HP Decides to Stay in PC Business

After drama, HP to keep its PC business after all

Hewlett-Packard isn't going out of the PC business after all. Today, CEO Meg Whitman announced the company would continue to make and sell PCs, reversing a decision made by her predecessor Léo Apotheker in August -- a decision that riled investors and employees and led to his ouster in late September.

BitTorrent and Netflix Dominate America’s Internet Traffic

New data published by the Canadian broadband management company Sandvine reveals that on the average day Netflix and BitTorrent are responsible for 40 percent of all Internet traffic in North America. During peak hours Netflix accounts for a third of all download traffic, while BitTorrent is credited for nearly half of all upload traffic during the busiest time of the day.

What Netflix effect? Redbox will raise rates instead

Redbox was expected to be one of the big beneficiaries of Netflix’s most recent price change. But the effect of that change wasn’t entirely apparent in Redbox’s numbers, as parent Coinstar reported revenues Thursday just slightly above Wall Street consensus. Even worse, Redbox announced it is raising its discount $1 a night rental prices by 20 percent.

Intel lost the tablet war -- is the desktop next?

Intel is losing the multi-billion-dollar tablet war. Tied to Microsoft and its second-rate mobile architecture (currently Windows Phone "Mango"), it's way behind the transformation sweeping the computing world. I'd never count Intel out, but the ARM architecture and its related ecosystem are ideally positioned to win a major share of the desktop of tomorrow.

How to Get a Personalized Financial Plan Without Spending a Fortune

Money management site LearnVest offers an inexpensive alternative to and expensive financial planner: unlimited email access for a year to a CFP for less than what you might pay for just one hour with an in-person visit. Here's how it works.

Device & Conquer: Is your phone spying on you?

In this episode of Device & Conquer, I'll lay out how your phone can track you, dispel a few myths about that, and about GPS satellites, and give you a few tips for taking back what privacy you still have. (Video)

The Best Tuneup Utilities

PC tune up utilities are applications designed to fix the wear and tear that computers suffer over time by repairing hard drive fragmentation, fixing the registry, and deleting useless files. While all of the tools listed here perform these basic actions, a few go the extra mile by implementing unique features.

Turn A Digital Photo Into An Amazing Painting

Here's a novel twist on those web sites that offer to turn your digital photo into something that looks like an oil painting. Psykopaint (www.psykopaint.com) offers similar features, but instead of an automatic conversion you have control of a magic paintbrush.