Dell says new focus will cut into profit

Dell has warned investors that its shift in strategy to focus on higher profit margins would result in lower-than-expected revenue and earnings in the third quarter.

The New York Times reports (1 November) that the surprise announcement, made after the close of trading, pushed its shares down more than 4 percent in after-hours trading.

Dell said it expected earnings before special items for the quarter ended 30 September to be 39 cents a share. Most analysts had expected 40 cents.

The newspaper reports that the company, the world's largest PC vendor, expects a more pronounced decline on the top line. Dell said it would report revenue of about US$13.9 billion, compared with earlier indications that it would bring in US$14.1 billion to US$14.5 billion.

Dell will also take a third-quarter charge of about US$450 million, or about 14 cents a share, resulting in earnings of 25 cents a share. About US$300 million of that charge is related to servicing a failed part in its OptiPlex desktop systems, the NYT reports.

{mospagebreaktitle=Ford to debut pickup with mobile office}Ford to debut pickup with mobile office

In the US., Ford Motor Co. says it will soon offer wireless mobile offices in its F-series pickups, an option aimed at building contractors and others who do business on the road.

The Associated Press reports in The New York Times (31 October) that a Ford F-250 Super Duty truck equipped with a mobile office is scheduled to debut Tuesday at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas. The annual show isn't open to the public, but it dazzles an estimated 100,000 automotive insiders with souped-up vehicles and the latest aftermarket trends and components.

According to AP in the NYT report, Ford expects to offer the mobile office as a dealer-installed accessory in 2006. Pricing isn't finalised, but it would cost around US$3,000 for a wireless-equipped computer, printer and global positioning system, Ford said. Add-ons like a digital camera and credit card scanner also would be available.

AP reports that the system uses a flat Stargate Mobile computer, powered by the truck's battery and mounted on a stand between the driver's seat and passenger seat. The computer has a touch-screen option -- eliminating the need for a keyboard or mouse -- and is designed to be removed from the stand and taken to a work site. It stays connected to the Internet via a broadband wireless cellular card and even has a screen that is visible in direct sunlight.

Microsoft worked with Ford to develop the mobile office and provides the Windows XP Professional operating system. The computer in the Ford pickups will be equipped with a full suite of office software, including Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint, and can also play music or be used for navigation, reports AP.

{mospagebreaktitle=Microsoft may expand web - based offerings}Microsoft may expand web - based offerings

Microsoft is widely expected to announce further forays into software and services that can be accessed over the internet -- a growing competitive arena that some say could eventually threaten Microsoft's biggest cash cows.

The Associated Press reports (31 October) that Microsoft is facing increasing competition from companies such as Google and Yahoo, which offer an array of free consumer services, and Salesforce.com and NetSuite, which have had success with web-based business offerings.

According to the AP/NYT report, the concern is that applications including free e-mail and web-based business products could eventually grow so broad and easy to use that people will begin to question why they are paying for Microsoft's two big moneymakers, the Windows operating system and Office business software suite.

Microsoft has already acknowledged that it must create more web-based products if it wants to stay competitive, reports AP., but reports that analysts say that in doing so, the company must walk a delicate line of drawing consumers to its online offerings without taking business away from Windows and Office.

{mospagebreaktitle=Apple sells a million videos in new service}Apple sells a million videos in new service

Apple Computer on Monday said its iTunes online service has sold a million videos in under 20 days, sending shares up almost 5 percent.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (31 October) that iTunes, the most popular online music store, began selling about 2,000 music videos and episodes of ABC's ``Desperate Housewives'' and ``Lost'' for $1.99 on 12 October.

The debut coincided with the launch of a new generation of Apple's iPod digital music player that can play video on its 2.5-inch color screen.

AP reports that technology, media and Wall Street analysts are eyeing Apple's performance for validation that a market for legal downloading of videos exists.

Topping the list of big sellers were music videos by Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim and Kanye West, as well as episodes of ABC shows.

{mospagebreaktitle=AMD, IBM to develop 32nm, 22nm chip making tech}AMD, IBM to develop 32nm, 22nm chip making tech

AMD and IBM have extended their chip fabrication process development pact, the two companies have confirmed.

