Google Editions e-book venture to launch by year's end - Computerworld

Computerworld - After months of delays, Google will launch its e-book retail business, now being called Google Editions, in the U.S. before the end of the year, a spokesman for the company confirmed today.

The spokesman gave no reason for the delay and declined to offer other details. A Google executive had said in May that the company planned to sell digital books last summer.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that the venture had cleared some technical and legal hurdles and that Google Editions would launch in the U.S. by year's end and internationally in the first quarter of 2011. A federal court recently gave preliminary approval to a settlement agreement between Google and authors and publishers, which apparently has provided further impetus for the Google e-book concept.

Under the Google system, independent booksellers are expected to be able to sell e-books through Google Editions -- and they have received contracts to make that happen, according to the WSJ report. Independent booksellers would benefit the most from Google's concept.

As early as May, Google was saying that it would allow people using a variety of devices to buy books from a broad range of Web sites. Google will compete against Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and Apple, among others, but it could distinguish itself by providing access to a diversity of e-book sources and supporting multiple reading platforms.

Google is expected to allow people to make e-book purchases through Google accounts that they would access through a Web browser. Many smartphones, computers and tablets access the Web through a variety of Web browsers.

Google already offers a service called Google Book Search, which allows people to search and preview millions of books from libraries and publishers globally. The new Google Editions would allow users of Book Search to buy a digital copy of a book, and Google would allow book retailers to sell Google Editions books on their own sites.

It appears that Google Editions is moving forward now in part because of a U.S. District Court in New York's preliminary approval on Nov. 19 of a settlement between Google and authors and publishers. Google has described the agreement on its Web site.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen, or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed. His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

Read more about E-business in Computerworld's E-business Topic Center.

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Steve Jobs to launch iPad newspaper with Rupert Murdoch? - CNET

Will they both appear on stage, Steve Jobs in a suit, Rupert Murdoch in Levi's and a black turtleneck?

This magical image might, um, flash before your eyes when you hear that Apple is reportedly helping Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. launch a new--is there another word for newspaper these days?--news entity exclusively for the iPad.

Women's Wear Daily offers a report that this iPad-o-newsthingy, which has been in covert development for several months, will be called "The Daily." It will, apparently, have as its pulsating spirit "a tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence."

Oh, and there is a price for this melange of the tabloid heart with a broadsheet mind. A ticklingly enticing 99 cents a week.

The Daily will, apparently not enjoy such dated concepts as a print edition or even a Web edition. Instead it will be beamed straight to the iPad (or Galaxy, if you can afford one) from News Corp.'s high pod somewhere in Manhanttan.

Apple's role in this interesting enterprise seems to rest in offering engineering expertise, and, of course, the existence of many millions of iPads waiting to host the new iPado-o-newsthingy.

There will be some, I know, who will already be scoffing at the prospect of an iPad-o-newsthingy, even if, as the Daily will allegedly enjoy, it has not only excellent, but even original content.

Might I suggest, as Chrissie Hynde once almost muttered, they should stop their scoffing? Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch have one very important thing in common: they think quite deeply about what people really want to buy. They actually consider very, very carefully what delights people, as opposed to what they merely consume.

Yes, I hear you scoff, I can see that about Jobs, but Murdoch? Surely he debases everything that goes before him. Look at all those dreadful tabloids he has perpetrated.

Well, it depends on where you find your debasement. Those would be the dreadful tabloids to which many members of intelligentsia rush to (and delight in) well before they read the paper they know they're supposed to be seen reading.

Though his experiments with charging for some of his British online entities, such as the often marvelous News of the World and the sometimes interesting Sunday Times, have proved to be a painful experience, Murdoch is reportedly captivated by the notion that people are far more captivated when clutching an iPad than when they are in possession of any other medium.

There is a love thing going on with the iPad. And you know how lovers like to spend a lot of time with each other.

The question remains, though, as to how this iPad-o-newsthingy will be presented to the world. Will there be some concerted advertising campaign, perhaps prepared in conjunction with Apple? Will there be star writers hired whose mere name will force a significant number of the population to toss their 99 cents into the fray? (The former editor of the New York Post Page 6, Richard Johnson is, for example, already said to be on the team.)

