• A Tennessee hospital has confirmed it carried out a liver transplant on Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive.  The Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in Memphis said Mr Jobs was “the sickest patient on the waiting list at the time a donor organ became available. Mr Jobs is now recovering well and has an excellent prognosis.”
• Intel and Nokia unveiled plans to work together to create a type of mobile computing device beyond today’s smartphones and netbooks. The move takes Intel a step further towards a breakthrough into the highly prized mobile phone market. Nokia typically works with potential suppliers on joint research for several years before deciding to adopt a particular technology. Continue reading "techfile 24.06.09"

• Steve Jobs has quietly returned as active chief executive to Apple after nearly six months on medical leave. Mr Jobs was quoted in a press release announcing that the company sold more than 1m units of the new iPhone 3G S in its first three days on the market. The subtle move by Apple came just days after The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago, in a move to help him recover from ongoing complications from an earlier bout of pancreatic cancer.
• At the same time as the launch of the 3G S, Apple had released a souped-up Safari 4.0 and claimed the title of fastest browser. But for how long? Mozilla has just issued the release candidate for Firefox 3.5, which it says is twice as fast at loading pages as 3.0 . The browser race is truly about speed these days.
• Samsung has announced a new solid-state drive (SSD) that it says will give netbook makers more flexibility in design than provided by standard hard-drives. The SSD, in 16Gb, 32GB and 64Gb Flash memory flavours, has a  3Gb per second interface and is nearly 80 per cent smaller than a standard 2.5-inch hard-disk drive.

• Apple revealed a new suite of iPhones, bringing down the price on the base model and introducing more advanced versions in a bid to cement its technology lead and capture a larger share of the smartphone market. The company also dramatically cut prices on its family of laptop computers and introduced a new desktop operating system, Snow Leopard. But there was no sign of Apple’s closely-watched chief executive, Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January.
• In another sign of the depth of the distrust between Microsoft and Brussels, European regulators have asked PC makers whether the software company tried to pressure them to lobby in its favour in Brussels. Microsoft brushed off the suggestion, claiming that the manufacturers had their own independent concerns about a Commission proposal which may force them to offer a choice of browsers to PC buyers. “We have encouraged them to share their concerns with the Commission,” Microsoft added.
• Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz put to rest any speculation that talks were ongoing between her company and AOL. Asked on Fox about the possibility of a Yahoo / AOL combination, Ms Bartz said, “Not any time in the forever future. Yahoo is a much stronger property in a different direction, and there’s no sense confusing all that.”

With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference just days away, the technology community is eagerly anticipating the company’s next product launch, and puzzling over the fate of its founder.

The FT’s Joseph Menn reports that Apple plans to introduce a cheaper version of the iPhone as soon as Monday, in a move that could dramatically increase the company’s share of the smartphone market. Apple declined to comment, but the company typically introduces major products at its developer conference, which begins on Monday.

Chief executive Steve Jobs, who has traditionally introduced new products during the conference’s keynote, is not expected to be in attendance. Continue reading "Apple fans await new iPhone, healthy Steve Jobs"

• IBM chief executive Sam Palmisano told invited analysts and investors Wednesday that the tech powerhouse was still on track for 2009 earnings of $9.20 a share and that it intends to keep spending on acquisitions, developing-world markets and research through the downturn. He singled out risk analysis and other analytics as a major growth opportunity, saying it would be “as big as” enterprise resource planning software in five years.
• Facing mounting pressure from law enforcement agencies around the country, Craigslist said it would remove the “erotic services” section of its massive classified advertising website. In its place will be a new “adult services” section, where ads will be vetted by a Craigslist employee before being posted. Continue reading "techfile 14.05.09"

• Cisco’s open secret is a secret no more. After weeks of rumours speculating as much, the networking equipment powerhouse is entering the server market, posing a potential threat to IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Sun. Servers are lower-margin products, but analysts say Cisco will be able to charge more by offering bundled products.
• Apple is unveiling new iPhone software on Tuesday. Watchers don’t expect multimedia text messaging, but other desired features, including copy and pasting and integrated contact books, seem likely. Don’t expect an appearance from Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, who remains on medical leave, or the debut of Apple’s rumoured 10-inch touchscreen tablet. Continue reading "techfile 17.3.09"

• Ahead of the launch of its highly anticipated Pre, Palm is seeking to raise extra cash through the resale of shares recently acquired by Elevation Partners. Palm, which has no more than $220m in cash on hand, badly needs the cushion, and will use some of the capital to help finance the launch of the Pre.
• Livemocha, the social language-learning network we wrote about last year, has announced a partnership with education publisher Pearson (owner of the FT). The move should extend the reach of Pearson’s Longman languages teaching and strengthen Livemocha’s offering, which depends in large part on users helping each other with language learning. Continue reading "techfile 10.3.09"

• Ratcheting up the growing rivalry between Google and Microsoft, Google will join a European Union antitrust case against Microsoft that claims the company is stifling competition in the web browser market by including Internet Explorer in Windows.

• Microsoft filed a suit of its own, alleging that in-car navigation system maker Tom Tom is violating eight of its patents, including three relating to Tom Tom’s use of open-source operating system Linux. This is believed to be the first time Microsoft has filed suit over Linux, which it has repeatedly said violates its patents. Continue reading "techfile 26.2.09"