Technology | Journal Gazette

Alibaba preps to set IPO price

Lee Spears and Lulu Yilun Chen — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Alibaba Group Holding doesn't want to be the next Facebook - at least for its prospective initial public offering. The world's biggest online retailer is considering a more conservative valuation than what the social-networking company achieved last year, a person familiar with the situation said.

Microsoft on mobile grows in South Africa

Christopher Spillane — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft, trying to find growth markets for its mobile products, is projecting that rising demand in South Africa will help it pass BlackBerry and Android and pave the way for further gains on the continent.

Gaming wins boosting AMD

Matt Robinson — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is beating Intel Corp. in the bond market as it wins slots for its semiconductors in game consoles, ceding the shrinking market for personal computers to its larger rival.

High-tech visa issue pits firms vs. unions

ANNE FLAHERTY — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

To the U.S. technology industry, there's a dramatic shortfall in the number of Americans skilled in computer programming and engineering that is hampering business.

Google unveils music service at event opener

Brian Womack — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Google introduced a subscription music-streaming service, one of several product updates to be unveiled at a developer meeting this week as the search provider seeks to attract more users and advertisers.

Cheaper Blackberry unveiled

KYLE HIGHTOWER and ROB GILLIES — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Research In Motion unveiled a lower-cost BlackBerry aimed at consumers in emerging markets on Tuesday, stepping up its efforts to regain market share lost to Apple's iPhone and Android devices powered by Google's software.

Cellphone giants unite in anti-texting ad blitz

PETER SVENSSON — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

The country's four biggest cellphone companies are set to launch their first joint advertising campaign against texting while driving, uniting behind ATT's "It Can Wait" slogan to blanket TV and radio this summer.

Wearable robots lighter, portable

CARLA K. JOHNSON — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

When Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet he rises from his wheelchair to his full 6-foot-2-inches and walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable robot.

Apple OS update in question

Adam Satariano — Mon, 13 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Jonathan Ive, six months into an expanded role as Apple's top product visionary, has embarked on a sweeping software overhaul that leaves the company at risk of falling behind on a new version of the operating system that runs iPhones and iPads, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Icahn fighting Dell buyout

TOM MURPHY — Sat, 11 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

One of the biggest critics of Michael Dell's plan to take the company he founded private has launched a fresh challenge to that $24.4 billion bid and says the slumping PC maker needs new leadership.

Microsoft's Blue' getting the bugs out of Windows

MICHAEL LIEDTKE — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft is retooling the latest version of its Windows operating system to address complaints and confusion that have been blamed for deepening a slump in personal computer sales.

Nokia counts on low-cost handset

Adam Ewing — Mon, 06 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

As Nokia struggles to catch Apple and Samsung in the market for smartphones costing $500 or more, it's counting on a bare-bones handset that sells for just $20 to give it an edge.

Google tapped to revive Nook

Matt Townsend — Mon, 06 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Barnes Noble's latest effort to revive its Nook tablet business involves another technology giant. This time it's Google, owner of the world's most popular search engine.

Windows Azure sales hit $1 billion

Dina Bass — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft's Windows Azure software and related programs have surpassed $1 billion in annual sales for the first time, a sign of progress in the effort to challenge Amazon.com in cloud computing.

Nokia plans to invest in high-res cameras

Adam Ewing — Sun, 05 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Nokia Growth Partners, the venture-capital arm of the Finnish phonemaker, plans to invest in California startup Pelican Imaging to win back customers from Apple and Android devices with cameras that give greater depth and ease of splicing together images.

Intel taps longtime insider as new CEO

PETER SVENSSON — Fri, 03 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

Intel, one of the pillars of Silicon Valley, is following its traditions and promoting an insider to the job of CEO.

Tech boot camps launching careers

TERENCE CHEA — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Looking for a career change, Ken Shimizu decided he wanted to be a software developer, but he didn't want to go back to college to study computer science.

Help for far-flung patients

Sarah Halzack — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

When the doctors at University of Texas Medical Branch are reading an ultrasound, examining an X-ray or evaluating an echocardiogram, the patient they are treating is not necessarily right in front of them.

