Top 15 Companies Founded By Ex-Employees Of Google

 

In recent years, many Xooglers (that’s what former Googlers call themselves) left Google and went on to start-up new businesses and made headlines everywhere. Some of the companies were acquired by Google and the founders started working for Google again.

1. Ooyala

Ooyala is a platform for online video publishing and monetization. Founded by ex-Googlers Sean Knapp, Bismarck Lepe, and Belsasar Lepe in 2007, it links ads to video content, and provides a host of additional enterprise-level features, including analytics and mobile delivery.

Since launch, Ooyala and its video platform Backlot have been used by major companies to manage and monetize their video assets, including Dell, Electronic Arts, Hearst Corporation, and Telegraph Media Group.

 

2. Dasient

Planting malware on innocent websites is a convenient way for cyber-criminals to distribute viruses without e-mailing each of their victims individually. The sites that they target often end up remaining on the blacklists of security software and search engines even after they’ve removed the problem.

Dasient helps sites by monitoring for malicious code so they won’t end up on the dreaded blacklist. Two of the three founders who launched the company in 2009 are former Google employees. Neil Daswani was a Google security engineer manager and Shariq Rizvi was a member of Google’s Webserver and App Engine teams. The third founder, Ameet Ranadive, is a former McKinsey strategy consultant.

 

3. TellApart

Created by the guys who founded the Google AdWords API team in 2004, TellApart works with a company’s own e-commerce data to identify their best customers and predict who will be their best customers in the future. It also creates customized display ads for those customers, and serves them off-site.

4. Cuil

It’s not surprising that Anna Patterson, a former architect of Google’s search index, went on to create a search engine. It is unusual to find a search engine that departs from the standard list of blue links. Cuil algorithmically clusters results so that a search for “Abraham Lincoln” creates separate report pages for the “USS Abraham Lincoln,” “President Abraham Lincoln” and the “Abraham Lincoln Brigade.” In addition to traditional search results, it combines the documents to create a “report” with information groups and key words within the topic.

5. FriendFeed

FriendFeed allows users to share photos, articles, and other media in a news feed for their friends to “Like” or comment on. After shamelessly borrowing the startup’s key features, Facebook bought FriendFeed in 2009, taking with it FriendFeed co-founder and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit.

6. Redbeacon

Redbeacon is like an updated version of Craigslist that helps users locate qualified service providers for nearly any job. Users submit the type of work to be done, along with the required time frame, and local professionals compete for the work with price quotes and availability.

When a user chooses who they want for the job, Redbeacon allows them to book the service online. It’s not quite the startup you would expect from founders Ethan Anderson and Aaron Lee, who were responsible for launching Google’s video product before the YouTube acquisition in 2006, or from Yaron Binur, who led the development of Google News

 

7. Mixer Labs

The co-founder of Mixer Labs was also a co-founder of Google’s Mobile Team, and was the first project manager of Google Mobile Maps. Mixer Labs’ Geo API service helps developers integrate location into their apps. Twitter apparently decided it could also use this kind of assistance and purchased Mixer Labs in December 2009.

8. Howcast

All three of the Howcast founders worked on the Google Video Team at one point. Their startup focuses on producing instructional videos, everything from “How to Cope With Boring Office Work” to “How to Induce Labor Naturally” and claims to be approaching two million downloads across iPhone, iPad,Android, and BlackBerry phones.

9. MyLikes

MyLikes gives anybody with an online social network the opportunity to sell advertising. Users sign up to give personal endorsements for specific products, which are posted on their Twitter and Facebook accounts. Every time a friend clicks on an endorsed advertisement, MyLikes either pays the poster or donates to her selected charity.

Co-founders Bindu Reddy and Arvind Sundararajan aren’t the only ex-Googlers who believe in the idea. The company is also backed entirely by former Google personnel.

 

10. Weatherbill

A lot of insurance companies offer umbrella insurance, but few offer rain insurance. Former Google employees David Friedberg and Siraj Khaliq created Weatherbill to cover companies with revenue streams that can be drastically impacted by an unexpected change in the weather.

Event planners, ski resorts, snow removal services, and tourism-related businesses that live and die by weather conditions can use the service to save the day. The entire country of Barbados, for instance, used Weatherbill to offer visitors $100 for every day that the weather was considered anything less than perfect.

 

11. Doapp

Doapps founder Joe Sriver was Google’s first user interface designer. The company aims to “develop consumer and business apps for websites, desktops, and mobile devices that help you do useful things, make you more productive, and enhance your online life.”

It also happens to be the developer behind the beloved Whoopie Cushion App.

