Friday, August 2, 2013

The Inside Story of the Moto X: The Reason Google Bought Motorola

But the flashy part of the Moto X?s personality is what users might bring to it via Moto Maker, a factory personalization scheme reminiscent of mass individualized products like the Nike iD shoe. A website allows Moto X buyers to customize the phone, choosing from 18 colors and materials for the back of the device as well as different accents for the ring around the camera lens and the volume and on-off buttons. Soon after launch, Motorola will offer actual wood veneers. You can even choose headphones in matching or contrasting colors. Those choosing this ?virtual SKU? also enter their software preferences, and in four days or less receive the phone, ready to use out of the box. (For a limited time after launch only AT&T customers can do this?later, Motorola will open it to its other carriers: Verizon, Sprint, T Mobile and US Cellular.) Just as with the Kindle, the device already knows who you are?so it?s not surprising that Motorola?s VP of supply side and operations is Mark Randall, who left a similar job at Amazon.

What?s more, Motorola will be assembling these phones in a newly acquired factory?not in Tianjin, China but Austin, Texas. (The facility was originally built for Nokia.) Motorola rebuilt the 480,000 square foot factory to copy the exact manufacturing process used in China, except for the brand-new, highly-automated process that can deliver any of the thousands of potential color combinations that customers specify. ?Many supply chain theorists and academics says you can?t do this, but when you tell Google it?s impossible, the reaction is, ?Let?s go do it,? says Randall.

It will be interesting to see what happens in AT&T stores when people are faced with the option of going through a selection process and waiting four days for a phone, or just picking a black and white phone and leaving with it on the spot. ?We?ve done plenty of studies and think there are lots of people who are willing to wait,? says Woodside. ?If you start offering materials like wood, the number goes up dramatically.?

Pure Android?almost. In the past few years Google?s Android partners have tweaked the operating system, sometimes slapping on entirely new interfaces. They do this because they feel that running a vanilla system fails to differentiate them from competitors. Overall, the Android ecosystem is threatened by a trend towards ?forking? different versions. Motorola takes a polar opposite approach?as a division of Google, its mission is to highlight the vision of the Android team, and so its version is as mildly modified as possible. It?s basically a stock build of Android 4.2.2, with most of the customization around the notifications, voice activation, and the camera. This approach positions Motorola to provide more timely upgrades, which have been problematic in the Android ecosystem. ?Nobody?s buying products because of minor incremental improvements to Android,? says Steve Horowitz, Motorola?s head of software (and part of Google?s original Android team). ?So let?s rely on what the Android team does and build experiences that will leverage Google services?and then you see things like touchless control, an entry point to Google Now.?

Ever since the Motorola deal was announced, Google has made a point of saying that its company-owned mobile hardware company won?t get special access to the Android team, and will be treated the same as Samsung, HTC and other Android partners. When Woodside repeated this, saying that, for example, Motorola would have to compete just like its rivals to make the next Nexus phone?a model co-designed by Google to showcase the Android system and other hardware innovations concocted by Google?I asked him what possibly could be different in a Motorola-partnered Nexus phone than the current Googly creation that his team has concocted. He was temporarily speechless. ?That?s a good question,? he finally said before reiterating how important it is for the Android ecosystem to grow and thrive.

When you talk to Motorola?s leadership team, at a certain point, their message is, unsurprisingly, indistinguishable from Google?s. Certainly both parties must sense that Motorola?s handset competitors?even the seemingly-impervious Apple and Samsung?are moving by increments, not leaps. And they smell blood. ?Three years isn?t long term for Google?ten years is long term for Google,? says Arshad. ?We want to create that future of cognitive computing?that?s our goal.?

To do so, Motorola Mobility has modeled its long-range research group, Advanced Technology and Products (ATAP), on an outfit known for delivering blockbusters like stealth bombers, autonomous cars, and the Internet. That?s DARPA, the government Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Hoping to get similar jaw-droppers, Motorola hired the head of DARPA, Regina Dugan, who brought along her deputy, Ken Gabriel. ?We asked ourselves?what were the elements that made DARPA so successful, and could you translate it to an industrial setting,? says Dugan. To her, the key was adopting fast-developing technology just at the point where it can be put to use.

Like DARPA, Motorola?s ATAP hires researchers (it calls them Technical Program Leads) for two-year stints?short enough to put pressure on them to work intensely but long enough to bring something to demo. In an unusual move for a corporate group (but standard for DARPA), the program leads contract with outside researchers to develop parts of their projects. ?When we?re trying to solve a hard technical problem, we go where the best people are,? Dugan says. One current project draws on 40 computer vision experts working for 30 entities, including private industry and six universities, hailing from five countries. ?In six months we retired the most significant technical risk of the program,? she says.

Even though the project leads? two-year terms are only half up, some of their work appears in the Moto X?for instance, the password-free NFC token. (Down the road, says Dugan, Google is working on more exotic versions based on temporary tattoos and even edible tokens that you gulp down like pills.) Dugan?s team also contributed to the Moto X?s quick-capture photography and maker-style personalization.

?Some think that it?s hard to get a return on higher-risk projects,? says Dugan. ?I?ve found the opposite. When you focus on those things, you yield returns more often?that?s where the epic shit is.?

In short, Google is doubling down on its massive acquisition fee to make phones that push technology and, not incidentally, promote Android and Google services in general. Building Motorola itself into a profitable entity is not an immediate objective. ?Of course we can?t be a drain on the company forever,? says Woodside, ?but the goal is not necessarily to make massive amounts of money in a short period of time?we have a much longer time horizon than that.?

Source: http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661370/s/2f71c9ab/sc/15/l/0L0Swired0N0Cgadgetlab0C20A130C0A80Cinside0Estory0Eof0Emoto0Ex0C/story01.htm

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Why Americans All Believe They Are 'Middle Class' (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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San Diego sues Filner to force him to pay his own legal costs ...

