IndoPost.com Breaking News and Opinion

The side effects of electronic communications: after five months feasibility study, America’s Postal Service (USPS) announced new plans to merge and close 223 Area Mail Processing plants and may cut 35,000 jobs

After an almost half-year feasibility study, America’s Postal Service (USPS) announced new plans to combine and close 223 Area Mail Processing plants in America, including California, New York and other states.  The new plans will close 14 mail processing centers in California, 12 units in New York and 9 plants in Illinois.  These new plans will be affecting 35,000 jobs.

The latest setbacks that hit America’s largest postal service were due to several reasons.  According to the press release, USPS cited a financial crisis that started in the late 2007, more people use e-mails and Internet to communicate, and its continuing obligation with retirement benefits.

The Area Mail Processing plants closing could help USPS to save over $2 billion for the next three years.  USPS is on track to reduce its operating costs of about $20 billion by 2015. 

The next generation of weight-loss capsule: America’s regulators approve Qnexa drug produced by Silicon Valley’s biopharmaceutical company Vivus, Inc.

A committee of experts managed by America’s regulators or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 20-2 to let Vivus Inc to market the next generation of weight-loss capsule called Qnexa.  Qnexa is a capsule to be taken once-a-day.  The biopharmaceutical company is located in the technology hub of Silicon Valley's Mountain View.

The controlled-release pill for treating obesity is a combination of two types of drugs.  First, a drug called stimulant phentermine which is used to help lowering appetite on patient.  Second, another drug called topiramate which is used to escalate of feeling full in the patient's tummy. 

(Image: vivus.com)

The largest cable operator in America announces $4.99 per month Xfinity Streampix service and will compete with Netflix and Hulu Plus

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based company, Comcast, the largest cable operator in America announced a new service called Xfinity Streampix.  The new service will be available only to its subscribers and will cost extra $4.99 per month, compared to Netflix and Hulu Plus which charge $7.99 for video streaming service.   Comcast also has signed a deal with Verizon, the largest wireless provider in America.

Xfinity Streampix service will give its subscribers access to past seasons of TV shows, popular kids TV and box office movies, mostly from NBC TV and Universal Studio as the Comcast is now the largest shareholder of NBCUniversal Company.  Popular TV shows include 30 Rock, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and The Office.

According to the Comcast blog post, the new service of streaming TV shows and movies will soon be integrated into other mobile devices and home entertainment services including Microsoft Xbox 360 and Google Android-powered mobile devices.

One of the setbacks of the latest announcement by a giant cable operator is that the company does not own the domain name Streampix.com.  As per WHOIS data, the domain has been registered since 2003 and is currently owned by a Canadian-based company that provides video software service.

(Left image: Xfinity Streampix)

Rovio expands its turf into outer-space with a brand new game dubbed as “Angry Birds Space” and set a release date on March 22, 2012

Mobile gaming fans around the world cannot wait any longer as the maker of Angry Birds has just announced a new series of the popular mobile game dubbed as “Angry Birds Space.”  On the new game, Rovio will partner will two top agencies, NASA and National Geographic.  There is no official announcement regarding the partnership and sharing opportunities.

In order catch up with the entertainment industry, the upcoming release will copy some distribution techniques from Hollywood powerhouse such as Disney.  Rovio marketing team is planning to launch “Angry Birds Space” thru mobile download, Facebook, and electronic stores.

As Rovio is launching the space-related theme games, Zynga could follow the Angry Birds maker’s foot-step by launching their future games which may be called “CosmoVille” in conjunction with its current popular titles such as “CityVille,” “CastleVille,” and others.

The original Angry Birds game was made popular thru Apple’s iTunes store a couple years ago, as many gamers download the game for their iPhones, iPads, and iPods.  Today, there are over 700 million copy of Angry Birds have been downloaded by its fans worldwide.

Click here to watch the trailer video via YouTube.

  

(Image: “Angry Birds Space”)

Metro style design: Microsoft announces a new logo for Windows 8 operating system which will be used for future personal computers (PCs), slates/tablets, and phones

The world’s largest software company introduced a new logo for Windows 8 operating system.  The new logo taps design principles and characteristics of Metro style.  The new logo with four squares looks very digital than older logos.  The most popular Windows OS was introduced in 1995 which also known as version 4.0.  Later the 2001’s XP version was also a big hit.  The current OS in the market is Windows 7 which was released for consumer in late October 2009.

As per a blog post written by Microsoft’s Sam Moreau, a Principal Director of User Experience for Windows, the Redmond-based company hired a design company Pentagram to work on the new logo.  Pentagram has multiple locations including in London, New York, Berlin and Austin.  Pentagram had designed many logos for top brands including Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., Benetton, Lands' End, and others.

