michael

Netflix is taking a closer look at how to cater its video-streaming service to families.

In a letter to shareholders (PDF) on Monday, the company said it plans to introduce a family streaming plan in the U.S. that would let up to four people stream at the same time. However, this also means that Netflix may be looking for a way to minimize several people sharing one account.

The plan would cost $11.99 per month and let subscribers stream as many as four devices simultaneously. Netflix's current plan, which costs $8 a month, allows two streams at … Read more

Soon after Facebook announced its new family of apps for mobile devices, Michael Gartenberg, who works as an industry analyst at Gartner, quipped over Twitter, "So I pay $99 for a 2-year-contract on a sub standard phone. Turn my life over to Facebook and get ads on my home screen?"

Gartenberg's tweet contained more than a kernel of truth and, besides the snarky humor, it was appropriate to the occasion, as big companies like Facebook are always looking for ways to shove advertising in front of our faces -- in this case by locking you into Facebook'… Read more

It's good to have hobbies. Some people just have more unusual hobbies than others. Michael Birken says he spent 11 months playing with Post-it notes. He wasn't writing memos or reminders, he was sticking them on the wall to create an elaborate stop-motion video tribute to his favorite classic games. He calls it Post-it Note Arcade.

The video includes footage of both Ms. Pac-Man and Mario. Birken says he recorded actual gameplay footage and then printed the images out, one frame at a time, to replicate on the walls around his office. He spent holidays and weekends posting the little pieces of paper up and filming the results. It's probably just as well his co-workers didn't have to witness this madness.… Read more

Michael Dell has revealed more details about his plans for the company if and when it goes private.

A memo from the Dell CEO to employees was included yesterday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and outlined a slew of costly promises for a restructured Dell.

One such promise is to invest more in PCs and tablets. Like many PC makers, Dell has tried to carve out a large chunk of the corporate market with servers, network gear, and other IT products. Michael Dell noted last year that the company has become more focused on IT services.… Read more

Dell painted a somewhat bleak depiction of its prospects in a recent SEC filing.

In a 274-page filing on Friday, the PC maker indicated market and product challenges on several fronts. In the filing, Dell makes a case for accepting a $24.4 billion offer to go private so it can be in a better position to deal with the myriad challenges facing the company.

Those included "the deteriorating outlook for the PC market as a result of, among other things, smartphones and tablets cannibalizing PC sales," according to the filing.

The SEC filing also cited "the … Read more

It was assumed just a couple of months ago that Dell would go private with a $24.4 billion buyout under founder and CEO Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake.

But several wrenches have been thrown into that plan.

Dell confirmed earlier this week that it had two possibly "superior" buyout bids, one coming from activist investor Carl Icahn and the other from private equity firm Blackstone. This means that if one of these two other potential bidders gets the prize, there could be a monumental power shift in the company.

Michael Dell is allegedly now … Read more

Michael Dell might not be as close to taking his company private as originally thought.

Dell's Special Committee of the Board, a team tasked with considering other proposals for the future of its business, confirmed today that it has received two buyout offers. One of those offers comes from investment firm Blackstone and the other from Carl Icahn.

"The Special Committee, consisting of four independent and disinterested directors, has determined, after consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, that both proposals could reasonably be expected to result in superior proposals, as defined under the terms of the … Read more

Asset-management firm Blackstone Group has reportedly submitted a tentative offer to buy Dell, rivaling a $24.4 billion offer from founder Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake, which was announced last month.

Both Bloomberg and The New York Times are citing unnamed insiders in reporting the preliminary deal proposal, which, Bloomberg said, will commit Blackstone to hold takeover discussions with Dell. The letter was reportedly sent last night, and, Bloomberg said, Dell has till Tuesday to respond.

Details of the proposal were not available, and it's not known if Dell will go along. Bloomberg said Blackstone wouldn't … Read more

Microsoft defended the future viability of Windows RT during an interview with CNET today.

Michael Angiulo, corporate vice president, Windows Planning, Hardware & PC Ecosystem, talked with CNET about what makes RT important for the software giant.

The platform took some hard knocks before and after it debuted on October 26. A lot of the criticism has focused on the lack of compatibility with older Windows applications, in contrast to backward-compatible Windows 8 on Intel-based devices.

But Angiulo says Microsoft has good reason to stick with the platform.