BusinessWeek Online -- Tech Beat

The Silver Lining on GM's Private Plane PR Problem: At Least GM Leased.

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:05:26 -0500

If you're going somewhere with tin cup in hand, it's probably best to leave the corporate jet at home. That's what GM CEO Rick Wagoner and other Detroit car execs found out the hard way, when they were lambasted during...

Google Launches SearchWiki for Customized Search Results

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:46:51 -0500

After almost a year of testing and some recent early sightings, Google today is planning to launch SearchWiki, a way for searchers to edit their own search results. When you log into your Google account--and you need to have one...

Consumer Electronics With A Twist

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:05:33 -0500

One good thing that could come out of this economic downturn is an explosion of innovation in consumer electronics. There are signs that the electronics industry may be inching closer to breaking a new frontier and offering flexible consumer electronics.

Cisco Needs To Step Up To Reduce Net Censorship, Says Net Freedom Advocate

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:03:26 -0500

I recently finished writing a story on Net censorship in Saudi Arabia, as part of a larger package on Cisco's ambitions in the world's emerging markets. Throughout the process, my editor Peter Elstrom and I struggled with how to explain...

Microsoft to Stop Charging For Home PC Security

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:32:41 -0500

Two years after jumping into the PC security software market, Microsoft is scaling back its ambitions there. The company said Nov. 18 it’s discontinuing its $50-a-year OneCare software in favor of a give-away program due next year called Morro. Not...

Apple's iPhone to Debut at Wal-Mart?

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:57:32 -0500

Several blogs are claiming that Apple's iPhone will go on sale at Wal-Mart beginning Dec. 28. Is this the right move for Apple? You bet.

Who Should Lead Yahoo? Answer: Nobody

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:06:22 -0500

From Creative Capital: Well, no one can say they didn't see it coming. Jerry Yang is finally out at Yahoo, reports Kara Swisher with the big scoop. And no one can say he didn't deserve it. Yang, having spurned Microsoft's...

Focus On The Big Fish, SEC. There Will Always Be Mark Cubans To Go After

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:34:13 -0500

So SEC, you're going after Mark Cuban, for alleged insider trading on a company nobody has heard of? Really? Don't get me wrong. $750,000 is an awful lot of money where I come from. That's the amount he allegedly saved...

Jerry Yang to Step Down As Yahoo CEO; Will Microsoft Return?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:56:14 -0500

Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang will step down as CEO as soon as a successor is found, the embattled Internet company just announced. The release (quoted in full after the jump, along with Yang's memo to the troops) came...

Spansion Fires A Salvo Amid Memory Slump

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:20:55 -0500

Amid a memory chip market decimated by competition and plunging prices, flash memory maker Spansion is trying to remodel itself as a technology licensing company. It announced its intention with fireworks on Monday, filing twin patent infringement lawsuits against South...

Windows Live--Welcome to the Social

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:09:57 -0500

I'm a bit late getting to this, but Microsoft has finally taken the wraps off its completely overhauled Windows Live service, Redmond's attempt to become a force in the burgeoning world of social networking. While the service is well designed,...

Why Obama Should Keep His BlackBerry

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:17:27 -0500

The news over the weekend was full of stories about (the AP's, for example) how Barack Obama will have to give up his beloved BlackBerry once he enters the White house. While I can see why he might choose to,...

Valleywag On The YouTube Election

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:29:51 -0500

Consider for a moment that the last time this nation elected a president that YouTube didn't exist. Then consider for a moment how important Google's YouTube and sites like it played in the political discourse of 2008. When the historians...

The Ax-Man Finally Arrives at Sun.

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:29:54 -0500

It's a hard thing to watch Sun. On the day the company takes another whack at giving Wall Street the massive layoffs its been demanding, the immediate reaction seems to be: it's not enough. Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, for...

Obama's New Lobbying Rules May Affect FCC Chief Selection

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:09:47 -0500

Henry Rivera, an influential Washington lawyer who was expected to be key in selecting the next chairman of the Federal Communications Committee, may have to help Obama with something else, instead. Blame new lobbying rules the Obama team announced today.