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Friday, December 14, 2012

McNamee: Using Android is like ?having a motor scooter at the Indianapolis 500?

It looks like Microsoft?s (MSFT) new Windows 8 platform isn?t the only OS under fire. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Elevation Partners co-founder Roger McNamee fired shots all over the tech industry. As many recall,?McNamee led the webOS charge following his firm?s investment in Palm, so he might not exactly have his finger on the pulse of the wants and needs of the modern consumer. Then again, Elevation was an early investor in Facebook (FB), Yelp and others, so it has certainly made some smart moves in the past.?Some choice quotes from the interview follow below.

On Android:

?Android has been managed essentially to make it a profitless prosperity. Right now, if Google is (GOOG) not careful, Android will be Samsung or Samsung will be Android.?

?There is nothing wrong with Android as a product except that it does not do much. It is the equivalent of having a motor scooter at the Indianapolis 500.?

On Microsoft, Yahoo (YHOO) and Google:

?I am really frustrated when I look at Microsoft or Yahoo or even Google, remarkably enough, because it feels to me they are not trying to innovate. You hear not just Marissa Mayer, but the last couple generations of management at Yahoo have said that we?re going to buy our growth. At Microsoft, the same thing. They?re still so dedicated to Windows, that even though they own Skype and Xbox, two great platforms for the mobile market which could easily get them growing again, for whatever reason they seemed afraid to abandon the past.?

On Apple (AAPL):

?Apple showed that a large company can not only innovate, it can transform and really rebuild markets.?

On the whether it?s too early to write off Microsoft:

?Always. And way to early to write off Google. But I watch what they have done with Android and I?m flabbergasted because their market share in units is so high but look at the profit share. Apple?s profit share is 75 or 80% because Android has been managed essentially to make it a profitless prosperity. Right now, if Google is not careful, Android will be Samsung (005930) or Samsung will be Android.?

The full interview can be seen on Bloomberg?s site.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mcnamee-using-android-having-motor-scooter-indianapolis-500-154000504.html

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Windows Phone web store opens in 37 new countries, adds universal search, and supports installing apps via SD card

If you had any doubts about Microsoft's efforts to actually make an impact with Windows Phone 8, let this address them. After announcing that it'd be maintaining a full staff to certify apps through the holiday period, the outfit has just revealed that its web store for apps / games is now open in 37 new locations around the globe. (You can find the full list after the break.) All told, that makes 112 supported nations, complementing the phone store that's available now in 191 markets.

As for other changes? First off, universal search is being added -- instead of having to go one place to find apps and another to search for how-to articles, you'll now see all these search results in one place. The web store has also gained support for installing apps via SD card, which Microsoft points out could be useful when a solid cellular or WiFi connection is nowhere to be found. For the full spiel, head on over to the source link.

Continue reading Windows Phone web store opens in 37 new countries, adds universal search, and supports installing apps via SD card

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft

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Source: Windows Phone Blog

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/QURv87GThts/

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Best Productivity Apps 2012 - Business Insider

clear for mac This year we got a lot of stuff done.

Thanks to our smartphones we were able to get even more done than ever before.

In 2012, we saw several developers come up with great apps to help you stay on task. Plus, some big names in the space like Evernote completely revamped their product.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-productivity-apps-2012-2012-12

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Argentina/Ghana: 'Vulture funds' should not be allowed to paralyze ...

GENEVA, Switzerland, December 13, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The United Nations Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Cephas Lumina, urged world governments not allow ?vulture funds' to paralyze debt relief for heavily indebted countries, while expressing his concern about the continued impounding of the Argentinian navy training ship ?ARA Libertad'.

The Argentinian naval vessel has been impounded since 2 October 2012 in the port of Tema in Ghana on the basis of a court order obtained by the ?vulture fund' NML Capital Limited, a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of the US investment firm Elliot Capital Management. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is expected to announce a decision on the case between Argentina and Ghana on 15 December 2012.

??Vulture funds,' such as NML Capital, should not be allowed to purchase debts of distressed companies or sovereign States on the secondary market, for a sum far less than the face value of the debt obligation and then seek repayment of the nominal full face value of the debt together with interest, penalties and legal costs or impound assets of heavily indebted countries in an attempt to force repayment,? Mr. Lumina stressed.

?From a human rights perspective,? the UN expert said, ?reduced debt burdens and increased fiscal capacity contribute to the creation of the conditions necessary for the realization of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.?

NML Capital has been suing Argentina on the basis of debt arising from the country's defaulted bond swaps in 2005 and 2010. On 11 October 2011, the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court upheld the restraining orders placed on the Argentine naval vessel. NML Capital was only willing to release the frigate against a payment of USD 20 million in Argentinian bonds, and demands that Argentina settles USD 370 million of its debt.

The firm bought bonds from the heavily indebted Argentinian Government in 2000, a year before the country's USD 100 billion sovereign default. ?While the majority of creditors accepted a repayment at a lower nominal value (30 per cent) of sovereign debt, enabling the country to recover economically, NML Capital refused to participate in the debt restructuring offered by Argentina,? Mr. Lumina noted.

In 2001, the country successfully reduced its public debt from about 160 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Argentina's total public debt currently stands at around 40 per cent of the country's GDP.

The UN Guiding Principles* on Foreign Debt and Human Rights, endorsed by the Human Rights Council in June 2012, underscore that States, international financial institutions and private companies have an obligation to respect human rights, including the duty to refrain from formulating, adopting, funding, and implementing policies and programmes that directly or indirectly contravene the enjoyment of human rights.

According to the principles, ?loan agreements should impose clear restrictions on the sale or assignment of debts to third parties by creditors without the prior informed consent of the Borrower State concerned. Every effort must be directed towards achieving a negotiated settlement between the creditor and the debtor.? They also state that ?creditors should not sell sovereign debt on the secondary market to creditors that have previously refused to participate in agreed debt restructuring.?