 

12. reMail

ReMail provides advanced e-mail search capabilities for the iPhone. At least it did, until Google purchased it from founder Gabor Cselle in February. Proving that you can never really leave Google, Cselle re-joined the Google team as a product manager after the acquisition.

13. Aardvark

Another startup founded by ex-Googlers, only to be acquired by Google, Aardvark takes your questions and finds people in your own social network to answer them. Instead of spamming your inquiries to all of your online friends, which you could do without any help, Aardvark finds the friends and the friends of friends who are most likely to have the answer.

Google paid $50 million for the company in February 2010, the service is still a Google Labs project but it could become an integral part of Google Search or Android.

 

14. Hawthorne Labs

Apollo is a newspaper for the iPad. It’s just one of the products from startup Hawthorne Labs, and features an algorithm that learns what articles and sources you enjoy, and helps you discover new content based on your personal preferences and viewing history. Co-founder Shubham Mittal previously worked for both Microsoft and Google.

15. AppJet

Two of the three founders of AppJet were Google engineers. And since Google acquired AppJet an year ago, they’re working for Google again. The team, which created real-time document collaboration software called EtherPad, joined the now deceased Google Wave group.

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Fortifying Android Market Application Security: 11 Ways to Do It

 

Google faced one of its more serious attacks when developers laced 58 applications in the Android Market with malicious code. The programs, which Google quickly removed March 1, were intended to grab codes that identify mobile devices and determine the OS version running on a device. Google not only notified police of the attacks and suspended the developer accounts responsible for the suspicious "DroidDream" malware, but took the unusual step of engaging its kill switch. That is, the search engine remotely removed the offending applications from users' devices. It’s only the second time Google has taken such a step. As an open-source platform where Google lets developers write code with great freedom and flexibility, Android is an ideal target for malicious developers and hackers attempting to dupe people or simply mess around with the Android Market applications. Security experts weighed in with their thoughts on the matter. For this slide show, eWEEK talked to some of those experts, including software developers from security firms and analysts, to learn how Google can improve security in its Android Market for mobile phone and tablet users.

Sophos Backs Raising the Bar for Developers

Vanja Svajcer, one of the principal malware researchers at Sophos Labs, said Google should make it more difficult for people to become approved developers who can publish programs on the Android Market. Google currently charges $25 for developers to publish applications in the Market. "If it was $100 or $500, that would be more comparable to Apple, and may put off some of the mischief makers who are trying to introduce malware to the Android market," Svajcer told eWEEK.

Improve Security Assessments

Sophos' Svajcer also said Google should institute a better security-assessment process for applications published to the Android Market. This would include a reputation score for every application publisher as well as the ability to track requested permission changes for every application and to scan applications with antivirus products. "A big mistake, in my opinion, is the existence of alternative unofficial Android markets. This means that even if Google manages to keep its official Market clean, the problem will not go away. This is especially true of China, where most users are downloading from these unofficial markets.

Veracode Favors App Scanning

Veracode CTO Chris Wysopal said Google must verify code before it is available for customer download. "The halo effect of the app store distribution channel combined with the fact that many apps are from developers no one has ever heard of and the failure of the reputation model of policing means that validating app security before making them publicly available is the only way to lessen instances of malware. Signature-based scanning that PC software sites such as download.com perform is a must. Additionally, due to the intense security risk posed by spyware on mobile devices, malicious behavior scanning should also be performed."

Fix Kernel-Level Flaws

It's not just the applications. Wysopal said Android kernel flaws need to be fixed promptly and pushed out to all devices. Of course, users should only download applications from companies they know or applications that have been around for a while, paying attention to download count and the history of the application developer.

Better App-Testing Protocols

Gartner Research security analyst John Pescatore said, "The major thing Google needs badly to do is leapfrog Apple and make the Android Market have better security testing than Apple does for the Apple App Store. Google has been trying to attack the iPhone's lead in the exact opposite direction, by saying ‘Droid Does’ and having an Android Market that is totally wide open. This recent malware event is a direct result of that. Meanwhile, Google has also tried to misdirect attention to the shortcomings of the wide-open Android Market by pointing to sandboxing and other security features in the Droid OS that do absolutely nothing about many types of malware."

End ‘Wild West’ Approach to App Acceptance

Pescatore said Google's "wild, wild west" approach to Android is a losing strategy. "I have never once heard a Gartner client say ‘the iPhone app store is too restrictive’ or ‘there isn't an app for that.’ The reverse is true: I think a big part of the iPhone's success is that there are enough apps and the ones that are there are not dangerous."

