IE9 passes Opera in browser usage

Chrome and Safari gained while IE and Firefox lost share of worldwide browser usage from March to April.

(Credit: Net Applications)

Microsoft's browser continues to lose share of worldwide usage, but its new IE9 version managed to gain enough usage that new statistics show it surpassing one smaller rival, Opera.
Internet Explorer 9 accounted for 2.41 percent of browser usage in April, its first full month on the market, according to Net Applications. Opera accounted for 2.14 percent. And IE overall dropped from 55.9 percent in March to 55.1 percent in April.
Two browsers, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari, outpaced the overall growth in Web usage. Chrome rose from 11.6 percent to 11.9 percent, while Safari grew from 6.6 percent to 7.2 percent. Mozilla's Firefox dipped from 21.8 percent to 21.6 percent.
Mozilla has its bright spot, too: Firefox 4 accounted for 5.4 percent of usage overall, though it arrived later than IE9. It runs not just on older versions of Windows, notably Windows XP, but also on Mac OS X and Linux.
The move to modern browsers enables a new generation of more interactive Web sites and applications. Changes in IE usage are particularly important in that move because the decade-old IE6 remains the bane of Web developers. Its usage continues to gradually slip, though, and Windows 7's rise is helping to usher IE6 out.
In part because of its iOS mobile operating system, Apple had a strong showing in Web activity--though not all of that was with Safari. Apple operating systems accounted for 7.6 percent of browser usage in April. Of that 5.4 percent were browsers on Mac OS X, 1.2 percent on iPhones, 0.8 percent on iPads, and 0.2 percent on iPod Touches.
In other words, 2.2 percent of browser usage took place on Apple's mobile operating system. That may sound like a small fraction, but it's a large number of people in absolute terms.
Windows, of course, is the dominant operating system used to browse the Web. In April, Windows XP--which can't run IE9--remained the most popular, with 53.2 percent of usage. Windows 7, in second place, surpassed 1 in 4 Windows users to reach 25.1 percent.
On Windows 7, IE9 accounted for 7.5 percent of browser usage, NetApplications said.
Microsoft is "excited" about the IE9 results, Ryan Gavin, senior director of IE business and marketing, said in a blog post. He noted that by the end of the month, IE9 usage on Windows 7 had increased to nearly 10 percent.
IE9 serves as a vehicle for Microsoft to promote Windows 7 and to improve it for customers.
"For Windows 7 customers, the best browser for experiencing the web is IE9," he said in an assertion his rivals likely disagree with. "We built IE9 to help developers unleash faster and richer web experiences that can take full advantage of the capabilities of Windows 7 and modern PC hardware. So for us, success means that we have real sites and developers taking advantage of those unique capabilities to deliver that better Web experience."

BlackBerry World reveals new devices, apps

RIM announces BlackBerry Bold 9900/9930 today with the brand-new OS 7.

(Credit: RIM)

Read more: http://www.cnet.com/8301-17918_1-20058904-85.html#ixzz1LHilLvWo
BlackBerry World is officially in full swing over in Orlando, Fla., as RIM let loose a plethora of announcements of new phones and apps.
The biggest news comes in the form of two Bold handsets and the new OS 7 operating system. RIM announced the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the Bold 9930, which look practically identical to the existing Bold handsets, except that the displays are now touch screens. They are also much thinner and sleeker. The Bold 9900 is headed for T-Mobile as the carrier's first-ever 4G-capable BlackBerry; the 9930 is a global dual-mode CDMA/GSM phone that will likely head for Verizon Wireless.
Both phones will ship with BlackBerry OS 7, which promises augmented reality applications via a built-in magnetometer and faster performance thanks to a 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor. The browser also promises to be speedier, with a just-in-time JavaScript compiler and HTML5 video support. NFC (near field communications) technology is another feature, designed for mobile payments. Voice search and 720p HD video recording are also welcome additions.


