cope with falling prices and have no clue how to take advantage of their own strengths. Struggling to compete in overseas markets with nimbler rivals like South Korea's Samsung, their business results have collapsed," writes Maruyama.

Structural and systemic weaknesses aggravate the problems. Outmoded management practices and lack of leadership have led to an inability to form dynamic global teams, while they tend, in the sector, to put weak companies together to create mega-firms like Sharp that lead to bankruptcy explains Saito. "This means that companies like NEC are next on the hatchet," he adds ominously. Many agree. Years of decline at Japan's number three electronics business has led to 10,000 firings last January, withdrawal from Europe's PC market in 2009 and the selling of $235 million in shares of the surging Chinese computer-maker Lenovo Group to bolster plunging sales.

Terrie Lloyd an entrepreneur and business commentator living in Tokyo believes NEC will be next to fail. "I had some insider (board level) information 12 months ago that things were really serious," he says. "My guess is that the banks have given NEC one last chance to fix their problems -- they got a big loan several months ago after the markets baulked at a bond issuance -- before NEC is going to have to really bite the bullet and start firing thousands."

mvella1271 18 Sep, 2012

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Judge denies motion to lift Apple's ban on Samsung tablet

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Apple iPad

FORTUNE --When a Silicon Valley jury ordered Samsung to pay $1 billion in damages for infringing half a dozen Apple (AAPL) patents, it left one large piece of unfinished business: Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Before the trial began Apple had requested a preliminary injunction banning the sale of the iPad lookalike -- a request Judge Lucy Koh, declaring the two products "virtually indistinguable," had granted and an appeals court had affirmed.

"Samsung appears to have created a [tablet] design that is likely to deceive an ordinary observer," Koh wrote in her order, "inducing him to purchase one supposing it to be the other."

It seemed like a slam dunk for Apple, but due to some confusion about what it means for a patent to be unregistered (see Did the jury blow the Galaxy Tab verdict?), the Galaxy Tab managed to escape the sledgehammer: The jury found that it did not infringe Apple's design patent.

Samsung promptly filed a motion to have the sales ban lifted. A hearing was scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 20, and court watchers began taking bets about what Judge Koh was going to do about the one part of the jury's verdict that seemed to fly in the face of the facts.

In an order filed Monday, we got her answer. She denied Samsung's motion "without prejudice" and the kicked the decision up to the appeals court -- along with a note that the motion raises "a substantial issue" that must be addressed.

AppleInsider has Judge Koh's order. You can read it here.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 18 Sep, 2012

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Today in Tech: Google+ hits 100 million monthly users

HP tries to go "sleek"; Jack Dorsey's Square worth $3.25 billion. 

Square finally closes $200 million round at a $3.25 billion valuation [ALLTHINGSD]

In an interview several weeks ago, Square COO Keith Rabois said that the company plans to start marketing itself aggressively. It already has commercials on TV, and a wide-ranging deal with Starbucks announced last month will also help. Starbucks said then that it would invest $25 million into the company, and start using the funds to process all of its debit and credit transactions in the U.S. Starbucks will also allow its customers to pay for their lattes using Square's consumer-facing app.

H-P tries on a sleeker look [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]

Redesigning its devices is more than just a cosmetic project. Revamping the PC division, which is H-P's biggest business and accounts for about 30% of its revenue, is critical to the turnaround Ms. Whitman is trying to pull off at the Palo Alto, Calif., company. In H-P's most recent quarter, PC revenue fell 10% from a year earlier to $8.6 billion while the unit's operating income tumbled 27%. Overall, the company reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss.

Apple closes at a record $699.78, 22 cents shy of $700 [FORTUNE]

Although the stock is up nearly 75% over the past 12 months, the company is still relatively cheap by the standards of the S&P 500.

Apple is sitting on a bigger cash hoard ($117 billion) than any company in the world, and the 60% growth rate its earnings have racked up over the past 5 years can hardly be compared with the S&P 500's -1.66%.

