On-stage demos are nice, but the best way to get the attention of geeky reporters at a tech conference is to pull out an early version of your next shiny gadget for a quick sneak preview in the hallway. That, at least, was Steve Ballmer’s approach yesterday, as the Microsoft CEO gave Engadget an early [...]

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It wasn’t too long ago that Amazon.com launched a trade-in program for used video games, giving people a way to swap used games for Amazon.com gift-card credit. Now the online retailer is expanding the program to include used DVDs, HD DVDs and Blu-ray discs — a sign that it sees trade-ins as a possible growth [...]

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Windows 7 Starter Edition, the edition of the upcoming operating system targeted to small "netbook" computers, will be able to run more than just three applications at a time, Microsoft said today. Previous versions of Starter Edition have imposed a limit.
Bellevue’s Motricity has named Jim Ryan — a former Sprint PCS and AT&T Mobility exec — to [...]

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A dispute over Facebook’s trademark that harkens to a rivalry between Harvard schoolmates Mark Zuckerberg and Aaron Greenspan has been quietly resolved — just one business day before Facebook trumpeted its $200 million investment from a Russian firm that valued all of Facebook at $10 billion., more  and Facebook quietly settles trademark dispute  A dispute over [...]

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- More small business owners are opting to take a less expensive vacation and are feeling less guilty about taking time off compared to last year, according to this weekÂ?s release of results from an American Express survey of business owners. But four out of 10 business owners donÂ?t plan to take any vacation at [...]

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, more  and Ursula Burns: An Historic Succession at Xerox  , more 
and Is Qi Lu Microsoft’s Search Engine Savior?  , more 

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, more  and Verizon Wireless to Sell Palm Pre  , more 
and Yahoo’s Delicate Dance in Vietnam  , more 
Best Tech Bargains on Twitter  , more 

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Ford CEO Alan Mulally’s personal delivery of a new car to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer yesterday was a pretty unique event, albeit carefully orchestrated. As a bonus, here’s an extended version of our video of Ballmer and Mulally speaking to the media afterward.
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Pelago has reduced its headcount as the maker of the mobile social networking product Whrrl attempts to adjust to the lingering effects of the bad economy. The layoff comes exactly one year after the Seattle startup announced a $15 million venture round from notable investors such as T-Mobile, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Bezos Expeditions [...]

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Talking with analysts and others today about Microsoft’s plans to rebrand its Internet search engine, I finally heard a plausible theory about why the company might choose "Bing" as the name. The site could emit a sound effect — "BING!" — whenever anyone presses the search button — thereby solidifying the brand in the minds [...]

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