Windows 8 OS for "Consumer Preview" version will be released for public on the special leap year day on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

(Logo: Windows 8 operating system)

With 520 million visitors per month from around the world, Microsoft’s MSN portal tries to grab more web traffics by aggregating breaking news trends and hottest topics from Facebook, Twitter, and variety of sources

Microsoft’s MSN launched an all-in-one portal which includes search, news, local and social networking on Thursday morning, Feb 16.  The new social media aggregator is known as msnNOW. The new site aggregates breaking news trends and hottest topics from Facebook, Twitter, and variety of sources such as BreakingNews.com.   All breaking trends and topics are generated in real-time.  In order to compete with the mainstream media, msnNOW’s human editors and team of experts will also provide more juices and pick the top stories and topics.

With 520 million visitors per month worldwide, the concept of all in one portal will be helping Microsoft’s Internet properties such as Bing search engine to grab more users.  Data from comScore showed that Bing was the number two search engine in America in January 2012.  MSN portal is now accessed in 48 markets and serving 27 languages around the world.

(Image: now.msn.com)

Do Not Call version 2.0: America’s communications regulators asked telemarketers to get written opt-in before auto-calling consumers, with exceptions calls made by charities, political campaigns, school updates, and pharmacies prescription refill

Since June 27, 2003, America’s consumers can submit their phone numbers to “Do Not Call” lists to stop prerecorded calls from telemarketers, especially during dinner times.  This week, a stricter rules Do Not Call version 2.0 was approved by America’s communications regulators or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  

Regulators voted to stop telemarketers from auto-calling consumers without a written consent.   In the latest ruling, FCC also warned telemarketers to get consumers’ written to opt-in to receive autodialed or prerecorded calls.  Most of those telemarketing calls were from mortgage companies, cars and health insurance companies, cable TV, and wireless phone companies.

Regulators also made several exceptions for utilizing autodialed calls, among those calls made by charities, political campaigns, school updates, and pharmacies prescription refill.

Air pollution (including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide) in big cities such as Los Angeles could be raising the risk of heart attack

A new study led by Hazrije Mustafic, MD, MPH, of the University of Paris Descartes, found air pollution could be causing heart attack.  Big cities such as Los Angeles are prone to polluted air including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.  In most of industrialized countries, heart disease is the number one cause of death.  Researchers also warned that spending just one week in a location with high levels of air pollution could increase the risk of heart attack.  The study is being published by the Journal of the American Medical Association for February 2012 issue.

Regulators across the Atlantic Ocean approved Google’s $12.5 billion deal to buy Motorola Mobility which has about 17,000 patents

Early Monday European regulators approved Google’s $12.5 billion deal to buy Motorola Mobility and then late afternoon America’s regulators also approved the purchase by the world’s largest search engine.   The latest acquisition will help the Mountain View-based company to protect its pools of patents.

In recent months, Google Android mobile operating system suffered a series of setbacks due to patent litigation from Microsoft and Apple.  Microsoft demanded manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, and others to pay about $5 to $10 per Android phone.   Android OS has now captured the largest share of smartphone market in America.

Motorola is a very popular handset maker including model RAZR in America during the late 1990s and early 2000s before Apple started selling its iPhone in 2007.  Google announced to buy Motorola in August 2011 as the phone maker has about 17,000 patents related to cellphone.

America’s Top Guns will soon replace its 40 pounds of manuals and navigation charts with Apple’s iPads or other tablet PCs

America’s Top Guns include pilots and navigators will soon dump their 40 pounds of manuals and navigation charts and carry only one tablet PC or a mobile device.  According to businessweek.com, America’s Air Force has sent out a request for proposal to purchase about 18,000 iPad2s.

The use of iPad to replace manual books is not so new anymore.  Car manufacturer such as Hyundai had replaced its manual book for its high end cars with iPad two years ago.  Similarly, major airlines companies around the world have also switched to iPad, for example United Airlines in August 2011.

Apple iPad version 1 was introduced in January 2010 by the late CEO and founder Steve Jobs and started shipping to consumers in early April 2010.  Apple sold as many as 15.43 million iPads during the Q4-2011, October to December quarter. In term of quarterly comparison, the demand for iPads in its second year has increased about 111% over the first year of introduction.

(Image: movie poster Top Gun, 1986)

Let say hello to Model X SUV: a new battery-powered car from Tesla Motors, a crossover with 3-row and 7-seat, with asking price at $55,000 to $75,000 range, as production starts in late 2013 and will be on the road in early 2014

Electric car manufacturer, Tesla Motors, showcased its new battery-powered car at its Design Studio in Hawthorne, a city near Los Angeles International Airport, on Thursday, February 9, 2012.  The new car dubbed as Model X SUV is a crossover with 3-row and 7-seat and with asking price at $55,000 to $75,000 range.  Model X was unveiled by its CEO Elon Musk. 

