The company has long been known for its social gaming status and its ability to bring millions of new users to Facebook.  Now, some are asking if Zynga will be able to bring its most popular games from the web to handheld devices. Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga said he wished the company had made a bigger commitment to mobile earlier.  The company’s transition to mobile was apparent with its earnings report. Revenue was flat, compared to the year before, at $311 million.

Mr. Pincus also stated that 2013 would be a year of investment and transition for the company.  Users of the games, both daily and causal have dropped, raising red flags.  Zynga currently has 298 million monthly active users.  72 million of those users are already playing mobile games, like Words With Friends and Zynga Poker.

In March, Facebook will be free to develop its own games. This will force Zynga to become a company that can exist on its own.  The market for games like Farmville is seeing competition from other rising companies.  For example, King.com has games with full integration from Facebook to mobile, allowing players to continue games anywhere at anytime.

Zynga is part of a hits-driven industry.  The problem for the company is it not generating hits for unpredictable game players.  Draw Something was a game that the company acquired during the height of its popularity last March for $180 million.  At the time, the game had 15 million daily users.  Now, over a third of those players have migrated elsewhere.  This leaves Zynga with a few things to consider for the future success of their company.

The design team that created the new search tool included two linguists, a Ph.D. in psychology, statisticians, and a cadre of programmers.  Their mission was to teach Facebook’s computers how to communicate with people more effectively.  The entire code had to be restructured.  Loren Cheng led the natural language processing part of the project.  She had to teach the search engine how to adjust to the demands of users.  She said, “It used to be you had to go to the computer on the computer’s terms.  Now it’s the user.”

Instead of relying on “robospeak,” the machine had to be taught how people actually talk.  The team began to teach the search engine the building blocks of questions; somewhat resembling the way schoolchildren are taught to diagram a sentence.  To capture the nearly infinite variety of ways people pose questions, the researcher consulted dictionaries, newspapers and parliamentary proceedings.

Facebook constantly tests and tweaks its features for its diverse, global audience.  Team members tested each tweak to the search tool extensively and measured how certain groups of people responded.  They watched users exploring different versions of the search engine hidden behind one-way glass and filled their notebooks with observations about the interactions.

Clifford I. Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford who specializes in human-computer interaction, said that what Facebook builds is not exactly a replica of how people interact offline, but rather reflects an “idealized view of how people communicate.”  He explained, “The psychology they are drawing on is not pure psychology of how humans communicate, but the psychology of what makes people stay around, spend time on site and secondarily, what makes people click the advertisements.”

The Internet search leader’s expansion into device manufacturing caused a financial drag on earnings.  Fortunately, Google’s advertising services have steadily churned out higher profits since the company went public in 2004.  Google’s fourth-quarter ad revenue totaled $12.1 billion.  This was a 19% increase from the same quarter the previous year.

The company saw a decline in digital ad prices as more people use smartphones where ads are not as lucrative. The average price for the ads shown next to Google search results has fallen from the previous year in five consecutive quarters.  This includes the final three months of last year.

Advertising revenue has been shifting away from personal computers and into mobile devices as advertisers try to connect with an expanding audience that relies on smartphones and tablet computers.  More consumers are using smartphones to reach Google’s search engine, email, and other online services.  Nearly 25% of the clicks on Google’s search ads are now coming from mobile devices.

Advertisers have been resisting paying as much money to market their products and services on mobile devices, largely due to the smaller screens leaving less room for commercial links and other advertising messages.  However, Google’s average ad prices dropped by just 6% in the most recent quarter from the same period in 2011.  This was viewed as a positive sign that Google may be able to solve the pricing issues posed by the proliferation of mobile devices.  Google CEO Larry Page predicted ad prices will gradually rise as the devices become even more sophisticated.

To gain a foothold in the mobile market, Google bakes its services into its Android software, an operating system for smartphones and tablets that now powers more than 500 million mobile devices worldwide.  Google is also seeking new ways to reach potential customers at the times they are most likely to buy something.  Mr. Page stated in a conference call that, “In today’s multi-screen world, the opportunities are endless.”

After being forced to land in Japan due to smoke alarms alerting the crew, fire fighters had to spend 40 minutes extinguishing a fire in the rear of the aircraft. After an initial investigation, officials found that chemicals may have seeped from a swollen and discolored battery in the front of the plane, suggesting smoke had been inside. It may be months before investigators identify exactly what happened and come up with a plan to prevent future cases.

Boeing officials said the planes have a multi-layered system to contain any issues that may appear and have air quality systems to vent smoke or fumes to the outside of the plane. Engineers and the F.A.A. discovered the batteries containers succumbed to intense heat caused by the battery issue. Robert A. McKenzie, an electrical engineer and an aviation lawyer, said, “It might not be the underlying technology; it might be the design of this particular unit.” Dozen of  fires in the aviation industry have occurred on cargo and passenger planes as computer systems heated up.

Still, the 787 Dreamliner is paving the way for increased fuel efficiency in the aviation industry. Boeing can see the benefits the lithium-ion technology and will be working under tighter guidelines to stay on the forefront of innovation. Just as in the early days of aviation, “you cannot do pioneering work without assuming some risk,” said Hans Weber, president of Tecop, an aviation consulting firm.

Yahoo future plans will attempt to improve its performance and find opportunities within its existing businesses.  The goal is to focus Yahoo’s efforts around the daily habits of users, such as email, the home page, Internet search, and mobile devices.  A coherent strategy to manage the industry’s transition to mobile devices is the top priority.

Yahoo Chief Executive Marrisa Mayer believes the company has been underinvesting in the “mobile wave”.  The company failed to capitalize on the shift to smartphones and “splintered” Yahoo’s brands in its previous efforts, she commented.  The plan is to modernize Yahoo’s websites and make them more smartphone-friendly.  Mayer said, ‘The mobile wave is a huge wave for us to ride.”

Buoying investor sentiment, Mayer’s comments also touched on a preference for smaller-sized acquisitions rather than blockbuster deals and a plan for using share buybacks to distribute the gains from the sale of Yahoo shares in China’s Alibaba Group.  Mayer said, “We’re committed to going back to our roots as a consumer internet company focused on user experience,” and added, “We intend to win.”

RBC analyst Andre Sequin said, “For people who weren’t sure how she was going to come across on her first call, she definitely proved herself tonight.  It seems like she really recognizes what the company is, where the strengths are and what the opportunities are.”

Even though it is regarded as an internet pioneer, in recent years the company has fallen behind its more innovative rivals.  Nearly 700 million users visit a Yahoo website every month, but the amount of activity people engage in on many sites is gradually declining.  Yahoo makes most of its money from online advertising.  Search revenue, excluding fees paid to partner websites, rose 11% in the third quarter, to $414 million.  Display advertising revenue was flat at $452 million.

Mobile ads helped reignite Facebook’s overall advertising business during the third quarter.  Mobile ad revenues came in at roughly $150 million, much higher than the estimated $45 million in the second quarter.  14% of the company’s advertising revenue came from mobile ads.

A key investor concern hanging over Facebook has been mobile advertising.  Facebook has struggled to transition its business to mobile devices as its users increasingly access the social network with their smartphones.  The news helped to reassure investors that the social network has begun to figure out how to profit off smartphone and tablet users.

Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert Baird & Co, said, “This certainly dispels the most bearish view, that Facebook couldn’t monetize people on phones or tablets.  In about a six-month period they’ve actually started to generate decent revenues form their mobile applications.”  Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive who created Facebook, said, “Over the long run we’re going to see more monetization per time spent on mobile than on desktop.”

Facebook posted a net loss of $59 million, or $0.02 a share, in the third quarter.  Excluding income tax adjustments and share-based compensation, the company earned $0.12 a share.  Revenue from its payments and other businesses increased 13% to $176 million.  Zuckerberg said he was not pleased with revenue from gaming.

Facebook had 1 billion monthly active users as of September 30, 2012.  604 million current members are mobile users.  Instagram, the photo-sharing app that Facebook acquired this year, now has 100 million users, rising from 27 million when the company was bought.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Authors Guild reached a settlement deal with Google in 2009, but the deal was later tossed out by a judge.  AAP announced a new settlement deal with Google that deals with the millions of books that Google has already scanned and sets rules for digitizing in the future. The financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Publishers can choose to contact Google for removal for books that Google has already scanned.  Publishers will have to opt in and strike individual deals with Google to digitize their book catalogs going forward.  AAP president and CEO Tom Allen said in a written statement that the settlement “shows that digital services can provide innovative means to discover content while still respecting the rights of copyright-holders.”  Google hopes that the digital library will eventually house every book ever published.

Google remains in litigation with the Authors Guild, which is leading a class-action lawsuit.  In response to the AAP deal, Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild, said, “The publishers’ private settlement, whatever its terms, does not resolve the authors’ copyright infringement claims against Google.  Google continues to profit from its use of millions of copyright-protected books without regard to authors’ rights, and our class-action lawsuit on behalf of U.S. authors continues.”

However, positive results from Intel’s data center unit and a tax rate that was much more favorable than expected helped the company beat Wall Street’s expectations.  Intel’s third-quarter revenue was $13.5 billion, down 5% from the same period last year.  That topped analysts’ estimates of $13.2 billion for the quarter.  Net income fell 14% to $3 billion.  Without a one-time charge of $0.02 per share, Intel said it earned $0.60 per share.

PC sales dragged down Intel’s quarterly results, but weren’t as bad as expected.  According to separate surveys by Gartner and IDC, worldwide shipments of PCs fell by more than 8% in the third quarter.    A month ago, Intel warned investors that demand for personal computers had slowed beyond expectations and said that its third-quarter financials would be negatively affected. PC sales make up about two-thirds of Intel’s business.  The company is predicting that PC sales will continue to grow at half their seasonal rate.

As the global economy continues to slump, computer makers are taking a very cautious approach with their inventories.  PC manufacturers are slowing output to meet sinking demand as corporations are ordering fewer PCs and consumers in emerging markets are sitting on the sidelines.  A wait-and-see approach is also being taken towards Microsoft’s Windows 8 launch.  Paul Otellini, Intel’s CEO, said on a conference call with analysts, “Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment.  The world of computing is in the midst of a period of breakthrough innovation and creativity.  Intel has a history of navigating industry’s transitions and emerging better and stronger.”

There is a start-up called the Climate Corporation that writes crop insurance for thousands of farmers by combining data on root structure and soil porosity with data from over 10,000 simulations of the next two years’ weather for over one million locations around the United States.  A start-up called Cue creates a service that can outline the biography of a given person you meet, warn you to be home to receive a package, or text a lunch guest that you are running late by scanning up to 500 million e-mails, Facebook updates, and corporate documents for information.  Each of these start-ups now rent data storage and computer server time from Amazon through its Amazon Web Services division along with thousands of other companies.

These companies are paying what they say is a fraction of the cost of owning and running their own computers.  Daniel Gross, Cue’s 20-year-old co-founder, said, “I have 10 engineers, but without A.W.S. I guarantee I’d need 60.  It just gets cheaper, and cheaper, and cheaper.”  He figures the company would spend “probably $2 million to do it ourselves, without the speed and flexibility,” but spends something under $100,000 a month with Amazon.  He continued, “I don’t even know what the ballpark number for a server is — for me, it would be like knowing what the price of a sword is.”

Cloud computing is now powering all kinds of new businesses around the globe.  More than 185 United States government agencies run some part of their services on A.W.S.  A global online education program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard called EdX had nearly 120,000 students taking a single class together on A.W.S.  Andrew R. Jassy, the head of A.W.S., said, “We are on a shift that is as momentous and as fundamental as the shift to the electrical grid.  It’s happening a lot faster than any of us thought.”  Amazon will not reveal the number of people now working at A.W.S., but the company’s Web site has over 600 job openings currently listed.

Revenue for the company was up 32%, beating analysts’ predictions.  Revenue for the quarter increased to $1.18 billion, from $895 million during the same period a year ago.  Most of the increase in revenue came from advertising.

Profits were not impressive in the second quarter.  The company reported a net loss of $157 million, or $0.08 a share, compared with net income of $240 million, or $0.11 a share for the same quarter last year.  Excluding stock compensation, the company posted a profit of $0.12 a share, or $295 million, which met the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Company chief executive Mark Zuckerberg extolled the growth prospects of the company to industry analysts.  Company executives also emphasized their efforts to make Facebook accessible on mobile devices.  Mr. Zuckerberg said, “The shift towards mobile is incredibly important.”

Company executives said the company recently started surfacing advertisements in the mobile newsfeed and they were being careful not to crowd the mobile platform with too many ads so they will not spoil the user experience.  543 million people looked at Facebook on their mobile devices in the second quarter, a 67% increase from last year.  Facebook has nearly a billion users worldwide, but the total number of users has inched up slowly.

Jordan Rohan, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, said, “With the unprecedented hype around the company’s I.P.O., some investors believe more upside would have materialized — higher revenues, higher earnings.”  Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Company, said, “Before they were a public company, Facebook was judged by growth in users.  Now that they are so well penetrated in most Western markets, growth has to translate into monetization.”

The company posted revenue and operating income gains in its networks unit.  The networks unit is its largest division and includes HBO and Turner Broadcasting.  TBS viewership increased 37%, helped by the popularity of “The Big Bang Theory,” which was the most popular sitcom on cable over a year ago.  Strong ratings for NBA games and the success of some new shows on TNT, such as “Dallas’ and “Perception,” offset declines at the company’s domestic news networks, which includes CNN.

Results in the publishing division continued to lag as both advertising and subscription revenue fell.  This cut profits in the division nearly in half.  The publishing division is centered around magazine publisher Time Inc.

Results were not good at the film and TV entertainment unit either.  Both revenue and income declined due to the lack of a major box office hit in the quarter.  The year-ago quarter included several big hits, including “The Hangover, Part 2.”

“The Dark Knight Rises,” the studio’s big film debut of 2012, did not open until the third quarter.  According to tracking service Box Office Mojo, the Warner Bros.’ movie earned $543 million worldwide in the first 11 days after it hit theaters on July 20.  Its opening weekend domestic box office of $160.9 million was slightly lower than some analysts’ forecasts.

The company reaffirmed its forecast for full-year earnings despite the decrease in earnings and revenue.  The company is forecasting that adjusted income will post a “low double digit” percentage rise.  Analysts are forecasting an 11% increase in earnings.

