Articles by Doug Olenick
Acer to unveil new smartwatch, wearables, smartphones at April event?
Acer's annual spring event to be held in New York City could be the company's launching pad for its long-discussed wearable line. In addition, some moves in the smartphone space cannot be ruled out, but the most likely new products are likely to be tablets, and ultra mobile computers.
Jelly Bean still tops Android OS food chain, Kitkat takes a bigger bite
Google should be happy with its KitKat Android operating system as it is now found in twice as many consumer devices than it was just a month ago. However, despite that leap, it still remains a minor player compared to the older Android versions.
Dell unveils ruggedized Latitude laptops, built for the battlefield and school yard
Dell has rolled out a couple of Latitude laptops that can not only survive in a war zone, but not break down while being handled by what some might call an even tougher user - school children. To prove how tough these laptops are Dell showed them off operating in an arctic environment during a press conference held in New York.
LG goes OLED with new table lamp design, eliminates the light bulb entirely
LED lighting is so 2013 now that LG has introduced its OLED Table Lamp. The lamp takes advantage of the OLED panel's flat nature to deliver a neat design that is incapable using any other technology.
HP denies wrongdoing, but settles lawsuit for $57 million
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker is the executive that just keeps on giving as the company will have to pay out $57 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the company misled investors while under Apotheker's leadership. The company was able to deny any wrongdoing and claim it settled to save the company from further legal costs.
Mozilla's Eich blasted over his opinion, are his rights being trampled?
Can a CEO voice a contrary opinion without endangering his or her job? Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich is paying the price for having once donated to a cause that looked to squash gay marriage in California, but some are calling his detractors guilty of the same type of intolerance.
GrubHub ups IPO expectations, could be worth $2 billion by Friday
GrubHub's eyes may be getting bigger than its stomach as the company upped its anticipated take from its IPO next week. Then again the order may be right on the mark as it is serving millions of people per year and revenues are increasing.
Midnight Star maker gets $5 million in VC backing; beta to launch this summer
Industrial Toys has picked up a cool $5 million in funding to launch its star game Midnight Star. The game is a first-person shooter designed solely for the smartphone and tablet gamer.
OkCupid shoots arrows at Mozilla's CEO Brendan Eich
Online dating site OkCupid is actively attempting to hit Mozilla where it hurts by telling its members to use any browser except Firefox to access the site. This is in response to Eich's donation to a pro-Prop 8 group in 2008.
German Amazon workers stage walk out over wages
Amazon's Leipzig center was the focus of a brief strike by members of the Ver.di trade union who are pressing the online retailer for higher wages. The employees and their union claim they are distribution workers and entitled to more money, Amazon disagrees and has refused any attempt to negotiate higher salaries.
Skynet-like computer trading system rigs stock market, Michael Lewis to the rescue
Author Michael Lewis told 60 Minutes that the American stock exchange system is essentially rigged so traders using super-fast computers can game the system and make insane profits costing other investors millions in profits. The good news is that this legal scam has been noticed and a work around has been implemented.
Sony brings back the paperless office with its $1,100 Digital Paper tablet
Whether paper ever will be fully displaced in the office is up for debate, but Sony is doing its best by rolling out the Digital Paper tablet. Unlike a traditional tablet, Digital Paper is an office productivity tool sporting an e-ink screen and three-weeks of battery life.
Amazon Studios adds six new series, brings back Alpha House
Amazon used the power of its customers to decide what shows to add to its original programming line up. Six new shows, including two for kids, will hit Amazon Prime this year, along with the second season of the political comedy Alpha House.
Report card for Blackberry's John Chen, pass or fail?
Blackberry CEO John Chen may have the least enviable job in the tech sector. He took over a company with one of the most recognizable names in the industry that once was the darling of the mobile phone industry. So what has Chen been doing to bring Blackberry back from the brink?
Tesla adds battery protection, Toyota hybrid poised for Le Mans
Toyota unveiled its most technologically advanced vehicle this week, the TS040 hybrid race car that it plans to enter into the 24 hours of Le Mans race this year. Also making news, albeit for the wrong reason, were Nissan and Tesla which are dealing with problems in several of their cars.
Microsoft Office for iPad vs. iWork: Which is best for you?
