Google to shut down Orkut on September 30

Well now it's going to happen ,we r gonna miss ORKUT . The nostalgia ,remember those days we were crazy for scraps .


"Over the past decade, YouTube, Blogger and Google+ have taken off, with communities springing up in every corner of the world. Because the growth of these communities has outpaced Orkut's growth, we've decided to bid Orkut farewell," Google said in a post on the Orkut blog on Monday.

Orkut was launched early in 2004, the same year that Facebook, now the world's No.1 social network with 1.28 billion users, was founded.
The service's shutdown comes as Google's social networking plans remain in question. In April, Vic Gundotra, the head of Google's social networking services, left the company.

Gundotra oversaw the 2011 launch of Google+, a social networking service similar to Facebook. Gundotra said in October that 300 million users visit the Google+ web page every month.

Google has increasingly sought to position Google+ less as a social networking "stream" that competes with Facebook, and more as a means of establishing a unified "user identity" system to improve Google's various Web properties. Last year, for example, Google began requiring users of its YouTube site to sign in with their Google+ identity before posting comments about videos.

The company said it would preserve an archive of all Orkut "communities" that will be available from Sept. 30.

"If you don't want your posts or name to be included in the community archive, you can remove Orkut permanently from your Google account," Google said.

The Big Winners at Google I/O 2014

Based on Google I/O, the next couple of years are going to be pretty amazing. In the fourth quarter, we should be up to our armpits in new phones and tablets that showcase what Google talked about on stage, and next year we'll have aftermarket radios that will connect far more intimately with our cars. If you want to buy a new phone, tablet or even car, it might be wise to wait a bit.

If you watched the keynote at last week's Google I/O, Nvidia clearly was the big winner. It was showcased in TVs, mobile devices and automotive as the supplier of a key technology. Other brands were mentioned, but it was Nvidia that was mentioned most consistently -- and it was its technology apparently running or connected to most of the demos.

Lenovo, on the other hand, was only mentioned in passing -- yet I think it actually was the other big winner. I'll explain, and then close with my product of the week: the BackBeat Fit, an amazing wireless headset from Plantronics for those of us trying to keep in shape.

There Are Partners and Then There Are Partners

Years ago, I was on a team that counseled vendors on how to make presentations to analysts and media, and one of the things we focused on was the fact that most vendors didn't understand partners. You see, anybody can put up a bunch of logos or get onto a list of a bunch of logos, but that isn't the important part.

The important part is where you rank in that group. Does the logo mean that some executive showed up at a meeting or simply called in a favor? Or does it mean that the relationship is strategic and truly beneficial?

Google put up a lot of names during its keynote -- car companies, technology companies, and other "partners" -- but Google is pretty much famous for blowing off other firms, so the fact that a brand is on the chart doesn't really mean that much. What matters is whether Google treats it as special or not, and that you don't get from a chart. You get that from behavior.

Nvidia Was Loved

In the Google I/O keynote and the events that followed, Nvidia came up again and again. In the gaming segment, it even figured in the talk preamble, which spoke to how mobile technology was starting to rival PC platforms.

It was almost word for word from Nvidia's pitch for K1, which is its mobile part designed with desktop graphics technology, and then Google actually referenced that part in the demonstration. What came out later was that the TV it was using for the demonstration also was using that part, and it would be a core component of the Google TV offerings coming to market.

When Google drifted to automotive with Android Auto, and it referenced Nvidia K1 again, likely because Nvidia has the strongest automotive effort in its segment, with design wins that cover most of Europe and are showcased in Teslas.

The only place this affinity broke down was in the aftermarket, where Nvidia isn't yet focused, but where Google clearly was moving, regardless. It embraced vendors like Clarion, Pioneer and Alpine. Google clearly understands that given the three-to-five year development cycle and the current three-to-10 year release cycle, car companies just don't cycle technology fast enough to drive a wave like this. However, the aftermarket updates at least annually and sometimes more quickly.

Perhaps the most interesting initiative tightly connected to Nvidia is Google's Project Tango -- strangely, not mentioned during the keynote. Project Tango is a tablet-sized 3D scanner that can be used to capture virtual images of rooms and objects. It can be used to virtually navigate a room later or as the front end for a 3D scanner. The development kit is Nvidia K1-based.

So, while other firms clearly were mentioned, Nvidia was loved, which suggests its relationship with Google is far more intimate. In partnerships, intimacy is important if the relationship is to be meaningful and lucrative.

