By Don ClarkMany companies have developed new ways to communicate using smartphones, including live video calling. Sidecar believes big things can happen if it all works more seamlessly. The startup–the brainchild of well-known tech entrepreneurs Rob Glaser and Rob Williams–on Tuesday is releasing a free app that is based around the premise that people now tend use the functions of their increasingly sophisticated mobile devices in disjointed ways. You might talk to your friends on a smartphone, or call up an online map or video, but typically not at the same time. Sidecar tries to make switching among such functions a much more fluid process. It shifts automatically to speakerphone mode when the phone is removed from a user’s ear so that a conversation can ... Continue reading →
BY DON CLARK New Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Ross Levinsohn isn't wasting any time in assembling an executive team to help renew growth at the ailing Internet company. In a note to employees Thursday, Mr. Levinsohn said Mickie Rosen will the head Yahoo's global media and commerce efforts, which includes editorial, business development and partnerships, product design and engineering. He added that ...BY DON CLARK New Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Ross Levinsohn isn't wasting any time in assembling an executive team to help renew growth at the ailing Internet company. In a note to employees Thursday, Mr. Levinsohn said Mickie Rosen will the head Yahoo's global media and commerce efforts, which includes editorial, business development and partnerships, product design and engineering. He added that ... Continue reading →
By Don ClarkTech companies continue to reach beyond conventional media to get their messages out. Intel on Wednesday launched its latest experiment, a kind of new-wave news aggregator called iQ that is aimed at informing a younger audience. The online publication produces some original stories, but for the most part draws content from other Web sources. Though many techniques are used in selecting the articles–which are generally focused on how technology is changing the world–Intel emphasizes the fact that the prominence of stories largely reflects how much Intel employees are sharing them using social media such as Facebook. IQ has an interactive feel to it, with articles and images changing as a computer cursor rolls over them. One motivation for the site, the company says, ... Continue reading →
BY DON CLARK AND IAN SHERR Nvidia Corp. is taking big steps to move gaming and other high-performance computing chores from personal computers and gaming consoles to the Web, as so-called cloud computing continues to shake up the tech sector. The Silicon Valley company, known for chips that manage graphics, demonstrated technology that makes it easier for those chips to be deployed in server systems and shared by multiple users over the Internet—without the delays that frustrate gamers and business software users that need speedy responses. Nvidia predicted the effort, based on a technology called VGX, will make it much easier for relatively low-powered devices such ...BY DON CLARK AND IAN SHERR Nvidia Corp. is taking big steps to move gaming and other high-performance computing ... Continue reading →
By Don ClarkMany companies are trying to transform lighting using technology from the world of semiconductors. Bridgelux, a startup with an unusual approach to that quest, on Thursday is disclosing it is getting help from a big player in chips–Toshiba. The big Japanese company has not only taken an equity stake in Bridgelux but has also allocated manufacturing capacity to make the startup’s products. Bridgelux, of Livermore, Calif., is among many that see devices called light emitting diodes, or LEDs, as a much more energy-efficient way to illuminate homes and commercial buildings. The difference comes from choices in key materials used in making LEDs. Most companies fabricate LED chips by laying down a material called gallium nitride on wafers of sapphire or silicon carbide. Another ... Continue reading →
By Don ClarkDolby Laboratories has a history of pushing its audio technology into new markets and devices. The Web has been something of an exception, but the San Francisco company hopes a new deal with Microsoft involving Windows 8 could help rectify that situation. Investors also seemed enthused, pushing Dolby’s share up nearly 20% to 45.02 in after-hours trading. Dolby, of course, was first known for reducing noise in audio tapes and later for popularizing technologies such as surround sound. The company charges royalty fees to makers of disk players and other consumer electronics devices, movie theatres and other partners. But some trends are not going Dolby’s way. Fewer people, for example, are playing DVDs on their PCs, which tends to lead to less usage ... Continue reading →
BY DON CLARK AND KRISTIN JONES Microchip Technology Inc. agreed to buy Standard Microsystems Corp. for about $939 million, the latest sign of market forces pushing mid-sized semiconductor makers together. The chip sector has many specialized vendors, some regularly hit by cyclical swings in the business. Others with ample cash reserves or borrowing power are moving to snap up smaller players, betting that they can quickly make better returns on their money than other investments. Microchip, based in Chandler, Ariz., sells a variety of chips to many customers, including ...BY DON CLARK AND KRISTIN JONES Microchip Technology Inc. agreed to buy Standard Microsystems Corp. for about $939 million, the latest sign of market forces pushing mid-sized semiconductor makers together. The chip sector has many specialized ... Continue reading →
