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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Intel, Qualcomm show changing face of computing (AP) : Technet

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Intel, Qualcomm show changing face of computing (AP) : Technet

Intel, Qualcomm show changing face of computing (AP)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:33 PM PDT

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jul 20, 7:33 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – The changing face of the computer industry was on display Wednesday as two companies representing the old guard and the new issued strong results for the latest quarter.

Intel, a bedrock of the PC business, and Qualcomm, a vanguard in mobile computing, showed how companies at opposite ends of the computing spectrum are adapting to a market that's in intense upheaval.

The U.S. and European PC markets have slumped: Fewer people are buying new PCs because of economic anxiety, market saturation and the rise of seductive new gadgets such as Apple's iPad.

So Intel, which helped create the PC industry three decades ago, is counting on other areas for growth.

The world's No. 1 maker of PC processors benefited from healthy demand from corporations and in emerging markets. It also rode the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers by selling the chips powering additional servers needed to handle the increased mobile traffic.

CEO Paul Otellini said the results left him with "increasing confidence" for the second half of the year.

Intel's smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., reports results on Thursday.

Intel said Wednesday that its net income rose 2 percent to $2.95 billion as revenue jumped 21 percent to $13 billion.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm's net income increased 35 percent to $1.04 billion, and revenue rose 34 percent to $3.62 billion. The maker of wireless chips credited robust smartphone adoption. The company raised its guidance.

Taken together, Intel's and Qualcomm's numbers demonstrate two things:

• The rise of mobile gadgets and weakness in the consumer PC market in U.S. and Europe have profoundly transformed Intel's business.

• Those changes are benefiting companies such as Qualcomm as they assume a more prominent role in the semiconductor world.

But investors' dismissive reaction to the reports underlined that the companies are still subject to different sets of expectations, even as their businesses overlap to a greater degree.

After the results came out late Wednesday, Intel Corp.'s stock fell 34 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $22.62, apparently because of fears that the PC market is so wobbly that Intel's forecasts might be too high.

Qualcomm Inc.'s stock fell $1.50, or 2.6 percent, to $55.77 as some investors expected even stronger results.

Left unspoken in both companies' reports was Apple Inc., whose introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad last year have single-handedly launched the computer industry in two new directions and reshuffled the established order.

Apple on Tuesday reported blowout quarterly results, and its stock is headed toward an all-time high of $400. Apple has now sold nearly 29 million iPads and more than 128 million iPhones. In the latest quarter, it sold five times as many iPhones as it did Mac computers.

Qualcomm is a key Apple supplier, and investors are hoping that the company can win more business — possibly by replacing iPhone chips now made by the wireless-chip division of Germany's Infineon Technologies AG, which Intel bought last year for $1.4 billion.

Intel's second-quarter earnings translated to 54 cents per share, up from $2.89 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding some expenses, Intel earned 59 cents per share, ahead of analyst expectations for 51 cents per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue was ahead of analyst projections for $12.8 billion.

Third-quarter guidance of $13.5 billion to $14.5 billion was also better than expected. Analysts had predicted $13.5 billion, at the low end of Intel's range.

Its numbers don't necessarily mean that the PC business is in great shape.

Consumer demand for PCs in mature markets such as the U.S. and Europe has been weak for the past year. Stacy Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, said in an interview it is expected to remain "relatively soft" for the remainder of 2011. Shipments into those markets are actually decreasing, according to market research that IDC and Gartner Inc. released last week.

Instead, the higher numbers reflect three trends that Intel and its customers — the big PC makers such as Hewlett Packard Co. and Dell Inc. — plan to ride to stronger growth even as parts of their businesses contract.

First, corporations are still upgrading their employees' PCs. They are believed to be only in the middle of a multi-year cycle.

Emerging markets such as India and China are seeing strong PC growth, as incomes rise and more marketing efforts are targeted there.

And the smartphone and tablet craze, which PC makers are desperately trying to latch onto, benefits a company such as Intel because more servers are needed to handle the crush of new mobile Internet traffic.

Qualcomm's earnings in the fiscal third quarter, which ended June 26, translated to 61 cents per share. That's up from $767 million, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding some expenses, Qualcomm earned 73 cents per share, ahead of the estimate of 71 cents per share on that basis.

Revenue was also higher than the $3.54 billion analysts expected.

For the current, the San Diego-based company expects earnings 75 cents to 80 cents per share on an adjusted basis, compared with the average estimate of 75 cents per share. Revenue should be $3.86 billion to $4.16 billion, Qualcomm said, compared with analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion.

For the full fiscal year, Qualcomm sees earnings of $3.15 to $3.20 per share, excluding items, higher than the $3.14 per share expected. The company projects revenue of $14.7 billion to $15 billion, ahead of the $14.6 billion estimate, according to FactSet.