Lenovo Got a Beachhead

One of the best received parts of the keynote came when Google promised to give attendees Samsung, LG or Motorola smartwatches. The best of the set, both from my view and the audience's -- based on the applause -- was the Moto 360 watch from Motorola. It actually looks and behaves like a watch and then magically transforms into a smartwatch when needed.

Lenovo is a huge power in China and a growing power in emerging markets with smartphones, but it barely has a presence in this segment in much of Europe and the U.S. It has been looking to establish a beachhead in the U.S. and European markets and recently bought Motorola from Google in order to get that beachhead.

Given that the audience for a developer conference typically is made up of technology geeks and influencers, the fact that they seemed to lust for the Moto 360 the most suggests that Lenovo got a huge win (assuming the acquisition goes through). It actually could use the success of the Moto 360 to become a player in the Google space but likely should consider Nvidia to get there.

Wrapping Up: It's Going to Be a Huge 4th Quarter

Based on what we saw at Google I/O, the next couple of years are going to be pretty amazing. In the fourth quarter, we should be up to our armpits in new phones and tablets that showcase what Google talked about on stage, and next year we'll have aftermarket radios that will connect far more intimately with our cars.

If Nvidia is successful with its modular initiative for in-car entertainment, then we should even have new cars that are far easier to upgrade. That suggests that if you want to buy a new phone, tablet or even car, it might be wise to wait a bit.

Google demonstrated the kind of cross-company integration that Microsoft's new CEO also is promising, and Google's success last week does suggest Microsoft is finally on the right path as well. In the end, Google did an impressive job at Google I/O, and both Nvidia and Lenovo benefited from it in particular.

Whoever prepped the folks who did the keynote at Google I/O did a particularly good job. It moved sharply, got lots of applause and was very entertaining.

In 'The Internet's Own Boy,' the Good Guy Doesn't Win

"Swartz clearly didn't want to do any harm. He wanted to help with what he saw as a major problem," said Rob Enderle, principal of the Enderle Group. "A lot of young hackers feel that way, and in that respect this movie is a good thing. Oftentimes, young adults don't have a sense of the risk they are taking and will do things without quite thinking them through."

The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, a documentary directed and produced by Brian Knappenberger, is opening at theaters and online this weekend -- and re-opening wounds about the subject and his suicide.

It is also serving as a reminder that often the good guy doesn't win, said Rob Enderle, principal of the Enderle Group.

"I hope that is the biggest takeaway people watching this movie have," he said. "If you are going to fight this fight, be aware it will get really ugly."

Who Was Aaron Swartz?

Aaron Swartz, a Harvard University fellow, computer program and Internet hacktivist, was responsible, among other things, for creating an open source system called "DeadDrop," which was posthumously developed by The New Yorker to allow informants to deliver documents anonymously. The Freedom of the Press Foundation has since taken over development of the software.

Swartz worked on a number of high-profile Internet projects, including RSS, Creative Commons and Reddit. He became a partner in Reddit after it merged with his company, Infogami. Swartz founded the group Demand Progress, which helped to derail the Stop Online Piracy Act that was making its way through Congress a few years ago.

The beginning of Swartz's undoing came early in 2011, when he was arrested for systematically downloading hundreds of academic journal articles from an MIT database. Federal prosecutors later charged him with two counts of wire fraud and numerous violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Swartz faced US$1 million in fines and 35 years in prison. He hanged himself following the prosecution's second refusal of a plea bargain. He was 26 years old.

The prosecution of Swartz's case has received heavy criticism for being overzealous.

Remembering Old Times

The Internet's Own Boy takes viewers through Swartz's accomplishments, followed by his standoff with federal prosecutors. The documentary became available on the Internet on demand on Friday, simultaneous with its release in major cities in the U.S. and Canada. Reviews so far have been positive.

Early reviews suggest that moviegoers are interested in more than just revisiting the Internet's "old days," circa 2009. The movie "may inspire people to ask hard questions about how the new world is being shaped away from view, behind closed doors," comments a fan reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes.

"A moving documentary that will leave you heartsick as well as more than a little angry," says another.

"The documentary's release as the net neutrality debate rages will only underscore what we have lost," notes a third.

The movie does have the potential to rile viewers, depending on how popular it becomes said David Johnson the CEO of Strategic Vision. 

