Sponsoer by :

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Oracle's net rises 36 percent, but servers slip (AP) : Technet

Sponsored

Oracle's net rises 36 percent, but servers slip (AP) : Technet

Oracle's net rises 36 percent, but servers slip (AP)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 02:09 PM PDT

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Sep 20, 5:09 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Stronger spending on business software helped Oracle Corp.'s quarterly profit jump 36 percent, but the company's server business further deteriorated, a decline Oracle attributed to its move to shed lower-margin deals.

The company said after the stock market closed Tuesday that its net income rose to $1.84 billion, or 36 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Aug. 31. That compared with $1.35 billion, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.

Its adjusted net income for the latest quarter was 48 cents per share, a penny higher than the average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $8.37 billion, slightly exceeding the $8.36 billion that analysts expected.

Revenue from new software licenses rose 17 percent to $1.5 billion, which was the top end of the range Oracle had predicted. But revenue from servers fell 5 percent to $1 billion, which was at the bottom of the range Oracle had forecast for that category.

Those two figures in particular reflect the tension in Oracle's push to become a more well-rounded technology seller.

The Redwood Shores-based company is the world's leading seller of database software, which helps companies organize their information. It's also one of the leading sellers of business applications, which help companies do things with their data. The businesses are highly lucrative. Software maintenance fees make up nearly half of Oracle's overall revenue.

Oracle's attempt to resurrect Sun Microsystems, a former dot-com star that makes computer servers, hasn't gone as smoothly. After Oracle bought Sun for $7.3 billion last year, Oracle warned investors that it was going to shed unprofitable deals. It has indeed done that. But uncertainty about Oracle's plans for Sun has allowed rivals to pounce, raising fears that Oracle's market share losses in servers aren't entirely voluntary.

Mark Hurd, an Oracle co-president who was Hewlett-Packard Co.'s CEO until last year, said in a statement that Oracle's high-end servers delivered "solid double-digit revenue growth" in the latest period, Oracle's fiscal first quarter. Meanwhile, revenue in the low-end server business declined. By focusing on the high-end segment, the company was able to increase the overall profitability of the hardware business, he said.

Investors have been concerned about Oracle's server declines. The stock is down more than 20 percent since its 52-week high of $36.50 in May.

The shares fell 67 cents, or 2.3 percent, to close at $28.35 on Tuesday. After the earnings were announced, the stock gained 55 cents, or 2 percent, to $28.90.

Wall Street reviews Netflix's 'Qwikster' DVD split (AP)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 03:05 PM PDT

By CHIP CUTTER, AP Business Writer Chip Cutter, Ap Business Writer – Tue Sep 20, 6:05 pm ET

NEW YORK – Netflix's new double-feature is getting bad reviews on Wall Street.

Financial analysts and money managers are joining the chorus of consumers who are savaging Netflix's decision to separate its streaming video service from its DVD-by-mail division.

Market-watchers say the split could cause more subscribers to drop the service. Netflix will rename its DVD-by-mail operation Qwikster, a brand name that's both hard to pronounce and unknown to consumers. It will also expand into video game rentals. The streaming service will still be called Netflix.

But the 12 million Netflix customers who get both streaming videos and DVDs in Netflix's signature red envelopes will now have to visit two websites to make video requests and check their bills. That outraged subscribers, who filled Netflix's blog with more than 23,000 comments, many of them negative.

Netflix Inc. stock fell $13.72, or 9.5 percent, to close at $130.03 Tuesday. It is now down 55 percent since July 12, when the company announced that it was effectively raising prices by as much as 60 percent for customers who want to receive DVDs in the mail and watch videos online. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has fallen 8 percent in the same period.

With a nod to the terse movie-critic blurbs we all know and love, here's a collection of quotes from financial experts who are watching the stock:

___

"Netflix's recent price changes, followed by the separation and rebranding of the DVD business, have increased (subscriber turnover) and damaged the brand value..."

"...we expect near-term uncertainty to persist until the direction of content negotiations and competitive offerings becomes clearer."

-Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.

___

"We believe the loss of $9 billion in market value rests with the CEO and believe one of the only ways (Netflix) can reverse momentum is to change management and reverse much of what it has already committed to."

"Frankly, we do not believe (Netflix) is likely to take these steps. The management has not shown to care about investors or its customers."

