May, 2011 — Tech News and Analysis

Archive for May 2011

Now that the word is out on the Microsoft-Skype deal, the pick-up is still leaving many scratching their heads. Others, however, are seeing some of the wisdom in the move, though it still comes down to Microsoft making the deal work, which is far from given.… Read More »

Microsoft confirmed that it has agreed to acquire Skype for $8.5 billion and plans to integrate the Internet communications service into a wide array of products from Kinect and Windows Phone 7 to Lync, Outlook and Xbox Live. Read More »

 
 

Akamai has created a partnership with Riverbed Networks to improve the delivery of enterprise applications over both public and private networks, giving Akamai a foothold in the enterprise market as cloud computing heats up. It’s a response to the changes wrought by a more connected world. Read More »

The Evolution of Home Energy Management

Tendril Networks is finally seeing some of its dozens of utility pilots blossom into full-scale commercial deployments numbering in the millions of homes. But where does Tendril’s classic model of in-home devices linked to smart meters fit into today’s brave new world of home energy management? Read More »

A mobile analytics firm found that 15 percent of app launches happen offline. That’s a fair amount of offline app launches suggesting that our wireless connectivity needs to improve and app developers might be well served by building in more offline use for their apps. Read More »

Want to improve the economy? Then demand better broadband. Policymakers at all levels of government need to watch municipal efforts such as those in Kansas City, Kan. with Google’s fiber network. That gigabit network could prove the link between broadband and economic development. Read More »

YouTube Launches Live Captions at Google I/O

The Google I/O live video stream will be accessible to hearing-impaired viewers and search engine crawlers alike, thanks to a new live captions feature unveiled by YouTube today. The feature combines manual transcription with automatic translation and will be available to any YouTube Live partner. Read More »

The CEO of Vigilent (formerly called Federspiel Controls) Mark Housley, says there’s been so little technology introduced into cooling systems for data centers “it’s almost criminal.” Vigilent provides smart software via a wireless sensor network to manage and optimize these cooling systems. Read More »

There may be many questions about Microsoft’s decision to buy Skype, but one thing is for sure: It can take video conferencing video calling to a whole different level, thanks to Kinect. If you watch these videos, you can easily imagine the future of video… Read More »

Microsoft is close to finalizing a deal to buy Skype for $8.5 billion. The Wall Street Journal confirmed the news after we had first reported the news yesterday. The deal is especially good for Microsoft’s partners including Nokia and Facebook. Read More »

LocalResponse is taking location data from check-ins and combining it with implicit location information gathered from social status updates to create a targeted marketing platform that lets businesses reach consumers in real-time wherever they are. Today, they’re rolling out the engine for national brands. Read More »

Where to Watch Google I/O 2011 Online

Google I/O sold out in just 59 minutes, meaning only the most rabid fans and developers will be in attendance this year. But for those who can’t make it, Google will be supplying a live stream as well as archived videos of sessions that aren’t streamed. Read More »

More Must Reads

Flattr, a micropayment startup, says it is launching a new feature that will allow users to pay people by using their Twitter username. Could this give Flattr enough scale to make it a real payment solution, or will it join the heap of failed micropayment solutions? Read More »

Auto makers aren’t making much money (if any) off of electric cars yet. The same thing is true for the makers of the batteries that will run them. A123 System on Monday reported lower sales and widened its loss for the first quarter. Read More »

Want to get a feel for the size of Samsung Infuse 4G? I compare it to several other phones, an iPod touch and even a 7-inch tablet. Although the Infuse 4G doesn’t use a dual-core processor, Android 2.2 runs fairly quickly on the 1.2 GHz chip.… Read More »

With the WatchESPN app, Android users can now watch live streams of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on their mobile devices. There’s just one catch: to do so, they’ll have to be Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS subscribers. Read More »

When we discuss telecommuting dilemmas for businesses, we often jump to talking about management issues. But many other parts of an organization can also have concerns about telecommuting; one of them is the human resources department. Here are four issues that your HR department may face. Read More »

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