It is not unheard of for laws to be passed or changed in memory of a person, although usually this person is a victim of a horrific crime. Not everyone would necessarily see Swartz as a victim, Johnson said.

Politics likely will influence viewers' sympathy toward Swartz, although this is not a simple Republican-Democratic divide issue, he remarked.

This movie perhaps will be viewed differently, coming as it does in the aftermath of Edward Snowden's numerous revelations about the erosion of privacy in the U.S. and around the world, than if it had come out earlier.

"I think people who might not have been sympathetic to Swartz in 2013 might be willing to look more favorably at what he was doing now," Johnson said.

"Swartz clearly didn't want to do any harm. He wanted to help with what he saw as a major problem," Enderle said. "A lot of young hackers feel that way, and in that respect this movie is a good thing. Oftentimes, young adults don't have a sense of the risk they are taking and will do things without quite thinking them through."

Sometimes, he reflected, you can accomplish the same goals without a huge risk. 

'Lifelike' New Robots Deliver News, Chat You Up

Kodomoroid and Otonaroid are "a big step towards autonomous human androids," said tech analyst Rob Enderle. "You not only need to get the computer core right, but the appearance and movements right -- otherwise, you end up with something really creepy, and these showcase creepy in spades." Still, "you have to start someplace, and these efforts represent the state of the art."

Two humanoid robots on Wednesday made their debut as part of a new exhibit at Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, or Miraikan.

The newly unveiled Kodomoroid -- a child android -- and Otonaroid, an adult female android, are designed to fill human roles as the world's first android announcer and as the Miraikan's android science communicator, respectively.

Along with Telenoid -- a minimalistic humanlike robot introduced in 2010 by Osaka University and Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International -- the two are part of a new exhibition at the museum entitled, "Android: What is Human?" It is curated by Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University.

A Variety of Voices and Languages

Androids are robots that closely resemble humans in appearance and movement, thanks in part to soft skin made from silicon and smooth motion made possible by artificial muscle.

As these resemblances become ever closer, the distinctions between robots and humans could become less and less clear, Miraikan noted.

Kodomoroid is a tele-operated android robot resembling a human child that can recite news reports gathered from around the world 24 hours a day in a variety of voices and languages.

Otonaroid is a teleoperated android robot resembling an adult female that has been "hired" by Miraikan as a robot science communicator. At the exhibition, visitors can have face-to-face conversations with Otonaroid and also operate it themselves.

Going beyond the most basic communication, the robots reportedly are able to use humor and display confusion as well. During a press preview, Kodomoroid reportedly told reporters her "dream" was to have her own TV show.

Also available at the exhibit is Telenoid, a tele-operated baby-like android robot with a minimal design, created in an attempt to embody the minimum physical requirements for human-like communication. The design of Telenoid omits specific human physical features in favor of a neutral humanoid appearance, so as to allow those communicating with it to imbue it with characteristics of their choosing.

The new Miraikan exhibit opened Wednesday and is expected to run for at least three years.

'Creepy in Spades'

Kodomoroid and Otonaroid are not the only examples of increasingly lifelike robots out there today. Pepper -- an android recently unveiled by Softbank that is designed to read human emotions -- is slated to become available in Japan in February for a base price of 198,000 yen (US$1,947).

Either way, Kodomoroid and Otonaroid are "a big step towards autonomous human androids," Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, told TechNewsWorld. "You not only need to get the computer core right, but the appearance and movements right -- otherwise, you end up with something really creepy, and these showcase creepy in spades."

Still, "you have to start someplace, and these efforts represent the state of the art in terms of robotic humanlike animation -- and also showcase that we have a long way to go before we get this right," Enderle added.

"Initially, the most successful robots remain those that don't try to look human and focus on doing things machines do better than we do, but these efforts provide a stepping stone to much more humanlike future efforts that are a decade or more out," he predicted.

'This May Take 50 Years'

Indeed, "advancements continue to be made in the area of robotics, but robotics is very complicated," Jim McGregor, founder and principal analyst with Tirias Research, told us.

"You have to think of this as a long-term evolution in various technologies that will eventually impact just about every aspect of our lives," McGregor added, "but this may take 50 years, not the five or 10 everyone predicts." 

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Cruise RP-1 Kit Transforms Regular Audis Into Driverless Cars

Not quite fully autonomous, the Cruise RP-1 system kicks the concept of cruise control up a few notches. A qualified driver must be on board to steer the car on and off highways and to make any desired lane changes, but the automatic system can take over during long stretches, relieving tedium and allowing a driver to make more productive use of travel time.

