Intel’s Uphill Struggle for 2009
by Chris Willhite on January 17th, 2009 at 12:49 pm EDT - 392 views
It looks like the economy is hitting even the biggest of giants. Intel reported that during the last few months of last year, sales were down about 23%. If the figures and predictions turn out to be true then Intel will also have a gross profit in the lower 40’s. The shrinking demand of processors from the consumers really hits Intel hard, and right in the kisser. Especially considering that desktop CPU’s contribute to ~80% of their sales.
PC demand is sinking fast, which takes its toll on Intel because Intel owns 80 percent of the market for microprocessors, the brains of personal computers. Market research firms IDC and Gartner Inc. reported this week that PC sales growth in the fourth quarter was the worst it’s been in six years, with the slump expected to drag out until possibly 2010. -
This isn’t to say that AMD is doing any better however, the current state of the economy just makes consumers shy away from shiney new electronic delacacies. If I were one of these companies i’d stop releasing new chips and rev up R&D to get some new innovation ready for when the economy gets back on track, but I’m no buisinessman.I don’t think Intel or AMD will be going away anytime soon, they’re the only real players in the CPU scene today, but they will have some hard roads ahead of them…Let’s just pray they don’t end up like the auto companies. 
Read more here at Wired.com
Image courtesy of Intel
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0 CommentsFacebook Slams Burger King App
by Taylor Flatt on January 17th, 2009 at 12:44 pm EDT - 4,325 views
As I’m sure you all remember, Burger King came out with a new app where you drop friends for free whoppers. However, when Facebook got wind of this, they released this official statement saying it breaches user privacy,
We encourage creativity from developers and brands using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications follow users’ expectations of privacy. This application facilitated activity that ran counter to user privacy by notifying people when a user removes a friend. We have reached out to the developer with suggested solutions. In the meantime, we are taking the necessary steps to assure the trust users have established on Facebook is maintained.
This is nothing really surprising to be honest. The app had bad publicity written all over it. Frankly, I’m surprised Facebook didn’t do anything about it before this point in time. It seems that BK and FB will have some negotiations to undertake but I believe it will end in only one way. It will end by BK being forced to simply remove the app.
I, for one, think the whole thing is hilarious. I mean, what better way can you defriend someone than by telling them their are worth 1/10th of a hamburger? These things in life make life worth living.
Source: CNet
Category: Industry News, Online
Tags: App, Burger King, Facebook, Whopper
Motorola Job Cuts
by Stephen Spring on January 15th, 2009 at 10:39 am EDT - 678 views
Motorola announced Wednesday that it would be axing another 4,000 approximate jobs in 2009. This comes only a year after the mobile phone company realeased 3,000 of their workers in the 2008 year.
The 7,000 total job cuts are said to save the company around 1.5 Billion dollars in annual savings. The majority of the job cuts are mostly realated to the moblile phone business, however corporate Motorola see’s to lose around 1000 jobs. The cuts are a major initiative in the cost-cutting measures being taken by Motorola. But, to give some props to Motorola they are cutting their Executive’s pay in these trying economic times. Which is better than we can say about some of the bailout banks like AIG financial.
This is no suprise with many other companies doing similar job cuts. However, you wouldn’t think companies like Motorola would have to cut jobs after a pretty action-packed year.
Image courtesy of portfolio
China Internet Use Soars
by Taylor Flatt on January 14th, 2009 at 8:54 pm EDT - 307 views
While China imposes strict regulations on their internet and in some cases jailing writers and web developers, they continue moving up the ladder. Ever since 2001 when it began catching the attention of the internet world, they have been under the Global Watch.
China has now reached almost 300 million internet users in 2008 and has doubled since 2006. Unlike the US, 90% of Chinese users are using broadband to access the internet.
With over 560 million mobile subscribers, BDA (Chinese Marketing and Researching Firm) still stated the e-commerce and content is the better quality in the US. This isn’t surprising since a lot of businesses and entrepreneurs begin in the US and China is still relatively new to the “market”.
Tags: censorship, China, Internet, Internet Users
IBM Remains US Patent Leader
by Taylor Flatt on January 14th, 2009 at 8:32 pm EDT - 521 views
IBM, for 16 straight years, has dominated in most patents per year. This year, they have topped off at over 4,000. IBM managed to beat out their challenger Samsung by 671 patents. IBM said this in their official release, “IBM’s 2008 patent issuances are nearly triple Hewlett-Packard’s and exceed the issuances of Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Apple, EMC, Accenture and Google – combined.” However, HP fired back saying they are seeking quality of the patents, not quantity.
While IBM grabbed 11.5 technical patents per day last year, they are looking to increase their technical production by upwards of 50%. This seems pretty odd to me that IBM is the leader in patents. I would think that companies like Microsoft or even Sony would be towards the top of this list. It just seems that many people have forgotten about the hero of old that rivaled Microsoft in the beginning.
