Next-gen Google TV to use ARM instead of Atom

A statement issued by Marvell Thursday revealed that the next-generation Google TV reference design ditches x86 in favor of ARM. The Google TV products that are going to be unveiled at CES use Marvell's ARMADA 1500 SoC, which has a dual-core 1.2GHz ARM CPU.

This marks a big change for the Google TV platform, which was originally intended to run on devices with Intel's Atom chip. The Google TV product line provided the initial motivation for Google's efforts to officially support the x86 architecture in the Android software platform. Android is used at the core of Google TV.

The first generation of Google TV products failed to attract consumers due to high prices and limited functionality. A bitter dispute between Google and content providers led to users of Google TV products being blocked from some prominent streaming video sites.

The Google TV platform was recently overhauled in a major update that improved usability and exposed more functionality to users. One particularly significant improvement is that Google TV products are now capable of running ported third-party Android applications. Moving from the x86 architecture to ARM will improve the availability of third-party Android software on future Google TV products, because ARM-based Google TV devices will theoretically be able to seamlessly run existing Android applications that rely on native code.

The move doesn't look good for Intel, which has struggled to extend Atom chips outside the realm of netbooks. Intel and Google are still collaborating on Android's x86 support, however, and recently demonstrated Android 2.3 running on a Medfield smartphone prototype.

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from Ars Technica http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/01/next-gen-google-tv-to-use-arm-ins...

5 Predictions for Online Data in 2012


Josh Jones-Dilworth is the founder and CEO of Jones-Dilworth, Inc., a public relations consultancy focused on bringing early-stage technologies to market.

In the spirit of the new year, I’ve determined my online data predictions for 2012. And because I’m attempting to make this an annual experiment, let’s begin my looking back at how my 2011 predictions shook out.

1. Personal data management matures into an industry. I’ll admit the prediction was largely a fail. Ambitious startups like Singly + The Locker Project got off the ground, but did not pick up steam. Many new, related startups are in the works, but none have even come close to the goal of managing one’s data the way he manages his health or wealth, for instance. An end-to-end platform may emerge, but it will take time.

2. The flood gates of corporate data open widely. This prediction has come close to being true. It certainly has become important to mine, parse and manifest corporate data for internal and external uses alike. The predominant question has indeed shifted from “Should I make my data open and available?” to “How can I do it best?” But at the same time, a lot of people are still sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see how things develop.

3. Big data gets regulated. Facebook agreed to submit to independent privacy audits as part of its long-gestating FTC settlement. I’d argue that we’ll see more regulation in 2012. Congress has taken an active role, and the big Internet companies have only further increased their lobbying spend. Controversies surrounding Carrier IQ, Apple and SOPA have accelerated public interest.

Of course there’s good regulation and bad regulation. Anyone doing business in or with data is going to have to understand how government works, and play an active role.

4. The trend itself gets old and tired. Another outright fail. It is certainly true that everything is becoming, or has already become, data-driven, but we haven’t yet had the hangover I predicted. If anything, we’re full-steam ahead, and as ebullient and ambitious as ever.

This is good and bad — escalating investment of both human and real capital will spur innovation and speed up the inevitable. But the pace also makes us more vulnerable. Data for data’s sake, or data for self-justification is an ongoing risk.

5. Data scientists become the new community managers. I think it’s fair to say that this happened, by a large margin. Check out this chart from Indeed that chronicles the explosion of data scientist jobs. CMSWire explores the particulars in more detail.

Last year aside, what’s going to matter in 2012?


1. Future Tense Analytics — Hello, McFly?


For a long time, were analytics defined by the past — what happened a day ago? A week ago? A year ago?

The arrival of real-time technologies sped things up quite a bit. It’s now commonplace to ask, what’s happening? What’s trending? What’s changing? Today’s best data-driven technologies and strategies orchestrate insights in the present tense.

Naturally, predictive analytics tackle the future tense. This isn’t a new notion, but the underlying technologies are finally mature enough for predictive use. Keep an eye on places like Decide.com. In 2012, future-tense capabilities will become widespread, and in high demand.


2. Mixing and Matching Data Sets


One of the things that comes right after wider availability of data is the desire to put that data in context. For instance, this type of mashup culture is what put Mashable itself on the map back in 2006 and 2007. For other brands and enterprises, 2012 will be all about crashing diverse data sets together, and seeing what clicks.

I’m actually a dissenter when it comes to companies like Factual or SimpleGeo’s heavy emphasis on location as a single data vertical. Umbel‘s focus on audience definition and BlueKai‘s ad targeting are other examples of early leaders in a particular domain.

It’s not at all that these companies aren’t cool or useful, but the most interesting things happen when you mash up data sources. For example, Umbel can provide incredible insight into your audience and its habits, but it’s even more interesting when merged with usage logs, comment streams and share counts.