I'm certain that BlackBerry fans will covet and look forward to these phones. After all, the Bold is by far one of the more popular BlackBerry handsets, with its well-designed keyboard and svelte design. RIM even boasts that the new Bolds are the thinnest and most powerful BlackBerry smartphones yet. As far as BlackBerrys go, we think these two Bolds are perhaps the most advanced handsets in RIM's portfolio.
However, those who are looking for something new and different from RIM might be disappointed. The new Bolds, as we said, have almost the same design as before. OS 7 also is not dramatically different from OS 6, and it's certainly not based on the QNX platform made popular by the PlayBook. I also have some doubts on whether a touch screen works well on a 2.8-inch display, but we'll have to wait to get our hands on it to be sure.
Though understandable, it is also disappointing that OS 7 will not be available on older BlackBerrys because of hardware limitations. I think that there needs to be a bigger evolutionary OS leap before BlackBerry owners are willing to give up their existing phones for a device that requires a two-year contract.
RIM is certainly trying to make the case for its phones. Along with the two Bolds, it also introduced BlackBerry Mobile System 5, which will combine the desk phone and smartphone into a unified communication system, and BlackBerry Balance technology, that hopes to make the BlackBerry more compelling for both business and personal use without compromising security and privacy.
It's clear that RIM still wants to retain its corporate appeal. It even announced a multiplatform BlackBerry Enterprise Solution that promises to incorporate secure device management for Android and iOS phones in addition to BlackBerry smartphones, so it seems RIM is hedging its bets by making its software workable on competitor devices.
RIM also didn't forget the PlayBook with a new video chat application and a dedicated Facebook app that makes use of the 7-inch display.
We're happy to see RIM make these announcements, and yet we were hoping for something more. How about you, readers? Will you be getting one of these new Bolds? What do you think of the RIM announcements so far? Let us know in the comments.

News agencies don't race Twitter on bin Laden

Wolf Blitzer and other CNN reporters were digging into whether Osama bin Laden was dead at least an hour before the news appeared on Twitter, an executive from the cable news network told CNET today.
Why should you care? If you value getting the facts straight, you should. Twitter is once again being credited for outracing traditional news sources on a major story. The first published report that bin Laden was dead reportedly came in the form of a Twitter post from Keith Urbahn, a former aide to Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. defense secretary. A congressman from Florida now appears to have beaten Urbahn with the news.
As with other stories where Twitter appeared to get the scoop on a big story, pundits are once again questioning whether Twitter is a legitimate news source or a threat to traditional news agencies. Does it pressure journalists to speed up the reporting process, which could lead to more errors in stories?
The truth is somewhere in the middle. Twitter users and professional news gatherers seem to have formed a mutually beneficial relationship in disseminating news. Twitter enables eyewitnesses or participants of important events to alert the public as well as reporters. We saw that when Chesley "Sully" Sullengberger ditched his commercial aircraft in New York's Hudson River in 2009. The first photos and reports came from Twitter users. Later on, news agencies helped provide important details and fill in the blanks.



But participants in news stories who turn themselves into citizen journalists don't occur on most stories. It's unlikely that any of the participants in the early morning attack on the compound in Pakistan where bin Laden was hiding posted to Twitter. One witness who was staying in the area near the attack heard explosions from the raid and helicopters flying over, but his posts only made sense after professional news organizations provided the meat of the story.
Even with the obvious value of Twitter, Americans still turn to the media sources that over time have earned their trust. CNN reported that between Sunday evening when news broke about bin Laden's death through 1 p.m. ET today, CNN.com generated 88 million global page views, a 217 percent increase over the four-week average for the same time period.
An informal and highly unscientific poll by CNET showed that out of more than 4,700 people who responded (as of this afternoon), 30 percent learned of the attack on bin Laden from television. The next largest group heard about it through word of mouth and that was followed by Web news sites. Facebook and Twitter each informed 14 percent of respondents.
Old media's influence is perhaps best illustrated by Urbahn. He acknowledged today that he obtained the information he posted to Twitter not from any of his White House contacts but from an unidentified news agency employee.
Of course, it's not true why a news outlet give up information to someone else and allow that person to scoop them on Twitter. We don't know for sure, but it's easy to see a situation where a reporter may have passed along the information to Urbahn without considering that he would distribute it to potentially millions on Twitter. What we do know is that reporting news stories first is becoming less of a concern in the age of rapid-fire and often erroneous news stories, said Kelly McBride, a news-gathering expert for the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank.
"Who gets it first is becoming less important," McBride said, "because for the most part who is first isn't as important anymore as who is answering their audience's most important questions."

