GadgetBlips - Latest Gadget News Articles

Ruby shining on Java, Windows, and Mac OS (InfoWorld)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:11:03 +0000

InfoWorld - Ruby, the popular open source dynamic language, is making headway not only on Java but also on the Windows and Mac platforms.

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Overstock Violates Nasdaq Listing Rules

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:23:17 +0000

Overstock.com (OSTK) this afternoon said it received a letter from Nasdaq yesterday indicating that OSTK violated Nasdaq’s listing rules when it filed a 10-Q for the September quarter that was not reviewed by an auditor. As reported earlier this week , Overstock fired its auditor Grant Thornton in a dispute over an accounting issue, and decided to file a 10-Q that was not audited or reviewed. Overstock said the Nasdaq letter also indicated that the filing did not contain the certifications required under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The company said it now has 60 days to submit a plan to regain compliance; and it has until May 17 to actually regain compliance. The company said it expects to meet the rules well before the deadline.

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California's Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly, CEA Warns (NewsFactor)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:22:11 +0000

NewsFactor - California's ban on plasma-screen televisions to reduce energy consumption could cost as much as $50 million per year in sales taxes because consumers are free to buy the sets online or in other states. "At a time when the state of California is facing its worst money crisis in history, this is going to be disastrous," said Jennifer Bemisderfer, a spokesperson for the Consumer Electronics Association, which lobbied against the ban.

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Sprint: Moody’s Downgrades Debt On Weak Earnings Outlook

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:40:01 +0000

Moody’s today downgraded its corporate family rating on Sprint Nextel (S) to Ba2 from Ba1 “because the company’s ability to stem the deterioration of its earnings is taking longer than originally anticipated.” As a result, Moody’s added, “the company’s leverage is likely to deteriorate before stabilizing at much weaker levels than previously expected.” The rating agency added that the outlook for the company’s ratings is negative. Moody’s analyst Dennis Saputo said in a statement that the downgrade reflects “the company’s continuing challenges in stabilizing its post-paid wireless operations, despite recognized improvements in customer service, amid intense competition and slowing industry growth.” He added that Verizon and AT&T “present a particularly significant challenge to Sprint Nextel’s ability to stem defections of its highly profitable post-paid subscribers,” and added ...

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Two Approaches to NFC Battle for French Hearts and Mobiles (PC World)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:30:18 +0000

PC World - Two competing approaches to equipping mobile phones with contactless communications capabilities vied for supporters at the Cartes exhibition in Paris this week. Either approach could turn phones into self-service electronic tour guides, travel tickets or secure payment terminals.

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Gameloft to cut back on Android development (Macworld.com)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:21:00 +0000

Macworld.com - Though you may think us to be iPhone fans all the time, we really do want to root for the underdog. Whether it's Google's Android or Palm's webOS, the smartphone industry could really use a David to the iPhone's Goliath to promote competition and better products all around.

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Teslas Motors Reportedly Planning IPO

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:07:21 +0000

Tesla: Driving toward an IPO? Tesla Motors , the Valley-based maker of electric sports cars, plans to go public soon, according to Reuters , which cites “two people familiar with the situation.” The story said an IPO filing is expected any day. The company declined to comment on speculation. The company’s Roadster (pictured at right) sells for $109,000. Investors in Tesla include Daimler AG , Valor Equity Partners , Technology Partners , Draper Fisher Jurvetson , DBL , The Westly Group and Compass Venture Partners . Among the individual investors in Tesla are CEO and founder Elon Mus k (who also was a co-founder of PayPa l and also runs the rocket start-up SpaceX ), Jeff Skol l (a former eBay exec who now produces movies) , Hyatt hotels magnate Nick Pritzker , Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin , and Elon’s brother Kimbal Musk , the CEO of real-time search engine OneRiot , among others.

