Computer tech

commentary The more popular Android becomes, the more it seems to suffer from an identity crisis.

Android 4.0 is designed to be more approachable than its precursors, opening up Google's operating system to a broader market. But that shift toward the mainstream market is hobbled by techie-focused marketing messages.

The design of Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich, manifested in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus due out in November, indicates that Google is trying to aim Android for that broader market. It's designed to be more physical, with touch actions letting people do what they want without … Read more

commentary I'm generally an optimistic guy, but iMessage left me feeling that the cup is half empty.

Apple's new service for iOS 5 devices lets people send messages to each other through a system that embraces and then extends the traditional text-messaging world. It's got plenty to be excited about, but overall I'm sad that a powerful computer is repeating the mistakes of the instant-messaging market.

Here's why: I'm glad somebody with Apple's clout is sticking it to the carriers when it comes to overpriced text messages. But I need another proprietary messaging … Read more

The U.S. carrier T-Mobile announced plans today to sell to two Android tablets with 4G networking abilities in coming weeks, its own 7-inch SpringBoard and Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Each will come with the newest version of Google's tablet-oriented Honeycomb incarnation of the Android operating system, version 3.2, and will go on sale "in time for the holidays," the company said.

Samsung's 10.1-inch tablet first debuted months ago, but without 4G networking abilities. It's at the heart of a swirling collection of patent infringement lawsuits with Apple, whose iOS-powered iPad … Read more

LA DEFENSE, France--BitTorrent, a company that's enabled network-crushing levels of file sharing, can be seen as Internet service providers' natural opponent. But the company's chief executive today entered the lion's den with a surprising message:

"I'm actually here to help."

How? In a speech at the Broadband World Forum here, BitTorrent CEO Eric Klinker tried to build enthusiasm for his company's Micro Transport Protocol, or μTP, an open-source technology that's built into the company's client software for sharing files over peer-to-peer connections. μTP increases network efficiency and addresses congestion--the biggest concern … Read more

LA DEFENSE, France--Governments are eager for the benefits of high-speed Internet access, but if they really want it, they need to reform regulations to help those who would build it, a Google executive argued today.

"Regulation can get in the way of innovation," said Kevin Lo, who as general manager of access oversees the Google Fiber project to bring extremely fast Net access to Kansas City in Missouri and Kansas. "Regulations tied to physical infrastructure sometimes defer the investment altogether," he said in a speech at Broadband World Forum here.

Tension between private-sector ambitions and public-sector … Read more

Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison made his fortune with software, but he'll take the stage today to show off the first servers powered by the company's new Sparc T4 processor.

The product, called the Sparc SuperCluster T4-4, is "the first engineered system from a new generation of high-performance Oracle Sparc servers," according to an Oracle invitation to the event . Ellison will share the stage with John Fowler, the systems executive vice president who also led Sun's server group, at Oracle's Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters.

Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems last year for its server products, … Read more

Microsoft, addressing a painful part of using the company's operating system, says Windows 8 starts up 30 percent to 70 percent faster than the same machines running Windows 7.

That's music to my ears.

Alas, I've heard Microsoft say it's speeding up Windows startup so many times over the years that I'm skeptical it'll ever really happen, especially given that part of the responsibility lies with third-party software out of Microsoft's direct control. This time, though, Microsoft is tackling the problem with a more dramatic approach that preserves some of the computer's … Read more

Michael Hart, who laid the foundation for today's e-book industry by launching Project Gutenberg 40 years ago, died Tuesday at age 64, the project announced.

Hart began the digitization project on July 4, 1971, by typing the text of the U.S. Declaration of Independence into a Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the Materials Research Lab at the University of Illinois. Next came the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, the Bible, and Shakespeare.

It grew from there. As of March, the project released its 40,000th digitized book and combined another 60,000 from other sources, Hart … Read more

Google released a preview version of an Android programming tool plug-in today to let developers write software for Google TV devices.

"With the upcoming OS update to Honeycomb, Google TV devices will be Android compatible," said Ambarish Kenghe, a Google TV product manager, in a blog post today. "That means developers can build great new Android apps for TV, optimize existing mobile or tablet apps for TV, and distribute those apps through Android Market."

Silicon Valley companies such as Google, Yahoo, Intel, and Apple have tried for years to marry the TV to the Internet, providing … Read more