5,686 Topics
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 | I opened up Google Reader this morning and found major rumors from our favorite corporate rivals Apple and Microsoft. For Apple it is the oft cited iTablet. For Microsoft, it's a supposed iPod Touch clone. I try not to give too much credence to rumors (as I wrote in [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3626.html"]It's … |
| | Apple has started the countdown to the billionth app to be downloaded from the App Store. The company has put up a live [URL="http://www.apple.com/itunes/billion-app-countdown/"]countdown counter on the web[/URL] which is spinning so fast I am surprised it has not flown off the page. Mind you, when you consider that in … |
| | It's with more than idle curiosity that I've watched the recent [URL="http://news.cnet.com/microsofts-lauren-ad-follow-up-disses-mac-power/?tag=rtcol;pop"]Microsoft ads[/URL] that attack Apple, subtly suggesting that it's too expensive and that it's all glitz with no real computing power. There is so much wrong with these assertions that it's hard to know where to begin. There is … |
| | Apple is reportedly coming out with a new iPhone that will be so popular to consumers that it will drive the price of Apple’s stock up to over $140 per share. That’s the view of Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes, who upped his target price this morning on Apple from … |
| | In his keynote last Wednesday at AIIM, Andrew Lippman from MIT's Media Lab pointed out that not that long ago we went to work then we went home and watched TV and the two worlds never collided, but toda social networking tools and mobile devices are blurring the lines between … |
 | Sometimes someone you'd written off surprises you. Take Palm, for example. My first ever hand-held computer was a Palm - or PalmPilot as they were called then. So was my second, and my third. I really, really liked them. Then things moved on a little, or indeed a lot. Compaq … |
| | I wasn't surprised to read that the Apple iTunes store had been hacked. It was just a matter of time. I was even less surprised to see that the applications were a prime target for the hackers and pirates. I can see that peer to peer networks and illegal downloads … |
| | Love your Mac? Love Lego? Love Batman? Oh boy have I got good news for you. Yes, it would seem that a date has been fixed for the arrival of Lego Batman on the Mac. That date is April 9th according to [URL="http://www.feralinteractive.com/game/legobatman"]Feral Interactive[/URL] which has already had moderate success … |
| | Microsoft has been active lately, showing some signs of spunk. I reported last week that Steve Ballmer was going straight after Apple at the McGraw Hill Summit (as I wrote in [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4155.html"]Ballmer Wastes No Words Going After Apple[/URL]). This week we see the release of an [URL="http://byronmiller.typepad.com/byronmiller/2009/03/new-microsoft-ad-goes-after-high-price-of-apple.html"]ad campaign comparing Apple … |
| | I was a bit surprised to open my [URL="http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-ballmer-apple-is-too-expensive-for-this-economy-and-thats-why-msft-will/"]PaidContent.org newsletter[/URL] this morning and find that Steve Ballmer was taking direct aim at Apple in pointed comments at the McGraw Hill Summit yesterday. Ballmer went straight for the jugular calling Apple too expensive for today's economy, perhaps because Apple's computer sales … |
| | For the better part of this decade Apple has created some amazing products from the Mac Book to the iPod to the iPhone. They've had an enormous technological and cultural impact, but even with all of these accomplishments, the meteoric rise of the App store is simply astonishing. They went … |
 | For once, it seems, Apple has managed to keep a pretty tight lid on what is actually happening at a big launch do. But as we countdown the hours until tonight's long awaited iPhone 3.0 event, it is possible to make a couple of educated guesses. For start there is … |
| | CNBC has a list of big name U.S. companies that could slide into default – meaning they won’t be able to meet their financial obligations, including paying their employees. There are a few technology companies on CNBC’s liability list, and it makes for an interesting slideshow – but only if … |
| | Lots of news from Apple this week. There is of course [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/technology/personaltech/12pogue-email.html?em"]the new Shuffle[/URL] which has the web abuzz with chatter because the controls are on the headphones and not the device (stupid design doomed to fail) and there is the standard [URL="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/G-8Z2A_yWvk/another-patent-hints-at-mac-tablet.ars"]Mac Tablet[/URL] rumor (Yawn; call me when they … |
| | When Google released Chrome last Fall, I wrote that it represented a [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3092.html"]direct attack on Microsoft and Apple[/URL]. This week, my colleague [URL="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=334716"]Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols writes in ComputerWorld[/URL] that Android could be coming to a Netbook near you by the end of this year. If this reports turns out to … |
 | As geeks everywhere engage in endless battles over which operating system is best, [URL="http://www.likewise.com/index.php"]Likewise Software[/URL] has come along with an idea I can really get behind. The identity management software vendor has cooked up with an ingenious plan to encourage a cease-fire among IT pros and donate some cold, hard … |