The Register reports (i November) that the agreement will see the pair co-operating on the technologies used to produce processors at 32nm and 22nm, and will centre on research in transistor design, interconnects, lithography and ways to connect a die to the package. The deal will run through to 2011.

According to the publication, AMD and IBM joined forces in January 2003 to co-develop a 65nm process, an exercise that was quickly expanded to take in the 45nm generation too. In 2004, the two-year deal was extended to 2008.

{mospagebreaktitle=Nvidia wrestles desktop graphics lead from ATI}Nvidia wrestles desktop graphics lead from ATI

Nvidia has reclaimed the leadership of the desktop graphics chip market from arch-rival ATI, third-quarter figures from market watcher Jon Peddie Research (JPR) reveals.

The Register reports (1 November) that, according to the firm's latest Market Watch statistics, desktop graphics chip shipments were up 9.8 per cent sequentially in Q3 to 50.9 million units. Integrated-part shipments rose 9.4 per cent to 30.7 million, while discrete parts were up 10.3 per cent to 20.2million.

According to The Register, the large number of integrated shipments naturally favoured Intel, which remains the dominant desktop graphics chip vendor - and, indeed, the leading graphics chip maker period. Across the desktop arena, Intel took 36.9 per cent of the market, ATI 23.6 per cent, while Nvidia was close behind with a 22 per cent market share.

{mospagebreaktitle=Oracle offers free beta}Oracle offers free beta

Oracle is offering a free, beta version of its XE database product. The "Express Edition" is available as a free download for developers and students to play around with. But software vendors can also distribute it reports The Register (1 November).

The Register reports that Oracle says it is based on the same Release 2 code base and is fully-compatible with other Oracle databases. It runs on 32-bit Windows or Linux. Red Hat and Novell will distribute the database.

Although the database is not an open source application the move is being seen as a counter to the threat from open source databases like mySQL, claims The Register.

{mospagebreaktitle=Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.3}Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.3

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.4.3, the latest update to its operating system.

The Register reports (1 November) that the patch is available from both Apple's support website and through the OS' own Software Update mechanism. The update is available for both the client and server versions of the OS, and separate update downloads target Mac OS X 10.4.2 and other, older versions of the software.

The number of changes made to the OS is said to be significant, reports The Register.

According to The Register, the fixes focus on Finder, Mac OS X's Spotlight search system, Mail, the Safari web browser, .Mac and device synchronisation, networking (including AFP, SMB/CIFS, NFS and FTP network and file services, plus AirPort and Bluetooth), iChat, Disk Utility, Preview, iCal, Calculator, Software Update, Keychain Access, Core Graphics, Core Audio, Core Image, RAW camera image format support, disc burning, and Dashboard and a variety of widgets.

{mospagebreaktitle=Cell phones plug Africa's poor into mobile banking}Cell phones plug Africa's poor into mobile banking

Mobile technology has already revolutionised communications in the world's poorest continent - Africa - bringing phones to millions of poor and isolated people who had never before made a call. Now cell phones are serving as a bank in your pocket, providing virtual accounts for South Africans excluded from the financial mainstream by exorbitant charges and branch networks clustered in wealthy white suburbs.

``I used to keep my money in an envelope stuffed under my mattress,'' said Mpanza, a community worker in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. ``With most banks you need lots of papers, but with this one, all you need is a cell phone.''

Reuters reports in The New York Times (31 October) that, open to anyone with a phone, mobile banking has proved a hit with people in South Africa's townships and villages, and looks set to spread quickly across Africa.

Account holders use text messages, or SMS, to pay for goods, transfer money to friends and family and top up the credit on their pre-pay phones. Bosses can pay salaries direct into cellular accounts and customers can deposit cash at Post Offices and some bank branches, the newspaper reports.

{mospagebreaktitle=US data security laws seem likely}US data security laws seem likely

It has been a bad year for data security, says The New York Times, reporting that the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer advocacy group in San Diego, has counted 80 data breaches since February, involving the personal information of more than 50 million people.

The sensitive data - names, Social Security and credit card numbers, dates of birth, home addresses and the like - have either been lost by or stolen from companies and institutions that compile such data.

