Software Design

Phoenix Technologies Ltd., a software design company, today said it is closing a facility in Scotts Valley, Calif., and consolidating its activities with one in San Jose. The company also said President Lance E. Hansche has assumed Neil J. Colvin's duties as chief executive officer. Colvin remains chairman.

The 2013 HTC One was a good smartphone, but its new sibling, the HTC One (M8), is even better. HTC didn't start from scratch with the HTC One (M8). In many ways, it only slightly differs from its predecessor -- there's a reason it isn't getting an entirely different name -- but HTC found a way to improve every part of the HTC One. The new device features a bigger screen, a sleeker design, a longer-lasting battery and a better camera than its predecessor. The HTC One (M8) is a premium device, and its design sets that tone from the get-go.

Phoenix Technologies Ltd., a software design company in Norwood, Mass., said the firm's president, Lance E. Hansche, will also become chief executive, succeeding Neil J. Colvin. Colvin remains chairman and takes on the title of chief technical officer, the company said. At the same time, the firm said it is closing a facility in Scotts Valley, Calif., and consolidating its activities with one in San Jose.

Apple this week unveiled the first major design overhaul for the iPhone operating system, and many were not impressed with the new look. Despite being led by Jony Ive, who has been Apple's hardware design chief since the 1990s, the new look found in iOS 7 has been criticized by many in the design community, and now a new Tumblr blog that pokes fun at the overhaul has hit the Web. Jony Ive Redesigns Things , the Tumblr blog, posts mockups made...

Nokia said Japanese rival Matsushita will buy its software for smart phones that send e-mails, pictures and play games, boosting the world's largest handset maker's position in software. The deal is another victory for Nokia as it moves beyond handset manufacture into software design. In May it signed up Germany's Siemens to buy its mobile software. Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. (MCI), owner of the Panasonic brand, will use Nokia's Series 60 Platform software in its multimedia phones.

For now, you won't find any French deconstructionists working at the new IBM/Apple joint venture. Sony, Matsushita and NEC--who have collectively spent billions of yen exploring every facet of multimedia software design--have yet to hire a single phenomonologist. But just wait a year or two. Increasingly, the most exciting areas in software research--virtual reality, artificial life and artificial intelligence--are being shaped as much by metaphysics as by silicon physics.

Now that second-quarter earnings and Apple's massive bond offering are behind us, speculation has shifted back to products. And the big product that has tongues wagging is some reportedly radical changes to the operating system that powers the company's iPhones and iPads.  Much of the drama surrounds the fact that Jonathan Ive, Apple's longtime hardware design guru, has also been placed in charge of software design as well. That happened last fall following a management shakeup.  Ive is now s enior vice president of i ndustrial design.

Apple this week unveiled the first major design overhaul for the iPhone operating system, and many were not impressed with the new look. Despite being led by Jony Ive, who has been Apple's hardware design chief since the 1990s, the new look found in iOS 7 has been criticized by many in the design community, and now a new Tumblr blog that pokes fun at the overhaul has hit the Web. Jony Ive Redesigns Things , the Tumblr blog, posts mockups made...

Take a look around. What keeps things going in your life? Trees and water. Some grains. Grease and gas. And a bunch of software. Without fanfare, software has become common not just in the machines we call computers but also cars, stereos, watches, even electric shavers. Used to create more productivity, software is great. But, increasingly, the inconvenience of a mistake or glitch in software causes more trouble than if software hadn't been there in the first place.

I knew that I would never be a prodigy after reading a childhood story about the great mathematician Karl Gauss. It seems that his teacher, wanting to buy some free time, told his charges to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. All the obedient little German schoolchildren started scratching away on their slates. The young Gauss closed his eyes, thought for a brief moment and scribbled a number on his slate: 5,050.

Now that second-quarter earnings and Apple's massive bond offering are behind us, speculation has shifted back to products. And the big product that has tongues wagging is some reportedly radical changes to the operating system that powers the company's iPhones and iPads.  Much of the drama surrounds the fact that Jonathan Ive, Apple's longtime hardware design guru, has also been placed in charge of software design as well. That happened last fall following a management shakeup.  Ive is now s enior vice president of i ndustrial design.

A pioneer of software that tailors pop-up ads to Internet users' browsing habits is beginning to shun a practice that has invited much derision and plenty of lawsuits. A new service Claria Corp. is launching this month will still deliver advertising to the computer desktops of Web surfers. Only this time, they won't be annoying pop-ups.

Nokia said Japanese rival Matsushita will buy its software for smart phones that send e-mails, pictures and play games, boosting the world's largest handset maker's position in software. The deal is another victory for Nokia as it moves beyond handset manufacture into software design. In May it signed up Germany's Siemens to buy its mobile software. Matsushita Communication Industrial Co. (MCI), owner of the Panasonic brand, will use Nokia's Series 60 Platform software in its multimedia phones.

McKesson HBOC Inc., the largest U.S. drug wholesaler and a leading health-care software designer, said Tuesday it has sued rival W3Health Corp. and 12 former McKesson HBOC employees, accusing them of stealing software trade secrets. W3Health denied the allegations, saying in a news release that McKesson is bullying a rival that's created a superior product and is trying to discourage McKesson workers from leaving for better jobs.

Like e-mailing dirty jokes? Don't try sending one to Texas Health Resources workers. This Southwest hospital chain uses special software to automatically track and detect unseemly electronic messages exchanged by 13,000 employees. So much for free-flowing electronic communications. In a growing corporate backlash against inflammatory and potentially incriminating messages, companies are cracking down on e-mail with measures that go well beyond merely issuing bureaucratic warnings about abuse.

It may come as some consolation to learn that it's not just regular folks who think computers and their software are too confusing. Even some of the people who create software agree. The problem isn't simply one of inconvenience. Carelessly designed software can have an impact far beyond the desktop, as the multibillion-dollar millennium bug so expensively demonstrates.

The 2013 HTC One was a good smartphone, but its new sibling, the HTC One (M8), is even better. HTC didn't start from scratch with the HTC One (M8). In many ways, it only slightly differs from its predecessor -- there's a reason it isn't getting an entirely different name -- but HTC found a way to improve every part of the HTC One. The new device features a bigger screen, a sleeker design, a longer-lasting battery and a better camera than its predecessor. The HTC One (M8) is a premium device, and its design sets that tone from the get-go.

An attorney for Rebecca Cleland, accused of faking a carjacking to have her husband murdered, maintained Thursday that she is innocent and said police have little evidence to support their allegations. Cleland, 28, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder with special circumstances. Her arraignment, which had been set for Thursday, was postponed to March 5. "Mrs.

At first, the murder seemed to have all the markings of an attempted carjacking. When Los Angeles police officers reached the scene on the dark Boyle Heights street July 26, they found affluent software designer Bruce Cleland lying in a pool of blood across the street from his new black 4Runner. His distraught wife, Rebecca, said she had been knocked unconscious when she got out of the vehicle to check the tailgate and awoke to the gruesome sight.