AMD CFO Thomas Seifert calls it quits, Devinder Kumar takes his place on an interim basis [ENGADGET]

Advanced Micro Devices' Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas Seifert, has decided to leave AMD three short years after joining the company. As you may recall, Seifert briefly took the reigns of AMD asinterim CEO in early 2011, until the firm found a permanent replacement in Rory Read later that year. No word on why Seifert has decided to depart the chip maker -- other than "to pursue other opportunities" -- but we do know that Devinder Kumar, AMD's current Senior VP and corporate controller will replace him on an interim basis. The full announcement awaits in the PR after the break.

As predicted, Google+ passes 400 million registered users, now has 100 million monthly active users [THE NEXT WEB]

Yet the real story here isn't the 400 million number, but the 100 million one. Google+'s main competitor Facebook doesn't even bother talking about registered users because it know the number is meaningless. The social networking giant only talks about monthly active users, of which it has 955 million as of June 30. Both Facebook and Google are talking about combined desktop and mobile users.

JP Mangalindan, Writer 18 Sep, 2012

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Apple closes at a record $699.78, 22¢ shy of $700

FORTUNE -- It seems the drumbeat of positive news for Apple (AAPL) -- the Samsung verdict, the iPhone 5, the 2 million pre-orders, the rumors of new products in the wings -- was finally too much for the Apple bears.

On Monday, the company's share price shot right up to and, in after-hours trading, finally broke through the psychological barrier of $700 a share.

Although the stock is up nearly 75% over the past 12 months, the company is still relatively cheap by the standards of the S&P 500.

Apple is sitting on a bigger cash hoard ($117 billion) than any company in the world, and the 60% growth rate its earnings have racked up over the past 5 years can hardly be compared with the S&P 500's -1.66%.

Yet even after the stock's recent run-up, Apple's trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45 still hasn't caught up to the S&P 500's 16.50.

Go figure.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 18 Sep, 2012

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The baffling claim against Facebook

FORTUNE -- Eolas Technologies and the University of California filed a lawsuit this week against Facebook (FB), Wal-Mart (WMT), and Disney (DIS), apparently based in part on a patent that a court had previously ruled Eolas could no longer use to claim infringement.

Eolas spent most of the 2000s suing Microsoft (MSFT) in an ultimately successful patent complaint. (Microsoft settled in 2007.) Then it sued a multitude of companies including Google (GOOG), Yahoo (YHOO), Amazon (AMZN), J.C. Penney (JCP), Perot Systems, Blockbuster, eBay (EBAY), Citigroup (C) and several others. Most settled, but Google, Yahoo, Amazon and J.C. Penney stayed firm and ultimately beat back the lawsuit.

The term "patent troll" might sound derogatory, but Eolas pretty much fits the commonly understood definition. It developed some technologies for interactive Web processes back in the early 90s and since then has spent most of its time and money filing patent lawsuits based on those technologies. The idea is to file lawsuits and hope companies will either agree to license the technologies or pay a settlement. Because of the time and money involved in defending lawsuits, many companies simply cave, whether or not they feel the claims have merit.

MORE: An audience with the King of the Patent Trolls

The new lawsuit claims that the three companies are infringing on four patents on technologies enabling interactivity and embedding of media. Eolas was founded to protect patents on technologies Doyle and others had developed at the University of California, San Francisco. The university issued a statement that it "should be paid a fair value when a third party exploits [a] university asset for profit." A Facebook spokesman told Reuters the lawsuit is without merit and the company "will right it vigorously." Eolas has not yet replied to a request for comment by Fortune.com.

A Texas jury in February declared two of the four patents invalid in February. That led TechDirt's Michael Masnick to proclaim: "The Web is saved." Not quite yet, apparently. It's unclear why Eolas and the University are nevertheless filing a lawsuit based in part on patents that have been ruled invalid.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 18 Sep, 2012

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How Apple made the iPhone 5 the 'Rolex of smartphones'

FORTUNE -- It was Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster who compared the iPhone 5 to a Rolex -- and all other smartphones to Timexes.

But it was Apple (AAPL) design chief Jony Ive who showed the press how the company achieves what he likes to call the device's "extraordinary level of fit and finish."