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The Curious Case Of Netlist Inc.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:49:46 +0000

Something very peculiar is going on with a small-cap storage products company called Netlist Inc. (NLST) . A 100-person memory products company based in Irvine, California, Netlist had been bumping along in low-price, low-trading-volume obscurity until late October. Consider this progression, which is illustrated in the 1-month chart at left. On October 28, the stock closed at 58 cents, trading a whopping 20,900 shares, or total turnover of $12,122, barely enough capital to buy a decent used car. Volume started picking up a few days later, and so did the price. November 2, the stock traded 228,600 shares, and moved up to 71 cents. The next day, 128,700 shares, and 75 cents. Volume slowed the next few days, but by November 6 the stock had hit 83 cents. Over the subsequent three days, volume ratcheted up, hitting 626,900 shares on November 11, as the stock jumped 51% to $1.34. And then the stock kind of went nuts, with volume soaring into the millions of shares. Today, ...

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Mac OS X 10.6.2 Hack Gets Atom Support Back (PC World)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:49:00 +0000

PC World - Early last week, Apple released the 10.6.2 update to Snow Leopard loaded mostly with welcome, but unsurprising bug fixes, including a patch for the uncommon but extremely harmful user account deletion bug.

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Nook e-readers sold out for holidays

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:39:05 +0000

NEW YORK — Consumers who haven't yet ordered Barnes & Noble's electronic book reader, the Nook, won't see one before Christmas.

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Synopsys: S&P Turns Bearish, See Tight Chip Sector Spending

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:10:54 +0000

Standard & Poor’s equity analyst Jim Yin today cut his rating on EDA software provider Synopsys (SNPS) from Sell from Hold, trimming his price target by a buck to $21. “Although the economy is improving, we think the recovery will be gradual,” he writes. “We are concerned about weak consumer spending, especially for electronic devices this Christmas shopping season. We believe IT spending in the semiconductor industry will be muted in the first half of 2010, because part of the sequential growth in that industry is driven by inventory restocking.” Yin trims his October 2010 fiscal year revenue estimate by $56 million to $1.37 billion, cutting his EPS forecast to $1.36, from $1.42. SNPS today is down 22 cents, or 1%, to $22.60.

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RIMM: FTN Downgrades; Competitive Worries Spread

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:37:31 +0000

FTN Capital analyst Blaine Carroll today cut his rating on Research In Motion (RIMM) to Neutral from Buy, citing evidence that the company is losing market share in the U.S. smart phone market. Carroll’s downgrade is in connection with his latest monthly survey of the U.S. smart phone market, in which he talked to 100 service reps at the four larges U.S. cellular operators. He RIMM was the best selling vendor, with about 44% market share in October, but notes that was down 10 percentage points from September. The falloff, he says, reflects a flurry of new entrants to the market. “Although we expected the company to see some pressure in our survey, the magnitude of the drop was greater than we originally thought,” he writes. “We feel that some high-end estimates may come down” in the months ahead. Meanwhile, Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette writes today that there are mounting risks to his current forecast for RIMM’s February quarter of 10 million ...

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Metro PCS Should Buy Leap, Pali Says

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:19:12 +0000

MetroPCS (PCS) should buy Leap Wireless (LEAP ) in a stock swap, Pali Research analyst Walter Piecyk proposed in a research note today. Piecyk even proposes terms: he thinks MetroPCS should issue 3 of its shares for each LEAP share. “We believe that Leap and MetroPCS should merge because we estimate it would unlock $2 billion of value from the increased strategic positioning of its combined spectrum position as well as the more than $200 million of annual cost synergies that could be achieved,” he writes. Investors, he says, should short PCS and go long LEAP in a ratio of Leap’s stock price to that of MetroPCS “because we believe it’s reasonable that these companies will merge at a ratio that is at least 20% more than the current ratio of 2:1.” The analyst notes that the timing of a transaction could be impacted by one of the companies putting itself up for sale, or the ousting of the existing board members by disgruntled holders. The concept of ...

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The Dell Earnings Debacle: The Day After

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:42:06 +0000

Dell (DELL) shares have dropped 10% after yesterday’s highly disappointing earnings report for the fiscal third quarter ended October. As I noted yesterday, the company missed on both the revenue and EPS lines, posting results that suggest the company is continuing to lose share to its computer hardware rivals. As noted, the company reported revenue of $12.9 billion, up just 1% sequentially, down 15% from a year ago, and below the consensus at $13.2 billion. Per-share earnings of 23 cents a share missed by a nickel. There are largely two schools of thinking on Dell right now. The bulls generally focus on the prospects for a 2010 pick-up in IT spending generally and PCs specifically. Since Dell has higher exposure to corporate PC spending than Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) , IBM (IBM ), Apple (AAPL) or more or less anyone else you can think of, the theory is that they are the perfect play on the much-discussed, but yet-to-materialize PC refresh cycle. On the other ...

