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Does anyone want to buy Twitter?
At the end of September, the list of reported potential suitors for Twitter included Apple, Disney, Google and Salesforce. Based on new reports from Recode and CNBC, it sounds like none of those companies are interested in buying the social network at this point. Recode's sources indicated this week that Google wasn't preparing to make a bid and that Apple wasn't likely to do so either. It followed that up with a report that Disney, after exploring a potential proposal, wouldn't move forward with an official offer. Twitter's shareholders surely aren't happy about those big names withdrawing interest as the company's stock fell 9 percent yesterday.
Reuters: Twitter seeks a sale decision by October 27th
Twitter's flat growth and falling profits made for a dim outlook until a few weeks ago when sources close to the social media platform said that Google, Salesforce and other tech luminaries were looking to buy it. The company's stock jumped 20 percent that day, and speculation has continued as to which would be the best buyer. But it seems time is of the essence: Twitter wants to conclude sale deliberations before October 27th, the day it reports its third quarter earnings, sources told Reuters.
Salesforce urges EU to block Microsoft's acquisition of LinkedIn
When Microsoft announced they'd won the bidding war for LinkedIn with a colossal $26.2 billion offer, it seemed, well, about as interesting as corporate enterprise acquisitions sound. Yet it's a shrewd move for both: Integrating a business-oriented social network into Outlook or Windows would be promising for the software giant, while LinkedIn gets stability under its new corporate umbrella. But not everyone is happy about the deal: Salesforce is urging the European Union to block it, claiming the union would be anticompetitive.
How these companies would benefit from owning Twitter (or not)
Twitter has been struggling lately. It's been battling flat user growth, declining profits, an executive exodus and generally bad PR -- especially around its handling of abuse. Many have speculated for months that Twitter should just sell itself. And, if the rumor mill is to be believed, the company is indeed looking for ways to make that happen. According to reports from CNBC, TechCrunch and Bloomberg, the social media giant is in the crosshairs of at least five suitors: Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Verizon and Disney. Here's a look at all five -- plus one we came up with ourselves -- to see what a Twitter acquisition could do for them.
Google is reportedly interested in buying Twitter
In recent months, Twitter has come in for all sorts of criticism over how it runs the company. With growth flat, profits continuing to fall and negative reactions from users over how it's combating harassment on the platform, some have called for a bigger company to step in and help make those troubles go away. According to CNBC, that could well happen, after sources close to the company said that Google, Salesforce and other technology companies are "engaged in conversations" with the social media giant over a possible sale.
President pledges $4 billion toward computer science in schools
The White House isn't just relying on legislation to make computer science education a priority in the US. President Obama has launched a Computer Science for All initiative that gives states $4 billion in funding to expand computer science in K-12 schools through a mix of better course materials, partnerships and teacher training. The move also sends another $100 million directly to school districts, unlocks $135 million in funding from government organizations and gets further cooperation from both local governments as well as tech leaders.
Blend CRM and on-the-go email with Cirrus Insight Mobile
Accessing information about customers while on the go used to be tough, but it's gotten a lot easier. For companies that use the Salesforce Sales Cloud as their CRM (customer relationship management) system, the mobile story has been greatly enhanced over the past year as several divergent salesforce.com-published iOS and Android apps have been unified onto the Salesforce1 platform and phone/tablet app. Now with a few taps, it's simple to interact with contacts, accounts, potential new business opportunities or any custom-developed objects in the CRM database. [Please note: when not blogging for TUAW, my day job is at salesforce.com.] There's always room for more innovation: Cirruspath, an ISV known for its leading Gmail integration for Salesforce, wants to add another dimension to the mobile experience for Sales Cloud users. The just-released Cirrus Insight Mobile app (free for iPhone, but requires a Cirrus subscription or 14-day trial in Sales Cloud to work) aims to tie email and sales activities more closely together by replacing the native Mail or Gmail client on your phone entirely. Swapping mobile mail clients is a big deal (just ask users of Tempo, Hop, Mailbox and many others), so Cirrus needs to deliver some desirable features to make it worth a user's while to learn the new UI. Top of the list is when-opened notification; nothing makes salespeople happier than knowing exactly when that email has been opened or read, so they can reach out and connect while the latest offer is right at the top of the customer's to-do list. Cirrus's client can invisibly add a tiny tracker graphic to any outbound message (similar to YesWare and other add-ins for Gmail), which then "phones home" as soon as the email is opened. In addition to the trackable emails, Cirrus also makes it extremely easy to add or log emails to the appropriate CRM customer record with a minimum of steps. Creating new customers, accounts, cases or opportunities can be done directly from the app, along with calendar functions to schedule events or meetings. Although you don't have to save emails into a Salesforce context, doing so enables the free Cirrus Analytics app to dig into your sending records to see what's most effective at reaching customers. Cirrus Insight Mobile works with Gmail, Lotus Notes, Outlook/Exchange and any other email system that supports either ActiveSync or IMAP for mailbox access (if your corporate admin doesn't permit IMAP, you'll be out of luck for now). It's iPhone only at launch, with iPad (and Android phone/tablet) versions on the roadmap. Obviously, any app that wants to be the front end for your mobile email experience should be trustworthy; here's the Cirrus policy statement for reference. As mentioned, the app itself is free but you need an underlying Cirrus Insight subscription -- $19 per user per month, on an annualized basis (for Gmail/Google Apps users; Outlook and Notes have a custom pricing scheme). Note: I work for salesforce.com; Cirruspath is an independent vendor.