The year 2012 will be about putting corporate data alongside open public sources — internal data meets external data.

This is why I continue to be a big fan of data marketplaces like Infochimps, a company I advise, which has bundled data sets and API surrounding key themes, instead of verticals. The most actionable insights come from a diversity of data.


3. The Data Scientist Talent Grab


A few years ago, I remember reading job descriptions for Ruby on Rails programmers who should have “5+ years of experience.” This was funny, as Rails was only three years old at the time.

That is what happens when a certain skill set spikes in demand. Employers assume market maturity when there is none, hiring gets very competitive, salaries rise, the very best practitioners give their employers an unfair advantage, and the market is flooded with wannabes (some of whom prove their mettle, some who do not).

Training and professional development initiatives have taken center stage, and the land grab is on. McKinsey predicts that by 2018, the U.S. alone will face a 140,000 to 190,000-person shortage of professionals who have deep analytical skills, as well as a shortfall of 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to analyze big data to make effective decisions.

We’re even seeing venture firms like Greylock hire top 5% data scientists to work across the entire portfolio, as one solution to the problem. And companies are employing new means of data science outsourcing (see: Kaggle, Mu Sigma).

Since it’s all still a relatively nascent field, I urge you to reinvest in the talent you already house. Knowledge of your own business is just as important as knowledge of data science. There are requisite skills of course, and it takes a certain kind of person, but in my own experience, there are bound to be many qualified individuals who are hungry and game.

Soon there will be a much wider gap between the novices and the experts. However, don’t think of data science chops as just something you can hire for, and be done with. It’s a transformative trend, something that will eventually cut horizontally across your entire organization.

In 2012, data science will appear in job descriptions left and right, and will become the most in-demand skill set in the technology sector.


4. Data-Driven Everywhere


We generally think of data as the domain of large B2B companies that sell enterprise software, or of advertising networks and targeting systems that have an easy way of assigning a dollar value to their work. But the legal, pharma and law enforcement sectors have also been natural fits.

In 2012, we’ll see data-driven innovation and data-centric design emerge from the unlikeliest of places — think data-driven fashion, crop insurance, Hollywood box office and even humanities education.

Essentially, don’t rule out the possibility of data-driven strategies anywhere. Even if a business doesn’t run on data, it absolutely produces very interesting exhaust that can be used advantageously.


5. Data-Driven Non-profits


Data has a higher purpose too — it’s not just a pageview multiplier, or a CPM lift.  Data can help us understand how we are doing as a society and as a culture.

Here I’m not talking about non-profits that use data to grow. I’m talking about non-profit initiatives that are built around data in and of themselves. Two great examples are CommonCrawl and the Earth Dashboard Project. Common Crawl builds and maintains a free and open crawl of the web and all its data, with the purpose of forwarding important research that requires large-scale analysis. The Earth Dashboard Project is an effort to build a living report card of sorts for the entire globe. It will be installed at the UN Headquarters in New York City as a way of reminding delegates and visitors of the bigger picture, our interconnectedness, and what we’re really working toward every day.

There is a lot to be done with data, not nearly all of it profitable. In 2012, we’ll see five to seven new data-driven non-profits start to bite off important chunks of value that sit outside of corporate and governmental concerns.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, nadla

More About: contributor, data, data collection, features, future, predictions

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/online-data-predictions-2012/?utm_source=feedb...

Celebrity Apprentice: Meet the Most Connected Cast Yet


Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump has been touting this season’s crop of contestants as “the best cast we’ve ever had.” We’re not sure about “best,” but the cast certainly has an unbeatable following on social media.

The celebrities’ social networks could help them in challenges that require their teams to raise the most money to win. One Facebook status update or Twitter missive from a contestant could rally followers — even fellow celebrity followers — to donate money during one of those challenges.

Trump and NBC producers likely monitor each contestants’ online sentiment — so fan comments on social sites and message boards also could sway who Trump fires when the season begins Feb. 12. Producers might want to keep contestants that incite significant online buzz, which may translate to better TV ratings.

SEE ALSO: Study Shows Correlation Between Social Buzz and TV Ratings

For example, actor George Takei of Star Trek fame posted a Facebook status update about the show Wednesday. It has attracted more than 25,000 “Likes,” 2,800 comments and 1,100 shares.

NBC revealed the cast Wednesday, but searches for Celebrity Apprentice topics are trending high Thursday on Google. Singer Clay Aiken, who finished second on American Idol‘s season two in 2003, was the fifth hottest-searched topic on Google on Thursday, with Celebrity Apprentice at number 15. Whether that means Aiken is an early fan favorite is yet to be seen. Google searchers could just be looking up who Aiken is.

We’ve reached out to NBC to find out how much access the celebrities will have during taping. We’ll update this post once NBC responds.

