STERLING WONG, Minyanville12:39 p.m. EDT April 26, 2013
In the long run, Google could pose a bigger threat to Cupertino, which is why Apple is busy building its own ecosystem.
Since hitting an all-time high of $702.10 in September 2012, shares of Apple have experienced a precipitous 40% decline, thanks to a combination of product fatigue, a perceived lack of new ideas, botched application launches, and increased competition from its rivals.
Indeed, Apple's fall from grace (at least in the eyes of investors) has largely coincided with the rise of Korean electronics giant, Samsung, whose Galaxy-branded smartphones have become the most popular mobile devices worldwide this side of the iPhone.
"It's pretty interesting to see just how far [Samsung has] come in the last few years. I think a lot of that has got to do with the fact that they're putting out devices on operating systems now that are pretty stable, reliable, and useful. The devices are great and they are being marketed well. It's just a perfect combination of everything coming together," Roy Choi, managing editor of tech news website TechnoBuffalo, told Minyanville.
"At the Consumer Electronics Show this past year, I think Samsung was the biggest, most populated booth. People were just trying to get in to see what they had," Choi continued.
According to China-based research firm TrendForce, Samsung shipped an impressive 65 million smartphones in the first quarter of the year, which represented close to 30% of the global smartphone market. Apple, on the other hand, shipped some 37.5 million iPhones in the same period, nabbing the company a 17.3% share.
Just as Microsoft was Apple's archrival during the PC era, Samsung appears to have beat out others, including BlackBerry and Nokia, to become Apple's chief nemesis in the age of mobile devices.
But not everyone thinks that Samsung is Apple's greatest existential threat. Dr. Richard Windsor, founder of the mobile-focused blog Radio Free Mobile and a former tech analyst at Nomura, told Minyanville that he considers Google to be the main competitor for Apple in the long run, which explains why Apple is partnering with Yahoo to develop mobile services and reduce its reliance on Google.
"In the whole mobile ecosystem game, you either make money on devices and software on the devices, or you make money by monetizing usage," Windsor said. "Now, Apple makes money by selling devices and Google makes money by monetizing usage. So at the moment, they don't really compete against each other. But in the longer term, hardware is likely to become more commoditized, and Apple is looking at how to grow their revenue long-term when that time comes."
"If you look at a smartphone, every single one in the world is pretty much a single slab of black glass. There's not much space for hardware differentiation there, so your ability to make a superior return just by innovating in hardware is getting more and more difficult," Windsor continued. Apple, of course, is famous for its far-superior margins for its iPhones, which was why its recent earnings report of falling margins have investors concerned.
"Look at the app stores – there are 700,000 apps each on the Apple app store and the Google Marketplace. So is there much differentiation to be had by having an app store with lots of apps on it? Probably not," Windsor elaborated. "This is what things like iCloud, Mobile Me, and Apple Maps are all about – [Apple's turn toward] monetizing usage. This is why I think Apple is going to focus on developing its own services in the next five to ten years to bring it into competition with Google.
Of course, both Apple and Google would be remiss if they didn't take Samsung as a serious threat. The current king of Android, Samsung is well aware of which way the wind is blowing and is slowly but surely building up its own unique ecosystem to rival those of Google and Apple.
Later this year, the Korean company will be releasing a non-Android smartphone that will be powered by Tizen, an open-source operating system it developed in collaboration with Intel. All eyes will be on Samsung to see if Tizen will be an operating system worthy of a rivalry with iOS and Android.
Two-factor authentication may not be as sexy as the latest Android phone, but the technology is capturing news headlines, and deservedly so. Last week, Microsoft beganrolling out this security tool for its some 700 million Microsoft Account users. TuesdayWired reported Twitter is working on two-factor authentication as well.
It's a security feature that could have stopped hackers at the gate before they seized control of the Associated Press Twitter account, and it's something you should be using to protect your own online accounts, wherever it's available.
So how does two-factor authentication work? In a nutshell, it requires not one but two pieces of privileged information before granting access to an online account.
Let's say you've already set up two-factor authentication for your Google account, and now a hacker halfway around the world is trying to break into your Gmail. He has your email address and even your password, but he doesn't have the second element of the authentication process. In the case of Google accounts, the second element is a unique security code that's sent directly to your cell phone via text messaging.