Related links
• Bin Laden, Twitter, and the frenzy of noise
• Bin Laden's death and the Web response (roundup)
• Twitter delivers news of bin Laden's death first

To be sure, Twitter can boast that it was home to the first report of bin Laden's death, but it was also used to circulate scores of false reports. Some Twitter followers reported that they were led to believe bin Laden was killed a week ago or that it was Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who had been killed.
If Twitter is quicker at delivering news, traditional news outlets want to provide higher quality information and more context than can be delivered in 140 characters, said Sam Feist, CNN's political director, who was running the news operations there last night. "Our mantra," he said, "is that it's better to be right than first."
That said, CNN strives to gather facts and deliver them to viewers as rapidly as possible. Feist began scrambling reporters after the news agency received a tip at 9:40 p.m. ET that the president would address the nation. Feist said two top correspondents were at a Washington Capitals hockey game when he called and asked them to start working their sources.
It wasn't long before CNN knew that bin Laden was the focus of the president's speech and reporter received little help from Twitter. "We saw Twitter feeds that went off in all kinds of directions," Feist said. He only made the decision to go with the story that bin Laden was dead after reporters, including John King, chief national correspondent, had confirmed the story from numerous high-level sources.
"We knew this broadcast would be seen around the world by friends and enemies of the United States," Feist said. "We knew that potentially millions of people would be watching the program last night. Where you have to be positively correct, we check and double check our information. This was a very important story, and we needed to be absolutely sure."
McBride said many editors are learning that in a world where news can be posted to Twitter in seconds, it's not realistic to expect reporters to win the race for scoops every time.
When they've tried in the past to do that big reporting mistakes are made, she said.
"After these errors, everybody renews their commitment to veracity," McBride said. "This does help news agencies create a threshold for when it's good to publish and when it is not."

Economy 'Slowed' Last Quarter, Better Now

(WASHINGTON) — The economy probably slowed in the first three months of this year as harsh winter weather and high oil prices hurt spending by consumers, builders and other businesses. But economists predict that was a temporary setback and growth will pick up over the rest of the year.

Thursday morning the government will release a new snapshot of the economy's health that is expected to show a 1.9 percent annual growth rate in the January-March quarter.

That would be much weaker than the 3.1 percent growth rate in the October-December quarter of 2010. And it would be the most sluggish growth since the spring of last year when fears about Europe's debt crisis caused the economy growth's to slow to a feeble 1.7 percent pace.

Looking ahead, economists predict consumers and businesses will spend more in the months ahead because gasoline prices, now averaging $3.88 a gallon nationwide, will stabilize by the summer and drop to about $3.50 by fall. Rising gas prices are taking up much of what Americans are pocketing from the Social Security payroll tax cut.
Economists in a new Associated Press survey predict the economy is growing at a 3.2 percent pace this quarter and that growth will steadily improve over the remainder of the year.
"Most of the factors that account for the slower growth in the first quarter appear to us to be transitory," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said at a news conference Wednesday.
However, Bernanke suggested that the crippled housing market will continue to weigh on the economic recovery.
Bernanke pointed out that home building and commercial construction were both "very weak" in the first quarter. Normally, construction spending is a big part of economic recoveries. But not this time, Bernanke said.
The housing market's collapse thrust the economy into a deep recession, and economists say it will take years for the industry to heal. Two years after the recession has ended, the housing market remains depressed, the Fed said.
That's one of the reasons why the United States is experiencing a relatively slow recovery, Bernanke explained.
Even though companies are hiring more, Bernanke said the unemployment rate, now at 8.8 percent, will fall only slowly.
Last year, the economy grew by 2.9 percent. But growth would need to be much faster — at least 5 percent

