Tuesday, December 22, 2009

“Mousavi fired from govt post - Straits Times” plus 4 more

“Mousavi fired from govt post - Straits Times” plus 4 more

Mousavi fired from govt post - Straits Times

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 06:09 PM PST

TEHERAN - IRANIAN opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was dismissed on Tuesday from his last remaining government position as president of the Academy of Art, the Fars news agency reported.

'Members of the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution dismissed Mir Hossein Mousavi as head of the Academy of Art,' council member Mohammad Mohammadian told the news agency. 'Ali Moalem Damghani replaced him.'

Mr Mousavi, a former prime minister, had headed the Academy of Art ever since its establishment in 1999. It was his only position in the government.

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose controversial June re-election Mr Mousavi continues to reject, heads the council which dismissed the opposition chief.

The Academy of Art is a state-funded body supervised by the president's office which has a stated mission to 'preserve Islamic and national art' and 'confront invasive cultures'.

Mr Mousavi ran for president in June 12 elections which he lost to Mr Ahmadinejad amid claims that the election was rigged, triggering sporadic protests since then. -- AFP

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Ex-Microsoftie: Company today 'a lot like IBM was in 1985' - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 07:57 PM PST

Don Dodge made headlines last month when he was caught up in the tail end of Microsoft's first-ever round of mass layoffs. He had been at Microsoft for five years, and as a start-up evangelist had become a well-liked figure in the world of budding tech companies.

Within a week of being laid off, Dodge was snatched up by Google to do a similar job for the Internet giant. On Monday, I asked Dodge about his new job and how Google compares to Microsoft. Because he was at home for the holidays, Dodge responded to my questions via e-mail.

How is your new job similar and different to the one you had at Microsoft, and are you enjoying it?

I love working at Google. It is fast-paced, positive, high-energy, data-driven, and a meritocracy where ideas matter more than who they came from. Google is a much younger company (10 years old versus 34), has fewer employees (20,000 versus 95,000) and is more focused on just a few products, so there are some obvious differences related to size that make it easier to get things done at Google.

My job at Google is similar to what I did at Microsoft in terms of helping developers and start-ups be successful building applications on Google platforms and technologies like Google App Engine and Google Web Toolkit. At Microsoft the target audience was start-ups and VCs (venture capital firms). At Google it is that plus helping companies of all sizes adopt Gmail and the Google App suite.

The biggest difference is that I get to work 20 percent of my time with Google Ventures, which is Google's V.C. group. There are some natural synergies there with the start-up work I have been doing the past five years.

What are some of your challenges at Google, especially compared to your challenges at Microsoft?

Well, I have only been at Google a month so I haven't bumped into all the challenges yet. But, at a high level, I think the challenges are to continue to build a world-class developer support group, worldwide, that covers all the products. Mike Winton (a Google senior technical manager) started the group three years ago and has done a great job. As more products come on line and more developers work with our platforms and tools, it is just a question of scale.

Another challenge is to earn a reputation for communicating clearly with developers and partners, providing them the support they need, and being as clear as possible about our product road map. All of those things are in place at Google, we just need to do a great job everyday and earn the respect of our partners.

How has your view of the tech world changed since moving to Google?

I don't think my view has changed, but the things I focus on at Google are different. Working with start-ups and VCs over the past five years has given me a pretty good view into where the trends are and where innovation is happening. Clearly, Web-based applications have been gaining traction for the past five years. Nearly every useful application I can think of (Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, blogs, wikis, et cetera) all started as Web-based applications.

The trends are pretty clear. All the exciting new applications are running in the browser, with application code in the cloud and the cell phone as the platform. Your cell phone will become your primary computer. I think in the near future there will be docking stations everywhere with a screen and a keyboard. You simply pull out your phone, plug it into the docking station, and instantly all your applications and data are available to you. The key is you get to decide which applications and data to keep resident on your phone, and which to keep in the cloud.

Microsoft has product offerings in each of these areas, but they weren't the high-priority programs. Windows Mobile is struggling, and Windows Azure is just starting to emerge, so the focus was elsewhere. At Google, Chrome (browser), Google App Engine and Google Apps (cloud), and Android (mobile) are top priorities, so I am spending a lot more time in these areas than I did at Microsoft.

What's your opinion on Microsoft's future? Are they innovating as successfully as they have in the past?