No one can make an assembly line sound as sexy as Sir Jony, although he's demonstrating processes almost certainly developed by Bob Marshall, the company's under-appreciated senior vice president for manufacturing.

The 1:36 minute YouTube video above was excerpted from the 7-minute iPhone 5 film shown at the device's unveiling last week and now available here at Apple.com.

The excerpt was posted at the request of reader "apppletini," who says she almost passed out when Ive began talking about grinding the chamfers with diamond crystals.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 18 Sep, 2012

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Today in Tech: Facebook's Winklevoss twins invest in another social network

How failure is a feature for Google; why you can expect smartphones to get even better.

iPhone 5: 1 million pre-orders in first 24 hours [WIRED]

Whether you find the iPhone 5 boring or exciting, it's certainly struck a chord with consumers. The iPhone 5 sold a whopping 2 million units in its first day of pre-order sales, according to a Sept. 17 press release issued by Apple.

That's double the pre-order sales of the iPhone 4S, which sold one million units in its first 24 hours, and more than three times as many as first-day sales for the iPhone 4 (600,000 units).

The return of Facebook's Winklevoss twins [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]

Flush with at least $65 million from the settlement of a legal battle with Mr. Zuckerberg and Facebook, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are backing fellow Harvard alumnus Divya Narendra, their ally in the Facebook fight, in the investment website. The Winklevosses have put $1 million into SumZero, which was founded by Mr. Narendra and another Harvard alum Aalap Mahadevia, in 2008.

Failure is a feature: how Google stays sharp gobbling up startups [THE VERGE]

Since its early days, Google has looked outside itself for inspiration on new directions its business could take. The search giant's mergers and acquisitions team set new records in 2010 and 2011 for the sheer number of companies it acquired. Last year alone it bought up 25 companies, one every two weeks. If you count the firms acquired for patents and intellectual property, the total number is a whopping 79. Taking a look at Google's peers, it becomes clear just how astonishing these numbers are. Facebook bought just ten companies in 2011; Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft only three apiece.

Despite a slowdown, smartphone advances are still ahead [THE NEW YORK TIMES]

But big innovations in smartphones are not a thing of the past. Incremental improvements can add up over a span of years, providing the computing horsepower to enable big advances in software. Breakthroughs in smartphone materials, software and even batteries could lead to substantial changes in how smartphones look and function in the years ahead.

JP Mangalindan, Writer 18 Sep, 2012

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TV's next generation may come from China

By Peter Suciu

FORTUNE -- At last month's IFA 2012 electronics show in Berlin, one of the biggest head-turning products was from China-based TCL Multimedia. The company introduced the Ice Screen, a 26-inch Android-based smart display that reportedly offers the functionality of a tablet while aiming to capture the changing TV viewing habits of the youth market. It will debut in China as part of a partnership with Chinese Internet provider Tencent as the world's first large screen mobile intelligent cloud product.

Just don't call it a television.

"It is a 26-inch large display," says Hao Yi, general manager of TCL Multimedia Emerging Market Business Center. "It is not just for TV, as the younger generation doesn't watch TV like the older generation."

While the vast majority of its business still comes from China, TCL has also looked to expand into the international TV market. The company just released its monthly sales volume for August of LCD TVs, reporting a 38.7% total year-on-year increase, with a marked increase of LED backlight LCD sets specifically. In its overseas market TCL reported an increase of 36.5% year-on-year, with notable expansion in emerging markets.

MORE: Smart TVs are failing to connect

"The Chinese market is our backbone and that remains the main climber for the volume of our products," adds Yi, who noted that 50% of sales come from its home markets, while internationally the "main driver is Latin America."

Until a few years ago TCL's sets were sold in the United States under the RCA brand, but Yi says that the company changed its strategy in 2010 to focus on promoting the TCL brand instead. It has a licensing deal with Thomson in Europe. "We are investing in a new brand image, so that is why we solely run with the TCL brand in the United States and North America, while we will continue to have dual brands in Europe with both TCL and the Thomson brand," he says.

