Google decouples Gmail from Android

SOFTWARE COBBLER Google is showing the first signs of frustration with its Android operating system, having removed Gmail from the list of Android's core applications.

In issuing an update for Gmail, Google has made it possible to update the email client without having to wait for a new version of Android to be released.

In the past major updates of Gmail were tied to Android releases. However with the number of Android versions growing and handset manufacturers and mobile operators taking their time releasing updates, Google has started offering the Gmail application as a free download on the Android Market.

The new policy, however, only applies to those who are already running Android 2.2 and this has angered those customers who have been left stranded on old version of the OS. In fact, even some users already on Android 2.2 are complaining that they cannot see the Gmail 2.3 application in the Android Market.

We had no problems finding, downloading and installing Gmail 2.3 on a Nexus One, however, but then that is Google's favoured device.

The update is relatively minor with the most visible change being better navigation through email 'threads'. Though the update itself is minor, Google's decision to treat what is undoubtedly one of the core applications in Android as if it is a third party downloadable application says a lot about the state of fragmentation in Android devices.

Although more handsets are shipping with the latest version of Android, many who purchased handsets even just a year ago are still stuck on Android 1.6 with no updates in sight. As we reported back in March, the fragmentation of Android devices is resulting in users being frustrated with varying user experiences between devices.

The situation has not been helped by manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson and even HTC being slow to release updates to their devices. When coupled with mobile operators' efforts that largely have been to bungle update roll-outs, apparently Google decided it had to take action.

Google's decoupling of applications is a good thing for Android users, who will no longer be reliant on handset manufacturers and mobile operators, the firms that want to flog handsets, to get updates. The only remaining problem for users will be getting Android 2.2 in the first place.

Oracle Growth Plans Worry Rivals and Customers

SAN FRANCISCO — Each year, Oracle’s presence looms over this city for a week, during the company’s Open World customer conference. About 41,000 people arrived this week to discuss business software in fine detail and talk over beers. Stretches of downtown streets closed and gave way to makeshift tents housing coffee stands, bars, Lego play areas and candy buffets.

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Tony Avelar/Bloomberg News

Lawrence Ellison, Oracle’s chief, says bundling software and hardware improves performance and saves customers money.

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Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Oracle’s Open World conference drew 41,000 people to San Francisco this week to discuss business software and have some fun.

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In hiring Mark Hurd, former chief at H.P., Oracle added an executive who had run a major computer server business.

But Oracle’s annual takeover of San Francisco pales against its larger ambitions — to supply just about all the technology, software and hardware, that businesses might need. This sweeping agenda has rattled the nerves of customers, who fear that Oracle has its own best interests, not theirs, at heart. The worry is that instead of saving money, customers will end up paying more over the long term, and that Oracle, already known for its aggressive tactics, will use its strong position in software to gain even more leverage over a larger array of products.

Companies have long used Oracle’s software to keep track of their most prized information. For Oracle, this resulted in sales of $26.8 billion last year and hints of an annual revenue goal of $100 billion. Over the last five years, Oracle has acquired a staggering 66 companies, most of which were software makers that provided expertise in niche areas.

This year, it bought Sun Microsystems, a hardware maker, signaling its intention to dominate the data centers of businesses by controlling more of their technology purchases. It is a prospect that its traditional partners and, more important, its customers, find unnerving.

“It’s freaking terrifying for some people,” said Jason Carey, a database software developer for a credit services company.

Maureen Miller, who oversees technology infrastructure work for the National Science Foundation, put it this way: “We are becoming an all-Oracle shop, but not by choice. They bought every company we deal with. And we don’t tend to want to put all of our eggs in one basket.”

Lawrence J. Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive, argued that the company’s new strategy would benefit customers. “If you want to go faster and you want a system that is more reliable, you have to be willing to spend less,” he said in his opening pitch at this week’s event, while extolling the virtues of linking hardware and software. But customers are skeptical, and pushing back.

Oracle built its business by dominating the database market, providing the central repositories of crucial information that businesses must maintain and use to complete transactions. This has given it an unrivaled position of power when dealing with customers. Capitalizing on such an edge, Oracle’s sales representatives have earned a fearsome reputation as hard-line negotiators determined to squeeze customers.

But through its acquisition spree, Oracle moved well beyond the database and into business software, buying up the important products that companies use to keep track of their technology infrastructure, employees, sales, inventory and customers.

With Sun, Oracle has found a way to sell customers hardware bundled with all that software in a fashion similar to that of its main database rival, I.B.M. Oracle executives say they can build better, faster, cheaper products this way by engineering complete systems rather than requiring customers to cobble together the parts.

It is akin to the Apple model of limiting choice and controlling the crucial pieces in a computer, as opposed to the PC model, where the Windows software from Microsoft can run on hundreds of different machines.

