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Hewlett-Packard has a Rolodex of business PC customers that rivals would kill to have.

Fortunately, Tuesday's news that HP may not spin off its PC business means cooler, wiser heads are prevailing.

HP executives must know the obvious. That Dell, Lenovo, and increasingly Apple are happy to pick off its high-value Fortune 500 customers in the midst of uncertainty. Those are the customers who buy the pricier HP business PCs (EliteBooks, ProBooks etc.) and often purchase the even pricier servers that the PCs are tethered to.

And HP's fast fact page makes the nexus between business PCs and … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is reconsidering its decision to spin off its personal computer business after new analysis indicated the spinoff costs might outweigh the benefits, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The spinoff was announced during an earnings call in August by then-CEO Leo Apotheker as part of an effort to refocus its business around other core competencies. Apotheker used the same call to announce the company would discontinue WebOS devices, including the TouchPad tablet.

"The analysis is under way now," an HP representative told the Journal. "We said we would explore all options and that … Read more

Here at the epicenter of social networking, birthplace of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, it's easy to lose sight of just how much the rest of the world loves our homespun social-media creations.

As it turns out, social networking is enjoyed overseas even more than here at home in Silicon Valley. Underscoring this notion is a newly released international study from Experian Hitwise tracking the top eight countries spending the most time on Facebook and other social networks.

Here's the lowdown: Singapore loves Facebook more than any other country. In August, people in Singapore spent the most time on Facebook 38 minutes and 46 seconds per session, while those in New Zealand spent 30 minutes and 31 seconds. Australians spent 26 minutes and 27 seconds; next, folks in the United Kingdom spent 25 minutes and 33 seconds; and the United States came in 5th place with 20 minutes 46 seconds, followed by France, India, and Brazil.

Not surprisingly, Facebook was the most visited social network in the United States in August, leading with 91 percent of all visits. Second place went to Twitter with 1.92 percent of all social-networking visits. San Francisco-based Tagged.com came in third place for the first time with 1.04 percent of all visits, overtaking MySpace. … Read more

The "Taiwan Economic Times" is reporting that Apple's iPad 2 assembler, Hon Hai Precision Industry, has upped its initial shipment projection of 14 million iPad 2 units for the third quarter to 20 million units.

If the report is accurate, that's a 42.8 percent increase in projected output. "Although declining to comment on the report, Hon Hai stressed that it is normal to forecast a shipment surge in the third quarter, a booming season for the electronic industry."

Obviously Apple is confident in high sales heading into the holiday season. The projected numbers … Read more

Production of Apple's next iPhone is said to be in full swing, with the company on track to have some 5 million to 6 million phones ready by the end of the month, according to a new report.

Citing anonymous industry sources, supply chain tracker DigiTimes today said original equipment manufacturer Foxconn Electronics, which has made Apple goods in the past, is currently producing 150,000 iPhone 5 units a day.

DigiTimes added that Foxconn is joined by Pegatron Technology, which will produce around 15 percent of the devices for Apple, but those units may not ship until 2012. … Read more

Anomaly Warzone Earth takes a different tack with the tower defense genre by having you play as the invading force, completing missions on a (somewhat) fixed path against a number of deadly turrets. Your heavily armored squad of vehicles and units has guns of its own, but as with every tower defense game, the more turrets you're up against, the harder it will be to stay healthy and reach your goal.

Fortunately, as you progress through the game, you'll gain abilities that will repair your vehicles and make it harder for enemies to hit you. You'll be … Read more

TowerMadness has been around for a while now, but the unique challenge and several updates over time make it a must-have for tower defense fans. Featuring 3D graphics that look great on the Retina Display, TowerMadness challenges you to defend a flock of sheep from an onslaught of attacking aliens. You can view the action from above or use a reverse-pinch gesture to zoom in on the action. You'll play on 49 included maps, but you can purchase 28 expansion maps from within the game. A recent update added 5 more maps, and two new weapon upgrades to add … Read more

Sentinel 3: Homeworld is the latest installment (released late in 2010) of the Sentinel tower defense franchise, offering more units to choose from, new maps, and new abilities that help you stave off wave after wave of alien enemies. The interface is like many in the fixed-path tower defense genre, letting you drag and drop units on the edges of a path to fortify your defenses against each wave of enemies. Sentinel 3 comes with a 20-level, 14-map campaign and an endless mode, and also offers in-app purchases if you want to add even more levels and maps.

Sentinel 3: … Read more

United Airlines today announced its cockpits will go paperless by swapping out printed flight manuals in favor of Apple's iPad.

As part of the swap, the carrier is giving 11,000 iPads to all United and Continental pilots. The iPads are loaded with Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck, an app that contains navigational charts and local airport information.

United estimates that the change from paper will save it 326,000 gallons of jet fuel a year, based on the paper the iPads are replacing.

"Each iPad, which weighs less than 1.5 pounds, will replace approximately 38 pounds of paper operating manuals, navigation charts, reference handbooks, flight checklists, logbooks and weather information in a pilot's flight bag," the company said in a statement. "A conventional flight bag full of paper materials contains an average of 12,000 sheets of paper per pilot."

United says it began doling out iPads to pilots a few weeks ago and that all its pilots will have them by the end of the year.

Both Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines began testing iPads for navigational purposes earlier this year as part of a trial program. Executive Jet Management, a unit of NetJets, announced in February that it had gained approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to use Jeppesen's app as well. … Read more