First Look: Dreamweaver CS4 Beta

The public beta of Dreamweaver released by Adobe Tuesday delivers significant changes to the 10-year old Web design and development tool. Not only does Dreamweaver CS4 offer a complete overhaul of the user interface, it adds many new features aimed at the "professional" Web developer. In addition, the beta expands on the powerful (and easy-to-use) Spry toolset introduced in last year's Dreamweaver CS3 release.
Integration with the Creative Suite
The most obvious change to the program is Dreamweaver CS4's new user interface. The old Macromedia look-and-feel has finally been replaced with an interface that matches the other applications in Adobe's Creative Suite. (Dreamweaver was among the Macromedia products absorbed by Adobe when it bought its one-time rival three years ago.)
While this change will take a while for long-time Dreamweaver users to get used to, the new interface significantly improves the usability of the program. Panels and windows mesh together well, are easier to organize, move and hide, and the new interface provides the flexibility to create a working environment that's comfortable whether you're working on a 17-inch monitor or a 30-inch Cinema Display.
In addition, the program has taken its first step toward supporting a feature that's been in the other Creative Suite programs for years--SmartObjects. Dreamweaver CS4 now offers support for PhotoShop SmartObjects--you can drag a PSD file into a Web page within Dreamweaver, optimize the image for the Web, and even resize it. If you later update the original PSD file, a red arrow will appear on the image inside Dreamweaver indicating that the source file has changed. You can then click an "update from original" button in the Property inspector, and a new version of the image is created.
A professional Web developer tool
Dreamweaver has always been a powerful tool that has attracted both Web novices and Web veterans. This latest version offers a slew of new features aimed directly at those that feel at home working in raw HTML, CSS and JavaScript as much as they do working with Dreamweaver's visual, dialog-driven tools. In fact, many of the new features promote a workflow that involves working in code view alongside the visual design view.
The new related files bar, which appears between the document toolbar and the document itself, lists all CSS and JavaScript files linked to the page. (If you're using a server-side programming language like PHP, you'll see included server-side files listed as well.) By clicking one of the related files in this bar, you immediately jump to the code in that file. In this way, you can open a single Web page and immediately have access to other files the page references: quickly jump to the page's CSS file, make some changes and jump back to the Web page file to see the changes.
The related files bar really shines when combined with another new addition: vertical split view. Now you can see side-by-side, a page's raw HTML code and its visual design. Make a change in the visual view and see the code immediately updated or vice-versa. When viewing a page that has related files (for example, an attached external style sheet), you can see the visual design of the page on one side, and a related file in the other. This lets you edit the CSS code and see the changes take place visually on the Web page.
A new "code navigator" (which is really more like a "CSS navigator") lets you view a list of CSS styles that affect the current selection: you can view all of the properties set for that style and even jump directly to the CSS code for that style. While earlier versions of Dreamweaver provide similar tools through the CSS Styles Panel, this streamlined method makes for a more efficient workflow.
Dreamweaver CS4 offers many new features for HTML, CSS and JavaScript code warriors, including the related files bar, a new vertical split view, and live view to see the page as it actually looks (and works) in a Web browser. In addition, you can view the "live" code (which Dreamweaver displays with a yellow background) to see any HTML produced by JavaScript or server-side programming.If you have ever been dismayed that Dreamweaver doesn't provide a real WYSIWYG view of your Web pages, you'll be happy with the new Live View option. The Dreamweaver CS4 beta embeds the WebKit rendering image (the same as used in Safari), so by clicking a live view button you can actually see the page as it's rendered in a Web browser: you can even interact with the page and view JavaScript effects like rollovers, drop-down menus and tooltip pop-ups without having to switch from Dreamweaver to a Web browser.
The complementary Live Code view shows the HTML--a useful addition for pages that use JavaScript to manipulate the appearance and content of a page, or for dynamic server-side pages that require additional information from a database to display correctly.
Within live view, you can "pause" any JavaScript effects--for example freeze a drop-down navigation menu--then use the code navigator to quickly identify the CSS styles that affect the menu.
More than just code
But not all of the new features in the beta are aimed at those Web professionals who know how to code with one hand tied behind their backs. Several features will be a boon to less-experienced Web designers as well.
The revamped Property inspector reduces the risk of making errors when adding HTML and CSS for text. In earlier versions of Dreamweaver, you would sometimes add HTML to the page and sometimes create CSS styles, depending on which buttons you clicked in the Property inspector. This frequently led to a messy mix of strangely named styles, like Style1, Style2, and so on. Now the two functions--adding HTML and creating styles--are separated into two different views of the Property inspector.
The Dreamweaver CS4 beta also expands on the JavaScript-based Spry Tools introduced in Dreamweaver CS3. Dreamweaver's Spry features make it easy for non-programmers to add sophisticated JavaScript-based user interface elements like drop-down navigation bars, tabbed interfaces, and user-friendly form validation. The new Spry tooltip commands lets you add pop-up information bubbles to links.
Dreamweaver CS4 also includes three new form validation widgets. The password validation widget lets you enforce rules for passwords (such as "this password must be 10 characters long and contain at least 2 numbers"). The password confirm widget forces a user to confirm the password he already entered. The radio group validation widget lets you make sure that a radio button is checked before a form is submitted.
Finally, a new HTML dataset tool lets you treat a regular HTML file like a small database system. For example, you can create a HTML table full of rows and columns of data, and use Dreamweaver to import that table into another Web page (using JavaScript and Spry). There you can present that data in a variety of different ways such as a "Master/Detail" page that lets a user view a master summary of rows from the table, click an item in the list and instantly see all of the details for that table row.
See for yourself
The Dreamweaver CS4 beta is available now from Adobe Labs. It requires either a PowerPC G5- or Intel-based Mac and OS X 10.4.11 or 10.5. The beta expires after two days unless you have an Adobe CS3 serial number. With that serial number, the beta will remain unlocked until the next version of the beta becomes available

