2009 has been an excellent year for netbook sales, but one industry watcher has warned that growth will slow going forward
TECHNOLOGY POWERING BUSINESS
2009
Vodafone Offers Free Internet For Christmas
Vodafone UK has entered into the Christmas spirit after it announced that it is giving away free internet access between Christmas and the New Year
BlackBerry Users Suffer Second Outage In A Week
Not again. BlackBerry users in North America have suffered a second network outage in seven days
Researchers Look To Body Heat As Power Source
Researchers have developed a device that “harvests” the waste heat from human bodies and converts it into usable power for wearable sensors
Latest OLPC Design Resembles Potential Mac Tablet
The tablet follow-up to the $100 laptop appears to follow a similar design to that mooted for Apple's rumoured touch-screen device
UN Secures IT’s Role In Limited Copenhagen Agreements
Even getting IT on the agenda at the UN talks was a "painful challenge" according to insiders
Obama Finally Appoints US Cyber-Security Chief
U.S. President Barack Obama has chosen Howard Schmidt to step into the role of cyber-security coordinator
Microsoft Facing Word Sales Ban In Jan 2010
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upholds lower court decision that orders world's largest software maker to stop selling its popular Word program effective Jan. 11.
HP Investigates African-American Facial Recognition Issues
Hewlett-Packard is investigating the facial recognition software used with some of its PCs after a YouTube video seemed to show it can't recognise African-Americans
Scareware On The Rise Over 2009 Says FBI
From serving malicious ads to poisoning search engine results for recently deceased actress Brittany Murphy, rogue antivirus operations have been going strong all year
Red Hat Announces 18 percent Q3 Rise In Profits
Red Hat reported financial results for its fiscal year 2010 third quarter, showing revenues up 18 percent
IT Firm Aims To Make Buildings Green
Telent plans to cut costs by making buildings smarter, uniting heating and lighting with IT, and modernising the facilities management Luddites
Testers Get Speedy Opera 10.5 Pre-Alpha
The pre-alpha version of the Opera 10.5 browser has been released, which Opera is claiming is up to seven times faster than the engine in Opera 10.10
Sales Of Mobile Devices To Almost Double In Five Years
Shipments of mobile devices, including smartphones, netbooks, and consumer electronics are expected to nearly double by 2014
Users Risk Christmas Penalty From Too Much Online TV
An increasing number of people are watching their favourite TV shows online, but are risking a penalty for excessive downloading
Apple Ships Firmware Update For Problem iMacs
Apple has issued a firmware update after complaints that some of its 27-inch iMacs were suffering from flickering screens
Companies Warned About Christmas Switch Off
If British businesses were to switch off their electronic equipment in empty offices during the Christmas period, they could save up to £110 million
IBM And Vodafone Use Mobile Tech To Combat Malaria
IBM and Vodafone are using SMS and web technology to manage the supply of anti-malarial drugs in Tanzania
Project Canvas Wins Provisional Approval From BBC Trust
The BBC Trust has given its provisional approval for the BBC to participate in Project Canvas, a video-on-demand service in conjunction with five other broadcasters
Wind-Powered Data Centre Launched in Illinois
Other World Computing (OWC) has become the first US data centre operator to run its entire operation using an on-site wind turbine
Hungary Backs Open Standards But Lags On Open Source
Hungary's decision to back open standards is seen as evidence that the government is ahead in adopting open approaches to IT, but some experts are skeptical about the announcement
BT Targets Olympic Deadline For NGA Rollout
The rollout of superfast broadband is ahead of schedule and BT has said it should be installed in 40 percent of homes in time for the 2012 Olympic Games
Dell Updates Inspiron Mini 10 Notebook
Dell will offer an updated Inspiron Mini 10 netbook in early January
Palm Releases Ares Mobile Development Tools Beta
Palm announces the public beta availability of Project Ares, which the company says is the first complete set of integrated mobile development tools hosted entirely in the browser
IBM Plans To Boost Cloud Tech In 2010
IBM will ramp up its cloud computing efforts in the messaging and collaboration market in 2010
Ford Turns Hot-Rods Into Hot-Spots
Ford says it will introduce the second generation of its Sync in-car connectivity system
Microsoft CFO Drives Off To GM
Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell will become the vice chairman and chief financial officer of General Motors in 2010, with plans to step down from his position at Microsoft on 31 Dec.
Twitter Makes A Profit Thanks To Google And Microsoft
Twitter is now making a profit thanks to two lucrative search deals with Google and Microsoft
E-Reader Content Deals Signal Increasing Competition
A number of content deals is pointing to an intensifying battle between the various makers of e-readers devices
Intel Readies New Atom Chips
Intel has unveiled its next-generation Atom chip platform, which will integrate graphics with the central processing unit for the first time