According to the Palo Alto-based car company website, Model X is going into production starting in late 2013 and will be on the road in early 2014.

From the exterior design standpoint Model X resemblances of an Audi Q7 style.  The Model X has a unique feature on its rear doors which the company called "falcon wing" doors.  Using its electric batteries, the blend of an SUV and a minivan electric car can handle a driving range of about 300 miles which is almost similar range to two Tesla’s early models, Roadster and Model S.  The Model S is a sedan platform and will go to car showrooms around the world this summer 2012.

(Image: Tesla)

Digital photography pioneer will stop making and selling camera, camcorders, digital frames, but will continue to run online printing business, expand kiosks printing, and grow personal computer printers

Starting now to mid-year of 2012, Eastman Kodak Co, the digital photography pioneer will close its business units on camera, camcorders, and digital frames.  Kodak invented the handheld digital camera in 1975.  The company announced that they will license the popular brand to other digital camera manufacturers.

In recent earnings, digital technology contributed to about 75% of the company revenue.  To maintain its position in the digital world, Kodak will continue to run online printing business, expand kiosks printing, and grow personal computer printers.  The Rochester, New York-based company will retain and expand its 100,000 kiosks and printing stations globally. Aside targeting consumers in general, Kodak is also famous for its enterprise services, digital graphics, and movie material units.

The software giant Microsoft to release Windows 8 "Consumer Preview" on the special leap year day on February 29, 2012, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain

The world's largest software company has picked a special leap year day to release Windows 8 "Consumer Preview" at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.  The release date is set on February 29, 2012, which occurs only every four years.  Tech bloggers believe that Barcelona is a perfect venue for the announcement as Windows 8 operating system can be run on multiple platforms including on desktops, mobile phones, and tablets.  Very soon Windows 8 OS is a one big family of operating systems for running laptops, smartphones and other mobile devices. 

The Windows 8 OS was initially announced by Windows and Windows Live Engineering President Steven Sinofsky during the first week of June 2011 at the D9 Conference at a high-end golf resort near Los Angeles International Airport, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.  During the Build conference near Disneyland in mid-September 2011, worldwide developers were able to demo the new OS in Anaheim, California.  In order to get more fans before the end of last year, Microsoft engineers showed Windows Store to a group of developers in San Francisco on December 6, 2011.  Microsoft asked developers to start thinking about making money by developing Metro style apps as the software giant company will give them 80% rev share.
 
(Image: Microsoft)

The App State: California is now taking one of every four app economy jobs in America, as 466,000 jobs have been created by the booming of smartphones, tablets, mobile devices and gadgets since the first release of Apple iPhone in 2007

The well-known Golden State is now also known as the "App State."  The largest state in America is taking one of every four app economy jobs in America in 2011.  This assessment was based on the latest study with a title “Where the Jobs Are: The App Economy” authored by economist Dr. Michael Mandel.  Click here to download the full report in .pdf format.

The study analyzed the implication of mobile applications or “apps” on America’s economy.  The study took into consideration the latest booming of smartphones, tablets, mobile devices and gadgets.  It concluded that 466,000 jobs have been created by the new era of “App Economy” since the first release of Apple iPhone in 2007.  Those jobs include computer & mobile phone programmers, marketers, user-interface designers, sales managers and customer care staff providing support on apps and infrastructure.  The study analyzed all operating systems related to mobile apps including Google Android, Apple iOS, RIM BlackBerry, and Microsoft Windows Phone.

California is taking 23.8% of all app economy jobs in 2011.  In term of metropolitan areas, high concentration of app jobs in the state of California was in San Francisco with 8.5%, Silicon Valley with 6.3%, and Los Angeles with 5.1%.  New York metro has the largest pie of jobs and taking 9.2% of all app jobs in 2011.

(Table: “Where the Jobs Are: The App Economy” page 13)

Amazon to target online and offline shoppers: the world’s largest ecommerce company soon to open brick-and-mortar stores with a pilot project in its hometown Seattle

One of the most cited articles by tech watchers, bloggers, and top news outlets on Monday morning February 6, 2012 was a report written by Michael Kozlowski of Good e-Reader.  In the article, Kozlowski originally found its info from “Amazon sources close to the situation.”   In the first paragraph, Kozlowski wrote that the world’s largest ecommerce company is "planning on rolling out a retail store in Seattle within the next few months.”  Later Kozlowski added “[Amazon are] going the boutique route and stocking the shelves with only high margin and high-end items.”

In recent months several tech watchers have been speculating that Amazon will be opening stores similar to Apple’s stores to showcase its hot products such as Kindle Fire and others.  But, those tech gadgets have been on display in Target stores and BestBuy stores around America.  Moreover, some rumors have soared during the past holiday seasons as Amazon is also planning to open some kind of superstores similar to Wal-Mart or Costco stores in areas with high density of shoppers.