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Xbox LIVE Gold Free Today Through Monday (PC World)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:15:00 +0000

PC World - Microsoft wants you on Xbox LIVE for the weekend with, of course, a view toward forever, and it's prepared to temporarily waive the cover fee to grab your attention.

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Cisco releases Web security app for iPhone (AFP)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:56:02 +0000

AFP - Cisco on Friday announced the release of a free iPhone application for anyone who wants to stay on top of the latest trojans, worms, or other threats marauding on the Internet.

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Deutsche Telekom Reportedly Seeking Partner For T-Mobile

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:52:56 +0000

Deutsche Telekom (DT) is looking for a partner for T-Mobile , its U.S. wireless unit, according to a story in the German newspaper Handelsblatt which was picked up by Reuters . The piece says the company wants the partner to help finance a multi-billion-dollar build-out of a new 4G network, citing “unidentified people” at the company. Possible partners for the business reportedly include MetroPCS (PCS) , Clearwire (CLWR) and AT&T (T) , as well companies outside the industry. The piece also said that the German company is no longer contemplating a bid for Sprint (S) , a possibility which had been rumored earlier this year.

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Archipelago Learning Moving Higher After IPO

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:39:59 +0000

Archipelago Learning (ARCL) shares are trading higher after the K-12 online education provider this morning went public at $16.50 a share , towards the high end of the price talk range of $15-$17, with an offering of 6.25 million shares. The company is selling half of the shares, with the rest coming from a group of insiders, including Providence Equity Partners . which after the offering still owns 48.9% of the company. The deal was co-managed by BofA Merrill Lynch and William Blair & Co. ARCL today is up $2.28, or 13.8%, to $18.78.

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RealNetworks In Talks On Revamped Deal With MTV

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:16:47 +0000

RealNetworks (RNWK) this morning disclosed in an 8-K filing with the SEC that it is in talks with Viacom ’s (VIA) MTV Networks unit on the possible restructuring of their jointly owned Rhapsody America music service. The company said the talks are focused on the two companies’ “relative economic rights in the joint venture,” and on their ability to control decision-making to enable Rhapsody to operate more independently of either party. The upshot could be an adjustment of the structure of the joint venture which could reduce Real’s stake to below the current 51%, to 50% or slightly less. The company said the discusses are in the preliminary stages. The Real partnership with MTV in 2007 was supposed to make the two companies a more viable competitor to Apple (AAPL) iTunes and other online music service, but subscription music services still haven’t caught fire. RNWK today is down 11 cents, or 3.1%, to $3.47; the stock was trading north of ...

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EU Extends Deadline For Review Of Oracle/Sun Deal

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:51:03 +0000

European Union regulators today extended the deadline for their review of the pending $7 billion acquisition by Oracle (ORCL) of Sun Microsystems (JAVA) , Reuters reports . Oracle requested the extension in order to complete its response to the EU’s concerns, which center on Oracle’s acquisition of Sun’s MySQL database software unit. The new deadline is January 27.

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The Sad Saga Of TheStreet.com

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:40:45 +0000

Ye gads, what happened to TheStreet.com (TSCM) ? Earlier this week, the company announced that Nasdaq has granted the company a 180-day exception - until February 8, 2010 - to get back into compliance with listing requirements. In particular, the company has yet to file financial results for the June quarter. (Or for the September quarter, for that matter.) The delays, the company explained, reflect a previously disclosed discovery of revenue recognition issues at Promotions.com , a business TheStreet acquired in August 2007; it says the issue could result in an earnings restatement. When the review will be finished, the company says it can’t say for sure. Needham analyst Mark May yesterday decided to abandon ship; he’s dropping coverage of the stock. He notes in his final research piece that the company has not reported financial results since May, when it posted a 26% drop in Q1 revenue to $14 million, along with a pro forma loss for the quarter - the March ...

