Stories by David Coursey

Apple iPhone: It's all about the apps

If there is a single message from Apple's Monday announcements, it is a simple one: Software sells hardware. Second message? Apple's iPhone has a lot of software available and the Palm Pre, Android, BlackBerry, et al, don't come close.

20 years ago today: birth of the dot-com era

It doesn't seem like it, but 20 years ago today, the dot-com era was born. On June 8, 1989, Brad Templeton, started Clarinet.com, an online newspaper business that many consider to be the company that started it all.

Pre is not the home run Palm needed

Someone at Palm should probably be kicking themselves: The first reviews of its much-hyped Palm Pre aren't bad, but they are not incredibly good, either. This sets a pretty low bar for what coming competitors must achieve to appear more advanced than...

Five reasons the Palm Pre won't prevail

Suppose someone lifted up the body of your car and slid a whole new automobile, minus the body, underneath. Would it still be the same car? Similarly, is it fair to compare today's Palm to the Palm of old in predicting the Palm Pre's future?

Microsoft Bing goes live: So what?

Now that its available, my first experiences with Microsoft Bing lead me to a simple, inescapable conclusion, "So what?" I had imagined that something as widely hyped as Bing would be a life-changing experience. It wasn't. Not even close.

Palm's Pre: More (and less) than an iPhone

It will be interesting to see how Apple reacts to news that Palm's Pre knows how to interact with iTunes. While not a business feature, iTunes support would make buying or switching to the Pre much easier for millions of the iTunes faithful.

Why Mac clones are good for business

The bankruptcy filing by Apple cloner Psystar is hardly a surprise. Rather, it is hard to imagine any sensible person wanting to take on Apple's legal department and US$29 billion bankroll. However, that doesn't mean business users don't need--and wa...

Google Chrome update adds speed, privacy mprovements

Google's Chrome browser is now faster and has gained the ability for users to hide thumbnails on its New Tab page. The update, internally called Chrome 2, is being automatically rolled out to current users and is also available for download, accordin...

Mozilla's Jetpack builds on Firefox's top strength

Ask people what they like most about the Firefox browser and the answer is almost unanimous: The add-ons. Though blamed for slowing browser performance, the downloads allow users to customize the Firefox experience. Jetpack, announced yesterday, hope...

Google backs away from newspaper buyout

The idea of Google looking into buying a newspaper and then backing off would be funny, if it weren't a case of the killer returning to the scene of the crime. And trying to marry one of the survivors.

A Mac tablet would be a welcome addition to tablet PCs

It would not be the end of a slow news week without more rumors concerning an Apple product with a large touchscreen. Some call it a netbook, others say a so-called "mediapad" is probably on the way, and now comes word of a "tablet" Mac, rumored to b...

Air Force responds to GPS outage concerns

The sky isn't falling and neither is the Global Positioning System, the U.S. Air Force said during a Twitter news conference. "No, the GPS will not go down," tweeted Col. Dave Buckman of the Air Force's Space Command. "GAO points out, there is potent...

Is Palm deliberately creating a Pre shortage?

What appears to be a deliberate plan to create an opening day shortage of Palm Pre smartphones may backfire and, in any case, makes it look like Palm and Sprint have money or production problems.

With a GPS failure possible, is it still safe to buy?

After a U.S. government watchdog agency warned that the U.S. Global Positioning System might fail, potential customers may wonder whether buying a GPS device is still a good idea. In a word: Yes.

GPS system could begin to fail within a year

The Global Positioning System faces the possibility of failures and blackouts, a federal watchdog agency has warned the U.S. Congress. Mismanagement by and underinvestment by the U.S. Air Force places the GPS at risk of failure in 2010 and beyond. Th...