I think Microsoft today is a lot like IBM was in 1985. When I started my career IBM dominated the tech world. In the late '80s Microsoft started to dominate the software world, first with desktop software and later with server software like Windows Server and SQL Server.

Microsoft is still a powerful company – $60 billion in revenue and very profitable – but I think after 20 years they are losing the innovation edge. The most innovative companies today are Google, Apple and Facebook. Very few companies can dominate an industry for more than 20 years. It is just the natural competitive cycle. Another factor – Bill Gates leaving the company. The transition was smooth, but not having Bill there every day has far-reaching implications.

What are some areas that Microsoft needs some work in?

Microsoft is a vast company with products in just about every market. It is tough to compete and be the leader in every market. Even in desktop operating systems, where Microsoft has dominated for years, Vista has been a disappointment. So, you can never rest, never stop innovating. Windows 7 looks like a pretty solid product.

Windows Mobile is obviously behind the iPhone. Google's Android is getting lots of good reviews and has entered the market with a completely different and disruptive business model. So, there are some big challenges for Microsoft there.

What do you think of Microsoft's current position for the continuing expansion of cloud computing? Is Google better positioned?

As you know, I think the future of computing is Web-based apps, with application logic and data in the cloud and the cell phone as one of the major platforms. So, cloud computing is central to all of this. Amazon, Google and Microsoft are all competing in this space, but with very different technical approaches and business models. No one technology or model will be best for all situations and workloads.

Microsoft's approach will appeal to traditional Microsoft customers who want to preserve some of their previous investments. Amazon is the early leader and has focused on simplicity and cost. Google has built a world-class infrastructure and development environment for scalable Web applications – the same one used to build and support Google search. So, there are some inherent advantages to Google's approach if you are building scalable Web applications.

It all comes down to your application needs, workloads and design architecture. Amazon, Google and Microsoft are all solid choices. Each of them will be successful in some market segments.

What do you think were some of Microsoft's biggest victories and failures during your time there?

That is a big question. I was focused very narrowly on the start-up world and developers. From a developer point of view, Microsoft has always been very strong in client based development tools. Over the last five years Visual Studio, Microsoft Expression and Silverlight have really advanced. They all work together seamlessly and deliver a great experience.

BizSpark was another very successful program focused on start-ups and developers. Our team created that program, launched it last year, and engaged lots of partners to help promote it. I think it was a big success.

Failures are open to debate and I'd rather not talk about them. One thing I will say: Steve Ballmer never gives up. He keeps coming, and coming, and coming. So, anything you might classify as a failure today ... don't be surprised if they eventually turn it around and make it successful.

Are there any relevant areas in which Microsoft has a leg up on Google?

Lots of areas. Microsoft plays in just about every market. If it's software, Microsoft is involved at some level. Google is much more focused on just a few areas, and doesn't play in many of the markets Microsoft is in. That said, Microsoft has strong competitors in every market. IBM, Oracle, SAP, Salesforce and other companies are much larger competitive threats to Microsoft.

Can you explain some of the cultural differences between Microsoft and Google?

They are very different just in terms of size, age, market focus, competitive environment, et cetera. These differences play out in fairly obvious ways. Google is younger, smaller, faster – the founders are still very active and visible, et cetera. Decision loops are shorter and faster. Google is growing incredibly fast, so the mindset is different.

Microsoft is a great place to work. I enjoyed every day I was there for five years. So, I have nothing bad to say about Microsoft. There are lots of great people at Microsoft. They treat employees very well. Sure there are processes, approval cycles, product development cycles, et cetera, but they all make sense given the size and scale of the company.

How do you and your fellow Google employees view Bing and its modest successes this year?

Google stays very focused on its own goals and customer feedback. Google doesn't measure itself by competitors actions or products. That said, Google has a healthy respect for all competitors, and will never stop innovating.

On a personal level, I was a director of engineering at AltaVista back in 1997, so I have been involved in search for a long time. I remember the first time I saw Google back in 1999. There were already more than a dozen well-known search engines on the market. Google blew them away, continued to innovate, and has never looked back.

Anything else important you'd like to add?

I think 2010 will be a turning-point year. It will be the year that companies of all sizes move in large numbers to Gmail and Google Apps, and take their first steps toward the vision of the future. The move toward cloud computing is obvious. Gmail, Google Apps and Google App Engine are the easy first steps in that direction. The cost savings over on-premise software, licenses, maintenance, hardware and IT support are enormous.

