Software

From FT Comment November 5, 2012

Software is king in an industrial rebirth

Software, to borrow a phrase from venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, is eating the world. Last month Facebook announced its billionth active member. An Android-powered Google is worth more than Microsoft. Companies from Kickstarter to Khan Academy to Skype to Amazon to Etsy are transforming the retail, telecoms, education, manufacturing and financial services sectors, writes Andrew Keen.

East London’s Silicon Roundabout, a cluster of tech companies, has received support from the British government. Yet some people remain sceptical. Sir James Dyson, an inventor, has told the BBC that hardware manufacturers are a smarter investment than software companies.

Posted in Software | Permalink

Story of the Week: Apple’s management shake-up

November 4, 2012 10:29 pm by Maryam Nabi

Getty Images

Interesting commentary from around the Web on the tech story that made headlines this week.

For many, Tim Cook made his first significant mark on Apple this week with a reshuffling of senior executives that included the departure of Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice-president of iOS, and John Browett, its head of retail operations.

At the same time, commentators welcomed news that chief hardware designer Sir Jonathan Ive would now oversee software design. Read more

Tags: apple, Jonathan Ive, tim cook
Posted in Mobile, Software, Tech | Permalink

From PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY COLUMN October 25, 2012

Windows 8 – trouble below the Surface

Does Microsoft risk confusing consumers with an operating system that tries to serve every kind of computing device and may end up satisfying no one? With its dual-interface, dual-purpose, dual-processor, mixed-up thinking, Windows 8 is a pushmi-pullyu, half-man, half-biscuit, weird and occasionally wonderful creation that is guaranteed to bewilder – at least initially.

And that’s just the Microsoft end of the operation. The hardware makers have responded with their own Whirligig 8 – sorry, Windows 8 – of swivelling, swinging, sliding and snapping hybrid devices that veer from tablets to notebooks. Everyone is trying to cover everything while they wait to see what we consumers will go for.

Tags: iPad mini, Surface, windows 8
Posted in Mobile, Personal technology, Software | Permalink

From Inside Business column October 24, 2012

Microsoft goes for broke with Windows 8

Will Windows 8 turn out to be Microsoft’s “New Coke”?

Messing around with one of the world’s most familiar everyday products is hardly something to be undertaken lightly – and with the new version of Windows, which goes on sale on Friday, there has been a lot of messing around. That almost guarantees some degree of user backlash. But it would be wrong to judge the outcome of what amounts to a bet-the-farm gamble by Microsoft on its initial reception.

Tags: microsoft, windows 8
Posted in Computers, Consumer Electronics, Hardware, Software | Permalink

Morgan Stanley seeks vindication with Workday

October 2, 2012 1:15 am by Richard Waters

The hotly anticipated IPO of Workday could help to advance Morgan Stanley’s rehabilitation in the wake of the Facebook fiasco. But given the way other recent tech deals led by the bank have been structured, it is still too soon to pass a verdict on its performance – or to tell how much long-term damage the debacle surrounding the Facebook offering will do to its business in Silicon Valley. Read more

Tags: IPOs, SaaS, Workday
Posted in Software, Tech, Tech Finance | Permalink

Google: don’t let a 1,000 Androids bloom

September 18, 2012 10:22 am by Sarah Mishkin

It’s been the season of high-profile phone launches. Except, sadly, for Acer and Alibaba. Their planned launch of a co-branded phone for Chinese consumers got cancelled at the last minute when Google objected to the version of Android on the phone.

What the last-minute cancellation – and some continued sniping between the companies – shows is how tricky it is to manage China’s booming mobile market. That’s true, apparently, even for Google, whose Android platform dominates in a big way.

Posted in Asia, Mobile, Software | Permalink

Care.com raises $50m

August 7, 2012 10:35 pm by April Dembosky

Care.com, the website for finding nannies, pet sitters, and caretakers for the elderly, has raised $50m in late-stage venture capital funding, bringing the five-year old company’s total financing to $111m.

Sheila Lirio Marcelo, founder and chief executive, said she would use the money to support the Massachusetts-based company’s international expansion efforts. Read more

Posted in Internet, Software, Tech Finance | Permalink

Nuance’s Nina is more business-like Siri

August 6, 2012 10:23 pm by Chris Nuttall

It’s an open secret that Nuance powers the speech-recognition capabilities of Apple’s Siri personal assistant, whose capabilities will increase this autumn with the iOS 6 update allowing it to answer questions about sports scores, movies and restaurants, as well as opening hard-to-find apps with a voice command.

But Apple has not allowed third-party developers to integrate Siri into their apps yet, something that Nuance is offering from today with its Siri soundalike, Nina, for iOS and Android devices. Read more

Tags: Nuance
Posted in Mobile, Software | Permalink