‘In the News’ Archive

Billions and billions of… dollars in asset sales. ConocoPhillips

by Stuart Hampton, March 16, 2010, 8:32 am

 

It’s not quite a Carl Sagan commentary, but one of the giant stars of the oil and gas firmament has burnt just a little too brightly in recent years, and is looking to conserve some of …

When screens go dark: Brinksmanship in the digital age

by Jeff Dorsch, March 11, 2010, 1:39 pm

When big media corporations can’t reach agreements on their business arrangements, with the result that popular channels go blank on cable television systems, cutting off millions of subscribers, what’s to be done?

The remedy may or may …

Money, it’s a track

by Lee Simmons, March 9, 2010, 2:12 pm

UPDATE: Pink Floyd 1, EMI 0.

If ever there was a band that would eschew single-track digital music sales, it would be Pink Floyd. The legendary British band hates single-track sales so much, in fact, …

Would you like an Espresso with that e-book (or would that be redundant)?

by Patrice Sarath, March 3, 2010, 2:17 pm

It’s no secret that I like books. I write them; I read them. I read about them. I am hardly ever without one.

I like the tactile feel of a book in my hands, especially one that’s an old …

Oil is not calming the waters in the Falkands

by Stuart Hampton, March 2, 2010, 12:07 pm

Prompted by a renewed search for oil, an old geopolitical conflict is beginning to heat up again.

The place: the windblown Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The protagonists: the far away UK (which …

Silicon wafer shipments down in 2009; IC equipment sales up in 2010 (so far!)

by Jeff Dorsch, February 26, 2010, 4:24 pm

Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International (SEMI), an industry trade group, is best known for its monthly book-to-bill reports, tracking the business of North American suppliers of semiconductor production equipment. (The Semiconductor Industry Association once …

Warner breaks ranks

by Lee Simmons, February 26, 2010, 1:28 pm

Free online streaming music — a bandwagon that once carried a happy collection of artists, labels, and consumers — has lost a big passenger. Warner Music Group will no longer license artists to online streaming services such as …

Nickelback vs. a pickle

by Lee Simmons, February 25, 2010, 11:11 am

If anyone out there still doubts the power of social networking, look no further than a pickle. Last week, a pickle earned more fans (nearly 1.5 million at last count) on its Facebook page …

Real Estate Makes a Comeback

by Patrice Sarath, February 23, 2010, 2:58 pm

So what’s going on in the housing market, you ask? Let’s take a look. There’s actually plenty of good news. No, really, we don’t have to use air quotes or anything. According to The National Association …

What’s not so smart in smartphones

by Jeff Dorsch, February 22, 2010, 3:02 pm

The PC industry grew over the past two decades mostly due to the standard “Wintel” platform — that is, Microsoft Windows-based machines running on Intel microprocessors (or chips compatible with Intel’s …