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Rumors are rampant over a proposed Verizon-Nokia deal on a 4G mobile device, as equity options traders snapped up calls (options to buy a given stock at lower prices) in anticipation of a big run-up in Nokia’s stock. Nokia is trading at: $8.76, up a tick or two from the …

When Warren Buffett talks, Wall Street – and Main Street – listen. And now he’s talking about the future of the U.S. economy. In a wide-ranging, three-hour interview on CNBC yesterday, Buffett said, “the economy has fallen off a cliff.” Noting people have "changed their habits", Buffett seemed very frustrated …

Charlie Payne, sounding a lot like Revolutionary War pamphleteer Thomas Paine, says that we're in the 2009 version of “these are the times that try men’s souls”. Of course, the historical Paine once also said that those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the …

[URL="http://skype.com/welcomeback/"]Skype[/URL] is an excellent VoIP phone service for telecommuters or company employees who travel a lot. You can make and receive calls from your computer for free, and get a personalized phone number, voicemail, and other upgrades for a small fee. Skype announced a new fee-based feature this week, voice-to-text …

The Maryland Court of Appeals has reversed a lower-court ruling that a website must reveal the names of anonymous posters during a defamation hearing, and has issued guidelines for how such requests should be made in the future. The court ruling laid out the following steps in its [URL="http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2009/63a08.pdf"]decision[/URL]: [LIST=1] …

So the analysts are saying computers are going to decline in volume shipments this quarter, for the first time in ages. I'm not surprised. The circumstances are probably worse for the IT industry than they were last time this happened, in 2002. The people who make these things have made …

It wasn't that long ago that we were thrilled when politicians started using Twitter. Now we kinda wish they'd stop -- except for the one who has, it seems, actually stopped. President Barack Obama, who [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2689.html"]began Tweeting[/URL] during his campaign last summer, has fallen silent since Jan. 19 -- the …

Oh, the poor beleaguered BlackBerry Storm. It just can't catch a break. Mobile phone company Orange delayed its launch in the UK last year because of undisclosed "[URL="http://mobiletechaddicts.com/2008/10/09/orange-internal-statement-on-blackberry-bold-quality-issues/"]software issues[/URL]." The Bold's much anticipated arrival in the U.S. [URL="http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/11/the_blackberry_5.html;jsessionid=QK2ZU3QQNUR2QQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN"]got bumped back[/URL] nearly six months. Now sales of one of Research In …

Two pieces of dispiriting information on the economy hit the big wire services today: The Associated Press -- The economy contracted at a staggering 6.2 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as consumers and businesses ratcheted back spending, plunging the country deeper into …

Few things are more cringe-inducing than admitting to your boss that you lost your company-issued laptop. No matter how careful you are about securing your computer, sometimes all it takes is a second for it to vanish in a crowded airport or bus. To increase the chances of getting your …

Though it hasn't gotten as much attention, one of the biggest recipients of largesse from President Barack Obama's stimulus package is the health care information technology industry. The bill requires utilization of electronic health care records for everyone in the U.S. by 2014, when only about 28 percent of health …

Rumors were rampant all over Wall Street that Barack Obama trotted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke out yesterday to calm the markets by declaring the recession could be over by the last half of 2009. It was a surprise to hear Bernanke, who’s been relatively quiet about the economy to …

If you've been following this blog for any length of time, you know I focus a lot on employment -- or lack thereof -- in the tech sector. I'm always on the lookout for ways IT professionals can get additional skills or enhance the ones they have, so I feel …

Unless you were unplugged and on living on a Himalayan mountaintop last week, you no doubt heard about the Great Facebook Flap of 2009. If not, then be sure to read [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4008.html"]Ron Miller's excellent recap[/URL] at TechTreasures. ComputerWorld's Frank Hayes posted a great article this morning that takes a look …

Is there hope for stocks in 2009? At all? A University of Iowa business professor things so, and he claims he has the data to prove it. It’s all about upside potential – and the fact that Wall Street has already baked a lot of the bad news into the …

178 Web posters who thought they were anonymous are being [URL="http://www.connordemond.com/LESHER-OMEGA_PETITION.pdf"]sued[/URL], and the website where they made the offending posts has been ordered to release information to help identify them. A couple, Mark and Rhonda Lesher, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and the websites for [URL="http://www.topix.com/forum/city/mckinney-tx"]McKinney[/URL], [URL="http://www.topix.com/forum/city/clarksville-tx"]Clarksville[/URL], and …