Or will its alleged use of the amazingly investigative Parrot AR.Drone "quadricopter," offering a unique visual perspective on police car chases, be enough to excite the iPad readers?

I am fascinated to see just how much of Apple's engineering intelligence will show in this iPad-o-newsthingy. If Apple's engineers inject enough thinking different into the idea of news consumption on the iPad, 99 cents a week might be quite tempting to a significant portion of users (which doesn't, at first, have to be a large number).

Come on, it's only 99 cents. You know, like a track on iTunes. And, just once in a while, you used to download those for free, didn't you?

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Verizon, ATandT, T-Mobile Join to Launch Isis NFC Payment Service - eWeek

Rival carriers Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile will be working together to create a ?national commerce network that aims to fundamentally transform how people shop, pay and save,? the three announced Nov. 16.

The venture, called Isis, relies on smartphones and near-field communications (NFC), which uses short-range, high-frequency wireless technology to pass encrypted information between devices. In countries such as Japan, consumers have used such a service, which essentially turns one?s smartphone into a wallet, for several years now.

Michael Abbott, formerly with GE Capital, has been tapped to lead Isis, which is expected to roll out its service to ?key geographic markets? over the next 18 months.

?Our mobile commerce network, through relationships with merchants, will provide an enhanced, more convenient, more personalized shopping experience for consumers,? Abbott said in a statement. ?While mobile payments will be at the core of our offering, it is only the start. We plan to create a mobile wallet that ultimately eliminates the need for consumers to carry cash, credit and debit cards, reward cards, coupons, tickets and transit passes.?

Between them, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon offer wireless service to more than 200 million customers, who will have access to Isis. Currently, Isis is working with Discover Financial Services? payment network to develop an infrastructure for the program. Barclaycard US is expected to be the first issuer on the Isis network, offering mobile payment products.

?We believe the venture will have the scope and scale necessary to introduce mobile commerce on a broad basis,? said Abbott. ?In the beginning, we intend to fully utilize Discover's national payment infrastructure as well as Barclaycard's expertise in contactless and mobile payments. Moving forward, Isis will be available to all interested merchants, banks and mobile carriers.?

The day before the Isis announcement, Google CEO Eric Schmidt ? while showing off a device expected to be the Nexus S at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco ? explained that Android 2.3, or ?Gingerbread,? will leverage NFC technology, working with an embedded chip in the phone and a mobile application.

"The theory of the case is that you'll be able to take these mobile devices from everybody, and you'll be able to walk into a store and do commerce and be able to figure out where you are, again with your permission," Schmidt said. "It could eventually literally replace your credit card."

He added that NFC uses a higher level of authentication than the traditional credit card magnetic stripe, making it more secure.

Google competitor Apple is also preparing to get in on the action, and in August hired an NFC expert as its new product manger for mobile commerce, as well as published a number of NFC-related patents over the summer. In addition, Nokia ? no stranger to NFC, having launched a trial NFC payment plan in China in 2006, among other efforts ? plans to push out an upgrade to its Symbian 3-running C7 smartphone in early 2011, enabling the device to handle NFC tag reading, Near Field Communications World reported Nov. 14, citing the French site Teknologik.

?Anytime major industry players agree on a step forward, it's a great step for all involved, especially consumers,? Nokia spokesperson Joseph Gallo told eWEEK. ?In this case, with regards to NFC, it adds further value to the handset and ultimately the consumer by allowing access to new services and digital content on their mobile easily and conveniently.?

The ability to easily share content such as business cards and photos, or to use an NFC mobile device as a travel card, ticket, or loyalty card, Gallo explained, ?adds to the consumer's emotional attachment to the device.?

Bling Nation, a company that uses contactless stickers, called Bling Tags, on the back of mobile phones, has recently been running a mobile payment trial with PayPal and will roll out its solution in early 2011, Forbes reported Nov. 15. The Bling technology is compatible with NFC technology, and so will work with NFC phones, Forbes reports, adding that the company is currently in negotiations with handset manufacturers to incorporate the technology directly into their handsets.

Isis, effective as of Nov. 16, will be based in New York.

