June, 2009

Awful 2009 Tech Spending Will Lead to Faster Rebound

Posted on June 30, 2009 |

Worldwide spending on information technology equipment and services will plunge 10.6% in U.S. dollars, according to a new report from Forrester Research. That's way down from the market research firm's forecast at the start of the year, which predicted only a 3% drop.

The U.S. will fare relatively better than the rest of the world, with spending there forecast to fall 5.1%. According to Forrester, purchases of computer equipment will be down 13.5% for the year, communications equipment down 12.4%, software down 8.2% and IT consulting and outsourcing down 8.6%.

But the precipitous drop in first-quarter tech spending will mean a faster-than-expected recovery starting later this year, according to analyst Andrew Bartels (and flagged in a mid-April story in BusinessWeek):

While Q1 2009 saw a scary drop in purchases in the US tech market, ironically that is good news for the long run and we expect to see a stronger rebound sooner. The big drops are not precursors to further declines; rather, we think they are evidence of a temporary pause in US tech purchases, which we expect to start recovering in Q4 as businesses realize that they overreacted in the first quarter. We also expect that tech markets in Europe and Asia will start to recover in the first half of 2010.

It appears that investors also are already anticipating this. The tech-driven Nasdaq is up 17% so far this year, compared with less than a 3% rise in the S&P 500.

CNET’s back-to-school 2009 retail laptop/desktop review roundup

Posted on June 30, 2009 |

With laptops and desktops as standard equipment in many classrooms and dorm rooms, the back-to-school season is a busy one for computer shopping. We are once again scouring the shelves of big retail stores to find boxed versions of popular PCs, from entry-level systems starting at $349 to quad-core powerhouses. ...

Lenovo’s reasonably priced stylish consumer 14-incher: IdeaPad Y450

Posted on June 30, 2009 |

Formerly known for the iconic, if boxy, ThinkPads (which the company still does well: see our review of the T400s), Lenovo has also begun branching into more stylish consumer products, loosening up its slightly uptight design aesthetics along the way.

The recent ...

Microsoft to Allow For Mobile App Returns?

Posted on June 30, 2009 |

When Microsoft launches its Windows Marketplace later this year, it will apparently allow buyers to return mobile apps they don't like.

According to this story, users of Windows Mobile devices who buy apps through the store will be able to return them within 24 hours. My initial reaction: I am not sure that's a good idea.

Surveys show that most Apple App Store users rarely use mobile apps they download for more than a day. That makes sense: You may download a game today, and play it for a couple of hours. By tomorrow, you are sick of it, and you move on to something else.

So Microsoft's generous return policy could backfire: People may download a game, play it, and then return it. Essentially, users might use this policy to take independent app developers for a ride. The developers will get less money -- and might be less willing to create apps for Microsoft.

Firefox 3.5: Big Gains May Be in the Future

Posted on June 30, 2009 |

After a long beta test, Mozilla today released Firefox 3.5 for windows, Mac, and Linux. Though the new version has some nice features, it's potential may only be revealed over time.

The latest edition of Firefox offers a considerable boost in speed, especially in running JavaScript programs. I don't do any formal testing, but it is definitely much faster that Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 (which is not saying all that much) on Windows, and seems roughly on a par with Google's Chrome 2.0 and Apple's Safari 4.0.

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