Excluding one-time items, the company recorded a loss of $0.41 cents a share.  This was one cent better than the average analyst forecast of a $0.42 loss.  Electronic Arts reaffirmed its position for earnings of $1.05 to $1.20 a share for fiscal 2013, sticking to a forecast for around 30% growth.   The company also announced a $500 million share buyback.

Electronic Arts is battling Activision Blizzard and other publishers for a slice of a decreasing video games market.  Publishers are fighting to sustain growth in revenue as gamers steadily switch to casual and social games online or on mobile devices.  Electronic Arts has been trying to expand its mobile and online games business.  The company announced its net digital revenue rose 55%.

Electronic Arts is the publisher of the Battlefield and Star Wars games.  Company executives recently revealed that Star Wars: The Old Republic, had less than one million active subscribers, down from 1.3 million a quarter ago.  Hoping to halt gamer losses, Electronic Arts said it would offer a free-to-play option for the game.

The company has had difficulties getting the multiplayer role-playing game off the ground since it was introduced last December.  Ken Barker, the chief financial officer of Electronic Arts, said, “We saw a lot of good traction there so we decided in the fall we would provide an opportunity for consumers to play the game free-to-play with some restrictions with an experience through micro-based transactions.”

Microsoft has also redesigned its Windows operating system to run on touch-screen devices.  Windows 8, the new version of the software, is expected to begin shipping on tablets beginning in the fall.  Office will run on tablets as well as laptop and desktop computers that run Windows 8 or a related version called Windows RT.

Users can easily operate the new Office applications on touch-screen devices.  Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, described the product in as “the most ambitious release of Microsoft Office that we’ve ever done.”  However, the shift toward new mobile devices, like tablets, represents a potential threat to Office. Microsoft declined to say whether it would tailor the applications to run on Apple’s iPad, the most popular tablet on the market today.

Sales of Office have continued to grow in recent years.  For many business customers, applications like Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook are nearly as necessary as electricity.  Microsoft competitor Google offers a suite of applications that run inside Web browsers and, while Google has had some success in persuading businesses to use the corporate version of its Web-based e-mail service, businesses have been slower to replace other Office applications over concerns about security and reliability.

Microsoft showed the next version of Office for the first time at a company event.  The bold changes to the product left unanswered some key questions about Microsoft’s plans for Office.  Many want to know how much it will charge for the software and when the company plans to release the software in final form.  Many business customers are locked into multiyear contracts that buy them upgrades to Microsoft’s software. Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst at Forrester Research, said, “It’s the best version of Office yet, but that doesn’t make it invulnerable to competition and disruption.”

Net income rose slightly beating analysts’ expectations.  Intel reported that its net income rose to $2.8 billion, or $0.54 cents a share, in the quarter ending in June.  Revenue rose 5%, to $13.5 billion.  Analysts had expected $0.52 a share and revenue of $13.56 billion.

Wall Street analysts have also been lowering their outlook for semiconductor demand.  Douglas Freedman, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said, “What’s saving them is lowered expectations.  They are performing on their business better than expected, but it is a mixed bag on growth.”

Poor consumer demand is making things difficult for the world’s largest semiconductor maker.  The popularity of tablet computers and smartphones has reduced demand for personal computers.  Slower growth in emerging markets has also weighed on the company’s earnings, although demand from corporations for PCs and laptops was good in the second quarter.

To compete with the new devices, Intel has invested in ultrabooks, a kind of lightweight laptop computer.  Mr. Otellini said there were “over 140 designs in the pipeline” for later this year.  Over 40 of these designs will have touch-sensitive screens like Apple’s iPad and iPhone.  Mr. Otellini expressed optimism that sales of ultrabooks would eventually revive growth.

Intel also creates chips for computer servers, which are often used in cloud-based data systems.  Intel’s data center sales increased 15% from a year ago, to $2.8 billion.  Sales to PC makers rose 3% over the quarter, to $8.7 billion.  Gross margins came in at 63.4%, compared with 64% a year earlier.

Intel invests heavily in research and development.  Intel previously planned to spend $18.3 billion in R&D this year, but Stacy J. Smith, Intel’s chief financial officer, said that the company was cutting this year’s R&D to $18.2 billion because of the lowered outlook.  Intel also plans to slow hiring for the rest of the year.  Intel currently has about 103,000 employees worldwide.

The executives spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the company.  One senior executive said that Ms. Whitman “is trying to build a new company.  You can count this as a part of that.”  Ms. Whitman became H.P.’s chief executive last September.

Ms. Whitman came to the helm promising to set H.P. on a course for growth and return money to shareholders.  She has raised H.P.’s stock dividend and presided over a corporate reorganization intended to consolidate operational efficiency.  The final plan is expected to be announced when H.P. announces earnings for its second fiscal quarter.  H.P.’s high growth areas, like China, will probably be spared along with the company’s research and development efforts.

H.P. has a leading position in the sales of low-margin personal computers but is considered to be a slow-moving giant in the tech industry.  H.P. has been unsuccessful in many recent tech trends, such as providing cloud computing services for big companies, smartphones, and tablet computers.  H.P. had revenue of $127 billion in fiscal 2011 and net earnings of $7.1 billion.

H.P. is unlikely to abandon any major businesses, which includes PCs and printers, selling computer servers and data storage systems, consulting, and providing call center management.  The company provides a one-stop shop for corporate tech.  Owning these large businesses enables H.P. to acquire components cheaply.  H.P. has one of the largest supply chains in high technology.

Sony was once the epitome of Japanese innovation and technological prowess.  The company makes a wide-ranging lineup of devices, including camcorders, car stereos, music players, mobile devices, and televisions.  Over the past decade, Sony has lost market share to American companies like Apple and electronics manufacturers from South Korea and China.

Sony is planning to increase its focus on its Xperia smartphones.  The goal is to integrate its Xperia smartphones with Sony tablets, personal computers and game consoles.  This will allow users to have seamless access to content across devices.  Sony reached an agreement to buy out Ericsson’s stake in their cellphone joint venture for $1.5 billion in the fall to regain full control of its mobile operations.  Mr. Hirai claimed that he would make Sony a leader in the mobile field and triple sales in that business in three years, to 1.8 trillion yen, or $22 billion.

The company is also planning to leverage its catalog of music, movies and games to distinguish Sony devices from its competitors.  The company intends to expand the PlayStation game network to offer music and video as well, replacing the chaotic content delivery platform operating now.  Sony plans to increase sales in games to 1 trillion yen ($12 billion) by the end of March 2015, up from around 800 billion yen ($10 billion), and to more than double operating profit for the gaming unit.

Sony’s digital imaging business, which includes digital cameras and camcorders, aims to increase sales to 1.5 trillion yen ($19 billion) over the next three years, from slightly above 1 trillion yen ($12 billion), and to more than triple its operating profit.  Sony’s other plans include a shift away from the company’s unprofitable television business and plans to cut 10,000 jobs.

The Federal Reserve allowed the bank to increase its dividend and buy back billions in stock.  Stock buybacks over the past year reduced the number of outstanding shares by 4%.  Several brokerage firms have raised their ratings on JPMorgan shares.

The company earned $1.31 a share in the quarter, compared with $1.28 a share for the same quarter a year ago.  Revenue increased 6% to $26.7 billion, from $25.2 billion the previous year.  Analysts expected earnings of $1.13 a share for the quarter on revenue of $24.7 billion.

Net income decreased slightly to 5.4 billion, from $5.6 billion a year ago.  The first-quarter results included several one-time items, including a $1.8 billion gain from reduced loan loss reserves and a $1.1 billion gain from a bankruptcy settlement associated with the acquisition of Washington Mutual.

Unlike many of its competitors, JPMorgan Chase came through the financial crisis of 2008 relatively unharmed, even though the company saw significant mortgage-related losses.  Mortgage-related liabilities have depressed earnings for the quarter.  The bank added $2.5 billion in reserves to cover litigation expenses, which reduced earnings by $0.39 a share.

JPMorgan’s investment bank saw revenue decrease 11% to $7.3 billion.  Net income was down 29% to $1.7 billion.  Headcount dropped to 25,707 from 26,494 and compensation at the investment bank fell to $2.9 billion, from $3.29 billion in 2011.  Revenue growth has been sluggish at the nation’s largest banks.  New federal regulations have reduced fees for consumer banking and low interest rates keep credit spreads tight.

Many developers are reluctant to spend their time and money creating an app for a small and unproved market and he hundreds of thousands of apps that work with Apple or Android devices will not work on phones that use Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.  Adapting the most popular apps to the Windows phone could cost the developers anywhere from $60,000 to $600,000, depending on the complexity of the app.  Google and Apple do not pay developers to make apps.

Holger Luedorf, Foursquare’s head of business development, did not hesitate to say yes when Microsoft offered to underwrite a Windows Phone version of the mobile social network.  Foursquare has engineers developing iPhone, Android and BlackBerry versions of its service, but had Microsoft not offered to pay the company to do the work, Foursquare would “probably not” have developed an app for Windows Phone, Mr. Luedorf said.  He said, “We have very limited resources, and we have to put them toward the platforms with the biggest bang for our buck.  But we are a social network and it is incredibly important for us to be available on every platform.”

Microsoft now has more than 70,000 apps in its app store.  Offerings in the Windows Phone store include big names like Netflix, YouTube, the Weather Channel, Amazon Kindle, and Fruit Ninja.  The Windows Phone store also has a version of Angry Birds, but not the sequel, Angry Birds Space, which has also been very popular.  A number of popular applications are missing from the store, including streaming music service Pandora; Instagram, the photo-sharing application; and Zynga games.

Thorsten Heins, who has been chief executive of RIM for two months, candidly said that he will “leave no stone unturned” in an effort to generate better returns for shareholders.  Mr. Heins said that he would entertain a potential deal for the whole company, though he added, “It is not the main direction we’re pursuing right now.”

Even if RIM pursues a sale, analysts are unsure that it would fetch a substantial sum.  RIM remains a big target with a market value around $7.3 billion, but that is only a fraction of the $29.4 billion the company was worth one year ago.  RIM also has four main areas of value that could be spun off to generate a profit: its vast network operating center, which processes the e-mails at the heart of its business, its hardware business, its messaging services, and its vast portfolio of smartphone and e-mail patents.

Brian Blair, an analyst at Wedge Securities, declared that he did not see a deal opportunity in the near term “because we don’t believe RIM has much to offer.”  The company’s network operating center and encryption services have lost their allure, as customers increasingly accept the limited security offered by iPhone and Android devices.  The hardware manufacturing business doesn’t hold much attraction for potential buyers and the company’s BlackBerry operating system, which is set to be upgraded to BlackBerry 10 this year, is not considered to be a big draw either.

RIM’s wireless and messaging patents is the only area where analysts say the company has real value.  Intellectual property sales have generated a lot of attention over the last year as companies have raced to defend their products by buying up patents.  Google paid $12.5 billion to takeover Motorola Mobility’s patent portfolio and the $4.5 billion sale of Nortel wireless holdings to a group of companies that included RIM was prompted in part by the patents the company held.

The first thing that many consumer advocates recommend is finding your cable or Internet company’s competitors and seeing what special offers they have for new consumers. Call up your provider and ask to speak to the retention department. Tell them you want to cancel because their competitor has a better deal. Often times, they’ll match the deal and will give you the same deal their competitors would. This isn’t always the case though. If they don’t offer you a deal, don’t let them call your bluff. Instead, cancel the service and go over to their competitors.

When comparing Cable TV and Internet plans, you might also want to consider “unbundling”. Cable companies have tried to get consumers to sign up for deals where they get cable, internet and phone service for a set price every month. This isn’t always the best deal though. You might get a better deal getting TV service from one provider, Internet from another and dropping your phone service all together.

There are also several websites that are worth visiting to check and see what cable deals are available in your area. One of those websites, specialcabledeals.com, has some of the best rates on Comcast cable in the country. Of course, there are other websites too, but Special Cable Deals provides a fantastic rate on subscribing to Comcast.

You might also consider going online only with Netflix and Hulu Plus. If you do this, you’ll have stuff to watch, but you’ll miss out on sports content and won’t be able to watch anything live.

The deal would pave the way for the search giant to directly compete with its new archrival, Apple.  The dominant company in the industry remains Apple and its iPhone, although Google’s Android operating system is now in more than four out of 10 new smartphones.  In a report on Google, Barclays Capital said that although Motorola’s mobile device business was probably losing market share, its extensive patent portfolio would allow Google to better protect Android.

The deal comes at a time of increased scrutiny by regulators over intellectual property rights governing computers and mobile communications.  European Union competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, indicated that he would be watching the sector, saying that the decision “does not mean that the merger clearance blesses all actions by Motorola in the past or all future action by Google.”  Google is still dealing with a separate investigation by the commission into whether the company has abused its dominant position in online search and advertising.

European regulators warned Google to play fair in the markets for smartphones and tablet computers.  Mr. Almunia expressed concerns about the way the most powerful technology companies had participated in setting standards for the functioning of mobile devices but said that he cleared the deal in part because of Google’s business model, which has been to share its Android mobile operating system with other device makers to obtain the widest user base.  Mr. Almunia said that this made it less likely that the company would restrict the use of Android solely to Motorola.

Mountain Lion includes a few applications and features that were previously exclusive to Apple’s mobile devices, including Messages, Notes, Reminders, and Notification Center.  Mountain Lion also has a strong focus on iCloud, Apple’s online service for storing and synchronizing data between mobile devices and Macs.

When Mountain Lion is first started up, users are asked to enter their iCloud information so that content like notes, messages and event reminders can be easily shared between multiple Apple devices.  Apple’s iCloud is one of several new cloud services, which focus on storing files on online servers instead of a local hard drive, so that multiple devices can access the data over an Internet connection.

Michael Gartenberg, an industry analyst with Gartner, said Apple is thinking about “a world where the personal cloud is rapidly displacing the personal computer as the center of the consumer’s digital life.”  He commented, “Apple is creating a similar look and feel for the two operating systems to create a sense of familiarity among its different computing platforms, which could make customers more loyal to the brand.”

Stephen Baker, vice president for industry analysis at the NPD Group, said, “Consumers don’t like change and they don’t like uncertainty.  When I, as the consumer, know that I can get a consistent experience across all my devices, it makes it much easier for me to buy products from that company since I know the learning curve will be short.”

Both income and revenue were higher than the estimates of analysts.  EBay reported profit of $788.6 million, or $0.60 a share, for the three months ending on December 31, excluding Skype and other items such as stock-based compensation expenses.  Revenue climbed 35% to $3.4 billion from the same period in 2010.