Are small company software stocks – especially medical technology companies -- a safe, even profitable, haven for investors these days? Could be – especially if you’re looking to forego higher-risk plays like oil and financials – that your focus should be on smaller med tech companies, one institutional investor advises. …

As layoffs mount in every industry across the nation, there's no shortage of advice on how to avoid or cope with them. Suggestions range from taking some time off to catch your breath to jumping right back on the in the saddle after your last paycheck clears. It's difficult to …

This is the sort of thing that annoys me intensely. Our Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Davies of Abersoch, has been asking the good people at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona what they need to grow the mobile business, what it's all about, that sort of …

Sometimes you see a story and it surprises you. Sometimes it seems like the obvious thing, for many people. And sometimes it concerns something you'd been talking about for months, and why on earth didn't they think of this before? The news about which I'm particularly pleased falls into the …

The bearish global economic environment just keeps adding pressure to technology stocks. As gross domestic product (GDP) drops in bourses around the globe, tech traders are nervous, at least for the short term. Take Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun is seeing a decline in GDP, falling to the …

Although it is all too easy to think of Queen Elizabeth II, as being something of an old fart the truth is that Her Madge would appear to have one eye firmly on the future. Indeed, the thoroughly modern monarch can already be found broadcasting [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3846.html"]just like the Pope[/URL] on …

Look, I am a British father of four. Two of my kids have been through the teenage years, so I know all too well just what a love affair the UK has with text messaging. As does my bank manager. So it really should not come as any surprise to …

Earlier in the year I clipped out a few expert predictions on technology stocks for 2009. From time to time, I’ll check in and see how those stocks are doing. It’s only six weeks into the new year, and perhaps it’s not fair to check in so early. Still, conditions …

I’m a big fan of satellite radio. I have XM Radio in my car, and right now, at my desk as I’m writing these words, I’m listening to Frank Caliendo on XM's Laugh USA on channel 151. So I was very excited to hear last year that Sirius Radio and …

President Obama - I still like saying that and I'm not even in his continent (OK, a little bias there, you may disagree) - is of course to be applauded for his decision to launch a root and branch investigation into American cyber-security. In fact I'd urge other countries, particularly …

Jaspersoft CEO Brian Gentile made an [URL="http://openbookonbi.blogspot.com/"]interesting observation on his blog[/URL] last week about what enterprise information systems need to do in order to appeal to younger workers. He says that because the up-and-coming workforce is so completely comfortable with technology, their expectations will be higher than past generations and …

Boy. What does a tech outfit have to do to get some love on Wall Street? Intel announces a $7 billion effort to upgrade a pair of chip manufacturing centers in the U.S. and Intel’s stock price actually drops by over 3% in Tuesday trading (to $14..44 per share). I’ll …

I really don’t write enough about the biopharmaceutical market, which in tough economic times, can be a good defensive play relative to the rest of the market – even when compared to uniform technology stocks. My reasoning is simple. We have illness, disease, and injury in good economic times and …

Another sliver of sunshine in the economic clouds – two of them, actually – as the U.S. service sector shrank in January, but less severely than expected, according to a report released by The Institute for Supply Management. The ISM reported that its non-manufacturing index came in at 42.9 in …

From angry customers to irate CIOs, service outages are an IT nightmare to be avoided at all costs. It's impossible to prevent them entirely, so post-mortem assessment is critical to understanding how to minimize their impact in the future. While not strictly a service "outage," [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3900.html"]Google's search engine mishap[/URL] last …

I can't imagine the issue is of much interest outside the UK (although I see the New York Times is having a laugh at our expense, understandably) but it's been snowing a bit in London. This will become important in a minute, bear with me. I should explain that in …

A government is rolling out a wireless network, starting with 18 cities, using WiMAX technology that supports mobile networking, for $30 a month. The real news is where it is: Libya. WiMAX, based on similar technology to cell phone networks, offers wider coverage than is possible using wifi. Like wifi, …

It looks like Encyclopaedia Britannica, for hundreds of years the first name you thought of when the word 'encyclopaedia' was mentioned until Wikipedia came along and kicked sand in its face, is about to change. Sure, EB has changed rather a lot since it first saw the light of day …

Yesterday I blogged about a blogger who didn't seem to realise he'd become a de facto publisher by putting his stuff on the Internet. He'd taken someone to court over a comment they'd made on his blog and - understandably - the judge considered that if he hadn't felt strongly …

