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• Miss the Google I/O conference? All the Google I/O videos are online now on YouTube.

Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

• Google said it extended its YouTube Partner Program to Germany and France. That means popular members in those countries can make ad money from their videos through the revenue-sharing program.

• Ever wonder what the limits on Gmail activity are? Well, here’s the answer, according to a Google Apps posting: “500 messages per day (i.e., you can hit ‘Send’ a maximum of 500 times); 500 unique recipients; 2,000 total e-mails (for example, you could send one message to a group of 500 people four times).”

Here’s a roundup of recent juicy Google tidbits:

• Google is trying to build up discussions at a newly launched Google Mobile Community. “We envision this community as being a place where you can discuss the world of mobile in general…We also want the community to be a place where you can tell us what you think about our very own products,” said Bret Luboyeski, a Google mobile product specialist, on the Google Mobile blog.

(Credit:
Stephen Shankland/CNET News.com)

• Google is advertising in China, just like they did in Russia. Google rarely takes out ads, but apparently in countries like China and Russia, where Baidu and Yandex, respectively, are more widely used than Google, the company is willing to think differently.

• Amid general praise for Steve McQueen’s famed
car chase in the 1968 movie Bullitt, there are jeers about the recurring green VW Beetle and the geographic hash it makes of San Francisco. You might be amused to see this side-by-side view of the Bullitt chase and a Google map that shows just how much they jump from one patch of the city to another. (Via Google Maps Mania.)

Schmidt, who was a senior executive at Sun Microsystems and CEO of software-maker Novell before taking the helm at Google, has competed with Microsoft for years, and it was very clear in his conversation with Bartiromo that he is not keen on the Redmond, Wash., company landing Yahoo. Schmidt said:

In the interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, Schmidt said that given Microsoft’s history of antitrust issues, an acquisition is cause for concern, according to a transcript of the interview. He also said a two-week partnership trial with Yahoo went well, and said he expects it to be one of several options Yahoo’s executives are considering for their future.

Some on Wall Street expect Microsoft to announce a hostile takeover bid of Yahoo as soon as Wednesday afternoon after the close of trading.

“There’s a big debate within the company…people are concerned about the history, as I mentioned, and the possibility of a merger. So I don’t think we really know yet. We debate it all the time,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt is concerned about a possible Microhoo combination.

In a broad interview scheduled to run on CNBC at 4 p.m. EST Wednesday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt made it clear he’s not pleased with the prospect of a Microsoft-Yahoo combination.

“Well, the long and short of it is that we did a test for about two weeks, which has since ended, where Yahoo took a small percentage of their ads and replaced them by ours,” Schmidt said. “We did this as part of a commercial conversation, which I obviously cannot go into, but it’s one of the strategic options that we believe Yahoo is considering at this time.”

Nonetheless, beyond saying the Yahoo effort went well, Schmidt did not tip his hand about Google’s response if it should face a Microhoo combination.

We actually enjoyed working with Yahoo. We also compete with them. They’re a well-run and, I think, impressive company. We’ve primarily been concerned about the possibility of a Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo because of Microsoft’s history and because the assets that Yahoo has are quite valuable. And we actually think that in the wrong hands, they could be used in the wrong way.

(Credit:
CNBC)

As Nine Inch Nails has already shown, the key for established artists is to reach out to their “superfans” and give them opportunities to feel like they’re part of an exclusive club. In the case of Byrne/Eno, it really worked: of the people who entered an e-mail address, more than 50 percent opened the subsequent e-mail, and more than 20 percent eventually purchased music through the site.

A couple weeks ago, Rogers spoke at a Grammy-sponsored event in Seattle and, as Idolator reports, the results of the Byrne/Eno experiment have worked out quite well for the artists. After eight weeks of digital-only sales, the duo have already grossed what they would have earned from a typical record company advance for artists of their expected sales profile. And that’s without any physical CDs–they don’t drop into retail stores until November 30.

Back in August, I noted that the new David Byrne/Brian Eno album, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, was available in its entirety as a free streaming audio file.

Turns out that this release and marketing strategy was driven by Topspin Media, which is led by former Yahoo Music Vice President Ian Rogers.

They also put up a free download of one track, “Strange Overtones.” Later, they offered several packages to purchase–from downloads-only for $8.99 to a deluxe package with a hardbound book, screensaver, and extra songs for $69.99.

I’m a David Byrne fan–I’ve bought most of his solo CDs (which range from OK to great), and have seen him in concert a few times (always outstanding). Sure enough, as soon as I found out that I could buy a physical CD through the site, that’s what I did. I guess I’m not a superfan, as I didn’t spring for the $70 deluxe package, but I did buy tickets for Byrne’s Seattle stop as soon as I heard they were going on sale.

