Tech Biz

iPads, MacBooks, Windows 2-in-1s, teacher training, and wireless broadband have all been promised as part of a wide-ranging commitment from US companies to support Barack Obama’s ConnectED plan. The US president is set to fully announce the news in a speech at a Maryland school today, but most of the participating firms have already detailed Continue Reading →

Eight years ago, I first began to write and speak about the future full-time. Then, as always, I was asked about what accurate forecasts I had made. This told me that my legitimacy (to some degree) would be based upon this. I started to make forecasts. The second thing I realized was that most people Continue Reading →

Apple lost its e-book antitrust trial last summer, but so far it hasn’t had to write any checks as part of its punishment. Now a plaintiff’s lawyer wants to deliver a bill: He says Apple should pay $840 million in damages. Steve Berman, an attorney representing consumers and 33 states who linked up with the Continue Reading →

According to numerous sources inside Yahoo, CEO Marissa Mayer has ordered up two under-the-radar initiatives — well, not to me and now you! — that could potentially get the company back into algorithmic search as well as search advertising. The internal code names for the efforts — which are not actually being done together, though Continue Reading →

Microsoft’s first update to Windows 8.1 has leaked on Sunday on various file-sharing websites ahead of its March debut. The early build includes a number of changes that Microsoft is making to improve the keyboard and mouse experience in Windows 8.1. The most obvious change is a new title bar for Microsoft’s Windows 8-style apps, Continue Reading →

Google on Monday announced it is rolling out Google Now to the Chrome beta channel for Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS this week. The company says notifications will be available in English initially, with other languages supported “soon.” Google Now notifications will show up in Chrome’s notification center. To check them, click on the bell Continue Reading →

Microsoft is once again planning to alter the way its Start Screen works in Windows 8.1 Update 1. While the software giant originally released Windows 8.1 last year with an option to bypass the “Metro” interface at boot, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans have revealed to The Verge that the upcoming update for Windows 8.1 Continue Reading →

Twitter announced on Friday that it has acquired over 900 patents from IBM, and that it has entered into a cross-licensing agreement with the Internet services and software company. IBM had issued a complaint against Twitter previously for patent infringement, as reported in an S-1 filing ahead of the social network’s IPO late last year. Continue Reading →

Bitcoin miners and investors will not be regulated by the US Treasury. The clarification came in a pair of rulings on Thursday from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the US Treasury Department, which said that people who mine virtual currencies for personal use and businesses that buy and sell virtual currencies Continue Reading →

Microsoft Corp.’s board is preparing to make Satya Nadella, the company’s enterprise and cloud chief, chief executive officer and is discussing replacing Bill Gates as chairman, according to people briefed on the process. One person the board is considering to take the place of co-founder Gates as chairman is Microsoft’s lead independent director John Thompson, Continue Reading →