BlackBerry launches iPhone and Android security platform

Secure Work Space lets users toggle between personal and corporate modes on their devices.

After losing the smartphone market to Apple and Google a few years ago, BlackBerry is looking to keep some skin in the game.

Now a distant fourth (behind even Microsoft) and fading fast on the hardware side, BlackBerry is hoping its acclaimed security software might be its ticket to success -- even if it means supporting rivals' devices.

BlackBerry on Tuesday introduced a new service called "Secure Work Space," which allows enterprise iPhone and Android users to toggle between personal and corporate modes.
Secure Work Space is aimed at giving companies control over the data that flows over their networks, even on a user's personal phone. Corporate email, calendars, contacts and intranets are cordoned off, and IT departments can add or remove other apps from that corporate section without affecting any personal information.
That separation ensures, for example, that users can't copy a message from the corporate profile and paste it into the personal one. Just as crucially, malware infecting the personal side of the phone won't make its way into corporate data.


The setup is similar to BlackBerry Balance, which comes standard on BlackBerry 10 devices.
 


BlackBerry will provide an update on sales of the Z10 and other BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Friday. Though some analysts are optimistic, no one expects the new line of devices will launch BlackBerry back to the smartphone forefront anytime soon -- or, truthfully, ever.
But if Secure Work Space takes off, it could help BlackBerry (BBRY) regain some of the corporate market that it lost so publicly and painfully.
"Conceptually, it does make sense -- BlackBerry did well securing email, and now they're securing a workspace," said Cowen & Co. analyst Matthew Hoffman.
But as BlackBerry has declined, competitors like Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) have worked hard to improve their own security capabilities. Samsung launched its own "Knox" system for the new Galaxy S4, which works much like Secure Work Space.
Still, there's room in the market for a trusted multi-platform solution -- an Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) of mobile devices.
Hoffman isn't convinced that BlackBerry will be the only company in the field, but BlackBerry still has the chance to become that trusted solution. Despite all of its troubles on the hardware side, BlackBerry's reputation as a company dedicated to security endures, as CEO Thorsten Heins has made sure to play up the company's history in the space.
A full switch to software would be "messy," though, Hoffman said. "[BlackBerry would] be taking 95% of its revenue, hardware, and saying, that doesn't matter -- now we're going to focus on this 5%. It would be a pretty big corporate transition to become software-only."
BlackBerry dipped a toe into this field back in 2011, when the company launched an experimental product that allows corporate IT staffers to manage multiple mobile devices -- including iOS and Android -- through the same interface. At the time, the company insisted that it wasn't shifting its strategy away from hardware.
Two years later, however, BlackBerry is still struggling on the device side and sorely needs a bright spot. If security software can be successful for BlackBerry, a bit of a strategic shift could be a smart move.

Windows 8.1's little changes are a huge improvement

Windows 8.1 is available in 'preview' version for developers on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney)

Microsoft on Wednesday released its first preview of Windows 8.1, a vastly improved update of its forward-thinking but flawed PC operating system.

On paper, the list of changes that Microsoft made to Windows 8.1 don't seem all that major. No, the app tiles aren't gone. Yes, the Start button is back, but not exactly as you remember it.

But it isn't until you actually start using the latest version of Windows that you can appreciate the big benefits of little tweaks.
Start button: The return of the Start button to its rightful spot on the desktop taskbar is a perfect example.
The Start button's main function in Windows 8.1 is actually to call up the Start screen (the series of app tiles that Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) calls "Modern UI," which was introduced in Windows 8) -- not the labyrinth of nested menus that it used to hide. But when you're in desktop mode and you click the Start button, it won't take you completely out of the desktop. Instead, a semi-transparent version of the Modern UI will float on top of the desktop, allowing you to choose an app.
That feature also allows you to control how you organize the Start screen. You can quickly lump together all the icons for your desktop apps in the Modern UI and label them as such.