Oil Back Above to $113 on Weaker Dollar

Oil prices climbed back to near $113 a barrel Friday as a weaker dollar made crude more attractive to investors with other currencies and the conflicts in Libya and Syria raised risk premiums.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for June delivery was up 40 cents at $113.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract added 10 cents to settle at $112.86 on Thursday and reached $113.97 during in the session, the highest since September, 2008.
In London, Brent crude for June delivery was up 44 cents to $125.46 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Investors have been looking for signs that this year's surge in energy costs and a slowing U.S. economy will start to undermine consumer demand. U.S. gross domestic product grew an annualized 1.8 percent in the first quarter, down from 3.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter.
"Energy prices are now clearly in territory where we should start to see demand destruction set in," said Edward Meir from MF Global in New York.
While U.S. gasoline supplies fell last week for a third consecutive week, a downward revision by the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration of U.S. oil demand in February was likely due to softer demand for gasoline, analysts said.
Climbing prices are likely cooling appetite for gasoline, an argument "against a further rise of the oil price," said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "But in light of the fighting in Libya, the unrest in the Middle East and the weakness of the U.S. dollar, the oil price remains well supported, and so we do not expect it to fall steeply, either."
Syrian security forces opened fire on a demonstration Friday in the coastal city of Latakia — the heartland of the ruling elite — wounding at least five people as thousands took to the streets in several places across the country, witnesses said.
More than 450 people have been killed across Syria and hundreds detained since the popular revolt against President Bashar Assad began in mid-March.
"Syria only produces 400,000 barrels of crude oil a day, 0.5 percent of the world total," Capital Economics said in a report. "However, a prolonged and violent political crisis in Syria will affect investment and tourism in the region overall, and add upward pressure on oil prices."
On Friday, fighting between Libyan rebels and forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi has spilled over into neighboring Tunisia.
In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil rose 1.14 cents to $3.243 a gallon and gasoline fell 0.48 cents to $3.425 a gallon. Natural gas June futures were up 4.1 cents at $4.612 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Nasdaq, ICE take bid for NYSE to shareholders

NEW YORK (AP) -- After being rejected twice by the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange have intensified their fight for the top U.S. stock market.
On Monday, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. said they are taking their unsolicited bid for the New York Stock Exchange directly to shareholders. They are starting an exchange offer to jointly acquire all of the outstanding shares of NYSE Euronext for $11 billion.
The parent company of NYSE has twice rejected the joint bid from Nasdaq and ICE saying it is committed to its previously agreed-to $10 billion merger with German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse, despite the lower price. For each NYSE share, Nasdaq and ICE are offering $14.24 in cash, 0.4069 shares of Nasdaq stock and 0.1436 shares of ICE common stock
The fight for shareholder votes was largely expected. Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld told analysts recently that the company planned to appeal to shareholders directly if NYSE again rebuffed the company's advances.
"The NYSE Euronext Board has continually challenged the seriousness of our proposal and refused to engage us in discussion despite the positive feedback we have received from their stockholders," Greifeld said Monday in a statement. "The commencement of this exchange offer should convince the NYSE Euronext Board of the seriousness of our intentions."
NYSE Euronext shareholders hurled questions at the company's top executives at last week's annual meeting. They expressed concern that the takeover attempt, which was worth $1.4 billion more than the Deutsche Boerse deal, was not being considered. Shareholders said Nasdaq representatives had appealed to them directly to discuss the bid. They then approved a proposal that gave them the right to call special stockholder meetings.
Jan-Michiel Hessels, the chairman of NYSE Euronext, told shareholders at the meeting that the Nasdaq bid was "fraught with unacceptable risk" and would not clear regulatory hurdles since Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are the two main stock exchange operators in the U.S. NYSE Euronext also operates exchanges and derivatives operations in Europe.

