According to Channel EMEA, ”I think that Android may end up as a closed system because of [Google's] relationship with Motorola,” Whitman said in her keynote presentation at HP’s company’s global partner summit in Las Vegas.

I think there is room for another operating system,” she said. “iOS is great but it is a closed system.” Android is currently open – as long as you’re not relying on getting all the info about the latest and greatest versions under development – but Whitman suggests that developers not bank on it remaining so.

“These things take time, she believes. “We decided to contribute webOS to the open source community,” she said, “and this will take three to four years to play out.”

Source: The Register

Sony and Ericsson are now officially divorced. The divorce papers have been officially signed for Sony Ericsson, giving Japanese entertainment biz Sony its very own phone-making unit and Swedish company Ericsson some lovely cash.

Sony will rename Sony Ericsson “Sony Mobile Communications”, and further integrate the mobile phone business as a vital element of its electronics business, with the aim of accelerating convergence between Sony’s lineup of network enabled consumer electronics products, including smart phones, tablets, TVs and PCs.

“We will now enhance our focus on enabling connectivity for all devices, using our R&D and industry leading patent portfolio to realise a truly connected world,” Hans Vestberg, president and CEO, said at the time.

Source: The Register – Software

An FBI report on Steve Jobs revealed many unflattering disclosures such as colleagues who called him “abrasive,” “demanding” and “deceptive.”

From the file, it seems Jobs spent some time working for the government, reportedly on satellite and software-related programs. In fact, in 1988, Jobs held a “Top Secret” clearance. He lost that clearance in 1990.

It’s not known if Jobs was aware of his FBI file, but he was interviewed during the background check and cooperated.

Source: News items | ZDNet

Windows boss Stephen Sinofsky has ended months of speculation with the first (fairly)detailed drilldown into Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) platform, and says it should be ready for a simultaneous launch with its x86/64 counterpart.

Devices running WOA will come with both a Metro touch-based interface and the more traditional desktop, and will run Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote applications with full document compatibility with x86/64 systems.

Photo sharing, calendar, mail, storage and contact applications will also be the same as on ARM and x86/64. But that’s it for compatibility – all other apps on WOA have to be Metro-style WinRT and come via the Windows Store.

Source: The Register

Russia’s Kaspersky Lab reported that sales growth slowed substantially last year as the world’s No. 4 maker of anti-virus software said its business was starting to mature.

The company, co-founded by computer security expert Eugene Kaspersky, said that sales grew 14 percent last year. That is down from growth of 38 percent in the prior year.

Revenue totalled $612 million last year. The company declined to provide profit figures.

Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Garry Kondakov downplayed the decline, saying that the drop was a result of the company’s maturation.

“I think it is natural,” he said at a press briefing in Cancun, Mexico.

Source: Yahoo News