The two-prong strategy in Europe essentially comes to down to marketing TCL products to the younger audience, while focusing on Thomson for what Yi calls the "established family brand."

But even as TCL looks to North America, Europe and the emerging markets in Latin America, it continues to rededicate its efforts in mainland China, and for good reason.

MORE: A TV is not Apple's last, best hope

"The Chinese TV market is really the growth market for Chinese TV makers," says Ed Border, TV technology analyst at IHS iSuppli. "At the moment, even as TCL expands to overseas markets, the growth forecast for Chinese TV makers is going to be domestic."

China is also now the largest TV market, with expected growth over the next few years from 47 million to 55 million sets sold annually, a number that now dwarfs the 40 million in sales generated in the United States.

TCL could also see expansion just as its rivals throughout Asia are seeing a level of retraction. "Part of the opportunity has come from the fact that the Japanese TV makers have scaled back," emphasizes Border. "Japanese brands are lowering volumes as Chinese brands are expanding."

The company is also looking at new products such as the Ice Screen to attract the youth market. While to date only a Chinese version has been announced, Yi said that the product does have international potential. The key is finding a content provider. "Tencent Holding is like MSN or Facebook in China, with 1 billion Internet users," Yi says. "But the key component in this is that the content is from the Internet. So to bring it to other markets simply requires a strong content partner."

MORE: Google's audacious bet on fiber -- and why it could work

The device certainly could appeal to the changing tastes in viewing TV, as it also has options for music downloads and Internet applications. But it still requires a connection to a cloud service, or else it is just a screen without a tuner. "It would be difficult to launch this one product for the world, because it is Android-based we don't want to bring it empty like you can with a smartphone," noted Yi.

Products such as the Ice Screen further suggest that the Chinese TV makers have overcome a prior issue of reacting to changing trends and trying to adapt to evolving markets. This, coupled with the continued low barrier of entry for TV makers, has presented an opportunity that hasn't existed in the past, and which could help TCL – which now ranks just outside the top five makers of sets according to NPD Groups' Display Search – successfully bridge its business internationally.

"The Chinese set makers are doing their job catching up in technical development that typically took the Chinese brands a years to roll out," says Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV Research at DisplaySearch. "They still lag in promoting marketing. If they can figure that out, they would have a real chance to make it big overseas."

Fortune Editors 17 Sep, 2012

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Payment startup Square valued at $3.25 billion

Square founder and CEO Jack Dorsey

FORTUNE -- After a fundraising process that lasted several months, Square, the fast growing mobile payments startup, said on Monday that it has raised more than $200 million in a new round of financing. The investment values the company at approximately $3.25 billion, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction, or roughly double its valuation following a $100 million financing round in the summer of 2011.

Square also said that it is now processing payments at a rate of $8 billion annually, up from about $2 billion last October.

Square, whose mobile payment technologies are making it ever easier for consumers to do away with cash, began its fundraising effort this spring. People close the company said its executives were hoping that a successful IPO from Facebook (FB) might help Square raise cash more easily and at a high valuation. But after the Facebook IPO turned into a fiasco, many technology investors became more skittish. It is not clear if that sentiment affected Square's fundraising process.

MORE: iPhone 5 sets a sales record

The additional cash will help Square to fend off stiff competition from tech giants like Google (GOOG) and PayPal, financial industry firms like VeriFone (PAY) and NCR (NCR), and a slew of retailers, mobile carriers and others who vying for a piece of the small, but fast growing, mobile payments market.

Square's investors include Citi Ventures, the venture capital arm of Citigroup (C), Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee (SBUX). Square announced the Starbucks investment in August, when the two companies unveiled a deal under which Square will process credit cards payments at the coffee chain's stores in the United States. A likely investment from Rizvi, a small private equity firm, was reported in July by The New York Times.

Miguel Helft, senior writer 17 Sep, 2012

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Korea Times: Samsung to leapfrog Apple in February

Korea Times headline.

FORTUNE -- Three weeks after Samsung lost a billion-dollar U.S. patent infringement case, and three days after Apple (AAPL) began taking orders for its latest iPhone, the South Korean manufacturer was talking to the local press about the successor to the Galaxy S3 -- the iPhone's most successful rival.