SEE ALSO: The Future of Social TV [VIDEO] | 5 Ways the Film and TV Industries Use Twitter

For now, enjoy these 18 videos featuring each of the celebrities that will battle it out to avoid Trump’s signature “you’re fired” hand gesture. For full biographies of each, head over to the Celebrity Apprentice website.

Note: Click on the celebrities’ names to go to their Twitter pages.


Meet Clay Aiken


“Former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken talks about the skills he brings to the show.”


Meet Michael Andretti


“Race car driver Michael Andretti talks about being competitive by nature, and his reasons for filling in for his son Marco.”



Meet Adam Carolla


“Adam Carolla doesn’t throw people under the bus… he throws them into a wood chipper.”



Meet Tia Carrere


“Actress Tia Carrere looks forward to hanging out with the ladies and vanquishing the men.”



Meet Lou Ferrigno


“Lou Ferrigno, better known as the Incredible Hulk, talks about his charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Association.”



Meet Debbie Gibson


“Debbie Gibson talks about her 25 years in the business since she was 16.”



Meet Teresa Giudice


“Real Housewife Teresa Giudice talks about the difference between her on-air persona and the people her friends now at home.”



Meet Victoria Gotti


“Reality TV star Victoria Gotti talks about her experience on reality TV, and why she’s sure she’s going to win.”



Meet Arsenio Hall


“Arsenio Hall talks about what the show means to him: that people in 2012 will know he’s alive!”



Meet Penn Jillette


“Magician Penn Jillette wants to show that the classic American individual can win playing by someone else’s rules.”



Meet Lisa Lampanelli


“Comedian Lisa Lampanelli, the “Queen of Mean” and a loud Italian, talks about her concern coming on a show with a lot of loud Italians.”



Meet Dayana Mendoza


“Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza gets emotional discussing her excitement being on the show.”



Meet Aubrey O’Day


“Singer Aubrey O’Day is not afraid to use her very strong voice.”



Meet Dee Snider


“Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider talks about his charity, the March of Dimes”



Meet George Takei


“George Takei — Star Trek‘s Sulu — talks about his chosen charity, the Japanese American National Museum.”



Meet Paul Teutul, Sr.


American Chopper‘s Paul Teutul, Sr. talks about his first time meeting Trump on The Tonight Show.”



Meet Cheryl Tiegs


“Cheryl Tiegs talks about her chosen charity, the Farrah Fawcett Foundation.”



Meet Patricia Velasquez


“Model and actress Patricia Velasquez talks about the charity she started ten years ago, the Wayuu Taya Foundation.”


More About: Celebrity Apprentice, Entertainment, Facebook, Social Media, social tv, television, Twitter

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/celebrity-apprentice-social-media/?utm_source=...

How to Access the Best New Features in Google Analytics

Rachael Gerson spearheads the Analytics division at SEER Interactive. Follow her on Twitter @rachaelgerson.

In my last Google Analytics post, I talked about the 10 new Google Analytics features you need to start using. Now that you already know what these new features are, let’s focus on how you can find them, and get started.


Basic Navigation



There are two main navigation methods for Google Analytics. The top navigation is used to view the Home section, Standard Reporting and Custom Reporting. Most of the reports from the previous article use the Standard Reporting tab.

The second navigation is the side navigation. Use this navigation to select the profile, search for a specific report or access the report you need. Each item in the side navigation can be clicked on to expand the full menu.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: contributor, features, Google, google analytics, Tech, trending, Web Development

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/google-analytics-access-new-features/?utm_sour...

Facebook, NBC Joining Forces to Host Social Presidential Debate


NBC and Facebook are teaming up to co-host a Republican debate Sunday night with a unique social media component.

The debate, moderated by Meet the Press host David Gregory, will air on NBC Sunday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. ET, two days before the New Hampshire primary. The debate will also be streaming live on MSNBC.com and on Facebook, allowing political junkies to tune-in online.

Users who watch online (or on T.V. while online) will be able to submit questions directly to candidates via a Facebook widget. They will also be able to interact with one another in real-time as part of a comprehensive “second screen” experience, a setup familiar to many television fans.

“By allowing people to connect in an authentic and meaningful way with presidential candidates, we hope more voters than ever will get involved with issues that matter most to them.” said Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Global Communications, Marketing and Public Policy at Facebook, in a statement.

We originally reported on the NBC/Facebook debate in July of last year. Since then, NBC and Facebook have been asking users to share issues they would like to be addressed during the debate. And, as former President Bill Clinton famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid.”

Facebook Data

The Facebook portal isn’t constrained to a simple poll. It features a widget for more complex debate where 2,000 comments have been left over the past few months. Users aren’t just dropping comments and leaving, either. They’re replying and coming back to answer other users, showing real interaction on the site.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has been heavily involved with a political debate, but the built-in stream and widgets are a significant evolution in Facebook’s involvement with politics.

