With $60B in cash, Microsoft is set to blow up its business
With the recent announcement of Microsoft’s new Surface tablet, the decades-old network of partners that Microsoft and Intel built just got a formidable new asset-rich competitor: Microsoft. Like all successful partner networks, Wintel thrived because all of the players — the two principals, OEMs, the channel and other stakeholders — benefited individually from the association […]
National Weather Service alerts headed to smartphones
Live in an area prone to tornadoes, flash floods, hurricanes, extreme wind, ice storms, and the like? Your smartphone can’t change the extreme weather, but it can alert you to it. Live in an area prone to flash floods, hurricanes, blizzards? Smartphone users will soon get a severe-weather alert from the National Weather Service, a […]
Changing of the Miami guard at American Airlines
Longtime American Airlines executive Peter Dolara retires Friday in Miami, handing the reins to the region’s new vice president, Art Torno. Art Torno still remembers the meeting that changed his career — and ultimately his life. On a Saturday in 1986 at New York City’s Chrysler building, Peter Dolara — an American Airlines executive who […]
Google unveils Nexus tablet made by Asus and Project Glass pre-orders
The device is made by the Taiwanese company Asus rather than the firm’s own Motorola hardware unit. It runs the new Jelly Bean version of Android. An 8GB version will be sold for $199 (£127) from mid-July pitching it directly against Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The firm also showed off its internet-connected augmented reality glasses revealing […]
July 4 means business for many South Florida firms
From makers of flag shirts to purveyors of fireworks and hot dogs, Independence Day means business, not time off for a barbecue. At theflagshirt.com, orders have been pouring in so fast that co-owner Stephen Stern said he sometimes makes eight trips to the post office in one day. He can hardly keep up with demand […]
Apple wants to build cloud data center near Reno
Apple is looking to set up shop in the Biggest Little City in the World, with local and state government footing the bill for a possible $89 million in tax breaks, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Apple is planning to open a data center in northern Nevada as part of the company’s plan to spend […]
Miami Spice raises rates on top restaurants, adds second pricing category
A Miami Spice meal at Miami’s top luxury restaurants isn’t going to be as much of a bargain this year. The three-course lunch will cost $23 and dinner will run $39. That’s about a 10 percent jump over Miami Spice dinner prices last year, which rang up at $35 and just a hair over last […]
Kindle Fire 2 may hit as soon as July
If you’re waiting for the Kindle Fire 2 or a new e-ink Kindle, you may not have to wait much longer. What’s next for Kindle hardware? Well, a credible source has told us that Amazon will unveil a second-generation Kindle Fire this summer and that it’s targeting July 31 for a launch event. While we […]
Florida offers $12 million to South Florida companies
South Florida gets a small share of Florida’s $155 million payout to companies thinking of adding jobs in the state. Lisa McKerracher might set up a spinal-cord lab in Miami, or she might set it up in Massachusetts. Florida will pay her $83,000 to pick the Sunshine State. “I’m not sure this is where I […]
Apple Stores get their turn under NY Times’ investigative spotlight
A just-published Times report on pay and conditions at Apple Stores has at least one news outlet wondering if recent Apple activity around salary increases was meant as a kind of preemptive strike. Was recent Apple activity around raises at its retail stores a preemptive strike against a just-published New York Times article? That’s what […]
Advocates urge struggling homeowners in South Florida to seek help
Advocates for struggling homeowners say the first and often most difficult step in dealing with financial woes tied to homeownership is confronting the problem and finding the right help. “People are afraid to call their [mortgage] servicers. When letters come in the mail, they put them in a drawer and don’t read them or they […]
Microsoft serves notice to sites hosting Xbox 720 roadmap
The company’s takedown notices appear to confirm the authenticity of the huge document — a 50+ page PowerPoint file — that purported to lay out the roadmap for Microsoft’s upcoming console. Microsoft is playing hardball with companies that are hosting a purportedly leaked Xbox 720 document. A Czech tech site called Ihned.cz (Translate) said it […]
Kaplan University to lay off 200, mostly in South Florida
Due to declining enrollment, Kaplan University said Wednesday it is laying off 200 admissions workers, primarily in its Fort Lauderdale, Plantation and Boca Raton offices. Kaplan has been downsizing as it struggles with fallen enrollment and investigations into its sales tactics. “We’ve taken the necessary steps to reduce our workforce … to stabilize after a […]
Windows Phone 8 system update announced by Microsoft
Microsoft has unveiled the next version of its smartphone operating system. Windows Phone 8 shares much of its code with the firm’s PC system, making it easier for developers to write programs for different types of devices. The company said it should mean there would be some “amazing games” for handsets running its new release. […]
Puerto Rico’s Medalla beer now distributed in Florida
Puerto Rico’s Medalla beer is being distributed in Florida for the first time, aiming to tap the soaring number of Puerto Ricans who have relocated to the beer-loving Sunshine State. On Father’s Dayat La Cocina Puertorriquena restaurant in Pembroke Pines, Puerto Rican families ordered scores of the light beer to accompany such traditional dishes as […]
Google finds 9,500 new malicious Web sites a day
Search giant details how much malware its Safe Browsing keeps away from users and hints at scanning Chrome extensions. Google prides itself on being proactive in protecting its users from malware and other attacks (even government-sponsored ones) on the Web via its Safe Browsing API and other technologies over the past five years. In a […]
Port Miami wants free-trade zones throughout county
Under a Port Miami plan, any business north of Southwest Eighth Street could apply for free-trade status and be exempt from import duties for cargo heading abroad. Any warehouse in northern Miami-Dade County could quickly free itself from import tariffs under a proposal by Port Miami allowing it to establish dozens of free-trade zones. Port […]
Microsoft unveils Surface Windows 8 tablets
Microsoft has unveiled Surface – its own-brand family of tablets. The touchscreen computers will be powered by its upcoming Windows 8 system and contain a choice of an Intel or ARM-based processor. It allows the firm to challenge Apple’s bestselling iPad with a device that can run standard applications such as its own Office programmes […]
Return of the bidding war for South Florida homes
When John and Edna Deluccia went house hunting to upgrade from their Fort Lauderdale condo, they experienced the new frenzy in the South Florida home market. “One unit I bid on, a bank foreclosure, went for $480,600 — $94,000 over the asking price,” said John Deluccia, a 39-year-old insurance agent with SWBC. “I bid $10,000 […]
Single women earning more money, degrees
Single South Florida women are outperforming single men, new studies show. They are getting better educations. They are buying twice as many homes. And they are out-earning their male counterparts. Michelle Friedman, 28, exemplifies the new breed. The senior account executive at a public relations firm already has received several promotions after graduating with honors […]