The newspaper says that in February, ChoicePoint, the big data broker, raised public awareness of the problem when it announced that thieves in the US had fraudulently obtained information on 145,000 consumers. In August, even the United States Air Force reported a data breach - a hacker may have gained access to a military management database and personal information on 33,000 officers.

In response, more than a dozen bills have been introduced in Congress this year.

{mospagebreaktitle=US telco, Qwest expected to announce settlement}US telco, Qwest expected to announce settlement

In the US., Qwest Communications International, the telecommunications company, is expected to announce immediately a US$400 million settlement of its largest shareholder lawsuits relating to an accounting scandal during the dot.com boom, a person briefed on the deal said yesterday.

The Associated Press first reported the settlement last night, says The New York Times in a 1 November report.

The newspaper reports that the deal will cover Qwest, some former executives and its directors - but would not include the former chief executive, Joseph P. Nacchio and the former chief financial officer, Robert S. Woodruff, said the person, who did not want to be identified because the settlement was not completed. Qwest, which serves 14 mostly Western states in the US, is scheduled to release its third-quarter quarter earnings.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that accounting irregularities from April 1999 to March 2002 allowed Qwest to inflate revenue by US$3 billion, and last year, Qwest agreed to pay US$250 million to settle S.E.C. charges of fraud, reports the NYT.

{mospagebreaktitle=Sprint deal with cable tv operators seen}Sprint deal with cable tv operators seen

Another US telco, Sprint Nextel, is reportedly set to announce a deal to offer cellphone services with the country's three largest cable television operators, according to people briefed on the deal.

The New York Times reports (1 November) that the agreement would enable Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications to sell wireless services in addition to the television programming, broadband service and digital phone lines they already offer.

According to the newspaper, by adding cellular service to their bundles of products, the cable companies hope to compete more effectively with the regional Bell companies, which are starting to make inroads into the television market.

Sprint Nextel is already the largest wholesale provider of mobile phone services, with customers that include Qwest Communications and Virgin Mobile. Time Warner Cable has also been testing a service with Sprint in Kansas City.

The NYT says that a deal with Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox would be on a far larger scale because the companies have more than 35 million television subscribers nationwide and the ability to advertise to their customers on their cable channels.

{mospagebreaktitle=High Court won't hear US wireless radiation appeal}High Court won't hear US wireless radiation appeal

Class-action lawsuits against wireless telephone providers and manufacturers over radiation emissions will be able to go forward, after the US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal by the companies.

Reuters reports in The New York Times (31 October) that the high court rejected hearing an appeal by companies like Nokia and Cingular Wireless challenging a decision by a US appeals court that reinstated the lawsuits that argued manufacturers knew about and hid the risks of radiation emissions wireless phones posed to users.

Wireless phones are radios that emit frequency radiation and in the United States the Federal Communications Commission must approve any device that sends out such radiation.

According to the Reuters/NYT report, exposure to high levels of radiation can cause adverse health effects, but it is less clear the impact on a wireless phone user who is exposed to low levels of radiation when a phone is held to an ear directly.

Health advocates have expressed concerns about radiation causing problems ranging from headaches to tumors. But the wireless industry has pointed to US government statements that scientific evidence so far has not shown any health problems associated with wireless phone use.

Reuters reports that five class-action lawsuits were filed in state courts seeking damages, including money for wireless users to buy a headset or reimburse those who had already had purchased one.

A US district court judge dismissed the five lawsuits on the grounds that state regulation of wireless phone emissions was preempted by the FCC, but the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit overturned that decision and reinstated the cases, Reuters adds.

{mospagebreaktitle=Telefónica buy to spur greater competition}Telefónica buy to spur greater competition

The New York Times says (1 November) that yesterday's announcement (see Global News) that Telefónica of Spain had agreed to buy the British mobile phone company O2 for US$31.5 billion could spur greater competition in Europe's more established markets.

According to the newspaper, with the O2 deal, Telefónica swings its attention fully back to Europe from Latin America, where it paid US$5.85 billion for the wireless assets of BellSouth last year, and where it has established a broad presence with billions of dollars in acquisitions since the 1990's.

Telefónica also spent 3.6 billion euros earlier this year to acquire 69 percent of Cesky Telecom, the Czech Republic's largest telecommunications company.