Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft has had its run-ins with the cloud before, but if CEO Steve Ballmer is being serious (and we’re guessing he is), the company is about to get even more connected. Speaking with computer science students this week at the University of Washington, Ballmer was quoted as saying that “a year from now… 90 percent [of Microsoft employees would be working in the cloud].” He went on to say that the cloud base “is the bet, if you will, for our company,” and he noted that it’ll “create opportunities for all the folks in [the] room to do important research and build important projects.” It’s not like any of this is an epiphany, though; we’ve already seen a shift to Google Documents given the ability to access it from any web-connected computer, and with the proliferation of broadband on the up and up, it’s only a matter of time before it’s more convenient to open a web app than to wait for your taskbar to stop bouncing. In related news, Google Europe boss John Herlihy has essentially mirrored those thoughts, calling the desktop an item that will be “irrelevant” in three years. Why? Largely because most everything you’ll need a tower for will be available via a mobile or the web, but we all know that sect of hardcore gamers will keep the beige boxes rolling for at least another score.

Steve Ballmer emphasizes importance of the cloud, Google pretty much does likewise originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all love a good debate about how the tech giants of today are competing with each other, but rarely do we get a handy reference sheet like this to point people to. Nick Bilton of the New York Times has put together a segment-by-segment comparison between America’s tech heavyweights, which does a fine job of pinpointing who competes with whom and where. We find the gaps in coverage more intriguing than the overlaps, though, with Microsoft’s only unticked box — mobile hardware — raising habitual rumors of a Pink phone. Apple’s absence from the provision of mapping services might also soon be at an end, given the company acquired map maker Placebase in July of last year (see Computerworld). Anyway, there should be plenty more for you to enjoy, so hit the source for the full chart and get analyzin’.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo compared at the macro level originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asustek has informed the Taiwanese Stock Exchange that it will completely spin off its motherboard and graphics card subsidiary, Pegatron, in July 2010. The split is driven by the parent company’s desire to continue its competition against the likes of HP and Dell under the ASUS brandname, while still collecting ODM and motherboard orders from those same companies for its manufacturing business. For its part, the newly self-governing Pegatron will be expected to advance the ASRock brand up from its current entry-level position and into the mainstream. We don’t know how well that’s going to go down, but at least the mobo market will be primed to embrace a new name after the heartbreak of losing old stalwarts like Abit and now ASUS.

[Thanks, Mack S]

Asustek to spin off motherboard and GPU business under Pegatron brand originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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News Corp, Time Inc., Condé Nast Publications Inc., Hearst Corp., and Meredith Corp. If this Wall Street Journal report is to be believed here, these five major media firms are preparing to announce a new joint venture tomorrow to “prepare print publications for a new generation of electronic readers and other digital devices.” Details are a bit sketchy here, and what makes it more interesting / confounding is that many of these companies already have or have showcased separate initiatives, such as Hearst’s Skiff and tablet demos from both Time and Condé Nast. We’ll be eager to find out if there are any devices the group rallies behind (or even produces itself), but one thing’s for sure: good old Rupert Murdoch will have something fun to say on the matter.

Major media giants to form joint venture for digital future, says WSJ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to say if these guys were just looking to get this whole thing finalized before the holiday break, but either way, all the requisite i’s have been dotted and t’s crossed. As of today, Sprint Nextel has acquired Virgin Mobile USA — a process that began back in late July — and frankly, there’s nothing you can do about it. The move will obviously position Sprint as a bigger player in the prepaid space, but outside of that presumably true assumption, it’s tough to say what else the newfound lovers will do together. So, will the Facebook statuses be updated soon as well? Hello?

Sprint finalizes Virgin Mobile USA acquisition, rushes out to snag some cranberry sauce originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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