It's Time For Google To Kill Android One

Earlier this month I looked at Google’s Android One project, and how the changes to the model had neutered the project’s stated goals. The principle of a cheaper ‘off-the-shelf’ reference design that used volume as a way to lower the bill of materials, where support costs for software updates were absorbed by Google, and to offer handsets that would remain secure and updated should have been the gateway for Android’s growth in the BRIC countries.


Instead Android One has been weakened firstly by Google allowing manufacturers to switch out parts for their own alternatives, and then handing the control of update schedules back from Mountain View to the individual manufacturers and networks.


The Times of India is reporting on data from Counterpoint Research that 1.2 million Android One handsets were shipped between September 2014 to September 2015 in India, making up just 3.5% of the ‘$50-$100′ smartphone category. Looking across the market of 19 countries, Android One shipments are estimated at three million devices.


Sales are not good, and there is little promise of growth. The biggest issue is that the sub-$100 market is swamped with low-cost smartphones powered by Android. Android One was meant to provide an alternative to Google’s version of the operating system to help low-cost manufacturers get a solid product to market with lower costs. Instead Android One has seen little uptake from manufacturers, and in a bid to make it attractive, it has ben watered down so much that it’s easier for manufacturers to consider the regular Android deal.

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Minecraft - Hour of Code

Minecraft Hour of Code Tutorial Will Inspire Students to Learn Computer Science Skills

New Resources for Educators and School Leaders Available Today
By Anthony Salcito, vice president, Microsoft Education
To the community of 100 million players around the world, Minecraft represents many things - creativity, strategy, collaboration and survival, just to name a few. What many may not realize is that Minecraft has the power to transform learning on a global scale. By creating a virtual world and then advancing in it, students can learn digital citizenship, empathy, social skills and even improve their literacy - while getting real time feedback on their problem solving skills from the teacher. In fact, more than 7,000 teachers around the world are already using Minecraft in the classroom.
Building on this natural use of Minecraft in the classroom, we announced today with Code.org, that we are bringing a Minecraft-inspired coding tutorial to students and educators, created especially for Hour of Code, an annual, global campaign held during Computer Science Education Week, Dec. 7-13. The new tutorial - now available at http://code.org/mc - introduces players to basic coding within the fun and familiar environment. Created by Minecraft game designers, the tutorial includes characters and challenges inspired by the game developed by Mojang and familiar to players around the world.

As technology has become an integral part of people's daily lives around the world, we're seeing a growing demand -- from students, parents, teachers, governments, and nonprofits -- to teach youth not only how to use technology, but also how to create technology to help them become the innovators and drivers of growth and opportunity in their communities. Learning computer science builds critical skills like computational thinking and problem solving that strengthen abilities in any industry and any sector.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently announced a $75M commitment in community programs via the Microsoft YouthSpark initiative to increase access to computer science education for all youth, especially for those from under-represented backgrounds, and to build greater diversity into the tech talent pipeline. Today's announcement with Code.org further underscores that commitment. Our partnership with Code.org and our involvement in the Hour of Code is a key effort to inspire students to become interested in computer science.
The Hour of Code campaign has gotten so much traction around the world because it provides opportunities for all of us to participate. If you are an educator or a parent, you can invite your students and children to do the Minecraft tutorial at http://code.org/mc or attend a live Hour of Code workshop at any Microsoft store. Anyone can volunteer to lead a coding workshop, or if you want to advocate for more computer science education in our schools you can add your voice to the thousands that are already calling for it.

New resources for Educators and School Leaders Available Today

To truly transform education, access to tools, proper training and resources are critical. Today we are announcing a first of its kind partnership with edX to create new courses for school leaders and to provide greater access to Microsoft's existing school leader resources . Together, we will develop online courses to help guide principals and head masters, superintendents and school leaders in improving their schools and enhancing classroom learning.
This partnership expands upon the collaboration between edX and Microsoft in online learning. Microsoft offers more than 35 online courses, both MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and professional education courses, on edX.org. These new courses for school leaders will be developed with edX university partners, shared with educators around the world, and will be available for the new school year. Even more details about this exciting new partnership can be found on the edX blog.
Microsoft has a long history of supporting educators and we remain committed to providing teachers the tools and training needed to redefine learning. Over the years we've trained more than 11 million educators through our Educator Community. Just this last year close to a half million more educators came to Microsoft trainings and workshops online, in our stores and at events.
Today, we are announcing that we will reach more than 2 million educators in the next three years with these resources -- all available on the new Microsoft Educator Community launched today. The online community provides educators around the world with access to lessons plans, trainings, Skype virtual field trips, and more. Even more it connects educators around the world to share best practices and learn from each other.

