[H]ardNews 3rd Edition

Tivo in The Black:

It seems as though Tivo has turned another profit in the second quarter. However, by the looks of this article, they may be in deep doo doo.

TiVo's plan, it seems, is to concentrate on adding subscribers at the expense of continued profitability. In much the same way as the mobile phone companies subsidize handsets in order to gain customers, TiVo plans to reduce the cost of the boxes, the prices of which they feel are a hindrance to better uptake in the market. Certainly, some customers feel the monthly charges on top of the cost of the box itself are too much to stomach.

I guess the jury is still really out on this one, only time will tell us what exactly is going to come out of it.

Microsoft Vs. Apple Vs. Google:

The author of this article makes the interesting observation that maybe it's Apple that MS should be worried about, and not Google at all.

What the heck Google is up to is a favorite topic of conversation this week in high tech circles. What's driving this is a combination of things including the new Google Toolbar, Gtalk, but most especially the company's announcement that it will shortly sell another $4 billion in shares. What does Google plan to do with all that money, people are wondering?

The Little Laptop Motor That Could:

Need some juice for your dying laptop battery? No problem! For "tens of thousands of dollars" you can have this snappy little laptop engine. Read here.

If you can't bear to be away from your laptop during that camping trip to deepest Borneo, help may soon be at hand. Lightweight generators powered by methanol are now on the market... for the rich, at least.

Wasn't the point of camping to get AWAY from technology anyways!?