The scoop came Sunday from the Korea Times, which gave the story a decidedly pro-Samsung spin. The first two paragraphs:

Samsung Electronics plans to unveil the latest in its Galaxy line, the S4, at a European technology exhibition in February, according to company officials and local parts suppliers for the technology giant.

The timetable was released just three days after rival Apple introduced the iPhone 5, which has received a mixed response from industry experts and consumers as it is seemingly lacking in innovative features.

Among the other revelations (I quote):

• The smartphone... will be more than enough to curb Apple's latest iPhone.
• Samsung's edges in manufacturing will further shine after the patent disputes go further on.
• Samsung is confident to widen its lead over Apple, though the legal fight is a totally separate issue
• A recent ruling in the U.K. said Samsung didn't infringe on Apple's design patents.
• The release of the S4 means more market share for Samsung as it is the only firm that can guarantee on-time delivery, output commitment and better pricing for mobile application processors
• Samsung is asking Apple to pay more to use its mobile application processors produced at its plant in Austin, Texas.

According to the report, the Galaxy S4 will sport a 5-inch screen, run Google's (GOOG) Android platform and be available for purchase by March 2012 at the latest.

You can read the full Korea Times report here.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 17 Sep, 2012

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iPhone 5 sets a sales record

iPhone 5

FORTUNE -- AT&T (T) reported early Monday that the iPhone 5 is the fastest-selling iPhone the U.S. carrier has ever offered.

According to Reuters, AT&T took a record number of pre-orders both on Friday, the first day they were available, and over the weekend.

No actual numbers were given, perhaps in deference to Apple (AAPL), which can usually be expected issue a Monday-morning press release when one of its devices sets a new sales record.

Some skeptics suggested that the reason Apple experienced iPhone 5 stock-outs an hour after pre-orders started was that it had stockpiled smaller supplies of the device than previous models. AT&T's announcement would seem to discredit that theory.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 17 Sep, 2012

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Dave Morin: The mobile answer man

Path founder Dave Morin and mega-diagram

FORTUNE -- Dave Morin is methodically thumbing the chain links on his silver bracelet as he parses the difficulties of designing products for mobile devices. The conversation careens from one big idea to the next until Morin hits on something profound: "With mobile, life has become the platform," he says earnestly.

Morin, 31, is the founder of Path, a social network accessible only via mobile phone. Where Facebook (FB) and Google Plus (GOOG) let users connect to thousands of acquaintances, Path users can designate a maximum of 150 friends. This restriction, so the thinking goes, leads to more intimate and genuine interactions. The app, which is available for Apple- (AAPL) and Google-powered phones, features a slick, intuitive interface that makes competitors look sclerotic.

Earlier this year Path raised a Series B round of funding valuing it at $250 million. Backers include Redpoint Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as Richard Branson, Yuri Milner, and Mark Pincus.

MORE: 7 startups Facebook should buy

They may be betting on Morin as much as on Path. An early member of the Facebook team, he co-invented two signature technologies, Facebook Connect and the Facebook Platform, that helped the company surge to 900 million users. Before that, the Montana native and avid skier worked in Apple's marketing department.

Nobody knows exactly where Path will lead. At some 3 million users, it hasn't achieved the phenomenal adoption of Instagram or Pinterest. But it may not matter: Morin's company is a pioneer of mobile-first design, which, he says, is time-intensive and requires attention to detail.

The deluge of mobile users threatens to upend a wide range of businesses in Silicon Valley. Trouble is, few companies really know how to design for or generate significant revenue from such users. Facebook, for instance, stumbled badly when it released a clunky iPhone app that users groaned about until a recent update. Its $1 billion purchase of photo-sharing service Instagram was motivated in part by its need for designers and engineers skilled in creating products for phones.

Morin has become a kind of mobile guru to some of the biggest names in tech. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is a booster. "He's always thinking through every aspect of why he's building something and what that means," says Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose of Morin's design chops. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is also a fan. "I'm looking forward to working more closely together," Zuckerberg tells Fortune.