And, we're excited to announce the expansion of our Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts and Microsoft Showcase and Associate Showcase School programs. Today, more than 5,600 educators and more than 550 schools are part of the programs designed to highlight their innovative work and provide greater resources to support their success. These educators and school leaders, who we celebrate as leaders in their communities, work alongside their colleagues to integrate technology into how the they teach and their students learn. Congratulations to the nearly 2,700 educators and nearly 400 schools who just joined today!

Learning without borders - Join us December 3 and 4!

To celebrate and recognize how educators are using technology to expand the walls of their classroom, we are hosting a Global Skype-a-Thon on December 3 and 4. Students all over the world will connect with guest speakers and other classrooms, go on virtual field trips, or play games of Mystery Skype. Join us and help reach the goal to travel 1 million virtual miles in 2 days. I'm looking forward to doing this myself as I Skype with classrooms around the world for one straight day!
We've made it our mission to partner with people and organizations who share our passion. Together, we can empower every student on the planet to achieve more.

 

• Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial
• edX
• Microsoft Online Educator Community
• Global Education Skype-a-Thon

 

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Quantum Computing 101

With quantum computing simulator, Microsoft offers a sneak peek into future of computing

 

 

Despite all the advances in computing power, scientists say there are still problems that are so complex it would take a regular computer the lifetime of the universe to solve them.

That’s where the power of quantum computing comes in: Using the principles of quantum physics, researchers believe a quantum computer could solve some of those same problems in a matter of hours, or maybe even minutes.

“Some of these problems, which we think of as very hard on a digital computer, may be easy on a quantum computer,” said Krysta Svore, a senior researcher who manages Microsoft Research’s  Quantum Architectures and Computation Group, also known as QuArC.

There’s no full-scale, working quantum computer yet, but the potential is so great that computer scientists are already building systems that will allow quantum computer scientists to hit the ground running as soon as one becomes available.

Next week, at the SuperComputing 2015 conference in Austin, Texas, Dave Wecker, a lead architect on the QuArC team, will discuss the recent public release on GitHub of a suite of tools that allows computer scientists to simulate a quantum computer’s capabilities. That’s a crucial step in building the tools needed to run actual quantum computers.

“This is the closest we can get to running a quantum computer without having one,” said Wecker, who has helped develop the software.


The software is called Language-Integrated Quantum Operations, or LIQUi|>. The funky characters at the end refer to how a quantum operation is written in mathematical terms.
The researchers are hoping that, using LIQUi|>, computer scientists at Microsoft and other academic and research institutions will be able to perfect the algorithms they need to efficiently use a quantum computer even as the computers themselves are simultaneously being developed.

“We can actually debut algorithms in advance of running them on the computer,” Svore said.
Svore also hopes that, by making the system more broadly available to developers, it will help draw more computer scientists and students into the quantum computing field because they will get a better sense of its potential.


“If they have no way to play with quantum and understand how it works, they’re not going to be attracted to quantum computing,” she said.


Microsoft’s broad-based quantum effort
LIQUi|> is one of a number of quantum computing projects Microsoft researchers have been spearheading for more than a decade, in the quest to create the next generation of computing that will have a profound effect on society.


In addition to the QuArC research group, Microsoft’s Station Q research lab, led by renowned mathematician Michael Freedman, is pursuing an approach called topological quantum computing that they believe will be more stable than other quantum computing methods.
The idea is to design software, hardware and other elements of quantum computing all at the same time.


“This isn’t just, ‘Make the qubits.’ This is, ‘Make the system,’” Wecker said.
A qubit is a unit of quantum information, and it’s the key building block to a quantum computer. Using qubits, researchers believe that quantum computers could very quickly evaluate multiple solutions to a problem at the same time, rather than sequentially. That would give scientists the ability to do high-speed, complex calculations, allowing biologists, physicists and chemists to get information they never thought possible before.

Fertilizer, batteries and climate change
Take fertilizer, for example. Fertilizers are crucial to feeding the world’s growing population because they allow plants to develop better and faster. But synthetic fertilizer relies on natural gas, and lots of it: That’s expensive, depletes an important natural resource and adds to pollution.
Using a quantum computer, Wecker said scientists think they could map the chemical used by bacteria that naturally creates fertilizers, making it easier to create an alternative to the current, natural-gas based synthetic fertilizer.


