Waze se hace amigo de Facebook

Con la versión 3.7, se sabrá qué conocidos se dirigen al mismo sitio y la hora estimada de arribo; se añaden nuevas funciones, como sonidos y ventanas emergentes con un diseño renovado. CIUDAD DE MÉXICO (Notimex) — Waze anunció la incorporación de su nueva versión 3.7, la cual tendrá la capacidad de vincular de manera directa a los usuarios con sus amigos de Facebook. Esta versión cuenta con la adición del ícono "Mis amigos", el cual ayudará a los usuarios a mantenerse en contacto con personas cercanas para conocer la ubicación de próximos eventos. Así, al ubicar un evento y dar un clic sobre el destino, la aplicación gratuita de navegación GPS con mapas indicará la mejor ruta sin necesidad de conocer la dirección. "Los usuarios podrán conocer cuál es la mejor ruta, qué amigos se dirigen al mismo lugar, hora estimada de arribo, ruta de procedencia y lo más importante: los usuarios serán recordados 48 horas antes de su participación a los eventos pactados", dijo. La empresa señaló que esta herramienta añade nuevas funciones, como sonidos, ventanas emergentes con un diseño renovado, mensajes instantáneos desde la bandeja de entrada y un soporte para JVC APP Link Mode en receptoras de audio compatibles al tablero del auto. El director general de Waze para América Latina, Daniel Wainmann, afirmó que la principal intención de esta nueva versión es que los usuarios puedan intercambiar rutas, facilitar puntos de reunión y llegar a sus destinos de forma rápida y divertida. Quien utilice la herramienta, agregó, tendrá la posibilidad de reportar calles cerradas o bloqueadas, agregar detalles como el tipo de bloqueo y el tiempo estimado de duración, detectar ubicaciones, planear puntos de encuentro y compartir su ubicación a través de Facebook. En la actualidad, la aplicación de origen israelí cuenta con al menos siete millones de usuarios en América Latina y más de 1.3 millones en México.

Steve Jobs Through the Years

Steven Paul Jobs, 56, died Wednesday at his home with his family. The co-founder and, until last August, CEO of Apple Inc was the most celebrated person in technology and business on the planet. No one will take issue with the official Apple statement that “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.”

It had taken a while for the world to realize what an amazing treasure Steve Jobs was. But Jobs knew it all along. That was part of what was so unusual about him. From at least the time he was a teenager, Jobs had a freakish chutzpah. At age 13, he called up the head of HP and cajoled him into giving Jobs free computer chips. It was part of a lifelong pattern of setting and fulfilling astronomical standards. Throughout his career, he was fearless in his demands. He kicked aside the hoops that everyone else had to negotiate and straightforwardly and brazenly pursued what he wanted. When he got what he wanted — something that occurred with astonishing frequency — he accepted it as his birthright.

Steve Jobs’ Greatest Achievements

Steve Jobs Through the Years

If Jobs were not so talented, if he were not so visionary, if he were not so canny in determining where others had failed in producing great products and what was necessary to succeed, his pushiness and imperiousness would have made him a figure of mockery.

But Steve Jobs was that talented, visionary and determined. He combined an innate understanding of technology with an almost supernatural sense of what customers would respond to. His conviction that design should be central to his products not only produced successes in the marketplace but elevated design in general, not just in consumer electronics but everything that aspires to the high end.

As a child of the sixties who was nurtured in Silicon Valley, his career merged the two strains in a way that reimagined business itself. And he did it as if he didn’t give a damn who he pissed off. He could bully underlings and corporate giants with the same contempt. But when he chose to charm, he was almost irresistible. His friend, Heidi Roizen, once gave advice to a fellow Apple employee that the only way to avoid falling prey to the dual attacks of venom and charm at all hours was not to answer the phone. That didn’t work, the employee said, because Jobs lived only a few blocks away. Jobs would bang on the door and not go away.

For most of his 56 years, Steve Jobs banged on doors, but for the past dozen or so very few were closed to him. He was the most adored and admired business executive on the planet, maybe in history. Presidents and rock stars came to see him. His fans waited up all night to gain entry into his famous”“Stevenote” speeches at Macworld, almost levitating with anticipation of what Jobs might say. Even his peccadillos and dark side became heralded.

His accomplishments were unmatched. People who can claim credit for game-changing products — iconic inventions that become embedded in the culture and answers to Jeopardy questions decades later — are few and far between. But Jobs has had not one, not two, but six of these breakthroughs, any one of which would have made for a magnificent career. In order: the Apple II, the Macintosh, the movie studio Pixar, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad. (This doesn’t even include the consistent, brilliant improvements to the Macintosh operating system, or the Apple retail store juggernaut.) Had he lived a natural lifespan, there would have almost certainly been more.

Steve Jobs die at 56

Wife and family with Jobs at final moments in Palo Alto

* Outpouring of grief, tributes around the world

* Legacy as one of greatest American visionaries

By Poornima Gupta and Edwin Chan

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Steve Jobs, the transcendent Silicon Valley entrepreneur who reinvented the world's computing, music and mobile phone industries and changed the daily habits of millions around the globe, died on Wednesday at the age of 56.

His death after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer sparked an immediate outpouring of tributes as world leaders, business rivals and fans alike lamented the tragedy of his premature passing and celebrated his monumental achievements.

"The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement.

Fans paid homage to Jobs outside Apple stores around the world, from Los Angeles to Sydney. Outside one store in New York City, mourners laid candles, bouquets of flowers, an apple and an iPod Touch in a makeshift memorial. In San Francisco, they held up black-and-white portraits of Jobs on their iPads.