Honda to cut production of new Civic, other models

FILE - In this April 28, 2010 file photo, visitors look at Honda Civic Type R at a Honda Motor Corp. showroom in Tokyo. Honda Motor Co. is warning U.S. dealers Monday, May, 2, 2011, that it will run short of several popular models this summer due to parts shortages from the earthquake in Japan.(AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, file)

DETROIT (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. warned U.S. dealers Monday that it will run short of popular models such as the Civic compact later this summer because of parts shortages caused by Japan's earthquake.
It said normal production may not return until the end of the year.
Honda will significantly cut production of the new 2012 Civic, the sixth most popular car in the U.S., through the summer, if not longer.
In addition, the 2012 version of the CR-V small SUV will be delayed by at least a month this fall. To make up for shortages, Honda will keep making the 2011 version.
Both vehicles are made in North America, but like other automakers, Honda must cut production because it's running low on Japanese imports of chips, sensors and other parts. Japanese plants that supply them were damaged by the March 11 earthquake or hampered by power outages.
Nearly every major auto company has had to idle factories due to shortages. Honda, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. have been hit particularly hard. Supply companies are scrambling to build their parts elsewhere, but setting up alternate factories takes months.
Honda, which makes 80 percent of the vehicles sold in North American at plants in the region, also said it will be able to import only a limited number of Japan-built cars in the U.S. That means dealers won't be able to order the Fit subcompact, and the CR-Z, Insight and Civic gas-electric hybrids until later in the year.
"Our goal remains to normalize overall production sometime around the end of the year," John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda, wrote in the dealer memo.
Shortages also will cut supply of some Acuras, Honda's luxury cars. Dealers won't be able to order the TSX small car and wagon and the RL large sedan until later in the year, the memo said.
The shortages come at a time when gasoline in the U.S. is hitting $4 a gallon in 13 states. That normally drives up sales of fuel-efficient models from Honda and Toyota.
Honda spokeswoman Christina Ra conceded that the production cuts could send some buyers to other brands, but she said some buyers might be willing to wait.
"We can certainly beef up production once things get back to normal," she said.
Honda sold nearly 67,000 Civics through March, up 21 percent from last year. Sales of the CR-V, which ranks No. 11 in U.S. sales, were up 58 percent to just over 57,000 through March.
Some industry analysts think production cuts by Japanese automakers could help General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Hyundai and other automakers that have not been hit as hard by parts shortages.
GM, Ford and Hyundai have far better entries in the compact car market than in past years, and buyers who would automatically have bought a Honda or Toyota may end up trying other brands.
Mendel's memo said Honda would have to stop taking orders for some paint colors due to lack of a certain shiny pigment made only in Japan. Ra said the colors are types of red, blue, dark gray and white.
Last month Honda said it would slow down production at its 10 U.S. and Canadian auto factories into at least early May because of shortages. The company still says none of its 21,000 North American factory workers will be laid off. Toyota has made similar moves in North America.
Separately, a Toyota engine factory in Huntsville, Ala., remains closed for lack of electricity. Alabama was devastated by tornadoes on Wednesday, and company spokesman Mike Goss said Toyota isn't sure when the plant will reopen.
The plant makes engines for the Tundra and Tacoma pickups, and the Sequoia SUV.
Goss said factories that assemble the trucks have not been affected so far. The pickups are made in San Antonio, Texas, while the Sequoia is made in Princeton, Ind.

