Google + HP Chromebooks, who needs Microsoft?

HP Chromebook 11 now available, HP Chromebook 14 coming soon --
Given Google’s had so much practice, it’s not surprising that there are a couple of lovely touches on the HP Chromebook 11 ($279.99) that make it seriously tempting. It charges with a USB port, like your phone, finally minimising the number of chargers you need to take with you on a trip. It also now comes pre-installed with the offline apps that make Google a serious rival to Office - previously, you needed to download a whole load of Chrome apps before you could do anything like email or word processing without an internet connection. . . .and an even better Chromebook is coming before the end of the year --- HP Chromebook 14 ($299.99)

HP Admits What We Already Knew: Microsoft Is At War With Its OEM Partners | TechCrunch: "As a company, Microsoft will speak to you in loud tones about how much it loves its OEM partners, such as HP. But its tone shifts when conversation turns to its Surface line of tablets, which, in its view, is top-notch. Hang out with Microsoft teams and you’ll see an encroaching level of Surface usage that will in short order overtake ThinkPad’s former preeminence among the company’s employees."

BlackBerry Is Said to Warm to Idea of a Breakup - Bloomberg: "Companies such as SAP AG (SAP), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), which were approached last week by BlackBerry advisers, have indicated they’re only interested in parts of the company, people familiar with the discussions said. A breakup would let parties bid for BlackBerry’s most valuable pieces, such as its patents or enterprise network, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private."

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PCWorld
For Apple developers that want an easy way to add cloud storage or device-to-device push notifications to their apps, Google has announced Mobile Backend ...

eWeek

Google Maps adds multi-destination directions and searchable ...

PCWorld
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NDTV

Apple's Mac sales slide as PCs fall again

MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc. saw a sharp drop in Mac sales in the U.S. as global PC shipments fell again in the third quarter, IDC said ...

MiamiHerald.com

Google to pay rewards for open-source code security fixes

PCWorld
Google said Wednesday it plans to reward developers for developing proactive security improvements for some of the most widely used open-source software ...

Washington Post (blog)

Can Google Be Trusted As A Cloud Infrastructure Vendor?

Forbes
Ever since Google Google lifted the wraps earlier this year from its Cloud Platform, ... way of Google actually executing upon this opportunity and giving Amazon Web ... At the same time Microsoft Microsoft is committed to Azure and focused on ...

ITworld.com

Judge: Google's Tracking Not Harmful

Wall Street Journal (blog)
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Wall Street Journal (blog)

Google wants you to gesture when you drive (but not THAT gesture)

NBCNews.com
Google has filed a patent for technology that would allow drivers to control many ... Google recently filed for a patent that might make controlling a car similar to ...

Apple's iPad Announcement Leads To PR Disruption For Nokia and ...

Chicago Tribune
To suggest that there's a nefarious plan from Apple to disrupt Nokia's farewell party and Microsoft's latest salvo to try and grab relevant mindshare in the tablet ...

Chicago Tribune

Microsoft India announces three Xbox 360 Holiday Value Bundles

NDTV
Three Microsoft Xbox 360 Holiday Value Bundles have been announced, two featuring Kinect, and all featuring bundled games. The one without Kinect, called ...

NDTV

Google aims at universities; can students give Google+ a boost?

ZDNet
Summary: Google is making it easier for universities and colleges to sign up for ... Search-to-smartphones giant Google has drawn up a framework agreement ...

Times Higher Education

Google Maps preview now handles multi-point routes, upcoming ...

Jon Fingas
When the Google Maps web preview launched, it omitted the previous version's multi-point directions -- a big setback for tourists and other frequent. . . .

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