jfruhlinger - Slashdot User

Submission + - Michael Dell: Mobile Gadgets No Threat To PCs (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Monday January 09, 2012 @04:32PM

jfruhlinger writes: "In a pitch that might qualify as "no duh" news, Michael Dell, CEO of a company that makes lots of money from PCs and has tried and largely failed to break into the smartphone and tablet market, told an audience in India that smartphones and tablets don't threaten PC sales. It's a particularly important question in India, where many users buy smartphones rather than PCs because they're cheaper; Dell believes that such users will eventually switch to PCs for a fuller Internet experience."

Submission + - Why Lamar Smith Won't Hear SOPA Critics (itworld.com)

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Monday January 09, 2012 @01:49PM

itwbennett writes: "House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, who has unapologetically excluded tech experts from testifying about SOPA, now explains why: 'The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality. Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts,' Smith said in a statement."

Submission + - Pirate Party Leader: Copyright Laws Ridiculous (itworld.com)

Submitted by smitty777 on Monday January 09, 2012 @12:13PM

smitty777 writes: Rick Falkvinge, better known as the leader for Sweden's Pirate Party, recommends doing away with copyright laws, since no one is following them anyway. FTA: "he uses examples from the buttonmakers guild in 1600s France to justify eliminating the five major parts of copyright law today. The first two are cover duplication and public performance, and piracy today has ruined those. The next two cover rights of the creator to get credit and prevent other performances, satires, remixes etc they don't like. Falkvinge says giving credit is important, but not worthy of a law. Finally, "neighboring rights" are used by the music industry to block duplication, which Falkvinge rejects."

Submission + - Apple becoming serious player in enterprise (itworld.com)

Submitted by bdking on Monday January 09, 2012 @11:59AM

bdking writes: Forrester Research forecasts that Apple's iPad and Mac could account for nearly 30% of enterprise personal computing expenditures by 2013. That's compared to only 8% in 2010. Credit the "Bring Your Own Devices" workplace revolution started by the iPhone and extended by the iPad.

Submission + - Hadoop vs. RDBMS: How Much (Less) Would You Pay? (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Friday January 06, 2012 @12:48PM

jfruhlinger writes: "Hadoop is a popular open source NoSQL data analysis framework that runs on commodity hardware. One of its main appeals, like most open source software, is its free-as-in-beer nature, but does it really save you money in practice? One attempt to crunch the numbers indicates significant savings, even if you're paying more for professional Hadoop wranglers than you would for an Oracle admin."

Submission + - Mandriva SA to close up shop? (itworld.com)

Submitted by LinuxScribe on Friday January 06, 2012 @08:51AM

LinuxScribe writes: A shareholder fight (French) has put one of the oldest commercial Linux vendors at risk of shuttering on January 16. If Mandriva can't raise 4 million euro in capital by then, it will have no choice but to cease operations.

Submission + - Confessions Of An Internet Stalker (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Thursday January 05, 2012 @03:57PM

jfruhlinger writes: "You have someone's first name, last initial, and home city. How easy is it to find their home address, phone number, and pictures of them drunkenly partying on the Internet? Pretty easy, it turns out."

Submission + - Netflix Stock Surge Shows Wall Street's Madness (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Thursday January 05, 2012 @12:38PM

jfruhlinger writes: "Netlifx's stock has suffered over the past year as a result of the company's pricing changes and abortive attempt to split into separate DVD and streaming arms, but yesterday it surged more than 10 percent. Was there some new information about the company's fundamental strengths? No; the sudden increase in value came because some TV analyst mused that Yahoo might buy it. As if you needed more proof that short-term stock prices are based on very little."

Submission + - Netflix shares soar on analyst's Yahoo buyout muse (itworld.com)

Submitted by bdking on Thursday January 05, 2012 @12:33PM

bdking writes: Shares of Netflix soared more than 11% on Wednesday after an analyst said on CNBC that it might "make sense" for Yahoo to consider buying the streaming video company. Now there's some insider information for you! Meanwhile, the Scott Thompson love affair that never was continues to fade as Yahoo shares fall.

Submission + - U.S. Investigating Huawei Over Iran Concerns (itworld.com)

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Thursday January 05, 2012 @11:02AM

itwbennett writes: "The State Department is investigating allegations that Huawei provided mobile phone tracking technology to Iran. By doing so, the company would be violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. 'Under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act (CISADA), passed in 2010, the U.S. government will not enter into contracts with companies that export sensitive technology to the country,' writes IDG News Service's Michael Kan."

Submission + - Facebook 'Hacker Cup' Returns Jan 28 (itworld.com)

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Wednesday January 04, 2012 @09:43PM

itwbennett writes: "Facebook mobile engineer David Alves announced the return of the programming contest in a blog post. A cash prize of $5,000 will go to the winner and the 3 runners up will also see some green."

Submission + - Windows, Nokia To Spend $100M on WP7 Marketing (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Wednesday January 04, 2012 @06:47PM

jfruhlinger writes: "One of the big turning points in the history of Android phones came in October of 2009, when Motorola and Verizon launched the Droid line of phones with a $100 million marketing blitz that took aim directly at the iPhone. Now Microsoft, Nokia, and AT&T are working together on a similarly pricey campaign to get the first wave of Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets into the national conversation in the United States. Will wall-to-wall advertising and better placement and incentives in AT&T stores finally make Windows Phone a realistic contender in the smartphone market?"

Submission + - FDA Approves Self-Sanitizing Keyboard (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Wednesday January 04, 2012 @05:07PM

jfruhlinger writes: "Deep down, most people ,now that the germiest thing they touch all day is the thing they're touching all day: their keyboard. But what, if anything, can be done about it? A couple of former MIcrosoft hardware guys have launched a keyboard that sterilizes itself via ultraviolet light. While the FDA has signed off on it, tests show that the UV only kills about two-thirds of the germs living in it, and that it still needs to be cleaned by hand."

Submission + - Why Freemium Doesn't Work (itworld.com)

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Wednesday January 04, 2012 @12:44PM

itwbennett writes: "Tyler Nichols learned an obvious but important lesson with his freemium Letter from Santa site: 'most people who want something for free will never, ever think of paying you, no matter how valuable they find your service.' He also discovered that non-paying customers are more demanding than paying customers, which only stands to reason: If someone likes your service enough to pay for it, they probably have an affinity for your brand and will be kinder."

Submission + - Asus Tablet Gets ICS - But Where Can You Buy It? (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Wednesday January 04, 2012 @10:24AM

jfruhlinger writes: "The Android tablet market got a little less fragmented this week when Asus announced that its Transformer Prime tablet, currently running Android 3.2, will get the upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich next week. But if you wanted to buy one, where would you find it? They're almost impossible for an ordinary consumer to track down — which is another problem the Android tablet market has, with hyped gadgets being MIA in the real marketplace."

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