Next year companies will need to decide if they want to spend the money to upgrade to Office 2010, Outlook and Exchange, and invest in training their people on how to use the new versions. Some will decide to stick with Office 2007 because it is bought and paid for, but I think many will make the move to Gmail and Google Apps. The cost savings, continuous pace of innovation, and ease of use are too large to ignore.

Related reading: Don Dodge on the Next Big Thing (personal blog)

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Words of wisdom - Ithaca Journal

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 08:54 PM PST

I sat with a returning veteran from Afghanistan the other night. A seasoned soldier about to retire after 40-plus years of service, he believes we cannot save Afghanistan because we cannot understand their culture and it is futile to try to fit them into a mold foreign to them. I agree with this good soldier.

Elizabeth Root

Trumansburg

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Strapped to Android, HTC Takes a Dizzying Ride to the Top - Wired News

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 08:54 PM PST

htc-hero

Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC is on a tear. This year alone, the company has released five Android handsets. Its next phone, the HTC Nexus One, aka the Googlephone, is among the most anticipated devices of 2010.

Just about a decade old, HTC looks like it is poised to pull ahead of much older and larger rivals such as Samsung and LG in worldwide phone market share. While the older companies' strength lies is in now-declining "feature phones," or inexpensive, less-capable handsets, HTC's bet on the booming smartphone business is giving it a major boost. It has also acquired a powerful godfather in Google, the Goliath whose attention is now captivated by the mobile phone business and whose chosen partner is HTC.

"We have covered a distance in the last three years that many other companies haven't in ten," says John Wang, chief marketing officer for HTC.

About one in six smartphones in the United States in 2008 was a HTC phone, according to Neilsen Mobile. And with a slew of new handsets and a clever bet on Android,  HTC is now the fourth biggest smartphone maker, after Nokia, Research In Motion and Apple. HTC's Android portfolio now includes the original G1 and MyTouch on T-Mobile, the Hero on Sprint, and the Tattoo and Droid Eris on Verizon. And while Nokia is struggling to get a grip on the U.S. market, HTC is gaining ground.

"HTC got into bed very, very early with Google and that has helped them," says Avi Greengart, research director for mobile devices at Current Analysis.

HTC has risen to prominence rapidly because it is young, ambitious and unencumbered by the legacy technology and old business that slow down its peers. Founded in 1997, HTC has always focused on designing and manufacturing smartphones — multifunctional devices with powerful processors — rather than inexpensive flip phones.

Its first product in 2000 was the the Compaq iPaq, a PDA that ran Microsoft's  Windows CE operating system. PDAs were a hot product then, but HTC CEO Peter Chou realized mobile phones would be a bigger market. Chou started courting telecom operators in Europe with an offer to create customized handsets for them. By 2002, HTC had two phones out, for O2 in the UK and Orange in France. Soon HTC was cranking out handsets for T-Mobile and other European carriers.

Placing the right bets

But it's Android, the Google-designed open source operating system, that turned HTC from a boutique OEM (original equipment manufacturer, or contract manufacturer) into a mobile powerhouse. Over the last decade, HTC's CEO Peter Chou has quietly networked to build a fat Rolodex and strong relationships with some of the most powerful names in the industry. Android creator Andy Rubin was one of them. Rubin's company Danger had created the Sidekick, an extremely popular phone on the T-Mobile network. Chou's HTC would later produce a similar phone called the MDA for T-Mobile.

In 2003, Rubin founded Android, a stealth startup whose mission was little known beyond the fact that it would create software for mobile phones. But Chou and Rubin were already talking. In 2005, Google acquired Android. As the new operating system began to take shape, HTC seemed like a good partner for the hardware.

HTC at a Glance

Employees: 9,353 (at the end of 2008, up 45.5 percent from previous year)

Headquarters: Taiwan

Founder and chairman: Cher Wang

CEO: Peter Chou

Revenue: $1.05 billion at the end of the third quarter 2009, a 10 percent decline from a year ago. Revenue grew 28.7 percent in 2008 to $4.2 billion.

R&D Expenses: $643 million (2009)

"Google's OS required a pretty sophisticated handset and HTC knows how to do that," says a former HTC executive who worked with the company for two years but didn't want to be identified because he still works in the wireless industry. "HTC is aggressive and they have the speed of development to get a product to market early."

