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The cast of characters that make regular appearances in our coverage could be in for a shakeup this year, as a new list from credit rating agency Moody's indicates that a number of household names in the technology, media, retail, and automotive sectors could default on their debt. Palm, AMD, Freescale Semiconductor, Unisys, and Blockbuster are just a few of the names on Moody's "Bottom Rung" roster of the 283 US companies that are most likely to go bust. Moody's describes the members of this list, which also includes communications companies like Clearwire and retailers like Eddie Bauer, as having "high default risk and weak liquidity," and the agency suggests that up to 45 percent of these companies could default on their debt this year.
Of course, a default doesn't mean that these companies will go out of business, but it does mean, at a minimum, that their shareholders would be wiped out and bondholders will take a hit. If a company defaults but is able to secure financing for a bankruptcy, it can keep running without interruption while it reorganizes; only if the credit markets—which are actually tightening back up at the moment—were in such bad shape that no financing was available, would the company be forced into liquidation.
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A new study says that smartphones are still claiming territory in the cell phone market, but thanks to the struggling economy, growth dropped to its slowest pace during the fourth quarter 2008. Nokia—still the dominant manufacturer—took the most significant market share hit, as RIM, Apple, and even Samsung are landing in more pockets than ever.
Gartner's study, which covers worldwide smartphone stats for the last quarter of 2008, says that sales reached 38.1 million units, which is up just 3.7 percent from the year-ago quarter in 2007. For contrast, third quarter smartphones sales (preholiday) were up 11.5 percent over their 2007 equivalent. Gartner says that the third quarter 2008 saw a number of promising new smartphone announcements, but continuing economic troubles and prohibitively expensive data plans led to Q4's significant drop in growth. Market share musical chairs is still in effect among smartphone manufacturers, though, as Nokia continued to lose ground to feisty competition.
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It's an intriguing idea: instead of piping sound directly into your ear so you can listen to an audio source, you can use the bones in your skull to transmit the sound. That's the concept behind the Audio Bone, an $190 set of headphones that impressed us at CES. Since your ears are free, you can listen for incoming traffic while you bike, or you can take advantage of the watertight design and go swimming with your favorite songs.
In practice however, the headphones fail to live up to the promise. Having a review sample in my home allowed me to put the Audio Bone through a more rigorous testing process, and I found that all the things that excited me about the product failed in practical use.
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Although the big Microsoft-based excitement (if that's the right word) at Mobile World Congress was focused on Windows Mobile 6.5, Redmond also announced its My Phone service. The basic concept is simple: My Phone syncs data between your phone and the Web.
The beta client is currently available only for Windows Mobile phones, though there are rumors that other phone platforms will be added after the 1.0 release. Installing and configuring the client takes only a few moments, and before too long the syncing can take place.
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Do androids dream of electric penguins?
In the decade since its founding in a Palo Alto garage, the name "Google" has become practically synonymous with the Internet. Thus it was that the search company's celebrated entry into the mobile market was met with significant enthusiasm from those who believed that Google would be able to use its immense resources and Internet savvy to produce a next-generation mobile product that would deliver "the cloud," in its vast entirety, into the eager hands of consumers. Some of the biggest names in the tech industry flocked to Google's banner and affirmed their support for the Open Handset Alliance, which promised to liberate the mobile masses by building a blooming garden without walls.
After the fanfare faded, we ended up with Android-a platform that launched with some limitations but nonetheless has significant potential. Although the first Android devices leave a lot to be desired when compared to competing products, the platform itself is evolving quickly, and it offers the advantages of openness and collaborative development. In this article we'll take a close look at the underlying technology of Android and what the platform means for developers.
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As the week comes to a close, it's time to look back at some of the biggest stories to hit Ars Technica. At the top of the list was the announcement of the long-anticipated Kindle 2 at an event in New York. It's thinner and features a redesigned interface as well, but the biggest difference is arguably the new E-Ink display. We were able to get some hands-on time with the Kindle 2 and found ourselves impressed with its crispness and readability. Amazon says they'll ship on February 24. Click here to read the rest of this article Read More...
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Last year, we looked at Neuros, a company that aims to put Linux in living rooms with open set-top boxes. The company’s flagship product is the Neuros OSD, a DVR that runs a heavily customized Linux platform. In November, Neuros expanded its lineup with a media extender called the Neuros LINK.
The $299 LINK is designed to bring digital video content from the Web and your local network to your television. It integrates with Neuros.tv, a Web-based application that provides easy access to third-party streaming video providers such as Hulu and Amazon Unbox. The Neuros.tv service is still under active development and will likely provide support for a broader number of services in the future.
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We've torn down, built up, and fallen in love with Mad Catz's new line of arcade sticks for Street Fighter IV, but what about gamers who don't want to drop $80 on a new controller? The company has you covered with the Fighting Pad. The controllers are $40, wired on the Xbox 360 but wireless on the PS3, and they feature a Saturn-style d-pad to make pulling off the intricate moves in fighting games a snap. So how does the controller stand up during regular play?
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The world has gone on too long without a high quality arcade stick, at least in North America. Until now, you could import, you could build your own, or you could settle for something less than optimal... but now you'll finally be able to walk into a store and pick up an arcade-quality joystick for your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. The amazing thing? It took Mad Catz to do it. It must be pretty chilly in hell right now.
The company was nice enough to send us review samples of its two controllers, which will be released to coincide with the launch of Street Fighter IV, perhaps the most-hyped fighting game release of the last five years. Street Fighter fans, especially those being asked to spend $150 on an arcade stick, have high standards. The best players smell bullshit a mile away, and are more than willing to spread the word about any product that doesn't meet their exacting standards. After playing with these sticks, not to mention ripping them apart and putting our own stamp on the design, we're ready to tell you that Mad Catz has nothing to worry about.
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Both the iPhone and Macbooks use capacitance technology for their touchscreens and trackpads, respectively. This means that, for an item to be used to control the device, it has to be a conductor; your finger will work, but a normal plastic stylus won't. If you're tired of using your fingers to select apps or draw on your trackpad, Ten One design has just the product for you: the Pogo Sketch. The product is shaped actually like a thin pen, although instead of a writing tip, it has a soft foam pad that conducts electricity. That means that you can use the large trackpads in the new Macbooks almost like a tablet, doodling on the screen or manipulating images. It's great in theory, but how does it work in practice? We find out.
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