Business

A Vancouver, British Columbia school is facing an uphill battle after tech titan Apple recently told them it was considering legal action over the institution's use of a very familiar logo. The Victoria School of Business and Technology -- a ... computer school -- uses a logo that strongly resembles Apple's own. However, there are critical differences: although Apple's apple features the famous bite-mark and can be typically found in solid red or a transparent shade, the British Columbia school's logo is slightly smaller, can be identified by its green and blue colors, and includes the letters " ... (view more)

eBay is cutting 1,600 jobs, representing around 10% of its work force. The announcement shortly after the company announced it would spend more than a billion dollars purchasing an online payment service and several overseas classifieds sites. The ... job cuts, the biggest in the firm's history, should save around $150 million a year. The layoffs, covering 1,000 permanent employees and 600 temps, will be spread across the company and will include staff at PayPal (which eBay owns). Chief Executive John Donahoe says the savings will fund greater investment in the firm's services, which may include ... (view more)

"Mail Goggles" is now part of Google's free Gmail service. The feature is simple really, but could serve as an effective deterrent against very bad email-based decisions while in an 'altered state'. Just answer a few basic math questions in a ... specified period of time before sending out your email. You shhhaid wha...? After a grueling work week, you decide to accept an invitation from some friends to meet at a local bar for a beer. While reminiscing about the "good old days", you realize that one beer has become two, two beers have become four and in no time at all you have surpassed your ... (view more)

iPhone developers are rejoicing after Apple recently lifted its Non-Disclosure Agreement for iPhone software. In a statement on the company's website, Apple said, "We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone ... software. We put the NDA in place because the iPhone operating system (OS) includes many Apple inventions and innovations that we would like to protect... However, the NDA has created too much of a burden on developers, authors and others interested in helping further the iPhone's success, so we are dropping it for released software." (Source: apple.com ... (view more)

Despite the short-lived Seinfeld commercials and the ongoing ad blitzes , customer demand for Windows XP over Windows Vista has again prompted Microsoft to extend the Windows XP lifeline . Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP on June 30 of this ... year, but Windows XP is still available at some retail outlets, including Amazon.com while supplies last. Larger PC manufacturers can't directly sell Windows XP anymore -- except on ultra-low-cost machines -- but they can sell Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Business machines with Windows XP discs in the box or they can do a 'factory downgrade ... (view more)

A pact between two of America's most popular search engines has been delayed. A controversial advertising deal between Google Inc and Yahoo Inc was pushed back, according to reports from Yahoo on Friday. The delay is closely tied to controversy ... surrounding the agreement. Yahoo openly admitted that its deal with Google -- which would allow Google to sell advertising for some of Yahoo's online advertising space -- is being closely scrutinized by the United States Department of Justice. "We have had discussions with regulators and look forward to responding to their questions about this ... (view more)

Apple shares briefly dropped in value by more than 5% in the wake of a false rumour claiming the company's chief had suffered a heart attack. The bogus report has sparked debate about the dangers of so-called 'citizen journalism'. The report claimed ... Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack and been taken to hospital. It gained some credibility by appearing on CNN's website, though it appeared in the iReport section dedicated to 'citizen journalism'. Anyone who wants can post a report and CNN disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy of stories posted there. Apple only took 12 minutes to ... (view more)

Apple has threatened that if royalty rates for digital downloads increase, as is likely to happen this week, it might shut down the iTunes store. But analysts say the firm is highly unlikely to follow through on the threat. Apple first made the ... stern warning at least 18 months ago in a written submission to the Copyright Royalty Board but has only just emerged. iTunes vice president Eddy Cue wrote that if the store " were forced to absorb any increase in the mechanical royalty rates, the result would be to significantly increase the likelihood of the store operating at a financial loss -- ... (view more)

The U.S. House of Representatives shocked the world earlier this week when it rejected a proposed $700 billion bailout bill that could have saved Wall Street from what some worry-warts believe could be the next Great Depression. Now, a new critic is ... shaking its head at Congress: Microsoft. Few have been able to escape news of the bailout's rejection, with the media in just about every circle speculating that the result could be the kind of recession few have ever seen before. It has changed the dynamics of the current election for many; does either John McCain or Barack Obama have the ... (view more)

Tired of those messages kindly informing you that "YOUR REGISTRY IS DAMAGED" or "YOUR SYSTEM IS CORRUPTED"? That kind of practice is commonly referred to as "scareware" in the tech industry, and those companies that employ it are regarded as the ... least reliable software firms. Thankfully, industry powerhouse Microsoft and the State of Washington continue their full-on campaign determined to root out and destroy scareware firms. According to a statement issued Monday, the Washington State Attorney General's office announced another lawsuit in a joint campaign with Microsoft that has lasted for ... (view more)