Cruise aims to spark a revolution among autopilot technology with a US$10,000 accessory that consumers can use to create a self-driving car, of sorts.

At the heart of the Cruise RP-1 system is a sensor pod that gets mounted on the roof of a car. It utilizes cameras, data and radar to analyze the vehicle's surroundings. With that information, it can make changes in steering to keep a driver within lane boundaries, monitor nearby vehicles or other obstacles, and move or brake to avoid a collision.

The RP-1, which is meant to be used on the highway during daylight hours only, comes with an app that gives the driver insight into what the sensor pod is seeing and doing. So, a driver could steer a vehicle to the desired lane on a highway, then push a button to allow the RP-1 system to take control. The driver can regain control simply by tapping the gas pedal or grabbing the steering wheel, as with a standard cruise control system.

As of now, the technology is compatible only with Audi A4 and S4 models, but Cruise is working on expanding availability going forward.

Cruise opened preorders on Monday. The first 50 customers to pay the full $10k in advance will become members of the Founders Club. Others can reserve an RP-1 system for $1k.

The company is shooting for launch in the first half of 2015. That date depends on a few factors, though, including the results of third-party testing and ensuring compliance with California's restrictions on such devices.

Sweet Spot

Beyond being safer in general, driverless autos could provide more transportation freedom to non-drivers, such as the elderly or disabled, say proponents. Google is road-testing a driverless car that doesn't even have an interior steering wheel.

Cruise's technology isn't there yet -- it requires a driver at the wheel. It's designed to ease the driving experience and help people avoid mistakes that lead to collision, rather than to do all the driving automatically.

"Google is taking on some of those hard problems like people with a lack of mobility," Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt told the reporters, "but we're kind of starting from the opposite end, helping people who maybe get stuck in traffic and building on that. We see ourselves tackling those hard problems several years down the road."

New Approach

One of the company's biggest challenges will be winning consumer approval and trust, Vogt acknowledged. Giving up even a little control of a vehicle can be a scary thing, and an established brand like Google might have an easier time getting people on board.

That attitude is understandable, said Vogt, which is one of the reasons Cruise unveiled the RP-1 so early.

"We are working to earn our consumer's trust by doing plenty of demos, being transparent about what we're doing with testing, and bringing in third-party testers," he noted. "We wanted to announce this well before we launched the first prototypes, so that we could have time to win confidence."

That's a smart startup branding strategy, said Alain Kornhauser, professor of operations research and financial engineering at Princeton University, and director of its Transportation Program. It is a great way to get people talking about the potential of a quality product.

"The challenge is trust. It may take a little while, but I'm sure that they'll brand their message so people will trust them more than GM," Kornhauser told the reporters. "There is a substantial base of drivers that would love to take their hands off the wheel some of the time. This has the opportunity to go viral. If not this effort, it could lead to others sprouting out around it."

A facebook Tech Page You Gonna Like

Hey guys i Just Came across a facebook page that gives my blog updates and guess what , the admin turned out to be my friend so he made me an admin too . the page is relatively new so i ask you guys to be there on the page  and post some real awesome things . you know what , i like people thinking innovatively so you got a chance to raise a awesome page.so grab it now here's the link - https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-SuPer-TEch-Devilz

Enjoy Yourself Guys

All Things Appy: Top 5 iOS Utilities and Tools

Native file management has never been one of iOS' strong points, particularly if you're used to Windows-based file browsing. However, this app helps fill some holes with a local file browser, sharing of local files via FTP, reading Office documents and more. This is the free, well-featured come-on version. There's also a paid power edition that includes such things as PDF markup.

While Apple's mobile operating system does hold users' hands when it comes to device management more so than competitor Android, there are additional steps you can take to optimize your iOS device.

Free third-party utilities are available in app form to beef up battery management, cloud storage and camera backup, as well as to find lost phones, among other things.

Here's a look at the top five free utilities and tools for iOS.

About Apple's Apps: Apple's apps can be installed from the iTunes store. Browse to the store from your phone or iPad and then search for the app you want to download.

No. 1: Battery Doctor HD

Battery Doctor HD is rated 4-plus stars out of a possible 5 for all versions, based on 2,201 ratings, and four-plus stars out of 5 for the current version based on 93 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

This iPad app, from Beijing Kingsoft, is one of the most popular battery management tools available in the iTunes store, and it looks fabulous with its elegant and sophisticated graphic design.

