This was released today Boston Scientific regarding their transcatheter aortic valve trial; one that is repositionable and fully retrievable.

Watch this one, it is likely more widely applicable than this one application.

Today MaryJo Foley, the analyst at ZDNet who covers Microsoft, had some thoughts about the Metro UI and what is right and wrong with it.

I don’t know how long it took for her to write her post, but it very well thought out and is spot on.  After loading up the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, I tried to use it Metro-style for awhile, and became frustrated with the “hunt”.  It was tiring, if that makes sense. Constantly, you are required to search for even the most frequently used controls in the apps you use most.  I would strongly recommend you read her post if you are interested in an analysis of what is coming with Windows 8.

Windows 8: Does Metro actually work?

These problems can be easily remedied. By just revealing the secondary layers of information/navigation by default out of the box when it ships.  Once someone has used Metro for awhile, they can hide everything.

I switched from an iPhone 4S to the Lumia 900 and am glad I did (even though I miss InstaGram and the music player I never have to think about how to use) and like the metro versions of several apps I am using (Banking, LinkedIn, Metro Radio Pro for Pandora).  The desktop version of Metro needs to be able to be either de-selected by default, or create some kind of “convergence” view like the one in Parallels 7 for Mac.  There both sets of UI navigation elements for OS X and Win7 coexist.

I am bullish on MSFT, but they CAN’T ship this with the defaults all set the way they are in the Consumer Preview.

If Zuckerberg wasn’t the person he was, Facebook wouldn’t be what it is today.  Now, since Zuck isn’t showing up in Goldman-Sachs-ware, he is being perceived as not up for the job.

There is an article in the New Atlantic regarding Zuckerberg’s CEO-Worthiness here. My favorite comment is about his hoodies:

He shows up late for meetings or not at all. And when he does make it, his laid-back outfits haven’t helped, coming off as shlubby. “Mark and his signature hoodie: He’s actually showing investors he doesn’t care that much; he’s going to be him,” Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Securities said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “I think that’s a mark of immaturity. I think that he has to realize he’s bringing investors in as a new constituency right now, and I think he’s got to show them the respect that they deserve because he’s asking them for their money,” he continued.

If I remember correctly, these guys expecting suits were wearing the same suits they are now when they were buying subprime mortgage bonds and destroying the world’s banking system.  This doesn’t seem like a determining factor for performance to me.  Let’s get focused on what is really valuable:

• Zuckerberg cares about the Facebook user experience, and that alone.
• Zuckerberg can be trusted with our valuable information more than Wall Street, Google or anybody else.
• Zuckerberg’s control over Facebook is hard coded into his ownership stake, and it is not subject to change

If you want to buy the stock at IPO and after, buy it.  If you want to watch it go up from the outside, sit it out.  If you don’t like his hoodie, get over it.

Somehow, decisions were made the spin comments made by Elop at Nokia that he was “blaming” the lack of success of the Lumia platform on MSFT’s ownership of Skype.  This is fertilizer.

In an interview with Elop recently, he clearly told the actual story about how Skype’s integration with Windows Phone is actually an opportunity for carriers rather than a detractor.  What was very clear what that these discussions are quite “advanced”; that this is not a simple knee jerk reaction to someone taking away the networks ability to charge minutes.

Minutes are becoming more and more meaningless to the networks these days.  Applications which drive regular data use are the ones that will ultimately be most interesting to the networks.  They are not hating Skype for iOS and Android I am sure.  If they were, they would get blocked from the phone.

Microsoft is Going to Be Big in Mobile.  Count on it.

Between its WP7, WOA and XBox properties, combined with Skype and only 1 or 2 high quality hardware OEMs, MSFT will make a huge impact on mobile. This doesn’t even account for what can come through its proper integration with Office 365 and Lync in the enterprise. In fact, Lync will probably become Skype at one point or another, at least from a branding perspective.

Nokia is going to bleed some more, but will pull out of their 4G dive. They have excellent industrial design, a very good sense for application development (I have a Lumia 900 and really like their apps) and will be a player in the tablet market as well (how about a WOA tablet that looks like a giant Lumia 900?).

Buy the stock. Or wait, don’t buy it until I am done buying it.

Recently, Emil with the Zero Day Team at ZDNet reported a new Trojan for Android, NotCompatible, was found posted on a hacked website.  We knew this was coming, and are surprised it has taken this long to materialize.

The link back to ZDNet is here:

http://zd.net/mobilemalwareiscoming

We have posted on this coming development over a year ago, here and recently, here.  This is coming in a big way due to several important realities in the current mobile landscape:

1. Android is a fragmented, almost handset-proprietary OS.  It is not likely to be updated often enough because it offers little impetus for a user to upgrade their handset.  When OEMs have an incentive to not upgrade their OS because it is better for unit sales, that spells trouble.
2. Android can be set to accept sideloaded apps, apps which are able to be installed outside Google Play or other more stringently monitored sites.
3. Most of the folks who have an Android handset likely don’t even know they have Android.  While some are power users, there are far more users who don’t have a clue.

From the last line of the article in the linkback:

Personally, I think cyber criminals are testing to see how easy it would be to infect thousands if not millions of Android devices. Imagine the recently discovered fake Android apps (see links below) coupled with this drive-by download example. This could get ugly.

Yes, ugly indeed.

Below are the links referred to in the article that relate to recently discovered Android malware.

