Taking the Measure

June 29, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

In the Wall Street Journal, L. Gordon Crovitz expresses concern that the Obama administration doesn’t want the military monitoring private-sector networks or Internet traffic. He writes, “If cyber war is a new form of war, wouldn't most Americans adjust their expectations of reasonable privacy to permit the Pentagon to intrude to some degree on their communications, if this is necessary to prevent great harm and if rules protecting anonymity can be established?”

The Journal also notes that the Justice Department has extended its investigation into Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Reports the Journal, “Daniel Wall, an attorney who represents Oracle, said in the statement that ‘o...Read More

June 26, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Microsoft has a plan to encourage PC users to move to Windows 7 without discouraging them from buying new computers before the new OS becomes available in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reports. “As part of the plan, the Redmond, Wash., company said the main consumer version of the software would cost $10 less than past versions of Windows.” The Journal says, adding, “Microsoft also said any consumers who buy new PCs running its current Windows Vista operating system between Friday and Jan. 31 will receive free upgrades to Windows 7.”

• Also in the Journal, Jeffrey Ball comments that Energy Star, “The “US government's seal of approval for ...Read More

June 25, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Computer makers including Apple are sealing batteries within their laptops, allowing higher capacity without adding heft. The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg tested “…two new Apple laptops…using my own harsh battery test, which I apply to all laptops I review. The results were excellent.” One machine, he says, operated for just under five hours, while the other ran for five hours and 21 minutes. He estimates that under normal conditions the machines would come close to meeting Apple’s claqim of seven-hour operation.

I would be more interested in how long they would operate after, say, 100 or 200 or 300 charge/discharge cycles, and Mossberg cautions, “I was unable to verify Apple’s claim that these sealed batteries can be fully r...Read More

June 24, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Are we too connected? It seems that disappearing South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford just needed some offline time. The Wall Street Journal quotes his spokesman Joel Sawyer downplayed as saying, "We've been under the same state Constitution for over 100 years, and I'm fairly certain that for most of that time governors didn't have cellphones."

“Kodak to Take Kodachrome Away,” reports the Wall Street Journal, adding, “…Eastman Kodak Co. said Monday that because of plunging sales, it is ending production of the film it first introduced in 1935. The company said the final batch of the slide film, known for its rich colors and clarity, is being manufactured now in Mexico and that supplies should probably la...Read More

June 23, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

For Boston residents, this month is shaping up to be the gloomiest since 1903, according to measurements taken by the pyroheliometer at the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, according to the Boston Globe.

The Wall Street Journal today has a feature on Tim Cook, who has run Apple while Steve Jobs has been on medical leave. The Journal says that Cook “…has emerged as a star in his own right—and one that the company needs to make sure stays put.” The article quotes Gene Munster, an analyst for Piper Jaffray, as saying, &q...Read More