Why Apple Will Sell 10 Million IPhones

Every now and then, I read something that makes me fall off my chair in shock. In this case, the text in question is in a New York Times article, "The Guessing Game Has Begun on the Next iPhone" (hat tip to John Gruber for the link).
The Times story is largely what you'd expect: an attempt to discuss the anticipation about the next-generation iPhone we're all sure is coming next month, but about which there's precious little actual information. But its focus on Apple's repeatedly stated goal of selling 10 million iPhones during calendar-year 2008 steers it desperately off course and into crazyland:
After almost a year of strong sales... the iPhone has settled down to a less-than-spectacular pace: roughly 600,000 units a month, according to the company. Apple... sold just 1.7 million phones in the first three months of this year, meaning it must sell more than 8 million phones to reach Mr. Jobs's publicly stated goal of selling 10 million iPhones in 2008.
"They're going to have a difficult time" hitting that number, said Edward Snyder, an analyst at Charter Equity Research. He said that Nokia, the world's largest maker of cellphones, sells more phones every week than Apple has sold since the iPhone's introduction.
Here's the thing. I've stared at Apple's iPhone sales figures repeatedly over the last few months, and I can't see any reasonable way that the company can't sell 10 million phones this year.
First, let's take the idea that iPhone sales have "settled down." Yes, in the first three months of the year Apple claims to have sold 1.7 million phones, an average of 568,000 a month. However, in the months of July, August, and September of 2007--the first full quarter of the iPhone's availability--Apple sold 1.1 million iPhones. Which means, despite all of that iPhone launch hype and all the pent-up demand for the iPhone, sales between those two quarters grew by 52 percent.
In between those quarters was Apple's financial first quarter of 2008, a quarter known for its wild holiday sales figures for iPods. And last winter the iPhone proved to be a part of the holiday bump as well: Apple sold 2.3 million iPhones during the holiday season.
So let's run the numbers. Let's assume that iPhone sales will be up slightly between April and June of this year. I'll estimate 2 million phones sold, up roughly 18 percent from the previous quarter. That puts Apple at 3.7 million of its estimated 10 million phones sold for the year. Mark my words, when Apple reports its sales figures, a chorus of people will claim the company is nowhere near the pace required to meet its goals.
But let's move on. The third calendar quarter of 2008 will presumably see the release of a shiny new iPhone model as well as a boatload of new iPhone software, from Apple and from independent developers. It'll also presumably coincide with the rolling out of iPhones into numerous new international markets. As a result, I think it's safe to conclude that sales of iPhones in July, August, and September of 2008 will be strong. I'll pencil in a 25 percent sales boost to 2.5 million. That means with three months to go, Apple will have sold 6.2 million iPhones, still nearly 40 percent short of its goal. Sakes alive! They're not going to make it, are they?
Relax. Because next up is the first financial quarter of 2009, that massive holiday quarter Apple has each and every year. And I'm confident that the iPhone will once again benefit from a massive holiday sales spike, similar to the one the iPod receives each year. Last year, iPhone sales doubled in the holiday quarter. But let's be conservative and estimate that Apple will sell four million phones in that quarter.
There we are. In my back-of-the-envelope exercise, Apple sells 10.2 million iPhones in calendar year 2008. And I stress, these are extremely conservative numbers. If I had to place a bet, I'd probably say that Apple will sell more like 2.2 million phones in the current quarter, more like 3 million in the following quarter, and five million in the holiday quarter. That guess adds up to almost 12 million iPhones in calendar year 2008.
Let's not forget, Apple is not a company to make predictions lightly. And despite being bitten by one previous prediction regarding the speed of PowerPC chips -- a failure that precipitated Apple's move to Intel processors -- Apple still made this iPhone prediction. It made the prediction with full knowledge of its forthcoming iPhone models, international product roll-out, and traditional holiday-quarter sales surge.
Apple's supremely confident about selling 10 million iPhones this year. And you know what? I'm confident that it'll do it, too

Indian Company Develops Contextual Search Technology

An Indian company, Sobha Renaissance Information Technology (SRIT), has developed contextual search technology that can plug into any basic search engine, including those of Yahoo and Google. Indian companies were until now mainly focused on the outsourced services market. An increasing number of companies are now attempting to develop technologies that they can commercialize globally. The search technology from SRIT is currently being tested on SRIT's iCognue search engine, which is designed as a search of encyclopaedias on the Web, said Syed Yasin, the architect of the technology, on Tuesday. A search for an item throws up search results from encyclopaedias as well as a "search within topic" list to help the user refine the search, he said. The company plans to expand the scope of iCognue later to offer contextual search of the entire Web, according to Yasin. The revenue source for the company would be from advertising, he added. The iCognue search currently runs on the open source Lucene basic text search engine. SRIT is also testing its contextual search algorithm, called LMai (Latent Metonymical Analysis and Indexing), on other search engines.

Delicious Library 2.0 Adds Dozens of Features

Delicious Monster has released Delicious Library 2.0, a major upgrade to their cataloging software for Mac OS X. Priced at US$40, it's a free upgrade for registered users.
Delicious Library helps you maintain an up-to-date catalog of CDs, DVDs, books, video games and other material. It can read barcodes from packages, either by using a barcode scanner (sold separately) or using an iSight camera or other webcam, if connected. You can also input the information manually, if you need to. The software connects to Amazon.com to get bookshelf information, but keeps it all stored locally in its own database.
Version 2.0 adds dozens of new features, such as one-click Web publishing to .Mac and connectivity with Transmit; many new categories; rules-based "Smart Shelves;" better performance for large libraries and fast graphics with Mac OS X v10.5.3; export to iPhone; Bonjour sharing; improved iSight scanning; auto-pair and auto-connect for Bluetooth scanners; autocomplete improvements; currency conversion; new cover graphics; new fields for items and many other changes.
System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.3 or later -- certain features now depend on Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard," and some new graphic features require Mac OS X v10.5.3, which had not yet been released as Macworld posted this article.