• Warning: Fake Biophilla app on Android is malware
• Warning: Fake Instagram app on Android is malware
• Malicious version of Angry Birds Space spotted in the wild
• Android drive-by download attack via phishing SMS
• Researchers spot a fake version of Temple Run on Android’s Market
• Android users hit by scareware scam

Google can’t resist trying to get into the hardware fray. Most likely they have Apple Envy (like most everyone else) but it will serve only to distract them from making Android more consistent and a better OS for its users, from fighting a real fight against Facebook with Google+ and most important, allowing them to let others gain ground in their core business.

Let’s recap Google’s experience with products:

• Google Nexus One
• Google TV
• Google Tablet

Am I the only one who sees an emerging pattern?

Read all about it here at ZDNet: http://zd.net/If4lYn

Hope to see them focus on what they do best; convincing everyone not to do evil…

While this shouldn’t shock anyone, maybe everyone will begin to believe that Apple is headed for harder times.  While I think Apple will weather it, they will not come out unscathed, and it will give others a chance to catch up. Kaspersky has been an Apple partner for quite some time, and is in the best position to know if this is true or not.

Microsoft will Gain All Around, Especially Mobile.

The big other to gain is Microsoft, who has more security experience than everyone else combined. It is impossible to run 90%+ of the computers worldwide, run a mostly open architecture, and not have to deal with the wrath of programmer hooligans who hate your guts.

See an excellent article on the subject from Emil Protalinski on ZDNet: http://zd.net/JG37YG

I have written about this issue and what is coming for mobile platforms in the coming years.  Microsoft’s experience with security and malware is going to be a solid foundation to build upon for mobile.  Combine this with Android’s relatively unarmed status, and Apple’s cluelessness (it is a word, now), you have Microsoft with a real opportunity to gain.

This will be a very interesting year for those in the medical device industry who are interested in connecting securely to devices and monitors with their tablets.

For those who are unfamiliar with the updates to the technology, Bluetooth 4.0 adds some new capabilities to the Bluetooth spec.  Most important, it requires very low power usage for bluetooth peripherals to stay connected, and it enables certain kinds of sensors to communicate with a Bluetooth Smart Ready device.  These can be a myriad of things, ranging from glucose meters for those with diabetes to constantly monitor blood glucose, to alarm systems that send out information to your iPhone that all the windows are closed.

What devices currently sport Bluetooth 4.0 chips?  The iPhone 4S and the new iPad.  This means that a huge number of devices will be available for device and monitor makers to connect to pass information for everything from EMR purposes to physicians looking to capture patient data for their own records and analysis.  You can bet they will, and as the next 12 to 18 months unfold, we will see new monitor offerings that provide connectivity for a number of applications, as well as applications that enable flexibility for physicians and healthcare workers.

What do you think of Bluetooth Smart and its implications for devices?  Post your thoughts below.

I will go further and predict that Android is going to continue to wane and shrink. Where I disagree with you Adrian is that Windows Phone is going to emerge powerfully in ’12 – ’13. The smartphone OS battle is long from being decided, and MSFT is best positioned to pick up share. The numbers may not be great yet, but there are reasons why that will change.

For all the iPhones out there, there are X million blackberry and other handsets that are controlled by corporate IT departments; many companies aren’t even putting corporate data on smartphones yet in any significant way otherwise for security reasons and the fact that apps need to be ported to mobile OSes. Many are still waiting to see what MSFT does.

Once WinPhone comes out on more desirable handsets, corporate IT will offer them as options, and, coupled with its integration with Win 8 server, its xBox control capability(which is becoming a cable box this year in a big way), it is going to become a juggernaut. While (Andriod) ICS is a strong step in the right direction, it is struggling on even the Xoom tablet and Galaxy Nexus with respect to app stability. No one wants to use apps that are unstable. Version Hell is a very real Android phenomenon.

WinPhone desperately needs more storage or seamless cloud storage to offer a combined 64 GB of storage (or 32 GB onboard plus 25 GB SkyDrive which is close) to be a serious competitor. Hopefully Nokia and HTC will wake up and realize they will be better off with better spec’ed WinPhones.

I have to say, this particular argument for why people use Facebook is really tired, and based on the (IMHO) antiquated concept that overemphasizes the importance of “belonging” as a significant driver for meaning. It is the same anthropology that dismisses faith in God as stemming from the same place. But I digress.

This is also only a literature review (no primary research) and it seems to come from 2009 sources. Lots has happened in the Soc Media world since 2009. Its like talking about the stock market without mentioning mortgage backed securities and TARP.

Facebook usage is far too widespread and its user base way too diverse to draw these kinds of conclusions. A full sixth of the planet is on Facebook and 50% visits daily. That is unfathomable, and no one would have ever predicted it.

Most important, Facebook offers people a way to be MORE efficient with their relationships. These days, for those in a person’s tight circle, a wall post is etiquette for letting them know about important things, much easier than blast email or dialing for dollars. For people like me who only have about 450 friends and acquaintances, it helps me stay in touch with some folks lightly, and others know about everything they post. It is easier to manage more relationships with Facebook.

Finally, it is a permanent address. You can move as many times as you want and change all your contact info, and you are still reachable via Facebook. It is the Uber Persistent Yellow Pages. That in and of itself is more important than being validated by Like buttons.

That said, we do not need more social networks, other than certain special interest ones. Google+ is baffling to me. If you don’t trust Facebook, how do you EVER in God’s name trust Google with your info? They would sell their mom’s molars for cash.

Interesting, but I disagree. What do you think?