11/04, 1:15pm
Microsoft finishes last despite Windows 7
Apple stock is said to have led the pack in Piqqem's October sentiment ratings, again excelling over Microsoft, which came in last amongst a group of six major technology companies. Apple achieved a score of 3.11, considered high in a scale of 0 to 4. Google was second with 2.88, while Intel ranked third at 2.70. Below the top three were Cisco (2.69), Amazon (2.53) and HP (2.53), followed by Microsoft at 2.27.
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10/30, 4:20pm
Voyager Pro UC bundles Bluetooth adapter
Plantronics today launched a rare Bluetooth headset aimed primarily at the desktop. The Voyager Pro UC bundles a USB Bluetooth adapter with the familiar Voyager Pro and lets any Mac or Windows PC handle calls over the wireless earpiece if they don't already have built-in Bluetooth. Its functions can work natively with many VoIP apps, including Skype and business-class apps from Cisco.
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10/02, 11:35am
Flip Video remote a sign of in-home media hub?
A new FCC filing reveals a new RF remote control with Flip Video branding but produced by Foxconn is on its way. Flip Video, known for its small, simple HD cameras such as the Flip Ultra HD, is unlikely to need a remote the size of the device itself for its cameras, so this sighting may indicate a new product for the company, such as a living room or home theater device.
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09/18, 11:20am
AT&T's 3G MicroCell due next week
AT&T's promised 3G MicroCell should finally arrive next week, a source on the show floor of the 4G World expo claimed late Thursday. The often-delayed femtocell devices should have a rollout to a handful of cities that are believed to include Atlanta, San Antonio, Seattle and at least one city in North Carolina. An AT&T worker spotted by Unstrung has made Twitter posts (since pulled) supporting at least the Georgia (Atlanta) and North Carolina deployments.
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09/09, 6:20pm
BDP-N460 adds Netflix, YouTube
Continuing its home theater launches for CEDIA, Sony tonight added its first truly network-aware Blu-ray player. Although earlier players have had BD-Live features, the BDP-N460 can stream videos from Netflix and YouTube as well as get music streams from Slacker, regardless of the attached TV. In a unique touch, the movie player is specifically optimized for Linksys' (Cisco's) WET610N Ethernet-to-Wi-Fi bridge and improves the stability of streaming over the wireless connection.
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08/20, 5:35pm
Apple, MS court ruling
Apple, Cisco and Microsoft have won an appeals court ruling, limiting potential patent damages for products shipped outside the US, says Bloomberg. The court has stated that for specific types of patents, federal law does not allow patent owners to collect damages from infringers on overseas sales. American infringement cases are sometimes based on foreign sales, and the court notes that laws do still apply when it comes to patents for machines, manufacturing and the composition of matter.
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07/02, 2:55pm
Sprint 3G Femtocell Soon
Sprint this week staked its ground and claimed it would be the first US carrier to have a 3G femtocell. The company was already the first American firm to have any kind of femtocell in the Samsung Airave but now says to Unstrung that it should beat AT&T to having a device that can share 3G data with the home, improving reception for some smartphones and other devices that don't have their own Wi-Fi. Most current femtocells only boost voice service by creating a miniature cellular signal that pipes all data through a home Internet link.
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06/23, 9:40am
Cisco WRT160NL Router
Cisco today aimed its Linksys routers at the open-source community with its first modern-era, 802.11n Wi-Fi router using Linux. The WRT160NL gives power users more control over the operating system driving the network device without having to resort to hacked firmware. It's also more flexible in hardware, the company says, as the antennas are mounted externally and on removable connectors that let users choose either stronger antennas or simply rotate the pre-supplied ones into an ideal position.
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06/22, 10:30am
Verizon FiOS 35Mbps Tier
Verizon today ramped up FiOS with speed upgrades for all its regular tiers as well as the addition of a new middle tier. A new 35Mbps plan offers a balance between more typical speeds and the 50Mbps maximum tier; it also has the same 20Mbps upload speeds as the previous symmetric 20/20 tier and the 50Mbps service; the speed would let it upload an hour-long 720p HDTV show in 20 minutes. The carrier doesn't say how much this version of its fiber optic service would cost but says it's only available in bundles with TV or phone service.
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06/16, 9:25am
Flip Channels and iPhone
Cisco today gave its Flip cameras a key update with the launch of FlipShare.com, its matching Flip Channels and a new iPhone app. The new feature gives users their own collection of videos on the Cisco-run website but, unlike YouTube or similar pages, lets users more specifically share videos only with with certain groups rather than just the entire public or all of a user's friends. In addition to a software update launching today, all Flip cameras shipping from today onwards will have the feature.
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06/05, 6:00pm
Flip Ultra HD Review
The Ultra HD is Pure Digital's flagship camcorder and carries 8GB of memory in addition to its high definition (720p) recording. Flip also offers the small form factor Flip Mino HD. It commands a thirty dollar price premium for the smaller size, but it offers only half the amount of memory that its full size brother can manage; in theory, the Ultra HD is likely to be much better. But are the savings and extra capacity worth a handful of sacrifices? We investigate in our full Flip Ultra HD review.