The Apple of the Future

During the last several weeks, I've been rewatching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from start to finish. While the TV show has held up well for the most part in the 15 years since it premiered, I was struck by a peculiar thought when I recently watched a time travel episode that saw several characters transported to Earth in the year 2024. Technology that was--from the perspective of TV show writers in 1995--futuristic ended up looking, well, primitive compared to what we take for granted today. That's how much things have changed in just over a decade.
It's not that surprising, either. Our vision of the future is constantly in flux, informed by our perception of the present. In the 1950s, the future was full of jet packs and flying cars. In the 1990s, we thought everything in 2024 would be LEDs and CRT monitors.
So I'm guessing that Forrester Research's recent report painting a picture of the Apple of 2013 will look just as archaic five years from now. The 14-page document lays out one possible future for the company, extrapolated from Apple's recent developments and current direction. I'm not saying that there isn't s."some accuracy in what the analysts predict, but let's put it this way: if it was so easy to figure out what Apple will do in the future, then we probably wouldn't all be so in awe of what Steve Jobs and company manage to accomplish on a regular basis.
Also, we would all be filthy stinking rich.
Of course, we at Macworld have done our own fair-share of peering into the crystal ball. Late last year I was asked for some prognostications about 2008, and I obliged. While two out of the three have already come true (and the third looks to be fulfilled in the next couple weeks), they're not exactly what you might call "bold predictions." Actually, they're about one step above guessing that Steve Jobs is going to wear a black turtleneck and jeans to the next keynote event. I know: my powers of clairvoyance often amaze even myself.
Forrester's somewhat more ambitious report describes several "pillars" of what they see as Apple's 2013 existence, most of which focus on the idea of the digital home--a wheel of networked devices with Apple at its hub. Steve has spoken of the digital hub for years now and the philosophy has informed Apple's forays into music, video, photos, and the Web.
But the report seems to largely make two kinds of predictions: those that are, to we who follow Apple closely anyway, blindingly obvious (the iTunes Store evolving to handle other sorts of contents, or the Apple TV gaining more features) and those that veer more towards the ridiculous end of the spectrum (Apple moving into the home installation market or starting to make digital picture frames and clock radios).
In terms of a future full of Apple devices, look at the moves Apple has made into the home so far. Its attempt at creating an iPod speaker system, the iPod Hi-Fi, never managed to rise above the crowd of competing devices, and even Steve Jobs conceded that the first version of the Apple TV was a failure. And I disagree with Forrester's assessment that Apple will incorporate Blu-ray or a DVR into the Apple TV because I think Steve Jobs views the future of television as video you download from the iTunes Store--no extra media or cables required.
But more generally, think of the design trends of the Mac mini, Airport Extreme, and Apple TV: small boxes that aren't covered with buttons or distracting lights and are designed to be stacked out of sight. Filling your home with a network of digital picture frames and clock radios doesn't seem to me to be the Apple way.
Forrester also suggests that providing an in-house installation team is the logical extension of Apple's Genius Bar customer support, which I find difficult to believe. Again, it's a matter of simplicity: Apple has always made a point of creating technology that is easy for everyone to set up. Think of the original iMac (take it out of the box, plug it in, turn it on) or the fact that you can activate your iPhone via iTunes. The whole point of Apple's technology is that you don't need anybody to help you, because it would be like asking someone to help you turn on your TV or open your window.
I keep coming back to this--Steve Jobs's Thoreau-esque tendency towards simplification. Where Forrester sees a proliferation of "clock radio" and digital picture frame devices, I can't help but think that Jobsian approach is more about technology not being ostentatious. This picture of Steve from 1982 sums it up for me. While I'm sure his life is hardly as uncluttered now as it was then, Steve hasn't abandoned his tenets of simplicity and elegance. Apple continues to be about creating technology that's so easy you don't even notice you're using it.
Forrester's report--like any prognostication really--is somewhere between right and wrong. Predicting the future is not an exact science--heck, it's not any kind of science. In a world where the weatherman often can't give a simple yes or no answer to a question like "Is it going to rain tomorrow?" the idea of guessing what a company--a notoriously unpredictable company, at that--will look like five years from now is an exercise in futility.
Could Apple do the things that Forrester suggests? Almost certainly: in fact, many of the things that the report predicts are well within the company's reach today. But when it comes to Apple, the interesting questions never begin with "could they...", but rather with "would they...". Apple likes to choose its battles carefully, and it likes to make things that delight and surprise people. Would anyone in 2002 have predicted that Apple would make the iPhone--much less the subtle nuances of how it works or what it would look like? I doubt it. So, don't be too surprised when the next big thing out of Apple is something that nobody predicted. After all, that's just the way we like it.

Patent: iPhone to Give Alert Before Dropping Call

AppleInsider has found an Apple patent filing describing a method of providing iPhone or iPod touch users with an "out of range" warning that includes an estimate of the amount of time remaining until the device is out of network range, thus presenting the users with an opportunity to take corrective measures if they so desire. Apple said such warnings can take many forms, such as a vibratory warning, audible warning, or visual warning. More interesting, however, is that in the context of iPhone on a cellular network, the concept would aim to warn users when it appears as if a call is likely to be dropped and allow them reposition themselves to prevent a disconnection. "If the estimated amount of time until the wireless device projected to be out of range is less than [a] threshold, a tangible warning is issued to that effect," Apple said. "In this way, warnings are only issued for those situations where the loss of signal would affect the user in the here and now and thereby prevent unnecessary (and potentially annoying) warnings being issued."