?Successful debt restructuring for deeply indebted countries will be made impossible if vulture funds are allowed to paralyse debt relief,? Mr. Lumina warned, recalling that ?NML Capital already won a case against Peru in 2000, recovering 400% of what the fund paid for the country's distressed debt.?

The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights urged States to follow the example of the Channel Island of Jersey and the United Kingdom. Both recently adopted legislation to prevent vulture funds from pursuing excessive claims against heavily indebted countries before their national courts.

(*) Check the UN Guiding Principles on Foreign Debt and Human Rights: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/IEDebt/Pages/GuidingPrinciples.aspx

Source: http://www.africanews.it/english/argentinaghana-vulture-funds-should-not-be-allowed-to-paralyze-debt-relief-says-un-expert-on-the-eve-of-key-ruling/

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Sao Paulo awarded Copa Sudamericana final

Associated Press Sports

updated 3:13 a.m. ET Dec. 13, 2012

SAO PAULO (AP) - The image of Brazilian soccer in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup took a hit Wednesday when the final of the Copa Sudamericana was abandoned after visiting club Tigre accused security officials of pulling guns and beating its players.

Sao Paulo was awarded the title when Tigre refused to take the field for the second half of Wednesday's second leg of the final. Sao Paulo was leading 2-0, with the first leg having ended scoreless.

Officials of the Argentine club said their players and staff were beaten by security officials in the dressing room area at halftime and guns were drawn. The trouble off the pitch followed scuffles between the teams at the end of the first half.

Nestor Gorosito, the coach of Tigre, declined to take his team back on the field for the second half. He said security officials pulled guns on his players while others clubbed players and team officials.

"They pulled two revolvers," he said, referring to unspecified security officials. "We're not going to play anymore."

The chaotic scenes in Sao Paulo, before a sellout crowd of 65,000 at Morumbi stadium, is sure to trouble FIFA - the governing body of world soccer - which already has been frustrated by slow preparations for the World Cup.

Most of FIFA's angst so far has been focused on getting stadiums and new infrastructure in place. Now security also looms as a concern for the World Cup, which will be played at 12 venues across the country.

Violence on and off the pitch still blights many matches in South America, with Brazil and Argentina particularly affected. For the World Cup, FIFA relies on local officials and police to enforce safety at the stadiums.

The Confederations Cup, a preparatory event for the World Cup featuring eight national teams, will be played next year at six venues in Brazil.

With the 2016 Summer Games slated for Rio de Janeiro, Olympic officials also are sure to review the incident.

The trouble at the Morumbi stemmed from confrontations between the teams following a first half in which the hosts had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from Lucas and Osvaldo.

It was unclear what happened in the dressing room area, but Argentine television showed what appeared to be blood-spattered walls. Argentine television also showed several Tigre staff members with bruises and bloody faces.

"Police entered and struck our players with clubs," Gorosito told Argentine television. "It was crazy. What happened was crazy."

Romer Osuna, a Bolivian official with CONMEBOL, South America's governing body of soccer, said Tigre players were afraid to return to the field.

"The Tigre people declined to play because they considered security was not good enough," Osuna told Fox Sports.

Referee Enrique Osses of Chile awarded the victory to Sao Paulo after waiting about 30 minutes for Tigre to retake the field.

Sao Paulo scored twice in five minutes in the first half - a left-footed drive from Lucas in the 23rd and a lobbing shot from the right wing by Osvaldo in the 28th.

Sao Paulo, one of Latin America's most famous clubs, is a three-time winner of the Copa Libertadores, South America's most prestigious club tournament. It has also won the Club World Cup once, and twice won the Intercontinental Cup, the predecessor to the Club World Cup.

This was the club's first Copa Sudamericana title.

Tigre was playing in its first international final and has never won the Argentine first-division title.

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Google Maps Is Now Available for iOS Devices

Google Maps Is Now Available for iOS Devices, Offers Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions, Street View, and More iOS: iPhone and iPad users, your wait is over: Google has unveiled an official Google Maps app for iOS, and it's available now in the iTunes App Store. It comes with all of the features you'd expect: turn-by-turn voice-guided driving directions, transit and walking directions, 2D and 3D maps, Street View and aerial imagery, and more.

If you don't see Google Maps in the iTunes App Store now, wait a bit?Google says it's rolling out across the globe right now. We tried it out, and it works as advertised: a similar experience to Google Maps in Android, and the addition of Google's great turn-by-turn driving directions is a nice bonus. The search box at the top of any screen doesn't just search locations, it also searches nearby businesses and destinations that you may be interested in, and tapping them brings up their Google Local information, so you can call, see them on a map, read more information, or get directions.

Indoor and outdoor Street View data is included as well, so you can use the app to just browse maps of the globe, or see the inside of popular landmarks and other nearby destinations. You can also toggle 3D view and aerial/satellite photos. The app is built for iPhone, but works just fine blown up on an iPad too. Google Maps is free of course, and available now.

Google Maps (Free) | iTunes App Store via Official Google Blog

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/2t_taqdY49w/google-maps-is-now-available-for-ios-devices

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Google Maps for iOS hands-on

After a surprise launch, Google Maps for iOS is at last available, at least for those of us who leapt on the release as soon as the download hit the servers. In theory, it's the panacea for every iOS user who's been missing advanced mass transit directions or just Google's well-known map accuracy and turn-by-turn navigation. But is it really enough to make up for the current state of Maps, or kick alternatives like Nokia Here to the curb? Or keep those of us on the fence from switching platforms just for a better map service? Read after the break for our quick tour.

Gallery: Google Maps for iOS hands-on