Is the Chrome OS an Apple Killer?

By Rob Enderle, technewsworld
Microsoft may be a little unnerved about Google's Chrome -- the smartbook platform may spur real transformation in the PC space. Still, whether Google will reap the rewards of its innovation is questionable. It doesn't seem to know what it needs to do to from a marketing perspective to really execute on Chrome's promise.
You betcha. OK, I'm just kidding -- but in most markets that are divided like the PC market, where one vendor has 90 percent and the other 10 percent, a well-funded competitor would likely take out the 10 percent vendor on the way to taking on the 90 percent vendor.
However, as I look at this, I think Chrome will cause both Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) Apple Store Discount on Office 2008 for Mac - Home and Student Edition . Click here. More about Apple and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) More about Microsoft to think twice about some things, but I don't see that it represents much of a competitive risk to Apple, in fact, I'm no longer convinced the Android phone is much of a risk to the iPhone anymore, and I'll explain why.
I'll end with my product of the week: a fantastic little video-editing application called "vReveal" that works with Nvidia graphics cards to take cellphone videos and clean them up for your family or for sharing on YouTube.
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Monkey Moves Robot Using Mind Control

by Thomas Moore, skynews
A monkey fitted with a hi-tech brain chip has learned to move a complex robotic arm using mind control.
The animal can operate the robot with such dexterity that it can reach out to grab, and turn a handle.
The mechanical arm has an arm, elbow, wrist and simple hand, which the monkey controls with the power of thought.
Sky News was given exclusive access to the laboratory at Pittsburgh University in the United States.
The research is progressing so rapidly that scientists hope to start trials on paralysed patients within a year.
Neurobiologist Dr Andy Schwartz said: "What we're trying to do is go to a very dextrous hand - where the functionality is very similar to the human hand. If we could help stroke patients there would be a huge market for this kind of device."
They also hope to help patients who have been paralysed by spinal chord injuries or degenerative diseases of the nervous system.
Electrodes implanted in the monkey's motor cortex, the brain's movement control centre, pick up pulses within individual neurones.
The signals are relayed to a computer which analyses their pattern and strength to gauge what the monkey is trying to do. It then translates the signals to alter the speed and direction of the robotic arm.
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IT Job Seekers: Can You Answer 12 Gotcha Questions?

by Meridith Levinson, cio.com
There's a dozen interview questions that fluster IT job seekers at all career levels. Give a surprised or weak answer to any of them, and red flags fly. Hiring managers may conclude that a candidate is ill-prepared, and thus the job seeker can look forward to more months of firing off résumés in the worst job market in years.
To help IT professionals prepare for job interviews, CIO.com asked IT hiring managers and CIO job seekers to share the most critical questions that came up in interviews--ones that often caused candidates to stumble.
Be prepared to answer the following "gotcha" questions.
[ For more interview tips, see How to Ace and Executive-Level Interview and Job Seekers: Get Ready for the Character Interview. ]
Gotcha No.1: Why have you been out of work for an extended period of time?
If you've been out of a job for a while, you better be able to explain it. Brian Nettles, director of enterprise systems at real estate company CB Richard Ellis, says candidates for the three open positions in the IT department sometimes stumble on this question. And he's asking it more frequently as the recession deepens.
Gotcha No. 2: How many people were on your team, and how many were laid off?
The typical answer to the first question is that you were laid off--but this could trap you. Nettles seeks to find out whether the candidate was the only person laid off. If she was the only one to have lost her job, that fact could indicate the IT manager used the recession and budget cuts to get rid of a weak link on the team. (Ouch!) But Nettles doesn't jump to any hasty conclusions. Instead, he moves on to question number three.
Gotcha No. 3: Why do you think you were selected for the reduction in force?
Nettles says a job seeker's anger toward his former employer sometimes surfaces when answering this question. Yet a candidate who speaks negatively about a former employer "shows a lack of self-control or discipline," he says.
Other candidates say they don't know why they got laid off, which Nettles sees as an acceptable response. That is, provided the candidate has answered other questions well and can confidently explain why he would be right for the position.
Another get-out-of-jail answer: "Sometimes, they say they want to mull over the question and come back to it, which is a good response if they're caught off guard," adds Nettles.
Gotcha No. 4: Have you ever fired anyone?
George Tomko, a CIO-turned-independent consultant, says he was surprised when a CEO asked him if he had fired people. "Well yeah," he says he answered. "I don't consider it notches on the gun belt, but I've had to do that."
The CEO indicated that he had interviewed a number of people who hadn't fired anyone and that he wanted someone with that kind of experience.
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Business Smartphones for Under $100

by Jamie Lendino, pcmag
Budget smartphones for business users are now a reality. In fact, you can get one heck of a powerful smartphone for as little as $50 these days (with a two-year contract).
BlackBerry Internet Service, Google Apps, and Microsoft Exchange's over-the-air account synchronization mean you don't necessarily have to invest in expensive extra servers to power your budget smartphones. And BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian Series 60 phones can all be centrally managed. Depending on the infrastructure, that means an IT department can disable the built-in camera, control which applications are installed, encrypt company files, and wipe data from a lost handset.
Whether you're a manager or business owner wanting to keep your employees connected while on the go, or a freelance consultant looking for a cheap way to stay in touch with clients, here's a roundup of the best low-cost business smartphones, sorted by carrier:

Apple iPhone 3G (AT&T)
$99.99 (with two-year contract)
The iPhone 3G has excellent Microsoft Exchange connectivity, letting you sync up your calendars, contacts, and e-mails with your corporate server. And no matter what kind of business you're in, there's probably an app for that.