 
Snap view: The biggest change in Windows 8.1 is the expansion of the "snap view" feature that enables multiple apps on the screen at the same time.
Windows 8.1 will let you run up to eight apps side by side -- up from just two in Windows 8. (That's provided you have two 2560x1600 resolution monitors. On a smaller device like the Surface, you can still only have two.)
Unlike Windows 8, which ran the second app in snap view as a more limited widget in a small strip of the screen, Windows 8.1 lets users decide how much space each app takes up on the screen -- half? a third? a quarter? Your call!
To make Windows 8.1 users feel less locked into a single app, snap view will automatically launch in certain situations. For example, if you're reading an email and you click on a link, you will no longer exit the email app and go into the browser. Instead, the screen will automatically split itself into two (if it isn't already), and Internet Explorer will pop up right next to your email app. You can even rearrange panes and drag and drop files between them as easily as you would two windows in desktop mode.




App improvements: Microsoft has put in a lot of work into more tightly integrating its own services throughout Windows 8.1.
For example, if you search for a musician using the Bing search app, links and play buttons to that artist's songs and albums will be integrated into the results.
When you receive a Skype call and your computer is locked, you will be able to answer the call without having to first unlock your computer.
And most importantly, the SkyDrive cloud storage service will be more tightly woven into Windows 8.1. SkyDrive won't just make your cloud files look and feel native inside Windows, but it will also sync all your Windows and app settings on the fly, so that you don't have to reconfigure every Windows 8.1 device you use.


Even littler things: It's not just tweaks to big conceptual ideas that make Windows 8.1 promising. Microsoft paid attention to little technical details as well.
When you have more than one monitor, for instance, Windows 8.1 will make sure you can independently adjust scaling for each one so that text, icons and other visual elements are optimally sized and proportioned on each display. (This was a major problem when using the Surface Pro with an external monitor.)
Another tiny fix that goes a long way is how the Start Screen organization process has been cleaned up. Being able to name groups of tiles gives the screen an added sense of order. Instead of pinning every newly installed app to the Start Screen, Windows 8.1 now just adds new apps to a larger list of apps one menu level below. That helps cut down on the chaos of the Start Screen, making it just about the apps that matter to the user.
And having the ability to move entire groups of tiles at once -- as opposed to one by one -- eliminates a tedious process of personalizing the Start Screen.
Wednesday's release is just a preview for software developers. The final version of Windows 8.1 won't be released to the public until the holiday season, and we'll probably see some other little things changed and a few extra tricks added.
No going back to the drawing board: Before Microsoft first pulled the cover off of Windows 8.1 last month, there were claims that negative feedback and poor sales of Windows 8 had forced the company to rethink its strategy and largely abandon its futuristic overhaul of Windows. That couldn't be further from the truth.
With Windows 8.1, Microsoft is slowly pushing us deeper into its Modern UI. Many of the new tweaks to Windows exist to make the Modern UI more enticing as the primary mode of computing.
Microsoft's execution of its PC/tablet hybrid operating system concept still isn't flawless, but its patience in adhering to its vision is commendable. By addressing some of Windows 8's more problematic aspects with subtle, iterative improvements, Microsoft is slowly transitioning its user base to this radical new mode of computing.
That not only makes Windows 8.1 a promising upgrade, but it may go a long way towards validating Microsoft's somewhat risky strategy

PayPal to launch inter-planetary payment system

PayPal is getting serious about space payments.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

PayPal said Thursday it will launch inter-planetary payments -- yes, a system for buying things in space.

 

 

It sounds like a PR stunt, but PayPal is dead serious about getting into the burgeoning field of space tourism. With companies like Virgin Galactic and Space X bringing the go-to-Mars dream much closer to reality, PayPal said its goal is simply to start thinking about the complicated issues concerning space commerce.

"We don't have all the answers right now, but it's clear we won't be using cash when we're in space," PayPal president David Marcus told CNNMoney. "We feel it's time now -- not next year, not when [space tourism] starts to happen -- to start figuring out what this looks like."
The PayPal Galactic initiative will launch later on Thursday at a splashy press conference featuring astronaut Buzz Aldrin.


