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Linux users from around the world are filling out the Linux Foundation's desktop survey. But what John Cherry, the foundation's director of global Linux workgroups, wants to know is, "Where are the responses from the North America?"

Cannot add excerpt due to copyright complaint, but see link and my two cents. Link: http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/BUSINESS01/702130401 Having lived in Detroit, Michigan for 7 years during the mid 80's I find Toyota's success troubling. Not because of Toyota, but rather because what did the GM, Ford and Chrysler do over the past 20 years? I can surely tell you that the arguments about low yen, cheaper labor and lower content costs were the same 20 years ago as today. These arguments seem less valid today than 20 years ago given the US dollar drop in world markets and the Toyota plants...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. supplanted Dell Inc. as the world leader in personal computer shipments during the third quarter, returning the bragging rights to Silicon Valley for the first time in nearly three years, according to figures released Wednesday by two influential research firms. Both Gartner Inc. and IDC pegged the overall third-quarter growth of the global PC market at just under 7 percent, but that trend was overshadowed by the industry's new pecking order. The changing of the guard occurred after HP's shipments climbed by 15 percent from a year ago while Dell's edged up by...

"Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday posted a 48 percent jump in quarterly net income as sales of iPods and Intel Corp.-powered Macintosh computers topped expectations, sending shares [over] 8 percent higher," Duncan Martell reports for Reuters. "Apple said it shipped 1.33 million Macintosh computers in the quarter and 8.11 million iPods, increases of 12 percent and 32 percent, respectively, year over year. iPod shipments topped some analysts' estimates of as low as 7.5 million for the period," Martell reports. "Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, said in an interview that the company had a 'fantastic quarter,' adding that its...

According to research firm Gartner, worldwide PC shipments totaled 57 million units in the first quarter of 2006, representing a 13.1 percent increase over the same period last year. But in that time, Apple's share of the worldwide market slipped from 2.2 percent to a mere 2.0 percent, the firm's data shows.

Apple Computer has quietly voiced its concerns about the growing threat it faces from Linux in the desktop market. The Californian manufacturer's concerns emerged in its Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late last week. The 10-K is an annual report on the company's business, and an effective disclaimer on factors that may affect the company's future performance

APPLE PUNDITS are predicting that the entertainment gear maker is set to take on Microsoft in an operating system war again. According to Architosh, an Apple insider has told it that Apple's Messiah Steve Jobs is planning to make an announcement about expanding the Macintosh market share soon.

Notre Dame is a top-10 team for the first time in three years, and Southern California has matched Miami for the longest stay at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25. Southern California now has been No. 1 for 21 straight polls, a run that dates back to late in the 2003 season and matches the record set by Miami from 2001-2002. Charlie Weis' Fighting Irish are No. 10 in the AP media poll released Sunday, jumping 10 spots after upsetting Michigan 17-10 on Saturday to improve to 2-0. "I think too many times rankings are based off of...

Apple Computer Inc. plans to announce on Monday that it will switch to using Intel Corp's microprocessors and phase out its current chip supplier, International Business Machines Corp., CNET News.com reported late on Friday.

Firefox explorers By Nigel McFarlaneMarch 22, 2005 Bill Robertson... "Firefox has the best pedigree, with an active engineering community, wide community support and long history." Photo: Marco Del Grande When Bill Robertson decided last year to switch 450 workers and 100 desktops at De Bortoli Wines to the open source Firefox web browser, he had the company's future in mind.In moving to the free Firefox, he did more than just install a web browser that rivals Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which comes for free with every PC running the Windows operating system. The CIO defined a radically new desktop interface for...

Piper Jaffray expects Apple Computer to gain share in the personal computer market over the next two to three years. Piper Jaffray cited the iPod halo effect, "continuous innovation leading to highly functional products at realistic price points," and security and performance issues for PCs based on Microsoft Windows. The research firm said, "It is important for investors to keep in mind that minimal upside to Mac market share estimates could have a significant impact on Apple's overall results." Piper Jaffray, which maintained an "outperform" rating on Apple, said that assuming "immaterial" market-share gain over the next eight quarters,...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.Acushnet Co. Will Lay Off Dozens Of Workers ACUSHNET, Mass. -- The maker of Titleist golf balls and products announced this week it will carry out two rounds of layoffs. The Acushnet Co. also said it would close a factory in Acushnet. Both the layoffs and plant closing will happen over the next 15 months. The company said 85 people will be laid off by June and another 80 to 100 workers will lose their jobs in a second round of cuts. Company officials said they will transfer about 600 people and...

OK, so you don't care about the trade deficit. Maybe you buy the argument, most recently made by Undersecretary of the Treasury John Taylor, that it's a sign of America's economic strength, of our longstanding ability to grow faster than our trading partners. Maybe you're impressed by the growth of the U.S. economy and its manufacturing sector during the 1990s, when both boomed even as trade deficits skyrocketed. And maybe you think that the dollar's role as anchor of the world economy will let us run ever higher deficits forever. But here's another measure of America's trade performance that should...