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Facebook: The e-commerce future or wasteland?

The talk of e-commerce coming to Facebook has been discussed for years. But so far, it hasn't become a hot area. Still, some companies think that will change.

Reuters today published interviews with a host of startups, including BeachMint, Fab.com, and others, that believe Facebook is the next great e-commerce platform. The companies reason that with Facebook's more than 845 million active users -- dwarfing popular e-commerce sites, like Amazon and eBay -- they can take advantage and generate boatloads of cash.

It's something that Facebook's investors seem excited about. Millennium Technology Value Partners, which … Read more

Sony to talk strategy at special event next week

Sony has been in some trouble for quite some time. But next week, the company's new chief executive hopes to allay fears and prove to investors that his new team is on the right track.

Sony's newly installed CEO, Kazuo Hirai, will be host a special event on April 12 to outline his strategy for the coming years. At this point, Sony hasn't divulged any piece of what Hirai will focus on, but it's quite likely he will discuss in far more detail plans for his "One Sony" initiative.

The One Sony initiative was … Read more

Cisco launches app-enabled router

While Netgear and D-Link introduced their approaches to app-supporting and cloud-enabled networking products at CES 2012, Cisco, which didn't have anything to announce at CES, turns out to be the first to materialize the new concepts.

Cisco today unveiled a line of Linksys Smart Wi-Fi routers that promises to change the face, and the body, of home networking.

The Linksys EA4500, EA3500, and EA2700 -- the "A" designation being short for "app-enabled" -- look like models in the earlier E Series but have more-powerful hardware and support Cisco Connect Cloud, the next generation of Cisco … Read more

Google's Page: Apple's Android troubles all 'for show'

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' issues with Android have been well-documented. But Google CEO Larry Page isn't convinced they were real.

Speaking to Bloomberg BusinessWeek in an interview published today, Page said that Jobs' and Apple's "Android differences were actually for show," adding that a meeting he had with Jobs prior to his death was quite cordial. Still, Page said he understands why Apple and Jobs publicly took issue with Android -- he just doesn't believe it was the right move.

"I think that served their interests," Page told Bloomberg BusinessWeek. "For a … Read more

Netflix, Hulu drive U.S. consumers to cut cable cord

Cutting the cord in hopes of saving money on television programming is often contemplated. But last year, relatively few cable or satellite subscribers in the U.S. actually did it, a new study shows.

The Convergence Consulting Group yesterday released its research on TV cord cutting to see how many people left their cable or satellite plans behind to access all their content over the Web. The firm found that 1.05 million people in the U.S. cut their TV subscriptions last year. Since 2008, 2.65 million people have decided against cable or satellite and gone to alternative … Read more

Yahoo to lay off 2,000 workers to 'reshape' company future

As expected, Yahoo today announced that it will lay off a large number of its employees.

The company said this morning that it will begin notifying about 2,000 employees of their "job elimination or phased transition." Yahoo currently employs about 14,000 people around the world, so the layoffs will affect about 14 percent of its workforce.

In its statement, Yahoo said that it can realize approximately $375 million in annualized savings through the terminations. However, it also plans to take an estimated $125 million to $145 million pretax cash charge related to severance.

"Today's … Read more

Uh, T-Mobile? NTelos just got the iPhone 4S

Being a T-Mobile customer just got a little bit harder.

A small, regional carrier, NTelos Wireless, today announced that it will start carrying the iPhone 4S on April 20. The company will offer Apple's smartphone for $50 less than what customers can find from big carriers, so the 16GB model will go for $149.99. The 32GB and 64GB models will retail for $249.99 and $349.99, respectively.

The announcement might make many T-Mobile customers scratch their heads. Their favored carrier is the only major cell service provider that doesn't carry Apple's iPhone. And now it'… Read more

Sony shakes up Mobile Communications leadership

Sony has been spending an inordinate amount of time lately changing up its leadership. And it has done it again today.

The company today announced that Kunimasa Suzuki has been named president and CEO of Sony Mobile Communications. Current president and CEO Bert Nordberg will leave his post on May 16 and assume his new position as chairman of the Sony Mobile Communications' board.

Sony's move puts the final touches on its recent buyout of Sony Ericsson. Nordberg was president and CEO of the former Sony Ericsson, and was widely viewed as the next person to go as Sony … Read more

Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi kick off flat-screen JV Japan Display

Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi today announced that Japan Display, a company they formed with government-funded Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), has initiated operations. The companies, which announced the startup today, said that the official operation start date was Sunday.

Nikkei Business Daily was first to report on the joint venture.

The companies announced plans to form Japan Display last year. Under the terms of the merger, Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi have combined their small and medium-sized touchscreen LCD operations into the new corporation, and each own 10 percent of the firm. INCJ owns the remaining 70 percent.

Japan Display … Read more

Apple secures 17 patents, including wireless sync

Apple has secured 17 new patents.

The patents, which were first discovered by Patently Apple, include a host of technologies, such as digital-camera calibration and the way in which a computing device boots under a single security model. Even Apple's iPod Shuffle design, boasting an ultrasmall footprint, control buttons at the top, and a clip underneath, has been cleared for the company to own.

One of the more notable patents Apple has been granted is one related to wireless synchronization. Dubbed "Wireless synchronization between media player and host device," the patent allows Apple to add content to … Read more