BitDefender Backs Sandboxing

While Pescatore downplayed Google's "sand boxing" of applications, Catalin Cosoi, head of online threats at BitDefender, said Google did a great job when it developed Android and its sandboxing system because it makes it difficult for an application to interact with the other applications installed on the user's phone. However, free applications that require a lot of permissions and are able to steal information from a user's phone are quite easy to develop, without using complicated hacking techniques or advanced development skills. Google, Cosoi said, must double-check some of the applications that are submitted to the Android Market.

Build Android Security Apps

But beyond the obvious solutions of double-checking applications, there is a need for security vendors to create security applications for Android. "However, because of the sandboxing system, a security app will have the same privileges as a regular app, so it will just be able to notify the user that something is wrong, but the user will have to take the removal actions," Cosoi cautioned. These would be installed on users' Samsung Galaxy devices, Droid gadgets and other Android handsets.

Create Remote App Installation Alerts

Tim Armstrong, malware researcher for Kaspersky Lab, said Google needs to build a mechanism to alert users that an application from the store is being installed on their phones. "The current model which requires no approval on the device is inherently flawed. If an attacker can figure out a way to push an application, either through some remote flaw, replay attack or hacking into Google accounts, there is nothing to stop them from installing whatever they want without user consent," Armstrong added.

Check App Permission Requests

Echoing what others said before him, Armstrong said a review of submitted applications could also help. Checking applications for particular permission requests could go a long way toward ferreting out the bad guys. This could include things like a high, medium and low risk category.

Improve Patching to Resolve Android Fragmentation

As for the phones themselves, Armstrong noted that one of the major problems in Android security is applying security patches across different versions of Android. Because of this confusing platform fragmentation, there needs to be a more modular patching system. For example, platform fragmentation set the stage for DroidDream, which used two root exploits that could have already been patched in updates. They're both fixed in later versions such as 2.2.2. But at present, more than 40 percent of the devices in use are not running this version of the OS. An improved patching system would have aided greatly in protecting customers with older devices, he added.

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Google, Microsoft Bing Locked in Apparent Search Engine Copycat War

 

Google Instant

Microsoft declined to confirm this for eWEEK, but Winrumors said March 6 that Microsoft is planning to integrate instant search results that render results as users type them into the next version of its Bing search engine. Such a move may be welcomed by Bing users, but it will be derided by Google, if only in private, after the company launched Google Instant last September. See Google Instant at work here. One wonders what the Bing implementation, if real, will look like.

 

Bing Copying Results

Google Fellow Amit Singhal noted that Google ran a search sting operation by manufacturing queries, only to find that Bing returned the same results to those queries later. "Put another way, some Bing results increasingly look like an incomplete, stale version of Google results—a cheap imitation," Singhal wrote. Microsoft attributed this to gathering clickstream data from the Bing toolbar. Is that copying, or simply the practice of mining the Web's collective intelligence? Decide for yourselves.

 

Google Adds Twitter—After Bing

At the Web 2.0 Summit in October 2009, Bing said it would be indexing Twitter tweets in its results. Google more or less announced the same deal after Bing. Obviously, Twitter was wheeling and dealing with Microsoft and Google for months before signing off on the deals, but it seemed a little too pat that Google would announce the same thing at the same event on the same day. It rang of "anything you can do I can do better," which is not exactly a tune you'd expect a company with 65 percent market share to sing. Of course, the implementation was different. Bing aggregates tweets on this Social Web page. Google first created a real-time search site, but now layers tweets throughout its results.

 

Search Refinements

Cut to May 2010, when Google introduced more navigation tabs on its left-hand rail, which is something Bing made hearty use of from its inception (or evolution from Live Search, if you prefer) in June 2009.

 

Dressing Up the Home Pages

In June 2010, Google began letting users add a photo or image to the background of the Google.com homepage. Bing launched with a jazzy homepage background, which is still one of its noticeable features.

 

Bird's-Eye View Features

Google in July made its 45° aerial imagery view available in select cities in the United States and worldwide to all users of Google Maps. That is something Microsoft offered since Live Search.

 

Image Search

Google revamped its Image Search service in July last year. Like Bing, Google Image Search sports a dense, tiled layout that packs more images on the Web page and makes them easily searchable. Another feature Google has added that Bing employed a year ago is a hover pane that lets users mouse over a thumbnail image to see a larger preview of the picture.

 

Google Recipe

Google Feb. 24 launched a new search refinement called Recipe View. As one reader noted, Bing has been offering recipes since January 2010. Google has differentiated its recipe search by offering ways to slice and dice results by ingredients, cooking time and calorie count.