In essence, two-factor authentication requires something you've committed to memory (your password) and something you have in your pocket (your phone).
If two-factor authentication sounds like kind of a pain, well, it is. Turning on this feature is a really easy way to make life harder for yourself, as you’ll need to spend extra time to prove your identity every time you log into a protected account from a new piece of hardware. Nonetheless, this level of authentication makes it much harder for hackers to seize control of your accounts.
Do you have a Google account and a smartphone? Then you should have two-factor authentication enabled.
Getting started also requires a little legwork on your part. Most major sites and services offer two-factor authentication as an optional security feature, so you need to log into your various accounts and dig around in the security settings to find it.
Google and Facebook have offered two-factor authentication as an optional security measure since 2011. Dropbox started offering it last year, and Apple iCloud got two-factor authentication in March. Microsoft is late to the party but now has it, and Twitter's version of the technology can't come soon enough.
For the sake of brevity I'm going to run down the two-factor set-up process for the Big Three social networks as well as my favorite remote storage services. But you should duplicate this process across every site and service you use that offers two-factor authentication. And if it seems like a lot of different systems to manage, don't worry—there's an app for that.
Start with Google
Google makes two-factor authentication simple enough, but it can be very frustrating to configure if you log into Google across multiple devices. To get started, log into your Google account and navigate to the Security section of your Account Settings page.
Pop down to the 2-step verification section and flip it on by clicking the big Settings button and following Google’s step-by-step guide to link your account with the number of a cell phone or land line. Google will either text or robocall you at that number to provide a six-digit code every time you try to log into your Google Account from an "untrusted" device, so make sure you use the number of a phone you keep close at hand.
Google offers a plethora of services across multiple devices, so it's apropos that it offers a similar plethora of options for configuring two-factor login authentication.
You can also generate one-time use codes that you can write down and save for times when you want to log into Google in the absence of cell service. Generate five or ten of these codes, and keep them in your wallet for emergencies. Also consider downloading the Google Authenticator app for iOS and Android if you don’t want Google sending you text messages every time you check your mail from a new computer.
It's simple to use, and can generate codes for any authentication service that employs the TOTP (Time-based One-Time Password) algorithm, including Facebook and Dropbox. I recommend setting it up to do so if you're going to be enabling two-factor authentication on other services, but be aware that this will make it very difficult for you to log into those services without your phone. If your phone is lost or stolen—or if you just accidentally delete the authenticator app—it's possible to download a fresh version and re-authenticate across every service you use, but it's a real pain.
Facebook is easy by comparison
Facebook was a little late to the two-factor party, but at least it took the extra time to smooth out the setup process. Enabling two-factor authentication for your Facebook account is a snap. Just log into Facebook and click on the blue gear icon in the top-right corner, then click on your Account Settings menu.
Next, select the Security section from the navigation bar on the left-hand side of the screen, and switch on the Login Approvals feature (Facebook's term for two-factor authentication) by clicking the appropriate checkbox. Facebook will walk you through the process from here, explaining how to receive and type in a unique alphanumeric code every time you want to access your account.
What we call two-factor authentication Facebook calls Login Approvals, and it works great.
To get that code you’ll need to either download a mobile authenticator app that generates codes every time you log in, or give Facebook your cellphone number so it can send you authentication codes via SMS. I recommend going the authenticator app route. It’s simple to use, and you don’t have to wait for Facebook’s servers to text you your code. Plus, you can also add a cellphone number as an additional backup if the app fails to work.
Facebook wants you to use the Code Generator in the Facebook mobile app to generate authorization codes, but you can trick it into letting you use any third-party TOTP authenticator you like.
In its mobile app, Facebook built in a neat Code Generator feature that generates TOTP codes for your account, but you can use any old TOTP authenticator app if you’re willing to subvert Facebook’s setup process. If you’re using Google’s mobile authenticator app to manage two-factor authentication across multiple services, for example—which is a great idea—you can set it up to provide authenticator codes for your Facebook account too.
