Yearly Archives: 2013

The top 10 tech ‘fails’ of 2012

"In 2012, we saw big tech advances. Smartphones got bigger. Tablets got smaller. Social media played a role in everything from a presidential election to disaster relief. But with advances come clunkers. When you're in a field that demands near-constant innovation and unprecedented levels of creativity, sometimes even the most successful players are going to shoot and miss. So, at the risk of playing Scrooge in this season of good will, here we come to wallow in it. Because, let's face it: The Internet loves a good fail. Behold the top 10 tech 'fails' of 2012, with wishes for happier days ahead to all involved." Continue reading →

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Five big tech stories to watch for in 2013

"We were dazzled by an array of smartphones. We were fascinated and then disappointed by Facebook's initial public offering. And we held our breaths as we awaited the verdict in the Apple v. Samsung trial. But all that's so 2012. Let's talk 2013. Will we still be paying attention to patents, smartphones, and IPOs? The answer is 'yes, yes, and yes,' but not in the way you might imagine. The great thing about writing about the high-tech industry is its constant march forward. New companies get built on the bones of old companies, and new faces emerge while others fade. It's what keeps us going and sitting on those hard, wooden courtroom benches." Continue reading →

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FTC Settles Google Antitrust Investigation

"After a high-profile 20-month investigation, the federal government announced today its dropping an 'exhaustive' antitrust probe into Google, the world's largest search engine. Google escaped the investigation without paying a fine, but it will voluntarily change some of its practices to be more open to competitors, the FTC said. The FTC's investigation focused on two main allegations from rival companies: first, that Google favored its own Internet search results while burying links to competing sites; and second, that the company stifled competition by not allowing access to its mobile device patents." Continue reading →

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State Department criticizes Google CEO’s North Korea visit

"The US State Department criticized Thursday a trip by Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Internet giant Google, and senior colleagues to visit North Korea’s isolated totalitarian regime. 'Frankly we don’t think the timing of this is particularly helpful,' spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, stressing the executives were traveling as private citizens. 'They are not carrying any messages from us.'" Continue reading →

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Google’s Android smartphones make up 53.7 percent of U.S. market share

"Apple and Google extended their dominance in the US smartphone market as 2012 neared its close. The share of smartphone service subscribers relying on Google’s Android software inched up to 53.7 percent in the three months leading up to December, while Apple’s portion grew to 35 percent from 34.3 percent, comScore reported. The most popular mobile phones were made by South Korean consumer electronics titan Samsung, whose handsets were used by 26.9 percent of US telecom service subscribers, according to comScore." Continue reading →

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U.S. fines Transocean $1.4 billion over Gulf oil spill disaster

"The United States hit drilling rig operator Transocean with $1.4 billion in criminal and civil fines Thursday for its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly two months after oil giant BP was fined $4.5 billion for its leading role in the disaster, Transocean agreed to plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and pay the fines, the Justice Department said. The firm was ordered to pay $400 million to resolve criminal charges and another $1 billion in civil penalties, partly to fund spill prevention and environmental restoration in the five states hit by the three-month-long spill." Continue reading →

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ADP Jobs Number Blows Through the Roof

"The just released ADP jobs report shows a 215, 000 increase in private sector jobs in December. That's 50% higher than the 140,000 that was expected. Bernanke money printing manipulation of the economy upward. Unfortunately, because it is a manipulation, it will crash down the road, but not now, For now, happy days are here again. And most of the jobs gains are in the capital goods sector, as would be expected based on Austrian Business Cycle Theory." Continue reading →

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November’s Leading Indexes Suggest Expansion in 49 States in First Half of 2013

"The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia has released the leading indexes for the 50 states for November 2012. The indexes are a six-month forecast of the state coincident indexes (also released by the Bank). Forty-nine state coincident indexes are projected to grow over the next six months, while one index (Wyoming’s) is projected to decrease." Continue reading →

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Greek debt crisis ‘far from over’

"After five straight years of recession, the eurozone's weakest link moves into 2013 with an economy set to further contract, unemployment at a record 26%, one in three living on or below the poverty line, and the worst of austerity yet to come. In the runup to Christmas, even the Greek finance minister, Yannis Stournaras, felt fit to admit that despite being the recipient of €240bn in EU and IMF rescue funds – the biggest bailout in global history – Greece could still default on its massive pile of debt, a move that would result automatically in exit from the 17-nation bloc." Continue reading →

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Japan plans ‘nationalisation’ of factories to save industry

"Premier Shenzo Abe is to spend up to one trillion yen (£7.1bn) buying plant in the electronics, equipment, and carbon fibre industries to force the pace of investment, according to Nikkei news. The disclosure came just a day after Mr Abe vowed to revive Japan's nuclear industry with a fresh generation of reactors, insisting that they would be 'completely different' from the Fukishima Daiichi technology. Mr Abe's Liberal Democrats have already lambasted the central bank, threatening a new bank law unless it adopts radical measures to pull Japan out of deflation – including a growth target of 3pc for nominal GDP, implying massive monetary stimulus." Continue reading →

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