EBay profit falls on charges, results beat Street (AP)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:16 PM PDT

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jul 20, 7:16 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – EBay Inc.'s PayPal online payment service and marketplaces business grew swiftly during the second quarter, helping its results beat analyst expectations, although charges from its recent purchase of retail website operator GSI Commerce cut its profit.

For the quarter that ended June 30, eBay said Wednesday that it earned $283.4 million, or 22 cents per share, down 31 percent from $412 million, or 31 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company finished its acquisition of GSI in June in a deal valued at $2.4 billion. This contributed largely to its operating expenses rising 32 percent to $1.5 billion.

Excluding one-time items, eBay earned 48 cents per share — 2 cents more than what analysts polled by FactSet expected.

"Simply put, we're playing offense, and I feel good about our performance, our momentum and our opportunities," eBay CEO John Donahoe said during a conference call with analysts.

Revenue climbed 25 percent to $2.76 billion from $2.22 billion a year earlier, as the number of people using PayPal and eBay.com rose. Analysts forecast $2.60 billion.

San Jose, Calif.-based eBay said revenue from its marketplaces business, which is its largest unit and includes the eBay.com website, climbed 19 percent to $1.66 billion.

EBay has been working to improve the buying and selling experience on eBay.com by doing things such as removing duplicate item listings and adding products that users can buy locally to search results. The company is also slowly rolling out a feature called eBay Shopping Cart that works like the digital shopping carts at many online retailers, allowing consumers to put several items in an online "cart" and pay for them all at once.

The value of all goods sold during the quarter on eBay, excluding vehicles, climbed 17 percent to $14.68 billion. Though eBay's roots are in the online auction business, more than half of the transactions on the site these days are fixed-price sales.

Revenue from eBay's second-largest business, PayPal, shot up 31 percent to $1.07 billion — the first time the business has reported over $1 billion in revenue. This business, which includes the PayPal instant payment service and a short-term credit service called Bill Me Later, has grown rapidly over the past several years as merchants and consumers use it both on eBay and elsewhere.

The company expects revenue from the PayPal unit to surpass that from the marketplaces unit within several years. The amount of money processed through PayPal climbed 34 percent to $28.74 billion. PayPal also passed a milestone during the quarter, with more than 100 million active accounts.

EBay's results included $23.8 million in revenue from GSI.

The company also benefited from its still-small but swiftly growing mobile business, which consumers have been contributing to by downloading and using various eBay and PayPal apps for smartphones and tablet computers. The various eBay.com apps have been downloaded 45 million times since 2008, and eBay expects PayPal to process more than $3 billion in mobile payments in 2011. That's up from $750 million processed by PayPal last year. And it expects the value of goods sold through marketplaces, including vehicles, to top $4 billion — double last year's amount.

For the current quarter, eBay expects net income of 37 or 38 cents per share, or 46 or 47 cents per share excluding items. It expects revenue of about $2.9 to $3.0 billion. Analysts are looking for 47 cents per share on $2.7 billion in revenue.

For all of 2011, eBay predicted net income of $2.41 to $2.44 per share — $1.97 to $2 per share excluding items — on $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion in revenue. Analysts expect an adjusted profit of $1.97 per share on $10.8 billion in revenue.

EBay shares dipped 86 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $32.31 in extended trading. The stock finished regular trading down 59 cents at $33.17.

Review: Tuning in to music service Spotify (AP)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:02 PM PDT

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Rachel Metz, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jul 20, 7:02 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – I've been listening to a lot more music than usual for the past week, including tons of the "guilty pleasure" tunes I hate to admit I adore. I won't get into details, but let's just say that Britney Spears and songs covered by the "Glee" cast were in heavy rotation.

All this comes courtesy of the online streaming music service Spotify, which made its U.S. debut last week. It brings free, ad-supported access to more than 15 million songs on computers. Five bucks a month lets you listen without all those ads. Ten bucks lets you listen to music offline and on a smartphone as well.

I started rocking out with both a $10 Premium account and a free one, the latter of which is harder to come by because the service is now by invitation only.

So far, so awesome — mostly. The free version, in particular, is a dream come true for cheapskates like myself.

Once you sign up, you have to install software that lets you search for and play music. There is no Web-based application, so you have to get this software on every computer, smartphone and tablet computer you want to use it on. How annoyingly retro.

Fortunately, the software is simple and easy to use.

It's impossible to ignore the resemblance to Apple's iTunes software and its three columns. Your library and playlists are on the left, songs in the middle and a social component on the right. You can see the latest releases added to Spotify's catalog under the "What's New" tab, or check out the top music by clicking "Top Lists."

The service automatically draws in any music in your iTunes or Windows Media Player libraries. If you have an encyclopedic collection, you'll be able to access it easily through Spotify.

