Stories by Ian Paul

Best Buy briefly sells Palm Pre for $US99 - oops!

There were some happy shoppers coming out of Best Buy over the weekend after the big box retailer slashed the price of the Palm Pre by fifty percent. The only problem was it may have been a mistake, as other Palm Pre retail outlets including the Spri...

Dear Vista: it's time to part ways

Vista, I have to tell you something, and I thought it would be easier to say in a letter. Microsoft's newest operating system is on its way; Windows 7 will be here on October 22. So, I know this is kind of awkward, Vista, but I'm going to have to ask...

Microsoft tweaks ad after Apple complains

Remember last week when Microsoft was so ecstatic about Apple's complaints over the laptop hunter ads? Well, the software maker may have been overjoyed that it finally agitated its rival, but Redmond has quietly complied with Apple's complaints.

Who's really reading your Facebook top five lists?

You should be aware that you're sharing your lists with more than just your Facebook friends.

Could you be hacked like Twitter?

The French hacker who broke into Twitter's Google Apps and stole more than 300 private company documents has revealed in detail how he did it.

Mobile apps: What's in your future?

More predictions about the future of mobile devices are coming out of the MobileBeat Conference in San Francisco. Ilja Laurs, the head of GetJar -- a mobile device app store that boasts 14 million downloads monthly -- recently said that mobile phone ...

Twittergate is lame

The revelations from the dubiously named Twittergate have been about as exciting as watching wet paint dry.

Twitter hacked, secrets to be revealed?

Alleged internal documents and sensitive information from Twitter and its employees might be posted today on news sites and other Web outlets. The source of this information is a French hacker who goes by the name of Hacker Croll. The cybercriminal c...

Verizon's app store plans likely to irk phone makers

Verizon wants to use its muscle as a major U.S. carrier to pull smart phone applications into its own online application store. To that end, Verizon is hosting a Verizon Developer Community Conference on July 28 to encourage developers to design soft...

Is Your Office Wary of Windows 7?

Windows 7 pre-orders may be burning up the charts, but many users are apparently still reluctant to switch over to Microsoft's newest operating system. This is particularly true for businesses that are a little upgrade-wary after investing in Vista,...

Microsoft Office vs.Google Docs: A Web Apps Showdown

The future may be the cloud, but it also may be Microsoft that ushers us into that realm of possibility and imagination. Today, Redmond unveiled as a part of Office 2010 a suite of Microsoft Office Web apps that will compete directly with Google Doc...

Does Google know too much about you?

Do you trust Google? If you use its multitude of online services on a daily basis you might, but is that assumption wise? For some, Google is a wonderful company with a broad selection of useful online tools that make life easier, but for others Goo...

Medical marijuana dispensary thrives on Twitter

Twitter has been used to fight tyranny, deliver tragic news, follow politics, and now some California residents have found another innovative purpose for the micro-blogging service: marketing weed.

Twitter travails: pranks and deleted account errors

Twitter's "Trending Topics" is a popular feature that allows you to see what are the most popular subjects being discussed on Twitter in real time. Yesterday, amid popular tweets about Wimbledon, Steve McNair, and Harry Potter, one thing seemed to b...

AT&T says iPhone 3GS is hot in a good way

The iPhone 3GS is hot according to AT&T. No, I'm not talking about the overheating issues, but a alleged leaked memo from the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier. In the memo, AT&T reports the iPhone 3GS launch day on June 6 was the best-ever sales day f...