Financial results released by the company showed that eBay’s core retailing business, the Marketplace, seems to be making a turnaround.  The Marketplace pulled in $1.7 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, an increase of 16% from the same period a year ago.  The payments unit, including the PayPal division, was responsible for more than 36% of the fourth-quarter revenue.  The revenue of $1.24 billion was a 28% increase from the same period a year ago.

John Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive, outlined a plan four years ago to revive the  Marketplace by investing in new technologies, updating the website, and recasting the Marketplace as an online outlet mall instead of a flea market.  Mr. Donahoe said in an interview, “We’re gearing our whole company to help retailers in this new multichannel world.  EBay marketplace is one part of that equation.  But the simple fact is that more and more people are using our mobile payment systems.”

Future growth at eBay will depend on the success of PayPal and its new mobile payment division.  For 2011, the company projected that its mobile payment volume would reach $1.5 billion.  That estimate was increased to $3 billion and ended up at a reported $4 billion for the year.  This was more than five times its payment volume in 2010.  The company projects that the volume of mobile payments will climb to $7 billion in 2012.

The company reported net income of $6.62 billion for its second quarter, a decline from $6.63 billion for the same quarter a year earlier.  The anemic results were attributed to weak economic conditions and shortages of hard disks caused by flooding in Thailand.  The company continues to profit from its core products, like Windows and Office.

The company reported a revenue increase of 5% for the quarter, rising to $20.89 billion, but revenue from Windows fell 6%, to $4.74 billion for the quarter.  Microsoft’s earning results beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts but the revenue results fell short of the analysts’ forecasted $20.93 billion.

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle said most analysts were bracing for poor Windows sales but the actual numbers were worse than most expected.  He commented, “We were negative 4 percent and they still missed.”  According to the International Data Corporation, this is the worst showing from the industry since 2001.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has struggled to adapt to the considerable changes that have occurred in the technology industry over the past few years.  The company must now create innovative new products for newer mobile technologies such as smartphones and tablet computers.  Microsoft has software products for mobile phones and tablets that are winning positive early responses from the technology industry but they have not yet begun to produce big sales for the company.

Its redesigned mobile operation system, Windows Phone, was released in the fall of 2010, but smartphones using the operating system were bland and did not have enough support from wireless carriers.  Microsoft is betting that a partnership with Nokia will help turn around its mobile business and make its smartphones competitive with rivals like Apple’s iPhone and smartphones based on Google’s Android operating system.

Motorola could face an injunction to modify its smartphones and tablets so they no longer infringe on Microsoft’s patent.  If Motorola has to remove that scheduling feature from its smartphones, it could be a big annoyance for users.  Scott Offer, senior vice president and general counsel of Motorola Mobility, said the commission “may provide clarity on the definition” of the Microsoft patent that “will help us avoid infringement of this patent in the U.S. market.”  Motorola may be able to come up with a technical workaround to its products, short of stripping the scheduling feature out, that would satisfy the ITC’s final ruling.

The judge tossed out claims for 6 of the 7 patents that Microsoft had accused Motorola of violating in its original complaint.  The ruling will have to be reviewed by a six-member commission that could choose to reverse the decision.  Motorola said it was still pursuing patent infringement cases of its own against Microsoft in various jurisdictions.

Microsoft considers the ruling to be a victory for the company and David Howard, corporate vice president and deputy general counsel at Microsoft, said the company was very pleased with the decision.  He also stated that Motorola would have the opportunity to pursue a patent licensing deal with Microsoft as some of the company’s closest competitors have done.  Mr. Howard said, “As Samsung, HTC, Acer and other companies have recognized, respecting others’ intellectual property through licensing is the right path forward.”

Google’s proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola is currently undergoing regulatory review.  Microsoft’s lawsuit against Motorola could become a lawsuit against Google directly if the deal is completed.

Oracle’s software is used by companies and government agencies around the world and sales of new software products generate future revenue from maintenance and upgrades.  The company’s predictions for the second quarter included an increase of 6% to 16% for new software licenses while analysts expected a double-digit increase in new software licenses.  Oracle’s new software license sales increased a meager 2% from the same quarter last year.

Oracle’s computer hardware division saw a revenue drop of 10% from the same quarter last year.  Safra Catz, Oracle’s chief financial officer, told analysts during a conference call, “Clearly, this quarter was not what we thought it would be.”  The announcements alarmed investors, causing Oracle shares to fall 10%.

Oracle’s results for the second quarter suggested that cutbacks in technology spending have already started.  Many technology decision makers declined to commit to new contracts during the final days of the quarter.  The company sells database products that help companies store and manage information.  Applications developed by the company automate a wide range of administrative tasks.

Oracle’s stumbles may be a signal of possible trouble ahead for the technology sector.  Companies and cash strapped government agencies are being careful as Europe’s debt problems threaten a fragile global economy.  Catz said that the company expects that some of the deals that were postponed in the last quarter will be completed within the next two months.  Oracle saw its weakest sales in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Oracle earned $2.2 billion, or $0.43 per share, in the second quarter.  Revenue for the period increased 2% to $8.8 billion.  The results reflected a 17% increase from a net income of $1.9 billion, or $0.37 cents per share for same time last year.  Analysts expected earnings of around $0.57 per share on a projected revenue of $9.2 billion.

The ruling will prevent HTC from selling phones in the United States that infringe the patent; however, the ruling was only a partial victory.  The commission overruled an earlier decision in Apple’s favor involving a technical patent related to how software is organized internally on mobile devices.

Taiwan-based mobile phone maker HTC said in a statement that it would adapt its features to comply with the court’s decision.  HTC’s general counsel Grace Lei said, “We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it.”  Ms. Lei also said in the statement that the company was happy the commission ruled against Apple on other patents involved in the case.

As Android phones gain market share, competition among the companies heats up.  Closely watched patent battles are being waged around the world by almost all of the major players in the mobile industry.  The Android system now powers more than half of all smartphones sold worldwide.  In the third quarter of 2011, phones running the Android system accounted for 52.5% of devices sold worldwide while Apple’s share of the market fell to 15%, from 16.6%.

The decision could affect more phones than just those made by HTC.  Apple has sued several other makers of Android devices and companies that make Android products are responding by filing countersuits against Apple.  Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, said, “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

Alexander Poltorak, chief executive of the General Patent Corporation, said, “It’s an important victory for Apple, but it’s just one of many battles.”  He also commented that the ruling would pressure other Android phone makers to license the technology from Apple or make changes to avoid patent infringement issues.

The deal allows Verizon to acquire a substantial amount of new spectrum to keep up with growing demand.  Comcast, the biggest cable company, holds most of the spectrum licenses that Verizon is seeking to acquire.  If the license transfer is approved, Comcast will receive $2.3 billion.

The deal could remake the boundaries of the cable and wireless industries.  Cable analyst Craig Moffett of Sanford Bernstein & Company wrote in a report that the spectrum license sales are part of a “complete reordering of the competitive universe as we know it today” and the marketing agreements between Verizon and the cable companies amount to “a partnership between formerly mortal enemies.”  He added that the deal might be “the most significant deal the industry has ever seen. And that’s a pretty amazing thing to say for a deal where less than $4 billion changes hands.”

In a separate agreement, instead of creating independent wireless services, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House, the three cable companies in the deal, will market Verizon’s service, and in return, Verizon will market the cable companies in their respective local markets.  Comcast’s president of cable, Neil Smit, said, “We’ll be marketing Verizon Wireless’s products, and they’ll be marketing our products.”

Describing the deal, a Comcast executive said, “We’ll be joined at the hip going after new customers.”  The new arrangements will be tested in four test markets first before being expanded into other markets in 2013.  The cable companies’ ability to sell a branded wireless service begins four years after the deal is formally signed.

Verizon and the cable companies will also be forming a joint venture to devise new products that integrate cable technology and wireless technology.  These new products could theoretically make it possible for home devices, like a television set, and mobile devices, like a smartphone, to talk to each other digitally.

Adidas’s new shoe is a new design of the Adizero f50 soccer shoe.  The Adizero f50 was introduced in 2010 as the lightest soccer shoe on the market, weighing a mere 165 grams for a men’s size 8.5 shoe.  The new model uses a version of the miCoach system to monitor runners’ performance and carries an 8-gram chip inserted beneath the sole that can transmit information about maximum speed, distance covered, and number of sprints completed to a computer or mobile device.

The new chip is able to measure speed and distance in all 360-degree movements, according to Adidas representative Ryan Mitchell.  Mitchell said, “We’re able to show you what you did, give you the key metrics of your game, and enable you to compare this to your previous performances, the performance of your friends, competitors, or our global stars.”

The new shoe design will also help Adidas compete with archrival Nike, which started ramping up its soccer business in the mid-1990s.  Joerg Frey, an analyst at M.M. Warburg, said, “Adidas has a heritage in football [soccer] that Nike doesn’t have, and its innovations should bring more growth.”  Adidas has made soccer shoes since the 1920s.

The shoe has already received some good publicity in the media.  The shoe was worn by two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi in an exhibition game in September.  The shoes, a speed chip, and software to analyze the data on a smartphone or computer are sold as a complete package in Europe for about €245 ($338).

Thomas Effler, an analyst at WestLB in Frankfurt, says, “The product will be a bit expensive for young people.  However, parents are more willing to pay extra for clothing and shoes than for expensive electronic items, so I expect less price sensitivity.  There’s a big brand awareness among kids today, and parents often pay for it.”

Some analysts have estimated that Adidas’s soccer sales may rise as much as 15 percent next year.  The shoe is expected to help Adidas maintain its one-third share of the market, estimated to be worth nearly $6.8 billion a year.  Chief Executive Officer Herbert Hainer remarked, “We definitely believe we will extend our lead in 2012.”

Google Music includes more than 13 million songs and can be accessed through the Android Market, Google’s online marketplace for smartphone applications and videos.  Google’s Android operating system is currently the number one smartphone operating system in the world.

Google has signed deals with three major music companies: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI and has also signed deals with independent label group Merlin and Beggar’s Banquet label group, based in London.  Warner Music has not allowed Google to add their music to the lineup of offerings for the service, so consumers will not be able to access music from artists like Led Zeppelin and Prince whose music is distributed by Warner Music.

Songs that are purchased on Google Music can be shared with friends using the Google+ social network, giving each user “free, full play” access to the songs purchased by their friends.  Google’s director of content partnerships for Android, Zahavah Levine, said, “Recommendations from friends are the single most important way that people discover music and we think that this feature has the potential to really transform purchasing behavior.”

The service is expected to place Google in direct competition with Apple, Amazon, and Facebook, who have all integrated music into their core mobile and online products to varying degrees.  Some analysts have said that selling online music will not increase Google’s revenue by any significant amount but the move allows Google to be in the market to ensure that Android-based mobile offerings can match what is available from competitors.

Google was accused of illegally collecting information from 3.6 million routers in the Netherlands between March 2008 and May 2010 while the company was compiling its Street View mapping service.  According to the agreement announced by Google and the Dutch Data Protection Authority, Wi-Fi router owners that add “_nomap” to the end of the router’s name will not have their information included in Google’s database.

Chairman of the Dutch Data Protection Authority Jacob Kohnstamm called the agreement a positive step for consumer privacy.  He said, “We all hope that with enforcement actions like these, the bigger firms will use privacy by design from the start so we don’t need to go into enforcement mode.”

The company has said that it was using the data obtained from the routers to assist in logging the position of cellphones that run on Google’s Android operating system.  The data collected by the database in question helps Google pinpoint the location of mobile devices within range of the routers, giving the company accuracy with mapping and weather services and allowing the company to adapt advertising to show relevant ads from nearby businesses.

Analysts in the United States do not expect many people to remove their Wi-Fi router information from Google’s database.  Chenxi Wang, an analyst at Forrester Research, said, “I think the Wi-Fi network operator would be more than happy to have it plotted.  It doesn’t hurt them in any way.”

Google’s ability to offer location based services could be limited if a large number of Wi-Fi router owners decide to opt out of the database.  Without the use of the information from those routers, the company would have to depend on information from cell phone towers and GPS satellites to determine the location of the mobile device, which will use more battery power and be less accurate.

General Motors does not believe the Volt poses any greater risk to drivers than a conventional automobile, having spent almost 300,000 hours testing the car to ensure it is safe.  General Motors and NHTSA both crashed a Volt and could not replicate the fire.  The NHTSA also sent a team of investigators to North Carolina to probe a fire in a residential garage where a Volt was charging, with that investigation still pending.  LG Chem Ltd., South Korea’s biggest chemical maker, supplies Volt batteries.

General Motors and other car manufacturers have engineered electric vehicles using lithium batteries to withstand serious accidents because the element lithium is flammable.  Lithium batteries could catch on fire if the battery case and some of the internal cells that store electricity are pierced by steel or another ferrous metal, which could cause a chemical reaction that raises the temperature.  Sandy Munro, president of Munro and Associates, said in a phone interview, “Lithium burns really hot.  But it doesn’t happen often. You have to do something pretty dramatic to make it catch fire.”

Greg Martin, a spokesman for General Motors, said that there are safety procedures for handling the Volt and its battery after an accident and had those procedures been followed, there would not have been a fire.  “There are safety protocols for conventional cars,” Martin said. “As we develop new technology, we need to ensure that safety protocols match the technology.”

The NHTSA gave the Volt its top crash-test safety rating this year, following a “good” rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in April.  NHTSA said in an e-mailed statement, “As manufacturers continue to develop vehicles of any kind — electric, gasoline, or diesel — it is critical that they take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of drivers and first responders both during and after a crash.  Based on the available data, NHTSA does not believe the Volt or other electric vehicles are at a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles. In fact, all vehicles — both electric and gasoline-powered — have some risk of fire in the event of a serious crash.”

YouTube has positioned itself as a hub for professionally produced, made-for-the-Web material as well as the leader in amateur video, with torrents of amateur content posted daily.  Robert Kyncl, YouTube’s global head of content partnerships, wrote in a blog post, “Today, the Web is bringing us entertainment from an even wider range of talented producers, and many of the defining channels of the next generation are being born, and watched, on YouTube.”  Rishi Chandra, the director of product management for Google TV, added, “We’re looking for the next generation of MTVs, HBOs, just like cable.”

YouTube wants to create an alternative to cable television on the Internet and has offered cash advances to prospective producers of the content.  YouTube purchased camera equipment and editing software for top producers as a way to improve the quantity of TV-quality content on the site.  The channels increase the amount of shows that viewers can view on TV sets, laptops, and tablet computers.

