Computers, Pc | featured news

The world of Wintel - Microsoft, Intel and the Taiwan-based companies that build the computers their products power and run on - is taking a huge collective bet on Windows 8.

Android developers have released a version of 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that can run on chips found in most personal computers, from netbooks and laptops to desktop towers.

IBM topped rival Microsoft in market valuation for the first time since 1996, the latest sign of the technology industry's shift in emphasis away from the personal computer.

In a dramatic reshuffling, Hewlett-Packard Co. said it will end its tablet computer and smartphone products and may sell or spin off its PC division, bowing out of the consumer businesses.

Intel Corp trimmed its forecast for 2011 personal computer unit sales, warning of softness in mature markets and sending its shares down more than 1 percent even as its revenue outlook beat estimates.

Tablet computers are selling fast — but it’s starting to look like the stripped-down computers won’t eat the rest of the PC industry alive anytime soon. Worldwide shipments of so-called media tablets into sales channels fell 28% in the first quarter of 2011 to 7.2 million units during the first quarter, according to tech tracker IDC.

Whether you're a die-hard Windows fan or simply a Mac user required to occasionally use Windows, it's hard to argue against the fact that Mac OS X has some killer features. Here's how to get the best of them on Windows.

Gartner lowered its forecast for 2011 personal-computer shipments. The market-research firm now expects 9.3% growth, down from a previous forecast of 10.5%, as consumer spending tightens.

The obsession with tablet computing will be on full display Tuesday as Computex, the world's second-largest computer show, begins its annual five-day run in Taipei. The prominence of tablets underscores a dramatic shift under way in the personal computer industry — and keenly felt in Taiwan, which is home to some of the world's biggest PC manufacturers — as many consumers opt to buy a tablet rather than a new PC.

The company revised its forecast for the current quarter, indicating worries about the impact of the Japan earthquake, softness in sales of PCs and lower operating profits in its services unit.