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Nokia To Cut 330 R&D Jobs

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:10:01 +0000

Nokia (NOK) this morning said it plans to cut 330 research and development jobs, about 2% of its global R&D staff. The cuts include up to 230 employees in Oulu, Finland, and about 100 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company said it has over 17,000 R&D staff overall. NOK today is down 36 cents, or 2.7%, to $13.25.

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Aruba Slides Despite Solid FY Q1; Q2 Guidance Slightly Ahead of Estimates

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:39 +0000

Aruba Networks (ARUN) shares are trading sharply lower this morning despite solid results for the fiscal first quarter ended October. As I noted yesterday, the provider of enterprise-class WiFi gear posted revenue for the quarter of $57.5 million, up 10% from a year ago, and a bit ahead of the Street at $56 million. Non-GAAP EPS of 4 cents a share was in line with the Street. Apparently, some investors wanted more. In an interview with Tech Trader Daily late yesterday, Aruba CEO Dominic Orr said the company expects FY Q2 revenue of $58 million to $60 million, with non-GAAP EPS of 5 cents a share; the Street has been expect $57.3 million and 4 cents. Orr says the company was “very pleased” with the latest quarter, asserting that the company gained some market share in the quarter against chief rival Cisco (CSCO) . He notes that the company has benefited from an accelerated adoption of the 802.11n wireless standard, which accounts for 42% of sales in the latest quarter; he ...

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F5: Aruiga Downgrades To Hold

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:39:19 +0000

F5 Networks (FFIV) shares are coming under selling pressure this morning after Auriga USA analyst Tony Carbone cut his rating on the stock to Hold from Buy. Carbone notes that the stock is up 17% since reporting “stellar” FY Q4 results on October 21, and advises that the time has come to take profits. He keeps his $48 price target; the stock closed yesterday at $48.37. “We remain constructive that F5’s commanding lead in application delivery controllers is likely to grow, given the velocity of innovation remaining in the market and the company’s ability to increase performance and functionality relative to the competition,” he writes. Carbone adds that “in the intermediate and long term,” revenue will be driven by advances in adjacent technologies, such as virtualization and cloud computing. Enterprise spending, he says, is rebounding after almost 18 months of constrained budgets.However, he writes that he has concerns about increasing R&D intensity ...

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Liberty Interactive: Citi Upgrades On Rebound At QVC

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:25:16 +0000

Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet this morning upped his rating on Liberty Interactive (LINTA) to Buy from Hold, with a new target of $13.25, up from $12. At the root of the call: a more bullish view on better performance at the cable and Web home shopping channel QVC . “Despite a challenging consumer environment, Liberty has successfully growth EBITDA at QVC,” he writes in a research note this morning. Bazinet points out that QVC in Q3 posted modest revenue growth of 1.6%, with strong EBITDA growth of 9.9% - domestic cash flow grew 10.4%, which international was up 8.8% despite currency headwinds. Meanwhile, Bazinet thinks the John Malone -controlled could enhance its value through one of two transaction scenarios. One possibility, he says, would be for Liberty to take control of QVC rival HSN (HSNI) , in which it already holds a large stake. Another possibility would be to swap Interactive’s passive equity stakes - the company is a repository for Malone’s ...

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Sony to launch online download service for TVs (AFP)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:46:12 +0000

AFP - Sony Corp. aims to launch next year a new online service that will allow people to download content such as music and movies to their televisions and other electronic gadgets, a top executive said Friday.

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California Bans Power-Hog TVs: Death Knell for Plasma? (PC World)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:00 +0000

PC World - Sales of plasma HDTVs have been on the decline for some time now. Although plasmas are generally cheaper than comparably-sized LCD models, their picture isn't as bright; as a result, their images often appear dark and washed out under the bright, fluorescent glare of the local big box store. However, plasmas are often favored by home theater buffs, who savor the display technology's fast refresh rates and often superior reproduction of black and dark tones.

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Nokia to axe 330 jobs in Finland, Denmark (AFP)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:04:22 +0000

AFP - Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Friday it would shed about 330 jobs in Finland and Denmark as part of a streamlining of its research and development operations.