-Tony Wible, analyst at Janney Capital Markets.

___

"We see little reason to create a new brand unless Netflix was intending to ultimately spin-out the Qwikster business."

"The friction of using both services could cause more to downgrade or even cancel their service."

-Justin T. Patterson, an analyst at Morgan Keegan

___

"(For investors), we continue to recommend staying on the sidelines until the near-term uncertainties lessen."

"Our concerns ... remain in place and we believe (subscribers) will continue to seek out a less-expensive option in general and especially within an economic environment where fixed costs are being cut by household budgets."

-Eric Wold, an analyst at Merriman Capital

___

"We also have a problem with (Netflix's) decision to enter the videogame rental business. ... The beauty of filmed entertainment, as we see it, is that it is a long-lived asset exploitable in multiple windows."

"Audiences of the series `Seinfeld,' for example, can still find virtually the same entertainment value in watching that show today versus its prime almost 20 years ago. The same cannot be said for video games, which find obsolescence very quickly."

-David Miller, an analyst at Caris & Co.

___

"I consider this a growing pain, quite frankly. I think they will take some hard lessons away from this — mainly the value of a good PR firm. ... As a consumer discretionary company, this is very attractive at these price levels. ... This is becoming a value stock."

-Jeanie Wyatt, chief investment officer of South Texas Money Management, which owns Netflix stock in its separately managed accounts.

Microsoft raises dividend 25 pct to support stock (AP)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 05:19 PM PDT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke, Ap Technology Writer – Tue Sep 20, 8:19 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft Corp. is trying to lift its stock price by boosting its dividend 25 percent, the largest increase since the world's largest software maker started the quarterly payments seven years ago.

The change announced Tuesday will boost Microsoft's dividend to 20 cents per share from 16 cents per share. That topped a 23 percent, or 3 cents per share, increase made on the dividend a year ago.

It's the sixth time Microsoft has raised its dividend since it introduced an 8 cents-per share payment to shareholders in 2004.

The decision to start paying a regular quarterly dividend signaled that Microsoft's board of directors realized the company's growth rate by itself would no longer be enough to attract investors. That wasn't the case during Microsoft's first 14 years as public company as its Windows operating system and other products became personal computer staples. From Microsoft's stock market debut in 1986 to the peak of the dot-com boom in early 2000, the company's shares rose by about 500-fold.

That allowed Microsoft to hold on to its cash instead of using it to entice investors to its stock.

But things have changed. The rise of the Internet and the advent of cellphones and computer tablets have made Microsoft's products look less essential, and given rise to concerns that the company might be heading toward technological obsolescence.

Microsoft has been trying to change that perception by pouring billions into its Bing search engine in an effort to counter Google Inc.'s dominance. More recently, it has been focusing on a sweeping overhaul of its Windows operating system so it can run on touch-screen tablets as well as traditional PCs. The redesigned system, Windows 8, is expected to go on sale next year.

In the meantime, Microsoft has been escalating the size of its dividend increases. Despite those actions, Microsoft's stock performance has been lagging two other technology bellwethers that rank among its biggest rivals.

Microsoft's stock is stuck at roughly the same level it was five years ago while Google shares have risen 27 percent and Apple Inc. shares have surged to a more than five-fold increase.

Microsoft's past dividend increases haven't done much for the company's stock, according to FBR Capital Markets analyst David Hilal. He found the stock's gains on the day following the five previous announced dividend increases have never exceeded 2 percent. In 2005 and 2010, the stock dipped in the first of day of trading after Microsoft announced a dividend increase.

The shares gained 17 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $27.15 after Tuesday's announcement. At that price, Microsoft's dividend would translate into an annual yield of about 3 percent.

The new dividend is payable on Dec. 8 to shareholders of record on Nov. 17.

Astronomers and students scour space for lost Apollo 10 module (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 04:03 PM PDT

NASA unveils new plan to hire space taxis for rides to the ISS (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 03:04 PM PDT

Google Wallet: First Impressions (Mashable)

Posted: 19 Sep 2011 05:15 PM PDT

Christina Warren Christina Warren – Mon Sep 19, 8:15 pm ET

Google officially rolled out its Google Wallet mobile payment system on Monday. We've been using a Sprint Nexus S 4G with Google Wallet for the last six weeks. Google Wallet is still in its infancy, but the system already shows a lot of promise. Right now, Google Wallet only works with Citi-Mastercards and the Google Prepaid Card. Visa and Google announced a worldwide agreement to support the Visa payWave app, but it will still be up to the financial institutions and banks to add support.

