Free Republic

The war in Iraq rages on, the European Union is fraying and North Korea may have nuclear weapons. But if you read the business and technology news this past week, all of that seemed to pale before an event variously described as seismic, epic and stunning: Apple Computer has decided to adopt processors made by Intel for its future Macintosh computers. There's a reason this was big news in the computer world. For decades, Intel's chips have been tightly linked to the software of Apple's archrival, Microsoft, and Apple has touted as superior the IBM PowerPC chips that powered the...

CHICAGO, June 3 (UPI) -- Monthly mobile phone plans have become more competitive than ever, as carriers offer more minutes to consumers for the same or less money, but increase their profits by selling expensive innovative features as extras, experts told UPI's Wireless World. This is what people can continue to expect "as fallout from the big cellular mergers," said Derek Kerton, a wireless industry consultant. The mergers, such as that of Sprint and Nextel -- which is expected to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission later this year -- as well as earlier deals, have remade the mobile...