Dell shares fall on weak sales forecast
Shares of Dell Inc fell more than 7 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday, after the world's No.3 personal computer maker forecast weak sales for the current quarter. Dell has slim prospects for additional margin expansion in the near term, Citigroup said and downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy.'The company may see more
Phone journalism gives a voice to India's rural poor
As a journalist hailing from the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, the epicenter of a violent Maoist insurgency, Shubhranshu Choudhary was regularly confronted with the shortcomings of his profession. The uprising, described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2006 as India's 'single biggest internal security challenge ever,' drew much of its
How to kill time without your phone
During one's bustling life there are a collection of moments -- fragments out of time -- that afford one a sense of slow-down reflection. A kind of reprieve from the mania that is living. The 15 seconds it takes for the light to turn green. The 30 seconds waiting in line for one's morning coffee. The minute-and-a-half it takes for some
Why Pinterest isn't just for girls
When I suggested I should write about Pinterest, the technology editor chortled in return: 'Everyone says It Is For Girls. You are a Girl. Therefore you are Perfect to do it.'And that's pretty much the perception of Pinterest, the latest social media hot thing. The company was founded in 2008, and the site launched two years ago, but
Kim Dotcom granted bail in Megaupload case
Kim Dotcom, the founder of the filesharing website Megaupload, has been granted bail and released after a New Zealand judge determined that authorities have seized any funds he might have used to flee the country. US authorities allege Dotcom facilitated millions of illegal downloads through his company. He had been in custody since his
Alibaba.com shares surge on parent plans to privatize
Alibaba.com Ltd shares rose more than 40 percent to a seven-month high on Wednesday after they resumed trading following an announcement that its parent Alibaba Group will take it private for about $2.5 billion at its IPO price. Alibaba.com opened at HK$13.18, compared with its IPO price of HK$13.50 and sharply higher than its last
CIA to software vendors: A revolution is coming
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency told software vendors on Tuesday that it plans to revolutionize the way it does business with them as part of a race to keep up with the blazing pace of technology advances. Rather than stick with traditional all-you-can-eat deals known as 'enterprise licensing agreements,' the CIA wants to buy
Kim Dotcom wins bail in fight against U.S. extradition
U.S. crime-fighters failed in a bid to keep alleged Internet pirate Kim Dotcom behind bars on Wednesday when a New Zealand court freed him from jail and instead put him under effective house arrest and banned him from using the Internet. The court, in upholding a bail application by the German founder of file-sharing website Megaupload,
Alibaba offers to take listed unit private for $2.5 billion
Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group has offered to take its Hong Kong-listed unit Alibaba.com private at a cost of around HK$19.6 billion ($2.5 billion), a move it said was not related to a possible deal with Yahoo Inc on buying back Yahoo's stake in the Chinese Internet giant. Alibaba Group, founded by Jack Ma, is offering investors
News of the World alleged hacking suspect pleads guilty to conspiracy
A man at the centre of allegations that computers were hacked for the News of the World has been convicted of conspiring to illegally access private information for profit. Until Monday legal restrictions meant that what is known about Philip Campbell Smith's alleged involvement in computer hacking could not be reported. Smith is
Customer satisfaction sags at online brokers: study
Satisfaction with U.S. online brokerages declined in 2011 amid volatile markets, while customers saw little to differentiate the four top players in the industry, according to an annual study released on Tuesday. Around 1,250 customers of online brokerages were asked during the fourth quarter of 2011 to rate their levels of satisfaction
Silicon Valley: The rise of the adolescent CEOs
Josh Buckley, chief executive of an online gaming start-up, is looking forward to next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, particularly for the parties and the accompanying schmoozing with industry A-listers. There's one problem: Buckley, who will turn 20 this week on February 22, may be turned away from many of the
USB stick can sequence DNA in seconds
It may look like an ordinary USB memory stick, but a little gadget that can sequence DNA while plugged into your laptop could have far-reaching effects on medicine and genetic research.
The UK firm Oxford Nanopore built the device, called MinION, and claims it can sequence simple genomes - like those of some viruses and bacteria - in
LightSquared defaults on Inmarsat payment
Satellite firm Inmarsat (ISA.L) said on Monday that its partner LightSquared, a venture struggling to build a U.S. mobile broadband service with Inmarsat's spectrum, had failed to pay a $56.25 million installment to the British company. The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday said it planned to revoke permission for LightSquared
The Pirate Bay could be blocked in UK
The filesharing website The Pirate Bay has come a step closer to being blocked in the UK after the high court ruled that the site breaches copyright laws on a large scale. Major music groups want British internet service providers (ISPs), such as BT and BSkyB, to prevent their millions of customers from accessing The Pirate Bay in the
Wal-Mart increases stake in Chinese e-commerce firm
Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it has reached an agreement to raise its stake in a Chinese e-commerce firm, Yihaodian, to around 51 percent as the world's largest retailer aims to boost its presence in China's fast growing consumer market. Walmart announced in May last year it planned to buy a minority stake in Yihaodian, a Chinese
Wheels review: Porsche RS bicycle
It's a Porsche with a difference. It has two wheels, 20 gears, one seat, no doors and weighs just 20lb. Its engine is 46 years old, though, and hasn't been tuned in years. Worse than that, it wheezes badly on the slightest hill. On the upside, it's cheap to fuel - it runs on food scraps and red wine... Whether it's a bike or a car,
Programmer cleared of stealing code from Goldman Sachs
A former Goldman Sachs computer programmer has been freed from prison after a surprise ruling from a federal appeals court quashed his conviction for stealing computer code. 'Justice occasionally works,' said Russian-born Sergey Aleynikov, who walked free after serving one year out of a sentence of eight years or more. Aleynikov, a
