Category Archives: Tech News

Apple To Distribute a Record $100 Billion to Shareholders

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Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc

In an unprecedented move by any other company in history, Apple Inc will be distributing $100 billion in cash to its shareholders be the time the year 2015 comes to a close. This announcement comes at the same time as the news that Apple’s revenues during the present quarter could be less than last year for the same quarter, representing the first decline in several years.

CEO Tim Cook also hinted that Apple is not planning to release any new products this summer, which is contrary to rumors that consumers could expect new iPhones and iPads this coming summer.

The cash distribution will take the form of a $60 billion buy-back plan, the largest such program in history. In addition, Apple will be increasing the dividend on its stock from $2.65 to $3.05 per share, a 15 percent increase. That number translates to a dividend yield of 3 percent at today’s stock prices, which brings Apple more in line with other dividend-paying companies. The average yield for the top US dividend paying companies is 3.1 percent, says Standard & Poor’s.

Investors in Apple have been requesting that the incredibly successful high-tech company open up the company’s vaults and returning some of the cash on hand back to them. At the end of last month Apple’s collection of cash was announced to be an incredible $145 billion, an unprecedented amount. Shareholder’s inaccessibility to this cash cache, together with a dearth of new, innovative products, has been blamed for the huge loss in the value of Apple’s stock this past winter.

When the new iPhone 5 went on sale on September 21st, 2012, Apple’s stock reached a high point of $705.07. Even after a 5 percent rise to $425 per share after the company released its fiscal second quarter earnings Apple’s stock is now only valued at 40 percent of its peak price.

“The decline in Apple’s stock price over the last couple of quarters has been very frustrating for all of us … but we’ll continue to do what we do best,” CEO Tim Cook said.

“The most important objective for Apple will always be creating innovative products,” he added.

New iPhone Coming this Summer

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New iPhone Coming this Summer
New iPhone Coming this Summer

In order to win back some market share from the less expensive smartphones running Android software, Apple will be introducing yet another iPhone this coming summer.

The launching season for iPhone, at least the last two models, has been in the fall, but consumers can expect a newer and less expensive iPhone appearing relatively soon.

According to the Wall Street Journal the target market for this new Apple product is developing countries where the high price of iPhone has directed people to the less expensive Android-running smartphones.

It is Apple’s company policy not to discuss future products before their launch events. Apple execs emphasize consistently that it is Apple’s goal to make the best products and not necessarily the cheapest.

The WSJ added that Apple is ready to begin production of their latest addition to the iPhone line within the next three months.

Oracle Introducing Superfast Servers to Boost Hardware Business

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Larry Ellison
CEO Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp

In an effort to increase business in the hardware division of Oracle Corporation, Chief Executive Larry Ellison announced that the giant computer company will be offering a new line of faster servers for sale.

Ellison explained to journalists on Tuesday that the new “T5” microprocessors in Oracle’s latest line of servers have surpassed several performance peaks and have been able to run business databases and applications at speeds considerably quicker than with previous prototypes.

Ellison has been shifting Oracle’s focus on its hardware division ever since purchasing Sun Microsystems for $5.6 billion in 2010. Of special note is the high-end server equipment, especially the “SPARC” T5- and M5-powered servers and microchips which were showcased at the Redwood City, California event.

“When Oracle bought Sun, a lot of people thought the SPARC microprocessor was a real laggard and would never catch up. We’ve done better than catch up. We’ve caught up and passed the competition,” Ellison said.

Cash Registers Going the Way of the Dinosaur

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Take a Good Look: You Wont be Seeing this Much Longer
Take a Good Look: You Wont be Seeing this Much Longer

Shops are finding the old-fashioned cash register expendable as the bulk of purchases are made with credit and debit cards, making having cash-on-hand obsolete.

Instead stores are beginning to have their salespeople armed with smartphones or tablet computers to register sales, and in some cases even the customers themselves will be able to load their purchase into their own mobile device.

The luxury retailer Barneys New York is planning on making the changeover this coming year, using iPads or iPod Touch devices to record purchases in seven of their almost two dozen non-outlet stores. Urban Outfitters, a clothing store chain for teen buyers, ordered its last cash register last fall. They plan to go completely mobile one day soon. Wal-Mart, which is the largest retail chain in the world, is now testing a “Scan & Go” application that allows customers to scan their purchases as they shop.

“The traditional cash register is heading toward obsolescence,” said Danielle Vitale, chief operating officer of Barneys New York.

Microsoft Says Goodbye to Hotmail as they Launch New Version of Outlook

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Microsoft has been having users try out their all new “Outlook.com” web-based email in preview mode for the past six months, and now they say it is time to transition away from Hotmail and begin to use the full version of Outlook.

Reports from users say that the totally revamped version of Outlook performed great, and users love to use it. With such rave reviews Microsoft says it’s ready to finish the testing phase and go to the permanent phase of the transition from Hotmail.

According to the director of product management at Microsoft, Dharmesh Mehta, the hundreds of millions of Hotmail users will be using Outlook by this coming summer. When the transition is completed Outlook will be among the largest of free email services in use.

“It’s a pretty massive bet we’ve made that Outlook.com is a great choice,” Mehta said.

Mehta reassured users that their settings, contacts, messages and more would remain the same after they’ve switched to Outlook. Furthermore, people will still be able to contact users using their old Hotmail address.

In addition Microsoft announced that the latest version of Outlook.com has already reached about 60 million active users during the six month trial period. The giant software company says that this data is evidence that Outlook is the fastest growing email service in history.

Consumers can expect to see ads for Microsoft’s Outlook.com, as they are planning on launching a huge ad campaign in print, TV and online media outlets.