Later this year, Oracle also plans to give select customers access to a product suite called Fusion. This arrives after five years of work and will unite many of the products Oracle has acquired into a single software platform — one that will combine functions found in rival products from companies like SAP, I.B.M., Microsoft and Salesforce.com.

But customers are objecting to Oracle’s moves. For example, some of Sun’s largest former customers consist of the large Wall Street players, and they pushed back this year when Oracle moved to limit their choices around the Sun technology. Oracle ultimately gave in to their pleas, reaffirming deals that would let Hewlett-Packard and Dell offer prized Sun software on their hardware.

“Customers will always gripe about giving too much control to any one company,” said Israel Hernandez, director of software research at Barclays Capital.

Like it or not, many of the largest technology companies — H.P., I.B.M., Cisco Systems and Oracle — have made their data center conquest plans clear. Oracle now competes directly with its partners H.P. and Dell, as does Cisco, the networking specialist, through its move into computer servers. Meanwhile, H.P., once one of Cisco’s closest allies, has begun a major assault in the networking arena.

“We will see more concentration because that’s where the marketing is going,” Mr. Hernandez said.

At least Oracle has the courtesy to assuage customer’s nerves for one week through its Open World largess.

The downtown tents covering parts of Howard and Mason Streets house alcohol-soaked evenings sponsored by Fujitsu, fully stocked candy bars and Lego playpens where people win prizes from Google for interesting constructions. People also dine inside the tents on 59,000 lunches said to have an eco-friendly touch with 60 percent of the food coming from within 100 miles of the city.

Just outside the tents, show attendees can pick up a Services Serum smoothie at the Dell-sponsored juice bar and then relax on white leather lounges. Or people can look past the white-gloved guards to sneak a peek at the America’s Cup trophy that Mr. Ellison won this year.

But the main party will take place on Wednesday night, when Oracle will bus people to a series of concerts held on Treasure Island, which sits between San Francisco and Oakland. The headlining acts include the Black Eyed Peas, Don Henley and the Steve Miller Band.

Six acts will perform on two stages surrounded by amusement rides, four laser systems, 150,000 cocktail napkins, mounds of food and 12 searchlights beaming into the sky. Typically, a few brave female souls will dance near the music stages, while hundreds of male database gurus sip free drinks and ogle.

“I don’t know if any of the customers or the nerds that show up care that much about the fancy production,” said Christine Stamper, who paid $1,800 to attend the conference and runs her own software consulting business in Portland, Ore. “It’s a little goofy.”

Ms. Stamper said she hoped to learn the latest and greatest about Oracle’s products.

“That they have stayed healthy and grown has meant that I could make an entire career out of this,” she said.

This month, Oracle hired Mark V. Hurd, the former chief executive of H.P., as a co-president. Analysts viewed the hiring as a positive for Oracle as it looks to expand. At H.P., Mr. Hurd oversaw the largest computer server business around and ran the world’s largest technology company.

“As Oracle continues to grow, we need people experienced in operating a $100 billion business,” noted Safra A. Catz, Oracle’s other co-president, at the time of Mr. Hurd’s hiring.

The $100 billion total would put Oracle in the same class as H.P. and I.B.M.

“I read that statement as a signal that Oracle intends to get aggressive and pursue growth,” Mr. Hernandez said. “It implies a step up in mergers and acquisitions.”

Such talk only makes already weary Oracle customers more anxious. And San Francisco officials must wonder if the city could survive the demands of an Oracle four times its current size.

Orphan baby dies on day of parents' funeral

An 18-day-old premature baby has died on the same day her parents were buried after dying in a car crash.

Justin Schollbach and Leah James died last Tuesday after crashing their ute on Captain Cook Drive at Kurnell, an area near the southern head of Botany Bay in New South Wales.

The couple were driving home from visiting their baby Lucy, who was born 12 weeks premature.

The couple's ute crashed into a pole and split in two, killing them instantly.

Weighing only 1.3kg, Lucy was living in a humidicrib in the neonatal ward at the Royal Hospital for Women in the eastern Sydney suburb of Randwick, where her parents had been visiting her twice a day.

A statement from the hospital says Lucy died from complications associated with her premature birth.

The hospital's clinical director, Dr George Bearham, says she died shortly before 4am (AEST).

"Despite the efforts of doctors and nurses, Lucy passed away from complications associated with her premature birth," he said in a statement.

"This is a very sad time for Lucy's family and all of those who cared for her here."

Family friend India Bent, who grew up with Mr Schollbach, says it has been a tough day for the family, who are doing their best to deal with the grief.

"She passed away this morning, wanted to be with her mum and dad I think," Ms Bent said.

"It's been a very hard day ... the funeral was today for both the parents.

"[Lucy] was Justin's first child, a long-awaited first child."