However, where it really helps in iPad battery management is in its power-saving tips, along with steps as to how to accomplish the power savings.

For example, it suggests limiting of use of location services and shows how to achieve that through Settings changes.

Similar apps are available for iPhones too.

No. 2: Dropbox

Dropbox is rated 3-plus stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 42,833 ratings, and 4 stars out of five for the current version based on 97 ratings in the iTunes App Store

Still our favorite cloud-based file storage and backup option, this service commonly is found on Android devices and Microsoft PCs too, so it's significantly more functional than native Apple offerings.

The killer feature in this app is the automatic camera upload capability, which shunts a device's camera-captured images to a cloud-based Dropbox account folder that can be shared seamlessly among family and colleagues.

No. 3: Find My iPhone

Find My iPhone is rated 3 stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 63,694 ratings, and 4 stars out of 5 for the current version based on 2,029 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

Find My iPhone does pretty much what it says it does. Lose your device and all may not be lost, because you can log on to another iOS iPad or iPhone, and see the detected missing smartphone or tablet on a map.

Additional functionality includes the ability to remotely lock the device, play sounds, display messages or wipe it. If you want to play detective, you can see where it's been, too.

No. 4: FileApp

FileApp is rated 3 stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 14,589 ratings, and 3 stars out of 5 for the current version based on 7 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

Native file management has never been one of iOS' strong points, particularly if you're used to Windows-based file browsing. However, this app helps fill some holes with a local file browser, sharing of local files via FTP, reading Office documents and more.

This is the free, well-featured come-on version. There's also a paid power edition that includes such things as PDF markup.

No. 5: Flashlight

Flashlight is rated 3-plus stars out of a possible 5 for all versions based on 78,699 ratings, and 4-plus stars out of 5 for the current version based on 377 ratings in the iTunes App Store.

iHandy's Flashlight is a hugely popular add-on, and it includes a bonus compass. If you aren't running the latest version of iOS, which has a flashlight built in, this app lets you read menus in darkened restaurants, among other things.

A strobe mode with different frequencies, a mini-map and an SOS signal might save your life in an emergency too.

Ever Wondered how to make your video viral ?

Ever Wondered how to make your video viral ?

guys have you ever wondered how to make your video viral hit? do you dream of millions of likings for your video? 

if yes ,then it's sure for you.

so let me tell you some simple steps to make this dream come true.

1

Establish benchmarks for the viral video.

• Keep the video short—between 15-90 seconds is ideal.
• Allow the video to be easily remixed.
• Do not advertise in the video.
• Create shock value.

1. 2
   Make 3-5 videos.
2. 3
   Start a focus group for the videos.
3. 4
   Determine if the video meets any of the following traits.
   • Unique.
   • Funny.
   • Stupid.
   • Dangerous.
   • Strange/Weird.
   • Gross.
   • Worth talking about.
4. 5
   Upload your video to TubeMogul and syndicate to 10 networks.
5. 6
   Find videos relevant to yours in YouTube, and submit yours as an answer.
6. 7
   Promote the video on Social Networks.
7. 8
   Find discussion boards relevant to your video and submit as a post.
8. 9
   Submit your video to StumbleUpon in the YouTube section.
9. 10
   Submit your video on Fark and Big Boards.

10. Tips

    TIPZ

    • Don't copy other viral videos, it's wrong and you'll get hate mail!
    • Continuous promotion of your video will be the key to your success.
    • TubeMogul.com is free, and comes with analytics for each site that you have syndicated your video to.

11. Warnings

    P.S

    • It's not easy to create a viral video, and requires ongoing support and promotion until it hits critical mass.

Heartbleed Flaw Goes Unpatched on 300K Servers: Report

Perhaps the most difficult obstacle to overcome in the Heartbleed security mess is getting people to apply the patches necessary to correct the flaw. Although most of the servers identified as still vulnerable to Heartbleed belong to unknown firms, a few are located in well-known ones. "No computer should be exposed to the Internet that isn't regularly patched," warned Errata CEO Robert Graham

Two months after the Heartbleed vulnerability sent frissons of fear down the spines of IT managers everywhere, 300,000 servers still remain vulnerable, Errata Security said this weekend.

That figure has remained unchanged since May.

When the flaw was announced in April, Errata found 600,000 servers vulnerable.