Mario Quieroz, head of Google TV, said, “We’re not going from three to 300 channels but to millions of channels.  The Web is essentially infinite content.”  He also stated that YouTube is not trying to compete with cable, saying, “Like when the cable channels came to TV, we don’t believe the Web is going to replace linear TV.  This is designed to be complementary to cable TV.”

YouTube has recruited digital studios like Electus and Vice and established brands like the Wall Street Journal, Thomson Reuters, and WWE to create content for the channels.  The programming will be received from various media companies, including big television production companies like FremantleMedia and small start-ups like Maker Studios.  Production companies associated with celebrities like Madonna, Rainn Wilson, and Shaquille O’Neal and online video outlets like Demand Media and the TED Conferences are also on the list of participants.

Kim Hyun-joong, a fund manager at Midas Asset Management, said, “In the handset division, Samsung has no real rival models to challenge its products except for the iPhone 4S. Apple and Samsung will continue to dominate the market in the fourth quarter.”  Midas Asset Management owns Samsung shares.

Shipments of smartphones increased 44% from the previous quarter to 27.8 million units, nearly four times the amount shipped a year ago   The profits from the company’s telecoms division more than doubled from a year ago to 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion) and accounted for around 60% of Samsung’s total profit.  The increase in profits offset a plunge in earnings from its memory chips division.

Apple sold fewer phones in the third quarter, missing expectations for the first time in a year.  Apple’s iPhone sales decreased by 16% to 17.1 million units in the third quarter, as customers resisted purchasing iPhones until the October launch of the newest version of the device.  Samsung captured 23.8% of the global smartphone market in the third quarter, beating Apple by 9 points.

Samsung said its fourth-quarter earnings could be more impressive than the third, heightened by one-time gains from a $1.4 billion sale of the company’s hard disk drive division to Seagate Technology.  The company released an earnings statement stating, “Looking ahead into the fourth quarter, when industry demand is traditionally at its peak, Samsung expects sales of mobile devices to remain strong and flat-panel TV shipments to increase.”

The delay of the software update was announced in a blog post by David J. Smith, RIM’s senior vice president for the PlayBook division.  Mr. Smith wrote, “As much as we’d love to have it in your hands today, we’ve made the difficult decision to wait to launch BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 until we are confident we have fully met the expectations of our developers, enterprise customers and end-users.”

The reason for the update to the PlayBook’s operating system software is the correction of several vexing issues, including the inability to send or receive e-mail without being linked to a BlackBerry phone.  RIM’s co-chief executives, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, have suggested that the release of the software update is imminent, and an incomplete, early version of the software was released to developers in October.

Analysts expect that the delay of the software upgrade will ruin the company’s chances of significant PlayBook sales as consumers put off buying the tablet until after the software upgrade has been completed.  Analysts are also concerned about the possibility of a delay in the release of a new line of BlackBerry phones that utilize the same operating system.  The PlayBook tablet and the smartphones share an operating system created by QNX Software Systems, a company acquired by RIM in 2010, and it is believed the PlayBook delay is a signal that the phones will appear later than anticipated.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned $0.12 cents per share and revenue rose 11% to $3.3 billion.  The bulk of the increase in revenue came from phone revenue, which rose 20% to $2.4 billion.  Motorola Mobility makes cellphones and cable set-top boxes and shipped 11.6 million phones during the quarter, 4.8 million of them smartphones. That compares with 9.1 million phones, including 3.8 million smartphones, a year ago.

Motorola Mobility continues to try matching the popularity of the Razr cellphone from 2004, but has not been able to create and bring to market a cellphone that comes close.  The company has seen success in the position of a maker of smartphones that use Google’s Android operating software, but the company’s smartphone sales are much lower than that of Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s smartphone offerings.  Motorola Mobility is also playing catch-up in the tablet computer market, launching the Motorola Xoom in February but only shipping 100,000 of them during the third quarter.

Motorola Mobility’s last quarterly report predicted adjusted earnings of $0.48 to $0.60 per share for the full year and implied adjusted fourth quarter earnings of $0.37 per share to $0.59 per share.  Google Inc. is expected to acquire Motorola Mobility early next year, making this quarter likely to be one of the company’s last on its own.  Google’s $12.5 billion offer for the company is currently undergoing review by the U.S. Justice Department.  The shareholders of Motorola Mobility are scheduled to vote on the deal in a November 17 meeting.

Cloud-based software services are available remotely over the Web and are becoming more popular with companies that have traditionally used installed software, which has high upfront fees and recurring service expenses.  Cloud-based software services allow businesses to manage their operations and customer relations for a potentially lower cost.

Oracle has set a goal of building out its cloud-based software services by building or buying its own cloud services, following a trend that many technology companies, including Microsoft, have adopted.  Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Holt has predicted that the use of cloud-based services by corporations will increase by 50% or more annually for the next three years.

Steven Ashley, an analyst at Robert W. Baird, said, “This is the first time Oracle has made an acquisition of a bona fide software-as-a-service cloud company.  It raises the prospect that others, like SAP, will be more active.”  The deal may also signal that Oracle is ready for more acquisitions.  As competition intensifies, the deal making is causing prices for companies that make cloud-based software to rise.

Oracle has made several acquisitions this year, focusing mainly on purchasing smaller companies with a valuation around or under $1 billion.  A recent purchase for the company was business intelligence software company Endeca Technologies in a deal estimated at $1.1 billion, although the price of that deal was not officially disclosed.

Thomas Kurian, Oracle’s executive vice president for development, said in a statement, “Oracle is moving aggressively to offer customers a full range of cloud solutions including sales force automation, human resources, talent management, social networking, databases and Java as part of the Oracle Public Cloud.”  RightNow’s technologies will help Oracle provide more robust solutions for companies, including offerings for databases, personnel and sales and compete directly with leaders in the cloud-based software industry.

The focus of the $1 billion deal is the shows broadcast on the CW network, a joint venture between CBS and Warner Brothers.  Eight dramas currently shown on the network, including “The Vampire Diaries” and “Gossip Girl,” will be available for streaming starting on Oct. 15.  More shows may be made available on the service at a later date.

The deal is expected to capture more of the 18 to 34 demographic that prefer to watch TV by streaming the shows to their laptops or iPads.  Many of the shows created for the CW network target this demographic.  The deal is viewed by the media companies as a way to make money on shows that are heavily serialized and are unlikely to lead to traditional syndication deals.

The chief executive of the CBS Corporation, Leslie Moonves, said in a statement that the deal creates a new revenue stream for the shows and, “It also further illustrates how new distribution systems are providing premium content suppliers with additive revenue streams while still preserving traditional monetization windows.”  Time Warner chief executive, Jeffrey L. Bewkes, stated, “We established a strategy to responsibly work with Netflix.”

As the entertainment industry evolves, more media companies may pursue similar deals to bring their content to a wider audience.  The concept of providing popular television shows to online on-demand sites fits with the industry’s “TV Everywhere” push to make television content available on any type of device.

This latest attack follows a similar hacking attack in April that forced Sony to shut down the PlayStation Network and compromised data for more than 100 million online game and entertainment accounts.  It took more than two months to fully restore the network.  The series of online attacks on the company have undermined confidence in Sony’s web-based services.

The company detected an increase in the number of log-in attempts from certain internet protocol addresses and decided that the best course of action would be to freeze the affected accounts.  Company officials suspect that hackers obtained log-in information from other Web sites or sources and used those for the hacking attempt on the accounts.  The company said that only a handful of accounts were compromised and no credit card information or sensitive data was stolen.

Satoshi Fukuoka, a spokesman for Sony, said, “We were able to move swiftly, and we believe very few accounts were actually accessed.”  He recommended that users make a habit of frequently changing their passwords for Sony services and stated that the company was increasing its vigilance against similar attacks.  The company has promised to increase its Web defenses and created the position of chief information security officer to oversee the actions taken regarding cyber-security.

In another headache for the company, Sony discovered that defective parts were used in 1.6 million Bravia flat-panel liquid-crystal-display television units, potentially causing the televisions to smoke and/or melt parts.  A defect in an inverter transformer used for LCD backlights was found to cause overheating in some units.

Free repairs to the television sets are being offered worldwide, including for 400,000 televisions sold in North America, 600,000 sold in Europe, and 189,000 sold in Japan.  Other repair programs may be announced for other markets.

Sony’s television business, which has long prided itself on quality while competing with lower-cost rivals, continues to struggle while facing the additional blow of the Bravia defect.  Increased competition from popular rivals and a strong yen has battered the company’s competitive edge and profitability in many overseas markets.  Sony has lost money on television sets for seven consecutive years

Bringing on-demand and live television content to the Xbox is not expected to replace the set top cable boxes and satellite dishes that most households use to access television programming, but is expected to be very beneficial to families that would like to be able to access television content from different rooms in the home.  If the family has an Xbox, they will not need to obtain, and pay a monthly fee for, an additional set top box.

In order to access the content from their Xbox, the individuals will need a subscription to Comcast or one of the other pay-TV services and, in some cases, will need to purchase a subscription to the Xbox Live Gold online service at a cost of $60 per year.  HBO shows will be available, but the subscriber will still have to pay for them.

Verizon will be bringing a selection of live television channels to the Xbox through Verizon’s FiOS service.  The device is already capable of streaming Netflix content and offering television content brings something extra to the Xbox experience.  The partnership allows Microsoft to promote the Xbox 360 as more than a gaming device and places it in a better position to take on competitor devices such as the Nintendo Wii and the PlayStation 3 by Sony Corp.

Since the introduction of the Xbox 360 console in 2005, nearly 55 million units have been sold and around 35 million members have signed up for Xbox Live.  The new content for the Xbox 360 will be available beginning this holiday season, although an exact date has not yet been announced.

Apple’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, presided over the event and showed off the new iPhone model.  The centerpiece of the presentation was the Siri “virtual assistant” feature, named after the company that originally developed the technology.  Siri is designed to comprehend a broad range of instructions made in natural language.  Voice recognition could make it easier for people to use the devices on the go without having to use a keyboard for typing commands and questions.

The iPhone 4S also contains a better camera that shoots crisper pictures and video.  The device is run using an A5 microprocessor, the same powerful chip that is used in the iPads, allowing the device to produce better graphics and improve performance in a number of different ways.  The new device is believed to be a satisfactory response to the growing challenge in the mobile market from the Android operating system made by Google.  Android-powered smartphones now outsell iPhones at a ratio of two to one.

Mr. Cook said, “We believe over time all handsets become smartphones.  This market is 1.5 billion units annually.  It’s an enormous opportunity for Apple.”  The new iPhone model will be available on the AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks beginning on October 14th and has the capability to work internationally.  Prices for the iPhone 4S start at $199 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage.

Responding to consumer demands for mobile devices, Mr. Bezos took the stage at a news conference held in Manhattan to show off the Kindle Fire.  Previous Kindle models were simple e-book readers with black-and-white screens.  The new Kindle Fire weighs less than a pound and can fit in the palm of a hand.  The device’s 8-gigabytes of memory can store 80 apps with 10 movies, 800 songs or 6,000 books and the tablet includes a free cloud-based storage system.

The tablet also boasts access to a virtual newsstand that displays content from a variety of magazines like Wired, Vanity Fair, and Cosmopolitan.  To operate the device, Amazon created a mobile Web browser specifically for the Kindle Fire and named it Amazon Silk.  Amazon Silk is capable of loading media-rich Web pages more quickly by using Amazon’s cloud computing engine, EC2, for some of the work.  The device sends and receives data over Wi-Fi.

Amazon is focusing on access to content as it transforms its business into a digital retailer.  The company wants to appeal to a wider audience that wants to browse the Web and stream music, movies and video from their mobile device.  The device’s price of $199 is less than half of the price of many tablet computers on the market.  “It will appeal to a different set of customers who are magazine readers and cinema fans,” Mr. Bezos said.  Analysts say that the new devices may secure Amazon’s dominance as an online retailer and technology company.

The first device is the “top of the line Kindle e-reader” called the Kindle Touch, featuring a touchscreen along with a black-and-white e-Ink display.  The 3G capable model will retail for $149 and the standard model is priced at $99.  Both versions of the device have a new “X-ray” feature.  Amazon released a statement about the new feature, saying “With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon’s community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers.”  Pre-orders of both devices will start on September 28 and the e-reader will go on sale starting November 21.

There will also be a non-touch version of the Kindle available for purchase.  This version of the Kindle is 30% lighter than previous models, is 18% smaller, and will turn the pages 10% faster.  The new Kindle has a weight under 6 ounces and features navigation buttons.  The non-touch version of the Kindle will be priced at $79 and will also be available for pre-order beginning on September 28.

During the press event, Amazon also showed off the Kindle Fire, the company’s new tablet device.  The Kindle Fire runs on a modified version of Google’s Android operating system and features a 7-inch display screen.  The device will be integrated with Amazon’s cloud storage system and the company’s massive online content library.  The Kindle Fire will sell for $199 and the device is reported to be ready to ship on November 15.

IBM, the biggest computer services provider in the world, expects to spend $3.6 billion in developing the technology and will work with Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Globalfoundries, and Samsung Electronics to transform 300-millimeter wafer technology into 450-millimeter wafer technology to produce twice the number of chips.  John Kelly, senior vice president and director of research at IBM, said at a press conference, “This is really all about the computing systems IBM and others will construct using advanced technologies.  This will create computers that will help doctors diagnose advanced diseases.”

The investment is expected to create and/or retain nearly 7,000 jobs in the state of New York.  To support the project, New York will invest $400 million in the State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, located in Albany, NY.  Research and development facilities located in Utica, East Fishkill, Canandaigua, and Yorktown Heights also will receive funding.  Intel separately agreed to establish an East Coast Headquarters to support the overall project management in Albany.  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement about the deal, “This unprecedented investment in New York’s economy will create thousands of jobs and make the state the epicenter for the next generation of computer chip technology.”

The new partnership, called the Global 450 Consortium, further cements the state’s prominence in research on nanotechnology and computer chips.  Construction has commenced on a 250,000-square-foot building known as NanoFab West, where high-end computer chip manufacturing research and development will take place, focusing on the industry’s transition to making chips on 450-millimeter silicon wafers and the use of extreme ultraviolet lithography to make smaller chip components.

The new iPhone model is rumored to contain a faster processor and a better camera than its predecessors.  Some have also speculated that the device will have faster networking technology and improved graphics performance.  The new model may also include some type of voice recognition software, with a theory arising from the wording of the announcement from Apple – “Let’s Talk iPhone” – possibly referring to speech based features for the new model.