Ms James had five other children, aged between six and 15, who are struggling to cope with losing their mum.

Doctors had expected Lucy to stay in hospital until November.

Ms Bent says a funeral for Lucy will be arranged at some point.

"We're just trying to deal with this today and trying to deal with the next five minutes," she said.

Microsoft Boosts Dividend to 16 Cents, Gets Debt-Sale Approval

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. raised its quarterly dividend by 3 cents, or 23 percent, to 16 cents a share and got approval from its board to sell as much as $6 billion in additional debt.

“This higher dividend, combined with our ongoing share repurchase program, reflects our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders and our confidence in the long-term growth of the company,” Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said yesterday in a statement.

Microsoft is planning to sell debt this year to pay for dividends and share repurchases because much of its cash is held overseas, a person familiar with the matter said last week. The company will try to raise as much as possible without jeopardizing its debt rating of AAA, the highest available, said the person, who declined to be named because the plans are confidential and not completed.

The dividend increase was a sign Microsoft is confident in its ability to generate cash, said Brent Thill, an analyst at UBS AG in San Francisco.

“While not as high as some Street expectations, it was a larger incremental increase than the 2-cent dividend hike Microsoft’s board approved in fiscal year 2009,” he said in a note to clients.

‘Meaningful’ Acquisition?

Thill, who recommends buying Microsoft shares, estimates the company will generate $25 billion in free cash flow in the current fiscal year. Based on that, Microsoft could potentially increase its share repurchases beyond his $12 billion estimate for the year or pay for a “meaningful” acquisition, he said.

Bloomberg data had indicated the company would increase its quarterly dividend by 2 cents a share, while Heather Bellini, an analyst at ISI Group, predicted an increase of 4 cents. A quarterly dividend of 16 cents would yield 2.5 percent.

Microsoft fell 28 cents to $25.15 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have dropped 17 percent this year.

A debt offering may come before the end of the company’s fiscal year, which closes next June, and could come as soon as this calendar year, the person familiar with the matter said.

Issuing $6 billion probably wouldn’t put the rating at risk, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company, based in Redmond, Washington, is under pressure to return more cash to shareholders amid declines in its stock price this year.

Cash Hoard

Microsoft reported $36.8 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of last quarter. Much of that is held overseas, forcing the company to pay taxes on the money if it uses it for dividends or stock repurchases. Bellini estimates that about 74 percent of Microsoft’s cash is overseas.

Microsoft said yesterday that in the 10 years through June, it had returned almost $170 billion to investors through dividends and share repurchases. The company began its dividend in 2003 and offered a $3-a-share special dividend in 2004.

Microsoft sold its first debt in May 2009, a $3.75 billion offering, in a bid to diversify its capital structure and add to its cash pile for acquisitions, capital expenses and share buybacks. The sale was comprised of $2 billion of 2.95 percent, 5-year notes; $1 billion of 4.2 percent, 10-year debt; and $750 million of 5.2 percent, 30-year bonds.

In June, Microsoft said it would sell $1.15 billion of convertible senior notes due in 2013 and use the proceeds to retire some of its commercial paper.

Jobless rate rises in Maryland, Virginia, steady in D.C.

Unemployment rates in Maryland and Virginia rose in August, according to federal government data released Tuesday, signaling a setback for the Washington area's economic recovery and highlighting the fragile state of the U.S. labor market.

In Maryland, the jobless rate jumped to 7.3 percent after holding for two straight months at 7.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state lost a net of 5,700 jobs in August, officials said, even though the number of positions that were added was three times the national average.

Virginia's unemployment rate rose to 7.0 percent, from 6.9 percent in July, reflecting a net loss of 2,700 jobs. The District's jobless rate remained at 9.9 percent even as the city lost thousands of positions from such steady job creators as professional and business services employers.

The jurisdictions' job losses pale in comparison with the tens of thousands of cuts during the peak months of the recession, and the jobless rates in Maryland and Virginia are well below the 9.6 percent national average. Still, the apparent shift in momentum was a discouraging sign for some economists and experts who earlier this year had pointed to falling unemployment rates as evidence that recovery was taking hold.

"That is not the direction we want to be going," said Sara Kline, associate economist at Moody's Analytics. "Overall, I'd say it's not a good report. The contraction is concerning, something to keep an eye on."

The local jobs picture parallels trends in the national unemployment rate, which rose a tenth of a percentage point in August. Similarly, the nation is experiencing a sluggish recovery: Private-sector jobs are being created, but not quickly enough to put a significant number of unemployed people back to work.

Even though the District's unemployment rate didn't rise, the city's data still reflect a troubling trend. The number of employed residents dropped by 2,900, while the number of the unemployed fell by only 200. Labor experts said this suggests that many long-term unemployed people became discouraged, stopped looking for work and were no longer counted in the data - a reversal of a scenario that played out earlier in the year.

