HP considering PC biz spinoff: Is this the return of Compaq?
Just hours ahead of Hewlett-Packard's quarterly earnings call (which we were already eagerly anticipating), Bloomberg posted a report saying the Palo Alto based computer company will be spinning off its PC business into a separate company, and that it is acquiring the United Kingdom's second largest software company, Autonomy Inc., for $10 billion.
HP has since confirmed both rumors, saying it plans to announce in its earnings call that the HP board of directors has "authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for its Personal Systems Group (PSG). HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction."
How much is a patent worth? By Google math $510,204.08
It appears as if Google is attempting to set a baseline for the value of a patent, according to some analysts who took a closer look of its acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Industry watchers widely believe that the Mountain View, Calif. search giant's primary interest in the acquisition was the massive portfolio of patents that could be used in defending Android.
Motorola holds about 24,500 patents, and it gives Google a huge shot in the arm when it comes to intellectual property. It paid $12.5 billion for the phone manufacturer, but it appears that the hardware business had little to do with the company's perceived value.
Is Windows 8's app store better late than never?
I sure hope so, but Microsoft should have done this in 2006.
Perhaps in an alternate universe Microsoft shipped Windows Vista with an app store and leveraged it to Windows Mobile. In that universe Microsoft's app store revived developer excitement about Windows; helped them to make more money (by diminishing piracy); gave businesses, consumers and developers an exciting reason to commit to Windows Mobile smartphones (with apps scaled from PC to mobile to Xbox); and made it nearly impossible for Apple to succeed in the smartphone market. Over there, Microsoft, and not Apple, is the cherished consumer brand. But, alas, we live over here.
Rocky stock markets shake tech stocks
It's another day of insanity on Wall Street, as fear grips investors. The Dow dropped by more than 500 points in early trading. Tech stocks couldn't escape gravity's pull downward.
These cycles of mayhem are becoming all too familiar as the market takes on greater cycles of increasing manic activity, with the Dow way up one day and down the next. Suddenly I feel good for not being an investor.
AT&T leaves customers with only two texting options: pay-per-text or unlimited
United States wireless carrier AT&T is is scheduled to begin only offering a single unlimited text messaging plan for its customers on August 21.
This presents customers with only two options: pay for the unlimited messaging plan, or pay per message which costs 20¢ per SMS text and 30¢ per MMS.
Got excess Skype Credit, and WiFi isn't free? There's an app for that
Skype users are familiar with the idea of buying credit in order to make online calls. If you should find that you have surplus credit that you just don't know what to do with, a solution may be at hand thanks to the release of the new Skype WiFi app, available for iPhone, iPod and iPad. This free app enables you to use Skype credit to connect to wireless hotspots at a range of locations all over the world.
Using Skype WiFi is simplicity itself. Once you have downloaded the app, sign into your Skype account and ensure that you have some available credit. When you want to get online at a restaurant, airport or other location, fire up the app, and choose from one of the available providers. Each provider has its charges listed so if there is more than one available you can opt for the one that offers the best deal.
Too soon to call HP's TouchPad a failure? We'll see tonight
Unnamed sources from electronics retailer Best Buy have suggested this week that HP's TouchPad is not selling and that as few as 25,000 of the retailer's stock of 270,000 have sold. The mobile tablet was first available for pre-order on June 19, and it first hit retail on the first of July. It is the first non-phone device to be powered by WebOS, and it's already being called a flop.
The time between July first and Wednesday of this week was a span of 47 days, so that means Best Buy has been selling an average of 531.9 TouchPads per day. That is not exactly the most auspicious beginning when one considers that there are 1,099 Best Buy stores in operation in the United States (Source: Best Buy) and that means the average store is selling about one TouchPad every other day.
Sniff out banking Trojans with DeBank
Security company Damballa announced this week that the source code for SpyEye, one of the most dangerous banking Trojans around, has been leaked online. Which is good for researchers, as they can better understand how it works. But it also means that a malware kit that used to cost more than $10,000 is now available for free, so is expected to become an even more pervasive threat in the next few weeks.
