Technology Report: Analysis: AT&T mega merger bad sign for spectrum reform

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	03/24/2011
Good afternoon Bit Research In Motion's quarterly net profit jumped 32 percent, boosted by strong global BlackBerry smartphone sales. But a weaker-than-expected outlook as it spent heavily on the launch of its PlayBook tablet next month, sent RIM's shares tumbling after the bell. Facebook is testing a real-time ad targeting system that relates your user profile to words that you form as you type them, according to AdAge's Irina Slutsky. For example, "users who update their status with 'Mmm, I could go for some pizza tonight', could get an ad or a coupon from Domino's, Papa John's or Pizza Hut", she writes. The hungry masses are gobbling up Apple's iPads mainly because of the approachable touchscreen interface, writes Wired's Brian X. Chen. Web browsing topped the responses to a casual poll by Wired asking "What do you do with your iPad?", matching the result of a study by NPD Group last year, Chen adds. Reading and social networking followed browsing in the Wired poll. A minority used the iPad for special purposes such as recording music, writing poetry and teaching in class from book notes. Augmented Reality (AR) maker Total Immersion received $5.5 million in funding, writes VentureBeat's Ciara Byrne. AR is a live view of the real-world that is augmented by a computer-generated view. Two days after Amazon launched its Appstore for Android-powered smartphones, AT&T said that its working on giving its Android customers access to third party application stores, including Amazon's, writes Engadget's Chris Ziegler. Social media consultant Peter Shankman declared an age of mediocrity, "where anyone with a computer, a video camera, and a few thousand dollars for production can be considered the next big thing", in a Mashable guest op-ed and offers the following prescription on how "talentless nobodies" can end up with millions of YouTube viewers: 1. "Content. A catchy autotune, a baby laughing, a cat being tickled. It doesn't matter." And 2. "Send it out as the latest OMG thing in the world. Get a few views a minute. Let it grow, unchecked, like a fungus." LATEST NEWS Analysis: AT&T mega merger bad sign for spectrum reform March 24, 2011 02:46 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc's $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile casts doubt on the U.S. government's ability to swiftly deliver policy to meet the booming demand for wireless services. | Full Article Oracle sales surge, raises dividend March 24, 2011 04:35 PM ET SEATTLE (Reuters) - Oracle Corp beat Wall Street forecasts and raised its dividend 20 percent on Thursday, as the business software maker capitalized on resurgent spending on technology. | Full Article Ex-Apple exec rolls out phone-based social network March 24, 2011 08:34 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bill Nguyen, the serial entrepreneur who sold his last company to Apple Inc in 2009, is launching a new cellphone-based social network which aims to challenge Facebook's dominance in social communications beyond the personal computer. | Full Article GameStop sees better 2011 for games business March 24, 2011 03:53 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - GameStop Corp, the world's largest retailer of video game products, forecast stronger 2011 profits that signaled a rebound in the traditional video game industry. | Full Article Dell says no material supply disruption from Japan March 24, 2011 03:33 PM ET LONDON (Reuters) - Dell, the world's second-biggest computer maker, has not seen any material disruption to electronics supply chains as a result of the Japanese earthquake of two weeks ago, a senior executive said. | Full Article BUSINESS NEWS Earnings hope lifts stocks, S&P above key resistance March 24, 2011 05:14 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday as optimism about upcoming earnings and investor buying of the quarter's top performers lifted the S&P 500 above a key technical level. | Full Article Fed, in historic shift, to brief media on policy March 24, 2011 04:01 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will break nearly 100 years of tradition at the U.S. central bank next month when he begins talking to the media after policy meetings. | Full Article U.S. durable goods orders fall, job market healing March 24, 2011 05:09 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell in February as companies scaled back investment plans for a second month in a row, suggesting a cooling off in business spending. | Full Article Trial hears Rajaratnam brothers cursing article March 24, 2011 03:55 PM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday used a profanity-laced phone tap of accused hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam and his brother to try and prove he had inside information on a deal before it appeared in a newspaper article. | Full Article Special report: The revolution in central banking March 24, 2011 05:25 PM ET By Paul Carrel, Mark Felsenthal, Pedro da Costa, David Milliken and Alan Wheatley | Full Article U.S. TOP NEWS West strikes deep in Libya, NATO near command deal Japan says must review nuclear policy; radiation spreads Assad offers freedoms after forces kill 37 Carter to visit North Korea, not carrying U.S. message Baby dolphin saved after dumped in rice field by tsunami RELATED VIDEO Sculptor plans to create ice out of thin air in the heat of the desert Pedal power pump fuels hope in Japan Asiatic lily a blooming wonder A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. 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