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04/06, 3:35pm
IBM pulls $7B Sun offer
IBM on Sunday pulled its $7 billion offer for Sun Microsystems, three people close to the talks indicated, the New York Times claimed on Sunday. The withdrawal came one day after Sun's board members rejected a much lower offer during negotiations, believed to be near $6 billion. IBM's intention to buy Sun was first heard of in mid-March, with a final decision that was expected by today. The $7 billion offer was much higher than the value of Sun's shares, and the deal's dissolution raises questions about the future of the computer workstation and server manufacturer.
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03/19, 9:40am
Cisco Buys Pure Digital
Cisco on Thursday said it would buy Pure Digital for $590 million in stock. The deal puts the camera maker into the same Consumer Business division as Linksys and gives the larger company control over Pure's lineup, which includes the Flip Mino HD and other Flip devices. Cisco describes the buyout as a way of branching into "visual networking" and that it will "quickly expand" the Flip line as a result.
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03/10, 5:15pm
Google, Cisco to Dow Index
Google and Cisco are among the top companies being considered to be entered into the Dow Jones industrial average index, bumping GM and Citigroup, whose shares have recently dipped below $2 and threatened their status as blue chip stocks, or sure things in the investment world, says a Monday report. They are not alone, however, as Apple, US Steel, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Aflac and Northern Trust are other candidates, as chosen by Reuters. Likewise, analysts believe Citigroup and GM are just the most likely companies to be replaced from the Dow index. Four other stocks listed on the Dow have fallen to below $10.
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03/09, 9:00am
Cisco May Buy Pure
Multiple claimed sources have said network device firm Cisco has or will buy Pure Digital. The value of the deal is estimated by TechCrunch to be over $500 million and would give Cisco control over the Flip line of pocket video cameras, such as the Flip Mino HD. Buying the still small, young Pure is believed part of a larger strategy to encourage heavy Internet use that would justify its network equipment.
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03/05, 5:10pm
Cisco intros Wi-fi routers
Cisco on Thursday announced the release of a trio of new 802.11n Wi-Fi networking products, with the WET610N Ethernet Bridge, and WRT400N and WRT320N routers. All operate on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. The WET610N provides the faster wireless link to devices that only have an Ethernet port, such as the Xbox 360 or some network media hubs. It prioritizes data packets for smooth video delivery that nearly eliminates dropped frames due to interference Cisco claims.
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01/13, 2:55pm
Cisco 320Mbps Cable Modem
Network hardware producer Cisco hopes to up-end the home Internet business with word that the company is developing a 320Mbps cable modem. The DPC3212 is one of the first cable modems using the DOCSIS 3.0 standard to crack the 300Mbps mark and does so through a new Broadcom chip that bonds eight cable channels together instead of four to reach the peak speed.
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01/08, 11:45am
WebEx for iPhone
Cisco this week announced that it extending its web conferencing and collaboration capabilities to the Apple's iPhone 3G with a new iPhone application: the new Cisco WebEx meetings iPhone application is available for free download from the AppStore and allows users to click to join and actively collaborate in CiscoWebEx meetings. Using Cisco WebEx Meeting Center application on the iPhone, users can view what's being shared, see the meeting participant list, see the active speaker and chat with other meeting participants. In addition, users have the ability to take advantage of simultaneous web and audio conferencing capabilities from Cisco on both the 3G mobile and 802.11 wireless (Wi-Fi) networks.
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12/12, 1:10pm
FSF sues Cisco over Linux
Networking giant Cisco Systems has been sued by the Free Software Foundation, a report reveals. Filing with the help of the Software Freedom Law Center, the FSF has accused Cisco of violating the General Public License under which the Linux operating system is distributed. Companies that want to use Linux can typically do so for free; the GPL stipulates, however, that any changes made for a Linux variant must be shared with the public.
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09/15, 11:40am
Studios Form DECE
Several movie studios and hardware manufacturers have unwrapped plans to produce a universal approach to copy-protected video that would escape a dependence on any one format and would also loosen some restrictions on video. To be called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), the initiative currently includes Fox, NBC Universal, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. as well as Windows Media creator Microsoft, Comcast and hardware makers that include Cisco, Philips and Toshiba. Best Buy and Verisign are also involved.
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06/20, 11:15am
Jobs popular at Apple
Apple's Steve Jobs has the one of the best employee ratings amongst thousands of corporate CEOs, data from Glassdoor suggests. The site is said to have compiled over 40,000 worker reviews of some 9,800 companies around the world, and at present Jobs is rated well by 91 percent of his employees. By comparison, more average ratings include Michael Dell at 66 percent, and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at 55.
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05/02, 1:20pm
Four new Linksys routers
Cisco subsidiary Linksys has released four new Wi-Fi routers, using designs which mark a significant departure from previous products. Whereas the company had typically used a signature box shape, often in blue or silver colors, the new routers are thin and curved, and almost exclusively shelled in glossy black material. Common features are said to include firewalls and 256-bit encryption, automatic push-button configuration, and MIMO antennas that improve reception and minimize dead spots.
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01/10, 10:00am
Apple #2 in supply chains
Apple has placed second in a list of companies with superior supply chains, according to a research group. AMR Research has once again compiled its annual "Supply Chain Top 25," a list of major retailers and manufacturers said to display the best "performance, capabilities, and leadership." The data used is collected from public information, such as growth, inventory turns and return on assets (ROA); AMR cautions however that the list does not directly take into account customer satisfaction, particularly as companies can manipulate ROA and inventory turns at the cost of delivery dates. DSO, or "days sales outstanding," is used as an alternative on the assumption that unhappy customers delay payment.
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