Linux kernel 3.9 adds full Chrome OS support

Linux creator Linus Torvalds on Monday released version 3.9 of the Linux kernel, and particularly intriguing among numerous new features and improvements is support for laptops running Google's Chrome OS.

"Whatever the reason, this week has been very quiet, which makes me much more comfortable doing the final 3.9 release, so I guess the last -rc8 ended up working," wrote Torvalds in the release announcement early Monday.

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There are actually several compelling additions in this latest version of the software kernel that's at the heart of all Linux distributions. Here are a few of the highlights.

1. Chrome OS support
Certainly most intriguing from a hardware perspective is that kernel 3.9 adds "complete support for all the devices present in the Chrome laptops sold by many companies," as explained in thechangelog on KernelNewbies.org.

2. Faster performance
Also new in Linux 3.9 is the ability to use a fast device such as a solid-state drive (SSD) as a cache for a slower device such as a rotating disk. Faster performance under heavy loads can be one result.

3. KVM support in ARM
Now offered within the ARM architecture port is support for the KVM virtualization system, bringingvirtualization capabilities to the Linux ARM ecosystem.

4. Improved power efficiency
An Intel PowerClamp driver in this latest kernel release, meanwhile, "performs synchronized idle injection across all online CPUs. The goal is to maintain a given package level C-state ratio," the changelog explains. "Compared to other throttling methods already exist in the kernel, such as ACPI PAD (taking CPUs offline) and clock modulation, this is often more efficient in terms of performance per watt."

5. Two new architectures
Last but not least, the 3.9 release brings the Linux kernel port to the ARC700 processor family (750D and 770D) from Synopsys as well as the Meta ATP (Meta 1) and HTP (Meta 2) processor cores from Imagination.

The ARC700 family is highly configurable and power efficient, and can be found embedded in SoCs deployed in TV set-top boxes and digital media players, for example. Meta cores, meanwhile, can typically be found in many digital radios.

Google Play revenue surges, but still far short of Apple: data

SEOUL (Reuters) - Google's app store revenues are growing much faster than those of Apple Inc, but Apple still dominates overall sales, market research data taken from the first three months of the year shows.

The app stores collectively raked in $2.2 billion in the first three months of 2013, according to Canalys, a market researcher.

The firm says Apple's App Store generated $1.48 billion of revenue, accounting for 74 percent of $2.2 billion earnings that the app stores collectively made in the January-March period. Revenue generated from Google Play amounted to 18 percent.

Separate data from App Annie, an analytics firm, showed Google's app store revenues were 38.5 percent of Apple's, a big gain from a year ago when it was worth just a tenth of Apple's, as its free Android mobile operating system helped it win nearly 70 percent of the global mobile market.

Fuelled by roaring growth of Android mobile devices, largely manufactured by Samsung Electronics and up-and-coming rivals, Google Play revenues jumped 90 percent in the first quarter from the fourth quarter, according to App Annie.

Apple's app store revenues grew by a quarter in the same period, compounding worries for the firm, whose share price has fallen 11.8 percent so far in April on fears about weakening demand for its hardware staples, the iPhone and iPad.

"Although Google is catching up, Apple has such a head-start in revenues that, on present trends, we would not expect Google to overtake Apple until sometime in 2016," Adam Daum, chief analyst at Canalys, told Reuters in an email interview.

Apple's continued dominance in revenues, despite the popularity of Android-propelled devices, was largely due to its simpler payment system.

"In terms of downloads, Google Play has caught up to 90 percent of Apple's, and will close the gap soon, but this hasn't translated to revenues," said Oliver Lo, a Beijing-based Vice President at App Annie.

Lo said that a higher percentage of iPhone or iPad users, usually more affluent than the average smartphone user, had registered their credit cards on their Apple accounts, making it easier and more likely for them to purchase apps.

Google, on the other hand, relies on more varied payment methods including Google Wallet, credit card purchases and carrier billing.

Spending on games in Japan and South Korea, Android's top markets, helped Google Play's earnings, a trend that is seen continuing this year.

"There's plenty of room for growth in Japan which will add new users as the smartphone penetration rates are only about 30 percent," said Rim Ho-won, an analyst at CIMB Securities in Seoul.

He added that South Korea, which boasts one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world at 80 percent, would also see robust growth on the back of its mobile game-craze.

Games account for 90-95 percent of revenues from Japan and South Korea, which are the most heavily game-skewed markets.

App market operators such as Google and Apple generally take 30 percent of the revenues, and the remainder goes to the app developers.

Windows XP countdown: Will Microsoft blink?

Ask not for whom the Windows XP bell tolls, it tolls for thee if you're still running the ancient OS. Blogs are alight with a reminder that Microsoft's official support will end one year from today. Those with the temerity to still be running WinXP one year hence will face blight, plagues, and unpatched security holes -- at least that's what Microsoft wants you to believe.