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Sony's Hirai Hopes for Quick Start to Online Content Service (PC World)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:13 +0000

PC World - Sony is hoping to launch its planned online content service early next year and expects it will give the company an advantage in the increasingly competitive consumer electronics market, the executive heading up the project said Friday.

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Gameloft says it, others reining in Android plans (Reuters)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:04:59 +0000

Reuters - French mobile phone games company Gameloft said it and other software developers were cutting back investment in developing games and other applications for Google's Android platform.

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Sony hopes online service will build brand loyalty (AP)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:29:21 +0000

AP - Sony's new online service connecting the whole range of its gadgets to downloadable content like movies and games should help build brand loyalty, a top executive said Friday.

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Foxconn to Build JIL Handset for China Mobile (PC World)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:40:12 +0000

PC World - Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn will make a handset for China Mobile next year that supports software developed by the Joint Innovation Lab (JIL) joint venture, according to the head of China Mobile.JIL is a joint venture established by China Mobile, Vodafone, Verizon Wireless and Softbank Mobile to develop software and services for their 1.1 billion mobile phone customers.

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First Look: Super Monkey Ball 2 (Macworld.com)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Macworld.com - The original Super Monkey Ball was an App Store launch game and sold like gangbusters. Taking advantage of the iPhoneâs accelerometer controls and already possessing a huge following thanks to its console success, Super Monkey Ball was one of the most highly anticipated apps on the iPhone.

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California Energy Commission Rule to Impact HDTV Industry (PC World)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:41:00 +0000

PC World - For the California Energy Commission, the voluntary guidelines of the Federal Energy Star program aren't enough to curb energy guzzling by HDTVs. In a unanimous vote, the CEC just introduced the nation's first state-mandated regulations for energy efficiency. The regulations will apply to televisions up to 58 inches in screen size.

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Verigy FY Q4 Tops Estimates; Q1 Outlook Beats Street

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:34:03 +0000

Verigy (VRGY) shares are up sharply after the semiconductor test company posted Q4 results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31. For the quarter, Verigy posted revenue of $97 million, up 11% sequentially, and slightly better than the $96.4 million the Street had expected. A non-GAAP loss of 12 cents a share was smaller than the Street projected loss of 20 cents. Orders of $109 million were up 17% sequentially. For FY Q1 ending in January, the company ses revenue of $105 million to $115 million, with a non-GAAP loss of 2-9 cents a share; the Street had been looking for $105.6 million and a loss of 14 cents. In late trading, VRGY is up $1, or 11.1%, to $10.

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Android vs. iPhone: Which Has the More Advanced Users? (PC World)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:26:00 +0000

PC World - It seems the mobile world is full of silly little battles these days. You've got the AT&T-Verizon; ad assault. There's that ever-popular Droid-iPhone rivalry. And then, of course, everyone's favorite Google Phone debate: Is there a Google Phone? If there were one, would it harm other Android phones? Or could it become -- gasp -- the elusive iPhone killer?

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Chordiant Software FY Q4 Results Miss Street Forecasts

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:22:54 +0000

Chordiant Software (CHRD) reported worse-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30 . Revenue was $15.2 million, down from $28.4 million a year, and below the Street at $17.9 million. A non-GAAP loss of 7 cents a share was worse than the Street consensus estimate for a loss of a penny a share. The company did not give a specific fiscal 2010 forecast, but it did say total license revenue should be higher than the $22.5 million posted in FY 2009. The company expects to return to non-GAAP profitability, and to generate positive operating cash flow. In late trading, CHRD is off 4 cents, at $3.18.

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Aruba Networks FY Q1 Revs Top Ests; EPS In Line

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:16:43 +0000

Aruba Networks (ARUN) this afternoon posted revenue for its fiscal first quarter ended October 31 of $57.6 million, up 10% from a year ago, and a bit ahead of the Street at $56 million. Non-GAAP EPS of 4 cents a share was in line with Street estimates. In late trading, ARUN is down 43 cents, or 4.5%, to $9.15.