Nokia E71x (AT&T)
$99.99 (with two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate)
The Symbian-powered E71x is an excellent mobile office due to its powerful Web browser, built-in Office document editing, and Microsoft Exchange support. It's also just plain handsome to look at.

Samsung Jack SGH-i637 (AT&T)
$99.99 (with two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate)
The Samsung Jack is a near-perfect blend of 3G and Wi-Fi radios, good voice quality, Windows Mobile messaging, and sharp executive styling. It could even tempt a few consumers, too, if they don't like the (identically priced) iPhone 3G.

BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Sprint)
$49.99 (with two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate)
The Curve 8330 is beginning to age in the face of RIM's newest handsets like the Tour 9630 and Curve 8900 on other carriers. But the 8330 still scores with its built-in GPS, excellent voice quality, and stellar push e-mail—and you simply can't beat the price.

BlackBerry Curve 8320 (T-Mobile)
$74.99 (with two-year contract)
The BlackBerry Curve shows up on a lot of "best of" lists due to its ideal blend of power, features, and (lately) low price. The Curve 8320 is particularly interesting due to its $9.99/month unlimited Wi-Fi calling capability on T-Mobile. That can mean hundreds of dollars in savings over the course of a year for each employee (at least if they talk where there's a Wi-Fi signal).

T-Mobile Dash (T-Mobile)
$49.99 (with two-year contract)
Let's be honest here—the Dash is simply old. Compared with newer Windows Mobile handsets, it's sluggish. But it does run Windows Mobile 6 and offers all of the usual Microsoft-related benefits at a very low price. Plus, it's exceptionally slim and light for a slab QWERTY smartphone.

BlackBerry Curve 8330 (Verizon)
$49.99 (with two-year contract)
The Curve 8330 on Verizon has somewhat fewer features than the Sprint version, as it lacks an IM client and mobile TV support out of the box. But it's still a compelling choice—especially at this price.

HTC Ozone (Verizon)
$49.99 (with two-year contract)
The HTC Ozone offers a comfortable keyboard, and there's plenty of Windows Mobile power underneath the hood. This is also a true world phone, with both CDMA and GSM compatibility, and Verizon lets you unlock its GSM SIM slot if you've been a customer in good standing for 60 days.

Hands On: Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview

by Edward Mendelson, pcmag
Office 2010 looks set to be the smoothest upgrade in years to the world's preeminent productivity suite.
Microsoft today released a "technical preview" release of Microsoft Office 2010, the next version of the world's most widely used application suite. The beta is available to anyone who preregistered with Microsoft for a chance to download and test it. After running it for a few days of intense testing, I'm impatient for the final release.
As far as I can tell, this should be the smoothest upgrade for Office in many years. If you're used to Office 2007, you'll need no help using Office 2010. Old features remain where they were, although some are now displayed on spacious menus with lots of explanatory text instead of the cramped menus of 2007. In fact, the new features are slotted in so smoothly that it may take you a few moments to realize that they're new.
You'll see major changes in the new version if your company also updates to SharePoint Server 2010. Office 2010 is packed with features that let SharePoint users edit and manage each other's files either through an internal connection to a SharePoint server or remotely through a Web browser or smartphone. Microsoft's obvious goal is to persuade corporations to pay for Microsoft's collaboration tools instead of using those from Google or any other cloud-based service. Microsoft's look technically dazzling, but it's an open question whether Microsoft can convince companies to lock themselves into a high-priced proprietary offering in a time of economic uncertainty.
One other innovation is that Office 2010 will be the first version of the suite available in both 32- and 64-bit versions. We haven't received the 64-bit version yet, but we'll report on its performance on a 64-bit version of Windows as soon as we can.
Digging into Office 2010
If you haven't registered for the preview, the suite can be found on software-piracy sites—but Microsoft warns that many of these bootleg copies are infected with malware. If you're curious about the new version, don't risk compromising your Windows system. Just wait for the public beta that's slated for later this year. Otherwise, you can wait until the final code is released. Office 2010 won't ship in final form until sometime in 2010—Microsoft is tight-lipped about the exact date. Meanwhile, here's my initial take on what you can expect.
System requirements for Office 2010 are essentially the same as for Office 2007: Windows XP SP3 (the older SP2 won't cut it), Vista, or Windows 7. Any hardware that can run Office 2007 can also run Office 2010.
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