Strong quarterly results from the likes of Intel, Google and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plus optimistic market-research reports are leading to a growing sense of confidence in the tech sector, which is enjoying an uptick in share prices as IT investors get stoked for a better-than-expected year.
While the computer industry in the 1990s thrived as corporations re-engineered business processes to incorporate IT, this decade has seen technology truly become part of mainstream culture and commerce via the Internet and ever-cheaper and smaller computing devices. Yes, the Internet revolution began in the '90s, but it was not until this decade that 14-year-olds raced ahead of professionals in figuring out how to tap social networks with hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of contacts. Here, in not-quite chronological order, are the top technology stories of the decade, selected by the IDG News Service for their singular impact on the industry as well as their emblematic status as examples of the trends that shaped the course of IT.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage in New York Thursday, playing the role of chief salesman in a day of worldwide launch events, executive speechmaking and sales promotions meant to persuade consumers and businesses to migrate to Windows 7.
Despite Google's phenomenal growth, the Internet search giant does not appear to be worried about taking on too many projects, judging from comments made at a media roundtable Wednesday with company cofounder Sergey Brin and CEO Eric Schmidt.
The French media and advertising company Publicis Groupe will acquire the digital marketing agency Razorfish from Microsoft in a deal valued at about $US530 million, the companies announced Sunday.
Microsoft is cancelling its plan to offer versions of Windows without the Internet Explorer browser in Europe, a move that was supposed to ease antitrust concerns.
Sweden's LM Ericsson has won the bidding war over the wireless assets of Nortel Networks, agreeing to pay US$1.13 billion for the financially beleaguered Canadian company's CDMA business and LTE Access technology.
With IT bellwethers like IBM, Microsoft, Advanced Micro Devices, AT&T and Apple reporting earnings results for the worst quarter for IT since the dot-com bust, and Oracle announcing it will buy Sun Microsystems, this has been one of the most significant weeks of the decade for IT investors.
Comcast.net email went down for potentially millions of subscribers the better part of the day Saturday as users and observers got running commentary on the service provider's efforts to manage the situation via Twitter updates from Frank Eliason, the company's director of Digital Care.
Anyone daring to hope for better financial news from IT vendors this week has been sorely disappointed, as the financial report season continues with layoff announcements by SAP, IBM, Sprint, AOL, Citrix, Texas Instruments and Eastman Kodak, as well as losses and revenue declines.
Citing a turbulent market, few tech companies offered sales forecasts, and most of those that did revised figures downward.
Though Amazon and Red Hat provided a few glimmers of sunlight the tech sector suffered through a turbulent week, with no signs of letup soon.
What started out as a banking crisis became, in 2008, a story for everyone: retailers, consumers, auto workers — and tech professionals. Though it wasn't business as usual, some big mergers — like HP buying EDS — were executed. Long-awaited products like the Android-based G1 "Google phone" were launched. Standards wars involving file formats like OOXML and hardware technology like Blu-Ray concluded. The battle against spam purveyors like McColo went on ... and on. Microsoft, moving into middle age and struggling to gain ascendance on the web, was involved in many of the biggest stories of the year. The most influential entrepreneur of our time, Bill Gates, moved on to focus on philanthropy. Here, not necessarily in order of importance, is the IDG News Service's pick for top 10 technology stories of the year.
SAP will introduce a unified interface across its suite of business applications over the next few quarters, says company co-CEO Leo Apotheker.
Election week in the U.S. turned out to be another tumultuous time on the stock market for tech companies, with a weak forecast from Cisco Systems and bad news for companies including Advanced Micro Devices, Dell, Nokia, Amazon and consumer electronics retailer Circuit City.
Earnings season got under way with a vengeance this week, as bellwether companies such as Google, IBM, Intel, Nokia, Advanced Micro Devices, and eBay issued quarterly reports that, while mixed, offered some good news to IT investors trying to keep afloat in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the stock market crash of 1929.