August 12, 2008
Google’s billion-dollar AOL bet takes a dive
Valleywag
Paul Boutin summarizes an anaylst’s comments on Google’s 2005 purchase of five per cent of AOL.
“Analyst guesstimates of AOL’s value peg it at about $10 million, or half the value at which Google bought in. It’s a blow to Google, but not a big one – a couple hundred million in paper value lost, to a company that takes in more then 10 billion a year.”
Via stops making chipsets for Intel, AMD Systems
ZD Net
John Morris writes that after speculation, Taiwan-based Via Technologies has confirmed it will cease making chipsets for PCs that use Intel and AMD processors.
“A company spokesperson told the hardware site Custom PC that the third-party chipset business was on its way out, and said Via would instead focus on developing entire PC platforms…Via said it will continue to develop chipsets for its own Nano chip, following the trend set by Intel, and more recently AMD, of selling entire platforms, rather than individual PC components, which are becoming increasingly commoditized.”
Back door or not, Apple App Store means more work for CIOs
IT World Canada
Shane Schick explains what should be made available for download on Apple devices.
“IT departments are generally pretty good at figuring out what kinds of software will help their businesses succeed, but the App Store’s momentum suggests their role may eventually consist of double-checking and second-guessing the choices of iPhone users. What the App Store needs is not another calendar program but software that will help technology professionals monitor the devices that operate within their networks. This would be a great opportunity for a developer to tackle.”