Teva buying Cephalon for $6.8 billion

NEW YORK (AP) -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has agreed to buy Cephalon Inc. for $6.8 billion in a deal that would give the world's largest generic drug developer a range of biotechnology drugs aimed at cancer and other conditions.
Teva, based in Israel, said Monday it will pay $81.50 per share cash, marking a 5.8 percent premium to Cephalon's closing price on Friday. The price is a 12 percent premium to the since rejected $73-per-share offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., made March 29. The latest offer represents a 39 percent premium to Cephalon's stock prior to Valeant's unsolicited offer.
The Teva and Cephalon boards have each approved their proposed deal, which is expected to close during the third quarter.
Cephalon shares rose $3.09, or 4 percent, to close Monday at $80.11. Teva's U.S. shares rose $1.54, or 3.4 percent, to close at $47.27.
The combined company would have a portfolio of branded drugs with $7 billion in annual sales and more than 30 potential products in late-stage development.
"We are embarking today on a new and exciting future for Teva's branded business, and we are delighted that we will be working together with the Cephalon team," said Shlomo Yanai, president and CEO of Teva, in a statement. "This is transforming for Teva's branded business, as it will help us to deliver on our strategic goal of creating a diversified, multi-faceted company."
The bulk of Teva's revenue comes from generic drugs, but the company does sell several branded drugs, including the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and the Parkinson's disease drug Azilect. Cephalon's key drugs include the sleep disorder treatment Provigil and the cancer drug Treanda. The company has products aimed at a broad range of conditions including pain, cancer and central nervous system disorders.
"Clearly this acquisition is a game changer for Teva," Yanai said, adding that the deal means "nothing less than the transformation of Teva's branded business."
Cephalon's late-stage development products include potential cancer treatments, a tamper-resistant opioid painkiller, and an asthma treatment. The broad range of the pipeline and current products is a key part of Teva's strategy of growing branded drug revenue to $9 billion by 2015.
"Cephalon's merger with Teva is the result of a rigorous process that included a review of a wide-range of strategic options undertaken by Cephalon's board of directors and management team to maximize value and deliver significant returns to shareholders," said Kevin Buchi, CEO of Cephalon.
On April 5, Frazer, Penn.-based Cephalon rejected Canada-based Valeant's $73-per-share, or $5.7 billion takeover bid, calling the offer too low. Valeant then moved to make the offer directly to shareholders and nominated candidates for the Cephalon's board.
In a statement on Monday, Valeant said it is withdrawing from its pursuit of Cephalon.
Teva said the Cephalon buyout will give the company's earnings a boost within the fourth quarter of closing. Teva did not comment on any changes to management or the work force, but said it expects to realize cost savings of at least $500 million in the third year following the close of the deal.
Citi Investment Research analyst John Boris said the deal makes both strategic and financial sense for Teva.
"Strategically, it lessens dependence on its multiple sclerosis franchise, supports its long-term strategy and financial targets, deepens its late-stage pipeline and expands its global generic footprint," he said, in a note to investors.
Specifically, the deal gives Teva a boost in its pipeline of potential central nervous system, cancer, and pain treatments, he said.
Teva currently has about 40,000 employees worldwide while Cephalon has about 4,000 employees.
Moody's Investors Service reiterated its credit ratings for Teva, saying the deal puts the company's credit under some pressure but makes sense and enhances its specialty drug business. Moody's maintained an investment-grade "A3" rating on Teva and said its outlook for the rating is stable.
The deal also comes just a week after European Union antitrust regulators said they are investigating whether Cephalon and Teva were working together to keep a generic version of Provigil out of the European market. In 2005, the companies settled patent disputes relating to Provigil -- which is also known as Modafinil -- in the U.K. and the U.S.
As part of that deal, Teva agreed not to sell its generic version of Provigil in the EU as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway before October 2012, the EU's competition watchdog said. The European Commission is now probing whether the deal broke competition rules.