PC shipment slump bottoms out
A two-year slump in personal computer sales ended in the second quarter, helped by improving demand in developed markets like North America and Europe.
Microsoft unveils new Surface, fixes shortcomings
NEW YORK — Microsoft refreshed its Surface tablet computers Monday, giving them longer battery life and better comfort on laps as the software giant continues its transformation into a devices and services company. The company said it tried to address many shortcomings of the first-generation Surface models, sales of which have been slow. Microsoft needs […]
Research firm: PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops
SAN FRANCISCO — The ailing personal computer market is getting weaker, and it’s starting to look like it will never fully recover as a new generation of mobile devices reshapes the way people use technology. The latest evidence of the PC’s infirmity emerged Wednesday with the release of two somber reports showing unprecedented declines in […]
Microsoft’s long and tortured history in tablets
NEW YORK — For decades, the tablet computer was like a mirage in the technology industry: a great idea, seemingly reachable on the horizon, that disappointed as hopeful companies got closer. Microsoft has experienced this cycle of hope and disappointment many times. The device unveiled by the Redmond Wash.-based software giant on Monday —the Surface— […]
Dell eyes more than $2B in cuts over 3 years
NEW YORK — Computer maker Dell Inc. is planning to trim its expenses by more than $2 billion during the next three years as it tries into move into the more lucrative fields of technology. Dell outlined its cost-cutting plans Wednesday, the day after the company committed to paying the first quarterly dividend in its […]
Microsoft pledges Windows developers generosity
NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. is stepping up its competition with Apple and plans to give developers who write software for Windows computers and devices a greater share of revenue sold through the company’s upcoming Windows Store. As long as the software, or app, has made at least $25,000 in revenue, Microsoft plans to give […]
Cable companies to offer $9.95 broadband for poor homes
NEW YORK — Cable companies said Wednesday that they will offer Internet service for $9.95 per month to homes with children that are eligible for free school lunches. The offer will start next summer and is part of an initiative the Federal Communications Commission cobbled together to get more U.S. homes connected to broadband. One […]
Amazon launches online media storage service
SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com wants to be more than a destination for shopping online — it also dreams of being a place where you can store your music, photos and videos and access them any time, from any computer. The online retailer launched two new offerings late Monday: Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player. […]
Chipmakers improve an old silicon workhorse
Semiconductor companies are whipping up a new generation of chips to bring richer video and better battery life to personal computers and help them hold off threats from tablets and increasingly powerful smart phones. Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., whose processors are the “brains” of PCs, are unveiling significant changes to their chips’ […]