Web Access

Apple is showing its true mobile colors. The company is on the lookout for an engineer who can help get its mobile-phone software onto additional devices.

On Feb. 15, Apple posted an ad on its Web site for an engineering manager "to lead a team focused on bring-up of iPhone OS [operating system] on new platforms." Days later, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook called the company "a mobile device company," echoing remarks by Chief Executive Steve Jobs, who in January said "Apple is the largest mobile device company in the world."

Google's Android operating system isn't just for cell phones anymore. Number-three PC maker Acer has announced two new Android-based products -- a touchscreen smartphone called Acer Liquid and a netbook version of the Aspire One laptop that boasts a dual-boot system, running both Android and Windows XP Home.

Android is a mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel which allows developers to access it via Java libraries.

For professionals tired of lugging around clunky laptops -- which at their beefiest can top 10 pounds -- salvation may be at hand. Big laptops on the road can deliver comparable performance to desktop computers at the office, but innovations are making it easier to access vital software and business data for less money without the need for the fastest computer on the street.

Cloud computing, third-party data storage, and mobile Web access through netbooks are combining to form a less-expensive way to meet certain business IT needs.

As wireless carriers start reporting first-quarter results this week, investors will be looking at the effects of some spectacular price cuts for prepaid cell phone service.

That's a change from recent years, when flashy new phones and data services hogged the spotlight. This year, the developments have been more appropriate for a recession: People who are least able to pay are getting cheaper service.

Did you know your computer talks to you?

It's not terribly chatty, but those beeps you hear when you turn on your computer are its way of saying, "Hey, all is well" -- or "Folks, we have a situation."

My computer spoke to me two weeks ago as I sat down to write my column. It was not happy. It emitted one long beep, followed by three short ones.

Obtaining help for an ailing computer can be a daunting task. For many people, just getting a straight answer can be a chore, especially when you're not sure which questions to ask in the first place.

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it plans to finally allow the crown jewels of its applications -- the Microsoft Office suite -- to be delivered through Web browsers.

The announcement was made at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Microsoft Business Division, said Office Web will allow users to employ lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote to create, edit and collaborate with Office documents through a Web browser.

Microsoft announced Tuesday that it plans to finally allow the crown jewels of its applications -- the Microsoft Office suite -- to be delivered through Web browsers.

The announcement was made at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.
Chris Capossela, senior vice president of the Microsoft Business Division, said Office Web will allow users to employ lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote to create, edit and collaborate with Office documents through a Web browser.

It was a familiar refrain: The U.S., the birthplace of the Internet, was a wireless backwater. Even early in this decade, many viewed the U.S. as a developing market, fit mostly for hand-me-downs from the more advanced Europeans and Asians. Unlike unified Europe, the U.S. market was fractured by warring radio standards and dotted with dead zones. Long after cellular was a way of life elsewhere, Americans still carried beepers and left messages saying to call cell phones only in emergencies.

Cell phones have long been anathema in the classroom, banned as a potential distraction, at best, and as a possible vehicle for cheating, at worst. But lately, educators have begun changing their tune on mobile phones.