This story is from the September 24, 2012 issue of Fortune.

JP Mangalindan, Writer 17 Sep, 2012

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iPhone 5: Customers in the Big Apple camp out 8 days early

Five days to go: Hazem, Sage, Jessica, Keenen, Jackie, Brian and Joseph

FORTUNE -- In the popular imagination -- and in Samsung TV ads -- the people willing to wait in line for days to buy the newest Apple (AAPL) gewgaw are hopeless fanboys and fangirls who need to get a life.

That attitude is so 2007.

Today, occupying a space near enough to the front of an iPhone queue to draw media attention is a commodity with tangible commercial value.

The two guys from Kent camped out in front of Apple's Covent Garden store in London, for example, are hoping to raise thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK.

And each of the seven New Yorkers we met in front of the big glass cube of Apple's Fifth Avenue store on Sunday -- five days and nights before the iPhone 5 goes on sale -- was there on business of one sort or another.

#1 and #2: Hazem Sayed, 54, and his marketing manager Sage (short for Sagittarius), 31, set up camp Thursday at 8 a.m. -- eight days early -- to promote a social media startup called Vibe. Sayed describes it as a tool "to create ad hoc communities of people who happen to be in the same place" -- like an iPhone line. He's invited local developers to use Vibe this week to demo their mobile apps (through a projected image on the sidewalk in front of the growing crowd) and he'll invite the people in the queue to vote --through Vibe -- for their favorite. "It's a real blue-collar app," says Sage, whose resume includes opening up empty buildings for squatters and doing logistics for Occupy Wall Street. "Jet setters don't get the app because they don't have a neighborhood."

#3 and 4: Jessica Mellow, 27, and Keenen Thompson, 22, are old hands at this. We met them last October when they were Nos. 2 and 1, respectively, in the iPhone 4S line. (See 17 days in the iPhone line: Wet, cold & smelling like Cheetos.) Mellow, who makes a living doing promotions for movie screenings and does body painting (as an artist and model) on the side , is blogging about her experience this week at iphonewhatever.com. Keenen worked at Apple retail for a 2.5 years is now the assistant to a Conde Nast fashion writer. Last year their line-sitting was subsidized by a stipend from Gazelle, a Boston-based company that does a brisk business buying old iPhones just before the launch of a new one. This year Gazelle is doing it again, paying for Mellow and Thompson's iPhone 5s and providing food, drink, camp chairs, sleeping bags, Gazelle-branded t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, wrist bands, and, in case of rain, a tent.

#4, #5, and #6: Jackie Lin, 15, Brian Ceballo, 18, and Joseph Cruz, 19, lucked out. Lin thought he'd hold a early spot in line and sell it to someone with less patience and more money. Ceballo and Cruz, who are cousins, wanted the new phone, but as aspiring musicians (pop, R&B and hip hop), also hoped to get some of that good free publicity that attends an Apple launch event. All three lucked out when Gazelle showed up and offered to support the first five customers in line. Sayed and Sage, who had their own Vibe thing going, passed. These guys snapped up the offer, and when I met them they were all decked out in Gazelle gear, down to the bright orange wristbands. Lin, meanwhile, has changed his business plan. As long as Gazelle paying for the iPhone 5, he's going to keep his spot and the free phone.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 17 Sep, 2012

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Viral video: Apple's Steve Jobs is resurrected as a rap star

FORTUNE -- This catchy YouTube 'toon, produced by Emmy-nominated animator Aaron Simpson, was posted two days before Apple (AAPL) unveiled the iPhone 5. By Saturday morning it had generated more than 950,000 hits. Warning: Contains some mild profanity.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 15 Sep, 2012

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09.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Racun Implan Memakan Korban

Racun Implan Memakan Korban Implan payudara buatan pabrik Perancis, Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) kembali menjadi perbincangan. Kali ini, seorang ibu bernama Suzanne Ellis yang menjadi korban.

