Friday, May 16, 2014

Software : Google throws lifeline to Chrome OS devices for another year

Software : Google throws lifeline to Chrome OS devices for another year

Google throws lifeline to Chrome OS devices for another year

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Google throws lifeline to Chrome OS devices for another year

No matter who manufactures them, Chrome OS-based notebooks and desktop boxes make a great inexpensive computer, and now Google guarantees the software that keeps them running will be supported for a minimum of five years.

Google updated its Chrome OS End of Life Policy today, effectively tacking on an extra year's worth of software support for 16 different Chromebook and Chromebox products manufactured by Acer, HP, Samsung and others.

"EOL [End of Life] dates may be pushed later than the initial date published, but will never be sooner than listed, which will be at least a minimum of five years from launch of the hardware," an updated footnote on Google's policy page reads.

Chrome OS is essentially an operating system built around Google's web browser technology, and made its debut in 2010 as a potential contender to more expensive Windows and Mac OS X platforms.

Long live Chrome

The change of policy extends the life of Chrome OS products into late 2018 or even early 2019 in most cases, with only Google's original Cr-48 notebook facing imminent extinction come December, 2015.

That's quite a good deal, considering the Cr-48 lived fast and died young following its December, 2010 release as part of an estimated 60,000-unit pilot program, then effectively discontinued the following summer to make way for the first official products from Samsung and Acer.

One of those Chromebooks, the Samsung Series 5, has a firm End of Life date in June, 2016, while Google appears to be leaving the door open with "unofficial" EOL dates for the remaining devices.

With more schools and businesses finally taking a chance on Chrome OS, the extension will likely be music to the ears of those tasked with purchasing such devices, which currently receive software updates like clockwork every six months.

SAP to restructure 3% of its global workforce, job losses possible

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SAP to restructure 3% of its global workforce, job losses possible

Updated: 5/16/2014 10:45AM

SAP is planning a restructure that will shift approximately 2,500 roles from software programming to cloud computing, SAP spokesman Daniel Reinhardt told TechRadar. The German software giant will require fewer onsite staff as it moves its software programs to the cloud.

Reinhardt said the cuts will be reflected across regions and across departments. He said it is immediately unclear how many SAP employees will be retained as part of the restructure, though he said all current employees are encouraged to apply for new cloud-focused positions as they become available.

SAP currently employs 67,000 workers across the world. Reinhardt said the restructure will actually increase net jobs by roughly 500 workers. SAP is currently moving all its products into the cloud, onto SAP HANA and applying SAP Fiori, he said.

"We reckon three percent of our workforce are going to be impacted. Since we have a great number of experienced people, we reckon many of these three percent will find an internal job. What that number will be in the end is not foreseeable," Reinhardt said. It is immediately unclear if any executive-level positions will be created as a result of the restructure.

SAP's solid Q1

SAP Q1 revenue increased 3% to $5.1 billion, compared with Q1 of 2013. The organization said its revenue increase was due to a 60% increase in revenue from cloud subscriptions and support.

SAP's net profit also increased 3% to $739 million during the quarter. At the time of the earnings announcement, SAP co-Chief Executive Bill McDermott said he expects the company to generate $8 billion in 2014, an increase of approximately $400 million over last year.

Via: Reuters

Samsung Hub suite to shut its doors, according to top exec

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Samsung Hub suite to shut its doors, according to top exec

The Samsung Hub digital store on the firm's range of smartphones and tablets might be on the way out, according to a top Samsung marketing executive.

The in-house portal offers the firm's range of bespoke applications as well as access to popular content like games, music and movies, making it a competitor to the Google Play Store.

With rumours that Google asked Samsung to stop launching so many 'gimmicky' apps for its Galaxy devices, it appears the company may have taken heed, starting with the annexation of Samsung Hub.

In a Twitter conversation with SamMobile's Anhijeet Mishra, Samsung's Marketing Manager for Technical Media Philip Berne posted "Samsung Hub is going away," without further elaborating.

Groundwork laid

While it's not clear when the company will drop the portal completely, the groundwork was already laid with the recent Galaxy S5 launch. On that handset, Samsung Hub was not present out of the box.

The store's only real use for Galaxy fans is the ability for users to sync content downloads across multiple Samsung devices, but that aside, it's unlikely many users will miss Samsung Hub.

Whether this will mean Samsung will tone down its constant endeavours to separate itself from the rest of the Android pack remains to be seen.
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