Amazon.com

Twitter works great for the "twitterati," but in many ways it has failed to penetrate the mainstream web. For many people who aren't attached to their phones 24/7 or aren't multitasking between work and a stream of micro-thoughts of questionable depth, Twitter is a buzzword, something the media loves to chatter about but signifying nothing.

With the e-book industry expected to explode into a multibillion-dollar business in the next three years, Barnes & Noble wants to open a new chapter in sales by making sure its products are available on Apple's iPad. The retail giant on Thursday confirmed reports that it is preparing an iPad application in time for the anticipated April 3 release.

Digital Library Preserved

How has a country with just 16 million inhabitants become the 15th-largest economy in the world? Answer: through a combination of resourcefulness, hard work, and acute foresight for what might make the nation rich. Since the 14th century, the Netherlands has played a major role in shaping the world economy. Now the country that brought us such major innovations as the stock exchange and the insurance industry has identified another big opportunity: the services sector.

Nintendo on Thursday revealed its next wave of products. The video-game maker is also planning to release Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M in the first half of 2010, but Nintendo DSi XL is taking the spotlight -- and entering the e-reader market.

The new DSi XL handheld system launches March 28 and will retail for $189.99. There are plenty of improvements, beginning with screen size. The screens are 93 percent larger than the Nintendo DS Lite and feature a wider viewing angle so friends and family can share the experience.

Larry Tohter in the New York Times Book Review:

From The New York Times:

The Department of Justice believes significant antitrust, class certification, and copyright issues remain in the amended book settlement proposed by Google and publishing industry representatives in September. However,the government attorneys also said Thursday that the U.S. believes the parties have approached the effort in good faith.

If you talked to portfolio managers at any time in 2009, chances were good that they would extol the virtues of technology stocks. The information technology sector of the Standard & Poor's index of 500 stocks rocketed 59 percent higher last year, beating every other sector and doubling the broad index's 23.5 percent advance in 2009.

How quickly fashions change on Wall Street. A month into 2010, tech is down 8.2 percent, more than any sector but telecommunications, itself off 8.9 percent this year. The S&P 500 has dropped 2.3 percent.

The iPad won't make its market debut until March, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs is already jockeying for e-reader leadership. Jobs told The Wall Street Journal that publishers are withholding their e-books from Amazon.com -- because they aren't happy with the digital book-selling giant.

It's not an iSlate, but it is a tablet computer. On Wednesday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was in peak form when he introduced what was hyped as one of the company's most important product launches to date -- the iPad.

The tablet with prices starting at $499 won't be available until March, so it's too soon to gauge consumer response. But some analysts expect Apple to sell millions of the high-resolution multi-touch devices this year.