 

Google

Just as Bing "may" be doing instant search a la Google Instant, Google is also trying hard to boost its travel search results by acquiring ITA Software, which funnels a fire hose of flight schedules and fares from airlines. Bing Travel uses this ITA data to offer flight search results, with dynamic price predictions. If Google gets the Justice Department to sign off on ITA, you can bet it, too, will begin surfacing a lot of the same info Bing does.

 

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Flip Floppers: When Tech Execs Contradict Themselves

 

Doing an about-face on key issues: It's not just for politicians anymore. Tech honchos like Ellison, Schmidt and Ballmer do it from time to time -- even the mighty Steve Jobs is guilty.

Google (GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt on privacy

"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines, including Google, do retain this information for some time. And we're all subject, in the U.S., to the Patriot Act, and it is possible that that information could be made available to the authorities."
-Dec. 2009

"The reason that you should trust us is that if we were to violate that trust people would move immediately to someone else. We're very non- sticky so we have a very high interest in maintaining the trust of those users."
-July 2010

Yahoo (YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz on Search

"Search will continue to be an integral part of the Yahoo user experience, and we will continue to integrate search throughout all our properties, and invest in making our user experience even better based on search functionality."
-July 2009, at the announcement of Yahoo's search partnership with Microsoft (MSFT)

"Search isn't what we're after ... I don't wake up in the morning and say 'Gosh, what am I going to search?' That's not what I do. I wake up and say, 'What's happening?' And that's really what Yahoo is."
-Sept. 2009

Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs on admitting mistakes

"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."

"This is life in the smartphone world. Phones aren't perfect. It's a challenge for the whole industry, and we're doing the best we can, but every phone has weak spots."
-July 2010, after waiting 22 days to admit (sort of) that Apple made mistakes in designing antennas for the iPhone 4.

Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison on cloud computing

"What the hell is cloud computing? I guess we'll make some 'cloud computing' announcements...I'm not going to fight this thing. I don't know what we'd do differently in the light of 'cloud computing' other than change the wording on some of our ads."
-Sept. 2008

"We believe the cloud is a platform where you run a wide variety of software ... it's a comprehensive development and execution environment that can run virtually ALL your applications."
-Sept. 2010, during Oracle OpenWorld keynote

Salesforce.com (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff on Oracle and Larry Ellison

"Where the world is going and where Larry [Ellison] is going are in conflict."
-Sept. 2009

"Larry is my mentor. They are a vendor to us. We have a great relationship with them."
-Dec. 2010

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on privacy

"We need to give people complete control over their information, which will actually enable more sharing ... Giving the control is what allows that sharing to take place."
-March 2008

"People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time ... and we decided that these would be the social norms now and we just went for it."
-January 2010, on Facebook's decision to make user information public by default.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on the iPhone and Windows Phone 7

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 70 percent of them, than I would to have 2 or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get."
-April, 2007

"We were ahead of this game and now we find ourselves number five in the market ... We missed a whole cycle."
-June 2010, discussing Windows Mobile

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Before They Were Tech Stars

 

Bill Gates (Microsoft)

Age: 19
In 1975, Bill Gates famously dropped out of Harvard (where he lived down the hall from fellow sophomore, Steve Ballmer) to start a company with childhood friend Paul Allen, who had recently dropped out of Washington State University, in order to work at Honeywell in Boston. Gates had already been programming for a number of years before co-founding the company first known as Micro-Soft (a combination of "microcomputer" and "software").
He encountered his first computer at age 13, at Lakeside School in Seattle. He soon received a pass from math class, so he could work on the ASR-33 during school hours, creating his first computer program—a version of tic-tac-toe written in BASIC.

 Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook)

Age: 19
Fellow Harvard alum turned billionaire Mark Zuckerberg also thought up the idea that earned him his fortune at the ripe old age of 19. It was Zuckerberg's father who first planted the programming bug in the middle school student, teaching him how to program in Atari BASIC.
By the time he was in high school, Zuck was taking grad courses in the subject at a local college, soon creating ZuckNet, a personal instant messaging program he used to communicate with his father. Soon after, he developed Synapse Media Player, an AI music player that we gave three out of five stars, back in 2005. It's no Facebook, but still, not too shabby for a high school kid.

 Michael Dell (Dell Computers)

Age: 19
There are those who put off the working world for as long as possible, enrolling in graduate school well into their 30s. And then there's Michael Dell, founder of his eponymous computer company, who applied to take a high school equivalency exam at age eight, in order to enter the business world as soon as humanly possible.
By age 15, after having disassembled his share of Radio Shack calculators, Dell got his hands on an Apple II, which he promptly took apart. At 19, while enrolled at University of Texas at Austin as a pre-med student, Dell launched PC's Limited, banking on the concept of selling computers directly to consumers. Eight years later, he was the youngest CEO to make the Fortune 500 list.

