Where did you draw the assumption that people aren't using it much? Your rear end? I don't think there's any market data that shows that. Maybe your friends don't, but hell, I do, and I see lots of people using it. Hell -- Google just announced features for ice cream sandwich that match the transcription features of Siri, so Google may have had voice control features, but that's not a one-to-one analog.

Just because SRI demoed a mouse years before the Altos, Mac, or Windows, doesn't mean those computers are interchangeable. Computers and phones are more than feature lists on the side of boxes.

And for the record -- I use Siri all the time - WHILE DRIVING.

Xerox received shares in exchange for rights to use intellectual property from PARC. The urban myth that it was stolen, is a lie.

Simply put, Xirrus is the brand. They make wireless arrays, which are circular enclosures containing multiple antennas. Their OS is based off of Gentoo Linux, and they support passive capture, multiple SSID's, the ability to map nodes onto a floor plan, integration with internal as well as external RADIUS servers.

Simply badass. They generally target places like schools, hotels, convention centers, etc.. We just bought a bunch at my job (a school) and they simply kick-butt. They are not cheap, but after scouting what's out there, they offer a complete solution which is super easy to maintain and operate.

What? Where did that leap in logic come from? Sun had specific terms around using Java in embedded applications. It appears Google realized that, but perhaps felt by using Dalvik rather than a Sun JRE, they would be avoiding that.

Most mainstream Java programming, involves server-side applications. The outcome of this trial should have no bearing whatsoever on those mainstream uses of Java. At all.

If Java's mainstream appeal will be diminished by anything, it's the rise of alternatives (e.g., ruby, python, c#, etc.).

I don't know if you're spreading FUD, you're uninformed, or you just don't like Oracle. Either way, you're speculation strikes me as wild and baseless.

Is this Steve Balmer's fake account? Xbox a success? Not if you evaluate its impact on the stock (little profit == no big deal).

I think the issue is in there: core competencies. Yes, they've pushed their core competencies as far as they can. That's NOT the issue. The problem is he has not been able to extend them into anything else which can contribute meaningful profits. Phones: no. Gaming: no. Internet properties: no.

They're locked into a slow death march to irrelevance as the world changes around them, and they know it. That's the idea behind reinventing themselves with things like Azure, Kin, Xbox, etc.. I don't know about Azure's impact on profits, but I'd argue it's closer to their core competencies than the rest. The rest may be nice products or clunkers -- it doesn't matter because they're not gaining significant profits.

That is what Ballmer should have been able to accomplish: growing teams which can succeed at expanding Microsoft's core competencies. He's got teams, but those teams have been largely ineffective in terms of adding to the bottom line.

They can't use the excuse of "we got into this business before this stuff seemed dated" excuse 20 years ago to justify their state of suspended animation. If they don't change in 20 years, they'll look more and more like a time capsule from the 1990's (which they kind of already do).