Chinese role in cyberspying outlined

Craig Timberg — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Analyses of hundreds of documented data breaches found that hackers affiliated with the Chinese government were by far the most energetic and successful cyberspies in the world last year, according to a report issued by government and industry investigators.

AT&T rolls out home security, automation biz

PETER SVENSSON — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

ATT Inc. is launching its home security and automation service in 15 cities, with an eye toward getting customers hooked on security cameras, thermostats and locks they can control from phones and tablets.

Samsung S4 debut delayed

ANICK JESDANUN — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Sprint and T-Mobile are delaying shipments of Samsung's latest flagship phone, citing inventory issues.

Taiwan nervous over Samsung

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Taiwanese companies have long viewed tech giant Samsung as a major threat, and the battle has recently appeared to tilt in favor of the South Korean rival as Taiwan's smartphone, memory chip and display panel makers suffered sagging exports.

Yahoo adds 2 more mobile applications

MICHAEL LIEDTKE — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Yahoo is taking the next step in its effort to make some of its most popular services more appealing and accessible to the growing audience connecting to the Internet on smartphones and tablet computers.

Microsoft adds to sign-in security

ANICK JESDANUN — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft is offering enhanced security for its email, storage and other services.

Attorneys general, Facebook team up

Hayley Tsukayama — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Facebook and 19 state attorneys general announced they're joining forces to educate young people about the basics of online security.

Microsoft exceeds forecast

PETER SVENSSON — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft's revenue and net income surged in the latest quarter, but much the gains were due to the recognition of sales that occurred before the launch of the latest versions of Windows and Office, the company said Thursday.

Expansion of Web upsets businesses

Todd Shields — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Harvard paid as much as $299 to register the last time the World Wide Web's global overseer added a domain name to familiar ones including .com and .net. Rather than seeking a new opportunity, it signed up to keep harvard.xxx from being used as a porn site.

Airwave auction worries TV stations

RYAN NAKASHIMA — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

As the federal government tries to encourage companies like ATT and Verizon to create bigger, faster mobile networks, TV broadcasters are feeling like the farmers of yesteryear who were asked to sell their land to make way for the nation's highways.

Windows 8 flop stunts PC sales

PETER SVENSSON — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets, research firm IDC said. That's leading to the fastest drop in PC sales the firm has ever seen.

How to find the next Jobs, by his first boss

MICHAEL LIEDTKE — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

When Steve Jobs adopted "think different" as Apple's mantra in the late 1990s, the company's ads featured Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Amelia Earhart and a constellation of other starry-eyed oddballs who reshaped society.

Facebook moving in on Google territory

PETER SVENSSON — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

Facebook Home, the new software that takes over the front screen of a smartphone, is a bit of a corporate home invasion. Facebook is essentially moving into Google's turf, taking advantage of software the search giant and competitor created.

Teen whiz: Let kids find own paths

RAPHAEL SATTER — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

At 17, he's a tech whiz, he's rich - and he can even offer some advice on how to raise your kids.

Customs gets job as patent police

Susan Decker — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Corning has been blocked for more than a year from importing to the United States its parts connecting cable wires to televisions, even after a trade judge ruled the components don't infringe a competitor's patent.

New bidders add twist to Dell buyout

MICHAEL LIEDTKE — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The two new suitors pursuing Dell have a message for Wall Street: Don't allow Michael Dell to hoard potential gains from the PC-maker's expansion into more profitable technology products and services.

Galaxy S 4 does not live up to the hype

PETER SVENSSON — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

The Galaxy S 4, Samsung's latest and greatest, has a cute feature we'll probably see in a lot of phones soon: You can shoot both yourself and your surroundings at the same time, using the front- and back-mounted cameras. It's a bit like having a two-camera film crew follow you around.

Cyber insurers' clientele widens

Noah Buhayar — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Jim Thorneburg invented Thorlo's socks in 1980 and set out to build a brand worthy of the slogan "caretakers of the world's feet."