Some of the features of the new model’s operating system were shown during a developer’s conference held in June, Steve Jobs’ last major Apple event.  These features included new text messaging and notification systems.  Also discussed at the event was the debut of iCloud, a service that allows users to access music, files, and pictures wirelessly across different Apple devices.

Pent up demand for the new iPhone may help the device become Apple’s best selling product to date, with some estimates projecting the sale of 110 million units through 2012.  The new model is being unveiled 16 months after the debut of the iPhone 4 and will be competing against smartphones using Google’s Android operating system created by Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.  The number of wireless carriers carrying the iPhone will be expanded as well, with Sprint Nextel Corp, the nation’s third largest wireless provider, offering the iPhone with unlimited data plans beginning next month.

The ability to read library e-books on Amazon’s Kindle devices opens the e-books to a much wider audience.  Some publishers are afraid that allowing library e-books to be read on Kindle devices will turn e-book buyers into e-book borrowers, cutting into their profit and creating a devastating loss of revenue.  Library e-books were already available for the Sony Reader, the Nook from Barnes and Noble, and several varieties of smartphones and laptop computers.

Users of the Kindle had previously complained about the lack of ability to read library e-books on their devices.  The move by Amazon is seen as a significant step forward in allowing public libraries to be central to the growth of the e-book industry.  Connecting the Kindle, seen as the most successful device and largest e-book bookseller in the industry, to area libraries is expected to bring millions of additional readers into the public library system.

Community libraries have been building their e-book collections for years to meet demand as e-books have become more popular with readers.  This has encouraged a number of publishers to sell the titles they release to libraries in an e-book format.  Many readers appreciate that the e-books can be downloaded remotely from home or on the road instead of having to travel to a physical library location to obtain the books that they want.  According to the American Library Association, around 67% of libraries across the nation offer access to e-books, an increase of 12% from two years ago.

In response to Google’s recent increase in efforts to dominate the display advertising market, executives with Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL met in a private meeting in Manhattan to discuss a plan of action.  Officials from the three technology companies and executives from the advertising industry that created the deal are hoping to draw other online publishers into the partnership to sell advertising for one another.  The projected display advertising revenues for Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo combined would total $2.7 billion.

If the partnership is successful, it would reduce the need for third-party ad networks to sell the less desirable advertising spaces on their websites.  The deal between the companies focuses on the sale of remnant advertising inventory, the cheap ads that run at the bottom of web pages or secondary pages.  This advertising space is traditionally sold by third-party ad networks, but selling the ads for each other would allow the companies to deal directly with ad agencies, gain more control over the advertising on their websites, and increase their advertising revenue substantially.

Online publishers are relying heavily on private exchange technology, giving the publisher more control over the data collected on their users.  The partnership deal by Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL attempts to replicate the growth of the private exchanges and gives advertising agencies and media buyers a single place to purchase advertising space for each of the three companies’ websites.  This will allow the companies to offer advertisers accurate targeting, good pricing, an extended reach, and brand safety.

The new operating system includes features that are specifically designed to be used with tablets and touchscreens and was installed on tablets powered by Intel Corp i5 chips.  Microsoft hopes that the new software system will appeal to developers and encourage them to create the thousands of applications needed to lure a young, technologically savvy audience to its devices.  Michael Silver, an analyst for Gartner who was attending the developer conference, commented, “Kids today are seeing more Apple logos than Microsoft logos, and Microsoft needs to change that if they are going to continue being the force that they have been.”

Microsoft intends for the new operating system to decrease the tide of consumers switching to the iPad, made by rival Apple Inc.  Microsoft’s software applications are currently used to run more than 90% of the personal computer market, but the company has been steadily losing market share to Apple and its line of innovative tablet computers.  Microsoft also wants to attract the established applications development community that has been so successful at creating unique applications for Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS software platforms and has made the process simpler for developing applications for Windows 8 in a variety of computer languages.

Windows 8 is considered to be an improvement on Windows 7, using less memory to run and booting up in seconds.  The software features a home page with colorful tiled shortcuts that take users directly to the applications they prefer, including Facebook, news feeds, or messaging applications.  Developers worldwide can download a preview of the new operating system from Microsoft and tablet computer manufacturers are expected to begin selling tablets running the new software system by summer of 2012.

The deal comes at a time when sales of PCs are slowing and smartphones and tablets running Google’s Android software are under attack from Apple, a strong leader in the smartphone and tablet market.  The first devices featuring Android software and the chips created by the Google-Intel partnership are scheduled to be released in the first half of 2012.  The details of the deal were announced by Intel executives at the company’s annual developer conference in San Francisco.

The alliance between Google and Intel allows Intel to take advantage of a partnership with one of the largest players in the mobile technology industry and may jump start the efforts of Intel to break into the mobile phone market.  Google is obtaining a partner with a proven record in the microprocessor industry and a long history of excellence in technological innovation.  Google’s Android software is one of the most popular smartphone software programs available and easily competes with operating systems designed by Apple, Microsoft, and Research In Motion.

Intel has had difficulty getting smartphone manufacturers to use microprocessor chips made by the company.  Most manufacturers of smartphones utilize microprocessor chips from Texas Instruments and Samsung because the chips are considered to be more power efficient than the ones made by Intel.  During a chat with reporters, Paul Otellini, Intel Chief Executive, commented, “The smartphone business is not established in terms of the ultimate shake-out of who’s going to win and who is going to lose.  You saw what happened in terms of how fast Android took share from Apple.  So good products on good platforms can really still make a big difference in this industry.”

Broadcom has been looking to expand its market opportunities in networking processing for some time and believes that acquiring NetLogic is an attractive solution for a new area for growth.  NetLogic manufactures advanced chips for various devices, including for equipment for high-speed cellphone data networks and for wireless routers.

The chief executive of Broadcom, Scott A. McGregor, says that the deal will make Broadcom “…only company that provides complete end-to-end solutions in networking.”  He also states that purchasing NetLogic would allow Broadcom to add a valuable portfolio of patents to its holdings.  Broadcom produces semiconductor components for routers and specializes in switches and controllers while NetLogic focuses on the creation of the advanced processors that are embedded in the routers.

Many technology companies have been focused on acquiring intellectual property over the past year and the high deal premium was viewed as necessary to obtain what Broadcom saw as a high-margin business with a coveted product line.  NetLogic is viewed as having one of the broadest portfolios in a fast growing segment of the technology market.  The purchase of NetLogic will also help Broadcom expand in the Chinese communications market, with Chinese router manufacturers ZTE and Huawei accounting for nearly 28% of NetLogic’s revenue for the second quarter.

Businesses that are technologically intensive can yield rich margins for shareholders.  For the second quarter, NetLogic reported a gross margin of 75.1%, making it a logical purchase for a company that has been investing heavily in technology acquisitions since it was founded in 1991.  NetLogic will be Broadcom’s 47th acquisition in the company’s 20 year history.

Representing Sprint’s interests in the litigation are lawyers from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a prominent law firm based in New York City.  The firm was founded in 1948 and is now one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world employing over 2,000 attorneys.  Skadden has been selected for each of the past six years as the best corporate law firm in the U.S.

Sprint has emerged as one of the biggest opponents of the deal between AT&T and T-Mobile, arguing that allowing the companies to merge would create a tiered cellphone service market, placing AT&T and Verizon Wireless in the top tier and leaving all others less equipped to compete in a dominated market. Daniel Hesse, Sprint’s chief executive, claimed that if the merger were to go through “competition will be stifled, growth will be stifled, and wireless innovation will be jeopardized.”

Sprint has also challenged many of the assertions made about the deal by AT&T.  When AT&T claimed that 25,000 existing positions would be preserved and it would repatriate 5,000 call center positions if the deal were approved, Sprint commissioned an independent study to disprove the statements.

AT&T has pledged $39 billion in the acquisition of T-Mobile and many different parties have expressed interest in using the courts to stop the blockbuster telecommunications merger.  AT&T has said it plans to fight these lawsuits and the current owner of T-Mobile, Deutche Telekom, says that it will take steps to ensure that the deal is completed.  Talks with the government will continue in the hopes of settling the matter to the satisfaction of all parties involved.

The online retailing giant launched its long-awaited Netflix competitor as part of its Amazon Prime service in February. Amazon’s subscription video streaming service hasn’t gained the traction that Netflix has, in part due to its much smaller library. However, it’s hard for existing Amazon Prime subscribers to complain about the free add-on service they’re receiving.

The idea of creating a Netflix for books isn’t entirely new. We already have one in almost every county in the country in the form of the library. There are a few online service that offer books in an all-you-can-eat model, such as BooksFree.com and Bookswim. 24Symbols also recently launched a similar service to what Amazon hopes to do, but 24Symbols currently only has public domain titles.

Assuming Amazon does launch a subscription e-book service, it will likely have a significant advantage because of its dominance in the e-book industry. The company will also likely have a significant first-mover advantage if any of its competitors attempt to launch a similar service.

Apple is likely the best prepared of Amazon’s competitors to launch a similar service. Apple may have the relationships necessary to build a competitor, but iBooks hasn’t made the splash in the e-book industry that many have expected. Consumers have complained that iBooks has fewer titles and less access than Amazon’s Kindle Service.

Since book publishing rights are setup on a country-by-country basis, the service will likely launch exclusively in the United States at first, with other countries being added as publishing deals are setup down the line.

Zagat was formed more than 30 years ago by Tim and Nina Zagat to compile restaurant ratings from consumers into burgundy colored guidebooks and a paid subscription website.  The reviews found on Zagat have helped millions of users decide where they should go to spend their time and their money.  How Google will integrate Zagat into the company continues to be a mystery, but the Zagats will remain on board with the business.

The deal made by Google will give the company a stronger foothold in the local online advertising market, a lucrative market estimated to generate around $140 billion per year.  Around 20% of the searches made on Google are for things that are located close to the searcher, according to information released by Google.  The percentage increased when applied to searches initiated using a mobile phone.  Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice president for local, maps and location services, stated, “All of these are users wondering where they should go, where they should spend their time, so to be able to offer accurate information is important, and that’s why we’ve been getting focused on reviews,”

Google says that the company will continue to publish the Zagat guidebooks for the foreseeable future and the online Zagat reviews will be used to supplement the reviews on Google’s Places.  The Zagat unit will be expanded in nearly all departments, including contractors, fact checkers, and sales staff.  The deal with Google may allow Zagat to expand as an online business and prove to be a bigger prize than expected.

Founded in 1989, Algorithmics has been a leader in providing risk management software for financial institutions.  In 2005, the company was voted leading enterprise risk firm for market risk, operational risk, credit risk, and collateral management in Risk magazine’s Technology Rankings.  Algorithmics has also been selected as the leading Operational Risk and Compliance Provider and one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers.

I.B.M.’s general manager of business analytics stated that the company’s acquisition of Algorithmics would help the company assist their clients in meeting current economic demands for financial institutions to have more cash on hand, to have a better understanding of their financial situation, and to deliver more transparency to stakeholders.  The addition of data analytics to I.B.M.’s portfolio will also help handle data overload and will be able to search the data for undiscovered value.

I.B.M. has made many acquisitions in the past five years, totaling nearly $14 billion in purchases.  These acquisitions have included a $1.2 billion purchase of statistical software maker SPSS and a deal to buy Ounce, a company whose software programs analyze programming code risks for large companies.  I.B.M. is also pursuing a deal to buy i2, a data analysis company.

It is believed that the recent acquisitions by I.B.M. will allow the company to better serve its clients in the financial sector.  A recent review of the company’s client list showed that 25 of the 30 largest banks are clients of the company, including Nomura, Societe Generale, and HSBC.  The acquisition of Algorithmics will combine the expertise of the company with the deep analytic portfolio of I.B.M. and allow companies to manage risk and respond to economic change more efficiently.

A court in Dusseldorf, Germany ordered the electronics manufacturer to cease sales and marketing of the tablet computer when the trade show began in Berlin.  The action follows an earlier injunction on the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany that was filed in August by the court to be in effect until the court’s final ruling in September.  The Galaxy Tab 7.7, Samsung’s latest offering in its Galaxy line of products, was being promoted at the show alongside the Galaxy Note, a 5.3 inch product intended to fill the gap between tablet computers and smartphones as an entirely new product category.

The Galaxy Tab 7.7 is the first to use a 7.7 inch super-bright AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) screen and the tablet is powered by a dual 1.4 GHz processor.  The resolution is sharp at 1280 by 800 pixels making it one of the highest resolution displays for a tablet computer on the market.

Apple has been furiously attacking Samsung in the courts over tablet and smartphone patents in a bid to rein in the growth of Android phones.  Samsung, based in South Korea, is the biggest vendor of smartphones and tablets that use Google’s Android software.  Apple’s complaints include claims that Samsung has infringed on Apple’s patents and that Samsung has copied the designs and styles of Apple’s products.  Samsung has countered that Apple has infringed on its wireless patents.

Court battles are currently being fought in Australia, Europe, South Korea, and the United States over the matter.  The patent battle has forced the delay of Samsung’s tablet sales in Australia twice.

AT&T claims that the deal will assist in solving the spectrum exhaust situation for the nation, but challengers respond that adding T-Mobile’s spectrum to AT&T’s spectrum will not magically create additional spectrum.  AT&T also asserts that the merger will create billions in jobs and investment opportunities and refutes any anti-competitive effects.  The merger has nearly $3 billion in cash and $3 billion worth of spectrum on the table.

If the deal between AT&T and T-Mobile is not completed by the 12th of September, 2011, AT&T will be required to pay T-Mobile $3 billion in breakup fees and forfeit a portion of it’s spectrum in the AWS band.  The companies cannot close while the case is pending at the FCC and the FCC is unlikely to approve a merger while a case is pending in district court.  The most likely progression from this point would be the establishment of a discovery schedule and the appointment of a trial date.  The date of the trial will depend on the schedule of the district court.

Many people will be watching the ensuing court battle with interest and the effects of the court’s eventual decision may be felt for many years to come.  In the meantime, AT&T is hoping for a quick resolution so that they will not be required to make the breakup payment to T-Mobile.

The South Korean electronics company has developed a new product called “ChatOn” which will support its competitor’s smart phones at the product’s launch. Like BlackBerry Messanger, iMessage and other SMS alternatives, ChatOn will let users send text, images and videos to other users of the service for free. The service allows users to create both one-on-one and group chats. Users will also be able to share contacts, locations and calendars.