QuarkXPress 8 Released

Today Quark announced QuarkXPress 8, the next major release of the industry standard page-layout and design software that revolutionized publishing more than 20 years ago. QuarkXPress 8 delivers superior design power through a new, intuitive interface developed purposefully for the creation of high-end page layout; print, Web and Flash authoring tools; design-driven typography; and global publishing capabilities — all of which enable designers to push creativity to its limits with confidence and control. Enhanced Design Experience QuarkXPress 8 offers users an enhanced design experience so they can work faster and smarter by quickly and easily accessing the tools they need. The new, intuitive interface delivers updates that allow for more design with fewer clicks. For example: -- Picture Content Tool: Allows users to grab, rotate, and scale images in real-time without typing in numbers or switching from tool to tool. -- Item Tool and Text Content Tool: Smart behavior within these tools allows for less switching between tools, even for rotation and managing multiple items. -- New Bézier Pen Tools: Draw illustrations directly in QuarkXPress 8 with the redefined Bézier Pen tool. -- Workspace Enhancements: Include new buttons for instant access to master pages and exporting to PDF, EPS, SWF, and HTML— plus new split-view buttons, enhanced contextual menus, and customizable active pasteboards. -- Measurements Palette: Further enhanced to make even more functions easily accessible, including new clickable controls for on-the-fly drop-shadow modification. -- Drag-and-Drop: Drag text and pictures from the desktop, Adobe® Bridge, iPhoto®, or any other application that supports drag and drop. Alternatively, drag content from QuarkXPress to Photoshop®, Illustrator®, Microsoft® Word, and other applications for direct editing. The new interface and design experience QuarkXPress 8 brings is already receiving positive reviews from industry experts. Analyst and consultant Andreas Pfeiffer is the author of many productivity reports for the design and publishing industry and specializes in benchmarking creative software. He notes, “QuarkXPress 8 manages one of the most difficult tasks in software development: to rethink the user interface to make it more efficient, more productive, and more enjoyable, without alienating the experienced user. The potential productivity gains of the new release should be considerable.” David Carson, world-renowned designer who's first book, The End of Print, is the top-selling graphic design book of all time, said, "In QuarkXPress 8 you can see Quark has really paid attention to how designers work. The new user interface is fluid and uncluttered, which is exactly the environment I like to design in. I love the new picture box features that enable mouse-driven manipulation of the images to scale, rotate and especially the live cropping previews. It means I no longer have to spend time switching tools or typing in numbers and the new drag and drop capabilities should make working between applications and my desktop even easier." Designer-driven Typography QuarkXPress has always had a reputation for precise typographic control, and QuarkXPress 8 delivers powerful and advanced text features in a way that puts even more control in the hands of the designer. It is the first page-layout application to offer hanging characters with paragraph-by-paragraph control, multiple and easy-to-use presets, and the freedom for users to create and share their own hanging character settings. QuarkXPress 8 also offers unprecedented control over baseline grid settings, the ability to apply unique grid settings to individual boxes, and a Grid Styles feature that can keep even complex documents consistent. Design Across Media QuarkXPress 8 allows for synchronized and simultaneous design across print, Web, and Flash. Users can incorporate sound, video, animation, and interactivity into their layouts through a built-in, designer-friendly interactive layout tool that was previously available as Quark Interactive Designer. Without any programming skills, designers and creative professionals can share print content on the Web and in Flash format without purchasing multiple applications or learning code. This functionality enables QuarkXPress users to create fully integrated print, Web, and Flash campaigns with shared images, text, styles, and more. Global Publishing With QuarkXPress 8, one global file format supports advanced eastern and western typography for more than 30 languages. All editions of QuarkXPress 8 share the same dictionaries, include hyphenation functionality, and support the import, formatting, and output of East Asian text. American and European users can switch the language of their user interface to fit their needs and all users can open and print a file created in any edition of QuarkXPress 8 without experiencing reflow. The QuarkXPress 8 Plus Edition is built for users who require in-depth features for the formatting of East Asian text. The Plus Edition includes access to dozens of enhanced East Asian features, such as more than 20 additional OpenType® font features, a user-friendly character spacing feature, a true ideographic grid with character count, and the ability to apply grid styles that can be applied at the page and box level. Work Faster and Smarter QuarkXPress 8 users will work faster and smarter with a range of updates to commonly-used features. This includes native Illustrator file import to complement the existing native Photoshop® support, WYSIWYG font rendering, advanced guide management with Guide Manager Pro, Item Styles to enable simultaneous control of formatting for multiple items, support for importing PDF version 1.7 and earlier, and Ghent PDF Workgroup (GWG) based Output Styles and GWG-based Job Jackets® support. “QuarkXPress 8 demonstrates our understanding of the way designers work today, and underscores Quark’s commitment to continually providing innovative software that pushes the design experience forward,” said Tim Banister, General Manager of Desktop Technology for Quark. “We have combined highly intuitive software with the design control elements that are critical in the creative process, and as a result believe QuarkXPress 8 will not only be a seamless upgrade for existing QuarkXPress users, but the most accessible professional page-layout software for new users to learn as well.” Availability and Further Information QuarkXPress 8 will be available to purchase directly from Quark and through Quark resellers worldwide within the next 60 days. For further information on QuarkXPress 8 and the latest information on availability, please visit 8.quark.com.

