by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
At Intel Corp.’s big developer conference this week, the chip giant was extolling the virtues of its newest little chip, called the Atom. The Atom has surprised both company executives and analysts with its popularity among hardware makers. The chip was introduced in March and is aimed at an emerging market of very low-cost mobile devices, especially in developing countries.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Many inventors and leaders in technology and science have credited Sputnik, the first man-made satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union over 50 years ago, as inspiring them to become engineers or scientists during the frenzied space race that followed in the United States. The image of the beeping aluminum sphere, about the size of a beach ball, passing overhead was indelibly written in the minds of anyone who saw it in October 1957.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Even as gas prices hover around $3.80 a gallon, many Americans still drive their gas-hogging SUVs, mini-vans and trucks. Some of these vehicles get as low as 10 to 12 miles per gallon on the highway. The problem is that it is still cheaper to just fill up your tank for $100, rather than shell out $25,000 or more to buy a new fuel-efficient car, such as a hybrid Toyota Prius, which uses a combination of gas and electric power.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
In landing a new chief executive for its troubled mobile device business, Motorola Inc. is clearly banking on the old adage that “you get what you pay for.” Sanjay Jha, the co-chief executive of Motorola, managed to seal a compensation deal that The Wall Street Journal estimated could be worth $94 million, including restricted stock, options, base pay and a special payment.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Comcast Corp. rightfully received a smackdown from the Federal Communications Commission last week for not telling customers that it was blocking some of them from using peer-to-peer services to download videos and other content off the Internet.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Phew. Apple Inc.’s iconic Chief Executive Steve Jobs does not have a recurrence of the pancreatic cancer he successfully battled four years ago.
At least that is what investors learned by reading the New York Times, in an odd culmination of events that started last week, after Apple (AAPL) reported its second-quarter earnings and an analyst gently asked about Jobs’ health on the conference call.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Ice-hockey player Jim Balsillie, who’s also the co-chief executive of Research In Motion Ltd., said in a recent media interview that he plays offense on the ice, not defense. “There’s no glory in defense,” Balsillie commented, according to Bloomberg News.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Jerry Yang sounded downright confident on the company’s conference call with analysts earlier this week, despite the lackluster results for the Internet giant’s second quarter.
He even cracked wise with investors, noting lightly at the onset of the call that Yahoo Inc. (YHOO)
had “quite a disclaimer.”
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
A year ago, when Facebook opened up its social networking site to software developers, it was Silicon Valley’s hot new young thing. … But what a difference a year makes. As Facebook gears up to host its first big developer conference this Wednesday and introduce a major revamp to its site, it is going through some growing pains. I also think Facebook has lost some of its buzz factor in the valley. Some also believe that its valuation on paper, once pegged at $15 billion, has notably declined.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
Political pundits speculating on whether Carly Fiorina could end up on the Republican presidential ticket with John McCain have quickly dismissed the former Hewlett-Packard chief as a long shot, given her scant experience in politics.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
For most companies, a big glitch of any kind during a global product launch could be devastating.
But Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone 3G rollout glitches over the weekend were more reminiscent of another global product launch that was somewhat tainted because of overwhelming demand. The worldwide release of Windows 95 flooded Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) telephone tech [...]
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
As companies like Intel Corp., IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have made moves in the solar power space, many have wondered if these high-tech heavyweights could use either their manufacturing or intellectual muscle to push down costs and thereby lower the price of solar power. Perhaps eventually, but not quite so fast.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
The active, diverse and often loud community of eBay sellers now ought to be able to agree on at least one thing: Monday’s ruling from a French court regarding the sale of certain luxury perfumes on eBay stinks.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
In a few weeks, the Apple faithful and other gadget mavens will line up as part of the mad rush to be among the first to buy the new 3G iPhone on July 11. Contrast that with the rest of the wireless business, where once-hot device makers such as Motorola Inc. cannot even give away many of their products.
by Therese Poletti, Senior Columnist, MarketWatch, Tech Tales
For all the businesses that the Internet has revolutionized, or demolished, a few industries have remained stubbornly resistant to the promises of the Web. Take the $150 billion car repair business. Auto mechanics are a bit like lawyers. They speak words the average consumer can’t understand, they work at hourly rates that can’t be accurately determined when you have your first appointment, and they charge exorbitantly for a very specialized body of knowledge.
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