New Technology News

Monday, July 21, 2014

"I told you so" is a refrain that's oft-heard here in the Linux blogosphere, and more often than not it refers to some fleeting Microsoft tie with FOSS that subsequently goes wrong. The latest example? It's a doozy. Redmond not only is laying off many, many thousands -- most of them in its ill-fated Nokia unit -- but also abandoning its short-lived support of Android through the Nokia X line. "We will be particularly focused on making the market for Windows Phone," wrote Microsoft devices chief Stephen Elop in an email last week to employees.

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Nokia X, We Hardly Knew Ye

10:30 AM

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"I told you so" is a refrain that's oft-heard here in the Linux blogosphere, and more often than not it refers to some fleet...

Microsoft last week announced a large staff reduction tied to the acquisition of Nokia. There is actually a science to how to make layoffs, but much of that appears to have been lost over the last couple of decades. I have some theories as to why -- I blame the Democrats and financial analysts -- but how you carry out job cuts actually is very important, and it reflects how well the CEO understands people, which I think is a critical skill. In the context of Microsoft's layoffs, I'll offer a layoff primer this week.

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Layoffs: There's a Right Way

7:08 AM

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Microsoft last week announced a large staff reduction tied to the acquisition of Nokia. There is actually a science to how to make layoffs...

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Telecom regulators from each EU member state, together with the Article 29 Working Party -- a group comprised of a data protection authority representative from each state, the European Data Protection Supervisor, and the European Commission -- have invited search engines to a meeting next week, according to a Thursday report. Microsoft, which just started fielding link removal requests to Bing, plans to attend. It is not clear if Google or Yahoo will be there, although both companies have said they will cooperate with privacy officials.

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Down the EU's Right-to-Be-Forgotten Rabbit Hole

12:47 PM

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Telecom regulators from each EU member state, together with the Article 29 Working Party -- a group comprised of a data protection authori...

Friday, July 18, 2014

It may not be a marriage made in heaven, but the cloud is pretty close. Just hours after IBM and Apple announced their strategic partnership, speculation began to spread about two of their most well-known products: What if Siri and Watson were to hook up? Siri is Apple's voice-enabled digital personal assistant. Watson is IBM's artificial intelligence software, perhaps best known for winning Jeopardy! While noting that it was too soon to talk about a future Siri-Watson hybrid, IBM hasn't ruled out the possibility.

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Siri May Be Starting a Hope Chest

5:33 PM

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It may not be a marriage made in heaven, but the cloud is pretty close. Just hours after IBM and Apple announced their strategic partnersh...

A crowdfunding campaign for Jibo, a little robot designed to become one of the family, kicked off Wednesday on Indiegogo, and with 29 days remaining, it already has raised more than $577,000 -- nearly six times its $100,000 target. The voice-controlled robot with a friendly face is a do-it-all personal assistant. Communicating with users in a human voice, it can learn individual preferences, relay messages and reminders, and function as a video conferencing device. That's just for starters.

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