sun

HTC spends $300 million to acquire some Beats Electronics awesomeness, but we have to admit: we're befuddled. Also, Apple is now officially the world's most valuable company, and we're happy, because they're slightly less evil than ExxonMobil. And in the worst idea we've heard in a while, the British Prime Minister floats the idea of turning off social networks to stem the rioting in London. Dude, do you WANT more riots!?

Ford and solar-panel maker SunPower have created a solar-powered electric-car package.

Buyers of Ford's electric vehicles will have an option to have SunPower's rooftop solar panels installed for about $10,000 after a federal tax rebate. The companies estimate that the 2.5-kilowatt array will generate enough juice, about 3,000 kilowatt-hours a year, to fuel a car for about 1,000 miles a month of driving.

The "Drive Green for Life" program means drivers can cut the cord on fossil fuels by generating power during the day and charging at night, according to the companies. … Read more

For astronaut Ron Garan and the rest of the crew of the International Space Station, this extraordinary view of a simultaneous sunset and moonset is a daily occurrence (this one was captured on July 31). The station orbits Earth every 90 minutes, so the crew gets treated to this scene about 16 times a day.

Gadgets from Apple and Samsung could eventually be getting a little extra star power.

No those companies aren't pulling a MySpace and tapping Justin Timberlake. Instead, it could be the sun--an actual star.

Digitimes reported today that both companies have been "evaluating" solar technologies to power future products, focusing particularly on organic photovoltaic cells, a technology that yields a lower sunlight-to-electricity conversion ratio than large solar panels installed on rooftops, but can be fit into small gadgets.

Samsung already uses solar technologies in some of its gadgets, including two of its phones in 2009, the "Blue … Read more

Google CEO Larry Page might soon face questioning related to his company's legal battle over Android and Java.

Oracle yesterday submitted a request to Judge Donna Ryu of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to depose the Google co-founder and CEO regarding his involvement in his company's acquisition of Android Inc. in 2005. Foss Patents, a blog focused on software patents, was first to report on the newly filed request.

"Mr. Page is Google's CEO, and he reportedly made the decision to acquire Android, Inc., and thereby develop and launch the … Read more

Last year, Oracle completed its acquisition of Sun Microsystems. At the time there was much speculation regarding the future of Sun's server and storage hardware business and I heard a number of well thought out opinions. But two seemed to stand out, both in opposition to one another:

1. Sun's hardware business doesn't return the same high net profit margin as Oracle's software business, therefore Oracle will wind it down, sell it off, or otherwise dispose of it over time because it will drag down overall profitability.

2. While the Sun hardware business doesn't offer the same profitability as software and applications, with work it could be brought in line with Oracle's other businesses. Therefore Oracle will keep it and find a way to make it profitable enough so as not to be a drag on overall profitability.

Last week, Oracle outlined its storage strategy and in doing so removed a lingering question mark that has been hanging over the acquisition since it was announced by making the following statement: "First and foremost, Oracle will deliver storage that helps Oracle platforms run faster. Oracle will continue to invest in storage hardware development, so long as that investment propels Oracle platform growth and market acceptance." Personally, it was not the statement I had expected, but I've learned to live with it.

Mark Hurd, former HP CEO and now Oracle's president, began the Oracle storage strategy session with the obligatory references to overwhelming data growth. I say "obligatory" because nearly every storage vendor pitch I see lately frames the discussion of why the market needs product x in terms of voluminous data growth and the opportunity that data growth presents to vendor x for managing it. … Read more

Oracle is seeking $2.6 billion in damages from Google as part of its patent infringement lawsuit over Java.

In a document filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Oracle cited the $2.6 billion figure based on estimates by the company's damages expert, Iain Cockburn, a professor of finance and economics at Boston University.

That specific figure runs contrary to Google's interpretation, which is far broader in range. In a June 18 filing from Google and documented by FOSS Patents, the search giant came to the conclusion that if it were … Read more

Oracle is seeking billions of dollars in damages from Google in a lawsuit that accuses the search giant of infringing on patents related to Java.

In the lawsuit filed last August, Oracle claims that Google is infringing on Java copyrights and patents through its use of code related to the programming language in Android. Oracle acquired Java when it officially purchased Sun Microsystems in early 2010.

The amount of damages sought by Oracle was publicly revealed for the first time in a court filing yesterday. Google calls the damages report "unreliable and results-oriented," according to Reuters, and asserts … Read more

Oil and gas giant Total is set to buy 60 percent of solar panel maker SunPower on June 14 after the companies received approval from the European Union. The great unknown is whether this combination changes the energy industry or merely gives SunPower some cover as the solar industry enters a rocky period.

The EU approval, announced yesterday, clears the way for Total to close its all-cash offer for 60 percent of SunPower's outstanding shares in a deal valued at $1.4 billion. Given that the two companies received U.S. regulatory clearance already, the deal is set to … Read more