Sun Releases JavaFX Preview

By Antone GonsalvesInformationWeek

Sun MicrosystemsWeb developmentplatformAdobe's FlexMicrosoft's Silverlight.

In general, JavaFX and the competing platforms are used to build applications that run in a browser, but have functionality similar to applications running natively on a PC. JavaFX applications are written to standard application programming interfaces for Java runtime environments widely deployed on desktops, notebooks, and mobile phones.

The latter capability is one of JavaFX's key advantages, according to Sun.

"Only the Java platform is pervasive enough to allow developers to build and deploy RIAs [rich internet applications] across desktops and browsers on more than 800 million PCs, as well as billions of mobile phones and devices," Ken Wallich, VP of JavaFX at Sun, said in a statement. "JavaFX builds upon this foundation to deliver immersive and rich presentation capabilities to the existing Java platform."

The JavaFX Preview, released Thursday for download, is meant to help early adopters become familiar with the platform and is not meant for commercial applications. The components of the platform are a software development kit, the NetBeans 6.1 integrated development environment with integrated JavaFX plug-in, the Java Runtime Environment 6 Update 10 Beta, and Project Nile.

Project Nile is a tool that makes it possible to export art created in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator into the same assets directory used by JavaFX developers. As a result, developers get easy access to the art, and changes to the graphics are automatically updated in applications.

The JavaFX SDK includes a compiler and runtime tools and 2-D graphics and media libraries, as well as tutorials, API documentation, and sample code.

The first version of JavaFX will be for developing applications that can run in browsers and on the desktop. That version is expected to ship in the fall. The first version for mobile phones is scheduled to ship next spring.

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Yahoo chairman defends merger stance at meeting

By Eric Auchard

Yahoo IncMicrosoft Corp

Yahoo's board "called the shots" when discussing
Microsoft's proposals, including a $47.5 billion buyout bid as
well as attempts to buy Yahoo's Web search business, Chairman
Roy Bostock said.

There was never any doubt that directors were open to a
deal with Microsoft, Bostock said, adding he could not
understand why the software maker withdrew its full takeover
offer.

"There was never a compelling offer put on the table,"
Bostock said at the shareholder meeting at a hotel in San Jose,
California. "That never occurred in this process."

A Microsoft spokesman disputed Bostock's version of events,
saying "Yahoo is attempting to rewrite history yet again."

Yahoo shareholders criticized the board and management,
highlighting the dissatisfaction that has dogged the company's
shares since talks about a full Microsoft acquisition broke up
in May.

"I think you have overpaid in terms of executive
compensation, overplayed your hand with Microsoft and
overstayed your welcome on the board," said Eric Jackson, a
vocal critic of Yahoo's leadership.

Jackson is a fund manager with Ironfire Capital in Tampa,
Florida, and holder of 250 Yahoo shares, who leads a loose-knit
group of 150 other shareholders who collectively own 3.2
million shares.

Another investor said he wanted to know how much time Yahoo
directors spent doing their jobs to earn their pay.

"I'd like to see timesheets posted on the Internet for the
work of the directors as well as the executives of the
company," said Dirk Neyhart, a retired stockbroker from
Berkeley, California, who said he holds less than 1,000 shares
of Yahoo. He holds shares in more than 600 companies, he said.

26-HOUR DAYS

Bostock said he would be happy to comply, given the
considerable time spent negotiating with Microsoft over the
last six months.

"It's been about 26 hours in the course of a 24-hour day,"
Bostock said.

Nine Yahoo candidates were standing for election to the
board on Friday, including Bostock and Chief Executive Jerry
Yang, who have borne the brunt of investor anger over the
collapsed deal.

Yang painted an optimistic view of Yahoo's ability to
capture the shift of advertising dollars to the Internet, even
as the company lags behind rival Google Inc.

The Yahoo co-founder said his company expects 335 million
additional Internet users to come online worldwide by 2010, for
a total potential audience of 1.56 billion.

A majority of these Web users will be in Asia or emerging
markets, Yang said, where Yahoo has a strong Web presence.

Carl
IcahnJonathan Millercorporate parent Time Warner Incjoining YahooActivision Blizzard

(Additional reporting by Michele Gershberg and Kenneth Li
in New York and Anupreeta Das in San Francisco; Editing by
Braden Reddall)

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SMS Still Earns Most In Mobile Messaging

By Marin PerezInformationWeek

In a recent report titled "Mobile Messaging Services," the research firmed found that SMS will provide $177 billion in global revenue in 2013.

This represents about 83% of the expected $212 billion in revenue mobile messaging will reach in five years. For the study, ABI divided the market into five segments: SMS, MMS, voice mail, instant messaging, and e-mail/unified messaging.

The research firm noted that regional differences will be key in the success of messaging expansion into the Web, advertising, and mobile social networking.

"Innovative companies are exploring opportunities for expanding mobile messaging access to Web sites as well as targeting customers with content and ads," principal analyst Dan Shey said in a statement. "To be successful with these enhanced services, companies that supply mobile messaging products and services must understand the regional distributions for customer type, payment preferences, message delivery method, and usage."