The official Windows blog this morning carries anearly announcement of Windows XP's death, together with the exhortation that "now is the time to upgrade to a modern OS." Your definition of "modern" may not coincide with Microsoft's, but there's no doubt that the handwriting is on the wall:

Microsoft will no longer provide support for Windows XP users. This means that customers and partners will no longer receive security updates to the operating system or be able to leverage tech support from Microsoft after this time.

The venerable pre-Ribbon Office 2003 will sing its swan song on the same day: No more Office 2003 support after April 8, 2014, either.

In the same blog post, Microsoft announced a 15 percent discount on Windows 8 Pro and Office Standard 2013:

If you are a small or medium-size business currently running Windows XP Professional PCs, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro and Office Standard 2013 at a 15% discount now through June 30 as part of Microsoft's Get2Modern offer. This offer is only available on up to 100 licenses each of Windows 8 Pro and Office 2013 Standard editions.

You have to wonder why the same offer doesn't apply to Office Pro Plus 2013 (which includes Access, InfoPath, and Lync) or Office 365, but I guess that's looking a 15 percent gift horse in the mouth.

Several people have asked me whether I think Microsoft will go through with it -- is the company just playing Chicken Little to spur on upgrades or will it really will drive a stake through XP's heart on April 8, 2014? After all, according to various reporting companies, XP currently accounts for something like 40 percent of all Web hits worldwide. That's a big sliver of the online access pie, and you'd think Microsoft would be crazy to summarily feed all of those loyal customers to the malware wolves.

But is the move really crazy? Online use of XP in North America hovers around 14 percent, according to analytic site Statista, quoting figures from StatCounter. If Microsoft can cut that figure in half over the course of the next year, the number would be looking pretty anemic.

More than that, there's no telling what percentage of those XP users are in fact paying customers. If 40 percent of all Web hits globally come from XP, but only 14 percent of the machines in the United States are browsing with XP, that means a huge percentage of PCs in China (and other corners of the world where the term "genuine" draws guffaws) are using the OS.

Perhaps Microsoft brass figures that cutting off XP would be dealing just desserts to the pirating masses.

My gut feeling is that Microsoft has every intention of going through with it and sending XP to the guillotine next April. Whether a last-minute reprieve is in the cards is anybody's guess. But when you look at it from Microsoft's point of view -- killing off a product that swallows enormous amounts of resources, combined with a free pass to lynch a few million pirates -- getting rid of XP makes a whole lot of sense.

This story, "Windows XP countdown: Will Microsoft blink?," was originally published atInfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

Know the key legal and security risks in a cloud computing contract

Enterprises that store data with cloud providers may no longer have physical control over it, but they're still on the hook legally for its protection and security.

Knowing what goes into a SaaS contract -- and the risks associated with what's not included -- can mean the difference between a costly lawsuit or a successful partnership, according to technology attorney Milton Petersen.

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Petersen, a partner in the information technology practice group at the law firm of Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn in Savannah, GA, spoke at SNW in Orlando this week.

The two most important words to look for in a vendor contract are "vendor shall," Peterson said. Terms like "we'll strive to," "our goals," "targets," and "objectives" should raise red flags for users as they offer no concrete guarantees and give the vendor legal wiggle room.

Cloud computing contracts also tend to be more commoditized today, compared with big outsourcing deals that once involved heavy negotiations carried out over days.

"It used to be that a customer could negotiate a lot of protections in," Petersen said. "To some extent ... [now], you have to take contract terms they're offering."

Questions to ask
Users should be aware of a cloud provider's implementation process -- how your company's data will be ingested into their cloud infrastructure. Things to consider include whether there will be a lot of work converting your data into their format, or whether they're simply starting with fresh data at the point the contract is signed. Will the data be encrypted? If not, are there data breach notification laws in the state or country where it will be stored?

Most states now have such laws, Petersen said.

It's also better if you have time to check out a vendor and see how the technology works and whether it does what it's supposed to, Petersen said.

Among the more important nuances of a cloud contract is how your company will end the pact and transition data out of the cloud, either back into a private data center to a new cloud provider.

If your data is no longer in a format your company natively uses, you'll want to be sure it's in some type of industry standard format that will make it easy to convert or use.

"Make sure you're not held hostage where they charge you an exorbitant fee for getting your data back," Petersen said. "Also, look for some kind of cooperation and assistance from the vendor in getting your data out. [And] make sure there's an agreement around what they can or cannot destroy."

It's particularly important to know whether a vendor plans to destroy data after a certain time, particularly if that data has the potential to be used in litigation with a client and might be placed into a legal hold status.