Hi-Tech CEOs Offer Yahoo, Microsoft Merger Advice

Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc seem to hang out in all the same places but somehow keep missing each other.
That's turned speculation over what it will take to get the two of them together into something of a CEO parlor game.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch said this week he is "mystified" the two have not come to terms. E-commerce mogul Barry Diller said Microsoft should never have fired a hostile shot at Yahoo if they didn't plan to stick it out.
Yahoo board member Bobby Kotick joked that he had tried to get top executives from Microsoft and Yahoo together to play Guitar Hero 4, the hit video game from the company he runs, Activision Inc.
In separate appearances at the D: Conference this week, the top executives of Microsoft and Yahoo said no progress had been made on a merger, though they were discussing lesser deals.
The two had held abortive takeover talks over a three-month period that ended May 3, Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock has said.
Microsoft walked away from a proposal to buy Yahoo for $47.5 billion, or $33 a share, after Yahoo rebuffed it, saying it wanted $37 a share. Then in mid-May, the companies said they had begun talks on an unspecified deal short of a merger.
On Wednesday, Yahoo's co-founder and chief executive, Jerry Yang, threw cold water on speculation that they might be edging back into merger discussions.
"Microsoft is no longer interested in buying the company, and we are talking about other things. We definitely have to understand what they're proposing ... they clearly have an interest in Yahoo, and we need to understand more," he said.
In an on-stage interview at the conference, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said talks had broken down largely over price. Appearing with Yang, Yahoo President Susan Decker agreed price had always been the biggest barrier to reaching a deal.
Diller, who runs the company behind rival Ask.com, believes a merger of Microsoft and Yahoo is necessary to gain the scale to take on Google in Web search and advertising.
Diller expressed surprise at Microsoft's decision to withdraw its offer and "move on" after pursuing Yahoo at regular intervals over the past two years.
"It seems to me if you fire a gun in a hostile offer, the bullet has to land in the heart," he said in his own on-stage appearance at the conference on Wednesday. "Otherwise, I can't imagining firing at all."
Murdoch agreed, saying that given the original 62 percent premium Microsoft was willing to pay for Yahoo, Ballmer should be more patient.
"You aim the gun and you fire," Murdoch said, echoing Diller. "They are not used to big deals, so they backed off."
Murdoch's News Corp has gotten nowhere in its own efforts to talk to both sides in recent months about alternative deal arrangements involving his MySpace Web business.
The wily 77-year-old deal-maker ruled out prospects for an alternative deal between Yahoo and Google Inc to succeed, saying regulatory issues would likely derail it.
And he dismissed activist investor Carl Icahn's campaign to replace the Yahoo board in a proxy fight at the company's July annual shareholder meeting as "helpful noise" to Microsoft and a threat that Yahoo shouldn't bother worrying about.
"That is not serious," Murdoch said of Icahn. "Look, he wants to make a few hundred-million dollars for himself."
Murdoch's conclusion is that Microsoft and Yahoo need to lock themselves in a room and put their last respective offers on the table and settle on a deal.
Speaking as if he were one of the negotiators, Murdoch said "Look, if it is complicated, we will clean it up afterward."
Anticipating the flood of free advice from other executives, Yahoo made up its own joke video in which Yang and Decker are seen being inundated with unsolicited advice from top technology industry CEOs, investors and media pundits.
Warren Buffett's advice to Yang? "Buy low, sell high."

The iPhone patent: Steven P. Jobs, inventor

The US Patent and Trademark Office has revealed a mammoth document that can only be described as The iPhone Patent, a 371-page spectacular that covers Apple's handheld multi-touch UI paradigm in excruciating detail. Many of the mocked-up screen shots depicted in the paperwork are dead ringers for screens that we're well acquainted with in the production phone, while others represent ideas that either haven't finished cooking or eventually found their way into the Cupertino circular file (follow the break for a picture of a home screen with dedicated "Blog" and dictionary apps, for instance). The application also mentions "modules" for video conferencing, GPS, and other currently non-existent (though widely expected) functionality. And in case there's any doubt over who was responsible for this compendium of legalese, industrial design, and technical diagrams, one only need look at the header of page 1: "Jobs et al." Yep, Steve himself wasn't the least bit shy about taking credit atop an entire column of company A-listers for inventing the iPhone's trademark user interface, which we're guessing came about from a mix of equal parts truth, ego, and ass-kissing from the legal department down the hall. Seriously though, if you're Scott Forstall down there at number two on the Inventors list, what are you going to do -- go boardroom showdown all John Sculley-style?

O2 Fires Staff After iPhone Discount Scam

O2 has fired half a dozen employees for purchasing iPhones at staff discount and then selling them for profit. After using generous discounts of 20% or more, staff have sold on the phones on eBay, according to a company source. 'It is actually nothing new that staff in mobile phone shops have supplemented income with this abusive perk,' said one industry source. 'What is fresh is that O2 is cracking down on the practice in a sign that mobile firms are no longer prepared to turn a blind eye. The iPhone is an iconic product for O2 and it makes sense to start there, but I predict that we will see this spread across the sector. The days when this kind of scam could be ignored are over.' Twenty more staff members are believed to be under investigation.