In 2008, Facebook partnered with ABC News and featured “Debate Groups,” simple spaces where users could discuss the night’s events. When President Obama was sworn in to office in 2009, Facebook brought users streaming video via CNN alongside “Livestream,” an instant chat tool. And during the 2010 midterm elections, Facebook and ABC again teamed up to livestream a town hall broadcast from Arizona State University.

Other social media networks are in on the politics game, too. In July of last year, Twitter joined up with the White House for President Obama’s first “Twitter Town Hall.” The president took questions live from Twitter users and answered them via an online stream hosted on the White House’s website.

To follow the debate Sunday, tune your TV to NBC or point your browser at MSNBC or Facebook. Then, check out Facebook’s politics portal to get involved with the social debate by asking questions for the candidates or by having a conversation with other online users.

Are you excited about taking part in the NBC/Facebook debate? Let us know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, carterdayne

More About: 2012 presidential campaign, Facebook

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/nbc-facebook-debate/?utm_source=feedburner&utm...

Google TV adds LG to the fold, will demo new hardware along with Sony, Vizio (update: video, pics!)

The second round of Google TV hardware will be in full swing at CES 2012, and the folks at Mountain View just officially announced LG is joining the list of hardware partners at the show. While we know Logitech was taking a pass on the latest hardware, previously announced partners Samsung, Sony and Vizio are still in and the latter two will have new hardware to show next week. While this morning's announcement by Marvell revealed the platform's switch to ARM processors from the Intel chips it launched on, the company mentioned MediaTek is also on board to build compatible chipsets, while the line of products from LG will run on the company's own L9 setup. LG's press release (included after the break) reveals the HDTVs it's bringing out will feature its Cinema 3D FPR technology as well as support for a "Magic Remote QWERTY" that combines its gesture and voice control Magic Remote with, you guessed it, a QWERTY keyboard. It will have two lines of TVs based on the Android OS, while it continues to feature its own NetCast setup in other displays. While Samsung is mentioned as building new devices, it does not appear they'll have any to show off just yet, which matches the rumors that had gone around earlier.

Update: LG has posted some pics of the Google TV sets (above, after the break) featuring its custom interface, although we're still waiting for a peek at that remote. According to the company, users will have the option of using LG's UI or the default Google TV build, so whichever way you prefer should work. The Google TV team has also uploaded a fresh trailer on YouTube ahead of CES, featuring several apps and promising this is just the beginning -- check it out embedded after the break.

Continue reading Google TV adds LG to the fold, will demo new hardware along with Sony, Vizio (update: video, pics!)

Google TV adds LG to the fold, will demo new hardware along with Sony, Vizio (update: video, pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/google-tv-officially-adds-lg-to-the-fold-w...

Vuzix designs Smart Glasses to look like plastic sunshades, sport connected transparent display

Vuzix has announced plans to develop a stylish head-mounted display solution in the form of Smart Glasses, through a licensing partnership with Nokia. The yet-unnamed product would integrate a bright, high-contrast display that's integrated with a pair of ordinary-looking sunglasses -- sounds like a perfect companion to the ZionEyez in-glasses camera prototype we saw last month. In Vuzix's words:

This amazing new technology starts with a compact display engine capable of hi contrast and brightness for outdoor use. The output is then relayed into a 1.4 mm thick plastic waveguide lens with input and output hologram structures on the surface which squeezes the light down the waveguide and then two dimensionally expands the image back into the user's eye, creating an image that is then mixed into the real world.

Naturally, the company envisions its Smart Glasses solution as a web-connected device, letting you watch videos or browse the internet while still being able to see-and-avoid pedestrians as you walk on the sidewalk or obstacles while behind the wheel -- try doing that with a Kindle or smartphone (better yet, please don't). Vuzix expects its Smart Glasses solution to start appearing as early as this summer, but we'll be getting an early look next week at CES.

Continue reading Vuzix designs Smart Glasses to look like plastic sunshades, sport connected transparent display

Vuzix designs Smart Glasses to look like plastic sunshades, sport connected transparent display originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/06/vuzix-designs-smart-glasses-to-look-like-p...

Corning to show off Gorilla Glass 2 at CES 2012

Gorilla Glass is tough, real tough. And it's got a solid reputation as a durable screen for small and large displays alike. But by no means is it perfect, and Corning has been hard at work to make the product's sequel even better. We're pretty dry on the details so far, but Corning SVP / GM James Steiner mentioned that his company's positioned to meet the challenge of accommodating phones and tablets with more functionality from thinner designs. We'll find out a lot more information about the latest version of the glass in an announcement this coming Monday at CES, so stay tuned as we find out the juicy tidbits.

Continue reading Corning to show off Gorilla Glass 2 at CES 2012

Corning to show off Gorilla Glass 2 at CES 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/corning-gorilla-glass-2-ces/