The seal of the city of San Diego adorns the entrance to the San Diego City Hall in San Diego, California July 30, 2013. (Photo by Sam Hodgson/Reuters)

The seal of the city of San Diego adorns the entrance to the San Diego City Hall in San Diego, California July 30, 2013. (Photo by Sam Hodgson/Reuters)

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is being slapped with another lawsuit?by the city he governs.

On Tuesday during a closed-door session, the San Diego City Council unanimously decided to file suit in San Diego Superior Court?against the mayor after rejecting?his request that the city pay his legal fees for a sexual harassment lawsuit. Filner?s private attorney, Harvey Berger, filed a request Monday for the city to pay for his legal expenses.

Voting 9-0, the City Council approved a cross-complaint against Filner. He had sought indemnity for all costs the city may have to pay as a result of?the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him by his former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson. The city?s cross-complaint states that Filner has become a liability to the city and that the city has ?a zero?tolerance policy as to sexual harassment and sexual harassment is not within the course and scope of employment,? according to the lawsuit.

?If Bob Filner is engaged in unlawful?conduct and the city is held liable, he will have to reimburse us every penny the city pays and its attorney fees,? City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said.

Last week, McCormack Jackson filed a lawsuit against Filner for sexual harassment, becoming the first woman to come forward and accuse Filner of harassment in the workplace.?After a series of allegations from other women followed and calls for his resignation began pouring in, Filner announced last Friday that he would undergo ?intensive? therapy for two weeks starting Aug. 5.

An eighth woman, Lisa Curtin, came forward with allegations late Tuesday. Curtin, director of government and military education at San Diego City College, told local news station?KPBS?that Filner made inappropriate advances to her during a meeting in 2011, while he was still a congressman.?Curtin said?that Filner questioned her about the wedding band she was wearing.

?He then asked me if it could come off while I was in D.C. and if I would go out with him,? Curtin said in the interview. ?I said I really didn?t think so. And at that point, he pulled my hand closer to him and he reached over to kiss me. I turned my head at that moment and on the side of my face, I got a very wet, saliva-filled kiss including feeling his tongue on my cheek.?

?Intimidating women is not in Mayor Filner?s job description,? council member Kevin Faulconer said. ?His employer?San Diego taxpayers?shouldn?t have to bail him out of the mess he created.?

Seven of nine City Council members have urged the Democratic leader to resign. Filner is the first Democratic mayor to lead the city in 20 years.

Source: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/31/san-diego-sues-filner-to-force-him-to-pay-his-own-legal-costs/

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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Avs' new goalie coach Francois Allaire sets his sights on revamping Varlamov

Francois Allaire left, talks with Toronto Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer. (David Cooper, Toronto Star)

Francois Allaire calls it something of a "back to the future" moment of his career.

As the new goaltender coach of the Avalanche, Allaire is on the same staff with the player, Patrick Roy, he coached for 12 years with the Montreal Canadiens. Allaire also is back to coaching another goalie, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, whom he played a major role in developing into one of the NHL's best netminders.

But can Allaire work the same magic for Avs No. 1 goalie Semyon Varlamov as he did Roy and Giguere? That, the 54-year-old goalie guru said, is his biggest immediate challenge.

"I think Varly is looking for a fresh start," Allaire said. "I think he's open to trying something else. He didn't feel he was going in the right direction. He wants to flush everything out and start fresh."

If Varlamov needs encouragement that Allaire can make him a better goalie, he need only look at the bench at his new coach, or at Giguere. Despite never playing in the NHL, Allaire is widely credited with improving Roy when he served as a coach with Montreal (1984-96), and Giguere when he coached at Anaheim (1997-2009).

When the Avs parted ways with former coach Kirk McLean and Roy was hired, one of Roy's first calls was to Allaire. The goalie coach had been out of the league since 2012 after a three-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended badly, with cross words back and forth between him and the team. Roy didn't hesitate to bring him back.

"I was very lucky that I met him. I have no doubt in my mind that he was a huge help in my career," Roy said previously.

Said Giguere of his time with him in Anaheim, which included a Stanley Cup in 2007 and a Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003: "My career

was going nowhere. I immediately felt more confident. I revived my career with him."

Allaire doesn't divulge his secrets, but those who have played under him say he stresses constant repetition of fundamentals. He is known as very demanding, but with a track record of success.

Varlamov, who has had two mediocre seasons with the Avs so far, is his latest project.

"I want him to be comfortable. That's the main thing," Allaire said. "After that, I want him to understand I'm not coming from a different planet. It's the same stuff. We don't want him to change everything. I've met with him a few times already. One of my trademarks is I try to make sure guys are feeling good and keep it simple, create good routine, make sure the guy is happy coming to the rink. Then after that, look at the tape and then find their best strength and build around it. I'm not there yet with Varly, but I expect that to come."

Allaire's job is not full time, but he is likely to be around the team at least half the month. Working side by side with one of his former star pupils has him re-energized, he said.

"He's a guy I could tell an idea to and he might say: 'I like that. I'll try that in a game tonight.' " Allaire said. "Not too many guys can do that. A lot of guys don't have enough confidence in themselves, but Patrick could decide in a hurry. I think it's going to be a good environment with the Avs, with Patrick around. I feel really welcome by the organization."

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360, adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater

Correction: This article has been updated in this online archive. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the years Jean-Sebastien Giguere won the Stanley Cup with Anaheim, and the Conn Smythe trophy. The correct years are 2007 and 2003.


Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-sports/~3/CrLhRs780tk/avs-new-goalie-coach-francois-allaire-sets-his-sights-revamping-varlamov

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