EBay-owned (EBAY, Fortune 500) PayPal is partnering with two leading groups, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute and the Space Tourism Society, to answer "the big questions around the commercialization of space."
Space commerce could force a major evolution of all of the entities that touch payments: banking systems, risk and fraud management, regulatory concerns and more. What will be the default currency in a cash-free space system? Who will provide customer support?
Related story: Crowdfunded telescope puts your photo in space
Those questions need to be solved if space tourism is to become a viable business, Marcus said.
"It's easy to perceive this as kind of gee-whiz, even silly, if you just read the headline," he said. "But these are real, difficult, important problems that need to be sorted out."
Those solutions need to come quickly, as casual space travel is much closer than the average consumer might think, said SETI Institute chairwoman Jill Tarter.
"When you talk to the space community -- the people who are actually making this happen -- it doesn't feel pie-in-the-sky to them at all," Tarter said. "Within a few years we are going to have more people off the surface of this planet more often, and we'll have to determine value in that new environment."
To help speed that move to space, PayPal is also launching a crowdfunding campaign on the site FundRazr to raise money for the SETI Institute and its research.

Microsoft previews new Windows, music player, more

(CNN) -- The newest version of Windows is getting some changes. Among them? A little dose of old Windows.

Microsoft is making adjustments to its Windows 8 operating system, beginning with the resurrection of the Start button.

The changes, announced today at the Microsoft Build developer conference in San Francisco, address some of the complaints leveled at the hybrid tablet and PC operating system that surfaced when it was released late last year.

The company also unveiled improvements to its Bing search engine, built-in support for 3-D printers, an updated Xbox Music app, and new tools for developers making WIndows 8 applications.

"The PC, the Windows device of today, doesn't look a lot like the PC of 10 years ago or of 15 years ago," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at a keynote address kicking off the conference.

 

Ballmer outlined some of the new changes to Windows 8.1, which he described as a "refined blend."

When the radically different, touchscreen-optimized system came out eight months ago, many Windows users were upset about radical departure from the typical Windows interface, especially the lack of a Start button. The button is back, and now it leads to a list of all your applications.

The company announced a few new applications for Windows 8, including an official Facebook app, Flipboard and NFL Fantasy football. Though there was a brief preview of a new version of PowerPoint for WIndows 8, the next version of the Microsoft Office suite won't be released until 2014.

The speedy Windows 8 update is part of Microsoft's new approach to releasing fixes and adding features to products.

The software and hardware company is now focused on a "rapid release" cycle, which will let it roll out changes to software in a matter of months instead of years. It has already released a number of changes to Windows 8, but this version is the biggest overhaul so far.

A free preview version of the Windows 8.1 update for developers is available to anyone interested in installing it. The version for regular consumers will come out later this year.

Other changes include the ability to boot directly into the desktop, more flexibility with the tiles on the Start screen, support for high-resolution displays, and greater Bing integration.

"Search is not just a list of links, it's things you can do," said Julie Larson-Green, corporate vice president of Windows, who demonstrated some new Bing features.

Developers can now tap into Bing, which has opened up access to its 3-D maps, entities and knowledge database, and natural user interfaces.

The big Xbox Music update is a radio feature that builds a station for listeners based on a song, much like Pandora.

As part of a feature coming later this year, people will be able to automatically create Xbox Music playlists based on Web pages, like a Pitchfork list of top songs of the year.

Microsoft also highlighted a few of the of the 3,000 Windows 8 certified tablets, PCs and hybrids, including an 18-inch Dell tablet. It highlighted more touchscreen devices, "workhorse" 2-in-1 tablets and smaller tablets.

"We're going to see a proliferation of Windows 8 small tablet devices over the next few months," said Ballmer.

Microsoft's own entry in to the hardware world wasn't forgotten. After some scripted banter about how much they loved their own Surface tablets, presenters announced that developers attending the conference would all receive free Surface Pros. Attendees will also get Acer Iconia W3 tablets.

Your child's data is stored in the cloud

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Your child's school knows just about everything about your kid. Now, many school districts are storing all that information in the cloud.

   Non-profit inBloom offers an Internet database service that allows schools to store, track and analyze data on schoolchildren. If you think about it, that information is more than just test scores. It's whether kids receive free lunch -- a telling indicator of the family's finances. It's the time a student got into a fight in the schoolyard. And it could be a child's prescription medication.