Much more impressive was the size of Spotify's music catalog, which dwarfs competitors such as Rdio, Mog and Rhapsody. Although I couldn't find British singer Adele's popular album "21" or anything by `60s girl group The Shaggs, Spotify had most of my favorites, both mainstream and obscure. I compared its selection to the top 20 albums and artists available on iTunes. Almost all of them were available on Spotify.

Playback was excellent. Songs sounded crystal-clear, and there were no annoying gaps between songs as one finished playing and another queued up. Oddly, the playback controls are in the bottom left-hand corner of the software, rather than somewhere on the top. Spotify says paid accounts include improved sound quality, but I couldn't tell the difference.

One of Spotify's best features is available to both free and paid users: the ability to use Facebook to connect with friends who are also using the service. Once you allow the program to access your Facebook profile, it will automatically pull in all your buddies who have done likewise and let you access the playlists they've chosen to share. It was fun to click through my friends' profiles and see what they were listening to. I could see this replacing my occasional pleas for music recommendations.

There, the similarities between the free and paid services stop.

If you're using the free version, you'll notice the occasional banner ad or audio ad, the latter of which interrupted the flow of my playlist every 15 minutes or so. For now, they are mostly advertisements for the paid Spotify service. I'm not opposed to having ads, but I found the banner ads distracting because they would sometimes appear or disappear as I used the software, slightly changing its layout.

For now, at least, the biggest problem with the free version is getting an invitation to use it. You can sign up for an invite on Spotify's website, but it's not clear when you'll get it (the site says Spotify will send it to you "as soon as we can").

And chances are, the sooner you can snag an invite the better. In Europe, users can only listen to 20 hours per month during the first six months after signing up. After that they're limited to 10 hours a month with limited plays per song. There is currently no listening limit in the U.S., though Spotify says it may institute one after studying listening habits here.

If you can't wait to try it, the paid service allows you to bypass the need for invites — and you'll get some free invites to dole out after you sign up.

You'll get many of the other benefits simply by paying $5 a month. Your listening won't get interrupted by ads, and you won't be subject to caps once Spotify imposes one. But you'll be restricted to listening on computers with an Internet connection.

For $5 a month more, you can also listen on your smartphone, even when you don't have Internet access. You can sync up to 3,333 songs with three computers or phones. Spotify has a decent mobile application that quickly updated itself every time I added a new playlist on my laptop.

Of course, you'll still need online access if you want to try out recommendations you haven't synched yet. Streaming is probably best over a strong Wi-Fi network. Often when I tried to stream over the phone's wireless data network, tracks took a while to queue up.

I wish Spotify had better music-discovery tools. Unless you have a ton of Facebook friends on Spotify, it isn't a great way to find new music.

When you look up an artist, Spotify will also recommend some similar ones. You can also check out the most popular tracks, albums and artists that users are listening to at any given time.

But it would be nice to be able to search people's public playlists. If I'm searching for songs by Ke$ha, for example, Spotify ought to show me playlists containing that artist so I could see what else those users are listening to.

It could also use a better spell-check tool. Numerous times, I tried to search with an artist's name slightly misspelled. Spotify couldn't figure out what I was looking for.

Overall, though, Spotify has the makings of an excellent music service.

It's worth the $10-a-month fee if you're a complete music junkie, though more moderate listeners can settle for the $5 version. You won't get the mobile or offline listening features, but you'll still get to hear as much music as you want without ads.

As for me (and, I suspect, plenty of others), the free version is the way to go for now. It's not nearly as flexible, but it's free. I can always reevaluate the decision once Spotify imposes listening limits on us tightwads.

Taliban network hacked, group blames U.S. for “technical larceny” (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 06:28 PM PDT

Just Show Me: How to use the eShop on the Nintendo 3DS (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 06:19 PM PDT

Google+ Approaches 18 Million Users [REPORT] (Mashable)

Posted: 19 Jul 2011 05:24 PM PDT

Ben Parr Ben Parr – Tue Jul 19, 8:24 pm ET

Already using Google+? Follow Mashable News for the latest about the platform's new features, tips and tricks as well as our top social media and technology updates. Google+ continues to set records as the fastest-growing social network in history, but Google's social juggernaut is beginning to show signs that it's losing steam.

[More from Mashable: The Hulu Rumor Mill Heats Up]

Ancestry.com co-founder Paul Allen (not to be confused with the Microsoft co-founder of the same name) posted his most recent analysis of Google+'s growth on his Google+ account Tuesday. According to his analysis, the search giant's Facebook competitor will likely reach 18 million users by the end of Tuesday, but its growth rate has dropped by 50% from its peak.

"Last week we saw two days where more than 2 million signed up in a single day," Allen said in his post. "If that rate had continued, Google+ would have reached 20 million users by last Sunday night. But the last four days have averaged only 948,000 new users, and yesterday the site added only 763,000. Yesterday's growth of 4.47% was the slowest viral growth since Google opened up invites back on July 6."