For HTC it was an interesting opportunity, though not without its risks.

"When we started to work with Google, we had no visibility at all," says Wang. "The (Android) platform probably would not even materialize and even if it did, it could be just another one in the market. But we shared the excitement."

So for three years before the first Android phone would hit the market, HTC poured engineers and researchers into a project aimed to create a phone that would run a brand-new operating system.

"We made the first Google phone that Google engineers used to develop Android," says Wang. "We had about 50 HTC people roaming around Google campus then, wearing the Google badge and eating the wonderful Google food. That was how deeply the two companies collaborated."

It also speaks to HTC's business model, says Greengart. "HTC likes to let someone else build the underpinnings for the phone and for them to work on higher-level stuff," says Greengart.

Focus on design

Unlike Nokia, HTC has been quick to adapt to fast-changing consumer tastes in mobile phones. When slider phones were all the rage, HTC created the MDA for T-Mobile. Slim phones, touchscreens, Android devices — HTC has them all.

HTC's ambitious expansion continues. Last year, HTC acquired One & Co., a San Francisco-based industrial design firm that has created products for Nike, Apple and Dell, among others. Over the next three years, it will spend $1 billion to create a new R&D facility near a Taipei suburb.

"We are the second or the third best design house in the world when it comes to mobile phones," says Horace Luke, chief innovation officer at HTC. "The trick of design is it is not just styling but also great engineering."

HTC has also been quick to understand that when it comes to mobile phones, looks alone don't cut it.

"They have done a lot of innovation on software in terms of the user interface," says Greengart. "HTC shipped a touch phone with a 3-D cube interface before most other handset makers."

In June, HTC announced Sense, a UI skin that would sit on top of the Android OS. Sense offers widgets for adding new features, brings together contacts from different sources, and allows users to set different profiles for work and home.

"With a lot of smartphones out there you have to go to four different locations — your Gmail, Flickr, Facebook or Twitter — to find what's up with one person," says Luke. "But content is content. It doesn't matter where its comes from."

Personalization will be another big trend, says Luke. "I firmly believe that the phone you have should never look like the phone I have," he says."If you love stocks and financial news that's what your phone should show. But if I am interested in Hello Kitty and manga then my phone should reflect that."

It's an idea Palm first offered up with the Pre. But since HTC's announcement, Sense has become an important feature in new smartphones including Motorola's Cliq.

Creating a brand

Apple's iPhone or Research In Motion's BlackBerry have become cultural icons. But when was the last time you heard someone say they wanted a "HTC phone?"

Even when the first Android phone was launched last October, it was called the 'Googlephone' or T-Mobile G1; the new Googlephone is called the Nexus One. Most customers forget the HTC brand in that context.

That's what Wang says he wants to change next.

"For many years, HTC has been the company behind the scenes," he says. "In the earlier days, we did not post our brand on the phones. But three years ago we made a decision within the company to build the HTC brand."

It's not just vanity. Smartphones are an intensely competitive market. At the top, Apple and Research In Motion both have strong brand recognition and a growing base of users. In the middle, producers such as Samsung and LG own a huge share of the feature-phone market, but are hungry to sell more smartphones. And at the bottom, contract manufacturers such as Acer and Asus are looking to crawl up the chain. For now, HTC still occupies the lower tiers of brand recognition. A stronger brand would translate to more clout, fatter margins and bigger revenues.

Branding is even more important in the smartphone world, where consumer tastes can shift quickly, crowning new winners and losers every few months. Having a powerful brand can shield a handset maker against some of these shifting winds.

"In my time at HTC, they went from $200 million in revenue to $1 billion," says the former HTC executive. "But you can't continue that unless you have a brand."

"It was becoming harder to innovate from one generation to another without a brand," admits Wang. "If you create a phone that sells well on one carrier it's not enough. The next version resets everything."

But, so far, HTC has not shown its commitment by allocating a hefty marketing budget for branding, says the former HTC executive.

Throwing money around won't help, says Wang.

"Brand value is like respect, you have to earn it," he says. "You can't buy respect. You can spend all the money you want to build the recognition but that doesn't mean anything. I want the HTC brand to stand for a great experience."

Creating a global culture

HTC doesn't want to be just another Taiwanese handset manufacturer. Despite its strong Asian roots, the company has tried to build an international business culture. Almost all of HTC's senior management is of Asian origin. The company has its headquarters in Taiwan and is listed only on the Taiwanese stock exchange.

