Business Tech

Microsoft opines: Vista was 'cheesy'; drops Aero

Microsoft published a "brief" history of the Windows interface in a blog post today that offered some flashes of candor about Vista and Windows 95 and argued that the tablet as we know it today is one device too many. Redmond also said it was dropping Aero Glass.

First and foremost, Microsoft said it has "moved beyond" Aero Glass on the Windows 8 desktop, in Friday's Building Windows 8 post.

"We spent a lot of energy carefully considering how substantially to update the appearance of the desktop in Windows 8...Our primary goal was to bring visual harmony to more

Oracle-Google: Another juror falls as impasse looms (again)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Rather than 12 Angry Men, proceedings in Oracle v. Google are starting to play out more like And Then There Were None.

That's because the jury lost another member on Friday morning, bringing the total count to five men and five women. The trial originally started with 12 people in April: five men and seven women.

The juror that was dismissed on Friday complained the day before that she had come down with a cold. Although she was originally instructed to try to show up at the U.S. District Court of Northern California on Friday more

Facebook IPO more fizz than pop

week in review The world's largest social-networking company finally went public -- but the event lacked the punch many had expected from the third-largest IPO in history.

After a 30-minute delay in the stock's anticipated opening, shares took observers on a bit of a rollercoaster ride, shooting up to $43.20 from their $38 opening and then dropping back down to a break-even price.

The company raised $16 billion on the sale of 421.2 million shares in the offering, putting it at a valuation of $104.1 billion.

Facebook's IPO maneuver (roundup)

Facebook raises $16 billion more

Nasdaq hitch mars Facebook's big day

Updated at 2:33 p.m. PT

In the end, all of Facebook's major shareholders and insiders who cashed out today got their big payday. It just took a little bit longer for the company to celebrate than initially anticipated.

Facebook this morning was expected to go public at about 8 a.m. PT. However, the shares didn't start trading until approximately 8:30 a.m. PT, causing some to wonder what might have caused the hiccup. During that period, Bloomberg reported that it had received an e-mailed statement from Nasdaq, saying only that it was "experiencing a delay."more

Platform as a service moves into the data center

Early discussion of cloud computing focused on the public option. In fact, the economic concept of computing delivered as a sort of utility by mega service providers such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft was at the core of the original cloud-computing concept.

As it turns out though, these public clouds are hardly the only form that cloud computing has taken. Computing is more complicated than a true utility like electricity. For this and other reasons, private and hybrid clouds -- which use computers and other IT resources controlled by a single organization -- have evolved to become an important part more

Ex-Yahoo CEO Thompson resigns from F5 Networks board

Former Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has resigned from his position as director on the F5 Networks board.

The company, which provides application delivery networking solutions, announced the resignation in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today, saying that it would take effect immediately.

Thompson left Yahoo last week after it was revealed that his resume included mention of him earning both a computer science degree and accounting degree from Stonehill College. Thompson only received an accounting degree from the college.

F5 Networks' Web site still lists Thompson as one of its directors. The company writes in his biography that he more

Facebook shares jump, then fall, then close flat

Last update: 1:37 p.m. PT.

The world's largest social network is now a public company, and though it got off to a good start, the share price story for the day wasn't terribly inspiring.

Facebook today kicked off its IPO day at $38 a share, and in early trading, the company's stock jumped 12 percent to $42.50, and touched a high of $43.20.

But the shares took a startling plunge soon thereafter back to about the starting price before trending upward once again to just over $41 by early afternoon Eastern time. The more

As Nokia burns through cash, analysts worry

Nokia has been on a cash-spending tear as of late, and most analysts believe there will be no way for the company to stop it.

Reuters today released the results of a poll it conducted with analysts on their thoughts related to Nokia's cash spending. According to the news service, analysts on average believe that Nokia will cut through 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) in the next three quarters to keep its operation going. If Nokia does so, it would mean that its cash-spending rate would be accelerating: during the last five quarters, it burned through 2.1 more

RIM, Motorola try compromise in Apple nano-SIM battle

Some of the most prominent mobile companies in the world are working on a new standard for SIM cards. The only issue is, they can't seem to come to an agreement. But three of those firms yesterday tried to get one step closer to an accord.

According to The Verge, citing sources, RIM, Nokia, and Motorola yesterday unveiled a new concept design for the nano-SIM standard. The card itself looks similar to its elders, featuring a rectangular design with a notched corner. However, like other nano-SIM design concepts, the latest from RIM, Nokia, and Motorola is extremely small, potentially more

Steve Jobs involved in design of future iPhone, says report

Steve Jobs had a lot of input into the design of the upcoming the iPhone, according to a report.

The Apple co-founder and former CEO "worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October," according to a report from Bloomberg, which did not identify the source.

The Phone's design was in the works before the release of the iPhone 4S, giving Jobs plenty of opportunity to contribute, the report added.

Apple's next iteration of the iPhone, with a rumored 4-inch screen is due by October, according to more