The research firm also noted that these regional difference could cause established players to re-evaluate their business models.

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Microsoft Adds Windows Live Search To Facebook

By Paul McDougallInformationWeek

searchFacebooknetworking

Under the agreement, Microsoft will provide Facebook with an application programming interface that will add Windows Live Search directly into the Facebook environment. Facebook users' Web queries will produce search results and paid search ads generated by Microsoft's search engine.

"We're excited about even using that as an opportunity to further extend the Live Search reach," said Microsoft senior VP Satya Nadella, who spoke Thursday at Microsoft's annual meeting with investment analysts at its Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

Financial details of the arrangement were not released. Nadella said the service would launch in the fall.

Facebook, which claims more than 90 million active users, could help Microsoft increase its share of the market considerably.

On Thursday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said an acquisition of Yahoo would have simply been a "tactic" and "not a strategy" to help the company grow its search business. Indeed, beyond the Facebook deal, Microsoft has made other moves recently to build out its search offerings.

Earlier this month, Microsoft acquired Powerset for a reported $100 million. The company specializes in an esoteric form of Web querying called semantic search. The technique uses a variety of linguistic tools to interpret the meaning of search phrases to produce the most accurate results. The method has been in development for more than 10 years.

In January, Microsoft reached an agreement to acquire enterprise search company Fast Search & Transfer for $1.2 billion.

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Samsung Handset Sales Up, But Expects Slowdown

By W. David GardnerInformationWeek

Samsung Electronics

The diversified company posted earnings of $2.12 billion on sales of $18 billion.

Citing the worldwide economic slowdown and increased competition, Samsung said it anticipated tough business months ahead.

"We posted very strong results," said investor relations executive Chu Woosik, according to media reports. But "it's unlikely that we will be achieving a sharp recovery [in the next quarter]." Samsung stock was down about 4% in early trading on Friday.

Handset sales were a bright spot for Samsung as the company reported total handset sales of 92 million for the first two quarters; that represented a 20% increase from the same period in the previous year.

In recent months, Samsung's Instinct smartphone has taken off like a rocket for Sprint, which reported that more units of the smartphone were sold in one week for EV-DO users than any other phone in that category.

Samsung, which is also the largest maker of DRAM memory chips, said it expects the sector to remain challenged in the coming months, following the second quarter's 5.9% operating profit margin. Samsung has been upgrading the equipment in its memory unit.

Earlier this month, Samsung began mass production of 128-GB solid-state drives; the company also said it plans to begin production of 256-GB solid-state drives by the end of this year.

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Tableau Takes on Geospatial Analysis

By Doug HenschenIntelligent Enterprise

Google MapsTableau Software

"For the average worker or business analysts, the 'where' questions often aren't complicated enough to require a GIS tool and knowledge of cartography and map layers," says Elissa Fink, vice president of marketing. "At the other end of the spectrum, MapPoint and Google Mashups are great ways to display data, but they're not intended for analytics. We wanted to make maps part of the analytic workflow within Tableau."

Tableau 4.0 is said to marry data and geospatial analysis so users can click to create insightful analytic maps (see samples below). Data elements such as city, state and country are now automatically recognized as mappable dimensions, and users can also assign geospatial rules to selected dimensions. Once maps are created, users can also change the way data is presented and drill down into the underlying information without a need to understand map layers or complex geographic parameters.

Other upgrades in Tableau 4.0 include support for embedding visualizations within Web applications, Web sites and portals such as Microsoft SharePoint. Conversely, Web applications can also be embedded into Tableau.

Usability enhancements in 4.0 include a new drag-and-drop user interface that lets you grab analyses by looking at thumbnails as well as file names. In addition, logos and custom shapes can be added to maps and scatter plots, and Web-based users can customize and share their data views with colleagues.

Tableau 4.0 will be released on August 7. The desktop software starts at $999 per named user.

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Carnegie Mellon 'Last Lecture' Professor Dies

By ReutersInformationWeek

Pausch died at home of complications from pancreatic
cancer, Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught for 10
years, reported on its Web site.

The computer science professor was best known for his "last
lecture," entitled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,"
which he gave in September 2007 just weeks after learning he
was suffering from terminal cancer.

Footage of the poignant and inspirational lecture became a
hit on the Internet, viewed by millions of people.

A book based on the talk, "The Last Lecture," was
translated into 30 languages and became an international
bestseller, Carnegie Mellon, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said
on its Web site.

In the lecture, Pausch spoke about the dreams he had
achieved, such as writing a World Book Encyclopedia entry and
experiencing zero gravity. But he said he learned more from the
dreams he had not achieved, such as his desire to be a
professional football player.

He said he delivered the lecture as a guide for his three
young children.

"I'm attempting to put myself in a bottle that will one day
wash up on the beach for my children," the university quoted
him as saying.

In the field of computer science, Pausch created an
educational software tool known as "Alice," which lets students
create three-dimensional computer animations.

He is survived by his wife Jai and their children Dylan,
Logan and Chloe as well as his mother and his sister.

The family plans a private burial in Virginia, where Pausch
and his family moved last fall. A campus memorial service also
is being planned, the university said.
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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