[More from Mashable: Google+ Gets The Social Network Parody Treatment [VIDEO]]

SEE ALSO: GOOGLE+: THE COMPLETE GUIDE | VIDEOS | REVIEW

Why is Google+'s growth slowing down? Google Trends indicates that the buzz around Google+ has died down some, which is natural for any major news item. Allen makes the important point that Google+ hasn't been promoted by any of its other properties and that the social network is still invite-only. Once Google+ is promoted on YouTube or on Google.com, its growth may simply skyrocket.

Allen estimated that Google+ hit the 10 million user mark sometime on July 12 or 13. Google CEO Larry Page confirmed that Google+ had more than 10 million users during an investor earnings call on July 14. Its most followed user, Mark Zuckerberg, now has more than 250,000 followers, despite not posting a single public item on his Google+ account.

Graph via Paul Allen's Google+ page

This story originally published on Mashable here.

EBay's PayPal going offline, targets big retailers (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:56 PM PDT

By Alistair Barr Alistair Barr – Wed Jul 20, 7:56 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – EBay Inc's PayPal business has become one of the largest online payment systems, but its now heading offline, Chief Executive John Donahoe said in the wake of the e-commerce company's quarterly results on Wednesday.

"We intend to help retailers grow their businesses offline in the same way we helped merchants grow online," Donahoe said during a conference call with analysts.

PayPal will be testing "point-of-sale innovation" with a major U.S. retailer by the end of this year, he added.

During 2012, PayPal will roll out in-store payment services with up to 20 national retailers, Donahoe predicted, without identifying the companies.

EBay reported second-quarter results late Wednesday that were dented by acquisition costs, and the e-commerce company forecast third-quarter profit just below analyst forecasts, sending shares 1 percent lower to $32.58.

PayPal reported $1.073 billion in second-quarter net revenue, up 31 percent from a year earlier. That's the first time PayPal has generated more than $1 billion in quarterly revenue.

PayPal's growth has been driven by online payments. But Donahoe said on Wednesday that the boom in smartphone usage is blurring the lines between online and offline commerce.

"We've had merchants reach out to us quite aggressively, and saying they want us to bring PayPal into the Point of Sale," he added. "We see it as an incremental opportunity, and a fairly significant incremental opportunity that will play out over the next three to five years."

Ken Sena, an analyst at Evercore Partners, said investors want eBay to pursue the offline payments opportunity more aggressively.

One way may be to partner with daily deal companies including Groupon and LivingSocial, Sena said. Donahoe said eBay would consider such partnerships.

EBay has stressed that it's agnostic about what mobile payment standards emerge as the dominant technologies, arguing PayPal will work with all platforms.

Near-Field Communication, or NFC, is one emerging technology that may let shoppers buy with their mobile phones.

Evercore's Sena said eBay hasn't described a strategy to help create the main standard. The concern is that once the standard is established, PayPal may not be the main way to pay.

"That's dead wrong," Donahoe told Reuters on Wednesday. "Merchants will make the decision."

The only standard that will be accepted by big merchants will be one that accepts all payment systems, including those run by MasterCard, Visa and PayPal, he explained.

With roughly 100 million "wallets in the cloud" PayPal is too big to be excluded, Donahoe added.

COSTS, ADVERTISING

EBay said second-quarter net income was $283.4 million, or 22 cents per share -- down from $412 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier. The decline in earnings was mainly driven by costs from eBay's acquisition of GSI Commerce earlier this year.

"They are incorporating a new division and there are always costs associated with a large acquisition like this," said Bill Smead of Smead Capital Management, which owns eBay shares.

Smead also noted that eBay shares have peaked several times around $34.50 during the past 3-1/2 years.

"It might take a little more good news to get it through there," he said. "I'm not surprised to see a little selling as it approaches this level."

Excluding acquisition costs, stock-based compensation expenses and other items, profit was $630.9 million, or 48 cents per share, versus $530 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.

On that basis, both the profit and the revenue beat expectations.

Analysts on average expected EBay to make 46 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue in the latest period was $2.8 billion, up 25 percent from the second quarter of 2010. Second-quarter revenue was expected to be $2.607 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

EBay said it expects third-quarter earnings per share to be 46 cents to 47 cents a share. Analysts were forecasting third-quarter profit of 47 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

EBay will increase marketing spending in the second half of 2011, after keeping such investments flat in recent years, Donahoe told analysts during Wednesday's conference call.

EBay will run television ads late in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter to try to lure more customers back to the company's online marketplace and attract new buyers, he noted.

"I've said for now a couple of years that we're holding off increasing marketing and focusing on our current customers until we get our user experience to the place where we feel it's ready," Donahoe said. "And we feel like we've passed that point now."

