by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Dell’s fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 54 percent to $337 million, while revenue declined 15 percent to $12.9 billion.
The personal-computer maker saw revenue in its small and medium business unit slip 19 percent from the year-earlier period, while its consumer business was down 10 percent. In a statement, Michael Dell, its chief executive, said that the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 has been “very well received” by consumers and businesses, and that the company will see those results more in the fourth quarter.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
As the temperature drops, some cold-weather commuters are trying out an iPhone app that lets them climb in to an unlocked, pre-heated car.
Directed Electronics, the company that sells the Viper car-alarm system, has developed an accompanying app called SmartStart that lets customers use their phone to lock or unlock the car, or turn the alarm on and off.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Face.com is opening its photo-tagging system, based on facial-recognition technology, to Facebook members Wednesday.
Photo Tagger, which launched to a limited group of users in July, scans a user’s photo albums on the social-networking site, then lets him tag faces it identifies.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
How many tweets does it take to create a sit-com? CBS is about to find out.
The network has picked up a comedy developed by Justin Halpern, the creator of the breakout Twitter account S—mydadsays, and his writing partner Patrick Schumacker.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are all offering some form of courtesy Wi-Fi through the holiday season, at venues such as airports, hotels and Times Square.
Each has a relatively new service it’s hoping to attract consumers to, whether it’s Google’s Chrome browser, Microsoft’s Bing search engine or Yahoo’s revamped home page and customization features.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
CoTweet, a start-up that helps businesses manage their Twitter accounts, is rolling out its first fee-based services, with McDonald’s, Ford and SunTrust among its paying customers.
The San Francisco company said over the summer, when it announced $1.1 million in funding, that it would eventually charge for some offerings.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales said Friday that the online encyclopedia aspires to be a higher-quality source of information but added that mainstream publications could learn from its disclaimers and community features.
“Our goal is to make Wikipedia as high-quality as possible. Britannica or better quality is the goal,” he said during a question-and-answer session at the ad:tech conference in New York.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
News Corp.’s digital chief said Thursday that the company’s social-networking property MySpace is going in a different direction than rival Facebook, based on how its members socialize and share interests.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Peek, a New York mobile start-up, has begun selling TwitterPeek, a new device for posting and reading Twitter updates.
TwitterPeek became available on Amazon and Peek’s Web site Tuesday. Its $100 price includes a full keyboard, always-on tweet delivery and nationwide Internet coverage, plus six months of service.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
One of the frequently heard complaints about iPhone applications is that with more than 85,000 options, finding good ones can be tricky and time-consuming. Could the answer be yet another app?
Envio Networks on Tuesday is launching Chorus, a free app that shows users the ones their friends are trying out and suggests ones that might interest them. The Andover, Mass.-based company, which has received funding from Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners, specializes in social-networking technology and saw the Apple device as a good showcase for what it can do.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The creators of “iDon’t Care,” a video spoofing Motorola and Verizon Wireless’s “iDon’t” ad, said some of their detractors are missing the point.
Three Boston-area ad-agency staffers developed “iDon’t Care.” They said they aren’t affiliated with Apple or any of the other companies involved in the original campaigns–they are, however, iPhone and Mac loyalists, said Jon, one of the video’s editors.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
The latest possible reason that Northwest Flight 188 overshot its destination by more than 100 miles is that the pilots were distracted by their laptop PCs, The Journal reported Monday.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
A U.S. District Judge dismissed a lawsuit against Facebook by Power.com Thursday, the latest move in a back-and-forth legal battle between the two social-media services.
by Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Music-download service 7digital faces plenty of skepticism since its U.S. launch two weeks ago.
According to Ben Drury, its co-founder and chief executive, many of the questions–how do you compete with iTunes, how do you stand out amid a sea of music services–are valid ones.
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