| | According to recent research from InStat, smartphone users typically download five software applications at a time. Reports from market research firm Net Applications indicate 66% of those who access the Web use an iPhone, while the rest use Java, Windows, or Android-based phones. As the number of smartphones grow, so …  |
 | I am proud to say that the Linux Community now has a place to land--a single place--and a great one at that: [URL="http://www.linuxfoundation.org"]The Linux Foundation[/URL]. You don't often read encouraging words from me about consolidations, mergers, buyouts and strategic partnerships but when they make sense for everyone, you do. As …  |
| | With the [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3625.html"]success[/URL] of the iPhone App Store and Microsoft wanting a [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20349/53/"]piece of the action[/URL] it was only a matter of time before RIM got into the [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/21310/53/"]online application storefront[/URL] game. With the BlackBerry App World online store launching later this month, [URL="http://na.blackberry.com/eng/developers/application_storefront"]submissions are now being accepted[/URL] from developers … |
| | Having already been accused of [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23321/1231/"]killing common sense[/URL] with some bizarre App Store [URL="http://www.itpro.co.uk/blogs/daveyw/2009/02/10/apple-bans-bouncing-barack-and-trouserless-bill/"]listing decisions[/URL], now it seems that an Apple sans Steve Jobs could be treading the path towards total market madness. Apple is displaying all the signs of losing the plot: announcing a raft of new desktops just … |
| | So the analysts are saying computers are going to decline in volume shipments this quarter, for the first time in ages. I'm not surprised. The circumstances are probably worse for the IT industry than they were last time this happened, in 2002. The people who make these things have made … |
| | Few things are more cringe-inducing than admitting to your boss that you lost your company-issued laptop. No matter how careful you are about securing your computer, sometimes all it takes is a second for it to vanish in a crowded airport or bus. To increase the chances of getting your … |
| | If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know I focus a lot on employment -- or lack thereof -- in the tech sector. I'm always on the lookout for ways IT professionals can get additional skills or enhance the ones they have, so I feel … |
| | You have to give Microsoft credit. They keep trying, even if what they are trying is copying Apple. This time they have announced they are going to open retail stores. Sound familiar? It should because it's what Apple has done so successfully with its Apple Store strategy. The problem Microsoft … |
| | I've never made it a secret that I'm a big fan of Apple products. I love my Mac Book Pro and my iPhone, but I have to say that Apple has been pissing me off lately. The company has decided to throw its legal weight around to protect its market … |
| | Just one follow-up note (as promised) on the Sirius XM situation. Just days before Sirius XM purportedly was going to default on its next loan payment, Direct TV came through with a $534 bridge loan to keep Sirius afloat so it can continue to reorganize – possibly as a takeover … |
| | This is absurd. Last week came the news that [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL] was going to launch a retail store - and now [URL="http://www.nokia.com"]Nokia[/URL] is going to do the same in the online world. The Microsoft idea is the most interesting as it's going to be imitating [URL="http://www.apple.com/store"]Apple's operation[/URL] much more directly, both … |
| | [I]Hans plays with Lotte, Lotte plays with Jane Jane plays with Willi, Willi is happy again ~Games Without Frontiers, Peter Gabriel. [/I] I'm forever fascinated with the gamesmanship that goes on between Google, Apple, and Microsoft. You expect them to undercut each other at every turn, to do whatever it … |
| | Microsoft is readying a new cloud service called [URL="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/myphone/myphone.aspx"]My Phone[/URL] that enables users of Windows Mobile 6 or later to sync contacts, calendar appointments, photos, and other information with the My Phone web site. According to an [URL="http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/02/06/microsofts-skybox-site-live-branded-my-phone/"]Engadget report[/URL] on Friday, Microsoft will officially launch the service at the[URL="http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/"] Mobile … |
| | Are you an Android or an iPhone? Maybe you are undecided, which could be he best position to be in as it seems that the smartphone market is set to be spoilt for choice in 2009. It would appear that Apple is set to release no less than three new … |
| | Beacon Research is out with its monthly, and highly useful take on technology stocks, focusing on Google and Yahoo, among others. In its “Traders Alert” report, Beacon says that a new alliance between Google and IBM make the latter a good buy. "Google Inc. (GOOG) shares slipped .38% to $341.70 … |
| | The Nasdaq was able to shake off the lousy jobs number today, and is up 31 points in mid-day trading. Apple, Dell, and Verizon are also way up – at around 3% each – as the market waits for Washington to come to terms on another bailout relief bill. The … |
