Allegheny Technologies reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter profits today but forecast a stronger 2011 because of increasing demand from aerospace and other key markets
post-gazette.com – Latest Local News
Today at the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco, Inside Network’s Justin Smith sat down for a discussion with Facebook CTO Bret Taylor. The two talked about a wide range of issues including the company’s 2010 (when they cut spam by 95 percent, Taylor said). But there was a particular focus on 2011 and the ecosystem. So what’s next for Facebook’s Platform?
Taylor made it very clear that mobile was the big area of focus for the Platform in 2011. But at a higher level Taylor talked a bit about “streamlining things” with regard to all the different ways Facebook is used.
“When we update something, there are about 7 different versions we have to update,” Taylor said. He rattled off a few: facebook.com, m.facebook.com, touch.facebook.com, the iPhone version, the Android version, etc. “It’s an incredible challenge,” he said. “And there’s feature-skew,” he continued.
Taylor noted that this same issue is a big problem for their third-party developers and partners as well. So how do they combat it? HTML5.
Taylor noted that while HTML5 has gotten a lot of hype in Silicon Valley, he does really believe that it’s the long-term answer. He said that Facebook is a bit ahead of the curve currently with over 125 million of their users accessing Facebook regularly from HTML5-compatible devices. “But we’re putting more in,” he said. “We’re getting to the point where it’s becoming a more mature platform,” he continued.
He noted that Facebook is going to release a lot of developer tools in the coming year so that third-parties can utilize HTML5 better as well.
When Smith asked if it was fair to say that Facebook would re-write or re-work things to make everything more standardized around technologies like HTML5, Taylor said, “At a high level, that’s the direction we’re going.”
Taylor credited both Apple and Google for doing great work in pushing HTML5 forward with their web browsers both on the desktop on on mobile. “It’s big for everyone in this room,” he said.
He did acknowledge that HTML5 was still a bit quirky when compared to native applications. “But the gap is closing,” Taylor concluded.
A man serving a 200-year prison sentence for orchestrating a triple murder in Connecticut remains hospitalized after another inmate assaulted him, but his condition has improved.
Boston.com — Latest news
Category : Technology
Two days ago, Verizon posted their first iPhone teaser commercial to their YouTube page. The tagline? “It begins.” Now, it looks as if Apple is ready to follow suit with its own marketing muscle. But they’re not just playing up the Verizon iPhone, but rather the fact that it’s now on two networks in the U.S. The tagline for this one? “Two is better than one.”
The 30-second clip below was posted to YouTube today. It’s a fairly standard iPhone ad with a hand holding up an iPhone 4 in front of a white background. Except in this commercial, there are two iPhone 4′s side-by-side. As Strauss’ Blue Danube Waltz plays, the dueling iPhones perform the same tasks in the same way — though there are differences in the pictures being looked at, and the websites being visited, etc. Then the focus shifts to one the devices to show off iPhone 4′s features. Then it’s back to the two phones, culminating in a side-by-side FaceTime conversation. The phones are then removed, revealing both AT&T and Verizon logos. Then the tagline is put up. Then the iPhone 4 logo.
This type of commercial makes perfect sense for Apple. Since AT&T is still a vital partner for the device, Apple can’t afford to alienate them by putting out Verizon iPhone-only commercials. It’s the same reason why it was Verizon, and not Apple, that led the announcement of the device earlier this month.
Further, the commercial works because Apple emphasizes that the device on the different networks are the same, you just have a choice now. That’s not entirely true, since the Verizon iPhone won’t be able to do talking & surfing at the same time (insert the joke about the AT&T iPhone not being able to do calls at all), but all the core iPhone features will be the same.
One thing not touted in the commercial is the Personal Hotspot feature. Verizon still hasn’t announced the pricing for this, and Apple still hasn’t confirmed that it will come to AT&T also with a future iOS upgrade (though it seems like it will be the case).
A northeastern Indiana snack manufacturer announced it’s recalling eight-ounce packages of Better Made-brand Corn Pops because the packaging doesn’t reveal the presence of milk.
freep.com | Local News
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau says 2010 was better than some expected, thanks in part to the city’s first cruise ship visits in 25 years. Holland America’s Amsterdam carries nearly 1,400 passengers and docked nine times last summer in Anchorage. In its annual …
www.washingtontimes.com stories: headlines
U.S. homebuilders are coming off their two worst years in more than a half-century, and the outlook for this year is only slightly better.
Vindy.com Mobile – Regional and National News
Category : Webmd
These investment classes are historically more stable and easier to invest in than oil and other commodities.
Investopedia Financial Edge
