Prominent open source executives make the case for lower-cost alternatives during the economic crisis. SAN FRANCISCO -- Most tech suppliers aren't too happy about the state of the economy. Tighter budgets brought on by the crisis generally means less IT spending. Proponents of open software don't dispute the challenge, but they argue the current tough times mean there's more opportunity to pitch the advantages of open solutions. "The economic forecasts are very…
Читать дальше Open Source Backers See Downturn Opportunity

If stocks are trying to bottom, they're doing all the right things. A very nice-looking rally, but so far it's nothing more than a retest of old support that's now broken. And that makes this level the biggest resistance that the rally will face. Returning to our analysis of the 1966 to 1974 bear market (see first chart at bottom), after breaking through the prior bear market lows (in this case, the…
Читать дальше Technical Analysis: Rally Hits a Big Level

The tech sector added to its gains on Wednesday, thanks to iPods, PayPal and upgrades. The Nasdaq tacked on another 1% to Tuesday's big gains, while HP (NYSE: HPQ), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) led the tech sector higher. Apple rose 4.6% after the company unveiled its latest iPod. HP shares surged 5.8% on a UBS upgrade on valuation. The company's shares have fallen sharply since it reported lower than expected…
Читать дальше Apple, HP Lead As Tech Stocks Extend Gains

Author Nicholas Carr sees parallels between the power grid and cloud computing that presage big changes for IT. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cloud services will be what the electrical grid was a century ago: the basis for a whole new set of services, markets and possibilities that can change the way we live and operate, but also threaten the dominant computing hierarchy. That was the general theme of the closing keynote speech…
Читать дальше Why Cloud Computing Is the New Electrical Grid