The incredible power of quantum computers also could be used to figure out how to create organic batteries that don’t rely on lithium, and Wecker said they could help to create systems for capturing carbon emissions effectively, potentially reducing the effects of climate change.
Researchers believe that quantum computers will be ideal for challenges like this, which involve mapping complex physical systems, but they also know that they won’t be the best choice for all computing problems. That’s because quantum computers operate very differently from classical digital computers.


Although quantum computers can process data much faster, it’s much more difficult to get the results of their calculations because of how qubits are structured. A person using a quantum system needs to know the right question to ask in order to efficiently get the answer they want.
For now at least, quantum computer scientists also are struggling to create systems that can run lots of qubits. Because qubits are essentially a scarce resource, Svore said another big research focus is on how to minimize the number of qubits needed to do any algorithm or calculation. That’s also one of the main focuses of Station Q, which is using an area of math called topology to find ways to use fewer qubits.


Wecker said that’s another major advantage to a system like LIQUi|>: It will help researchers figure out how best to use these unique computers.
“LIQUi|> is helping us understand what we can best solve with a quantum computer,” he said.
Computer scientists, academics and developers interested in exploring the LIQUi|> tool suite can download it here.

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A like for Mark Zuckerberg

India is personally very important to the history of our company.” Indeed, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s love affair with India continues. He lost the hoodie, rendered himself unrecognisable in a suit and hugged Narendra Modi during the prime minister’s recent tour of Silicon Valley. Later, he popped up in India, clad in the more familiar baniyan, strutting on the stage at IIT-Delhi. The business case for Zuckerberg’s hugging of India is solid: With 134.5 million users in July, anticipated to balloon to 269.5 million by 2019, this will be Facebook’s largest market. Indians already offer Facebook the largest user base for its subsidiary, WhatsApp. India is important not just to the history but also the future of this company.

Zuckerberg’s mission is, however, bigger than that of a CEO paying a courtesy call to his largest customer base. India is also home to a chunk of the 4.5 billion people who cannot be his customers because they have no internet access. He was here to also sell Facebook’s year-old project, Internet.org, or Free Basics, that promises the digitally excluded internet access that is both free and basic. The service has already reached a billion people in 19 countries.

But he is being pilloried for his efforts. He has run afoul of those clamouring for net neutrality, or equal treatment for all traffic on the internet. Free Basics is designed to offer free access to a select set of websites, like a “lite version” of Facebook, Wikipedia and others, along with a limited number of content services on mobile phones. No doubt, as more people get this access, Facebook itself will be a big beneficiary. A Mobile Africa 2015 study finds that Facebook is the most popular phone activity for those who get access to the internet. In India, 58 per cent of those surveyed by Geopoll and Jana even believe that Facebook is the Internet. All this is getting more yikes than “likes”. 

There appear to be four principal quarrels with Zuckerberg. First, the initiative will create a digital caste system — those with access to the entire internet and the rest with access only to a walled-in ghetto. Second, when Facebook offers free internet, it has a private motive in mind and will corner the internet, depriving the next billion of its many wonders. Third, Facebook has no skin in the game; it is free-riding off the telcos. Fourth, there are already public policy plans to provide full internet access to those who do not have them. 

Here is where I believe Zuckerberg is right and his critics are wrong. Consider each of the four principal concerns. First, the real digital caste system is where the 80 per cent are excluded from what the 20 per cent enjoy. Is it better for a society to provide access of some kind to more people, or should a guarantee of the absolute principles of net neutrality come first, regardless of whether it deters private initiative to provide free access? Only 19.2 per cent of India has internet access. This means accepting that even a limited form of access is better than none. 

As long as internet penetration is stuck at 20 per cent, concerns of net neutrality seem horrendously elitist. 

Second, it is better to have the private sector invest in inclusion for core business reasons than for charity or CSR. Despite its size, India is not even among the top 10 e-commerce markets in the world. The country has tremendous room for growth. Given this context, it is little surprise that digital businesses — Facebook, among others — want to improve internet awareness and access. In Harvard Business Review, Ravi Chaturvedi and I argue that India has one of the highest potentials for growth if the critical bottleneck of internet access improves. Of the 50 countries in our “Digital Planet” study, India has one of the lowest internet-penetration rates and one of the highest mobile-internet gaps (difference between number of mobile phone owners and those with internet). But it is also one of the faster-moving countries in terms of the pace of its overall digital evolution. This combination of factors would make India an attractive market to any investor. In fact, we find that India has been among the top destinations for private equity investments in the digital space since 2011. 

