Can You Imagine Energy in Beta?

Google Gets US Approval To Buy and Sell Energy

Posted by timothy on Friday February 19, @04:32AM
from the smartest-guys-in-the-room dept.
source

"The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday granted Google the authority to buy and sell energy on a wholesale basis. Google applied for the authorization last December through a wholly owned subsidiary called Google Energy. 'We made this filing so we can have more flexibility in procuring power for Google's own operations, including our data centers,' Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said via e-mail. But the authorization also raises the prospect that Google may start to buy and sell energy as a business."

New Linux-Based Laptop For Computer Newbies

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday February 19, @12:03PM
from the bad-software-knows-no-bounds dept.
source


"The BBC is carrying a report on how people confused and frustrated by computers can now turn to a laptop called Alex built just for them. Based on Linux, the laptop comes with simplified e-mail, web browsing, image editing and office software. Those who sign up for Alex pay £39.95 a month for telephone support, software updates and broadband access. The Newcastle-Based Broadband Computer Company who developed Alex has been working on this project for three years, and didn't immediately adopt a Linux solution — in fact, the first big trial was based on Windows. The company's Chief Technology Officer Barney Morrison-Lyons says that was never going to be the right route: "The biggest problem with Microsoft is badly-written software — the operating system allows you to write software badly unlike Mac or Linux." Mr Hudson, one of the company's founders, said the company also intends to launch an application store for Alex for customers who want to add more features and functions to their computer. "People who love Linux will be keen to develop for this," he said."

Very Soon Apple will Conceal Even Names of iPad Owners

Posted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, February 18, 2010 10:43 AM

source

In preparation for the scheduled March delivery of Apple's (AAPL) new iPad tablet computer, the company has blocked its bills of lading and other import records from public access, according to a report issued Thursday by Trade Privacy, a trade data protection company based in Reston, VA.

"Apple is the only major electronics company so far to have protected their import data," says Trade Privacy CEO Andrew Park. "Similar companies like Microsoft, Sony and Google continue to import with their product data exposed to the public."

Nearly a billion records filed with U.S. Customs have been made public through the Freedom of Information Act, according to Trade Privacy's press release, creating a market opportunity for business intelligence companies like ImportGenius and Panjiva that collect, analyze and resell the data.

Do You Want to Know How HP's AirLife Looks Like

Ginny Mies, PC World Feb 17, 2010 7:37 pm
source

HP's Android-based smartbook combines the best of the smartphone and the netbook with an almost full-sized keyboard, long battery life, simplified software, and quick online access.

HTC Working on App Store Tech and Studying Tablets

Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service, Feb 16,2010 4:50pm

source

High Tech Computer (HTC), the world's biggest maker of Windows Mobile and Google Android OS smartphones, is working on technologies for applications used in handsets and application stores and plans to put this software to use but not until a later time.

Rumors about an upcoming app store from the company have swirled for months but HTC CEO Peter Chou finally put them to rest at a news gathering in Taipei prior to the Mobile World Congress, which is currently running in Barcelona...

PHP and Perl crashing the enterprise party

by Matt Asay, February 14, 2010 6:00 AM PST
source

The enterprise has long favored Java and .Net, but PHP and other dynamic programming languages have left their infancies and are rapidly closing the gap on their more stodgy competitors.

That's the message I got from Bart Copeland, CEO of ActiveState, the "dynamic languages company," in a conversation this past week. I wanted to find out how the Vancouver-based "old school" open-source company is faring in building business solutions and developer tools around Perl, Python and Tcl.

Quite well, as it turns out (and as described by Forrester analyst Jeffrey Hammond). But the story is much bigger than ActiveState.

While dynamic programming languages like PHP and Python dominate Web engineering, the signs that they are breaking Java and .Net's hold on the enterprise are less clear. Forrester recently reported that PHP claims the highest instance of open source use within enterprises, at 57 percent penetration. But it's also the case that the bulk of enterprise software spending goes to Java and .Net-based software.

Who is winning?...

HP's Smartbook May Battle It out With Apple's IPad

Agam Shah, IDG News Service, Feb 13, 2010 3:30 am

source

Hewlett-Packard's first smartbook, the Compaq AirLife 100, announced on Friday, could be a rival to Apple's iPad as the two companies aim to attract buyers looking for netbook alternatives, analysts said.

AirLife is a hybrid laptop that combines the hardware and software usually found in a smartphone with the design of a netbook. It is as portable as a netbook but offers longer battery life of up to 12 hours. Apple will soon start shipping the iPad tablet, a handheld device designed to let users browse the Internet, play games, read e-books and view video content.

Intel and Nokia's MeeGo Join a Brewing OS War

Jared Newman, PCWorld, Feb 16, 2010 12:39 am
source


Nokia and Intel have become allies in a new clash of the operating systems with the joint creation of MeeGo. MeeGo is an operating system that blurs the line between a robust mobile phone OS and a lightweight netbook OS.

MeeGo is a hybrid of two operating systems. One is Nokia's Maemo, which recently appeared in the N900 smartphone. The second is Intel's Moblin, an OS primarily intended for netbooks. Both platforms are open-source and Linux-based, as MeeGo will be.

Standardize This! 10 Technology Messes That Need Fixing

Dan Tynan, PCWorld, Feb 16, 2010 5:00 am

source

Why should every mobile device in your house have a different charger? Why can’t a cell phone from one network work on every other system? These ten solutions would stop the madness.

Enough with bickering cell phone technologies, messaging systems that won't talk, incompatible file formats, and TV remotes that spread like kudzu across your coffee table. We've been dealing with some of these problems for more than a decade, and it's time for things to improve...

Microsoft unveils Windows Phone Series 7

By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporterFebruary 15, 2010: 10:37 AM ET

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new operating system for mobile phones Monday, marking its latest move to reclaim a leading position against rivals Apple, Research in Motion and Google.

Just a few years ago, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) was embedded in about a quarter of all smartphones sold. It's now in less than 10%, with competition coming from the iPhone and BlackBerry. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500)'s Android has only made a crowded space even tougher for Microsoft.