Adobe Unveils Acrobat 9 Software

Adobe introduced Adobe Acrobat 9 software, a significant upgrade that will transform the process of creating and sharing electronic documents. Acrobat 9 delivers native support for Adobe Flash® technology, the ability to unify a wide range of content in rich PDF Portfolios, and access to real-time capabilities for co-navigating a PDF document with colleagues. “The expectations organizations and individuals have for communicating and collaborating in the workplace continues to grow significantly,” said Rob Tarkoff, senior vice president, Business Productivity Business Unit. “The ability to break through and communicate a message in a compelling way has never been at a greater premium. Acrobat 9 is a response to this environment and is poised to fundamentally change how professionals communicate and collaborate using electronic documents.” For the first time, Acrobat 9 provides deep support for Adobe Flash technology, enabling users to include Adobe Flash Player compatible video and application files in PDF documents. Recipients simply need free Adobe Reader® 9 software to consume the content. Now, static documents can come to life as dynamic communications. Acrobat 9 also includes the ability to unify a wide range of content into a single document with the new concept of PDF Portfolios. PDF Portfolios enable business professionals to assemble multiple media types, such as documents, video, audio, and even 3D objects, into one, compressed PDF file. Users can then choose among several professional layouts—or create their own—to quickly integrate content, define navigation, and add polish and branding. As a result, communications such as sales proposals, legal documents, and product collateral can become far more customized and compelling. In addition, Acrobat 9 provides access to capabilities for collaborating live within a PDF document—enabled by working with Acrobat.com, a new suite of hosted services Adobe introduced as public beta today. For example, a salesperson could use Acrobat 9 to send a lengthy contract to clients. The sales professional, or any of the recipients using Adobe Reader1, can then drive the group’s navigation through the PDF document in real-time working with Acrobat.com. This helps ensure everyone is literally, and figuratively, on the same page. Additionally, Acrobat 9 users can access Acrobat.com for storing and sharing files, use it as a central location for collecting data as part of a forms process, and to gather comments in a shared document review. Acrobat.com includes other services, such as Adobe ConnectNow, personal Web conferencing that provides desktop sharing, video and voice conferencing, and integrated chat; and Adobe Buzzword®, an elegant, Web-based word processor that can be used to easily co-author and share documents for comment and review, creating high-quality print results.

Ifbyphone Enhances Communications for iPhone

Ifbyphone, the telephone application platform company, today announced the new Ifbyphone Voice Broadcast application for Apple iPhones. Ifbyphone's Voice Broadcast application for iPhones enables users to send recorded messages to as many recipients as they wish without using any of the users' calling-plan minutes. The Ifbyphone telephone application platform delivers the broadcasts either immediately, or at a future scheduled time. The new Ifbyphone application will work with any iPhone running the v2 software, both the original iPhones and the highly anticipated new version. In addition, the Voice Broadcast feature will also work with the iPod(R) touch, providing access and capability to a wider audience. "Sales professionals and others are sure to find this new capability invaluable," said Ifbyphone CEO Irv Shapiro. "For example, a sales manager who is leaving town can now schedule a voice broadcast to go out to his or her sales team while away. What's more, this is an ideal application for Mom or Dad. With a couple of clicks, they can send messages to everyone in the family." After installing the Ifbyphone broadcast application, which will be available via iTunes distribution, the voice broadcast message is then created through a few fast and easy steps: -- Select the Ifbyphone Voice Broadcast application on the iPhone. -- Select the group of recipients from the iPhone's Address Book and enter the delivery date and time. -- The Ifbyphone service then calls out to the iPhone so the message can be recorded. The call-back recording feature allows users to schedule messages even if they are outside of Wi-Fi range, since the voice message is recorded on the voice side of the network. On the iPod touch, the user will select the phone number of a phone he or she wants to be called on to record the message with Ifbyphone. "Since the voice broadcasts are delivered by the Ifbyphone telephone application platform, no iPhone calling-plan minutes are used, nor is there any requirement for the iPhone or iPod touch user to be online at the scheduled delivery time," Shapiro said. The Ifbyphone iPhone Voice Broadcast application and the enhanced Ifbyphone Voice Broadcast API (Application Programming Interface) will be available to users and developers starting July 1. The application is free, but requires an active Ifbyphone

How Android Will Change Your Shopping Experience Forever

Android application scan finds pricing and metadata for anything with a barcode. You will be able to source detailed reviews, search online/offline stores for better prices, get directions to other local stores, preview cd's (yes people still buy cd's unbelievably!) and check for books in the local library. Scan is an Android application that finds pricing and metadata for anything with a barcode. Here are some key features that make Scan stand out: * Automatic barcode recognition using onboard phone camera using ZXing library * Shows CD, DVD, or book cover along with detailed reviews from Amazon.com * Searches over a dozen stores, both online and brick+mortar o Highlights brick+mortar stores that are nearby, with option to call the store or get directions o Links to online storefronts to buy online from the phone * Tracklisting for CDs, along with option to play sample tracks right on phone

Android will be 100% open source, says Google

Contrary to some reports, everything that makes Android “Android”, including all the core platform components and libraries needed to port Android to new devices will be open sourced under commonly used, industry standard licenses, says Google.

What is open

I confirmed with three different Google employees at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco that the core Android platform will be 100% open source. Even multimedia codecs, which historically are held close to the vest will be open. Except where noted, everything will use the Apache software license (ASL v2). This is the same open source license used by projects like the Apache HTTP server, Tomcat, Harmony, and many other large projects in the open source community.
There are two exceptions to the Apache license rule:

• Software that is already covered by by a free/open source license will continue to use that license. Most notably, this includes Google’s enhancements to the Linux kernel. Linux uses the GNU Public License (GPL v2) so enhancements to the kernel will use the same license.
• Any software that touches Eclipse, for example the Eclipse Android Development Tools plug-in (ADT) will be licensed under the Eclipse Public License (EPL), because that’s what Eclipse uses.

