Browsing: Microsoft

In the escalating smartphone wars, the battle for supremacy is being waged between Apple and Samsung Electronics. In the first quarter of 2012, it’s estimated the two companies consumed all of the industry’s profits and 74% of its revenues. Where does this leave BlackBerry’s Research in Motion, Nokia

When Samsung sent us its Series 7 Slate tablet PC to review a couple of weeks ago, we couldn’t resist the temptation to ditch Windows 7 from its 128GB solid-state drive and install the consumer preview of Windows 8. After all, Windows 8 is designed from the ground up as a tablet-friendly operating system

On Friday, social network Facebook will list on Wall Street in the third largest initial public offering (IPO) in US history and the largest in the technology sector. The initial share price is set at US$38 and, with 421m shares being listed, the move will make

On Monday, Moody’s, the ratings agency, downgraded Nokia’s debt to near junk status. The share price has been in freefall in the past year, with some analysts painting a bleak future for the Finnish company. Yes, it’s bad. But Nokia is already planting the seeds of its turnaround. There’s no doubt that fortunes are made and lost

Mali’s new prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra, is an accomplished astrophysicist who worked on five Nasa missions and became a US citizen, but said he never forgot the Malian town of his birth. He earned degrees from universities in France and the US, where he later taught mechanical and aerospace engineering

Although some US analysts are predicting that Apple’s share price could push past the US$1 000/share barrier in the next 12 months, making it the first $1 trillion company, I believe the more “boring” technology companies such as Dell, Microsoft and Intel offer a more sensible prospect for investors. The market is valuing Apple’s operating

Microsoft has finally shed some light on the different versions of Windows 8 we’ll see upon release and, thankfully, things are much simpler than past versions. This time around, there are only three flavours Microsoft is pushing heavily: Windows 8, the version geared towards most consumers; Windows 8 Pro, for enterprise and

Former Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) chairman Paris Mashile has been appointed to the board of ComUnity, a local mobile-phone development company, as chairman. Mashile is also a director at state-owned broadcasting signal distributor Sentech and is programme director for digital multimedia management

It’s like 1999 all over again. On Monday, Facebook announced it was buying photo-sharing company Instagram for US$1bn, netting the start-up’s cofounder, Kevin Systrom, a cool $400m. It’s paying over the odds, but the deal makes sense for Facebook ahead of its flotation on the stock market. At first glance and based on the

Remember that time in the 1990s when Apple was almost bankrupt and in disrepair? Take note, Yahoo, Apple’s market capitalisation reached the US$600bn mark on Tuesday, the second company in the world to reach the milestone. Apple reached a high of $644/share, reaching a market cap that continues to put space between