Open source and the cloud (or software as a service, if you like) are still plenty profitable, but the software model for writing once, then digitally copying and charging everywhere is out the window.

That’s not a bad thing. It is, in fact, a very good thing for customers, who get more value and pay less for it.

Open-source and cloud-based computing are focusing the software industry on customers and service thereof, not on software. It is a highly profitable future, but perhaps not as profitable as it has been.

Kudos to Microsoft for calling out the obvious. But the software maker still has a lot to learn, if it thinks it can charge more under its own cloud model because “the customer will pay Microsoft a larger fee, since Microsoft also runs and maintains all the hardware,” as Nick Carr notes:

Capossela’s assumption that Microsoft will be able to charge companies more under the cloud model seems optimistic, given the different economics of providing software as a Web service and the aggressive pricing strategies of cloud pioneers like Google, Zoho, and Amazon.

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Those who desire outsize margins, as Google still gets, need to learn to charge for something other than the software. Pure software businesses will be less profitable, going forward, because the software industry has matured and will increasingly look like other industries that depend primarily on service.

Is this cause for mourning? Of course not. It’s just what has always happened to technology-driven industries. Anyone wanting to see where software is going needs only to study the railroad. Or, in Google’s case, the billboards along the side of the road.

Put more bluntly, there’s not a chance in Hades that Microsoft will be able to charge more for its cloud-based offerings–not when its competitors are using the cloud to pummel its desktop and server-based offerings. This is something that Microsoft (and everyone else) is simply going to have to get used to. The go-go days of outrageous software margins are over. Done.

Microsoft expects to lose margins as “cloud” competitors start to eat away at its core businesses.

Swisher asked Murdoch whom he would vote for, but the cagey Murdoch said he hasn’t made up his mind. He said Obama would never give Hillary Clinton the vice presidential job and would want to distance himself from the Clintons. Murdoch described Obama as a “highly intellectual man” and said he wants to meet the candidate. He likes his plan to fix the U.S. educational system, which he called a total disgrace. “I want to know if he’s going to walk the walk.”

Murdoch: Obama will likely defeat McCain
The conservative Murdoch said it’s likely that Obama will defeat McCain in the November presidential election. Politicians are despised by 80 percent of the population, and Obama is trying to put himself above it all, Murdoch said.

Murdoch believes that a way to solve the energy crisis more immediately than investing in alternative-energy sources such as nuclear, solar and wind power, is to drill for oil off the American West Coast and Alaska. The country “didn’t buy Alaska to save a few elk,” he said.

Click here for full coverage of the D: All Things Digital conference.

Among all the industry titans speaking at D6, the News Corp. chief was the sharpest, though Sony CEO Howard Stringer was the funniest.

If the whole Wall Street Journal were like Mossberg’s column, Murdoch said he would be a happy man, getting some big laughs from the D6 crowd. The 77-year-old media mogul understands the shortening attention span of the planet.

(Credit:
Dan Farber/CNET News.com)

Sitting across from his employees and writers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the D6 conference, News Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch shared his view on newspaper editing.

Murdoch predicted that the States will face an international crisis, such as with Iran, that will test out the candidates.

The tide is against the Republicans, and Obama could overcome the race issue. McCain, Murdoch said, is a friend, patriot, and decent guy, though he conceded also that he is unpredictable, has spent too much time in Washington, and is not great on the economy (which he said is in a recession) or organizationally adept.

Murdoch also revealed the secret to his persistence and success. “I’ll keep going, as long as I have my curiosity and thirst for risk.”

Rupert Murdoch said at the D6 conference that Fox News is neutral, fair and balanced. Walt Mossberg’s response: It has both sides, but it beats the crap out of one side. Murdoch also said he would hire a liberal commentator, but they are really hard to find. He admitted that for his network, it is more fun to make fun of liberals than conservatives.

Murdoch apparently isn’t fond of journalism prizes. “Stop having people write articles to win Pulitzer Prizes–give readers something they want to read.”

Mossberg asked Murdoch if he had anything to do with the New York Post’s endorsement of Obama. Murdoch simply said, “Yes.” It’s not often that you hear that kind of honesty.

“A Wall Street Journal story is touched or edited by 8.5 people, and the story gets longer and longer, and people don’t have time for that,” he said. “There is not a story you can’t get in half the space.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday it is optimistic about the stimulus package currently in the works yet warned that the group may butt heads with Democratic leaders over issues like climate change regulation and energy policy.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is “going to be a challenge,” Donohue said.

“The chamber is very encouraged by the direction the President-elect is taking with his recovery package,” Chamber CEO Tom Donohue said Wednesday, as he presented his organization’s 2009 State of American Business report and its proposals for economic recovery. “Even so, we will not hesitate to vigorously fight wrong-headed proposals when necessary.”