What is not

Google chose the Apache license because it gives carriers, OEMs, and application developers the freedom to use whatever license they want for their own software. While Google encourages everyone to make their own code open if possible, it’s not required by the license. Even Google plans to make a few of their applications closed-source, including their GMail application. These programs are not part of the core Android system, even though they may be bundled with Android phones.
A Google employee I talked to felt the need to apologize for this. “We’re not holding it back for any nefarious purpose,” says Dick Wall on the Android team. “We’re simply not ready to publish the API that talks to the back end server.” This makes sense given Google’s extreme reluctance to be “stuck” with a poorly thought out API that they can’t support forever. This doesn’t preclude the company from opening up the source to those apps later.
Remember that up to now, all the software on your typical cell phone has been proprietary. With Android, carriers like Sprint and Cingular are free to use either open or closed source for any custom applications they install on their new Android phones. And of course, third party programs (like the ones you write) can be open or closed. It wouldn’t surprise me to see completely free/open distributions of Android which eschew any proprietary add-ons in favor of open source alternatives.

Microsoft's Dynamics AX 2009 Now Generally Available

The latest version of Microsoft's ERP (enterprise resource planning) software for upper-midmarket customers is now generally available, Microsoft announced Monday.
Major new components of Dynamics AX 2009 include a centralized "compliance center" that Microsoft has characterized as a "one-stop shop" for compliance-related information, and "self-service" BI (business intelligence), which enables users to access KPIs (key performance indicators) directly from the client.
"We're really trying to bring BI to the masses," said Kees Hertogh, director of product management.
Also, a workflow engine allows users to set internal rules around common processes, such as setting the maximum cost of a hotel room reimbursement on an employee's expense sheet, Hertogh explained during a product demo.
In addition, the release features a series of role-based interfaces, which present different views of information depending on a user's job; and support for complying with legal regulations in 36 countries.
Overall, the look and feel of the software -- as well as the rest of the Dynamics line -- evokes Microsoft Office. The company is seeking to blur the line "between the Office and ERP experience," Hertogh said.
But one thing Microsoft is not looking to change, at least for now, is the way it sells the product.
While the company recently launched an on-demand CRM (customer relationship management) application, it has no similar plans to announce for Dynamics AX, and it will continue to be sold through partners, according to Hertogh.
The AX 2009 release will be available in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S., according to the company.
Notable omissions from the list are the emerging economic superpowers, China and Russia.
Support for those countries and others will come in either a second release wave later this year, or in a third scheduled for early 2009, according to Hertogh.
A recent Forrester Research report on Dynamics called AX "Microsoft's enterprise play for the future," but noted that Microsoft will have to beef up supporting capabilities such as human resources and MDM (master data management) before it can "move to larger enterprises with full-suite requirements."
But in the meantime, there is still opportunity for it to land business in the biggest companies, said Ray Wang, one of the report's authors.
"People are really looking at alternatives right now, especially as they go through this [ERP] upgrade cycle," Wang said. "We've had big oil and gas companies come to us and say, 'Hey, can we run Dynamics in our subsidiaries?' "
However, Microsoft will have to compete for those seats with the likes of Workday, Epicor and a host of other competitors, he noted.

Sci-fi Writers: New Tech Will Bring More Security Challenges

If IT security professionals think they have challenges now, they should wait until new technologies such as quantum computing and devices embedded in skin arrive in the not-so-distant future, three science-fiction writers said Monday.
The writers envisioned a near future where quantum computing, and its foundations in parallel states, could mean attacks coming from parallel worlds. Theories dealing with quantum computing would suggest parallel universes exit, said Greg Bear, author of more than 30 science-fiction and fantasy books.
"Let's get really paranoid now," said Bear, during a roundtable at the Gartner IT Security Summit near Washington, D.C. "Consider you could be hacked by people not of your universe."
Perhaps a more likely scenario is that quantum computing, with its theoretical ability to work on a million computations at once, could destroy current encryption methods, said Robert Sawyer, a futurist and sci-fi author. "Does that mean that the notion of secure communication, secure transactions, is going to crumble around us in the next one to two decades?" he said.
Bear agreed, suggesting quantum computing might usher in a world beyond security. "You'll have to assume someone out there is going to understand what you're doing, or have access to what you're doing," he said.
Bear also suggested that computing devices will eventually become so small that they will be embedded or painted onto the skin. People will be able to exchange information by shaking hands, he said. As that happens, there will be constant attempts to hack into the embedded devices, steal information and insert information such as advertisements, he said.
He also predicted new computing models based on biology and genomics. The study of the use of biological matter in computing devices is virtually untapped, he said.
Sawyer asked the other writers what will happen to the World Wide Web.
"It's just an interim product like everything else," Bear said.
Arlan Andrews, founder of the Sigma science-fiction think tank, suggested that there will be thousands of interconnected virtual worlds, some on the Web and some using other technology. "You'll be able to switch in and out of all the virtual worlds by blinking your eye or something like that," he said.
There will be private virtual worlds for some transactions, but many of the worlds will be open to anyone, he predicted. There will be virtual organized crime.
The problem for IT security will be how to decipher what's genuine and what's not in these virtual worlds, he said. "Truth-telling technology is going to be very important," he said.
One audience member asked what IT security workers and other security experts can learn from science fiction about assessing risks.
Bear noted that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has asked the Sigma think tank to look for unexpected risks. "The bullet you don't hear is the one that gets you," he said.
Sawyer blamed "Star Trek" and its swashbuckling Captain James Kirk for some of the failures in the U.S. space program, including the Challenger explosion.
"A whole generation of NASA engineers inspired by 'Star Trek' learned the lesson of Captain Kirk, that is when your engineer says, 'Captain, the engines can't take any more,' the gutsy, manly, winning strategy is to say, 'there are tolerances beyond what the engineer knows about,'" he said. "The winning strategy is to ignore the risk. 'Star Trek' and science fiction in general, again and again and again, has said ... take the gutsy move, and you'll get to meet the Orion slave girl."

