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Dist. 220 considers promotion of child safety smartphone app Feb 5, 2013 12:00 AM
A software developer with a personal connection to Barrington Unit District 220 is hoping a new smartphone app he's created will help protect students in the district from the threat of stranger danger. But while district officials recognize a potential benefit from the LifeLine Response app, they're undecided whether and how to proceed as the middle man for a private firm.
Dell to go private in $24.4 billion deal led by founder Feb 5, 2013 12:00 AM
Slumping personal computer maker Dell is bowing out of the stock market in a $24.4 billion buyout that represents the largest deal of its kind since the Great Recession dried up the financing for such risky maneuvers.The complex agreement announced Tuesday will allow Dell Inc.'s management, including founder Michael Dell, to attempt a company turnaround away from the glare and financial pressures of Wall Street.
New BlackBerry to be released in U.S. in mid-March Feb 5, 2013 12:00 AM
The chief executive of Research In Motion said he's disappointed the new BlackBerry won't be released in the United States until mid-March, but he said early data suggests sales in the U.K. are above expectations. Thorsten Heins said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press that he was disappointed in the mid-March U.S. release date. But he said the U.S. and its phone carriers have a rigid testing system. "We need to respect that. Am I a bit disappointed? Yeah, I would be lying saying no. But it is what it is and we're working with all our carrier partners to speed it up as much as we can," Heins said in an interview at the Ritz Carlton in Toronto.
Oracle to buy Acme Packet for about $2.1B Feb 4, 2013 12:00 AM
Oracle is acquiring the network gear company Acme Packet for about $2.1 billion. The software giant will be able to bolster the communications package it offers to customers with the acquisition, it said Monday. Acme makes phone and data network equipment that's used by more than 1,900 service providers and enterprises around the world.
Hewlett-Packard to sell first Chromebook laptop using Google Feb 4, 2013 12:00 AM
Hewlett-Packard Co. will start selling its first Chromebook laptop, entering the market for low-priced portable computers running an operating system from Google Inc. that emphasizes working on the Web. The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook has a 14-inch screen, 16- gigabyte solid-state drive and Intel Corp. processor. It also comes with 100 gigabytes of free storage on the online Google Drive service for two years, which ordinarily costs about $120.
Almost everybody is rooting for the 49ers, Facebook data shows Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Facebook's data science team dived into the social network's data on NFL fandom and came back with some revealing findings. For one thing, pro football fans are shameless bandwagon-hoppers, especially during the playoffs. And it seems the bandwagon everyone's hopping on right now is the one that belongs to the San Francisco 49ers.
IBM sends Watson to NY college to boost its skills Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Watson, the supercomputer famous for beating the world's best human "Jeopardy!" champions, is going to college. IBM announced that it will provide a Watson system to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the first time the computer is being sent to a university. Just like the flesh-and-blood students who will work on it, Watson is leaving home to sharpen its skills. Course work will include English and math.
How MIT can honor Aaron Swartz Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
If MIT truly wants to atone for joining the federal case against Aaron Swartz who downloaded nearly 5 million articles from one of the largest digital archives of scholarly journals in the world, it should do something much grander: It should pledge to spend its money, prestige and moral authority to launch a multi-university campaign to free every scholarly article from behind pay-wall archives like JSTOR. In other words, MIT should pledge to finish the project Swartz started.
Review: BlackBerry Z10 is good stab at rebirth Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Are you ashamed to have a BlackBerry? It's not exactly a status symbol any more, at least not in the U.S., after it got left in the dust by the iPhone. Now, there's a new BlackBerry that wants to get back into the cool club: the Z10. It's the first phone to run the new BlackBerry 10 operating system, and it is, at first blush, a very good stab at regaining at least some of the cachet of the BlackBerry.
Review: Microsoft Office pricey, but good value< Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
As much as I like Google Docs for word processing and spreadsheets, I find the online software clunky at times. So I was skeptical when I heard Microsoft is trying to sell its new version of Office as an online subscription. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the subscription gets you the same software you'd get buying it at a retail store.
Facebook unveils gift card users can send to other members Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Facebook Inc. has unveiled a service that lets users give gift cards to other members for purchases at retailers and restaurants. The card can be used at four businesses, including Target Corp. and Jamba Juice Co., Facebook said on its website.
Applications Reviews: Temple Run, Toshl Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Fans of the first version of Temple Run will probably be cheered to hear that Imangi Studios hasn’t messed with a winning formula. In fact, the new version of the popular mobile action game is nearly indistinguishable from its predecessor.
Netflix’s Hastings says viewer data underpins spending on shows Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Solar development absorbing California farmland Feb 2, 2013 12:00 AM
Planning department records in four of the valley’s biggest farming counties show about 100 solar generation plants already proposed on roughly 40,000 acres, or about the equivalent of 470 Disneyland theme parks. Planners in Fresno County say their applications for solar outnumber the ones they received for housing developments during the boom days.
Tellabs losses deepen, cutting 300 jobs Feb 1, 2013 12:00 AM
Naperville-based Tellabs Inc. said Friday it will cut about 300 jobs after it posted a $23 million loss in the fourth quarter. “I can tell you that the workforce reduction will affect people in all Tellabs departments and locations, including Naperville,” said Tellabs spokesman George Stenitzer.
Bizstarters helps mature workers start their own businesses Jan 31, 2013 12:00 AM
Arlington Heights resident Jeff Williams said he has transitioned from a physical office and a staff of 5 workers to a home office with a nationwide, virtual team. Williams is the CEO and founder of Bizstarters.com, which offers training, counseling and other services to people over 50 who want to start their own business.
BlackBerry launches long-awaited comeback campaign Jan 30, 2013 12:00 AM
After lengthy delays, Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled its first two phones with the new BlackBerry 10 system. The Q10 will have a physical keyboard, while the Z10 has only a touch-screen keyboard. RIM also announced a company name change to BlackBerry to maintain a single brand. It will have the ticker symbol "BBRY" on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Navitas completes acquisition of A123 Systems business Jan 30, 2013 12:00 AM
Canada, Holland: WhatsApp violates privacy norms Jan 29, 2013 12:00 AM
Regulators in the Netherlands and Canada say that popular messaging application WhatsApp is violating internationally accepted privacy norms by stockpiling phone numbers belonging to people who don't even use the service.
Yahoo sales top analysts’ estimates on online search demand Jan 29, 2013 12:00 AM
Yahoo! Inc. reported fourth-quarter revenue that topped analysts' estimates and increased annual sales for the first time since 2008 as the largest U.S. Web portal benefited from buoyant demand for online search. Fourth-quarter earnings, excluding some items, were 32 cents a share, Yahoo said in a statement. Sales, excluding revenue passed to partner sites, rose 4 percent $1.22 billion. Analysts on average had projected profit of 28 cents on revenue of $1.21 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.