Bayi yang dikandungnya lahir dalam keadaan meninggal. Suzanne yakin sekali bayi yang diberi nama Ivan lahir dalam keadaan mati setelah implannya pecah. Kini ia sedang menunggu untuk proses pengangkatan implan.

Karena kematianbayinya, ia pun berduka menyalahkan implan payudara PIP yang ia pasang beberapa waktu lalu. Seperti dikutip laman The Sun, Suzanne mengatakan para dokter tidak dapat menjelaskan penyebab dibalik kematian anaknya.

"Ketika saya memutuskan memiliki implan, saya pikir saya tahu semua risikonya. Tapi saya tidak pernah berpikir saya akan kehilangan anak saya," ujarnya.

Wanita asal Widness, Cheshire ini mengaku menjalani operasi pemasangan implan payudara di Manchester pada 2007. Tapi setelah enam bulan, salah satu payudaranya mulai membengkak dan dia mengalami infeksi dada, telinga dan tenggorokan.

Suzanne, yang memiliki seorang putri 14 tahun, lalu menderita sakit kepala kronis sebelum mengalami kehamilan. Setelah saat itu gejalanya semakin memburuk. "Saya pernah hamil sebelumnya, tapi ini mengerikan."

Dia merasakan rasa gatal di seluruh tubuh, dan seperti ada sesuatu di bawah kulitnya, dan itu terlihat  mengerikan. "Dokter bingung, tetapi bayi yang belum lahir yang ada dalam kandungan saya saat itu dalam keadaan baik. Dan aku selalu memanggilnya dengan nama Ivan. Tetapi dalam 27 minggu dia lahir dalam keadaan mati," ujarnya.

Saat ia kecewa bayinya lahir dalam keadaan mati, Suzanne kerap menanyakan apa penyebabnya, tapi tak ada jawaban.  Namun saat kondisi kesehatan wanita itu di uji, hasil tes menunjukkan, plasentanya sehat, dan penyebab kematian si bayi tetap menjadi misteri.

Setahun setelah kehilangan bayinya, Suzanne melihat ada benjolan di payudaranya. Dokter mengatakan implan kanannya telah pecah, dan implan yang dipasangnya merupakan implan buatan Perancis, PIP yang tengah menjadi kontroversi.

Memang saat ini, implan buatan perusahaan Perancis itu sangat meresahkan masyarakat dunia. Apalagi implan itu sudah banyak dipakai oleh 40.000  wanita di Inggris.

Suzanne, kini menunggu proses operasi pengangkatan implan. Saat tahu implan yang dikenakannya mudah bocor, ia pun sadar, bahwa bayinya, meninggal akibat implan yang dikenakannya.

"Tidak heran aku begitu sakit. Tak heran juga bayi saya sampai meninggal. Produsen implan PIP menempatkan kesehatan saya pada risiko dan mempertaruhkan kehidupan anak saya. Berapa banyak wanita lain yang harus menderita," ujarnya.

Implan payudara yang dipasang pada tubuh tetap merupakan benda asing dan bisa memancing reaksi tubuh.

Sebelumnya, di Prancis skandal implan payudara PIP ini sempat mencuat ke permukaan. Setiap wanita yang telah memasangnya diminta segera mengangkatnya.

PIP yang merupakan pemasok terbesar bahan baku implan payudara di seluruh dunia terbukti menggunakan bahan baku yang membahayakan kesehatan. Alih-alih menggunakan silikon berstandar medis, mereka menggantinya dengan produk lebih murah, yang biasa dipakai untuk komponen elektronik dan komputer.

PIP, perusahaan yang berbasis di selatan Prancis, adalah salah satu produsen implan payudara terdepan di dunia. Ini sampai tahun lalu, ketika perusahaan itu dipergoki memotong ongkos produksi sampai 1 miliar euro setahun--dengan cara menggunakan silikon industri, bukan yang memenuhi standar medis. Wadah silikon PIP juga diketahui rawan pecah atau bocor.

Akibat hal ini, pemerintah Prancis segera bertindak. Kementerian kesehatan setempat membiayai dan menggelar operasi massal pengangkatan silikon berbahaya itu.

23.31 | 0 komentar | Read More