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ADC Telecom Swoons On Weak December Qtr Outlook

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:05:09 +0000

ADC Telecom (ADCT) shares are down sharply after the network equipment provider offered disappointing guidance for its fiscal first quarter ending in December. ADCT recently switched to a September 30 fiscal year end, from an October 31 year. For the two-month stub Q4 ended September, the company posted revenue of $183.9 million and a non-GAAP profit of 6 cents a share. For the pro forma three month period ended September, the company had revenue of $293.6 million, and an adjusted profit of 17 cents. For the December quarter, the company sees sales of $250 million to $275 million, which implies a sequential decline of up to 15%. The company sees a GAAP loss of 5-15 cents a share, including a nickel-a-share charge for amortization expense, and excludes other restructuring charges that at this point aren’t known. ADC said that this is normally a seasonally soft period, but that “in the current quarter, a larger sequential decline is anticipated due to expectations that major ...

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Intuit FY Q1 Tops Estimates; Q2 Outlook Misses

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:53:21 +0000

Intuit (INTU) this afternoon posted better-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter ended October 31, with revenue of $493 million, up 2% from a year ago, and ahead of the Street at $487.7 million. Non-GAAP loss of 10 cents a share was smaller than the expected loss of 16 cents. For Q2, however, the company sees revenue of $800 million to $835 million, with non-GAAP EPS of 29-32 cents; the Street has been expecting $833 million and 37 cents. For the full year, the company affirmed its previous forecast of $3.3 billion to $3.43 billion in revenue, with non-GAAP operating income of $985 million to $1.025 billion. In late trading, INTU is down 65 cents, or 2.2%, to $29.62.

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Hack brings 10.6.2 back to Atom processors (Macworld.com)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:41:00 +0000

Macworld.com - Remember last week, when the net was abuzz with the news that the Mac OS X 10.6.2 updateÂ broke notebooks with Atom processors? Well, given the first syllable of the word "hackintosh" it's little surprise that that state of affairs has changed. The release of a newly-hacked kernel claims to allow the Snow Leopard to roam freely off of the Apple steppes.

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Dell: Dude, You Laid Another Egg

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:17:07 +0000

Dell (DELL) shares are headed south this afternoon after the company posted disappointing results for its fiscal third quarter ended October 30. Dell posted revenue for the quarter of $12.9 billion, up 1% sequentially, down 15% from a year ago, and below the Street at $13.2 billion. Per share earnings of 23 cents a share were a nickel below the Street at 28 cents. Gross margin was 17.3%. Shipments were flat sequentially and down 5% from a year ago. Operating income was down 43% from a year ago at $577 million; net income at $337 million was down 54%. Large enterprise revenue was up 4% sequentially and off 23% from a year ago; public sector was down 3% sequentially, and 7% from a year ago; small and medium business was up 5% sequentially, and down 19% year-over-year. Consumer revenue was flat sequentially and down 10% from last year. For Q4, the company sees seasonal improvement in the consumer business, with seasonal weakness in the public sector. Dell sees Q4 revenue up from Q3. Dell ...

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Susan Boyle album sets pre-order record on Amazon (Reuters)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:01:15 +0000

Reuters - The upcoming debut album by British singing sensation Susan Boyle has become the largest global CD pre-order in the history of Amazon.com, the online retailer said on Thursday.

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Coming: Another Rotten Xmas For Electronics Retailers

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:47:10 +0000

Retailing analyst T. Grinch. For electronics retailers, the coming holiday shopping season could be less ho, ho, ho , and more boo, hoo, hoo . Well Fargo Securities yesterday issued a grim forecast for the 2009 holidays: they see a 0.8% year-over-year decline in holiday retail sales, which would make it two straight down years, after a 3.8% decline in 2008. “Folks will simply spend a little less than they did last year, and many retailers have prepared for that by stocking lots of lower-priced merchandise,” Wells Fargo economists Mark Vitner and Adam York wrote in a commentary yesterday. “Many are also going into the holiday season with relatively lean inventories, which means door-buster deals may be more limited this year.” While fears about the economy were worse a year ago than they are now, actual economic conditions “are far worse,” they note. “Unemployment is higher, income from wages and salaries has dropped 5.2% and consumer ...