"The norm is to do no patches at all for some systems, no matter how easy it is to patch," Errata CEO Robert Graham told us.

"If they're retirement management systems, [being left unpatched] won't be a problem," Graham said, "but if they're on a power grid, there is a problem."

What Heartbleed Is and Does

Heartbleed, which has been around since 2011, lets hackers steal information protected by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet.

OpenSSL stores a server's private key material in the memory space used by the code handling the heartbeat messages.

The flaw can be used to reveal up to 64 KB of memory to a connected client or server per heartbeat.

Users have to implement a patch issued by OpenSSL and go through all their certificates.

A Drop in the Ocean?

While 300,000 servers seems like a lot, "it isn't that big a number considering how big the Internet is," Steve Marquess, president of the OpenSSL Foundation, told us.

Exactly how many servers are out there may never be known, because there is no uniform way of counting off the servers. For example, Errata's Graham estimates about 30 million servers supportSSL, while Netcraft, which tracks domain names, set the figure at about 2.8 million.

"There's always going to be a certain number of systems that are going to be neglected," Marquess said. "You're never going to get that number down to zero. Look, there are still Windows 95 computers out there."

It is possible that some of the 300,000 unpatched servers Errata discovered last month already have been patched and new ones with the flaw have taken their place to keep the figure constant.

Most of the servers belong to unknown firms, but a few are located in well-known ones, Errata's Graham said, adding, "No computer should be exposed to the Internet that isn't regularly patched."

The Advent of BoringSSL

Meanwhile, staffer Adam Langley has announced that Google is changing the way it workswith OpenSSL code.

Google has used patches on top of OpenSSL for years, he said.

Some have been accepted into the main OpenSSL repository, but many don't mesh with OpenSSL's guarantee of application programming interface (API) and application binary interface (ABI) stability, noted Langley, and many are "a little too experimental."

Things have grown "very complex," with more than 70 patches existing across multiple code bases for Android, Chrome and other products, he said, which are beginning to need subsets of these patches.

Going forward, Google will import changes from OpenSSL rather than write code on top of those patches, said Langley. The result, called "BoringSSL" for now, soon will begin appearing in the Chromium repository, and later in Android, as well as in Google's internal systems.

Again, there are no guarantees of API or ABI stability with this code.

No Threat to OpenSSL

Google is "not aiming to replace OpenSSL as an open source project. We will still be sending them bug fixes when we find them," Langley said.

"Google has extremely extensive worldwide operations and has had some very smart people doing extensive customization for some time," OpenSSL's Marquess said. "We work closely with those people, and I don't see any changes at all."

Further, the company will continue to fund the Linux Foundation's Core Infrastructure Initiative, a multimillion-dollar project set up by several vendors to fund open source products critical to core computing functions.

Tide Turns in Favor of Crime-Fighting Smartphone Kill Switches

Despite strong industry resistance, it appears the campaign for kill switches in smartphones has won. Apple added a kill switch last year, and iPhone thefts dramatically declined. In the meantime, thefts of smartphones without kill switch technology continued to soar. Some victims of those thefts were harmed -- even killed. Now Google and Microsoft have agreed to add kill switches to their OSes.

In the wake of overwhelming evidence that the kill switch Apple introduced in iOS 7 last year has reduced iPhone thefts, Google and Microsoft have agreed to follow suit.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have spearheaded the battle to implement smartphone kill switches, last week announced that the next versions of Android and Windows Phone will include a kill switch.

Crimes related to iPhones -- robberies, muggings and theft, often involving violence against the victims -- were reaching epidemic proportions both in the United States and abroad, leading Gascon, Schneiderman and the mayor of London to set up the Secure Our Smartphones (S.O.S.) Initiative with the participation of law enforcement agencies.

Robberies and grand larcenies involving Apple products fell 19 percent and 29 percent respectively year over year in New York City from January to May, while the same crimes involving Samsung smartphones, which did not have a kill switch until April, increased by more than 40 percent, according to a report the Initiative released last week.

Don't expect to see the kill switch on every new smartphone out there yet, though.

"We'll probably see kill switch-enabled devices by 2016 at the earliest," Ramon Llamas, a senior analyst at IDC, told us.

"Carriers have already solidified what their 2015 lineup will look like. Then there's the question of how quickly you can implement the kill switch in the OS."

Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

Wireless carriers and manufacturers fought the idea of a kill switch tooth and nail until giving in to unrelenting pressure from Gascon and Schneiderman.