Google offering Google+ for businesses, free until the end of 2013
Google is bringing the enterprise-friendly elements of its Apps platform into Google+ in order to help businesses collaborate on projects online. The company's been using the service internally, but feels it's time to launch, in Google tradition, a "full preview" with a free and open beta that'll run until the end of 2013. The feature set includes private sharing, admin tools and, most impressively, hangouts directly integrated into Calendar, Gmail and Docs -- letting you video chat with multiple colleagues while you draft that project proposal, or resignation letter. Apps chief Clay Bavor hasn't mentioned how much the service will cost when the preview period finishes, but we'd be surprised if it was much more than what it currently charges if it's trying to snare the Yammer and Salesforce crowds.
Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i delivers scans to Android or iOS, spreads a little cloud love as well
Fujitsu's original ScanSnap S1300 earned a soft spot in our hearts -- no mean feat for a scanner -- so it's with piqued interest that we catch word of a direct upgrade. The S1300i is all about serving those of us who might never send scan results to a printer. Android and iOS aficionados now only have to send the results to a relevant mobile app, skipping the usual computer-to-phone shuffle. That stack of receipts can also go skip devices entirely and go straight to the cloud, whether it's Dropbox, Evernote, Google Docs, Salesforce Chatter or SugarSync. However that paper gets converted to digital, it'll be accomplished about 50 percent faster, or 12 double-sided, color pages every minute. All the extras lift the price price even higher, though: $295 is a lot to ask for a scanner. Even so, if that stack of bills is high enough to trigger an avalanche, it might be worth the premium to avoid being snowed in.
Eric Schmidt: Ice Cream Sandwich coming in October or November
Got your sights set on the next version of Android, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich? We knew it was coming near the end of the year, but we now at least have a slightly more specific time frame straight from the horse's mouth. Google's own Eric Schmidt revealed in an interview with Salesforce.com's Marc Benioff that ICS -- the highly-anticipated update to Android that will merge elements of Honeycomb and Gingerbread into one universal OS -- can be expected to arrive in October or November. This matches up with rumors saying the Nexus Prime will be released in the tenth month, but it's the first time we've heard anything official from El Goog since I/O four months ago. Check out the video below to get Schmidt's full statement.
Daily Update for August 26, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Salesforce CEO Benioff "gifted" App Store trademark and domain to Jobs
In an interview with Bloomberg, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff tells an interesting tale of how he gave the App Store domain and trademark to to Apple as a gift to Steve Jobs. Of course, the App Store trademark itself is now under scrutiny, with Microsoft and Amazon claiming it is a generic term. Apparently Benioff and some of his team met with Jobs in 2003, and Steve suggested they build an ecosystem around their Salesforce product, which Jobs praised. They wound up with App Exchange, but Benioff also trademarked App Store and bought the domain. When Apple launched an app ecosystem for the iPhone, Benioff was in the audience during the announcement. He went directly to Jobs at the event and said he was giving Apple the trademark and domain as a gift, thanking him for his sage advice in 2003. It's a nice story, and sadly the kind of nice thing you don't hear that often in Silicon Valley these days. [via The Next Web]