The upshot of storing all that data in one location is that it can be used to tailor specific curricula to each child. If Johnny's data suggests that he's a tactile learner and he's failing math, inBloom's analytic engine might suggest a particular teaching approach.
Teachers say that kind of insight can be helpful.
Jim Peterson, a teacher in Bloomington, Ill., says inBloom has helped break down the silos in his school system's data collection. His school district supports 50 separate data systems.
"This is all about building personalized learning environments for kids," he says.


  

   Peterson also thinks having this kind of data will spur new innovation in education, encouraging entrepreneurs to build applications that can help teachers make use of their students' data.
But as more school districts team up with inBloom, including New York, parents are becoming increasingly vocal critics of the data collection.
"This information ... I have no idea what it is, I have no idea who's using it, I have no idea for what purpose," said New York's Karen Sprowal, mother of nine-year old Matthew.
Matthew has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Ms. Sprowal is concerned about who will have access to her son's medical records and whether any stored data about his behavioral issues will follow him for years to come.
InBloom CEO Iwan Streichenberger is quick to point out the company isn't collecting data the school districts don't already have; it's just providing a one-stop shop to make the data accessible -- and usable -- to teachers.
"Schools and districts collect a lot of data but it's all over the place," Streichenberger says. "Its different systems are disconnected, so as a result, this data is not usable."
Streichenberger says inBloom is providing the "plumbing" to fix school districts' currently disjointed systems. School districts control the data, though they may share that information with third-parties if they choose. (See correction below).




   That promise has offered little comfort to many parents in school districts that use inBloom. Some parents in those districts feel that there's not enough transparency around the data platform, what data will be stored, and who will have access to it. InBloom says it's up to the states to determine what data is stored and whether parents have access.
Sprowal says parents were not adequately notified before her son's school district started loading data on to the platform.

"I think if there was full disclosure, transparency, if they included us in the process, as they were developing it ... it would have been fine," she said. "It would have ... put some constraints on it."
A recent town hall meeting on student privacy in New York got heated.
"We will do whatever it takes to stop inBloom, [New York Mayor Michael] Bloomberg, or anyone else when it comes to our children," one parent said to applause.
Pending legislation in New York would allow parents to opt out of this type of data collection.
InBloom represents just one of many tech companies capitalizing on data collection in the classroom.
A company called DreamBox Learning offers a computer program for teaching math. The technology assesses whether students answer correctly, and, more importantly, how they arrived at the answer. The data includes whether a child hesitates, and what strategy they used to arrive at that answer.
Sprowal acknowledges that personalized learning could be beneficial to Matthew. Still, given the option, she says she would opt out for now.


Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that schools cannot share data stored on inBloom's servers with third parties. InBloom cannot share data, but schools can.

Report: Google's making a video game console

  (CNN) -- Google is reportedly working on a video game console that would be powered by its Android operating system, potentially putting another huge tech player in an arena dominated by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.

  Oh, and The Wall Street Journal reports Google is working on a smartwatch, too. Like almost everybody else in the industry.

Both a console and a watch would be moves to undercut rival Apple, which is widely expected to roll out its own smartwatch and is reportedly planning to add gaming as part of the next iteration of its Apple TV product.

 Citing unnamed sources who have been "briefed on the matter," the Journal also said Google is planning to release a revamped Nexus Q, a media-streaming device that was announced but never released for sale to the public.

 An Android gaming console would come on the heels of the release of OUYA, a $99, open-platform console that runs on a version of the Google operating system. After raising $8 million on Kickstarter, OUYA went on sale to the public on Wednesday. Demand for the new console appears to be strong; it was sold out on Amazon earlier this week.

If the console report is true, it remains to be seen whether Google would go for the OUYA model of a more affordable, accessible system or try to compete with the so-called Big Three -- Sony's PlayStation, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's Wii U.

All three carry heftier pricetags but are more powerful and more well-established in the gaming world, with new games developed specifically for the devices.

An Android-powered smartwatch would enter Google in what's becoming a crowded, if largely still theoretical, field. Credible leaks have most analysts convinced that Apple has a smartwatch in the works. In recent months, Samsung and LG have confirmed they're working on connected watches, as well.

And a handful of those watches, a leading item in the emerging field of "wearable tech," are already on the market. Consider Pebble, another Kickstarter success story.

A Google watch could partner with arguably the most exciting wearable tech product to date: Google's Glass connected headset.

Google did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment for this story.