The company released a video preview of the service, showing a social layer to ChatOn, which has user profiles and something similar to a Facebook wall. ChatOn also has what are called animation messages, which are a combination of doodles and audio. There’s also a feature called “trunk” which allows users to share files using the service.

The service will become pre-installed on Samsung’s Android and Bada devices, but the company will also make ChatOn applications for iPhone, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry and other manufacturer’s Android smart phones. Samsun will also make a web-client available for laptop and desktop computer users.

Interestingly enough, Samsung will even include a version of ChatOn to feature phones. The feature phone version will allow users to send text and images but will lack video sharing and other more advanced features available on smart-phones.

The service is penned for a gradual release in September and will be available in more than 120 countries and 62 languages.

The statistics were compiled by Double Click Adplanner, a company owned by Google that compiles internet Data. The incredible mark of one trillion page views along with 870 million unique visitors worked out to an average of almost 1150 page views per user!! During the month of June, Facebook users spent a total of 700 billion minutes surfing the social network. During this time, they shared over 30 billion pieces of web content of like a links, pictures, wall posts and status updates.

Right behind Facebook was YouTube, the second most popular site on the net during the month of June. Even though YouTube received about one-tenth the number of page views as Facebook did, 90% of the visitors to YouTube were also Facebook visitors.

To round out the rest of the list of the next most popular sites were the following (in order of popularity)…

• Yahoo
• Live.com
• Wikipedia
• MSN
• Blogspot.com
• Baidu.com
• Microsoft
• qq.com

If Facebook’s incredible trend continues, they will soon receive a number of page views that is double the amount of the views received by each of the nine sites that follow it in popularity – added together.

The role-playing video game, published by Square Enix , is designed for the Xbox360, PC, OnLive and the PlayStation 3, and is being praised by critics worldwide for its superior augmentation of reality and the sheer number of in-game user options that are offered to players, the game being  one of the rare hybrids which have first-person shooter, stealth, espionage and role-playing all rolled into one.

The third installment to the Deus Ex series, ‘Deus Ex: Human Revolution’ is a prequel to Deus Ex which was released in 2000. The much-awaited game has been applauded by gamers looking for a conspiracy-laden plot with cyber-punk inspired theme. It also has a few special features, such as elbow grenades, which were missing from the first two in the series.

Set in 2027, the game’s plot revolves around Adam Jenson (played by you), an ex-Swat specialist, who is a security expert for Sarif Industries, a biotechnology corporation working on human augmentation. On the verge of a breakthrough, the company’s headquarters are ransacked, leaving Adam for dead. Adam is mechanically augmented by Sarif which saves him and Adam sets out on his quest for revenge.

Ars Technica’s game reviewer, Ben Kuchera described the game, “This game doesn’t reward multiple playthroughs, it all but demands them.  This is the Deus Ex game we’ve been waiting for.”

Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot was of a similar opinion, stating, “The longer you play, the more the story grabs you and the more you appreciate the customizability of the game”.

Tom Price of GamePro has further praised the game, “Human Revolution’s strong points come from the gameplay, and are the basis for why you should play the game. The consistent mental challenge of tackling each mission is what makes it so captivating, relying on strategy over spectacle.”
Information Source: SDEntertainer.com and CNET.com

Image Source: GameRant.com

Over the past couple of weeks, HP’s seen a lot of ups and downs. Last week, in an announcement which rocked the tech world, the company confirmed its decision to discontinue their recently launched WebOS line of products, particularly the HP Veer smartphones and the TouchPad tablet series, after their dismal sales from the time they hit the market. This announcement had everyone wondering about the future of WebOS, especially the consumers who had just bought the new series.

Shortly after this astonishing revelation, in an even more surprising turn of events, the two month old products took the world by storm in a fire sale, the likes of which had never been seen before and which left stores and competitors reeling in shock. It also had HP rethinking its stance on shutting shop with respect to WebOS hardware.

In a recent interview with AllThingsD, DeWitt, disclosed with utter optimism that, “the company is continuing to invest in the software even as it stops making WebOS tablets and phones.”

While the company is keeping its options open and talks are continuing about the sale of the WebOS and HP’s proposed spin-off of its PC business, plans to release WebOS-equipped printers and PCs are in the making, even though no details have been divulged so far.

HP is also continuing with its launch of the Pre 3, though the US market will not see the official release. The company will be releasing the Pre 3 in limited quantities to certain “limited markets”. They have already launched the products in the UK and certain parts of Europe.

Information Source: PalmInfoCenter.com and AllThingsD

Image Source: TrendSetters.com

With over 20 million users who signed up within the first 21 days, Google+ got off to a pretty good start and they have declared to keep the platform clean of spammers and scammers. Google is cracking down on pseudonyms and anonymous or fake profiles of celebrities as well as the average Joe, by deleting profiles first and asking questions later.

While this has been a controversial issue that scandalized many and caused shock waves amongst the social networking community, Google is sticking by its stand on deleting profiles that do not have real, verified names and singular, real faces behind them.

“We’re starting to roll out verification badges on profiles so you can be sure the person you’re adding to a circle is who they claim to be,” streamed Google’s Wen-Ai Yu via Google+. “For now, we’re focused on verifying public figures, celebrities, and people who have been added to a large number of Circles, but we’re working on expanding this to more folks.”

Along with taking a potshot at their main competitor, Facebook, Wen-Ai Yu also said “This is what Facebook is missing. No wonder they have so many user, when there are thousands of fake celebrity profiles. I’m looking forward, for everyone to verify. I always like to know that the person I talk to is really that person.”

This means that bloggers, advertisers, marketing companies etc who were looking forward towards using Google+ for marketing campaigns and garnering publicity, have had their ambitions canned, because Google+ is determines to keep them out.

Information Source: ibtimes.com

Image Source: Increaserss.com

As per a recent survey conducted by the business-to-business division of Staples, Inc, Staples Advantage, over 60 percent employees use their tablets to maintain their work-life balance by logging into their office networks after hours and during vacations.

According to the survey results, over 60 percent said their productivity has improved drastically, with 75 percent stating that they use their tablets to check office mails and get work done while on the go, during out-of-office hours. More than 80 percent of employees find that their work-life balance has improved because of the ability to work extended hours without having to stay back at the office. Another 40 percent stated that their main motivation to purchase the tablet was improved communication and being able to stay connected with clients and colleagues.

Evidently, the effortless portability of the tablet has made it a huge hit with workers whose number one priority is convenience. As per the Staples survey, over 95 percent people use the tablet as a supplement to their desktops and notebooks, even though 65 percent consumers say that they use their tablets as their primary device now. The ease-of-use plays such an important role that over 78 percent of the survey respondents admitted to using the tablet in bed, 35 percent in the bathroom and over 30 percent in cafes and restaurants.

As per the VP and GM of Staples Technology Solutions, Ed Ludwigson,  ”Tablets offer fantastic convenience and a better work/life balance, making it easy for employees to keep information with them and utilize business apps, no matter where they go. For employers, the benefit is having a more productive workforce that’s always connected to what’s happening at the office”.

With the influx of several new tablet models in the market this year, potential owners have more choice than ever to look forward to when shopping for a tablet PC.

Information Source: MarketWatch.com

Image Source: AppleiPad.co.in

While nothing has been officially confirmed, undisclosed sources have confirmed that Sprint will start selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October this year. The rumor has already given Sprint a boost in the stock market, with the share prices increasing steadily since the news was leaked.

And Sprint is apparently not the only one gearing up for an October release. A “high-level” contact at AT&T reportedly told BGR that the company’s VP has notified a handful of staff to begin preparing for the launch as the new Apple Smartphone will indeed be available from early October.

Verizon too, had confirmed in July, that they were expecting to start selling the new Apple phone in fall.

The fact that earlier this month, iPhone 5s were actually sent to carriers for testing, has further added to the crazed rumor mill. Also, keeping in mind that Apple product launches have been like clockwork in the past, with most iPhone releases being scheduled for the summer. Being October, although not exactly summer, it is extremely close to a late summer release date.

What will the new iPhone bring? Although not officially announced, with the help of several blurry camera shots and rumors that have been circulating, there are speculations that the iPhone 5 will feature a design similar to the iPhone 4 and will also feature a new bezel on the back. Not only that, it will most likely feature the A5 chip transferred over from the iPad 2 giving it more processing power than ever before.

Going by the release of any other iPhone, companies expect the launch to extremely hectic. Considering how crazed people get when they hear the phrase “new iPhone” and “release” in the same sentence, they have sufficient cause for concern.

Information Source: Msnbc.msn.com and TheNextWeb.com

Image Source: iDeviceNews.org

Logitech recently released the new Mac-compatible version of the Logitech K750 Solar Keyboard which was previously only available for Windows PCs. The keyboard, which has been on the market for a few months now, has received rave reviews from users. Amazon users have praised it highly with overall feedback and ratings for this little marvel being consistently high since the time Logitech released it.

During it’s Windows run, the key selling point of this sleek, slim and extremely portable keyboard was that once charged, it can go for up to three whole months without needing to be recharged. This brilliant feature holds good for the new Macintosh version as well. While the keyboard has a standard layout, the keys are concaved for greater typing comfort and is compatible with all Macs, OS X 10.4 and above. Overall, it looks extremely stylish and is available in five different colors, including pink, green and blue.

Logitech has now started taking pre-orders for the Mac-compatible solar-powered keyboard. While the original price tag says $79.99 for the PC version, the company is selling the first release of the Macintosh version at a $20 discount, bringing the price down to a fantastic $59.99. It may still seem a little steep when compared to other keyboards, but for the eco-friendly mac-geek, it’s money well spent.

Information & Image Source: GadgetLite

Tim Cook has been elected as the new CEO of Apple, with Jobs being elected to chairman. Steve Jobs is thought to have been one of the most successful CEOs ever, and many people are interested to see if Tim Cook can live up to Steve Jobs reputation. It will be interesting to see how the company changes with this new update.

A new patent win in Cupertino, California by Apple will enable them to integrate cellular antennas underneath MacBook and iMac keyboard keys. Patently Apple stated this is Apple’s fourth cellular-based patent for the MacBook series over the past year, along with it being the second one that deals with disguising a cellular antenna.

So far, MacBook users have had a tough run with Bluetooth accessories because of the positioning of the antenna in the notebook. A classic example is the Magic Mouse. Not too long back, a prototype of the 2007 MacBook Pro, along with a 3G antenna was selling like hotcakes on an eBay auction, until the authorities caught up and ended the auction.

Placing the antennas under certain keyboard keys will help improve reception and transmission proficiency of the antennas, in the new patent. Also, as per the diagrams of the proposed keyboards, developers are going to place multiple, individual antennas under different keys to enable the device to acquire real-time information and use the antenna with the strongest signal.

The patent, however, doesn’t specify which kind of antenna Apple is going to use. There are speculations that the for the iMac, Bluetooth antennas are most likely, while for the MacBook, the antenna will be used for Wi-Fi or data/cellular services with 3G or 4G reception.

This would definitely be a leap for the next-generation Mac-designs, as they would be the first to integrate 3G and 4G into their notebooks. With rumors rife that Apple is planning on launching a whole new line of the MacBook Pro series, with solid state drives and jettisoning optical disc drives, akin to the MacAir, this will be another feather in Apple’s cap.

Information Source: Wired.Com and AppleInsider.com

Image Source: TechXplosion.net

Based on several believably-legitimate, leaked screen-shots of their roadmap, the Windows team has referred to the App Store as a “high quality, uncomplicated” product that should definitely become a part of the Windows platform, and that they are moving along with it.

Two months ago, an analyst with the NPD Group, had predicted the launch of the Windows App Store. Steven Baker was reported to having said, “It’s clear that Microsoft will on some level go to an app store in Windows 8.”

Going by the fact that Sinofsky has launched the new Windows 8 blog exactly 3 years after the Win7, there are rumors abound that the new OS will be released along a similar timetable, which would mean that users can expect a launch sometime in October 2012.

While the company has its lips sealed about the official release date, there are plans to reveal more about the new Microsoft OS at its Build Conference which is scheduled to be held on September 13 in Anaheim, California. There are speculations that the MS may even release a preview version of Windows at the time.

With this move, Windows is hoping to make the problems of purchasing and downloading their apps a thing of the past for customers, as well as improving their design, and increasing productivity meters, not to mention giving Apple’s Mac a run for it’s money. Leaked previews of the Windows 8 Application Store feature brightly colored sections and beautiful graphics to go along with it.

Information Source: ComputerWorld.com

Image Source: Windows8Themes.org

The HP Touchpad tablet, which Hewitt Packard discontinued just last week during the end of quarter financial reports press release, saw a massive drop in sale prices – from the original price of $399 to a mere $99 for the 16GB model causing a frenzy amongst online shoppers.

In view of the spiraling prices of tablet PCs in the market at this current moment, it was a steal, and consumers devoured the HP tablets, leaving online stores dusting their sold-out boards and empty shelves in delight. All except Barnes & Noble, who have been receiving a lot of flak from consumers.

Evidently, Barnes & Noble, one of the few sites selling the HP tablet at the $99 discount sale, reneged on a large number of orders after consumers had placed their orders. They claimed to have over-sold the tablet in the e-mails sent to customers.

A CNET reader received the following letter from the company:

“Due to unexpected customer demand for this item, our inventory was depleted prior to your order being processed so we are unable to fulfill this item as requested. Consequently, we have canceled your order and you will not be billed for this amount. “

The news has set the Twitter Cloud ablaze with people tweeting about it constantly. While, it is not clear how many orders had been deprived of a spanking new Touchpad, going by the number of complaints posted by unhappy buyers on micro-social networking sites like Twitter, it is a fairly large figure.

Image Source: PCWorld.com

HP Touchpad

In a surprising turn of events, just two years after an investment of a whopping $1.8 billion dollars on Palm’s webOS software that was to help the company regain its stature in the PC hardware business, Hewlett-Packard has decided to pull the plug on their webOS hardware, even as the new tablet series began to earn the grudging respect of critics.

On Thursday, much to the consternation of thousands of consumers who’ve purchased the tablet since its launch less than two months ago, HP announced that it was discontinuing its line of HP TouchPad tablet PCs and Smartphone products. HP has written this off in its inventory as a $100 million loss in its quarterly earnings report.

