Browse by Tags

• 8 famous companies that may vanish this year

  Posted Feb 12 2008, 06:53 AM by Douglas McIntyre
  Filed under: Microsoft, Yahoo, Motorola, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, Qwest, Sears, Nortel
  Rating:

  Firestone. American Motors. Texaco. Pan Am. Worldcom. These large American companies were once at the top of their industries. Pan Am was the leading global airline for decades. All are gone: Some were sold off, others went bankrupt. Who could have predicted it?

  There are several iconic U.S. companies that may well not exist at the end of 2008. Some may not even make it halfway through the year. Not all will go out of business. Some may simply be auctioned off in pieces. Others may be bought. These companies will not exist in their current forms as they are known to their shareholders and consumers now.

  When a company ceases to exist as an independent entity, it is not necessarily bad for shareholders. Some may be worth more in parts. Often a bust-up or merger is what brings owners the most money. Here are the big ones that probably won't make it.  (A more detailed assessment is available at 24/7 Wall St.)   Read More...

  Discuss ( 57 comments) 26,802 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• Google gets into the wireless business

  Posted Nov 05 2007, 12:50 PM by Kim Peterson
  Filed under: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Sprint, wireless
  Rating:

  When Google came on the scene 10 years ago, the PC business was pretty much figured out. Lots of companies made computers, but Microsoft monopolized the operating systems that ran on them. It was Microsoft's world, and as a software developer Google had to learn to live in it.

  Not so with cell phones. There are lots of handset makers, and several companies make operating systems and other software for the devices. Google either has to play ball with those companies or control the mobile environment on its own.
  

  Enter today's announcement of a Google operating system that will prominently feature the company's applications -- mail, maps, search and so on. And Google is going to entice handset makers by giving them the system for free. The phones probably won't have the name Google anywhere on them, and the first ones won't be available until the second half of '08.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 44 comments) 76,096 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this