Stories by Paul Boutin

Windows Mobile Marketplace bans Skype, Flash, carrier ads

Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Mobile Marketplace (or is it Windows Marketplace for Mobile? Microsoft uses both names) is the company's answer to Apple's App Store.

Amazon's near-$500 price tag kills Kindle DX buzz

When it comes to e-readers, the hype machine has gotten ahead of the reality. Earlier this week, photos of the super-slim, sexy Plastic Logic Reader -- not available until next year -- circulated the 'Net and graced a New York Times article on the co...

Yahoo's new home page fails to learn from Google

A few random Web servers have recently been treated to a test version of a new Yahoo home page. MediaPost blogger Mark Walsh scored a screenshot of the page, and describes what he saw:

Facebook 'fbaction.net' phishing attack in progress

A new phishing attack is underway against Facebook users. TechCrunch details the attack, which begins with an email to your inbox that looks like the standard notification of a message from a Facebook friend.

Microsoft upgrades Tellme customer services to include VoIP

A few years ago, Microsoft acquired voice recognition company Tellme, for a rumored US$800 million. After the deal, the Tellme team has remained relatively quiet -- until now. Microsoft has just announced improvements to the service that it says will...

Verizon, Microsoft to launch iPhone killer 'Pink' in 2010

The Wall Street Journal reports as fact, not as "according to sources," that Microsoft has a multimedia touchscreen phone code named Pink. Microsoft and Verizon, the Journal says, plan to launch the phone and an app store early next year specifically...

New TVs may make Flash the MP3 of digital video

Flash, the technology used by YouTube to stream video clips into your browser window, is now installed on 98 percent of all computers, according to Adobe Systems, which acquired the technology in 2005. The company also says that about 80 percent of W...

iPhone apps let amateurs share Apple's buzz

iPhone apps such as Tweetie may or may not make their creators rich. It's safe to say most iPhone app sellers won't be able to quit their day jobs. But that hasn't stopped both geeks and non-geeks alike from pouring their enthusiasm into thinking up,...

Rage, sloppy eaters among top causes of lost data on laptops

Important company data gets lost when company laptops are damaged. And while most damage is accidental, a significant portion of it is caused by "anger or frustration" that employees take out on their laptops.

Cheap smartphones killing mid-price phones

Nokia's iPhone-wannabe 5800 XpressMusic smartphone is <a href="http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Consumers-Seeking-Cheap-Smartphones-678251/?kc=rss">doing great</a>, analysts say. But Nokia as a whole is expected to report a steep drop in ...

Should eBay sell Skype back to its founders?

Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom are trying to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/technology/companies/11skype.html?_r=1">buy back</a> their Internet phone company from eBay, the New York Times reported over the weekend. The pa...

Silicon Valley sees its worst year since 2001

There's not much good news for this year's Silicon Valley 150, a tech-sector portfolio created and tracked by the San Jose Mercury News. Most of the companies on the list suffered stomach-churning losses as the economy tanked last year.

Microsoft cuts Live Labs staff by half, refocuses on search

Microsoft has reacted to the global economic slump by reassigning half of its forward-looking Live Labs staff to other projects around the company. The remaining half will focus solely on Microsoft's search products, the area that probably offers Mic...

Twitter finally plans to make money

Twitter, the hugely popular messaging service, is regularly mocked for not yet finding a way to make money rather than spend it sending out its members "tweets" to computers and cellphones. Now, a Wall Street Journal report quotes Twitter co-founder ...

U2 dumps iPod for BlackBerry

U2 frontman Bono described Apple's iPod in 2004 as "the most interesting artistic creation in pop since the electric guitar." The band built heavy ties with Apple, appearing live onstage with Steve Jobs and in Apple TV ads performing the hit single "...