Week in review: Tablet time for Apple

Apple let the world in on the "secret" device that everyone already knew about, but perhaps the only real surprise was its awkward name.

After months of rumors and speculation about a slate-like device, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage to unveil to the iPad --a tablet computer that looks like a larger version of Apple's iPod Touch. It sports a 9.7-inch LCD touch-screen display, which makes use of the same multitouch technology found on the iPhone, Apple's Magic Mouse, and its notebook trackpads.

Twitter reaction to the announcement was generally positive. Some seemed optimistic about the pricing, but many other tweets were disappointed by the features not included: no Flash, no camera, no multitasking. But beyond all technological complaints, people on Twitter seemed to really be dissatisfied with the device's name. Women were especially vocal about the fact that "iPad" sounds like, well, a feminine hygiene product.

And Apple has a wrinkle to iron out with Fujitsu, which apparently owns the iPad trademark.

While it's still too soon to tell if it can live up to the insane amount of hype that preceded its introduction, the iPad is, more than any other product the company has made, the quintessential Apple device. With the iPad, Apple has a device that rounds out the company's product line and also moves the company forward toward being the spoke in the wheel that is the world of media and technology. Making something that fits between a smartphone and a laptop has been a goal for the consumer technology industry for more than a decade.
•  Debating the merits of Apple's iPad
•  Expert sees security issues with the iPad
•  Adobe speaks out about iPad Flash omission
•  Who will buy the iPad?
•  Hands on with the iPad's iPod
•  10 things Netbooks still do better than an iPad

More headlines

Oracle buys Sun, becomes hardware company

The last chapter for Sun Microsystems closes, and the next for Oracle begins as the software company adds hardware to its portfolio.
•  Oracle lays out plans for Sun
•  McNealy's bittersweet memo bids good-bye to Sun

Report shows cyberattacks rampant; execs concerned

Critical infrastructure networks are vulnerable to repeated, expensive attacks from adversaries and U.S. and China are seen as top potential aggressors, survey finds.
•  Report unearths targeted attacks on oil firms
•  Report: Companies unprepared for cybercrime

Google Voice finally on iPhone--in the browser

Apple and Google have exchanged harsh words over the fight to get Google Voice approved for the iPhone, but a new Web version of the application will end the dispute.
•  Hands-on with Google Voice for the iPhone

Microsoft's bottom line gets a Windows 7 boost

The software maker says that "exceptional demand" for the new operating system helped earnings top estimates and quarterly sales hit record levels.
•  Apple earnings jump 50 percent
•  Amazon cruises on strong holiday sales
•  AT&T profits up 25 percent on wireless growth
•  Verizon earnings take hit from layoffs
•  1.1 million new subscribers boost Netflix earnings
•  AMD gains as PC chip shipments hit record
•  Motorola ekes out profit, but sales are off

Canadian official launches new probe into Facebook

The government agency's original investigation was part of why Facebook cleaned up its controls in the first place, and now it's dissatisfied with the results.
•  Facebook investors: Seriously, no IPO this year
•  Sorry, Facebook friends: Our brains can't keep up

China: Law-abiding Android phones are OK

Government spokesman says phones using Google's Android operating system are allowed in China--"as long as it fulfills Chinese laws and regulations."
•  Report: Attackers sent Google workers IMs from 'friends'
•  Chinese human rights Web sites suffer attacks
•  China denies involvement in Google cyberattacks

Also of note
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•  What a Microsoft rescue worker saw in Haiti
•  PETA wants Groundhog Day, the robot way