Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 9th Feb 2011 00:04 UTC
Speaking of Nokia - Engadget got their hands on what is supposedly an internal memo sent to Nokia employees by the company's new CEO. It's... Brutal. As in, brutally honest. There's no sugar-coating here, no unicorns, no glitter. "Nokia, our platform is burning." Update: Android is probably out of the question. Will it be Windows Phone 7, after all? Damn; Palm tonight, Nokia Friday - what a week for mobile! Update: The "Communities Dominate Brands" blog published an in-depth analysis of the memo, which claims with sound arguments that it might well be a hoax.
Thread beginning with comment 461535
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2009-08-26
Nokia to pay very little for the O/S per phone - perhaps less than $5 per phone - perhaps even zero for some time/quantity. Squeeze MS hard. 
Oh they can do more than that, they should push for a free OS with 50% cut of app revenue.
The problem with using Android is that it only feeds the beast. They should use WP7 to disrupt the market.
Member since:2006-05-30
"Nokia to pay very little for the O/S per phone - perhaps less than $5 per phone - perhaps even zero for some time/quantity. Squeeze MS hard.
Oh they can do more than that, they should push for a free OS with 50% cut of app revenue. The problem with using Android is that it only feeds the beast. They should use WP7 to disrupt the market. " Absolutely. Whips and chains for Microsoft. You make a good point - take some app store revenue as well.
Edited 2011-02-09 05:38 UTC
Member since:2005-07-13
They have been outspent by Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Are you familiar with Nokia? They far outspend Apple, Google and Microsoft. Mobility is their core business. Their R&D department is the size of Apple.
Now, as to how effectively they've spent that money, well, sadly, that's an entirely different question and the current situation probably answers it adequately.
Member since:2006-05-30
"They have been outspent by Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Are you familiar with Nokia? They far outspend Apple, Google and Microsoft. Mobility is their core business. Their R&D department is the size of Apple. Now, as to how effectively they've spent that money, well, sadly, that's an entirely different question and the current situation probably answers it adequately. " Latest news from appleinsider:
Apple 4Q/2010 phone revenue: $10.5 Billion
Nokia most recent quarter : 9.7 Billion
This is just Apple. Add in Android and WP7 and you can see Nokia's SALES (which must fund r&d) are being eclipsed by Apple and more than likely far more by Android.
They are now paying for a lack of focus in their r&d departments. No vision. Too bad.
Member since:2008-12-09
"They have been outspent by Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Are you familiar with Nokia? They far outspend Apple, Google and Microsoft. Mobility is their core business. Their R&D department is the size of Apple.
Now, as to how effectively they've spent that money, well, sadly, that's an entirely different question and the current situation probably answers it adequately. "
Nokia R&D is actually far bigger than Apple.
Member since:2009-09-17
They have been outspent by Apple, Google and Microsoft.
No other choice. They cannot outspend Google, Apple or MS. Game over on software.
No other choice. They cannot outspend Google, Apple or MS. Game over on software.
Actually they can, and are http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/03/visualized-nokia-randd-spending-...
They spend more than any tech company except for Microsoft, and thats total so Nokia probably spends more than Microsoft on phones if you break it down.
Though their inability to come up with a shipping modern phone OS in reasonable time period while spending so much money, does not speak well about management. Sure they had to build a new os, but so did Microsoft. They both realized their current offerings needed a revamp at the same time (or they should have).
However, they have the money and they have talented developers, that they can't do anything with them is a management problem, usually too much management. If they can fix that they might have a chance.
Member since:2005-07-23
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
Sponsored Links
Member since:
2006-05-30
They have been outspent by Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Would it be wise to attempt to bring up a fourth ecosystem distinct from the three above? I think not.
No doubt in my mind they will go WP7. For now probably only in some high-end phones to test the waters.
No other choice. They cannot outspend Google, Apple or MS. Game over on software.
Microsoft is hungry for WP7 wins and marketshare which is a huge leverage point for Nokia. I would expect Nokia to pay very little for the O/S per phone - perhaps less than $5 per phone - perhaps even zero for some time/quantity. Squeeze MS hard.
All that software money could then be spent making a better phone. Focus on one thing and do it well.