[More from Mashable: Google Wallet Has Arrived]

Types of Mobile Payments

Over the last six weeks, I've used Google Wallet at a variety of locations around New York City. Thanks to its partnership with Mastercard, the NFC chip built into the Nexus S 4G works with any of the thousands of PayPass merchants. This means that if you are in a taxi cab or at Walgreens, you can just tap or wave your phone to make your payment.

The "tap and pay" method of payment is cool, but the Google Wallet feature that has the most potential is what Google is calling SingleTap. The SingleTap experience means that users can combine their coupons, loyalty cards and payment method all with one tap.

[More from Mashable: Tagstand Wants to Make NFC Technology Simple for Businesses]

Google showed me a demo of the SingleTap payment using one of Macy's POS terminals and the results were impressive. Using the Google Offers app that can save coupons directly to Google Wallet for Android, you can make a payment with your default payment type, apply the coupon you have saved and also apply the purchase to your loyalty card for that store. It's a seamless process and it offers tangible value over fumbling through various cards.

Using Google Wallet

I'm the type of person that never goes anywhere without my phone. In fact, I've recently started using a phone case that doubles as a wallet. For me, the value proposition of not having to carry around various credit cards and instead just use my phone makes a lot of sense.

If you have never used NFC-enabled devices, it can take a bit of getting used to. The way Google Wallet is set up, it only works if the screen is on and unlocked. If you haven't used your wallet within a certain period of time, you will also be prompted to enter an unlock code before using the app.

We've discussed the security behind NFC systems in the past, and Google has created its own Secure Element that adds an additional layer of security. Google hopes to make this Secure Element an accepted standard within the NFC space.

I liked the process of using Google Wallet. The one frustrating aspect was that my day-to-day credit card, my Bank of America Visa checkcard, couldn't be tied directly to the system. I do have a Citi-Mastercard and that worked seamlessly with the system (after calling Citibank to get the card activated for use with Google Wallet), but having to use the Google Prepaid Card added an additional layer of complexity that just wasn't worth the hassle unless I knew I was going to be buying something in advance.

Privacy, Google Offers and More

A big question that many would-be users are sure to have about Google Wallet is "does this mean Google knows what I buy." The answer, at least right now, is no. Google does record local transactions on your phone, but these transactions are only identified by amount and location and are only viewable to you.

In practice, this means that if I look at my Google Wallet history, I only see a date, an amount and an approximate location. Google says that it is working to roll out a more robust digital receipt system in the future.

I appreciate the concern for my privacy -- and I certainly do NOT want my purchases being tracked (aside from how they are already tracked with existing loyalty card programs) -- but a big disadvantage, at least right now, of the Google Wallet is that receipts are still printed. When I can have access to all of my receipts within the Google Wallet app, that will make the system that much more useful.

The biggest opportunity we see, right now, is for Google Offers. Google Offers as an app is a nice way to browse for deals, specials and coupons. You can clip those offers digitally to Google Wallet and then show the coupons at merchants, whether they are NFC-enabled or not.

The potential for the deal discovery space, especially with the addition of geolocation, is something I have been waiting to see take off for nearly two years. Google is being very cautious to make its experience as low-friction as possible. However, with the right tweaking and perhaps with greater social integration, a la Google Places and Google+, this component could really separate Google from the pack.

This is Just the First Step

With the announcement that American Express, Discover and Visa have all licensed their NFC technologies to Google, the next step is to get the thousands of financial institutions and merchants on-board with an NFC system.

Meanwhile, the NFC space is highly competitive. Visa has its own mobile wallet initiatives, as does American Express and PayPal. We're at an interesting place in the market; we're finally at a point where lots of activity is happening in this space and mainstream adoption seems closer than ever, yet these competing solutions complicate short-term adoption.

Google's approach is to create a platform that it wants everyone else to build on. That's the general message the company has presented to me in regards to Google Wallet. It wants things like the Secure Element and the way it is being used by point-of-sale systems.

Interestingly, this is a similar game that competitors are taking too. Visa, for example, is licensing its technology to Google while developing its own platform. When I spoke with Visa last month, the company told me that its goal was to be wherever consumers want to make payments. That's a vision shared by many of the major players in the payments space.