Gross merchandise value, or GMV, excluding vehicle sales -- a closely watched measure of activity on eBay's Marketplace -- rose 17 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, to $14.7 billion, eBay reported.

Sena of Evercore Partners said growth in gross merchandise value "shows the marketplaces business is undoubtedly pretty strong" and that changes in pricing and to the site were paying off.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr and Phil Wahba; Editing by Gary Hill and Lisa Shumaker)

Google to "wind down" Google Labs (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:39 PM PDT

By Alexei Oreskovic Alexei Oreskovic – Wed Jul 20, 7:39 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Google Inc will shut down a website that offered public access to experimental products, the latest step by the company to refocus resources under Chief Executive Larry Page.

Google said it will "wind down" Google Labs, ending many of the projects offered on the site, in a move to "prioritize its product efforts," the company said on its corporate blog on Wednesday.

Google said that many of the products and technology from Google Labs would be incorporated into some of the company's other products, which range from the world's No. 1 search engine to its popular Android smartphone operating system.

Google Labs functions as a central hub for the various projects created by Google employees, who are allowed to spend up to 20 percent of their time working on side-projects. Google Labs products were available as prototypes that users could try out and provide feedback on, while Google made ongoing changes and adjustments.

Among the products listed as "alumni" of Google Labs on the Labs website are Google Maps, Google Alerts and Google Transit.

A Google spokesman said the closure of Google Labs was unrelated to the company's 20 percent time policy .

"We don't have any changes to announce regarding 20 percent time. We'll continue to devote a subset of our time to newer and experimental projects. In fact, we'll be focusing this same creative energy on bigger bets, with bigger potential long-term payoffs," the Google spokesman said in an emailed statement.

The closure of Google Labs comes a few months after Google co-founder Page took the CEO reins in April.

Last month Google said it was pulling the plug on a pair of products that let consumers monitor their home energy consumption and keep track of their personal health records.

On Google's second-quarter earnings conference call last week, Page said the company was moving to put "more wood behind fewer arrows."

The Google spokesperson said the company did not have any specific timing for the end of Google Labs, but said it would provide updates on the Google Labs website.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Gary Hill)

Apple selling Mac OS X Lion thumb drive version in August (Digital Trends)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 08:08 PM PDT

Jeff Hughes Jeff Hughes – 2 hrs 25 mins ago

lion via bgrWednesday is definitely being dominated by Apple releases, foremost of which is the much anticipated Mac OS X Lion. The new operating system replaces Snow Leopard and is being available for download from the Mac App Store for $29.99.For those customers who for whatever reasons would like an alternative option to the Mac App Store, Apple says they'll be putting out a USB drive version of the OS X Lion next month.

Apple Insider is saying that the USB OS X upgrade "later this August" will come at the cost of $69.99, or more than double the amount of downloading through the app store. The thumb drive will be available through Apple's online store.

The $40 markup may seem steep, but the having a physical copy for reinstall is a necessary crutch for some. Apple drew much attention when the company began to ditch optical and replace the back-up OS X DVDs packaged with their computers with thumb drives.

There are also those with slow or unreliable connection speeds who may not relish having to download the 4GB upgrade. However, for these customers as well as those with no online access, the company is allowing Lion to be downloaded and installed while inside Apple stores.

The new Lion OS X incorporates 250 new features including the ability to perform multi-touch gestures through trackpads on laptops and iMacs, security upgrades, auto-hiding scrollbars and various other productivity boosting changes. Wednesday also heralded the releases of the Macbook Air refresh and the new Mac Mini with Thunderbolt and Sandy Bridge. For those who are buying a new Mac, downloading Lion won't be an issue as computers sold at a Mac Store will have the OS preinstalled.

Qualcomm weak shipment forecast worries investors (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 05:18 PM PDT

By Sinead Carew Sinead Carew – Wed Jul 20, 8:18 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) said it will ship fewer cellphone chips than expected this quarter because its customers are shaving product inventories, sending its shares down almost 3 percent as investors worried the move could signal weakening demand due to an economic slowdown.

Qualcomm raised its financial targets for the quarter, but this was not enough to impress investors who expected higher volume chip sales for a quarter during which devices like the next Apple Inc (AAPL.O) iPhone are expected to launch.

Chief Financial Officer William Keitel said wireless device makers are reducing inventories because they had built excess stockpiles on concerns about supply shortages in the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan earlier this year.

Keitel said Qualcomm customers were being cautious even as he saw no evidence of slowing demand from consumers.

"With a relatively modest world economy, it's an environment where our customers are extra judicious," Keitel said in a telephone interview.

By the end of this quarter Qualcomm customers will have cut about a week's worth of inventory, according to Keitel, who said they had kept roughly enough inventory for 15 weeks at the end of June.