What was not surprising was the fact that since its much-hyped US launch in the beginning of July this year, the new tablet barely made a dent in the iPad market in spite of all the aggressive marketing. While the HP TouchPad is a nifty little device with delightful tweaks and an intuitive UI, the webOS is an underdog in today’s mobile tech space. Also, the TouchPad’s hardware lacks the sleek polished exterior of the iPad. Of the 270,000 units that were shipped to Best Buy, only 25,000 units were sold, the figure not including the ones that were returned. Clearly, the product, priced almost as much as the iPad, did not impress the people that mattered – the consumers.

After this huge setback, and its recent acquisition of Autonomy Corp., it is likely that HP will step out of the PC hardware business, including their range of desktop and notebook product lines, altogether, leaving the playing field wide open for Apple.

Image Source: Foxreal.com

Many people underestimate the power of augmented reality. The advancement is 3D technology has reached the point that you can turn your real surroundings into a three-dimensional game room. The newly launched Ball Invasion, by the computer vision, Stockholm-based 13th Lab, for the iPad 2 is just the game to prove that.

Ball Invasion By 13th Lab

13th Lab is a fairly new start-up that specializes in developing 3D game technology. Ball Invasion is their first product. “Hopefully, this will spur a lot more innovation in computer vision,” says Petter Ivmark, the founder of 13th Lab. “We strongly believe that as computer vision and artificial intelligence evolve the camera will take over from GPS as the device’s most important sensor to understand, interpret and navigate the world.”

Ball Invasion maps out the playing field for you, and tasks you to shoot some “malicious and cunning balls hiding in the real world,” in fun, creative ways. Download the app, hold up your iPad to the best playing scene, and you’re ready to shoot some balls.

But, what makes this game so unique is not that it can just be called “augmented reality,” it’s much more than that. It takes strides much farther than that.

The game is capable of creating an alternate 3D reality that makes the game possible without needing players to place “markers. “It lets you very accurately position your iPad 2 in 3D space and overlay stuff on reality without any known or printed visual markers, as is required in other solutions,” explains Ivmark.

Players can really feel the power of the iPad’s background technology through the 3D mapping, but also the power of the iPad 2’s camera as the base of the augmented reality. It allows users to even take pictures of the balls surrounding the room during play.

As per 13th Lab, players who’ve beaten Balls Invasion still have a whole lot to look forward to in the near future. They plan to created apps that will make technological breakthroughs in not only gaming, but artificial intelligence and computer vision as well. Gamers who enjoy 3D game play are already waiting eagerly for the company’s next release!

Image Source: Technoodling.net

Information Source: Mashable.com

Verizon executive previously half way confirmed the thought of this, however it is now almost certainly true.

A Techcrunch.com writer stated that “I was recently approached by a developer of some of the most popular apps on the iOS platform today, who asked not to be named and offered solid proof that supports the above claim”.

According to this developer their app has been downloaded by people who are said to have tested in on a new Apple device that they feel clearly both supports CDMA and GSM. The application logs show what they feel is most certainly a select few people who are almost positively testing this app on the new iPhone 5, which appears to be running iOS 5, as well as two different mobile network country codes and mobile network codes which are used to identify multiple carriers.

The original iPhone gen 1 was a regular GSM phone which was only compatible with AT&T in the USA. The newest iPhone version, the iPhone 4 became compatible with Verizon this year which means it was configured to work with CDMA so i only makes sense that Apple would create the next iPhone to be compatible with both. Not only does this make it easier for Apple as far as dealing with the different compatibilities, but it makes it easier for consumers who have always wanted an iPhone, or who are in countries where certain types of phones are not compatible.

As many of the iPhone news has reported previously, consumers are expecting the iPhone 5 to officially be announced in quarter 3 of this year which would coincide with the launch of Apples iOS 5.

sale is expected to only last through the remainder of Tuesday and is only open to new customers who are willing to sign a 2 year contract with AT&T, or who are renewing a pre-existing contract.

AT&T has recently had the iPhone 3GS for $50, however getting it for free is certainly worth talking about considering how much it used to sell for. Is this a gift from best buy or are they just hoping you’ll take advantage and clear their stock to make way for the next greatest Apple product to come out… the iPhone 5. If you decide to take advantage of this free deal, just be aware that the iPhone 3GS is over 2 years old, and is soon to be 2 generations old, so you may verywell still be using this ancient iPhone by the time iPhone 6,7, or 8 come out. Certainly you shouldn’t let that stop you though if you want a hip phone in modern times.

On Thursday, IBM announced that they have created a micro-computer chip that has been designed to imitate the ability to understand surroundings, make sense of complicated data and respond to stimuli as they happen – characteristics that, until now, have only belonged to the living brain.

Ever since computing’s pioneer ages, computers have needed pre-programming that has limited the amount of “knowledge” that a system can have.  But, this experimental chip may lead to a completely new generation of computers that are able to learn through their experiences and interactions with surroundings and human beings.  They will be able to form their own theories and points of data as a result of those experiences.

As two experimental chips were revealed on Thursday, IBM said that they are a huge step toward allowing computers to “reason” instead of acting within the limits of their pre-programmed settings.  The chips are one of the first steps in a special project that has been dubbed SyNAPSE (Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics).

One of the chips is built around what amounts to over 260,000 programmable synapses while the other contains over 65,000 learning synapses.  IBM researchers have used this technology to build a “brain wall” at a lab in San Jose, California.  The long-term goal of this to develop a one-square-centimeter chip containing the equivalent of one million neurons and 10 billion synapses.

The new technology could lead to computer systems that could give advance warnings of natural disasters – utilizing their interactions with temperature, acoustics, humidity and other elements of the environment to make their predictions independent of human input.  Researchers also envision grocery store sensors that could use temperatures and smells to give alerts when food has gone bad. A Long way from androids – but we’re getting closer.

The online sales departments of many major retailers sold out quickly. The numbers are actually quite baffling…

• Wal-Mart – Sold out
• Office Depot – Sold out
• Sam’s Club – Sold out
• Target – Sold Out

The sell out even hit major online merchants like Micro Center. Even though the online response was huge, we cannot yet be sure if local locations felt the sell out in the same way.

One of the few manufacturers that still has the TouchPad in stock is HP itself. As of this writing, they are listing the 16 gigabyte model for $99.99 and the 32 gigabyte model for $149.99.

But, not everyone is as excited about the price drop as many consumers seem to be. Many tech enthusiasts are quick to remind us that HP just announced their plans to discontinue the production of products using webOS – as the TouchPad does. So, they wonder why anyone would want to purchase a device that HP will no longer produce, possibly not even support?

It’s true that the HP TouchPad may have been doomed from the beginning. It was plagued by a massive lack of app development and the webOS never really took off like the iOS (used by the Apple iPad, the biggest competitor of the TouchPad).

On August 16 2011, it was widely reported that the major retailer Best Buy had sold only 25,000 TouchPads out of their inventory of more than 270,000. The company refused to pay HP for the remaining inventory. Will this move spell doom or success for HP? Perhaps this latest price drop will kickstart the production of their next tablet device, who knows?

DICE today said that Battlefield 3 will not be utilizing splitscreen Co-Op gaming, so if you’re a person who loves to splay splitscreen… too bad.

An article by Joystiq earlier today also smothered a rumor going around that BF3 will contain 10 maps in Co-Op when in actuality it will only contain 6 maps to start out.

It has been bad news for Apple Inc. as its rival, Samsung, managed to temporarily overturn a ban on sales and production of its Galaxy tablet 10.1, a device comparable to the ipad. The injunction had been institutedby the European Union in accordance with the European Principle of Community Design. Apple based their case on diagrams of their ipad dating back to 2004, giving them sole rights to their design. However, Samsung produced proof to contradict Apple’s arguments with their own video clips, pictures, and trials of their own concept in the pre-production stages from as early as 1994.

The lifting of the ban on Samsung is temporary; both parties will go head to head in court on August 25 to hash out the issue. It remains to be seen if Samsung’s Galaxy Tablet 10.1 will be making a splash or be placed under wraps once again.

GM announced today that the concept for the Cadillac Converj has gained approval to be produced, though maintaining Cadillac’s trend of using alphabet soup to name their vehicles, it will be named the ELR.

“The concept generated instant enthusiasm,” said Don Butler, Vice President of Cadillac marketing, in a statement. “Like other milestone Cadillac models of the past, the ELR will offer something not otherwise present – the combination of electric propulsion with striking design and the fun of luxury coupe driving.”

Details are thin at this point, from the timing, performance specs, and even the price. However, previous reports have indicated we may see the vehicle sometime in 2013. Judging by the vague description from GM, we can expect something like a sexier Volt on steroids.

For those who may be unfamiliar, the Volt is a plugged hybrid that has an electric range of over 35 miles. When its 16 kilowatt-hour battery dies, the 1.4-liter gas engine powers a 53 kilowatt generator to keep it rolling.

The Converj became the star at the Detroit auto show of 2010, and reports of its production have circulated since then. The last report comes from Green Car Reports, where John Voelker cites a source as saying the vehicle is approved for the year 2013, and will be a 2014 model.

A “close to the project” source says the Converj will have a Generation 1.5 Voltec drivetrain, featuring more oomph than a Volt. This is an important point, because GM has expressed concerns in the past that a Voltec system wouldn’t be able supply the performance that people have come to expect from a Cadillac. It won’t be another Cadillac Cimarron disaster, but GM still has to make sure that the ELR provides a Cadillac-quality ride.

Industry analyst Aaron Bragman doesn’t this will be an issue.

“The biggest complaint people have with the Volt is not how it drives,” he says, “but how much it costs.”

Of course, all of this is on top of improved graphics, which is what gamers really look forward to.  Sony has mentioned plans to sell the Wi-Fi version of the system in the U.S. for under $250 while the 3-G version will be right under $300.

The newly mentioned release date is quite a surprise to many who believed it would hit shelves much sooner than next year.  There have been reports floating around the net that have pegged the release date as early as October 28 of this year.  When that date hit the news sites, Sony did not immediately confirm or refute it and only offered a statement to CNET saying that they would begin a “phased roll out” beginning at the end of the year. Not sure exactly what to make of that — but with the launch reportedly pushed back to 2012, who really cares?

Many had hoped that the Vita would be around for the heavy-hitting U.S. holiday shopping season.  Sony even said, at E3 this year, that it would be available during the holidays.  But, apparently the company may have been referring only to the Japanese holiday shopping season, if the report from Bloomberg is correct.

It’s really a duel of sources.  The first rumored date is said to be backed by an e-mail sent from an AT&T employee to Gizmodo.  It calls for the debut of the iPhone in late September.

Apparently, in the e-mail an alleged AT&T worker said that the employer is denying any requests for vacation during the last two weeks of September.  They continue to explain that the company has told employees that their vacation requests are being denied because of “an event blackout”.  An explanation only offered by the company during the release of a new iPhone, so the worker says.
Of course, the reporters at Gizmodo are quick to point out that this time frame is at odds with many previous rumors.  But, then again, you should be wary to take rumors at face value.

The second rumored release date comes from AllThingsD, who quoted a source “with knowledge of the plans”.  Being that this is the only information given about the source, you might want to be cautious of this one as well.  It points to an October release date.

The source explains that they aren’t quite sure why AT&T is denying vacation requests for employees the end of September, “but it’s not for an iPhone launch.”  AllThingsD did not go into much detail beyond claiming that the release date will be in October.

With the popularity of the iPhone, it is no surprise that rumors are popping up all over the place.  There are even global stories, like one from China that claims the release date will be during the second week of September.  If you look hard enough, you could probably find a rumor that corresponds to every month of the year – that’s why they are just rumors.

Nokia 500 is the newest product in the range of Nokia devices running on Symbian Anna. Nokia 500 has a 1 GHz processor, a 5 MP camera, music player, stereo FM radio and Internet radio.

“Until now, affordable smartphones often meant hardware and a low quality user experience. This is another example of Nokia’s continuous commitment on innovation within the portfolio of smartphones and an example of how Symbian can continue to help us capitalize on market opportunities in the coming years,” said Ilari Nurmi, Vice President of the Finnish group.

Nokia 500 has pre-installed some of the best music and entertainment applications, such as Shazam Encore, Gig Finder, Lonely Planet, Michelin guides and offers instant access to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking.

This entry-level smartphone also provides users to access to the latest version of Nokia Maps, optimized for social networks, so that the users can share locations with their friends around the world. Offline car and pedestrian navigation with voice guidance in over 80 countries helps users avoid the high costs of data transfer while roaming.

Nokia 500 will be available starting from the third quarter of this year in black version, rapidly followed by its white version at the end of the year. Both versions will be coming with two interchangeable back cases. New cases, in more colors and design versions will also be available this year.

Nokia 500’s estimative base price (with no taxes), will be around 150 euro ($ 215).

The company launched “Facebook for Business” – a small portal that aims to show companies how to maximize their network presence.

“Business also can learn how to find new customers using Facebook Ads or how to bring their Internet customers in stores. We want to be an inspiration for small business by sharing stories of companies that have had success on Facebook,” said a company spokesman in an interview.

The guide, which covers five pages covering everything from the overview of the relationship between Facebook and businesses, to step-by-step instructions in order to help novice companies navigate the Facebook world (and its many features). Is a quick and easy to use for the businesses that need some instructions in order to improve the efficiency with Facebook.

Creating the new Facebook portal comes in response to the Google’s new social network. As the companies are knocking on Google+’ door in order to join the service and Internet giant cannot cope with demand, the social network started with the wrong foot its relationship with the brands.

Google has presented itself as a product-oriented to individuals, the company asking the brands not to create profiles on this beta version.

“The platform isn’t built at this time to be used for businesses, but we want to help you build a long-term relationship with your customers, “said Christian Oestlien, product manager for Google in a blog post. The company says business profiles will be different from those of individuals, so as to provide brands with the support needed in order to extend their stay on the new service.

The announcement came from a tweet sent out by @YourAnonNews late in the afternoon of July 30.  The tweet was simple and to the point, expressing exactly what the group is trying to accomplish with their new network:

“Welcome to a new why of thinking about a social network. – http://anonplus.com/”
Judging from the glaring typo in the tweet (‘why’ instead of ‘way’), you might not expect much when you visit the site.  When you click on the link, your expectations are fulfilled. In fact, you may have to take a second look in deciding if it is noteworthy at all.  One would think that with the large following that makes up the Anonymous membership, there would be a good amount of web designers and possibly even copywriters who would work hard to get the new social network looking shiny and new.  The site, as it stands now, leaves something to be desired.