Simply start the Code Generator setup process—click the Set up Code Generator link under Login Approvals in your Facebook security settings—and when the time comes to open the Facebook mobile app, click the Having trouble? link. Facebook will ask you to click a big blue Get Key button and enter the provided 16-character key into your Facebook mobile app, but you can enter it into almost any authenticator app—including Google’s—and it will still work.
Microsoft is finally catching up
Your Microsoft account covers your Outlook inbox, your Xbox Live profile, your Windows Phone, and more. Improve security across the board by switching on two-factor authentication in the security section of your Microsoft Account summary page. You can set it up so Microsoft will send security codes to either an alternate email address or your smartphone via SMS, unless you prefer to download an authenticator app that will generate security codes for you. Windows Phone users can download Microsoft’s own authenticator app from the Windows Store, but everyone else can just use any authenticator app that supports the One-Time Password algorithm.
Scan this blob of code with your authenticator app and you'll be able to generate authentication codes with your phone no matter where you are.
For simplicity’s sake, I recommend using the aforementioned Google Authenticator app oniOS and Android. Use the app to scan the barcode that Microsoft provides you during the two-factor authentication process and it will generate codes for your Microsoft account as well.
And you don't need to stop there—I expect Twitter will have its two-factor authentication system in place before summer rolls around, and there are plenty of other sites and services that already offer similar security systems. Dropbox, LastPass, Box, and evenAmazon Web Services support two-factor, as do many banking services. Locking these accounts up with two-factor authentication adds another layer of security to your digital life, one that can be unlocked only with the smartphone in your pocket.
As we move our business and relationships further online, a new system of exchange has evolved. This may be as big an evolution since the Phoenicians invented coins, so that now you didn’t have to carry six cows to go to market (plus it was hard to “make change” dealing in a livestock-based system).
This new exchange is the “trust system.” It is the relationship you as an individual have with any online property you visit. That product review for that new toothpaste you want to try, or the link to that video of the kitten your aunt sent you, or that new automobile you are interested in, or that business paper on your particular area of expertise – each of these live somewhere on-line and more and more often savvy marketers want something from you to accessthis great content. What they want is valuable. They want your information, your profile. (This is not to be confused with “privacy” issues and those trying to steal it from you.)
This is the relationship between two parties – the provider and consumer. As long as both sides come to the relationship understanding what each has to offer, this is an excellent system of bartering.I will give you my information as long as it is of equal value to me as to what I get. That toothpaste review might be worth my name and email address, that business white paper might be as valuable as my name, email, phone, company, and title. If I see sufficient value in the content, I may tell you what I am thinking of, dreaming of, wanting, needing, and how much I am willing to pay for that automobile, or that new software.
Since we are talking about trust, who am I? Well, I am one of those marketers who wants to know who you are, who I am talking to. I will engage in that exchange of providing you great insight, information, or content if I know to whom I am providing that information. But, “trust” is a funny thing - hard to gain, easy to lose. The relationship is . . . not to be too dramatic . . . sacred. Our on-line and social interactions demand it. The repercussions are severefor those who violate that trust. There are plenty of great brands and companies – SAP is one proud example – who acknowledge and value this relationship. For every great brand, there are those on the fringes who will attempt to “game the system” for their own advantage. Usually for some short-term gain, but inevitably for their long-term loss.
As I work with companies and organizations to help develop theironline programs, there are several simple guidelines to follow to help these programs succeed. This is basically a version of on-line dating:
Guideline #1: Take Me Someplace Nice
If I am going to engage in a relationship with you, you had better promise that you are going to treat me well. Take me to nice places, respect me. It is all I ever wanted. So, make sure that your site and the content are easily navigateable and that consumers can find the information that they are looking for. The experience matters if you want to make sure you are building your relationship.
Guideline #2: Relationship Accounting
This is simple math. What information I give you must be at least equal to the value of what you give me as a consumer. Provide great, valuable content and you will get great, valuable information. Relationships are about equal footing. If they aren’t on an equal basis, I may leave you.
Guideline #3: Let’s Not Rush This
Marketers, let’s not assume that I am going to give you my pin number right away. You need to buy me dinner first. I am not that easy. Let me build that relationship with you over time. Let me make sure that you are respecting my information. Once things go well and we have a few dates . . . well, we will see.