Third, will Facebook corner the internet? It can certainly be a gigantic absorber of the new user’s time and attention. But, eventually, the value of what else is out there — even in a limited setting — will draw out the curious. Some will even purchase full access as disposable incomes rise because of the mere awareness of the wider internet. Past experience with giving people even limited awareness of the internet and access to knowledge and productive tools that are contextually relevant ought to give us confidence that it is better to make a modest start than wait indefinitely for perfect solutions. 

Finally, public policy-led initiatives are slow-moving and muddled. The government’s Digital India is an ambitious plan with nine pillars and will be a painfully slow-moving process. The aim to provide publicly run facilities for internet access, at least one in every village, was first approved in 2006 and is still on a slow march. Mobile infrastructure is already inadequate. Before more people get on the internet on their phones, more spectrum is needed. The government has also made some reactionary moves in terms of internet freedom. The public alternative to private-sector initiatives does not give us a lot of confidence that the digital gap will be closed in the foreseeable future. 

So if India is getting Zucked, it is a good thing. “It’s incredible what people can build — and what love can motivate us to build,” Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page recently. He was writing, of course, about his visit to the Taj Mahal. Within 40 minutes of posting the obligatory picture of himself looking at the ultimate monument to love, the post received close to 1,50,000 likes and 5,000 comments. If not love, I hope that Zuckerberg gets a few likes for his other labours. I, personally, cannot do so. I am not on Facebook.

The writer, senior associate dean of international business and finance at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, is the founding executive director of the Institute for Business in the Global Context

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HUB 15

Join #hub15 - plug into the digital future

Der Trendkongress wird zur internationalen hub conference. Global Player und Start-ups, CEOs und CIOs, Wissenschaft und Politik vernetzen sich und gestalten die digitale Zukunft. Die hub bringt disruptive Trends, smarte Technologien und ihre Macher nach Berlin.

For more details: https://www.hub.berlin/de?adbsc=Corporate_Hubspoke_Nov_Dec_201521340974&adbid=663993269336969216&adbpl=tw&adbpr=14390109

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Virtual Reality

WITH NYT VR, The New York Times takes a step into virtual reality. Our free phone app can be used — along with your headphones — to simulate richly immersive scenes from across the globe. You can use the app on its own, just by moving your smartphone. But the experience is even better with a Google Cardboard virtual reality viewer. We’ll be distributing VR viewers to Sunday newspaper subscribers this weekend. You can also buy one here.

Download the free NYT VR app for iPhone or Android

Need help? Read our Frequently Asked Questions or Contact Us

PLAY VIDEO 1:01

Special Delivery

Sunday home delivery subscribers should receive their Google Cardboard by November 8, 2015. Select digital subscribers will also receive promotional codes via email that can be redeemed for free Cardboard viewers. (More on that here.)

For desktop viewing

Watch modified versions of our VR stories below. Click and drag to see a 360 degree view of a video.

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Power BI

Explore your Application Insights data with Power BI

Visual Studio Application Insights (Preview) enables you to find performance issues earlier, diagnose crashes faster, and get smarter about users with a 360° view of your apps and services. With the Power BI content pack, you can connect to Application Insights (Preview) and explore out-of-the-box metrics of applications' users, sessions, and page views for the last 30 days. The content pack provides a dashboard, set of reports, and a curated data set to help you discover more about your data.

This post will explain how the Power BI content pack can help you explore your Application Insights data. For additional details on how to get started, please see the Application Insights content pack for Power BI help page.

It’s easy to get connected to the content pack, just provide the Resource Name, Group and Subscription ID to get started. Signing in will complete your connection, allowing your data to begin loading and a dashboard to be automatically created. From the out-of-box dashboard you can select any of the tiles and drill further into the 4 reports.

For example, if you select the Users by Country tile, it brings you to the Users report.

Once you are on a report you have the ability to hover over the visualizations to see additional details. This report highlights different metrics around your users, including users by day, country, operating system, and more.

Select a visual to see more details. In each report you can switch to edit mode where you can edit or add additional visuals to your reports. On the left you’ll see a list of all the tables and fields you have access to in the content pack.

From any of the reports you can pin the visualizations or tiles to the dashboard by hovering over it and selecting the pin icon. You can add new tiles or move existing tiles to customize your dashboard.

After the initial import, the dashboard and the reports continue to update daily. You can control the refresh schedule on the dataset. The Application Insights content pack for Power BI provides a set insights into your application usage that you can use to explore your data even further.

We’re always interested in hearing your feedback; please contact us at http://support.powerbi.com to let the team know how your experience was and if there’s anything we can do better. We look forward to your feedback!

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