 Steve Jobs (Apple)

Age: 21
Steve Jobs got a summer job working at Hewlett-Packard while still in high school. It was there that he met future "Dancing with the Stars" participant, Steve Wozniak. In 1975, the two Steves were briefly employed by Atari—that same year, they began attending the Homebrew Computer Club, a small grew of hobbyists that would later become the epicenter of the personal computer revolution. It was in front of that group that Wozniak and Jobs first showed off the Apple I, a fully assembled circuit board hand-built by the Woz. The young company charged an ominous $666.66 for that first computer.

 Larry Page, Sergey Brin (Google)

Age: 25
Faced with anti-Semitism in the academic environment of their native Russia, the Brin family moved to the U.S. with their six-year-old son Sergey in 1979. Partially homeschooled by his father, then a math professor at the University of Maryland, Brin eventually enrolled at his father's school, where he graduated with honors.
Soon after, he began graduate work in computer science at Stanford, where he met Larry Page. After butting heads for some time, the two eventually became "intellectual soulmates," according to Brin. Together Page and Brin went on to create "BackRub," a new search engine named for its reliance of checking backlinks. Thankfully, they soon opted for the less creepy Google, named for googol, a number followed by 100 zeros.

 William Hewlett, David Packard (Hewlett-Packard)

Age: 26 (Hewlett), 27 (Packard)
Like a number of fellow future technology giants, Hewlett-Packard was born in a Bay Area garage. The space belonged to Frederick Terman, William Hewlett and David Packard's former professor at Stanford. It was there that the duo launched the company with an investment of $538, choosing the order of their hyphenated company name with the toss of a coin.



Fusajiro Yamauchi (Nintendo)


Age: 30
In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi started a new game company specializing in Hanafuda playing cards made from mulberry tree bark. The name "Nintendo," in keeping with the theme of that early product, means "leave luck to heaven." The company specialized in cards for nearly a hundred years after.
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Why Microsoft Should Fear Google Chrome OS: 10 Reasons

Recently, Microsoft released Windows 7 Service Pack 1, an update that delivers some better stability and important fixes to the latest in the long line of operating systems from the software giant. The update will likely be one of many service packs that will be made available to Windows 7. The launch of the service pack, however, causes some to think about Microsoft’s strategy in the operating-system space. The company is still heavily invested in desktop, offline software. And by the looks of things, especially with all the talk surrounding Windows 8, that won’t change anytime soon. Meanwhile, Google is preparing for the launch of Chrome OS, its cloud-based operating system that it believes, can deliver a new (and viable) experience for consumers who are looking for a little something different than Windows. It’s easy to see Google’s point. Chrome OS looks to be a promising addition to the operating-system market. And it could very well take a bite out of Windows market share eventually. Here's why Microsoft should fear Chrome OS.

