Friday, December 28, 2007
Personal computer security to the Google Android
Maintaining Security for Your Home Computer is the topic of the next meeting of the Mid-Shore Computer Users Group.
Gary Epton will give a presentation on security for the home computer during the group's meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce conference room in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center.
As an advance notice, the group's December meeting will be on the second Thursday of the month instead of the third Thursday to avoid holiday conflicts. That meeting will feature a "Holiday Potpourri" where members will share ideas with each other. More on that in December.
Did you notice last week's Time magazine? It featured the iPhone on the cover and declared it to be the invention of the year. Among the reasons given for the selection was the assertion that the iPhone will make other phones better and that it is more than a phone, it is a platform. It runs on a version of OS X (the Mac operating system) and promises more functionality down the road.
We are beginning to see the fruits planted by Apple. Just last week, Google announced a new software platform called Android. It is not a phone. Some had speculated that the Internet giant (see many of my previous columns) was developing a gPhone. That has proven not to be the case for now.
The Android software platform is being released to developers in what they call the Open Handset Alliance to create software for a new generation of cell phones. Actually they will cease to be cell phones, they will be mobile devices for interpersonal communications whether it be via voice or the Internet.
At the present time mobile devices or "smart phones" are controlled by the cell phone carriers. There are many cell phones with a variety of functions. The cell carriers decide what features their devices will offer.
The Google initiate is seen as being a way to force the hand of the cell carriers. With the software developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a carrier will be left in the dust if it doesn't provide the range of services available.
The public is becoming more sophisticated in how it wants to communicate. While many people still just want a good, reliable voice connection on their cell phone, many want good, reliable Internet access. After you check your office email, you might want to check out the most receive hot video on YouTube or watch an episode of "Heroes" while you ride the train to work.
We will have to see how this alliance with Google develops. Already Intel has agreed to participate along with 33 other companies. Intel is developing its own Mobile Internet Device (MID) and it looks like the alliance software might be a good fit for the chipmaker. I would be surprised if Palm, developers of the Palm Pilot (PDA) devices, doesn't come on board eventually. Palm has initially turned a cold shoulder to Google's effort. I don't see how that could last. Palm needs the alliance more than it would admit.
Of course, this evolution of the personal communications device also will have an impact on my business. As these devices become more prevalent and their use becomes easier, there will be increasing pressure for the news media to deliver their product via these devices. It is a challenge to package what traditionally came on a 12-inch by 21-inch sheet of paper into a small pixel digital image window.
It will happen. We just don't now how rocky the path will be to get there.
As always, you can reach me at rpolkchespub.com.
Gary Epton will give a presentation on security for the home computer during the group's meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce conference room in the Easton Plaza Shopping Center.
As an advance notice, the group's December meeting will be on the second Thursday of the month instead of the third Thursday to avoid holiday conflicts. That meeting will feature a "Holiday Potpourri" where members will share ideas with each other. More on that in December.
Did you notice last week's Time magazine? It featured the iPhone on the cover and declared it to be the invention of the year. Among the reasons given for the selection was the assertion that the iPhone will make other phones better and that it is more than a phone, it is a platform. It runs on a version of OS X (the Mac operating system) and promises more functionality down the road.
We are beginning to see the fruits planted by Apple. Just last week, Google announced a new software platform called Android. It is not a phone. Some had speculated that the Internet giant (see many of my previous columns) was developing a gPhone. That has proven not to be the case for now.
The Android software platform is being released to developers in what they call the Open Handset Alliance to create software for a new generation of cell phones. Actually they will cease to be cell phones, they will be mobile devices for interpersonal communications whether it be via voice or the Internet.
At the present time mobile devices or "smart phones" are controlled by the cell phone carriers. There are many cell phones with a variety of functions. The cell carriers decide what features their devices will offer.
The Google initiate is seen as being a way to force the hand of the cell carriers. With the software developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a carrier will be left in the dust if it doesn't provide the range of services available.
The public is becoming more sophisticated in how it wants to communicate. While many people still just want a good, reliable voice connection on their cell phone, many want good, reliable Internet access. After you check your office email, you might want to check out the most receive hot video on YouTube or watch an episode of "Heroes" while you ride the train to work.
We will have to see how this alliance with Google develops. Already Intel has agreed to participate along with 33 other companies. Intel is developing its own Mobile Internet Device (MID) and it looks like the alliance software might be a good fit for the chipmaker. I would be surprised if Palm, developers of the Palm Pilot (PDA) devices, doesn't come on board eventually. Palm has initially turned a cold shoulder to Google's effort. I don't see how that could last. Palm needs the alliance more than it would admit.
Of course, this evolution of the personal communications device also will have an impact on my business. As these devices become more prevalent and their use becomes easier, there will be increasing pressure for the news media to deliver their product via these devices. It is a challenge to package what traditionally came on a 12-inch by 21-inch sheet of paper into a small pixel digital image window.
It will happen. We just don't now how rocky the path will be to get there.
As always, you can reach me at rpolkchespub.com.
# posted by Richard Polk @ 4:53 AM 