Google Wallet's challenge will be to differentiate itself in a burgeoning market. This is just the beginning of what is sure to be a major technology story within the next 18 months.

Let us know what you think of NFC, Google Wallet and the future of payments in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Arianna Huffington says AOL merger great for business (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 06:13 PM PDT

SoundCloud founder sees audio bigger than video on Web (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 06:10 PM PDT

Cell phones may be new tool vs Somalia famine (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 03:44 PM PDT

By Andrew Quinn Andrew Quinn – Tue Sep 20, 6:44 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cell phones may bring relief to famine victims in parts of Somalia controlled by al Shabaab insurgents as donors seek new ways to circumvent the hard-line militants, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Rajiv Shah, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, said that despite al Shabaab's ban on foreign aid in regions they control, progress was being made to reach about 2.7 million people desperately in need of help.

"It is difficult to provide large-scale commodity support. Food convoys have been attacked, so we're trying a number of more innovative approaches," Shah told Reuters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Cell phone networks and the traditional "hawala" money transfer system used in many Islamic societies are two such routes, Shah said, while aid groups from Gulf Arab countries and elsewhere were also making inroads.

"We're trying cash distributions through the hawala system and through mobile phones and then concomitantly flooding border markets with food so that traders can then make the connections," Shah said.

Al Shabaab, a hard-line Islamist group linked to al Qaeda which controls most of the southern part of Somalia, banned food aid last year and kicked many groups out, saying aid creates dependency.

Some 3.7 million Somalis are at risk of starvation in the worst drought in decades, including some 2 million in rebel-held regions were most major aid agencies cannot reach.

Some local agencies are allowed to deliver aid to these areas, but this is not enough for all those who need it.

The rest of Somalia is expected to slide into famine by the end of the year as the drought gripping the Horn of Africa affects more than 13 million people.

Shah said U.S. efforts to improve agricultural techniques and technology in the region, coupled with economic support programs to make local communities more resilient, had helped to prevent the famine from broadening into a wider crisis as it did 1984-85 and again in 1998-2000.

But he said the situation remained critical, and new strategies aimed at enabling people to secure food supplies close to home were aimed at forestalling a broader flood of refugees to already overburdened camps.

"People leaving their communities going on these treks where they almost certainly will be assaulted, robbed, often raped," Shah said. "The risks of participating in humanitarian action in the place they are is probably considerably lower."

EXEMPTIONS NOT ENOUGH

The United States in August said it would not invoke anti-terror laws to prosecute nongovernmental groups working in southern Somalia if some aid falls into the hands of al-Shabaab, which is on the official U.S. terror blacklist.

But Shah said the exemptions had had little effect as most foreign aid organizations continued to have almost no safe access to al Shabaab-controlled regions.

The United States has contributed about $600 million to famine relief efforts in the Horn of Africa, more than half the total global response.

But Shah said he was worried that future efforts could be hobbled as U.S. lawmakers try to find a further $1.2-$1.5 trillion in budget cuts to trim the huge U.S. federal deficit.

"I am extraordinarily worried because that would be very counterproductive," he said, saying a further destabilization of Somalia and strengthening of al-Shabaab could have direct security consequences for the United States.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

The Guardian’s Android app is a great choice for news buffs (Appolicious)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 12:30 PM PDT

Microsoft employee Tweeted information about Nokia WP7 device, no longer employeed (Digital Trends)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 06:17 PM PDT

Mike Dunn Mike Dunn – 2 hrs 44 mins ago

Joe marini tweet about nokia wp7 phoneIt all started with what could have been viewed as a harmless tweet from a Microsoft employee. Two weeks later that employee, Joe Marini, is now unemployed. Marini sent out a series of tweets talking about his experience with the still unannounced Nokia Windows Phone 7 device. While Marini was not fired, it is believed that he resigned before being let go for improper use of social media, and disclosing confidential information.

The first tweet Marini sent out was actually very flattering, "I just got a chance to try out one of the slickest looking #Nokia phones I have ever seen. Soon, you will too! #wp7." Our bet is that Marini did not get in trouble for that tweet, but the following two tweets might have caused an issue.