1. It’s A Good Idea
   If nothing else, Google’s Chrome OS platform is a good idea. As more and more consumers start accessing the Web for their many needs, it only makes sense than operating system would bridge the gap between their offline efforts and their Web practices. Chrome OS might not be ground-breaking, but it’s undoubtedly an evolutionary upgrade that makes quite a bit of sense over desktop alternatives.
2. Google Has Done Well Elsewhere
   Microsoft might feel that its positioning in the enterprise and consumer markets is intact and it has nothing to fear. But it doesn’t have far to look to see that Google is quite capable of taking Microsoft down. The search giant did so online and it practically dismantled Microsoft’s operation in the mobile market. What’s to stop Google from doing the same in the OS space where it has a unique product to compete with Windows?
3. Windows Isn’t Everyone’s Favorite
   Not long ago, many believed that few things—if anything—could stop the Windows juggernaut. The operating system was simply too popular in the enterprise and consumer spaces for it not to dominate. But then Windows Vista came along. And when that happened, consumers, enterprise customers, and even vendors turned their backs on Microsoft. Windows 7 has helped revive Microsoft’s business. But the memory of Vista is still fresh.
4. It’s Probably the Future
   It’s hard to say what the next 10 to 15 years in the operating-system market will look like. But it’s quite possible that the space will be dominated by cloud-based platforms. As mentioned, the Web is integral to the experience of computing today. Realizing that, it would only make sense for Web-based operating systems to gain popularity over time. And the longer it takes Microsoft to realize what Google already has, the worse it will be for the software giant.
5. It Doesn’t Have A Real Response
   Microsoft has Azure, which could be central to its future plans in the cloud, but it’s hard to point to a single solution that can compete on the same exact level as Google Chrome OS. Microsoft is still focused on the desktop market. And it doesn’t look like that will change at any point in the near future. The longer Microsoft remains obstinate in the face of Chrome OS, the worse it will be over the long haul.
6. It Doesn’t Have A Dominant Cash Lead
   Whenever Microsoft has faced serious competitors in the past, the company has used its financial muscle to beat them. But it can’t do that this time with Google. Like Microsoft, Google is sitting on a cash cow. And it has the money it needs to invest in technologies that will help Chrome OS fight it out with Windows. That’s a problem for Microsoft. And it should scare the software company.
7. Consumers Choose Google
   Microsoft isn’t the most well-liked company in the consumer space. It’s still viewed by some as a firm that caters more to enterprise customers and fails to see the changing times the way companies like Apple or Google do. Whether or not that’s the case is up for debate. But until Microsoft can prove that it can think about consumers and deliver a Web-based operating system, the harder it will be for the company to take on Google and Chrome OS.
8. The Waiting Game
   One of the biggest mistakes Microsoft has made in response to Chrome OS is to basically ignore it. The company hasn’t come out with something that it can point to and say that the specific product will take Google on. Instead, it has largely ignored the cloud-OS space. But the longer it waits to respond, the worse it will be for Microsoft. Although Chrome OS hasn’t been sold to a single customer, time is of the essence. And Microsoft can’t forget that.
9. It’s Not Mac OS X
   There’s a general feeling in Redmond, it seems, that Chrome OS will turn out like Mac OS X—a fine operating system that few people actually use. But perhaps that’s a bit short-sighted. For one, Google has the ability to target more of the mainstream than Apple. And unlike Apple, Google is obsessed with taking Microsoft down. Admittedly, it would take a long time for Google to supplant Microsoft as the leader in the OS market. But tossing Chrome OS aside as a wannabe is a big mistake on Microsoft’s part.
10. It Isn’t Linux Either
    Microsoft would do well to not believe that Chrome OS is just another Linux, as well. Unlike Linux, Chrome OS looks to have the full support of many vendors that have traditionally only worked with Microsoft and Windows. That alone makes it a threat to Microsoft. And that alone should give Microsoft enough concern to think twice about ignoring the impact Chrome OS might have on its operation.

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Apple iPad 2 Spring Launch is Bad for Android Honeycomb Tablets

A lot of hearsay and speculation floated around Apple Feb. 22, as financial analysts reported that Apple's iPad 2 follow-up to the smash-hit tablet that sold some 15 million units would be pushed back. Taiwanese brokerage Yuanta Securities said production bottlenecks at Apple's manufacturing partner Hon Hai may delay the iPad 2 launch by as much as two months, pushing it to June. Clearly feeling the need to respond, Apple invited the media to a March 2 press event in San Francisco. So what does this all mean? It means the high-tech industry is in full-time iPad 2 watch mode. This couldn't come at a worse time for tablet computers based on Google's Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" operating system. Honeycomb machines such as the Motorola Xoom offer premium features to differentiate from the inaugural iPad, and the idea is to get these to market before the iPad 2 arrives to entice consumers. But several Honeycomb tablets are about to hit the market, each of which may cannibalize enough of the others’ sales to prevent any one of them from grabbing much market share away from the iPad. If Apple unveils the iPad 2 March 2, it would likely get it into consumers' hands in late March or early April, giving the Xoom only a month of sell time without the iPad 2 as a rival. The timing is worse for Android tablets arriving later this spring. Here we list just some of the tablets that a March iPad launch could impede.

iPad 2 Invitation

The media began receiving these invites from Apple Feb. 23, leaving little to the imagination.

No Xoom Boom

Motorola is banking on the Xoom, which launched Feb. 24 from Best Buy and Verizon Wireless, to stand out from the iPad. It certainly fits this bill, with its 10.1-inch screen, 3D graphics and 1GHz dual-core processor. But it does cost $799, unsubsidized, and $599 with a two-year data plan from Verizon Wireless. Will consumers be reluctant to buy it, with an iPad 2 coming down the pike?

T-Mobile G-Slate

Launching in March from T-Mobile the G-Slate is actually the LG Optimus Pad tablet powered by Honeycomb. The product, coming from LG, a smartphone maker that hasn't exactly cultivated a lot of success with Android, and T-Mobile, the smallest U.S. wireless carrier, will have a tough go against the iPad 2.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core chip, the 10.1-inch, 1,280-by-800 (WXGA) TFT (thin-film transistor) Galaxy Tab tablet will compete with the Xoom Honeycomb tablet in Europe when it goes on sale through Vodafone this spring. Samsung proved with the Galaxy Tab it can build a fine tablet. Unfortunately, Samsung hasn't offered a timeline for a U.S. launch. That means that by the time it arrives stateside, the iPad 2 could have sold millions of the 50 million or so tablets analysts expect to ship this year.