| | Since Palm introduced its [URL="http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/090109-CES-2009-Palm-Introduces-Smartphone-with-GPS/"]new smart phone[/URL] at CES last month, the buzz has been deafening and for that alone, Palm deserves a lot of credit. Let's face it, they were up until that moment, a company on life support, but with one smoothly-presented product announcement they were on the … |
| | So Google has announced a new service that effectively lets you track where your friends are at any time via Google Maps and mobile phones. [URL="http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html"]Google Latitude[/URL] is either a mobile real time social networking work of genius, or a big brother work of the devil depending upon your viewpoint. … |
| | Topping the news this morning is an announcement by Citigroup that it will finally crack open its wallet, stuffed with over $45 billion tax-payer funded TARP cash, and start lending again. The financial giant had come under fire in recent months for taking the TARP money and sitting on it. … |
| | Last week Apple and Microsoft released their fourth quarter MP3 player sales figures, which Apple chooses to call its first quarter for some odd reason, and the numbers were a startling contrast. On one hand you had Microsoft with a 54 percent drop off in sales from the fourth quarter … |
| | Apple has updated the iPhone and iTouch software to 2.2.1 with immediate effect. The new software is more a bug fixing patch than being packed with exciting new features. So if you were expecting to get that much waited for cut and paste functionality, for example, you will be disappointed. … |
| | I've seen it all now - the most expensive phone in the world, probably, and of course it's an iPhone. Not just any iPhone from Apple, mind you, but a diamond-encrusted one. Here's a [URL="http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog/?p=2564"]picture[/URL]. It's yours for $1.6 million. OK, it's hideous and it's a gimmick and nobody would … |
| | Apple users opting not to grab a free 30 day demo version iWork 09, or even cough up the bucks for a full retail version, have found themselves getting more than they bargained for. It appears that something in the region of 20,000 people have downloaded a pirated version of … |
| | Google was up 7% in Friday trading, and that was enough to bounce the NASDAQ back up 1% - which seems like 10% consider the week we just had. Google, which came in with better-than-expected financials today, is also a good buy for investors right now, says CNBC’s Jim Cramer … |
| | There’s a lot of news coming out of the technology sector today. Let’s start with Apple and the growing chorus among shareholders for an SEC review. Bloomberg has the story this morning, and it has to be at least slightly troublesome for the Apple brain trust. Says Bloomberg; "U.S. regulators … |
| | It’s earnings week in Silicon Valley, even as the world is focused on the historic events in Washington today. Some heavyweights are on the financial reporting docket, including Google Inc., eBay Inc., Apple Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Here is a quick run-down of what we can expect this … |
| | In the run-up to Inauguration Day, just about has been everyone speculating on what changes our newly-elected president will bring to the table. Naturally, we talk a lot around DaniWeb about how Obama's plans will affect the tech sector. As long as everyone else is making predictions and suggestions, I … |
| | Apple has had marked success with the '[URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20808/53/"]I'm a Mac[/URL]' advertising campaigns, and Microsoft is back banging it's head against a seeming brick wall of indifference with the ongoing 'I'm a PC' marketing drive that has featured both Bill Gates and [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20745/53/"]Steve 'Monkey Dancer' Ballmer[/URL]. Now, it would appear, that … |
| | There has been a lot of chatter this week about the health of Steve Jobs. On one level, it's a perfectly understandable discussion. Jobs is a public figure and as such what happens to him--good or bad--interests us. But a friend of mine suggested that any discussion of Jobs' health … |
| | Apple shares have fallen, although not as steeply as many traders had imagined, after CEO Steve Jobs announced that he was taking a six-month medical leave of absence. My first reaction was surprise. Six months? That sounded serious. Then disgust, as Internet trolls had Jobs on his death bed. As … |
| | He has gone from dead to having cancer to suffering from hormone problems in the space of a few short weeks, now the Apple CEO is taking six months off work to recover. So just how sick is Steve Jobs? Last year the mention of the word cancer in the … |
| | It’s another tough morning for tech stocks, with Apple, HP, Oracle, Motorola, Google, and Dell all seeing their stocks fall 2% or more. The falloff is primarily from the news that consumer/retail spending fell 2.7% in December – twice the amount that economists had expected. At least the companies I … |
| | A wild news day for tech stocks, with Sony posting its first quarterly loss in 14 years and rumors running rampant that Microsoft will start laying off employees after all. A week or so ago, Microsoft issued a statement saying that the company would avoid layoffs, and would instead focus … |
| | Lots of strong opinions about Microsoft out there. There are people who stand behind it staunchly. In their eyes Microsoft can do no wrong and critics like me are simply buffoons who don't get it. Then there are people who hate Microsoft for everything it stands for. In their minds … |
The End.