No need to panic just yet, though, as coincidentally Finnish security company Fitsec has just released DeBank, a portable tool that can detect the presence of all five major banking Trojan families on the target PC: SpyEye, Zeus, CarBerp, Gozi and Patcher.
We want your Windows XP memories
August 24th marks the tenth anniversary of Windows XP's release to manufacturing -- ahead of its late-October 2001 launch. That's right, next week. Betanews asks readers to share their recollections about Windows XP, whether beta testing, RTM, launch or anything else. We want to share your stories.
Ideally, we want to publish your recollection as its own story with your name, photo and bio. You write it -- we edit and publish during the RTM week anniversary. If there are enough really good stories, we'll do a second round of recollections during the October launch anniversary week. Please email your stories to joe at betanews dot com -- or, if you must, comment below.
System Checkup 3.0: PC optimization without the overhead
iolo has released System Checkup 3.0, a tool for scanning and resolving various problems and issues with your PC. It's aimed at users who don't like the idea of using an always-on tool like iolo's own System Mechanic to maintain and tweak their computer.
System Checkup utilizes similar technology to System Mechanic, but doesn't sit in the background tuning the computer constantly; instead it's designed to be run occasionally, every month or so, to perform a quick scan, repair and tuneup of your PC.
Office 365 becomes Office 364 with Wednesday outage
Microsoft joins Amazon and other online services providers who have suffered cloud outages. I'm surprised. Sincerely.
I figured if any company could do the cloud right, it would be Microsoft -- right as in 365 days up time. Damn, if this was a leap year, that could be an excuse. :)
Anonymous posts cops' personal data, puts their lives in danger
Hackers have again disclosed the personal details of police officers, this time in response to BART's decision to cut off cell phone and Wi-Fi service in its metro stations and tunnels to quell a planned anti-police protest. The decision by hacktivist group Anonymous calls its motives again into question, and could put these police officers at risk.
Data disclosed includes names, home addresses, email addresses and passwords to the site of the BART police union; 102 officers in total had their information disclosed, and the hack has taken the organization's website offline.
Can Google-Motorola Mobility bring stability to the Force?
"We will be looking with interest as further details of the proposed transaction become clear. But, at first glance, to the extent that this deal might bring some stability to the ongoing smartphone patent disputes, that would be a welcome development" -- John Thorne, Verizon deputy general counsel, speaking about Google's $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility acquisition.
The statement, as reported today by the Wall Street Journal, is refreshing for perspective -- that sanity might return after an increasing number of mobile patent lawsuits, among which Apple is point of axis (mostly as protagonist, but also defendant). Armed with a large stash of newly acquired Moto Mobility patents -- more than 24,000, and, of course, not all about mobile devices -- Google's position to defend Android licensees is stronger. Hell, Motorola invented the cell phone. Surely there is something Google can use as a club to beat back Apple lawyers.
HTC says everything Apple makes infringes on three of its patents
Tuesday evening, Taiwanese smartphone maker and long-time Android supporter HTC announced it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court of Delaware and also a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC).
HTC alleges infringement of three patents by Apple's Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod product lines in the areas of Wi-Fi profiling, and PDA/Cellular functionality in a handheld device.
SilveOS, the Silverlight-based 'operating system' takes on Chrome OS
Browser-based computing and webtops are certainly getting a major boost by the widespread adoption in HTML5 from the likes of Microsoft, Apple, and Google. But alternatives to HTML5, Javascript, and CSS3 are still being explored, and a webtop called SilveOS gives a strong look at Microsoft's Silverlight as an alternative.
Launched in Beta back in May, SilveOS is still a bit rough around the edges, but is an interesting project to check out if you're following the growth and adoption of Web-based computers in both the consumer and enterprise spaces.
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