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Apple iOS 4.2 may launch Friday for iPad, iPhone - IntoMobile

This one’s a rumor folks, but it looks like iOS 4.2 could be hitting your Apple iPhone and iPad this Friday at 10 a.m. PST and it will bring all sorts of goodies like multitasking to the iPad and Airplay.

The time makes a lot of sense because the iOS 4.2 gold master was sent out to developers last week and this means the software should be ready for prime time. The rumor also says we can look forward to an iTunes 10.1 update tomorrow in advance of the iOS 4.2 update.

So, what’s the big fudging deal? Well, as an iPad owner, I can’t wait for iOS 4.2 to actually bring all of the capabilities of the iPhone 4 to the tablet. The multitasking that came with 4.0 (or, quick app switching if you want to call it that) should turn this iPad into something more than a toy. Yes, you can install iOS 4.2 by looking at our walk through but that could be too much of a hassle for many people.

Another cool feature of the 4.2 version for the iPhone and iPad is that it will enable users to print content off their devices through AirPrint. This will send your documents, photos or other contents wirelessly to a compatible printer.

I’m also really looking forward to the AirPlay feature with iOS 4.2 because this will enable you to share content between your iOS devices. So, let’s say you have a video on your iPad, you should just be able to click a button or two and have it appear on your Apple TV.

While this appears to just handle multimedia files right now, there are some apps which will be able to take advantage of AirPlay like YouTube and the MLB app. If you hack it – an official jailbreak will come shortly – I’m sure all those limitations will be removed.

[Via MacStories]

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Windows 8 Destined For A 2012 Launch - I4U

2012 will bring about it a new presidential election, the perceived day of global destruction...and a brand new Windows operating system.

It would be just a few years since the launch of Windows 7, an operating system that people have found at least tolerable, if not an improvement, after the debacle that was Windows Vista.

The news came from a Dutch Microsoft website in which an employee blogged about the next operating system being a couple years away. Production and planning are already underway.

Not much is known about what Windows 8 would bring to the table. However, based on previous leaks it appears Microsoft wants a centralized PC "App Store" interface, as well as faster boot-up times and the ability to log in users based on facial recognition.

With a two year buffer, it should still give users a reasonable amount of time to use Windows 7 before accepting that it's time to update. The turnaround time for a new operating system would be notably reduced from prior history, including the long and dreaded amount of time it took for Microsoft to usurp Vista with Windows 7.

Via Mashable

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Xbox Kinect's Game Launch Lineup Revealed - Mashable

Microsoft has just announced the 17 games that will be available on launch day with Kinect for Xbox 360, the tech giant’s highly anticipated controller-free gaming system.

Kinect, which launches on November 4, is Microsoft’s answer to the Nintendo Wii’s motion controllers, which helped turn that console into one of this generation’s most popular gaming devices. Both Sony and Microsoft have been playing catch-up with the PlayStation Move and Kinect, respectively.

17 Kinect-enabled games will be available when the device makes its debut next month. Here’s the full list:

Dance Central: This game, made by the creators of Rock Band, tracks your dance moves. We’ve heard good things about this one.The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout: A game from THQ based on the TV show.DanceMasters: Konami’s version of getting your groove down.EA SPORTS Active 2: A fitness game with body tracking, heart rate data and the ability to share workout data. EA has gone all-out with this game, which sort of explains its $100 price tag.Zumba Fitness: See a pattern yet? This is a dance fitness game.Kinect Sports: Microsoft’s version of Wii Sports.MotionSports: This game from Ubisoft includes live in-game commentary and 40+ sports challenges.DECA SPORTS FREEDOM: While this game only has 10 sporting events, there is a focus on making it feel as real as possible. Figure skating should be interesting.Kinect Joy Ride: Controller-free kart racing.ADRENALIN MISFITS: This racing/battle game focuses on fantasy worlds.Fighters Uncaged: Fulfill your Fight Club fantasy without the bloody concussions and stitches.SONIC FREE RIDERS: Yup, Sega is bringing Sonic the Hedgehog to Kinect.

What do you think of Kinect’s launch day lineup? Let us know in the comments.

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