When asked to rate the phone on a scale of 1-10 Marini replied, "Overall I would say an 8. Solid feel, good camera, responsive UI, and nice little touches on the body construction." A score of eight out of ten isn't bad, but when he was asked why the score wasn't higher and if the camera was as good as rumored he replied, "Yeah, the camera was good, but I didn't have optimal lighting. I'd like a larger screen too."

Besides implying that the unnamed Nokia WP7 phone had a smaller screen than he hoped Marini really did not say anything negative about the phone. The issue most likely stems from the fact that he was talking about a phone that officially doesn't exist yet. We have seen a WP7 prototype leaked in a Nokia video, but there is still nothing official yet. The only information we have at this point is that Nokia is making a WP7 phone, and it will most likely be named the W7 or W8.

Marini isn't the first person to lose their job due to posting something on Twitter that should have never been posted. So let this be a lesson for the rest of us, when in doubt, don't tweet it.

 

RIM will struggle to restore credibility: analyst (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 02:27 PM PDT

– Tue Sep 20, 5:27 pm ET

(Reuters) – BlackBerry maker Research In Motion must launch innovative devices on schedule and offer credible earnings forecasts to win back the trust of investors made wary by its missteps, an analyst said on Tuesday.

In a note to clients, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky cut his price target on RIM shares to $29 from $35 and slashed his estimate for earnings per share for the current fiscal year by 11 percent, and for the next fiscal year by almost 19 percent.

RIM shares lost more than 4 percent to close at $22.73 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.

Abramsky said RIM remains a potential buyout target due to its proprietary messaging services, global subscriber base and strong patent portfolio. He valued a takeout at $30 a share and named Microsoft, Cisco, IBM and Nokia as possible buyers.

An activist investor, Jaguar Financial, is talking to some of RIM's major shareholders about plans to empower RIM's board to look at options including spinning off patents or selling the entire company.

Abramsky's share-price target is still well above RIM's current share price, but the change moves RBC below the $31 average forecast of analysts. Analysts' forecasts for the share price range from a low of $18 to a high of $75.

In February, RIM shares changed hands for as much as $70, but the stock has slumped after a series of profit warnings, coupled with the botched launch of its PlayBook tablet computer, a competitor to Apple's iPad.

RBC's earnings per share estimates for RIM of $4.95 for fiscal 2012 and $5 for 2013 are about 10 cents a share higher than the average analyst estimate.

RIM said last week it now expects to reach only the low end of its previous forecast for earnings per share in fiscal 2012, which ends in March next year. The company had forecast earnings of $5.25 to $6 a share.

Urging RIM's board to take a more active role in overseeing management decisions as the company brings in new products, Abramsky said RIM's products and software have not been competitive for years.

The company once dominated the smartphone industry with business-friendly devices, but it has struggled as Apple's iPhone and later Google's Android software have gained market share, particularly in the United States.

Abramsky said the BlackBerry maker has lost credibility with investors by retracting and missing its own forecasts.

RIM reported dismal second-quarter earnings last Thursday, sending its shares sharply lower. It shipped far fewer BlackBerry smartphones and PlayBook tablets in the quarter than either the company or analysts had forecast.

In a detailed earnings filing published on Monday, RIM said U.S. sales in the quarter were halved from a year earlier to $1.1 billion, while sales outside the United States, Canada and Britain rose 38 percent to $2.3 billion.

RIM's global sales excluding the United States, Canada and Britain rose between 88 and 128 percent on an annual basis in each of the previous four quarters.

Abramsky said RIM still has a chance to turn its fortunes around based on a sizable subscriber base of 70 million, support from carriers as an alternative to Apple and Android, global growth, and a strong patent portfolio.

RIM has launched a string of refreshed phones on its existing software and plans to launch another batch early next year using the QNX software found in the PlayBook.

It is expected to debut long-awaited PlayBook features including an Android app player as well as email, calendar and other functions long associated with the BlackBerry at a developers' conference in October.

Moving to the powerful QNX platform gives RIM a chance to make its software competitive, but discarding its existing operating system forces developers that build applications for it to change the way they operate.

"Four years after iPhone launched, RIM still hasn't launched competitive smartphone innovations or addressed its 'app gap'," Abramsky wrote.

Abramsky said RIM had "lost the app battle and developer interest in BlackBerry has significantly diminished" making its successful emulation of Android all the more vital.

