AMD’s triple play
The maths for guessing the future of computer processing power is no longer “Think of a number and then double it.”
It should be getting easier in this multi-core world. We’ve gone from single brains to two brains and now quad-core microprocessors, so eight should be next, right? Read more
Unanswered questions from the Google click-rate conundrum
So the fall-off in paid clicks on Google wasn’t a one-month phenomenon. The comScore report a month ago that the number of clicks on the search engine’s adverts had fallen slightly in January from a year before touched off fears that the Great Google Slowdown had set in. It didn’t matter that comScore itself later argued that quality improvements in Google’s ad system could account for the decline: the seeds of doubt had been sown.
The latest figures show that this was not an isolated phenomenon. The research firm now says that Google’s paid clicks in the US edged up by 3.1 per cent in February, which is at least better than the 0.3 per cent decline the month before. But this still represents a major deceleration from the 25 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of last year, and with search queries still growing strongly it points to a big change in the way searchers respond to adverts. Read more
Amazon’s computing cloud becomes less cloudy
There’s an interesting new twist today to Amazon.com’s ambitious “computer-in-the-cloud” plan. From now on, companies which rely on the etailer to run aspects of their computing for them can choose where those tasks get handled.
This raises interesting legal implications. For instance, Amazon now says customers can select whether they want their computing to take place in a datacenter in the US or in Europe. So anyone concerned about the snooping eyes of Uncle Sam (think Patriot Act) might prefer to go off-shore. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
