Corporate and legal

Google's still-nascent efforts to dominate the mobile market, already reeling from Apple's surging iPhone platform, were dealt another blow on Thursday when Intel and Novell announced that they will collaborate to promote Intel's Moblin operating system, a rival Linux distribution for mobile devices.

Whereas Google is initially targeting smartphones with Android (though an Android-based Netbook has apparently been released), Intel is targeting Moblin at Netbooks.

Additionally, Android and Moblin aren't simply two different Linux distributions, in the way that Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server are. Android and Moblin use Linux in different … Read more

AT&T may slash the price of its iPhone service plan by $10 when a new version of the touchscreen smartphone is launched this summer, according to a story on TheStreet.com.

The article cited analyst Michael Cote of Cote Collaborative saying that there is a "strong possibility" that AT&T will drop the entry-level price of its service plan to $59 from $69. Apple is expected to unveil the latest iPhone on June 8 during the company's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

AT&T declined to comment for this story, and Michael Cote did not respond to an e-mail request for an interview.

The price cut would likely help make the iPhone, which now retails for $200 with a two-year service plan with AT&T, more appealing to more mainstream customers. I've been saying for quite some time that the biggest hurdle to widescale adoption of the iPhone or any other smartphone in the mainstream market is the high price tag of the service contracts.

Consumers have shown that they are willing to pay anywhere between $100 and $200 for a sophisticated smartphone device. But the monthly service charge, which starts at $69 for the iPhone, is much harder to swallow.

It puts the real cost of the iPhone 3G over the life of the two-year contract at a whopping $1,856, which includes the price of the 8GB phone and 24 months of the most basic iPhone voice and data plan. It doesn't include the activation fee or taxes and other fees associated with the account. For subscribers who need more voice minutes or unlimited texting, the price tag is even higher.

Still, a $240 reduction in the overall cost of the phone over the life of the contract could entice some cost-conscious consumers.… Read more

Intel's "rock star" ads will try to show that Intel is more than just microprocessors--a theme of its broader ad campaign to launch on Monday.

One of the first Internet-based ads focuses on Ajay Bhatt, an Intel Fellow who was one of the principal engineers behind the development of USB, a crucial Intel technology used in virtually all PCs today. (Intel engineers in the ads are personified by hired actors. "Several of the engineers we're personifying confided that acting isn't within their comfort zone," said Sandra Lopez, Intel's global consumer marketing manager … Read more

Satellite radio company Sirius XM Radio, despite recording a greater net loss for the first quarter of 2009, says it is encouraged by higher sales.

New York-based Sirius XM on Thursday reported a net loss of $236.6 million, or 7 cents a share, compared with $104.1 million, or 7 cents, in 2008's first quarter. Sales grew to $587 million from $270.4 million in the year-ago quarter, while operating costs dropped 23 percent.

Subscribers to the company's services dropped to 18.6 million, from 19 million at the end of 2008, which Sirius XM attributes to … Read more

Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, Dell, and Panasonic are among several companies teaming up to form the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, a group that will push a new wireless standard for transmitting data over short distances at gigabit speeds.

The new WiGig standard will transmit data at around 6 gigabits per second, which is much faster than current versions of Wi-Fi. The speedy wireless technology should easily be able to deliver high-definition video between computers and TV set-top boxes.

But because the technology only transmits over shorter distances, it will primarily be used within a single room to provide wireless connectivity between home … Read more

Updated 5:37 p.m. PDT Comments and analysis added from Cisco's conference call.

Cisco Systems reported quarterly losses on Wednesday, but the company still managed to beat Wall Street analyst expectations as its CEO cautiously reported that business customers are feeling better about the economy.

Based on non-GAAP, or non-generally accepted accounting principles, the networking equipment maker reported earnings of 30 cents a share on sales of $8.2 billion. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of 25 cents a share on revenue of $8.1 billion.

Cisco said sales of its products were down about … Read more

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer began his talk at Stanford University by offering a quick course in economics.

Explaining the economic crisis that has slowed business worldwide and caused Microsoft to have its first companywide layoffs, Ballmer told the crowd at the school's packed Memorial Auditorium, "The world borrowed too much money."

Then he went back to his obligatory chat about the early days at Microsoft, including when he dropped out of Stanford's business school to join the software maker. He noted that he knew how to read a balance sheet, but not much … Read more

In the wake of additional layoffs on Tuesday, Microsoft is scaling back--but not totally eliminating--several products. After cutting 1,400 jobs in January, Microsoft said on Tuesday that it is cutting more than 3,000 more jobs.

Among those products affected are Microsoft's ResponsePoint phone system, its .Net Micro Framework, and its MSN Direct Service.

Microsoft said it will continue to sell and support the initial version of ResponsePoint, which is aimed at small businesses.

"We will also continue to promote the product online and spotlight compatible 3rd party services and add-on products," Microsoft said in a … Read more

A correction has been made to this story. See below for details.

Long removed from its glory days, Borland Software has relinquished its independence.

The Austin, Texas-based software maker said Wednesday that it has agreed to be acquired in its entirety by Micro Focus International in a $75 million cash transaction, unanimously approved by the boards of both companies.

Borland has struggled in recent years, grappling with weak revenue growth, workforce reductions, and the lack of a consistent direction. Its results for 2008 showed lower revenue and a higher operating loss compared to results from the previous year. It recently … Read more