Apple to cut iPhone production?
The Register writes that, according to FBR Capital Markets, “Apple will cut iPhone production by roughly 40 per cent during the current Q4. Craig Berger, an analyst at FBR […], said in a report that, compared to the previous calendar quarter, a series of ‘new checks’ have enabled him to arrive at the 40 per cent reduction figure for Q4, which kicked off last month.” CNetNews.com has an interesting article on ways Facebook could make money. The article’s author, Dave [...]
Number of government-backed small business loans falls significantly
Inc.com reveals that, according to numbers provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA), “[f]ollowing a record high in 2007, the number of government-backed loans for small businesses fell by 30 percent this year as owners struggled with tighter credit and a shaky economy. […] This year, the agency guaranteed about 70,000 loans to small-business owners from commercial banks and lenders, down from 100,000 in 2007. The total value of loans fell 13 percent to $17.96 billion, while average loan size [...]
Credit Crunch Worsened by Junk Lawsuits
The Commerce Department released an interesting paper yesterday on competitiveness and legal costs. It's conclusion: support U.S. competitiveness by reducing legal costs and uncertainty. At a time when small IT firms are finding it harder to access capital from here at home, they need look far, wide, and global. (earlier this year ACT released a report on the importance of foreign direct investment to innovative technology startups). And it appears that our litigiousness will end up hurting investment from overseas. [...]
Microsoft announces support for OpenID
TechCrunch reveals that “Login standard OpenID has gotten a huge boost today from Microsoft, as the company has announced that users will soon be able to login to any OpenID site using their Windows Live IDs. With over 400 million Windows Live accounts (many of which see frequent use on the Live’s Mail and Messenger services), the announcement is a massive win for OpenID. And Microsoft isn’t just supporting OpenID - the announcement goes as call it the de facto [...]
Are Those Frozen Flying Swine Circling Brussels?
It's a miracle of miracles, but it appears that we agree on something with Thomas Vinje, legal counsel to the Microsoft Hater's Caucus, and anti-software patent campaigner, Peter Hintjens. On Friday, Alison Brimelow, president of the European Patent Office, referred how to assess the patentability of software-related inventions to the enlarged board of appeal (EBoA). It is expected to bring some clarity about what is patentable at the EPO. An IDG story on the decision, quoted ACT President Jonathan Zuck, [...]
Small business confidence at new low
According to Inc.com, “[t]he crisis on Wall Street continues to drag economic confidence among smaller business owners to record lows” A study by Discover found that “[o]f 1,000 small-business owners recently surveyed, 64 percent described the economy as poor, up from 57 percent last month. At the same time, 53 percent said economic conditions were getting worse for their businesses, up two percent from September. Both readings are the highest recorded in the credit card firm's monthly small-business confidence index [...]