Many websites, including Apple's own, were transformed into online memorials, a testament to the digital creativity that Jobs inspired.

"For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honor," said Microsoft's (MSFT.O) Bill Gates, who once triumphed over Jobs but has seen his legendary status overtaken by the Apple (AAPL.O) co-founder in recent years.

Jobs was surrounded by his wife and immediate family when he died in Palo Alto, California, Apple said late on Wednesday. Other details were not immediately available.

Jobs stepped down as CEO in August and handed the reins to long-time operations chief Tim Cook. With a passion for minimalist design and a genius for marketing, Jobs laid the groundwork for the company to continue to flourish after his death, most analysts and investors say.

But Apple still faces challenges in the absence of the man who was its chief product designer, marketing guru and salesman nonpareil. Phones running Google's (GOOG.O) Android software are gaining share in the smartphone market, and there are questions over what the next big thing is in Apple's product line. 

LEGENDARY ENTREPRENEUR

A college drop-out and the son of adoptive parents, Jobs changed the technology world in the late 1970s, when the Apple II became the first personal computer to gain a wide following. He did it again in 1984 with the Macintosh, which built on the breakthrough technologies developed at Xerox Parc and elsewhere to create the personal computing experience as we know it today.

The rebel streak that's central to his persona got him tossed out of the company in 1985, but he returned in 1997 and after a few years began the rollout of a troika of products -- the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad -- that again upended the established order in major industries.

A diagnosis of a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004 initially cast only a mild shadow over Jobs and Apple, with the CEO asserting that the disease was treatable. But his health deteriorated rapidly over the past several years, and after two temporary leaves of absence he stepped down as chief executive and became Apple's chairman in August.

Jobs' death came just one day after Cook presented a new iPhone at the kind of gala event that became Jobs' trademark. Perhaps coincidentally, the new device got lukewarm reviews, with many saying that it wasn't a big enough improvement over the existing version of one of the most successful consumer products in history.

Apple on Wednesday paid homage to its visionary leader by changing its website to a big black-and-white photograph of him with the caption "Steve Jobs: 1955-2011."

The flags outside the company's headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop flew at half mast. Employees left flowers on a bench and a mourner played music on bagpipes in an impromptu tribute.

Cook said in a statement that Apple planned to hold a celebration of Jobs' life for employees "soon".

"Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve," Apple said in a statement.

"His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts."

The announcement of Jobs' death came after almost all trading in U.S. stocks had finished for the day. Apple's stock was last quoted at $377.22, a tad lower than its Nasdaq close of $378.25.

Outside Jobs' house in Palo Alto, neighbors and friends left flowers and drew messages with markers on the sidewalk. "Thanks for changing the world," read one.

A low fence surrounded a lawn filled with apple trees.

"He was special for the area, like part of the family," said Robert Blum, who brought flowers with his eight-year-old son, Daniel.

NET WORTH $7 BLN

Jobs, in his trademark uniform of black mock-turtleneck and blue jeans, was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) as the most valuable in America.

Forbes estimates Jobs' net worth at $7 billion. It was not immediately known how his estate would be handled.

His health had been a controversial topic for years and a deep concern to Apple fans and investors. Even board members have in past years confided to friends their concern that Jobs, in his quest for privacy, was not being forthcoming enough with directors about the true condition of his health.

Born in San Francisco, the Buddhist and son of adoptive parents started Apple Computer with friend Steve Wozniak in his parent's garage 1976.

Six years ago, Jobs had talked about how a sense of his mortality was a major driver behind that vision.

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life," Jobs said during a Stanford commencement ceremony in 2005.

"Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

Facebook’s revenue soared to US$1.6 billion in the first half of 2011.

The social networking giant posted net income of $500 million in the first half of 2011, according to “a source with knowledge of its financials.” Facebook has taken its user base to a whopping 750 million and has established itself as one of the biggest players in the display advertising world, TAKING one-third of all impressions served in the U.S. (more than Yahoo, Microsoft, Google, and AOL together).
The company founded by Mark Zuckerberg out of his dorm room in 2004 has grown into one of the internet’s most formidable firms. While its finances aren’t publicly known, information has occasionally made its way out.

Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs prepared a private share offering of Facebook to its clients, distributing some of the social network’s financial information. Those documents suggest Facebook earned $433 million on $1.2 billion in revenues during the first 9 months of 2010. While quarterly figures weren’t released, assuming Facebook’s sales were equal in every quarter, the social network made 800 million in the first two quarters of 2010. (Read Goldman Sachs Limits Facebook Share Offer To ‘Offshore’ Investors, Fears Breaking U.S. Law).


Goldman itself invested in Facebook, giving it an unofficial Wall Street-stamp of approval and a valuation of about $50 billion. Shares in Facebook trade on secondary markets where the valuation has been pushed above $80 billion. Markets expect Facebook to go public in the short-term, as its ever-rising number of shareholders puts pressure on regulators to ask management to release more financial information. The SEC requires any company with more than 500 shareholders to disclose its finances. (Read JPMorgan Starts ‘Social Media Fund’ To Invest In Twitter, Facebook, Other Public Companies).



Reuters cites sources expecting Facebook to go public in 2012. Facebook, which declined to comment, is facing increased competition from Google in the social sphere. The search-giant recently released Google+ which reportedly added more than 10 million members in its first two weeks to become the world’s fastest growing social network.


If the recent report is true, Facebook is proving that it is increasingly better at monetizing the opportunities it has made for itself, as Zuckerberg prepares his company to dispute the Google’s claim to the Internet’s number one spot.