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Apple: Getting A Boost From QCOM Licensing Loophole

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:16:01 +0000

Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi this morning weighed in with a fascinating look at the under-appreciated boost Apple (APPL) gets from a highly attractive licensing arrangement for 3G radio patents held by Qualcomm (QCOM) . With the iPhone , he notes in a research report, Apple will take an estimated 9% of the global handset market in 2009 as measured by value, and about a third of industry profits. In smart phones, he says, Apple will have 24% of available revenues this year, and 29% next year. Meanwhile, Qualcomm is the largest holder of 3G radio patents, collecting royalties from the handset companies, and so gets a small slice every time someone buys an iPhone or any other smartphone. What you may not know - I didn’t - is that while Apple pays an estimated 1.6% of iPhone revenues to QCOM, most OEMs pay about 4%, giving Apple “a unique profitability edge” versus rival handset companies. According to Sacconaghi, this reflects the fact that the company ...

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Malone To Telcos: Go Ahead, Bid For DirecTV

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:45:23 +0000

Liberty Media (LINTA) Chairman John Malone today effectively invited Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) to make an offer for DirecTV (DTV) , the satellite broadcasting he controls. Speaking at a special meeting where holders approved a plan to combine DTV with Malone’s Liberty Entertainment unit, Malone said the satellite company would be “compatible” with either telco, Reuters reports . Malone reportedly said DirecTV would like to add a wireless broadband element to its service offering, and that this would require a deeper relationship with the telcos. Asked by a holder about speculation it would eventually be acquired by a phone company, Malone did not rule out the possibility. “We know they’ve been interested from time to time in it,” he said, according to Reuters. “DirecTV is very compatible with the phone companies.” Meanwhile, according to the AP , Malone also said that the combination of Comcast (CMCSA) and ...

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Google: Chrome OS Launch A Year Away

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:21:48 +0000

Google (GOOG) today said the official launch of Google Chrome OS , the company’s planned foray into the desktop OS sector dominated by Microsoft (MSFT) Windows, is still a year away. Speaking at a media event at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View this morning, Google VP of product management Sundar Pichai said that while no beta version of the software is being released today (contrary to rumors), the company is making the code available. He also said there are now 40 million users for the Google Chrome Web browser; and he indicated that a version of the Chrome browser for the Apple (AAPL) Mac will be available before year end. AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski is blogging the event live.

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GSI Commerce: Morgan Stanley Upgrades, Stock Rallies

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:12:26 +0000

GSI Commerce (GSIC) shares have received a lift from Morgan Stanley analyst Scott Devitt , who today upped his rating on the shares to Overweight from Equal Weight, lifting his price target to $26, from $22. Devitt writes that the company “has hit an economic return inflection point,” asserting that the company is likely to continue to gain share as a provider of e-commerce services, has few true competitors, and could see upside from the recent acquisition of Retail Convergence , the parent of private sales operator RueLaLa . Devitt upped his 2010 EPS estimate to 23 cents from 16 cents; for 2011 he goes to 61 cents, from 48 cents. GSIC today is up 53 cents, or 2.5%, to $21.57. Yesterday : GSI Commerce: Oppenheimer Upgrades

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Indian Eye Hospital Uses IPhone for Remote Diagnostics (PC World)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:10:20 +0000

PC World - An Indian eye hospital is piloting software that will push to doctors' iPhones retinal images collected from patients in remote locations.

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SOLF: Rally Extends As Oppenheimer Upgrades

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:51:55 +0000

Solarfun (SOLF) , which rallied yesterday on strong Q3 results , has gotten a lift today from Oppenheimer analyst Sam Dubinsky , who raised his rating on the stock to Outperform from Perform. He set a price target on the stock of $10, well ahead of yesterday’s close at $6.48. Dubinsky contends that the risk/reward on the stock is “more favorable” than for most other solar companies. “Yesterday’s Q3 results corroborate that turnaround efforts are bearing fruit; the company’s cost structure is improving through vertical integration and low-cost poly, allowing SOLF to generate attractive GMs while absorbing price cuts.” Dubinsky lifted his 2009 EPS estimate on the company to 53 cents from 37 cents; for 2010 he goes to 70 cents, from 45 cents. SOLF, which yesterday rose 65 cents, or 11.1%, to $6.48, today is up another 45 cents, or 4.8%, to $6.79.

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