"It's a fairly small adjustment," Keitel said, who added that inventory levels averaged between 15 and 20 weeks over the last several years, but inventories in general had become leaner after the 2008/2009 global economic crisis.

ECONOMY WORRIES

Qualcomm forecast wireless chip shipments for the current quarter in a range of 120 million to 125 million compared with analyst expectations for 130 million and higher and its fiscal third-quarter report of 120 million shipments.

"The market's nervous that the economy is slowing. Any hints of that in quarterly calls is not being taken well by investors," said Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt who had expected 135 million chip shipments this quarter.

While quarter ending in September usually shows modest sequential growth the forecast was "a little lighter than normal," McCourt said.

Qualcomm's report came on the same day that chip giant Intel Corp (INTC.O) trimmed its forecast for 2011 personal computer unit sales, sending its shares down.

However, Qualcomm raised its earnings per share guidance for the full year 2011 to a range of $3.15 to $3.20 from its previous expectation for $3.05 to $3.13.

It also increased its revenue target for the year to a range of $14.7 billion to $15 billion from its previous expectation of $14.1 billion to $14.7 billion.

Keitel attributed the higher revenue and profits to improving technology license sales because a greater percentage of phones being sold were smartphones, which command higher license fees.

Qualcomm's profit rose to $1.035 billion, or 61 cents per share, for its fiscal third quarter ended in June 26 from $767 million, or 47 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding unusual items, it earned 73 cents per share, ahead of analyst expectations for 71 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose to $3.62 billion from $2.7 billion. Qualcomm shares fell to $55.75 in late trading after closing at $57.30 in the regular Nasdaq session.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; editing by Andre Grenon)

Scandal over MP perks angers austerity-hit Italy (AFP)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 09:31 PM PDT

by Ella Ide Ella Ide – 1 hr 2 mins ago

ROME (AFP) – Leaked details of lavish parliamentary privileges are stirring up a wave of anger on social networking sites in Italy at a time of harsh budget cuts imposed to stave off financial ruin.

The accusations come from an anonymous blogger calling himself "Spider Truman" who says his inside knowledge of favours and false expenses is based on years working for Italy's Chamber of Deputies before he was sacked.

His Facebook page is followed by 341,800 people and the number keeps rising.

"Politicians have absurd privileges and exorbitant salaries... It's like we've gone back to the era of the ancient Greeks, with the gods on Mount Olympus deciding the fate of the plebs," blogger Leonardo Monti, 21, told AFP.

"It's time Italy woke up and said 'Enough!' to these injustices," he said.

Spider Truman's blog "The Secrets of the Caste" claims politicians falsely claim stolen goods on in-house insurance, get knock-down rates on their mobile phone bills and even send themselves death threats to qualify for bodyguards.

He has also claimed parliament employs nine hairdressers who each earn 11,000 euros ($16,000) a month. The Chamber later released a statement insisting there are only seven barbers who earn 2,400 euros a month.

Billions are spent each year on MP benefits including chauffeured cars, free aeroplane and train travel, complimentary cinema and theatre tickets and hefty discounts on health care and restaurants, according to Italian media reports.

Italy's politicians are also paid over twice as much as the European average, earning around 11,704 euros a month.

"Parasites and profiteers! There are so many of them, and they have no shame," blogged one Internet user, Valeria.

"They've stolen our future," said Fausto, while Simon warned: "In their eyes we are 60 million puppets ready to put up with anything. But they have to be careful because 60 million are a lot of people... They're playing with fire."

Sergio Rizzo, author of a 2007 bestseller on parliamentary privileges, "The Caste," told AFP Italians were furious that "in a financially difficult moment such as this, politicians are going easy on their own perks."

While Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's third richest man, has not yet reacted to the outcry, business leaders and opposition leaders have called for immediate reductions in politicians' salaries and special pensions.

Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has cut the special pensions -- which media reports say entitle former parliamentarians to an extra 3,000 euros a month on top of their standard pensions -- by five percent, with immediate effect.

But critics complained the cut was minimal and more needed to be done in a hurry, with the head of the Italian employers' federation demanding politicians "lead the way by example" and join Italians in making sacrifices.

Calls for public protests have lit up social networking sites, with disillusioned users comparing Italy's disparity between the ruling class and the hoi polloi to that in France before its revolution in 1789.

"They'll be telling us to eat cake soon," wrote Robcob, while mtmchat said: "What we need is a good public hanging in the square."

Some called for huge national rallies, but others said Italians lack the motivation to change or blamed voters for making bad choices.

"Is no-one watching what is going on in North Africa? Does no-one remember 1968? If a population wants change, it can have it. But we just lie around," wrote Chandy.

F. Rodi said: "We are sheep and we deserve this."

Despite some pessimism on the blogs, Rizzo said he thought it was likely that public outrage would force the government to make further concessions.