The home page is tattered with grammatical and typographical errors, the design is nothing to shake a stick at, and there seems to be an overall lack of content as of rightnow.  In fact, it seems like the entire site is still in its infancy and will likely morph into something quite different before too long.  However, there is a lengthy mission statement posted – here is a portion of that:

“Anonplus was meant to twart [sic] government censorship – so that in the case of a government blackout – the people can still be heard. The people are so far estranged from their world governments that they do not have a voice – even outside of revolution – therefore, they need an amplification tool without having to fear censorhip [sic] from both the government AND the social network/media that they are choosing to use. ”
It seems that the group is attempting to create an environment where users can say whatever they wish without fear of ridicule or personal defamation.  Their goals are quite lofty…

“This social network will allow open communication of ideas -and is essentially a cyber-anarchy formatted environment whereas the people are the ones keeping the peace in order via an “understanding,” rather than a “force” or “threat.” They will be able to achieve knowledge on how to defend themselves against those who would stand to oppose them in the chance that their liberty and freedom be threatened.”

Only time will tell if this new social network will live up to the goals of Anonymous.  Perhaps after more development, the new platform will turn into something that could change the way many of us communicate our thoughts and beliefs.  One of the final phrases on the homepage summarizes what the aim of the new site truly is, “This social network is essentially: The activists dashboard.”

Logitech’s solution?  Lower the price from $250 to $100.  This 40% price drop comes after the original price of $300 was slashed down to $250.  Perhaps this new low cost will drive up sales.

With the technology of smart TV in relative infancy, the Google TV set-up (known as Revue) was launched with high expectations.  However, after sales figures from the previous quarter, Logitech chairman Guerrino De Luca has expressed that there are a few things the company should have done differently.

When it was first released, Google TV easily out sold its competitor, Apple TV.  But, it did not take long for problems to arise for the new smart TV Technology.  Many major broadcasting networks tried to prevent their content from being streamed by the product.  Perhaps they were fearful that the product, which provides access to live television, on-demand programming, online videos and internet access, would draw viewers away from their programming.

No matter what Google TV has to offer, the message from consumers seems to be clear: unless you are a tech-nut who needs all of the latest devices, smart TV technology is just not in the budget.  Perhaps this is the reason why so many of the units were returned.

In the last three months, the company has shipped about 11 million mobile devices.  But, even though that sounds a like a staggering figure, only about 440,000 of those were tablet devices.

The depressing facts do not end with Motorola tablet sales.  While the Apple corporation sold over 20 million iPhones during the last quarter, Motorola was only able to ship 4.4 million smartphones.  Even Samsung was able to sell 5 million units of their Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphones, while the 4.4 million shipped by Motorola was the total for all of the company’s smart phone models.

It seems that Motorola is certainly facing some tough competition.  Their biggest competitor, Apple, was able to sell to 9.25 million iPads during the last sales quarter.  Looking at that in perspective, Apple sold almost 20 times the number of tablet devices as did Motorola.

Even the number 440,000 units can be a bit misleading.  Motorola indeed shipped 440,000 tablet devices, but that does not mean that all of the units made it into the hands of customers.  The total number shipped simply refers to the devices sold to retail stores.  So, the number of new Motorola customers may be an even lower figure.

The company plans to debut more smartphones in the fall.  CEO Sanjay Jha has already announced that the very anticipated dual-core smartphone device, known as the ‘Droid Bionic’, will be debuting sometime in September.  With any amount of luck, this will help the company turn their sales figures around.

Many iPhone users do not realize that their operating system has left a gaping hole open for hackers to use a special tool called “sslsniff” to basically take control of a victim’s device by using a fake security certificate.  The vulnerability causes iOS devices to incorrectly validate old or fake SSL certificates.  SSL, which stands for secure socket layer, is an authentication process that helps encrypt and secure information on the internet.

The notification sent out by Apple states that there is a certificate chain validation issue which exists when iOS devices handle X.509 certificates.  It goes on to say that a hacker with a privileged network position may be able to modify data in sessions which are protected by an SSL/TLS encryption.
Breaking that down into easy to understand language means that a hacker is able to compromise a victim’s SSL certificates and then steal or modify any data that is protected by the SSL encryption.

The security patch was released for iOS 3.0 through iOS 4.3.3, which affects the iPhone 3GS and 4 GSM.

Michael Morgan, a senior analyst at ABI Research, told MacWorldNews, ” I think Apple should take the time to tell people the patch is critical, because some people won’t update their systems otherwise.”

Morgan is not the only expert with worries about the new security problem.  Richard Shim, a senior analyst at Display Search, told MacWorldNews in an interview, “Apple has been able to say they are more secure than some other operating systems for some time, but that’s a bit of a fallacy because, in the past, they haven’t been as much of a target,” Shim adds, “Now, they’re a big target because they’re so well established.”

Wrong.  Well, it seems that assumption may be partially incorrect, at least.  The world has recently found that the Apple Corporation may very well have more money than the United States government.  On Thursday, the United States Treasury announced that the country currently holds $73.768 billion.  We can assume that this number is derived from the aggregate sum of stocks, bonds, and probably a little bit of debt.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, Apple told the world that it currently holds $75.876 billion in various assets.  Looking at the comparison between these two figures, Apple actually has more money than the United States government.

But, can we really be surprised considering the fact that over 20 million iPhones were sold over the last sales quarter?  Add on the fact that 9.25 million iPads reached the hands of consumers as well.  With sales figures like these, is it really any surprise that the tech giant has so much cash?

Apple is not the only technology company that has staggering sums of money. Google, the internet search engine giant who has recently dipped their hands into the social networking cookie jar, has reported total assets of $39.1 billion.  At the end of 2010, Microsoft announced assets of $40.23 billion.

You may be surprised to hear that Apple is worth almost twice as much as Microsoft.  After all, just about every one has used the Microsoft produced Windows operating system.  But, think of the popularity of smart phones, like the Apple iPhone – just about everyone that you know has one.  On a related note, the stupefying figure of Apple’s worth, $75.876 billion, basically boils down to every person in the United States contributing $247.  Thank you very much Steve Jobs.

The system is called Arm Assist and is a business project that is being supported by FIK, it primarily consists of a mobile device that is connected to the person through an orthotic that measures and records the movements of the elbow and shoulders. The movement of the arm are directly translated to movement in a simulation game, and in doing so helps with the rehabilitation of the limbs. One of the greatest benefits of the device is that it can be used from the comfort of the patients home, where by the doctor can monitor the progress online through statistical results that are drawn from the games. The device is currently being tested in a leading hospital in Valencia.

From the press release:

There are two major types of exercise which have been said to favour the rehabilitation of the patients ligaments there are training and evaluation. The evaluation ones are shorter and have been recommended to be taken ever day at the start and end of the session. These video game are incredibly sophisticated and autonomously train a vast range of force, distance, motion as well as precision, so that the therapist can accurately and thoroughly evaluate the success and progress that the patient is making.

The overall objective is to increase the motivation levels of the patient, which is required as using the system will mean that the arm is trained rigorously over a large period of time. The games also skilfully integrate a cognitive element with the involvement of puzzles and memory games.

The rehabilitation programme runs in two tiers, there are exercises that are recommended to be be carried out in the patients home, as well as some exercises to be conducted and carried out under proper medical supervision in a hospital. In their current state, most of the time the exercises cannot be carried out outside the hospital or medical establishment due to the large size of the current system which limits their portability and makes home use less convenient. Furthermore, therapists lack the important element of control over the therapy, so are unable to provide an appropriate method of enhancement and monitoring.

Whereas using the tele-rehabilitation software alongside this assistive arm excluded the above problem of lack of portability and its consequence which is lack of home use. The software and arm create a link between the patient and therapist, which enables the training of the patient at home to take place. Through the power of the internet, the doctor does not even need to be at the patients home at all times to monitor the success of the exercises as he/she can monitor them online via their computer from their surgery or clinic.

The therapist will then be able to conduct a full statistical evaluation of the success and progress the patients is making, something that to this very day traditional rehabilitation systems have not covered. This represents an enhancement in convenience, value and efficiency for both the doctor and patient. This new tele- rehabilitation software is a thorough and complete system whereby all the various stages of therapy can be carried out from planning all the way through to effective monitoring.

The Arm Assist system has greater uses that just the ongoing training of upper limbs, it can also be used on “acute phase patients”, as well as patients that have suffered from a brain stroke. It is evident that the Arm Assist system has many tremendous benefits above traditional rehabilitation.

Google+ has had its 20 millionth visitor in a little over three weeks. The majority of these unique visitors have come from the United States and India. Unique visitors measure the popularity of one’s website. One thing that confuses people is this: Unique visitors are counted by unique IP addresses registering on Google Analytics. If you visit Google+ at 5 o’clock and then come back at 7 to visit again, you only count as one unique visitor.

Microsoft profits soared this quarter compared to the same quarter last year as revenues increased by 7.5% to 17.37 billion dollars for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter. For the entire year, Microsoft reported a net income of 23.15 billion dollars, a 23 percent increase on 69.94 billion dollars.

The shuttle program is NASA’s longest-running space program, having run for over 30 years. Now that it’s over, it will be at least three years before NASA will put people into space again. Before NASA begins sending manned ships into space again, a new rocket design has to be chosen, which might be a long way off, but commander Christopher Ferguson assures us that “America’s not going to stop exploring.”
The Atlantis shuttle’s landing was an emotional one, and many onlookers could be seen both cheering and crying. After flight director Tony Ceccacci and his flight controllers got the shuttle safely to the ground, he choked up as he told his team that “the work done in this room, in this building, will never again be duplicated” while many present and past fight controllers filed in for one final post-landing moment.

The space shuttle program was responsible for launching and maintaining the Hubble Space Telescope, building the space station, and much more. The shuttle program made John Glenn, the first American put into orbit, the oldest person ever to go to space at 77 years old.

This mission was the 135th for the space shuttle program. Altogether, the five shuttles flew 542 million miles and orbited our planet over 21, 150 times over three decades. 16 countries supplied the 355 people who altogether spent almost four years in space. 14 people died and two of the shuttles (Columbia and Challenger) were lost, but the program persisted. NASA is closing the shuttle program so that in only a few years time it can move outside of the low, Earthbound orbits it has been travelling to up to  this point. By 2025 it is hoped that we can land people on an asteroid, and by the mid 2030s, on Mars.

Private companies are poised to take over some of the cargo hauls and astronauts to the space station, but their capacity is much smaller and they won’t be able to take astronauts up for years. Until they are able to fulfil this task, NASA astronauts can spend a few tens of millions of dollars to catch a ride on Russian spacecrafts. The space shuttle Atlantis will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Other shuttles will be moved to other museums across America.

According to SNAP, the future of online dating will be dominated on mobile platforms and social networking. Cornering the market already, SNAP is one of the few companies with a winning application for both iPhone and Facebook Platform. AppData reports that SNAP is the only company in the dating market that has a Top 30 application on both Facebook Platform and in the iTunes App Store under the category of U.S. Free Social Networking. The ongoing improvement to the AreYouInterested.com application is one major reason behind SNAP’s continued success in the mobile market.

There are many great new features on the AreYouInterested.com app. The new Spotlight feature allows users to pay to be featured across the whole application, which leads to more profile views and thus more connections than users who don’t purchase Spotlight time. Real-time notifications are another improvement to the dating app, which can actually alert users when a compatible match is nearby, taking a lot of work and planning out of online dating. A new easy-to-use front-facing camera function lets users take and send pictures while on live chat, allowing the other party to be able to see who they are talking to.

Since early in 2011, AreYouInterested.com has experienced major growth in the mobile market. Flurry Analytics states that the app has grown nearly 200% between January and June. This kind of growth means that users have a lot more opportunities to meet their ideal partners.

Seeing the future, SNAP has been constantly increasing its devotion to improving and expanding mobile platforms, considering mobile development its most important endeavor. As the application grows, SNAP is finding more and more exciting ways to both generate revenue and improve the user’s experience, such as through the Spotlight feature. The company believes that focussing on the mobile network puts them in position to redefine both the online and the mobile dating markets. AreYouInterested.com can be purchased from the iTunes App Store. A version of the app for Android is currently being developed.

It’s no wonder that people have started to suspect that Apple’s board are looking for a new chief executive. Conversations have recently been taking place between Apple and executive searchers. It appears that they are searching for new candidates to replace Steve Jobs in the corner office. However, it has been reported that these conversations are only “informal conversations” and are only taking place as a way for Apple to see what options are available to them as a company.
While Steve Jobs’ future has been questioned, the chief executive himself states that there are no plans to replace him any time soon. He described the recent rumours as complete “hogwash”. It was only in March that the co-founder delivered the keynote speech to mark the release of the Ipad 2 and he demonstrated Lion personally at an event which took place in June of this year.

The fact that Steve Jobs has tried to keep his health issues a secret has possibly created a problem and has been the topic of much speculation. Shareholder advocates have expressed that they believe he should stop trying to hide any health problems. Having worked with and directed Apple for over 30 years, he is obviously an important member of the company, and his role as chief executive is one of extreme importance.

His different health issues have included pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant which he agreed to undergo in 2009. He attempted to keep this particular operation a secret from the public. People have speculated that perhaps he is suffering from problems as a result of his bad health during previous years.

With the recent discontinuation of the white MacBook, everybody is waiting to see just what Apple will do next.

The once popular Apple product is now only available for educational institutions to buy and is no longer available to purchase from Apple’s online store. This is the first time since 2001 that Apple has not had a laptop for sale that is completely white.The white MacBook first entered the market in 2006 and was the item that everybody wanted to own. At an affordable $999, there were millions sold over the next few years. It was very popular with business people, college students and anybody who wanted all the latest gadgets.

It seems that the very recent MacBook Air has taken the place of the white MacBook. Priced at the same $999 and with the same 13-inch screen, it is rumoured that Apple have attempted to “update” the white MacBook under a different name in the hope that it will have the same success as the former product. Probably the strangest thing about the whole affair is the way in which Apple have removed the white MacBook from the market so silently. Apple has not yet commented on the reason why they made the decision to discontinue the white MacBook, and when CNET requested a reason from the company, they refused to comment.

Many people throughout the world expected Apple to update the white MacBook and announce the features of the new white MacBook along with all their other new products; however, it seems that the leading laptop manufacturing company thought it would be better to remove the MacBook from the market altogether and replace it with a completely new product.

Two products, the MacBook Air and Mac Mini, are the most recent Apple products and are expected to become very popular during the next few weeks. It remains to be seen whether the new MacBook Air will ever have as much success as the white MacBook did in recent years.