In Maryland and Virginia, the rising unemployment levels were not caused by long-term "discouraged" job seekers who were again counted when they resumed their job search, as has been the case at times in the past year. In both states, employment declined while unemployment increased.

The data in all three area jurisdictions reflect the dismissal of temporary workers involved in the federal census and, in the case of the District, the end of the city's summer youth jobs program. But experts say the numbers also reflect decreases in private sector jobs and a possible retrenchment among some employers about increasing their payrolls.

Maryland lost 3,000 jobs in retail, 2,200 in professional and business services, 1,700 in education and health services and 1,700 in government. It gained 2,000 jobs in construction and 1,000 in financial activities.

Virginia lost 6,000 jobs in government, 1,300 in professional and business services and 1,300 in leisure and hospitality. It gained 1,400 in education and health services, and 1,100 in construction.

The District lost 2,000 jobs in professional and business services in August, 1,500 in education and health services and 800 in leisure and hospitality. It gained 400 jobs in construction and 100 in financial activities.

"There's concern about the recovery - it is moving forward but at a much slower pace," said Ann D. Lang, senior economist at the Virginia Employment Commission. "The housing market and labor market are so slow in returning - that worries employers and consumers."

Nationwide, the state with the highest unemployment rate was Nevada, at 14.4 percent, while North Dakota had the lowest rate, at 3.7 percent. North Carolina gained the most jobs in August, adding 18,600. Michigan lost the most, shedding 50,300.

Parents of student get custody of ‘abandoned’ baby

JITRA: The parents of a 20-year-old student who lied to police about finding a baby behind her house will have custody of the newborn girl.

The Kubang Pasu welfare department said the parents of the student – from a higher education institution in Selangor – have agreed to take care and look after the infant.

The student initially claimed she found the infant, with the umbilical cord still attached, behind her house in Taman Rasa Sayang here on Saturday evening.

She claimed she was bathing when she heard the baby crying and later “rescued” the child.

She and her mother later lodged a police report about finding an abandoned baby.

Police investigators later found that the 2.8kg baby was actually the newborn child of the student.

Police saw through the ruse when she began to make inconsistent statements about finding the baby.

The Jitra Hospital later examined her and confirmed she had just given birth.

Prominent Pakistani politician murdered outside his London home

Imran Farooq claimed asylum in Britain after spending seven years on the run as one of Pakistan's most wanted fugitives. Photo: GETTY

Green Lane, Edgware Photo: Google Street View

Dr Farooq, 50, was repeatedly stabbed in the head and neck during the assault in Edgware, north London.

He was a leading member of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party, which is one of the largest in Pakistan.

There were suggestions from Pakistan that he may have known his killer. When police arrived at the scene, they found Dr Farooq’s body outside his house.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said officers attended an address in Green Lane, Edgware, shortly before 5.30pm after reports of a serious assault. “On arrival, officers found a single Asian man aged 50 with multiple stab wounds and head injuries,” the spokesman said.

“Paramedics attended the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Next of kin have been informed and no arrests have been made.

Dr Farooq was expected to attend a birthday celebration at the MQM headquarters on London’s Edgware Road on Thursday night but the event was cancelled at the last minute. Police said it was too early to know if the murder was politically motivated.

The politician claimed asylum in Britain after spending seven years on the run as one of Pakistan’s most wanted fugitives. He was accused of a range of charges, including murder and torture.

He has not returned to Pakistan since his arrival in England in 1992.

He claimed that year that he was wanted “dead or alive”.

“[This gave] licence and impunity to every individual in Pakistan to assassinate me,” he said.

Dr Farooq said he spent more than seven years in hiding in Karachi, southern Pakistan. He continued: “It was impossible for me to remain in Pakistan due to the continued threat on my life and liberty.”

He insisted the claims against him in Pakistan were politically motivated and continued his involvement with the party from Britain.

Last month Raza Haider, another MQM member, was gunned down with his guard as he attended a funeral near the centre of Karachi. The killing triggered violence in which dozens of people were killed and at least 100 wounded.

Azeem Tariq, the former chairman, was murdered in Karachi 13 years ago. Intruders entered his home and shot him as he slept.

MQM, based in Karachi, is the fourth largest party in Pakistan and is part of the ruling coalition government. It has a strong anti-Taliban stance, although rivals accuse it of exaggerating the threat of the Taliban.

The party represents mainly descendants of Urdu-speaking migrants from India who settled in Pakistan when it was created in 1947.

A statement on the MQM website said the party had declared a ten-day period of mourning in Pakistan and around the world.

London has played host to many of Pakistan’s exiled politicians. Gen Pervez Musharraf, the former president, lives in self-imposed exile in London.