Hasta La Gadget!

Google’s Q4 financial results press release contains a bombshell: as of April 4, co-founder Larry Page (on the far right, above) will replace Eric Schmidt as CEO and assume responsibility for day-to-day operations and product development and strategy. That doesn’t mean Schmidt is leaving — he’ll carry on as Executive Chairman and serve as an advisor to Page and co-founder Sergey Brin, focused on external things like “deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership.” As for Sergey, he’ll now “devote his energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products,” with the simple title of Co-Founder.

Schmidt’s clarified and explained the change in a blog post, saying that the idea is to make leading Google as efficient as possible, and that “Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.” It’s clear the idea is to frame this as a simple organizational shuffle — Schmidt says that he, Brin, and Page “anticipate working together for a long time to come” — but there’s no question that Schmidt’s reign as CEO set a clear tone for Google as the company expanded beyond search and into new markets like smartphones, connected televisions, and operating systems, and we’re curious to see what Page’s style is like. We’re also very curious to hear more about why the change was made — although Schmidt, Page, and Brin have worked together for over 10 years, there’s always been some tension between the co-founders and their CEO, particularly over user privacy. In any event, this is a momentous change both for Google and the industry — we’ll see what happens next.

Larry Page taking over as Google CEO, Eric Schmidt will remain as Executive Chairman originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple doesn’t want to let you inside your iPhone, even if all you want to do is fix it.

That’s what repair company iFixit claims, at least. The company recently discovered that Apple has quietly switched the screws in the latest shipments of the iPhone 4 from a basic Phillips head to a tamper-resistant screw that you can’t remove with any screwdriver you’d buy at a hardware store.

The screw in question is called a “Pentalobe” (see right), a five-point head with a round shape resembling a daisy.

“They chose this ‘Pentalobe’ fastener specifically because it was new, guaranteeing repair tools would be both rare and expensive,” said Kyle Wiens, iFixit’s CEO. “The iPhone 4 originally shipped with Phillips screws, but Apple has transitioned completely to this new security screw. Shame on them.”

It’s not unusual for manufacturers to use obscure screws and strict software security on their products to prevent people from tampering with their devices.

Sometimes tamper-resistance is designed for protecting company profits. In the case of software, Sony, for example, baked extra-strict security into the PlayStation 3’s operating system, which hackers recently infiltrated to install pirated software on the console. In a lawsuit, Sony asked a court to remove all traces of the PS3 hack from the internet, claiming it violated copyright law and would eat into PS3 game sales.

And when it comes to odd screws keeping you out of hardware, it’s most likely to get you to buy new stuff sooner. On Apple products, obscure screws began showing up on the mid-2009 MacBook Pro to prevent you from removing and replacing the battery, according to iFixit, and it’s been a recurring trend ever since. In this context, Apple would rather you buy a brand-new MacBook Pro when its battery dies than simply purchase a new battery, Wiens suggests.

Wiens added that if you own an iPhone 4 that came with Phillips screws and you take it to an Apple store for repair, Apple employees will replace the screws with the Pentalobular screws to prevent you from getting inside.

“This move is a part of Apple’s strategic plan to increase the rate of obsolescence of their hardware,” Wiens said.

If your iPhone is tainted with those funky  screws, you’re in luck: iFixit is selling the Pentalobular screwdriver for $10.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Photo of an iPhone 4 with Phillips head screws: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Illustration courtesy of iFixit

See Also:

• Photos: iFixit Rips Open iPad 3G
• iPhone 4 Torn Down and Tested: Slower Than iPad, Faster Than 3G …
• Mr. Fixit Goes Open Source With DIY Repair Site

Even a flashy CES announce event wasn’t enough for Fox and George Lucas to reveal an exact release date for the arrival of Star Wars on Blu-ray, but now Amazon has updated its preorder ship dates to September 27th. We wouldn’t schedule a day off of work to dive into the promised 30 hours of special features until there’s some sort of official word, but since it is a Tuesday it seems a logical time to expect these discs (in full Complete Saga form or either trilogy set by itself, you choice) to touch down. Relive the somewhat underwhelming Darth Vader entrance and the much more inspiring Blu-ray boxed set trailer after the break.

Continue reading Star Wars Blu-ray discs to arrive September 27th according to Amazon

Star Wars Blu-ray discs to arrive September 27th according to Amazon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Germany’s Deutsche Telekom — better known in the States as T-Mobile USA’s disciplinarian parent — was out in New York today chatting up its American division’s prospects for the future, and execs from both sides of the pond had quite a bit to say. The biggest outstanding concerns for the carrier revolve around revenue and customer churn — which, let’s be honest, are the core benchmarks that any carrier in the world is looking to improve — and the division’s CEO Philipp Humm just announced a series of initiatives to help get those numbers in line. On the churn side, they’re “going big with Android” to combat the iPhone, continuing to roll out WiFi calling to alleviate network coverage issues, and tightening up “risk management” issues that have let some bill deadbeats slip through the cracks. Funny to think that non-payment is a big enough issue to be a revenue risk for these guys, but it’s true.

Continue reading T-Mobile USA talks future, Deutsche Telekom weaning it off lifeline; Clearwire spectrum purchase still in play?

T-Mobile USA talks future, Deutsche Telekom weaning it off lifeline; Clearwire spectrum purchase still in play? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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