Politicians "should pay attention to what's happening online because it's very worrying," he said.

"If there are more than 300,000 people who have clicked "I like" on Spider Truman's Facebook page, it means there are more than 300,000 who have decided to give up on politics... Or at least on the current caste."

Finding Casey Anthony -- a Photo Worth at Least $250,000 (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:22 PM PDT

Saul Relative Saul Relative – Wed Jul 20, 7:22 pm ET
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COMMENTARY | It is as yet unknown what types of deals Casey Anthony will be making concerning books, movie rights, or interviews to various print, web, or televised media outlets, but it is believed that she will shortly cash in on her notoriety even if only to pay off the exorbitant attorneys fees that will accumulate while she fights what looks to be several lawsuits leveled against her in the wake of her "not guilty" verdict. But even if book deals and interviews are still part of Anthony's future, others making money off of her story has continued unabated. Not only is the media still running non-stop storylines on the Caylee Anthony case, Casey Anthony's trial, speculations regarding her future plans, her Sunday release, and her suspected whereabouts, Nancy Grace reported on her HLN show Monday evening that first photos of Anthony at her hideaway could garner the photographer at least $250,000.

In fact, Nancy Grace, who has followed the Caylee and Casey Anthony story from its onset in July 2008 (and some say sensationalized it far beyond its merits), was reporting on Anthony's presumed whereabouts, showing the flight path of a private plane that left Orlando shortly after Anthony was released from the Orange County Jail early Sunday morning, when she let drop the information that photos of Casey Anthony in her new residence could be worth a considerable sum.

"There you see her escape route," Grace said. "Tot mom in hiding -- the first shot of her in hiding, expected to go for nearly a quarter million dollars."

Speculation as to where the 25-year-old Anthony would end up after her three-year jailing has been rampant, mostly due to the amount of anger the general public has shown toward the "not guilty" verdict -- Anthony had been on trial for the 2008 murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee -- and not a few death threats that have been directed Anthony's way (according to her attorneys; the Orange County Jail said they received no threats against Anthony). As soon as she was hustled out of the Orange County Jail a little past midnight on July 17, the media has run with wild with guesses -- some based on credible prior knowledge of certain conditions.

HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell before Anthony's release that she might go to Puerto Rico (her lawyer, Jose Baez, owns a house there).

Others have speculated that she might head to Ohio, the birth state of her parents and where an aunt and uncle live. Those assumptions were given some credence shortly after Anthony left the jail when a plane bound for Ohio left Orlando in the early morning hours. However, airport sources maintained that the only people on the Ohio flight were returning vacationing golfers.

As for the private jet scenario, Anthony very well could be in Prescott, Arizona, or Carlsbad, California. The jet that the "Nancy Grace" show tracked belonged to a one-time Anthony defense team lawyer, Todd Macaluso, who operates out of San Diego. He has stated he does not know the whereabouts of Anthony. But when asked if he would have been willing to fly Anthony out of Orlando, Macaluso told an NBC affiliate in San Diego, "What do I look like, a charter pilot?"

There are those who will most likely note that Macaluso's words were not a denial...

Still, Anthony does not have to be anywhere until October. A judge ruled last week that a deposition in the "Zanny the Nanny" civil lawsuit case against Anthony could wait until October. Anthony is being sued for defamation by Zenaida Gonzalez, who was arrested and questioned for days by Orange County investigators when they believed she may have kidnapped Anthony's 2-year-old daughter. During the murder trial, Anthony's defense said Caylee had drowned in her grandparents' pool and that the statements she made to authorities, including those about the child's kidnapping and being missing, were elaborate lies.

At present, nobody seems to know where Casey Anthony might be. She could still be in Florida. Regardless, her whereabouts are a closely guarded secret. Given the national sense of outrage that flooded the Internet and talk radio and television shows afterward, it would probably be in her best interest to remain hiding (at least for a while) and keep her location an unknown. But her story will undoubtedly remain of interest and if someone -- anyone -- discovers her whereabouts, a quick picture could net the photographer $250,000 -- more, if they want to start a bidding war among media outlets.

Deal spreads PopCap titles to Sony Ericsson devices around the world (Appolicious)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 02:00 PM PDT

T-Mobile USA cut its rate (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 03:42 PM PDT

– Wed Jul 20, 6:42 pm ET

T-Mobile USA cut its rate by $20, to $49.99 a month, taking aim at Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S - News)in the race to attract users. Sprint fell 1.3%.

Hulu launches British kitchen comedy "Whites" (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 04:38 PM PDT

By John Sellers John Sellers – Wed Jul 20, 7:38 pm ET

NEW YORK (TheWrap) – "Whites," a BBC comedy set in a chaotic kitchen, launched on Hulu on Wednesday, another part in the online video hub's recent strategy to import under-the-radar content from the U.K.