Toshiba Tablet

This unnamed tablet is launching this spring with a 10.1-inch screen, rubberized finish and swappable battery. The latter two features are major differentiators from the iPad design. But Toshiba has as yet had no device in the Android race, making its tablet entry questionable in a sea of Honeycomb gadgets.

HTC Flyer

Wait a minute, you say. The HTC Flyer, which sports a stylus and HTC Sense UI, is launching with Android 2.4 this spring. Very true, but it's also getting the Honeycomb bump later in the second quarter, at which point the iPad 2 will have, of course, shipped millions.

Acer Iconia Tab A500

Acer's first Android tablet, the Iconia Tab A500 sports a 10-inch screen that plays 1080p HD video. The device ships in April, which is presumably when the iPad 2 will land. Good luck, Acer.

Dell Streak 10

This is just vaporware right now, but not really. Engadget sourced Dell as promising a Streak 10 tablet running Honeycomb later this year, likely well behind the Honeycomb pack. The blog blew up the Streak 7 to the 10-inch size here.

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10 Promising Non-Apple iPad Tablets to Hit Store Shelves In 2011

 

In 2010, the tablet space was dominated by a single company: Apple. The firm’s iPad was the most recognizable and worthwhile tablet in the space. The vast majority of consumers realized that it was better than any other device on the market. Admittedly, it wasn’t a difficult decision. The Dell Streak featured a 5-inch display and an out-dated version of Android. The JooJoo tablet came from an unknown company with a short past. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, while arguably the best iPad alternative, was running Android 2.2, which Google itself said wasn’t ready for tablets. But 2011 will be a different story altogether. The iPad will continue to be the tablet to beat this year, but several companies, including LG, Acer and Motorola, among others, will be entering the space this year. Any one of them could very well deliver an experience that customers had been hoping for last year. Those who are interested in learning a bit more about those tablets should click through the following slides. The upcoming tablets won’t carry the Apple logo, but they could be the best alternatives to the iPad for any customer.

Motorola Xoom

The Motorola Xoom is arguably one of the most anticipated tablets to be released this year. The tablet comes with a 10.1-inch display, supports video conferencing, thanks to a front-facing camera, and has a dual-core processor. The device is running Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the best tablet-ready operating system Google has ever released. Excitement is running rampant on this one. And at $799 for a 3G version that’s upgradable to 4G, it’s understandable.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has been the most popular Android tablet yet. But now it’s being updated with a 10.1-inch display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, and support for HSPA+. Perhaps most importantly, it’ll be running Android 3.0 Honeycomb when it launches later this year. The tablet is shaping up to be the device that the Samsung Galaxy Tab should have been.

LG Optimus Pad

The LG Optimus Pad is one of the more exciting tablet announcements this year. The device features an 8.9-inch display, and like many of the others in the market, will ship with Android 3.0 Honeycomb. But its key feature is 3D support. Users will be able to view 3D content on the device and 3D video can be shared with 3DTVs. The device is expected to retail for about $800 when it ships later this year.

HTC Flyer

The HTC Flyer could find itself lost among the many larger tablets that will be made available this year. The device will come with a 7-inch display and feature a 1.5GHz processor. In addition, it offers a 3D home screen. HTC is trying to position the Flyer as a top investment for enterprise customers that want to be more mobile. But by the looks of things, it might be best-suited for consumers looking for a slimmer option than some of the bulkier tablets on the market. Expect the Flyer to hit store shelves in the second quarter.

Acer Iconia Tab A500

The Acer Iconia Tab A500’s name is a bit of a mouthful, but the device promises to pack quite a punch. It will feature a 10.1-inch display when it launches and offer the ability for users to play video games in HD as well as 3D titles from the Web. It comes with the dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra processor and will support access to Verizon’s 4G network. The tablet should be running Android 3.0 Honeycomb when it launches in April for an undisclosed price.

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook

The RIM BlackBerry PlayBook is designed with enterprise customers in mind. The device runs RIM’s new BlackBerry Tablet OS made by QNX Software, the company it acquired last year. The device comes with a 7-inch display and will be able to connect to 4G networks. It will support video conferencing and BlackBerry Enterprise Server to help the device appeal more to corporate customers. It’s expected to launch in March or April.