Yet the company's primary language is English. User documentation, technical papers and even all e-mails and staff meetings at HTC's office in Taiwan are done in English.

"When Peter started at this company, he demanded everyone take an English test before they come in," says Luke. "He always had a vision that the company would go global."

Many of HTC's executives, including company founder Cher Wang, went to graduate school in the United States. But Wang, who belongs to one of Taiwan's richest families (her father, a plastics tycoon, was named the second-richest man in Taiwan by Forbes magazine last year), rarely grants media interviews.

HTC has also imbibed one of the greatest ideas of American business: It's okay to fail. HTC's R&D division called has a "target failure rate" of 95 percent, says Luke. "A research lab has to come up with enough ideas that fail fast and fail early so you can learn and harvest the right ones," he says. "That's very different from the culture at Taiwan, where you have to be successful all the time."

While HTC is unmistakably aligning its future with Android, the company isn't willing to give up on Windows Mobile — at least publicly.

"Our commitment to Windows Mobile platform is unwavering," says Wang. "Both platforms are important. They match different people."

For HTC, the last 10 years have been a rocket-like rise. But the battle to stay ahead of the game has just begun.

"It's no longer a mystery what it takes to create a differentiated handset," says Greengart. Handset makers can either build their own operating system and hardware to control the user experience completely, as Apple and Palm have done. Or they can build on top of someone else's operating system, such as Windows Mobile, Symbian or Android. The danger with the second path is that if you can do it, others can too.

"As LG and Samsung create phones over and over again, they will soon come up with something that can beat HTC's," Greengart says. "When you are building on top of someone else's OS, other people can do that too."

See Also:

Photo: HTC Hero (patrick h. lauke/Flickr)

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Commentary: Chinese diplomacy in 2009 peaks at end of year - Investors Business Daily

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 09:01 PM PST

BEIJING, Dec 22, 2009 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Chinese diplomacy in 2009 reached a peak at the end of the year with a series of Chinese leaders' visits.

Among them were President Hu Jintao's working visits to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, Premier Wen Jiabao's attendance at the UN Copenhagen climate change conference, and Vice President Xi Jinping's four-nation official visits in Asia.

From Dec. 12-14, Hu held talks with presidents of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and met with Uzbekistan's president. He put forward important proposals on pushing forward the Sino-Kazakh strategic partnership, enhancing Sino-Turkmen pragmatic cooperation, and deepening the Sino-Uzbek bilateral pragmatic cooperation. Hu's proposals, which were warmly received by his counterparts, highlighted China's good-neighborly and friendly foreign policies.

Hu's visits not only effectively pulled China closer to the three Central Asian countries, but also promoted their pursuit for common development.

The Reuters agency commented: "Hu's visit acted as a rare unifying force for Central Asian leaders who ... rarely assemble to discuss regional cooperation."

The AFP said Hu's attendance with his three counterparts at the launching ceremony of a pipeline demonstrated the unity among heads of states in the region, and illustrated "China's growing regional clout."

On dealing with global issues on the multilateral stage, China had been playing significant and constructive roles this year, with the latest effort coming at the recently concluded Copenhagen climate change conference.

During the arduous marathon climate talks, which finally produced the positive Copenhagen Accord, China adhered to its principles while showing flexibility, and pushed for fruitful results with maximum sincerity.

"Premier Wen Jiabao was ultimately crucial to salvaging something from the wreckage of the summit," Reuters said in an analysis.

On Dec. 14-22, Chinese Vice President Xi visited Japan, South Korea, Myanmar and Cambodia, where he met leaders, politicians, and representatives from economic and cultural fields. He stressed unity, cooperation and amicable ties between neighbors, and called for common efforts for the harmony and development of Asia.

The three Chinese leaders' major diplomatic activities at the end of 2009 had rich content and substantial results, left a good impression on people of the destination countries and the world as well, and demonstrated once again China's image as a responsible major state and friendly neighbor.

This round of diplomatic activities echoed that at the beginning of this Chinese lunar year, when consecutive visits by the president, the premier and the vice president opened the curtain on Chinese diplomacy for the year.

With a rising global status and increasing participation in international affairs, China has been producing continuous diplomatic highlights. It is going forward with more confidence and proficiency, and is playing an "indispensable major role" on the world stage.

Copyright 2009 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

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