QuarkXPress 8 Takes on InDesign

It's a different game for Quark these days. Once, its flagship QuarkXPress was far and away the leading software for professional print publishing; but its market share has eroded in recent years, faced with tough competition from upstart rival Adobe InDesign.
Quark isn't taking the challenge lying down. On Thursday it announced QuarkXPress 8, a new version that adds intriguing new features to the venerable publishing platform. The question that remains is whether this new release will be enough to push Quark back into the limelight, or whether past mistakes have cost it the crown for good.
Among the new features for QuarkXPress 8 are Bézier pen tools for quick drawing directly onto a page, better interoperability with image-editing software (including Adobe's), improved typographic controls, WYSIWYG font rendering, and a redesigned user interface.
What's more, Quark has redoubled its focus on the Web -- arguably the hottest segment of today's publishing industry -- with a number of new tools. In addition to supporting export to HTML and PDF, QuarkXPress 8 now offers native Flash authoring, right from within the program. Designers can publish simultaneously to print, PDF, and the Web, including Flash movies.
But let's face it: A slim feature set was never Quark's problem. Longtime QuarkXPress users who jumped ship to InDesign will remember how long it took Quark to release a version for Mac OS X, not to mention playing catch-up with Adobe. (Even some of the new features in QuarkXPress 8 have been available in some form since early versions of InDesign.) And other long-suffering print designers I've met have expressed an almost pathological hatred of Quark over some of its past business practices, such as charging for tech support.
If you're a print publishing professional yourself, are you willing to let bygones be bygones? Is Quark still your tool of choice, and is this latest version a welcome upgrade? Or are you moving ahead with InDesign, even if that means submitting to an Adobe monoculture in the graphic design software market? Sound of in the PC World Community Forums.

Windows 7 to Have Touch-screen Interface

Microsoft demonstrated its multitouch interface for its upcoming Windows 7 operating system on Tuesday. The interface provides a touch-screen input for users to interact with their computers.
Multitouch uses Surface technology, introduced last year by Microsoft, which harnesses touch and multitouch capabilities to provide users with a more natural way to interact directly with computing devices. Expect to see the table-like Surface devices in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues, Chris Flores, a director at Microsoft working on the Windows Client Communications Team, said in the Windows Vista Team blog on Tuesday.
In a demo to the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference, Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows experience program management, showed a number of applications that could use the multitouch technology, including photography applications that enable a user to handle photos on the screen more easily. The user can drag and drop snaps, zoom in, and rotate snaps with his fingers. The musically inclined can play with their fingers on an on-screen piano keyboard.
In a blog entry on Tuesday, Flores said that the long-term architectural investments Microsoft introduced in Windows Vista and then refined for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 will carry forward in Windows 7. Contrary to some speculation, Microsoft is not creating a new kernel for Windows 7, he said. One of the design goals for Windows 7 is that it will run on the recommended hardware specified for Windows Vista and that the applications and devices that work with Windows Vista will be compatible with Windows 7, Flores added.

Windows 7 Testing Must Start ASAP, Microsoft Warns Hardware Makers

Hardware makers that don't comply with the edict won't qualify for Microsoft's Windows Logo certified compatibility program for Windows 7 or Windows Vista. In an effort to avoid a repeat of the compatibility problems that plagued the launch of its Windows Vista operating system last year, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has ordered computer and other hardware makers to begin testing their devices on the forthcoming Windows 7 OS as soon as the first beta version becomes available.
Hardware makers that don't comply with the edict won't qualify for Microsoft's Windows Logo certified compatibility program for Windows 7 or Windows Vista. "Beginning with the first beta of Windows 7 all Windows Vista submissions must include a complete CPK with tests logs from Windows 7," Microsoft said in a 61-page bulletin to its hardware partners last week. CPK refers to a process control method used in software development.
Microsoft has not publicly disclosed when it expects to release a beta version of Windows 7. Given the company's customary timetables, however, it's likely the company will deliver the first Windows 7 beta sometime over the next couple of months. Microsoft has said it hopes to ship a final version of Windows 7 in late 2009 or early 2010.
Microsoft is likely taking the hard line in order to ensure that Windows 7 is compatible with the bulk of major hardware products out of the gate. The company was widely criticized upon Windows Vista's release last year for not doing a better job of ensuring hardware and application compatibility.
More than a year after its release, compatibility problems continue to plague Vista.
PCs from Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Gateway, Lenovo, and other major computer makers that contain a widely used Intel (NSDQ: INTC) chipset can't be upgraded to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 if they're running certain drivers.
The affected chipset is Intel's 945G Express series, which is used in computers from virtually all major system vendors. It's also found on standalone motherboards sold by Asus. The 945G Express chipset driver versions between numbers 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403 won't work with Vista SP1, according to Microsoft.
Chipsets provide a connection point for all key subsystems within a PC.
As a result of those glitches and others, many businesses have said they will delay, or bypass altogether, upgrading their PCs from Windows XP to Windows Vista and will wait for Windows 7.

Microsoft boss Bill Gates signals end of the computer mouse

Microsoft is developing a new touch screen operating system that could mean the end of the computer mouse, Bill Gates has announced. Windows 7 aims to build on the success of the touch screen systems developed by Microsoft's rival Apple's iPhone. Microsoft users will issue commands by touching the screen rather than by the traditional keyboard and mouse combination, which has dominated since the 1970s. Windows 7 is due to be released in 2010 and is Microsoft's attempt to catch-up with Apple, whose handheld iPhone has proved exceptionally popular. Windows 7 aims to build on the success of the touch screen systems developed by Microsoft's rival Apple's iPhone. Microsoft users will issue commands by touching the screen rather than by the traditional keyboard and mouse combination, which has dominated since the 1970s. Windows 7 is due to be released in 2010 and is Microsoft's attempt to catch-up with Apple, whose handheld iPhone has proved exceptionally popular.