Cisco Cius

The upcoming Cisco Cius, which is scheduled to be made available later this year, is another tablet designed with enterprise customers in mind. It will run Android 2.2 and feature a 7-inch display. Cisco said that its tablet will ship with 3G connectivity, but 4G connectivity is “planned.” In addition, the device is designed to be integrated into existing Cisco products in the enterprise. By the looks of things, the Cius could very well be the device IT decision-makers could be looking for.

Dell Streak 10

Dell has been relatively tight-lipped about the Streak 10, but the company has revealed that the device will be running Android 3.0 Honeycomb and come with a 10.1-inch display. The company says it will be made available sometime this year, but it hasn’t revealed any pricing. Whether the Streak 10 will be able to perform better than last year’s Streak 5 or this year’s Streak 7 remains to be seen.

HP TouchPad

The HP TouchPad is one of the most anticipated tablets expected to hit store shelves this year. The tablet runs webOS and comes with a 9.7-inch display, like the iPad. The device will ship with WiFi connectivity and offer either 16GB or 32GB worth of storage, depending on the model customers choose. The tablet also will integrate well with the company’s upcoming Pre 3 smartphone, allowing customers to answer calls and receive text messages by simply connecting the two devices. The tablet will ship this summer.

Unnamed Toshiba Tablet

Toshiba has been quite tight-lipped about its upcoming tablet. The company hasn’t even revealed the name for it yet. But what it did show off has been quite impressive. The device will come with Android 3.0 Honeycomb and feature a 16:10 720p HD 10.1-inch display. The device also runs Nvidia’s Tegra 2 processor and comes with both a front- and rear-facing camera. Perhaps most importantly, for enterprise customers especially, it comes with a replaceable battery.

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Microsoft Tablets Could Borrow Best Parts from Windows Phone 7

 

Lighter UI

Microsoft seems determined to cling to Windows for its tablets currently on the market. However, the OS comes across as ungainly versus Android and iOS. In its place, Microsoft could consider a touch-optimized, "lighter" user interface more in line with what you find on a smartphone.

Low Cost

The Motorola Xoom and the higher-end Apple iPads represent the top of the tablet market’s price range, at around $800. Most other competitors fall somewhere between $550 and $700. If Microsoft and its tablet partners really want to make an impact, they’ll aim for the lower side of the price spectrum

Hardware

At the moment, tablets are transitioning to dual-core processors to power apps, games and Web cruising. By the time Microsoft begins its big tablet push, the hardware baseline for tablets will doubtlessly have risen into more powerful ranges. Microsoft’s tablet strategy needs to set tough standards for what’s acceptable in terms of screen resolution, processors and other areas.

USB and Peripherals

There exists a tricky line between providing a slimmed-down tablet (truly a "post-PC" device, in Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ words) and something with enough features to cover a wide variety of possible functions. To that end, Microsoft and its partners could err on the side of installing a number of hardware features, such as multiple USBs, on the tablet form factor—something that at least some power users might appreciate.

Regulation

With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft demonstrated that it was willing to impose a strict set of requirements on its manufacturing partners in order to prevent fragmentation and make software updates (somewhat) easier to manage. It could well do the same with tablets.

Other Assets

As with Windows Phone 7, Microsoft could (and maybe should) focus on a tablet experience that bakes other company properties into the tablet UI, including Xbox, Office and SharePoint.

Battery Life

If the current spate of tablets proves anything, it’s that any new competitor on the market needs to place battery life at an absolute premium.

Developers! Developers! Developers!

Windows Phone 7 demonstrated how aggressively courting the developer community to develop apps, months before a platform’s release, can translate into small but steady dividends. While WP7 doesn’t boast an app library the size of Google’s or Apple’s, it has so far managed to avoid the fate of Palm and RIM in that category. With any tablet, Microsoft will need to ensure it has an app developer plan in place.

Xbox Integration

Microsoft’s secret weapon with tablets could be integration with Xbox Live. Easily the company’s most successful consumer franchise, Xbox could give a Microsoft tablet a built-in gamer audience.

Stylus

Fujitsu’s Q550 tablet already boasts the ability to write with a stylus, in addition to touch input. A deeply ingrained ability to treat a tablet’s surface like paper could go far in expanding its user base to writers, artists and designers.

Security

Security features such as an embedded security chip and encrypted SSD could make a Windows tablet that much more appealing to enterprise users.

Carriers

While it’s too soon to tell whether it will ultimately succeed over others in the tablet market, Samsung’s early experience launching the Galaxy Tab on multiple carriers drew a lot of buzz. A similar blanket strategy could also serve Microsoft well, ensuring its tablets get high visibility.

{Source: eWeek}