Jobs To Leave Apple Temporarily
by Nathaniel Ed on January 14th, 2009 at 6:32 pm EDT - 265 views
Steve Jobs of Apple has announced he will take a 6 month leave from his “jobs” (pun intended) until June due to medical reasons. Taken straight from the horse’s mouth, Jobs said “[My health issues are] more complex than I originally thought,” and that the publicity from his “hormonal imbalances” were too distracting to his family and to Apple employees. The entire content of his message to his employees can be seen here. Apple’s chief operating advisor, Tim Cook, will be the CEO pro tempore for the next six months.
I personally haven’t been too big of a fan of Apple in the past (their “Quicktime for Windows” is crappy, and it seems to sabotage any computers that I’ve owned) and their iTunes are too popular for their own good in my opinion, but I hate to see people become ill like this. If anything does eventually happen to Jobs, though, this is Tim Cook’s opportunity to prove his worth as CEO. I wonder what’s in store for Apple in the years to come. Let’s hope for the best!
Source: BusinessWeek
Image courtesy of ScrapeTV
Category: General, Industry News
Bartz Chosen as Yahoo CEO
by Nathaniel Ed on January 13th, 2009 at 6:55 pm EDT - 1,464 views
“There is no denying that Yahoo has faced enormous challenges over the last year, but I believe there is now an extraordinary opportunity to create value for our shareholders and new possibilities for our customers, partners and employees. We will seize that opportunity.” says the new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz former chief executive of AutoDesk.
Carol Bartz was named CEO of Yahoo today after much anticipation since Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang announced that he would step down in November. Yang was critisized greatly due to failed negotiations of a merger with Microsoft.
Bartz appointment could lead back to talks with Microsoft, who has stated that it is no longer interested in acquiring all of Yahoo, but is still very interested in buying Yahoo’s search engine.
Category: General, Industry News
Tags: Autodesk, Carol Bartz, Jerry Yang, Microsoft, Vista, yahoo
Microsoft Updates Windows, Again
by Taylor Flatt on January 13th, 2009 at 6:30 pm EDT - 413 views
Microsoft seems to be having a bad couple of months with their SQL issues and IE troubles. Although this patch was scheduled for their “Patch Tuesday”, it fixes problems in Windows that could allow hackers to inject code into your computer. It had to deal with the SMB protocol that sends requests (information) to controllers such as printers.
The issue was ranked critical mainly due to the fact that the option for it was turned on by default in Windows XP, but turned off by default in Vista giving it a moderate ranking.
While the port is open (settings enabled), it would allow potential hackers the availability to hound the computer with a DOS attack, inject code and/or steal vital (financial) information. Although Microsoft claims that this exploit is not likely to be explored due to the fact that it is “too tough for the average hacker”.
Spore Review
by Andrew Kao on January 12th, 2009 at 7:05 pm EDT - 1,099 views
I played Spore a while back, however being loaded on Red Bull combined with being absent-minded, only now I remember to bring you the review on Spore to gamers out there.
Spore, developed by Maxis and published by the colossus EA Games, is first and foremost a god game. Having received so much hype that one would be led to believe that that it was a fourth installment of Halo. The developer’s name, Will Wright, is somewhat of a household name in the gaming industry, having brought you the extremely popular Sims series, with the third one coming soon, now decides to expand player freedom and customization from a household, to an entire make-up of evolution history.
Tags: Electronic Arts, God Games, Maxis, Spore, Will Wright
New Yahoo CEO Could Be Appointed Soon
by Nathaniel Ed on January 12th, 2009 at 6:58 pm EDT - 290 views
The Facts
The shoes of Yahoo’s CEO could be filled within days! The Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo’s search for a top dog is coming to an end. There has been great speculation as to who will fill this position. Speculators have risen guesses as to who will fill this position, such as Carol Bartz, who was formerly the executive officer of software company Autodesk (according to the Wall Street Journal) or Yahoo president Sue Decker. Naming Decker as CEO could fare well for a Microsoft takeover of Yahoo! since she’s more familiar with the company.
My thoughts
I’m not sure if I want Microsoft to take over Yahoo or not. Yahoo is one of the most visited, if not the most visited site on the internet (Google would be a close competitor), and this would give Microsoft huge amounts of power. I hate seeing companies get too cocky about their products. We’ve already seen what Microsoft is capable of when it’s cocky (*cough*Vista*cough*), and I would really hate to see Windows 7 turn into another epic failure by Microsoft.
Source: Cnet
Picture courtesy of Yahoo!
Category: General
Tags: Carol Bartz, Microsoft, Sue Decker, Vista, Windows 7, yahoo