Amazon.com Inc.’s fourth-quarter earnings skyrocketed 71 percent, as shoppers spent more than ever during a holiday season that improved by the previous year for retailers on and off the Web.

Despite the sluggish economy, Amazon did well all through the year, drawing shoppers with its Kindle e-reader and deals on an immense selection of goods ranging from alarm clocks to stuffed zebras.

Amazon reported Thursday that that behavior carried through the holiday season, which is typically the busiest moment of the year for retailers. And Amazon doesn’t expect growth to slow: The company predicted first-quarter revenue that exceeds analyst expectations.

Amazon said it earned $384 million, or 85 cents per share, in the October-December period. That compares with $225 million, or 52 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter, which included a holiday season that Amazon had described next as its “best ever,” only to be surpassed by the 2009 holidays.

Revenue [...]

Orginal post by dhiram

Kira Marchenese works in online communications, and so she arrived on a business trip to New York earlier that week equipped with all the gadgets you might expect: personal smart phone, work smart phone, laptop, iPod touch.

Problem is, her hotel room didn’t have adequate outlets to keep the darned devices charged. “I unplugged the lamp and still couldn’t do it,” she noted ruefully. “At least half the things I’m carrying right now are just dead hunks of metal.”

And so, though communications is her world, Marchenese has no plans to rush out and buy the iPad, Apple’s new tablet device unveiled with much fanfare on Wednesday. She just doesn’t see the need for yet another gadget.

Nor does Ray Bowman, a self-described “techno-junkie” who lives on a farm in Kentucky, raising sheep some 60 miles from the two nearest Apple stores.

Bowman spent Wednesday eagerly following the news of Apple CEO [...]

Orginal post by dhiram

You’ve got the whole jungle thing going on and a Dharma Initiative-flavored octagonal shape. Oh, and it can take down airplanes flying overhead.

Orginal post by Kyle VanHemert

Two models in specific, the Bravo and Supersonic, are getting a lot of attention, which leads us to believe an announcement is coming soon.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Orginal post by Scott Webster

After weeks of back-and-forth negotiations amoung Web search giant Google and the Chinese government, Google says it will continue to oppose China’s efforts to censor knowledge on the Net. For the past several years, Google has censored results on its Google.cn search engine as requested by the Chinese government. But recently, Google decided to pull the plug.

Google’s decision came after a China-based cyberattack that Google said resulted in stolen intellectual property. Two weeks ago, Google CEO Eric Schmidt threatened to pull Google’s business out of China whether the government did not allow uncensored search results and info. But since thereupon, Schmidt and the government have attempted to find some middle ground.

whether it pulls out of China, Google stands to lose its 700 employees in China and anger advertisers. Advertisers may decide to move to Google competitors based in China, such as Baidu and Alibaba Group.

China, however, [...]

Orginal post by dhiram

Though the Nexus One deserves CNET’s “Excellent” rating, there are three things with which we’re not entirely comfortable.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Orginal post by Kent German

Around the globe, laws are too weak to deter cyberattacks and countries are incapable of preventing attacks. Those pessimistic findings are among the results of a worldwide survey of industry executives funded by McAfee and conducted by the Center for Strategic and universal Studies (CSIS).

The study, In the crossfire — Critical Infrastructure in the Age of Cyber War, surveyed 600 executives and talked to dozens of shield experts. The executives were questioned about their practices, attitudes and policies on shield, the impact of regulation, their relationship with government, specific safety measure measures employed on their networks, and the kinds of attacks they face, McAfee said.

The respondents indicated that government does have a role to play in cybersecurity, which is a change in industry thinking. “I have sensed for a year or more that industry, which used to think that the government didn’t need to get involved, doesn’t have [...]

Orginal post by dhiram