The chamber leaders said they expect to see more incentives for energy efficiency in the stimulus package, by way of infrastructure funding.

“Technology’s the ultimate solution here,” Josten said. “We continue to pass laws promoting the development and acceleration of new technologies, and then we don’t fund it and walk away from it.”

The chamber also recommends Congress facilitate the immediate expansion of nuclear energy.

The chamber will not back any particular approach to emissions regulations until it has had a chance to sit down with all the relevant players, he said.

The chamber is also encouraging Congress to provide more assistance to the broadband industry, starting by funding the Broadband Data Improvement Act, which facilitates the collection of data regarding broadband deployment and establishes a grant program to promote Internet usage. The chamber also supports providing the private sector with incentives like tax credits to build out broadband infrastructure.

“A system run by regulators from the top down that could stop any economic recovery in its tracks is not something this country needs,” Donohue said. “It is our belief anything we do about CO2 or to keep people in their jobs ought to be global in nature or use U.S. innovation and technology.”

Lawmakers should consider all means of securing affordable, efficient energy, especially given the current economic climate, the chamber said. The United States is the “Saudi Arabia of coal,” its report says, and the country should continue to invest in clean coal technologies.

“We’re going to make a down payment going forward, but we’re not going to get everything done in one stimulus package,” Josten said.

Waxman advocated for stronger carbon emissions regulations than Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), whom he replaced as head of the committee this year.

“It will give us clean power at low prices for a lifetime,” Donohue said. “We’re going to beat the drum on it.”

He cited the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included incentives for the development of 72 different energy-related technologies. Two-thirds of those have remained unfunded, he said, with the final third underfunded.

(Credit: U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

The chamber remains optimistic it can find a workable approach to energy solutions with Congress, said Bruce Josten, the agency’s executive vice president of government affairs, even though it does not see eye to eye with the new leadership on the issue.

Thomas Donohue

Donohue argued that decisions about energy regulation should not be left up to independent regulatory agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Instead, it should be in the hands of Congress, which can view energy and climate change issues in the context of the larger economy.

(Credit:
Enterasys Networks)

Mike was a sales guy’s sales guy, but also a straight shooter that you couldn’t help but like. My heart goes out to his family and the entire Enterasys organization, which has named Mark Stone of Gores as interim CEO.

Unfortunately, life isn’t always fair. Last week, I learned that Mike Fabiaschi died in his sleep on September 22. He was only 53.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Enterasys, the company is a direct descendent of Cabletron, a networking pioneer famous for hubs, an antipathy for internal meetings, and a wacky macho subculture. Cabletron spun off its product groups in 2000, leading to the creation of Enterasys to carry on in networking.

Mike’s grit seemed to be paying off. Recently, Enterasys formed a joint venture with Siemens, creating a $5 billion entity focused on unified communications. It appeared that salesmanship and a good old Yankee work ethic were paying off.

As a New Englander, industry analyst, and amateur technology industry historian, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for local networking vendor Enterasys.

I only met Mike a few times, but he struck me as exactly what Enterasys needed. Mike was extremely candid about the company’s weaknesses and challenges, but he was the consummate optimist. He told me that he planned to meet every customer he could, come clean on the company’s problems, and work hard to maintain their business. In other words, Mike was going to lead by example, acting as the company evangelist and chief sales officer.

Enterasys has always had great technology, but the company suffered through a number of weak management teams and financial scandals before it was taken private by the Gores Group in 2006. As part of this transition, the company hired industry veteran Mike Fabiaschi as its new president and CEO.

NEW YORK–In technology circles, Dean Kamen is probably best known as the guy who invented the Segway.

But Kamen, also the creator of an array of medical devices and the founder of a worldwide organization that encourages students to study science, is perhaps most passionate about solving third-world health problems as basic as getting access to drinkable water and electricity.

Kamen’s devices are meant to be distributed directly to small communities where they’re needed the most. The water purification system, for example, can clean up to 1,000 liters of water per day–that’s more than enough for the needs of 100 people. One of the electrical generation devices can generate all the energy needed to power one of those devices with enough left over to provide basic electrical needs for that same community.

“We need smart people to focus on the real issues,” Kamen said. “In a free culture, you get what you celebrate.”

It may sound overly ambitious, but Kamen takes inspiration from the mass distribution of cell phones in countries such as India and groundbreaking micro-loan programs that have helped entrepreneurs and communities in poor countries. (He’s not the only one looking toward cell phones as an answer. A 2007 CNET News series featured several similar efforts). He joked that in his “ever-optimistic perspective,” he’d like to think developers will embrace his project as enthusiastically as they do more mercantile efforts.

