business

As the official June 30, 2008 deadline for Windows XP sales for PC makers and retailers looms on the horizon, Business Week is reporting that a recent upgrade to the Mac operating system (OS) is moving Apple closer to challenging Microsoft for ... overall computing dominance, even in the corporate market. A new feature from Apple called 'Spaces' makes it easy to instantly switch between a Macintosh OS and a Microsoft Windows OS with two fingers. Easy toggling of OS' coupled with Apple's release of a tool kit for programmers to write applications for the iPhone will be followed by the June launch ... (view more)

If you operate a small business, then you know how difficult and expensive it can be to try to compete with bigger businesses. It often seems like an uphill battle. But now, you can find a valuable ally in your effort to grow against the flow: ... technology. Technology can empower your small business and level the playing field when competing against larger businesses. If you're looking to grow your business or are finding yourself going head-to-head with the big guys, there are a variety of technological tools and sources that can help. (Source: businessweek.com ) Among the technologies most ... (view more)

Microsoft acquired Multimap on Wednesday, a leading provider of location-based services in Europe. The privately-owned British company is one of the United Kingdom's top 100 technology firms, and was an early pioneer in online mapping for the island ... country. According to the Times of London, the deal is worth $50 million dollars, half of which will go to Multimap's founder Sean Phelan. (Source: timesonline.co.uk ) The website is the second most popular online destination in its class in the UK, trailing Google Maps and leading Microsoft's Live Search Maps (which came in fifth). This is the ... (view more)

Intuit, the maker of well-known products such as Quicken, Quickbooks, and TurboTax, has purchased Homestead Technologies, a provider of small business websites. (Source: www.techcrunch.com ) At face value there's nothing odd about this; Intuit has ... acquired more than 19 companies in the last decade. And yet, all of these previous acquisitions were directly related, in some way, to small business financial needs thereby complementing Intuit's focus on finance functions. Acquiring Homestead is out of character. Does it mean that Intuit has finally run out of room in the financial market? Maybe ... (view more)

Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) is seeking to change its business model by getting rid of its digital camera manufacturing branch, which has been an integral part of the company since the early 1990s. The decision reflects the company's poor ... performance in this sector and a subsequent revision of its business strategy. In a recent announcement HP stated that it will dump responsibility for design, source and distribute digital cameras to an OEM partner, providing instead only HP branding on the devices manufactured by its partner. HP is seeking to accelerate its investment in the 'Print 2.0' ... (view more)

In what appears to be an attempt to end sluggish sales, in June Microsoft reportedly began quietly letting PC makers offer a "downgrade" option to consumers who buy Windows Vista Business or Ultimate machines that want to switch to Windows XP. Who's ... taken up the new initiative? Fujitsu started to include a Windows XP disc in the box with its laptops and tablets. "That's going to help out small and medium-size businesses," Fujitsu marketing manager Brandon Farris told CNET News.com. Lenovo is offering Windows XP Recovery CDs as a way to downgrade on "qualified systems" for an additional fee ... (view more)

Lately, the same technology that MySpace employs to allow users to share information (blogs, photos, music, and videos) has become popular in the business world. In fact, employees in large companies have been turning to MySpace to connect with ... clients and co-workers. However, a better option for professionals is LinkedIn, the first model for business-oriented networking sites. "Teen" and "young adult" are terms that define the MySpace generation. These youthful users often visit sites like MySpace to find romantic partners, make friends, or waste time. Though older adults and professionals ... (view more)

... [continued from Part 1 ]. Others argue that Microsoft is at a turning point as they try to build a successful business around online services and advertising, waiting too long to adopt new business models similar to the ones that Google ... successfully launched. The Xbox 360 game console and the Zune digital media player have also proven to be unsuccessful. A January 26, 2007 memo issued by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) CIO Dave Bowen states he might permanently bypass upgrading the FAA's desktops to Windows Vista due to stringent hardware requirements and application ... (view more)

In an attempt to help businesses adapt to Windows Vista, Microsoft has released free tools that will help companies migrate to the new operating system, including software that will allow older versions of Windows to run alongside Vista in a virtual ... environment. Microsoft is hoping the tools will make moving to Vista less painless for business customers, particularly those who depend on older versions of Windows. During a meeting with financial analysts, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called analysts sales estimates for Vista "overly aggressive" and tried to downplay expectations for OS sales. ... (view more)

Small businesses desiring an upgrade to Microsoft's newest operating system, Vista, need not worry. Although it was first rumored that mini corporations would have to wait until the home release of Vista in late January of next year, the ... Redmond-based company has announced that the operating system will be available on November 30, instead. (source: betanews.com ) Small businesses anxious for the upgrade can thank a joint effort from vendor CompUSA and Microsoft. The special package is part of Microsoft's recognition that half of small businesses shop at retailers for their operating system ... (view more)