RBC said that although RIM trades at only four times its fiscal 2011 earnings, it does not expect that valuation to improve until RIM addresses its credibility gap.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto; editing by Peter Galloway and Janet Guttsman)

Rumors about the early demise of Google+ are greatly exaggerated (Appolicious)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 02:30 PM PDT

Study says mobile phones have become our lovers (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 06:14 PM PDT

Atrinsic launches Kazaa app for iPad, shares soar (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 07:43 AM PDT

– Tue Sep 20, 10:43 am ET

(Reuters) – Atrinsic Inc said the streaming application for its popular Kazaa digital music service is now available for download through Apple Inc's app store, sending its shares up 67 percent in heavy volumes.

The Kazaa music app would be available for free download on Apple's best-selling iPhone and iPad products, New York-based Atrinsic said in a statement.

"Kazaa mobile will be available on more and more devices in the future," the company said.

In March, Atrinsic said Kazaa, an on-demand streaming music service that it acquired last year, could be accessed without an application -- a move that would help it skirt Apple's plans to take a slice of its revenue from online subscriptions through the App Store.

Atrinsic shares were up 46 percent at $3.29 on Tuesday on Nasdaq. They touched a high of $3.75, earlier in the session.

(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Viraj Nair)

Rage HD for iPhone Review (Digital Trends)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 02:38 PM PDT

Amir Iliaifar Amir Iliaifar – Tue Sep 20, 5:38 pm ET

rage-hd-1

rage-hd-iconLet's get this out of the way, Rage HD is a beautiful game, the type of game you take home to mother. If that doesn't do it justice then quite simply, Rage HD is easily the best-looking game yet seen on a mobile device, and it provides an excellent demonstration of just how far Apple's hardware can go when placed in the able hands of a seasoned studio such as id Software. But, of course, we all know that graphics alone won't cut the mustard — but let's just say the mustard has been thoroughly diced.

Rage HD is an on-rails shooter, meaning you don't actually control the movement of your character, you take aim with the iPhone's accelerometer or gyroscope. And while the game won't necessarily satisfy your hunger for its bigger brother (Rage for the PC and next-gen consoles is due out on October 4), think of it as a teaser for id's upcoming sure-to-be first-person hit.

The story behind Rage HD isn't anything profound or deep; strapped with ammo and battling hungry mutants for the pleasure of blood-thirsty viewers at home, you must survive this carnage-filled carnival ride. Think of it as a post-apocalyptic haunted house where you are a gun-slinging, cash-grabbing, bust-a-cap-in-a mutant's face game show contestant. You get the gist of it.

rage-hd-2

Rage HD only consists of three levels, and while you could probably beat the game in less than 30 minutes, it offers hours of mindless fun and entertainment. Compare that with the PC version of the game, where you can race cars, take on side quests, and explore an altogether rich world, and you can see that it was a wise decision on id's part not to try and replicate such an experience on a mobile device.

While experienced gamers may balk at the on-rail controls, they do handle superbly thanks to the iPhone's hardware. You have multiple ways of controlling the on-screen mayhem, dodging mutant attacks and evading projectiles. One glaring issue with the controls stems from the camera movement. The camera will get stuck out of position and allow mutants to chomp at you. Often. It requires you to twist and torque yourself around to get a shot off, but this was a minor nuisance and doesn't detract too much from the experience.

rage-hd-3

The button controls are laid out on the screen so effectively and intelligently. For instance, the icons are easy to understand and kept simplistic, but add depth with little touches like increased damage on active reloads, and the ability to dodge and run with a tap of an icon.

Even though the post-apocalyptic TV show story may seem tired and shallow, what Rage HD lacks in story it makes up for in un-adulterated fun, with a visceral experience unlike many others on the iPhone or iPad.

At $1.99, Rage HD doesn't have to do much to sell itself. It's cheap, has gorgeous graphics, and comes from the makers of Doom — and hey, it controls pretty well too. While Rage HD ends up being more an appetizer than a main course, like the mutants that inhabit its post apocalyptic world, it certainly gives gamers more than enough to chomp at until the full game is released on October 4.

Oracle expects strong Q2, firms up tech outlook (Reuters)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 05:12 PM PDT

By Sinead Carew and Edwin Chan Sinead Carew And Edwin Chan – Tue Sep 20, 8:12 pm ET

(Reuters) – Oracle Corp forecast earnings for the current quarter that are higher than expected, as well as robust software sales, offering some reassurance to investors hoping that global technology spending is holding up.