Even if your marketing team says you don't need a company blog (though you probably do), consider setting up a Web site status blog for your visitors or customers. A status blog is a basic, no-frills site that contains updates and posts concerning a Web site's uptime (and downtime). It's …

A recent report from the [URL="http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Broadband%20Barriers.pdf"]Pew Internet & American Life Project[/URL] suggests that even if broadband Internet is made more widely available in the U.S., 9% of adults said they aren't interested in switching from dial-up, and 25% of adults aren't on the Internet at all and are unlikely to …

I've been writing in the UK's Guardian newspaper about the prospects of 3D in the television world. There was some excitement at CES about the new technology (I say 'new', I'd seen demos in 2006 in Paris) and it's apparently going to be the Next Big Thing. Or not. In …

In the run-up to Inauguration Day, just about has been everyone speculating on what changes our newly-elected president will bring to the table. Naturally, we talk a lot around DaniWeb about how Obama's plans will affect the tech sector. As long as everyone else is making predictions and suggestions, I …

With Inauguration Day finally upon us, mobile phone operators across the US are preparing for what could be a bigger test of capacity than the traditional biggest strain on the mobile network, New Year's Eve. Hopefully the months of hard work, involving adding capacity and prepping networks to cope with …

It's true, Elvis Presley's birthplace and I are complete strangers. But if I had been there, or better still if I were planning to visit, I hope I wouldn't say anything overtly insulting about the place. Unlike, say, James Andrews, VP of Ketchum PR. He seems to have [URL="http://mumbrella.com.au/2009/01/16/two-digital-blunders-pr-man-disses-his-clients-city-on-twitter-radio-trade-bodys-rogue-email/"]embarrassed himself[/URL] …

A reader at Slashdot [URL="http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/01/13/222229"]posed an interesting question[/URL] this week. His (or her?) company has instituted a new scheduling policy known as "9/80." It compresses 80 hours of work into only nine days, instead of the more traditional 10. In exchange for working longer days, employees get every other Friday …

My youngest daughter got a Nintendo DS for xmas, complete with a bunch of cutesy games which seem to involve patting animals of various kinds. It is, of course, pink. Which has kind of summed up the DS, a handheld games console for the family which is all cuddly and …

India-based IT company [URL="http://www.satyam.com/"]Satyam[/URL] is facing scandal after its chairman, Ramalingam Raju, admitted he falsified approximately $1 billion of profit in the last several years. The incident, which some are calling India's Enron, may end up costing hundreds of IT workers in Australia their jobs and undermining confidence in one …

According to the latest figures to be released, it would seem that as far as gamers in the UK are concerned Nintendo is the bees knees grabbing nearly half the market. The [URL="http://www.elspa.com/"]ELSPA[/URL] numbers show that the [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/22425/532/"]Wii[/URL] managed to increase game software sales by 112 percent over the previous …

A new [URL="http://www.e-janco.com/Salary.htm"]study[/URL] by Janco Associates, Inc. is full of gloom-and-doom about the state of employment in the IT industry. A year-long survey of U.S. and Canadian businesses indicates a combination of job outsourcing, layoffs, and other cost-cutting measures have led to the worst job market IT professionals have seen …

CNN’s Rick Sanchez is the latest victim of the “Twitter” curse. Sanchez, a CNN on-air anchor, reportedly fell victim to a phishing scam that could undermine the investment rationale for Twitter by big investors, one of the most popular social networking sites on the internet. In a “tweet” on Monday, …

Reports just in suggest that a couple of manufacturers are about to launch televisions with the capacity to view films immediately built in. At least that's what the confusingly-worded [URL="http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKTRE5040E820090105?feedType=nl&feedName=uktechnology"]news report[/URL] I picked up said (unusual for Reuters to confuse us in this way). What it means is that TVs …

Remember the [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3670.html"]Idaho elected official[/URL] a few weeks back who got in trouble for forwarding a message, comparing Michelle Obama to a black widow spider, to 26 people from his official email account? It gets better. The [I]Kuna-Melba News[/I], a weekly paper that covers western Ada County and eastern Canyon …

An interesting report from the BBC this morning suggests that smartphone sales will decline worldwide except in developing nations over the coming 12 months. Well, duh. It's been known for a while at least in the UK that there are now actually more handsets than there are people. And as …