Teamwork has always been a successful way to get a job done. Case in point: Paul McCartney’s solo albums are all well and lovely on their own, but it was the collaborative efforts of four kids from Liverpool that first birthed a musical revolution. And while the technology industry has had its own fair share of notable collaborations (the most recent arguably being Microsoft and Yahoo’s much-debated Internet search partnership) we often find ourselves asking: What would happen if other leading trailblazers in the space (say, Dell and HP) could let bygones be bygones and tie the knot to the benefit of high-tech innovation worldwide? Tempted by the possibilities, we asked several of today’s leading tech experts which consumer electronics behemoths they themselves wish would get a clue, stop butting heads and join forces. For all you dreamers out there, here are the results:
Tag Archive: Tech
2009’s Hottest Holiday Tech Trends
Leaves are dropping, days are shortening, and colder air is sweeping in. The holidays are almost here, and for most of us, that means feeling out proper gifts for friends and family – and, if we’re lucky, dropping just the right hints to unwrap what we’re after this year too. The especially good news for gadget enthusiasts being as follows: If your preferred pick happens to be a high-tech item, there’s a lot to get excited about this season.
In the Year 2020, Part I: Cloud Computing
It’s Friday afternoon. Andy’s had a long, tiring week, and he’s thinking this would be a great time to shed the shackles of his job and kick back with a good friend over a couple of beers and a juicy steak. One problem: Andy’s best buddy is off in Europe and he’s stuck in downtown Cleveland.
Aircraft in Gulf to be Tracked Using Satellites
Air traffic controllers will begin using satellite technology in December to track aircraft flying over the Gulf of Mexico, a significant milestone in the government’s program to replace the nation’s radar-based air traffic system, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday.
The most immediate beneficiaries will be airliners flying from the southern United States to South America, which will be able to take off more frequently and fly closer together, and helicopters servicing about 9,000 oil rigs in the Gulf, which should be able to fly more direct routes and be less limited by poor weather.
Intuit Pays a Mint for Mint.com
Financial software giant Intuit—makers of well-known products like Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax—has announced a deal to acquire personal finance services Web site Mint.com for some $170 million in cash. Mint.com is a financial services Web site designed to show consumers ways in which they can save money by analyzing their financial actions and habits. The service claims some 1.5 million users tracking nearly $50 billion in assets and $200 billion in transactions. Intuit plans to make Mint.com the main personal finance management service it offers to consumers via the Web, while Intuit’s existing Quicken Online will continue to offer Quicken users online access to their Quicken services.
Hacker Pleads Guilty to Huge Theft of Card Numbers
A computer hacker who was once a federal informant and was a driving force behind one of the largest cases of identity theft in U.S. history pleaded guilty Friday in a deal with prosecutors that will send him to prison for up to 25 years.
Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, admitted pulling off some of the most prominent hacking jobs of the decade — invading the computer systems of such retailers as TJX Cos., BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority. Federal authorities say tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers were stolen.
CSI Tech: Killer Computers
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Tech: Killer Crime Tech – Think you can get away with a murder? The folks at hardworking CSI teams across the country might disagree. And with the arsenal of high-tech equipment at their disposal, they have the clues to prove it – literally. From cell phone data recovery to amplified DNA profiling, the tools and techniques these professionals use allow them to turn a single clue into a goldmine of information that can crack open a case. We talk with members of the Oregon State Police Crime Lab to get a better sense of what technology is used in their daily jobs, in the field, and the future of crime technology.
See our slide show with photos from the crime scene.
Why America Lags Behind the World’s Top Technology Leaders
How many times have you come across a really cool tech product, only to discover it’s not available here in the good old USA? Sure, you can buy a kabillion run-of-the-mill MP3 players if you want, but zip on down to the local Mega Mart for a toothbrush-shaped video camera that takes up close and personal footage of all your nasty cavities, and you’ll come up empty every time.
Tech That’s Too Tiny
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Tech That’s Too Tiny – Tired of fat-fingered typos in your text replies to your friends? The panel debates whether tech has become too small for its own good, and what devices are better left out of the micro-sizing trend. For more debate on the subject, check out our recent commentary article, “Technology: Getting Too Small for Its Own Good?”