Click here for full coverage of Web 2.0 Expo

Kamen believes the devices could be built for less than $2,000 each once they get into mass production. The trick, of course, is getting them into mass production.

“Expecting big government to do this is a fool’s errand,” Kamen said in an interview here at the Web 2.0 Expo at the Jacob Javits Center. But asking a consumer electronics company that can enjoy some positive publicity and stir enthusiasm for its devices in the process of doing some good may be a more reasonable pursuit.

That’s where the Nokia contest could help. The contest is split into three categories: Eco-Challenge, Emerging Markets, and Technology Showcase. The Eco-Challenge is designed to create an application that could help consumers, for example, manage their environmental impact. The Technology Showcase is exactly that: It asks for the best single application that runs on a Nokia mobile device.

The unlikely Nokia partnership is part of what Kamen views as a bottoms-up approach to solving global health programs. While large international agencies and governments may be focused on big projects like building dams, Kamen believes going straight to the people who need it the most can be the right answer.

Now he thinks cell phone manufacturer Nokia may be able to help out.

(Credit:
Dean Kamen)

The Emerging Markets category probably cuts closest to Kamen’s aspirations: It asks developers to build applications that could, for example, improve access to weather or health information, create a micropayment system to pay for the distribution of those Kamen devices, even help monitor those water and electrical devices once they’re distributed.

Thursday morning, Nokia is expected to announce its “Calling All Innovators” competition, a global contest that will split up to $150,000 among several winners. The contest, Kamen hopes, will help get two devices he’s built–one that purifies and even desalinates water and another that can generate electricity from a variety of fuel sources–into mass production and make it easier to distribute and manage them throughout the world.

Could Xen benefit from enhanced security? Of course, just as VMware does. VMsafe enables third-party security vendors to check security of virtual machines at the hypervisor level, scanning incoming and outgoing traffic to get excellent visibility into the virtual machine, and thereby to protect it. Adding this to Xen would be a big win.

I just came across this post by Rich Miller, pointing to the XenAccess, a potentially valuable open-source project that aims to bring VMsafe-esque capabilities to the Xen project.

VMsafe provides a unique capability for virtualized environments through an application program interface (API)-sharing program that enables select partners to develop security products for VMware environments. The result is an open approach to security that provides customers with the most secure platform on which they can virtualize their business-critical applications.

It’s just a question of whether the project can evolve from Georgia Tech into a broad, industrywide effort to improve Xen’s security. Given that Xen started as a Cambridge University project and ultimately gained support from Intel, Red Hat, and others, perhaps the odds are in XenAccess’ favor. We’ll see.

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VMware VMsafe is a new security technology for virtualized environments that can help to protect your virtual infrastructure in ways previously not possible with physical machines.

Hatched at Georgia Tech in 2007, the project hasn’t been moving very fast, but perhaps its time has come? That depends on the importance of VMsafe, to some extent. As for VMsafe:

Check the updates you want to install. Look specifically for security patches for Internet Explorer. Once you’ve made your selections, click Install.

As with all Windows updates, you may want to wait a day or two after an IE patch is released before installing it. Then keep an eye on the tech-news sites for reports of update-related glitches. If all appears to be well with the update, add it to your system. Remember what they say about the pioneers being the ones with the arrows in their backs.

Even with Microsoft’s spotty update record, it pays to upgrade to IE 7, and to download and install all available security patches for that version of the browser. If you set Windows to download updates automatically but prompt you to install them, or to alert you when updates are ready to download (as I described in a previous post), click the update-alert icon when it appears in your system tray to open the Windows Update Control Panel applet. In Vista, choose “View available updates” in the right pane under the Install Updates button.

Unfortunately, Microsoft updates the browser only once a month, and even then not all known holes in the browser will be plugged, as Michael Horowitz pointed out in his Defensive Computing blog last week (scroll down to read the updates).

Click "View available updates" under the Install Updates button in Vista's Windows Update applet.

According to Net Applications, IE 6 accounted for more than 26 percent of the browser market in June 2008, while IE 7 was used by over 46 percent of all people on the Web. If your PC runs Windows 2000 or an earlier version of the OS, you can’t upgrade to version 7 of IE. Unless your boss insists that you use the older version of the browser on XP or Vista, you’ve got no excuse for not upgrading to the safer IE 7.

Check the Windows (and IE) updates you want to add and click the Install button.

Yet IE remains the preferred browser of nearly four out of five people surfing the Web. If you’re one of the Web majority, there’s one thing you can do to enhance your online security: Update to the latest IE release.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer remains the most popular browser in the world. This despite report after report calling the program less secure than Mozilla
Firefox, Opera, and other free competitors.

(Credit:
Microsoft)

(Credit:
Microsoft)