(Image: Kindle)

Malaria disease kills 1.24 million people in 2010 while control activities supported by well-funded organizations including Microsoft’s billionaire Bill Gates is helping to stop more deaths

A latest study and number crunching on malaria disease headed by American Professor Christopher JL Murray from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, found that there were 1.24 million people died from the mosquito- disease in 2010.  This number almost doubled from the previous estimates. The study is being published in the British journal for medical research the Lancet.

The current research on malaria was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.   With a well-funded team, researchers applied a new set of data by using more advanced computer modeling. The team built a sophisticated database on chronological orders for malaria deaths between 1980 and 2010.

In general, malaria deaths increased since 1980 from 995,000 people and reached a top level of 1.82 million people in 2004.  The total deaths dropped slightly to 1.24 million in 2010.  Researchers praised the recent decline to “the scaling up of control activities [in Africa]” and more funds available from “international donors” [including funds from Microsoft’s billionaire Bill Gates]. 

Several populated regions in the world are still at risk of malaria including in West, Central, and East Africa, South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines), and South Asia countries (India, Bangladesh), and South America (Amazon region). 

It's a smartphone world after all: smartphone shipments surpassed personal computers (including slates/tablets/pads, notebooks/laptops, netbooks/mini PC and desktop stations) for the first time in 2011

A new report published by Canalys, a data specialist firm who provides market intelligence on information technology, showed that vendors around the world shipped 158.5 million smartphones in Q4-2011.  This was an increase of 56.6% from one year ago, compared to 101.2 million smartphones that was shipped in Q4 2010.  In total for the full year of 2011, vendors shipped 487.7 million smartphones.  This was an increase of 62.7% from 2010, compared to 299.7 million smartphones that was shipped in the previous year.

In a setback comparison, personal computers (PCs) market increased only 14.8% in 2011 to 414.6 million units.  The hardest hit was on netbooks or mini PC, as the 2011’s full year shipments for this product line totaled 29.4 million units, or a drop of 25.3% over 2010.  Vendors around the world shipped only 6.7 million netbooks or mini PC in Q4-2011; this was a drop of 32.4% from the same quarter of the previous year.

One of the brightest products for PCs manufacturers in 2011 was a new family group of slates/tablets/pads.  This product line experienced the highest growth in shipment with 274.2% over one year ago with a full year totaled 63.2 million units.  PCs vendors shipped 26.5 million slates/tablets/pads in Q4-2011.  This was an increase of 186.2% from one year ago. 

(Table: Canalys)

Facebook gives a big thumb up to Zynga as the online gaming company contributed 12% of the world’s largest social networking revenues totaled $3.71 billion in 2011

Facebook, the world’s largest social networking, is planning to go public and the company’s shares will soon be listed in the Wall Street stock exchanges.  On Wednesday, February 1, 2012, Facebook sent all the paperwork to America’s Securities and Exchange Commission.  On the Form S-1 registration statement, the Silicon Valley-based company reported a big chunk of its revenues were from its partners. 

About 12% of Facebook’s revenues in 2011 which totaled $3.71 billion came from its partnership with Zynga.  Zynga went public in 2011 and the company is well-known for its online games include CityVille, FarmVille, CastleVille, etc.  Facebook stated in its filing with the America’s Securities and Exchange Commission “We currently generate significant revenue as a result of our relationship with Zynga, and, if we are unable to successfully maintain this relationship, our financial results could be harmed.”

(Images: Facebook and Zynga)

Let's say hello to Nikon Coolpix P510: a new digital camera with a gigantic 42x optical zoom, 16-megapixel, 1080p HD video, available in March for $429.95

One of the top digital camera brands in the world just announced a series of new products on Tuesday (January 31).  One of those new products was a Nikon Coolpix P510 which has a gigantic 42x optical zoom.  The new camera's lens could handle from 24mm to super-zoom of 1000mm.  The camera is also equipped with 16-megapixel.   It has a sensor that can take a five frames-per-second high-speed shooting photos.  For video recording, the camera has 1080p HD video capability.  The Nikon P510 will be available in camera stores in America in March for $429.95.  It will also available in two colors black and red.

(Image: Nikon Coolpix P510)

Mobile phone and social trends in America: the increasing important of a call to a friend while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project released their latest findings on the growing important of a phone call to a friend when making purchasing decisions during the holiday season in America.  According to the report, 38% of mobile phone users used their cellphone to talk to a friend while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store.  They needed their friends’ advices about making a purchase decision. 

The report found 25% of cellphone subscribers used a phone to compare the price of a product online while they were in a physical store.

Further, the study also found 24% of cellphone subscribers used a phone to check out Internet reviews on a product while they were in a brick-and-mortar store.

(Chart:  pewinternet.org)