racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

It’s the post-PC era, as the late Steve Jobs has called it. tablets and smartphones have far overtaken desktops and notebooks in terms of growth. And given the varied price points at which consumers can acquire mobile phones and tablet PCs (what with the cheap China-made Android tablets), computers are becoming cheaper and cheaper. But Microsoft is focusing on a post-post-PC era. Microsoft has already hinted that its upcoming Windows 8 operating system will run on both mobile and desktop platforms.

Will Microsoft merge its mobile and desktop operating systems with Windows 8? Microsoft has reassigned its chief of the Windows Mobile 7 division to a secret project under CEO Steve Ballmer. But whether this means they’re surrendering in the smartphone market, or they’re planning a resurgence through a unified OS, we will know by 2012, when Windows 8 launches.

The mobile industry is in exciting times lately, with news from major players. First is Microsoft’s silent roll-out of its latest Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” update. The update, which will include WiFi tethering, multitasking and improved social networking features, will start rolling out to Window Phone 7 devices starting this week. Availability will depend on carrier and region, though.

Samsung and Intel Launch Tizen OS

The LiMo and Linux foundations have announced a new mobile operating system. “Tizen” will be co-developed by Intel and Samsung, merging their MeeGo and LiMo platforms. Tizen promises an open-source, open-standards approach to mobile operating systems, and will have the support of various networks and handset makers.

iPod Classic and Shuffle on Their Way Out?

Apple is focusing on touchscreen iOS devices, and might discontinue the iPod Classic (with clickwheel) and Shuffle (without screen) soon. The iPod Nano will be their entry-level device. Should I say goodbye to my 5.5th gen iPod?

Barnes & Noble, Amazon to Launch New Tablets

Amazon has just announced their new Kindle Fire tablets. Priced at $199, and with free access to Amazon content, they might just have a winner here. Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble is reportedly updating their Nook Color line in time for the holidays, with both a premium and an inexpensive Android tablet.

Microsoft Extorting from Android Manufacturers?

Samsung and Microsoft have recently entered a cross-licensing deal, in which Samsung pays royalties to MS for each Android phone sold. Google says Microsoft is extorting money from Android makers. Microsoft basically says “Shut up and pay up.”

Companies Now Subsidizing Employees for Gadget Purchases

IT departments are losing control over devices, as companies move toward “bring your own device” policies. 41% of surveyed firms actually provide subsidies or co-payment schemes for smartphones, tablets and notebook computers.

In other news: Delicious has been relaunched. Facebook will update profiles with Timeline. Chrome 14 is out, with NaCl support and security updates. Do you have a website? Turn then into iPad HTML5 apps with Pressly. Will Facebook ever release an iPad app?

Mobile devices are gaining popularity as preferred communication and productivity devices in the workplace. In fact, mobile devices are set to overtake wireline access (cable, DSL) in terms of Internet use by 2015. But before you start using your iPad or Android device as your main work device while mobile, consider investing in a few apps, including unified messaging services, virtualization software, document management and cloud storage.

Convert Your Content Into HTML5 Tablet Apps

Meanwhile, if you’re on the other end of the content production business, you might want to consider optimizing your website for tablet computers. Apps like Pressly will turn your website into a format for tablets, which will include support for touch interfaces, gestures, swipes and the like. No need to build an iPad or Android app from scratch, since the service will do the conversion for you.

Chrome 14 On Its Way to Secure Browsing?

Google has just rolled out version 14 of its Chrome Browser, with support for the Native Client or NaCl platform. This is a secure environment for developing applications in C/C++, which can securely run in their own memory space.

SSL No Longer Secure?

But before you think you’re securely accessing your email, bank and other secure websites, consider that SSL/TLS transactions may have already been compromised. Security researchers have found a way to undermine the confidentiality of SSL/TLS, and even encrypted traffic can be viewed.

Mac OS X Lion Also Vulnerable

Aside from SSL potentially being broken, OS X Lion users might also want to watch out for possible intrusions. Security researchers have discovered a serious flaw in OS X Lion that lets any user change passwords with local access, without the need for admin access.

Linux, Android Concerns?

If you’re a fan of free software (meaning free as in speech, not free as in beer) you might want to think about how free Android really is. FSF’s Richard Stallman says Android still severely limits user control over the firmware and hardware. And if you use Linux, the introduction of unified EFI in Windows-8 certified computers might limit your options, as dual-booting or even booting Linux may not be possible.

Apple has long stood against implementing Flash on iOS — and to some extent on its portable computers — due to the supposedly closed and resource-intensive nature of the platform. In former Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ infamous “Thoughts on Flash” open letter in 2010, he challenged Adobe to instead focus on emerging open standards like HTML5. It seems Adobe has risen up to the challenge with the launch of Flash-free Flash for iOS.

Cloud-based computing made news when Google released its Chromebooks through Samsung and Acer. While it’s certainly novel to run all your applications from the cloud, you won’t be able to do much work when you’re offline. But Google’s latest features will make Gmail, Google Docs and Calendar users happy, with offline Gmail, Docs and Calendar functionality.

With these, Chrome OS and Chrome browser users can access emails, schedules and documents even without a working connection. The free Chrome plugin works via HTML5 to enable both online and offline functionality. The app actually delivers a similar user experience as with  the tablet/iPad version of Gmail and Docs, so tablet users will find this familiar.

In other news today …

Search Becomes More Social With +1 Integration

Google has earlier included +1 support in Search. But the big change of late is that the search giant will actually start using +1 data in its ranking algorithm. This gives more value to Google+ shares and website +1 buttons.

Amazon is Getting Ready to Release Tablets

Amazon reportedly has Android-powered tablets in the works. The retail giant will start shipping 7-inch tablets this October, primarily meant as higher-end ebook readers. Meanwhile, OEMs in China will start production of the 10.1-inch Amazon Android tablet starting first quarter of 2012.

Microsoft Windows Will Get Ribbons

MS Office users may have balked at the Ribbon interface introduced in Office 2007 onwards. But Microsoft is implementing the Ribbon in Windows Explorer when Windows 8 is released. This is in the aim of providing a better interface for both mouse- and touch-based computing.

Create PDFs From Your iPhone

Adobe has released a 10 dollar app that lets users create PDF files straight from mobile phones. No need for stellar processing power, since all the conversion is done in the cloud.

Google Warns of Security Breach

Are you paranoid about your online identity and security? Watch out for man-in-the-middle attacks, Google warns. A Dutch SSL certificate issuer has recently been breached, and attackers might pretend to be Gmail or any other Google app.

Are Patents Good or Bad?

This is a pressing question in today’s tech business environment rife with lawsuits. Independent BlackBerry developers are getting lawsuits for inclusion of in-app payment systems in their software. Google and Apple are helping out their respective third-party developers. Will RIM stand up for its developers, too? And the bigger question is this — are patents good or bad? Do they encourage or stifle innovation?

Check out more of my recent articles at CMS Wire and TFTS.