Last week, Hulu launched "The Booth at the End," a stylized psychological thriller about a mysterious wish-granter (played by "Nikita" co-star Xander Berkeley) who may or may not be the devil.

In June, the website exclusively debuted "Misfits," a dramedy about troubled youths with superpowers that is a legitimate hit in Europe.

And now comes "Whites," which aired for six episodes last fall on the BBC but did not receive an order for a second, despite generally positive reviews.

Alan Davies wears the executive chef's hat but, having become jaded 15 years after nearly achieving celebrity status, now delegates nearly every kitchen task to his much put-upon sous-chef (Darren Boyd), a habit that predictably vexes his disgruntled staff.

The comedy plays out like a fictional version of a Gordon Ramsay reality show, only with less spiky hair and fewer people yelling.

Apple unveils new Macs, Lion (Investor's Business Daily)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 03:35 PM PDT

– Wed Jul 20, 6:35 pm ET

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) rolled out updated versions of the MacBook Air and the Mac Mini as well as the new Mac OS X Lion operating system. The new offerings come a day after an earnings report that showed triple-digit gains in iPhone and iPad sales. Lion is the first operating system that Apple is selling exclusively via its App Store. It has a feature that lets nearby users share documents via Wi-Fi. Shares rose 2.7%.

Airport body scanners to nix naked image (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 12:33 PM PDT

– Wed Jul 20, 3:33 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New software for screening travelers at U.S. airports will do away with naked images, addressing a major public concern, the Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday.

After complaints from travelers the TSA earlier this year began testing at four airports software for the full-body scanners that instead uses a generic body outline and highlights the area where any anomaly is detected, eliminating the actual image of the passenger.

TSA has increasingly relied on the full-body scanners after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear aboard a transatlantic flight in December 2009. The bomb failed to fully explode but set off a rush to upgrade security to detect explosives underneath clothing.

Software upgrades to the 241 millimeter wave body-scanning machines, made by L-3 Communications, will be deployed over the next several months in the 40 airports where they are used, the TSA said.

"This software upgrade enables us to continue providing a high level of security through advanced imaging technology screening, while improving the passenger experience at checkpoints," said TSA Administrator John Pistole.

The agency said it also plans to test similar software later this year for the 247 backscatter scanners that are in 38 airports and made by OSI Systems Inc's Rapiscan Systems unit.

The agency has been scrambling to address complaints about the scanners and physical patdowns of young children and elderly travelers while still meeting the security needs for aviation, a prime target of al Qaeda militants.

Later this year, TSA plans to roll out a pilot program that will allow some frequent fliers at four hub U.S. airports to go through expedited screening, an attempt to shift more toward assessing the risk of the individual flier rather than a one-size fits all security model.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky, editing by Cynthia Osterman)

(This story has been corrected in paragraph 4 to clarify reference to millimeter wave machines)

Intel's 2Q numbers show PC industry's new approach (AP)

Posted: 20 Jul 2011 02:17 PM PDT

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson, Ap Technology Writer – Wed Jul 20, 5:17 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Intel Corp. said its results for the latest quarter were better than expected as it milked strong corporate demand for PCs and the need for new computer servers to handle Internet traffic on mobile devices.

But the second-quarter numbers, reported Wednesday, don't necessarily mean that the PC business, which Intel helped create three decades ago, is in great shape.

Consumer demand for PCs in the U.S. and Europe has been weak for the past year. Stacy Smith, Intel's chief financial officer, said in an interview that it is expected to remain "relatively soft" for the remainder of 2011.

Shipments into those markets are actually decreasing, according to market research IDC and Gartner Inc. released last week.

But Intel's latest numbers provide a map for how the industry plans to find its way out.

Intel's net income rose just 2 percent to $2.95 billion, or 54 cents per share, from $2.89 billion, or 51 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding some expenses, Intel earned 59 cents per share, ahead of analyst expectations for 51 cents per share, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 21 percent to $13.03 billion, also ahead of analyst projections for $12.8 billion.

Intel projected revenue of $13.5 billion to $14.5 billion in current quarter; analysts' estimates were at the low end, $13.5 billion.

The higher numbers reflect three trends that Intel and its customers — the big PC makers — plan to ride to stronger growth even as parts of their business contract because of market saturation and the popularity of tablet computers.

First, corporations are still upgrading their employees' PCs. They are believed to be only in the middle of a multi-year cycle.

Emerging markets such as India and China are seeing strong PC growth, as incomes rise and more marketing efforts are targeted there.

And the smartphone and tablet craze, which PC makers are desperately trying to latch onto, benefits a company such as Intel because more servers are needed to handle the crush of new mobile Internet traffic.

Investors' reaction was muted in extended trading, after the results were reported. Intel shares fell 5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $22.94.
at 10:50 PM

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