CTIA, the Wireless Association, which represents carriers, wrote the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in June, arguing that kill switches would brick mobile devices, making them impossible to reactivate or reuse.

CTIA also argued that hackers could spoof a kill command, disabling entire groups of mobile devices owned by an organization such as the U.S. Department of Defense or a law enforcement agency.

Samsung proposed in November that it preload Lojack for Androidonto all its phones sold in the United States, but wireless carriers rejected the idea, Gascon told TechNewsWorld at the time.

In response to the pressure for a kill switch, CTIA set up a database designed to prevent stolen phones from being activated, although it worked only for 4G/LTE devices. Gascon dismissed it as a smoke screen, noting that a similar database in the UK was not effective.

CTIA also offered consumers apps for download, which could remotely erase, track and lock stolen devices.

In April, however, carriers dropped their opposition to kill switches, with the CTIA announcing a Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment, under which members pledged to implement kill switches on an opt-in basis.

Why the Industry Hates Kill Switches

Implementing the kill switch "was never a technology problem," said Carl Howe, a vice president of research at the Yankee Group, pointing out that Apple, BlackBerry and others have been able to wipe devices remotely for years.

"Carriers saw a nice revenue stream from phone insurance and replacement phones, and they didn't want to incur the coordination efforts and costs in implementing industry-wide kill switches without some revenue to go with," Howe continued.

"Microsoft and Google were simply waiting to see which way the wind blew before they got on board," Howe said.

It's not likely that implementing kill switches will hurt the industry through a loss of income from device insurance, however.

"My guess is that [carriers will] now introduce support for [anti-theft measures] under new insurance plans," Howe predicted.

Turning to the Law

Meanwhile, S.O.S., Schneiderman and Gascon have been working with lawmakers to push legislation to deter smartphone-related crimes.

S.O.S. is working with Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Serrano earlier this year introduced the Smartphone Theft Prevention Act, H.R. 4065, in the House of Representatives. Klobuchar teamed up with other senators to introduce legislation requiring a smartphone kill switch.

Also in February, Democratic Sen. Mark Leno introduced bill SB 962 in the California legislature. That bill, which seeks to prohibit sales of smartphones not pre-equipped with theft-deterring technology from July 2015, is due for a second committee hearing.

Is Legislation Overkill?

In light of the latest news, is it necessary to pursue legislative measures?

"The Secure Our Smartphones report elevates the need for [Leno's] bill," Alex Bastian, a spokesperson for the San Francisco district attorney's office, told us. "It's important to ensure that a universal system is implemented."

Currently, there is debate over whether to offer an opt-in or an opt-out solution, Bastian said.

"The proposed solutions by Microsoft and Google are opt-in," Bastian pointed out. "Opt-out is a better option, because it guarantees a universal system where all phones have a technological solution activated."

How Amazon's Fire Phone Will Beat the iPhone in 3 Years

No one could catch Apple when Apple focused on leading the market, but once Apple started focusing on competing with Samsung, passing it got far easier, and Samsung did it. However, Samsung isn't a good leader, and you can see that in its weakening sales numbers. So, if Apple continues to chase Samsung, and Samsung continues to be bad at leading, Amazon wins.

Amazon launched its rather impressive Fire Phone last week, and it has a number of things that make it interesting -- but just as the iPhone improved massively by the third version, I expect this phone will as well, as a result of users providing feedback on what they want.

Ironically, if the iPhone fails against the Fire Phone, it will be because Jeff Bezos is executing Steve Jobs' old strategy of focusing on building a great experience, while Tim Cook shifts Apple to price competition, as a result of his battles with Google and Samsung. I'll share what I see coming and then close with my product of the week: the Samsung 801 Processor, which is at the heart of the new Fire Phone.

Modeling Success and Failure

One of the functions of analysts is to document how a leading product will be overcome by a competitor. The analyst starts by assuming the outcome and then works backward to take into account both actual and anticipated events that support that outcome.

The first time I did this was when I co-led the project to spin out the IBM Software Business as a separate company. Detailed analysis indicated with some certainty that if IBM didn't spin out the business, then Microsoft would pass it by. IBM didn't, and Microsoft did.

These efforts typically are geared toward preventing the outcome they forecast -- not ensuring it -- though several times in my career, I've failed because I accurately predicted the outcome. In other words, being right isn't the goal of undertaking this -- ensuring you are wrong actually is.

