Plus a hedge fund chief calls for Steve Ballmer's head, and Google Maps for passes 200m mobile downloads
A quick burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team
North Korea making its own PCs >> PCWorld
"North Korea might be an unlikely place to find a PC factory, but the country has started manufacturing three models of computers, according to a recent state TV report.
"The report, on the country's main 8pm evening news, took viewers inside the factory that's making the computers. The factory and the computers are far removed from the advanced and automated production lines that churn out thousands of laptops each day in neighbouring China."
They run Linux, in case you're wondering.
"What if there was a single [internet and website] index that anyone could access?
"You would get an immediate speed increase in the Internet for no additional investment in infrastructure.
"Google and others, could perform their own analysis of the index using their secret algorithms. After all, the value is not in the index it is in the analysis of that index."
Lionhead: Pre-owned worse than PC piracy >>Eurogamer.net
"Most of today's key video game outlets - Game, HMV, Amazon - and even some supermarkets (Tesco) buy and then resell used games from customers. Game publishers have developed a number of initiatives to counter-attack this, the most popular being EA's Online Pass, which bundles a free code with new games that can be redeemed to enable multiplayer or receive downloadable content. Whoever buys the game second hand won't get a free code, which means they'll have to buy a replica online for around $10.
"Why do game publishers and developers not like second-hand game sales? Because they don't get any money for the transaction - the shop reaps all the rewards."
Yes, but customers like the price.
Steven Ballmer must go, David Einhorn says >> NYTimes.com
"[Hedge fund chief David] Einhorn reviewed comments from Mr. Ballmer in the media that suggested he did not see Apple's iPhone or iPod devices as a threat. He also told an interviewer that his children were not allowed to use Google or iPods, which Mr. Einhorn suggested meant he was out of touch and 'stuck in the past.' Mr. Einhorn also attacked the Microsoft's efforts to create a search engine as a 'sinkhole.'"
It's a point of view.
Tablets will not kill desktops and laptops: Google's Sundar Pichai >> The Economic Times
"Even as hardware majors like Dell , Acer and HP are laying big bets on the tablet and mobility devices, Google wants to sell Chromebook in many markets -- European and Emerging markets included. 'Our goal is to redesign end-to-end desktop computing. We are excited about Chromebooks. It is a new way of web based computing with under three minutes of boot,' says Pichai."
Could be quite interesting.
What should I do about FunnyJunk.com? >> The Oatmeal
The Oatmeal has discovered pretty much all his content copied to Funnyjunk.com.
"And it's not just FunnyJunk.com, there's a small army of sites out there like this whose business model runs this way. Another one is DamnLOL.com, who managed to rack up 670,000 likes on Facebook by hosting stolen content and covering their website with 'like this on Facebook' buttons. It seems like this 'Host-stolen-content-until-someone-complains-meanwhile-earning-ad-revenue' business model is booming right now. It's basically the new Ebaumsworld."
In the US, tablets are TV buddies while eReaders make great bedfellows >> Nielsen Wire
"70% of tablet owners and 68% of smartphone owners said they use their devices while watching television, compared to only 35% of eReader owners.
"o 61% of eReader owners use their device in bed, compared to 57% of tablet owners and 51% of smartphone owners."
Also includes info about use in the bathroom. TMI.
Draw a curve using your mouse, and Google will tell you the search terms that best fit it. Like Google Trends in reverse. Possibly you get bonus points if one of the matched searches is for pr0n.
iPads Dominate Global Mobile Workforce >> Marketingcharts.com
"A combined 75% of global mobile workers who own a tablet own an iPad or iPad2, according to an April 2011 report from iPass. Data from the "iPass Global Mobile Workforce Report" indicates that about 63% of those workers own an original iPad.
"In a further sign of the stranglehold the iPad has on the global mobile workforce, the next-most-popular tablet brand for mobile workers is "other" (8.7%). The Blackberry Playbook follows with 6.4% penetration."
Something about this doesn't add up. Apple sold around 14m iPad 1s. For the PlayBook to have 6.4% penetration, it would have to have sold 1.5m devices. This is almost certainly not the case. So you have your rebuttal, just in case someone else mentions this today.
Google Maps crosses 200 million installs >> The Droid Guy
"Marissa Mayer VP of Maps and Local for Google disclosed that Google Maps for mobile has now reached 200 million intalls and active users. Mayer went on to tell Arrington that currently Google Maps is seeing 40% mobile use and 60% desktop use.To that, Google Maps for Mobile naturally sees more use on the weekend.
"Mayer said that in June Google Maps will cross over, with more users for mobile rather than desktop."
You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2011/may/26/technology-links-newsbucket
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