Its shares rose 3 percent after it said new software sales, a gauge of future profit because they generate high-margin long-term service contracts, increased 17 percent in its first fiscal quarter, ended August 31. Analysts had expected 15 percent.

Oracle also forecast software sales growth for the current quarter in a range of 6 percent to 16 percent, which was much higher than the flat to 10 percent estimated by ThinkEquity analyst Brian Schwartz.

Executives also said they are confident of market share gains against rivals such as SAP in Europe, a region that along with the Middle East and Africa accounts for a third of its business but is grappling with a widening economic crisis.

"I'm certainly encouraged by that license revenue growth. In the near term that's a very positive indicator," Schwartz said, even as he noted that the company's overall revenue forecast was lighter than expected.

Oracle forecast a 4 percent to 8 percent gain in revenue this quarter, translating into sales of $9 billion to $9.3 billion, slightly lagging forecasts of $9.36 billion.

It also forecast earnings before one-time items of 56 cents to 58 cents per share for the current quarter, compared with the 56 cents expected by Wall Street.

The outlook for worldwide technology spending darkened after warnings by major technology vendors from Dell Inc to Cisco Systems Inc. Governments are scaling back purchases to reduce deficits while corporations are tightening budgets to cope with an uncertain economic picture.

Oracle, which competes with SAP in selling software to corporations and public agencies, reports results a month before its rivals -- giving investors a first peek at July and August this year -- and is watched for the latest insights into industry trends.

EUROPEAN STRENGTH FORESHADOWED?

A stronger-than-expected European performance -- partly credited by executives to market share gains against arch foe SAP -- helped boost sales last quarter.

However, Richard Davis, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, noted that the European countries in most trouble -- Greece, Ireland and Spain -- were not key markets anyway. "They're doing well in the markets where they should be doing well," he said.

The company, which is run by flamboyant Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison, on Tuesday reported revenue of $8.37 billion for the fiscal first quarter. This is just a touch ahead of Wall Street's estimate of $8.35 billion and up 11.6 percent from $7.50 billion in the year-ago period.

"We just had a solid quarter in Europe," said President Mark Hurd. "I would be cautious that this may not be macro but maybe more Oracle-specific. We're hiring in Europe."

As well as software, Oracle sells server computers following its purchase of Sun Microsystems last year. Overall hardware sales -- a weak spot in Oracle's otherwise robust numbers -- slipped 1 percent to $1.67 billion, lighter than expected as the company sacrificed sales for profitability.

The company said it expects another weak quarter for hardware and forecast sales in a range of flat to down 5 percent in the current quarter.

"The outlook seemed fine," said Canaccord's Davis. "They've done this three quarters now -- slightly lower revenue growth and better margin growth. They're doing the right thing. We'll see how it plays out but for now they're in good shape."

Margins climbed to 54 percent from 48 percent in the previous quarter, reflecting a strategy of moving toward higher-end servers and relinquishing volume sales growth.

Net income rose to $1.84 billion, or 36 cents share, from $1.35 billion, or 27 cents a share, in the same quarter the year before.

Excluding unusual items, Oracle earned 48 cents per share compared with analysts' expectations of 46 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company also announced a quarterly cash dividend of 6 cents per share to be paid November 2.

Shares of the world's No. 3 software maker rose 3 percent to $29.25 in extended trading, after closing down 2.3 percent at $28.35 on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew in New York and Edwin Chan in Los Angeles; Editing by Richard Chang and Steve Orlofsky)

Summary Box: Oracle's net income rises 36 pct (AP)

Posted: 20 Sep 2011 04:02 PM PDT

– Tue Sep 20, 7:02 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – TUGGED IN TWO DIRECTIONS: Stronger spending on business software helped Oracle Corp.'s quarterly profit jump 36 percent. But the server business declined, which Oracle attributed to the fact it is shedding lower-margin deals.

THE NUMBERS: Net income rose to $1.84 billion, or 36 cents per share. Revenue rose 12 percent to $8.37 billion. The figures topped Wall Street forecasts.

DIGGING DEEPER: Importantly to investors, revenue from new software licenses rose 17 percent to $1.5 billion, which was the top end of the range Oracle had predicted.
at 9:30 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

My Blog List