Humble Mouse Turns 40

Shift illustrates tech industry's move away from PCs

(NEWSER) - Microsoft, once the world’s most valuable tech company, has now fallen to third place. IBM surpassed Microsoft yesterday to take the second-place spot, as its market value rose to $214 billion and Microsoft’s fell to $213.2 billion. It marked the first time IBM’s closing prices exceeded Microsoft’s since 1996, Bloomberg reports. The new rankings illustrate the industry’s shift away from the personal computer: IBM sold its PC business six years ago and now focuses on software and services for the government and corporations; Apple, of course, surged past Microsoft to claim the No. 1 spot last year thanks to its iPhones, iPods, and iPads. More»

Tech and telecoms dominate the top brands

(NEWSER) - Apple has taken a bite out of Google. It's now the most valuable brand in the world, finally ending Google's four-year run at the top of Millward Brown's list of global brand value, reports Reuters . The study estimates Apple's brand to be worth $153 billion, almost half of the company's market capitalization. "Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model," said the global brands director of Millward Brown. "It's doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire." More»

Managers enticed with higher salaries and sent back to poach sales people

(NEWSER) - Microsoft’s planned expansion into the brick-and-mortar retail sector will be staffed at least in part by…Apple Store employees, reports the Loop. The software giant is hiring away Apple managers with higher salaries, sources tell the tech blog. Those managers in turn are trying to bring aboard Apple's top salespeople. All reports suggest Microsoft’s stores, expected to open in the fall, will follow Apple’s example not just in staffing but in layout. More»

Before the iMac, there were mega machines

(NEWSER) - Convenience is a given when it comes to today's PCs, but the machine you're reading this on has come a long way. Major transformations date as far back as the early 19th century. Live Science gives the back-story on 10 revolutionary computers.

1. The Difference Engine, 1822: Designed by Charles Babbage but not built until decades later, today's replicas show this math-table-generating machine to work flawlessly.
2. ENIAC, 1946: This US Army computer weighed 30 tons, used 17,478 vacuum tubes, and consumed 150 kilowatts.

(NEWSER) - Windows and Safari mix like virus-vulnerable oil and water, Microsoft warns, and Windows users should stop surfing with Apple’s web browser until the security holes have been patched. The “blended threat” combines a bug in Safari that downloads files to the desktop automatically and a vulnerability in how Windows XP and Windows Vista handle executable files there. More»