Daily Bits

Anti-Trust Law to Get a Boost if New Chief is Confirmed by the US Senate

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Bloomberg is running a very good piece on the long standing industry prediction that Google will be the next Microsoft. The article delves deeply into the pending confirmation of the Obama-nominated Anti-Trust chief Christine A. Barney. Ms. Barney was personally handpicked by Pres. Obama a couple of months ago.

But before Pres. Obama asked Ms. Barney to lead the controversial Anti-Trust agency, Varney was known to have a strong conviction that Google is out to replace Microsoft. Especially since the Internet trend is leaning towards “cloud computing.” And we all know that Google has already establish a good foundation for its “cloud computing service”, thanks to Google Docs, and its seamless integration of various online products such as Gmail, Google Maps, Google Friend Connect, among other services.

For Ms. Barney however, this is all well and good if only Google has not “acquired a monopoly” in the Internet online advertising.  Ms. Barney wants to tackle this issue once her confirmation becomes final. She also promised to strictly implement the anti-trust law.

So, it would seem that Google should expect harder times up ahead  which shall start once Ms. Barney gets the anti-trust chief position.

Is there are reason for Google to be afraid?  Looking into Google’s previous behavior when confronted with monopoly and anti-trust issues, I don’t think that anyone in Google’s camp are a bit worried about Ms. Barney’s appointment, I still think that Google can survive her probing once she become the official Ant-Trust chief.

Can Nokia’s New Ovi Store Compete with iTunes Apps Store?

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One of the most exciting announcements made at the ongoing Mobile Web Congress happening in Barcelona was Nokia’s new mobile content application service called Ovi Store. According to Nokia, the Ovi Store will integrate all its current mobile content services, Download, MOSH and WidSets into the Ovi Store. And to make things more interesting the Nokia is also opening the Ovi Store’s door to third-party mobile phone applications developer through revenue sharing similar to Apple’s policy with its Apps Store.

From the looks of it, the Nokia Ovi Store is a promising endeavour for Nokia and if carried out properly, Nokia may have something good in the offing for their mobile product offerings. Nokia mobile phones continue to be the most widely used mobile phone devices worldwide despite having less clout in the American market. Elsewhere, Nokia still dominates the mobile phone market, especially in Asian countries.

So, if Nokia could come up with a mobile content and applications store as good as Apple’s iTunes Apps Store, you can just imagine how big its consumers will be. Nokia mobile phones market share is still bigger than the iPhone despite the huge success that Apple’s mobile device has gained since it was launched. And if Nokia’s Ovi Store could offer something as robust as the iTunes Apps Store plus other mobile stuff, then it could very well give the iTunes Apps Store a run for its money.

Can Nokia’s Ovi Store compete with iTunes Apps Store? Probably yes. But could third party application developers come up with good applications for Nokia’s mobile phones, or could Nokia phones handle sophisticated mobile applications? Those are the proper question to ask. And the answers are yet to be ascertained.

Google Docs Spreadsheet Editing Comes to the iPhone

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When Google Docs mobile was launched last year, I was pretty much excited to try it out using my iPhone. Unfortunately, the service didn’t have too much to offer since it was a browse-only service. I stopped using it since then. Perhaps realizing the shortcomings of its mobile Google Docs service, Google has finally introduced some sort of “editing” features to Google Docs, but only for spreadsheets.

Actually the new feature was the addition of a List View which facilitates viewing, editing, sorting, and filtering of your spreadsheets on your iPhone and other supported mobile devices including the G1 Android Phone, iPod devices and Nokia S60 devices.

This is certainly a nice feature especially if you are sharing and collaborating on spreadsheet files. Now, you can easily edit a spreadsheet file anywhere you are, using your mobile phone. Even better is the fact that your friend or colleague who are sitting in front of their PCs at home or in the office will immediately see the edits you’ve made.

Hopefully, we get the same feature on Google document files as well.

Weird and Useful Browser Extensions

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There is an article over at TechCult titled 10 Weird Browser Extensions. The list does include some really odd extensions, like one to block YouTube comments with ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation!!!

There are some useful ones in the middle of the pack though. Like the FireNES one:

You don’t need extreme hackery to protect yourself from the rest of humanity – just find something better to do and you’ll never need to deal with those annoying fleshbags again, and it doesn’t come much better than FireNES. Two thousand ROMS all ready to go in a browser toolbar. Claim that isn’t better than constantly refreshing an e-mail window and you’re a filthy liar.

The Java application doesn’t deliver the smooth emulation of Nestopia, but for somebody stuck in some kind of work-like environment where they can’t install software, it’s perfect. Not that we encourage reliving the joys of your childhood rather than doing those really interesting spreadsheets, of course.

Check out the full article to see all the other extensions that were included in the list.

Windows 7 To Kill Linux on Desktop? Oh Really?

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As Microsoft keeps working on the development of Windows 7, I am starting to hear all sorts of reviews and feedback. Most people that tried it are happy with the OS, I won’t deny that. But then another day I came across an article on The Inquirer titled Windows 7 is enough to kill Linux on the desktop.

I didn’t want to be a basher, so I took the time to read it despite getting annoyed by the title.

So what are the arguments of the author? Basically he says that Windows 7 is somewhat stable, has some nice graphics, and also runs fine with open source applications. Then, and don’t ask me how on Earth, the guy concludes that given those factors, user friendly Linux distributions like Ubuntu won’t be worthwhile anymore.

Say what?

I do believe that Windows 7 will be an improvement for Microsft. After all they are launching an OS after Vista, so it is not like it would be too hard to achieve that…

Regardless, I don’t see Windows 7 removing the main two advantages that Linux has over Windows, even if you consider desktop users.

One: Linux is open source, and therefore free and supported by the community
Two: Linux is one of the most secure desktop operating systems out there

If you then consider the fact that with each new release most Linux distros are also getting very user friendly and graphically appealing, well, I don’t see how Windows 7 is going to hurt it.

Now I am not arguing that Linux on desktop is mainstream, or that it will become anytime soon. But you can’t deny that is does have its market, and its market share (albeit small) has been growing steadily.

I wonder why that guy has not checked the numbers, in fact.

The W3Counter reports that in May 2007 1,26% of the Internet users from around the world were using Linux as their OS. In December 2008 this number is up to 2,13%, with a growth of almost 70%.

The overall number might not seem big, but Apple’s OS X is not far away, with 5,24% of market share.

If anything, therefore, Linux is growing steadily, and I don’t think Windows 7 will change this pattern.

All About Mobile Search

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Search engines certainly revolutionized the web. Mobile devices, similarly, are also revolutionizing the search marketplace. Thinking this very important trend the guys from CellPhones.org created an extensive guide about mobile search. Here is why this segment matters according to them:

Mobile Search is an ever growing part of the larger search market. Last year, according to ComScore, more then 20 million people searched from a mobile device in the USA alone. That’s an increase of 68% from the year previous. This is a fraction of all cell phones in the United States, and as wireless internet speeds and smart handset penetration increase, so will the number of users using search from a Mobile device.

Check the full article if you want to know more about it. It includes tips to optimize for mobile search, how to advertise on it and so on.