Kids' privacy on Web at risk

ANNE FLAHERTY — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

After Friendster came MySpace. By the time Facebook dominated social media, parents had joined the party, too. But the online scene has changed - dramatically, as it turns out - and these days even if you're friends with your own kids on Facebook, it doesn't mean you know what they're doing.

Apple's nemesis Samsung cooks up new phone

PETER SVENSSON — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Samsung Electronics is taking to the Big Apple to reveal its next big challenge to Apple Inc.: a successor to its top-selling Galaxy S III smartphone.

China willing to talk with U.S. over cyberattacks

Associated Press — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:55:02 EST

China says it is willing to cooperate with the United States in cybersecurity after the U.S. called on it to take "serious steps" to stop cyberattacks.

Low tech widens mobile banking

Craig Timberg — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

In a technology conference devoted to the slick and snappy, a small French company proudly displayed a chunky, antiquated Nokia cellphone that is allowing mobile banking to happen in places where smartphones are rarely found.

Book urges women to Lean In'

BARBARA ORTUTAY — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

For a book that is just being released, Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" - part feminist manifesto, part how-to career guide - has got a lot of people talking.

Apple presses patent fight

Susan Decker — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Apple has asked a U.S. appeals court to reinstate patent-infringement claims it filed against Google's Motorola Mobility unit over touch-screen technology used in mobile phones.

For Apple, wristwatch profit might beat TV's

Peter Burrows — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Tim Cook has dropped hints that Apple is hard at work on a television to drive the next era of growth, but its wristwatch-style device, still in development, may prove more profitable.

Google to cut 1,200 more Motorola jobs

Associated Press — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Google is cutting an additional 1,200 jobs in its Motorola division as the unprofitable cellphone maker struggles to compete.

Exceptions to Obama's cyber order questioned

Eric Engleman — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Telecommunications companies want President Obama's administration to rethink a decision that may exempt Google's Gmail, Apple's iPhone software and Microsoft's Windows from an executive order on cybersecurity.

Nokia wants BlackBerry fans

Adam Ewing — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

As erstwhile smartphone leader Nokia fails to gain much headway on Apple and Samsung Electronics, the Finnish company is setting its sights on a weaker rival: BlackBerry.

Alcatel bets on relationship with US carriers

Marie Mawad — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Alcatel-Lucent's decade-old ties with carriers ATT and Verizon Communications should help the unprofitable French network-equipment vendor fend off European rivals' attacks looking to steal U.S. market share, according to its global sales chief.

Mexican carrier to use Firefox

Manuel Baigorri, Olga Kharif and Cornelius Rahn — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

America Movil, the wireless carrier controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, predicts a new smartphone running Mozilla's Firefox operating system will help boost revenue and profit.

Yahoo's new work rule criticized

Douglas MacMillan — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 03:00:00 EST

Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer, by ordering staff to report to offices, may risk losing the productivity gains and ability to lure top talent that can come from flexible work arrangements.

Wireless is moving into everyday things

PETER SVENSSON — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

A car that tells your insurance company how you're driving. A bathroom scale that lets you chart your weight on the Web. And a meter that warns your air conditioner when electricity gets more expensive. Welcome to the next phase of the wireless revolution.

Providers to issue copyright warnings

ANNE FLAHERTY — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law.

Sony debuts PlayStation 4, sans the price

Cliff Edwards and Edmund Lee — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4, its first video-game console in seven years, introducing new cloud and social-media features as CEO Kazuo Hirai seeks to reignite sales.

New Chromebook for Google

Brian Womack — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Google Inc., owner of the world's most popular search engine, debuted a touchscreen version of the Chromebook laptop, stepping up its challenge to Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. in computer hardware.

Dell ends 2012 better with buyout looming

Aaron Ricadela — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Dell Inc., the computer maker planning to go private in a $24.4 billion deal, reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales and profit that topped analysts' estimates, a sign of buoyant demand for servers and software.

Outlook ads get ambitious

MICHAEL LIEDTKE — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

Microsoft is so confident it has the Internet's best email service that it's about to spend at least $30 million to send its message across the U.S.