Bezos Mirroring Jobs

What made the iPhone so successful when other screen phones were failing was that Jobs focused more on what the phone did and on the customer experience than he did on the device itself. The phone it was based on, the LG Prada, had been well branded and was just as expensive, but it wasn't particularly interesting or easy to use. It was very pretty, though.

Screen phones were failing for a number of reasons: They were difficult and unsafe to use (you had to look at them when typing, which increased the difficulty, and if you did this while driving it shortened your life expectancy). They were relatively fragile (it was easy to break a screen), and they got crappy battery life because the screens were so large.

Jobs got people to forget all of that by wrapping the iPhone with apps and iTunes, and making it incredibly easy to use.

Bezos started with a screen phone, then wrapped it with Amazon's movie and music services, and improved the store-in-your-pocket experience that exists on the Kindle Fire tablets. This shopping experience is one of the Fire Phone's killer features, and it should appeal to Kindle fire users, much like the Apple fans really embraced the iPhone first.

The lesson folks often forget with a new device like this is to attract your fans first -- then move to the rest of the market. Kindle Fire users should love this phone.

The other two killer features are the Mayday button, which is like having an Apple Genius in your pocket, and the 3D display, which creates an "oh wow" sharable experience. Ease of use and the "oh wow" experience connected to the first generation iPhone were what allowed it to quickly dominate the market.

Beating Apple

Amazon won't beat Apple with the generation-one Fire Phone, and it likely won't do so with generation two. Generation one is focused on making Kindle Fire tablet users love it, and generation two likely will be focused on fixing any immediate design or use problems. It is typically the generation-three product -- assuming one and two have been successful -- that steps out and begins to showcase the potential for dominance.

Amazon will beat Apple if Apple continues to go down a path of price-cutting and chasing Samsung rather than leading the market. No one could catch Apple when Apple focused on leading the market, but once Apple started focusing on Samsung, passing it got far easier, and Samsung did it.

However, Samsung isn't a good leader, and you can see that in its weakening sales numbers. So, if Apple continues to chase Samsung, and Samsung continues to be bad at leading, Amazon wins.

In that scenario, Amazon moves into Apple's place as market leader, and both Samsung and Apple go after it, but given Amazon operates at break even and has store scale and reach that neither company can match, it is even more unlikely that Amazon can be caught from behind -- unless it stumbles -- than it was for Apple.

Apple is particularly weak against Amazon's economic model, which is based on managing to zero. In other words, Amazon can spend every cent it makes in profit and not be killed by investors, because that's what it currently does.

Apple has huge financial reserves, but it will crush margins if it spends them, and its valuation will fall like a rock, putting the entire executive team at risk. Samsung, which is a low-margin company, was a huge problem for Apple. Amazon is potentially far worse.

Wrapping Up: Count Down to Amazon Leadership

The only way Apple comes out of this on top is if Amazon stumbles like Microsoft did with Zune (which it hasn't done yet) or if Apple can retake market leadership before Amazon can challenge for it, which isn't for at least two years, or when the generation-three Fire Phone launches.

Amazon has demonstrated with the Kindle Fire tablet and its core shopping execution that it, unlike Samsung, is fully capable of leading this market, and once it's out in front, it will be nearly impossible to catch -- unless it trips and falls.

In short, Amazon wins if it continues to use Steve Jobs' playbook with an Amazon spin, and if Apple continues to use a strategy better suited to Samsung or Compaq. Let's revisit this, assuming we are all still around, in June of 2017.

Product of the Week: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 is an impressive part. In fact, the specs look more appropriate for a PC than a phone, except it isn't very power hungry. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 has four 2.3 GHz cores and a high-performance GPU (for graphics).

It has a world modem that should work anyplace you want to travel and at maximum data rates in most areas (which could actually suck if you get hit with roaming charges).

It supports the new faster USB 3.0 standard if you want to transfer data with a cable (which most of us don't do anymore), and it will both display and capture 4K video.

One of my personal favorite features is quick-charge 2.0, which helps you charge your device very quickly (I often forget to plug my phone into the charger at night). In short, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 carries the Qualcomm banner, showcasing what it can do well, and it is an appropriate choice for a phone that can challenge Apple without breaking the bank.

Because the Qualcomm 800 solution, which isn't even Qualcomm's best part (that's the even more powerful 810), is what makes the Amazon Fire Phone so incredibly versatile, it's my product of the week