The exchange is based on our mutual understanding. It is actually very easy for both sides of the equation to put one in the “win” column. Most of this comes down to knowing the rules and building the relationship. Trust me!
Google's first laptop, the ChromeBook Pixel, makes sense for almost nobody, but that doesn't mean we should ignore it.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Of all the big moves and announcements Google will make in 2013, the most intriguing won't be related to Android, Glass, search or Gmail.
That honor was already claimed in February when Google(GOOG, Fortune 500)released the Chromebook Pixel laptop with the latest version of Google's Web-only Chrome OS software. It was designed to eventually get Google out from under Apple andMicrosoft's thumbs.
Much of Google's business strategy is easy to figure out: Search is Google's money maker, Android is its pipeline to mobile, and Glass is the great experiment for the future. But figuring out the significance of a $1,400 laptop that runs an operating system built on top of a Web browser can be confusing.
ChromeBook laptops have never been the focal point of the company by any means, but consistent updates and major retail support made evident that they would become more than low-grade tools intended for grandparents and their chain emails.
The release of the Chromebook Pixel put an exclamation point on that sentiment. It isn't just another $400 plastic Chromebook laptop stuffed with last year's guts. It is a premium piece of gear that was very well thought out and constructed as well as any other laptop on the market.
Still, you shouldn't rush out and buy it. The $1,400 price tag is far too much to ask for a Chrome OS device right now, and the masses were right in pointing out that 99% of the population who could shell out that amount of money should probably just buy a high-endWindows PC or a Mac.
Investing in its own brand of high-end PCs is a smart move for Google: With every tech company building walls around their products and services enough to make Constantine proud, it would be foolhardy for Google to rely on Windows and Mac OS X to serve as a management hub for the rest of its products and services. Microsoft(MSFT, Fortune 500) and Apple(AAPL, Fortune 500) are very much focused on emphasizing the strengths of their own goods -- and not those of a competing third party.
Google probably built the Chromebook Pixel to prove that with the right hardware, a Web browser can come amazingly close to offering the same experience as any other laptop running a full-blown operating system.
If that's the case, then Google would be right. The Chromebook Pixel does at times rival other MacBooks and top-of-the-line Ultrabooks. So much of what we do with a traditional computer takes place in the browser.
Making the move to the ChromeBook Pixel can be limiting, but it's never alienating. With each passing year, it seems as though the average computer user needs less and less of the native software support that an conventional operating system affords.
And now that Android and Chrome have been joined under the same roof at Google, it's not hard to imagine Google one day producing dual-mode tablet that, when docked to a keyboard and monitor, seamlessly shifts over from Android to Chrome OS.
It's a good bet that's why Google put so much effort into building the Chromebook Pixel, and why we'll be hearing a lot more about this kind of technology in the next two to three years.
Linux software giant Red Hat has launched a community-led distribution of the OpenStack open source cloud platform.
RDO — announced at the OpenStack Summit in Portland, USA, on Monday — is a free community-supported distro of OpenStack that will run on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Fedora and their derivatives.
OpenStack is an assortment of open source software designed to offer on-demand compute, storage and networking services, often referred to as infrastructure as a service.
"OpenStack represents an ideal example of community-powered innovation in the cloud," said Red Hat CTO Brian Stevens in a statement on Monday.
"We support the OpenStack ecosystem through software development and community engagement and are excited to continue advancing these technologies with the community through RDO and for our enterprise customers with advancements with our Red Hat OpenStack distribution."
Red Hat has tried to simplify the installation process with the Red Hat-developed installation tool, PackStack.
The organisation also released a preview of its subscription-based enterprise edition of OpenStack for those who sign up to the enterprise edition's early adopter program. The commercially available offering will launch this summer.
"As open source projects mature, one of the key factors in their wider adoption becomes packaging. With its RDO distribution, Red Hat is clearly looking to streamline the implementation process for OpenStack thus widening the project's market," said Stephen O'Grady, principal analyst at RedMonk.
Red Hat also announced on Monday Red Hat OpenStack Cloud Infrastructure Partner Network, a global ecosystem of technology and services partners to help accelerate the adoption of Red Hat cloud infrastructures.
Red Hat claims that it is the largest contributor to the newest version of OpenStack, Grizzly, which was released this month.