With the release of Office for iPad, millions of Apple tablet owners will have to decide whether or not it is worth investing upwards of $100 in the new Microsoft software or sticking with the freebie productivity suite that comes with iWork.
Facebook's Zuckerberg looks to use lasers, drones and satellites to bring the web to the world
Facebook revealed to the world today its Connectivity Lab, which has been working on ways to help fulfill CEO Mark Zuckerberg's pet project of bringing Internet access to the entire planet. Some of the technologies being considered are literally out of this world and include orbiting satellites and drones using lasers to deliver data to the earthbound.
Lenovo recalls thousands of ThinkPads, overheating battery could cause a fire
Lenovo has set up a recall for thousands of ThinkPad laptops over concerns that the battery pack could overheat and cause a fire. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall impacts more than 37,000 computers sold in the U.S. and Canada.
GameStop welcomes Walmart to the trade in biz, will stock more older titles
GameStop is not letting Walmart's appearance in the video game trade in business get it down as the chain's CEO today rattled off a string of new ventures the retailer will dive into to help it stay viable. This will include beefing up the number of older titles it sells along with adding to its trade-in program.
Twitter giving itself a Facebook-like makeover with more photos and tagging per tweet
Twitter purists may not be happy with the changes the pithy social media is rolling out, but the moves can be seen as necessary as Twitter finds itself battling it out with Facebook. A Facebook that just jumped into the virtual reality gaming world.
Samsung's bright idea: a Bluetooth-controlled LED light bulb
How many people does it take to screw in a light bulb? Still just one, but now that single person can also control up to 64 different bulbs if they are installing one of Samsung's new Bluetooth-enabled bulbs.
Lower prices expected as billions of tablets, smartphones and PCs ship in 2014
About 2.5 billion connected devices will ship into the world this year and if forecasts are correct this meteoric increase will continue for years to come. The most popular connected device is still the smartphone, but tablets are still seeing a much higher growth rate.
Americans snuggling up in front of the Internet and turning off their TVs
A new survey by Deloitte finds Americans are increasingly watching their shows on a mobile device and even when they are in front of the TV tend to be multitasking with some doing up to four additional task while supposedly watching the tube.
Who you gonna call? HD video camera helps spot ghostly activity in New Hampshire store
Apparitions and lights turning on and off by themselves are par for the course at the Ellacoya Country Store, but this time the pesky poltergeist went over the line smashing a cake dish top. The ghostly activity was captured by the store's camera.
Intel's purchase of Basis: A sign that wearables are getting ready for prime time?
Smart watches, glasses and fitness bands have attracted a great deal of public attention, but so far massive sales have not followed. Intel intends to change that by picking up health band maker Basis as part of a larger strategy to bring wearable devices to the forefront.
Quicken Loans wins a billion (hits) with NCAA bracket contest, 2015 version to be easier?
The non-basketball buzz surrounding this year's NCAA tourney centered on Warren Buffet “giving” $1 billion to anyone who submitted a perfect bracket. What was less known was that the contest was sponsored by Quicken Loans, not Buffet, but the money lending firm still managed to rake in enough publicity to keep its execs happy.
IRS: digital currency not legal tender, Mt. Gox finally calls the cops on missing Bitcoins
In the latest chapter in the on-going saga that is Mt. Gox, the IRS said Bitcoins will be taxed as property, not money, and Mt.Gox stated on its website that it had contacted the Tokyo police regarding the 850,000 bitcoins that went missing from the company's digital coffers. No investigation has yet been opened.
Microsoft adds Major League Gaming, MLB and new Starz content to Xbox systems
When gaming is just not enough Xbox live subscribers now have several new options to keep themselves fully entertained. Microsoft has added access to the Major League Gaming network, baseball and more movies through its Xbox One and 360 consoles.
Apple sells 500 million iPhones, iPhone 6 to push for 600 million?
Apple has so far declined to mark the historic selling of its 500 millionth iPhone, but perhaps the is because the company does not see it as a big deal. With the iPhone 6 due out later this year, if the Internet rumors are true, the company could quickly surge passed 600 million.
eBay vs. Carl Icahn, Round 72
With eBay's shareholder meeting looming its board of directors issued a letter to shareholders again asking them to reject activist investor Carl Icahn's nominees to the board. EBay's leaders offered a laundry list of reasons to vote against Icahn's people, but will Icahn be able to toss a Hail Mary and get them elected?
