Palm vs. Apple: Old play, new roles
Analyst Opinion – Watching this new battle between Apple and Palm
almost looks like a remake of an old play or movie but with Apple in
Microsoft’s role and Palm as Linux. Not too many years ago, Microsoft
was popping up on a regular basis threatening with litigation for
violations by Linux to Microsoft’s patent and copyright portfolios. No
real litigation ever resulted and you had to wonder what would have
happened if Microsoft had gone the litigation route. Apple is now
making similar noise…
Review: Internet Explorer 8 improves with age
Review – A little over a month ago we were able to publish (content/view/40588/140/)
some information and benchmarks on Microsoft’s first Internet Explorer 8 RC1
(IE8) build – that was released to the firm’s closest partners. This week,
however, Microsoft released a public build of the RC1 browser and our initial
question was: If the build number is higher, has the performance also improved?
Let’s find out.
Palm Treo 850 on sale at Best Buy for $699.99
Palm Treo 850s have begun showing up on Best Buy’s website. The new offering follows the previous unlocked Handspring model (content/view/38973/145/) which is also still available from Best Buy for $599. The new model does not come with Palm’s newly announced OS, though smartphones with that OS are expected before the end of June, 2009.
Camera Click! sound could become legally required
With the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act being prepared to protect individuals from being illegally photographed without their knowledge and permission, the way we utilize our cell phone cameras could soon change.
Google: Spam on rise again after bust in November
Today, Google’s Enterprise blog posted an article which shows that spam is once again on the rise, up 156% since November following a massive sting (content/view/39749/118/) which reduced spam email significantly. While no scales are specifically given, graphs indicate spam levels fell to roughly half of what they were prior to the November sting operation, but have once again risen to levels comparable with the lowest months seen in 2008 (August/September). And in 2009, the trend is still rising.
UPDATED #2: House delays DTV vote, switch planned for Feb 17
The final vote which would determine whether or not the digital television delay is approved will be postponed until Wednesday morning, but last night the members of the House traveled to Washington, D.C. in spite of a major ice storm to exchange opinions regarding the switch.UPDATE #2: It is confirmed that the U.S. House defeated the bill. The analog to digital TV switchover will take place on Feb 17, just 20 days from today.
Source:UPDATED #2: House delays DTV vote, switch planned for Feb 17
Steve Jobs reportedly had surgery – or not
The Steve Jobs health rumors entered a new round yesterday, with one publication reporting that the Apple co-founder underwent surgery yesterday. The report, based on someone hearing something, was quickly countered by other reports that were based on other “sources” who claimed that Jobs was actually working yesterday.
TSMC CEO says semicon market may decline 30% in 2009
In what may be the gloomiest forecast to date, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) CEO Rick Tsai said in response to his company’s greatly depressed Q1’2009 outlook, that the global semiconductor industry may decline by 30% in 2009.
Qualcomm vehemently opposing DTV switch delay
Many mobile phone companies are stressed over the decision to push out the DTV switch, possibly until June 12 – and Qualcomm is among the most stressed.
UPDATED: Qimonda: German memory maker declares bankruptcy
A $422 million rescue package sought after by Qimonda in December failed to materialize. In light of hard economic times, depressed DRAM prices and their inability to secure financing in time, German chipmaker Qimonda AG announced today that it would declare bankruptcy.
Source:UPDATED: Qimonda: German memory maker declares bankruptcy