TechLifeWeb

Tech news – January 14th 2013 to January 19th 2013:

• Cisco’s Parallels Deal Threatens VMware – Business Insider -
  businessinsider.com
  - Julie Bort
  

  Cisco just bought a small 1 percent stake in Parallels, best known for its software that lets you run Windows apps on a Mac.
  The stake, however, gives Cisco a seat on Parallels’ board.
  It’s an interesting move for Cisco with a lot of implications.
  The software that lets you run Windows on a Mac, or more generally multiple operating systems on the same computer, is called virtualization.
  That’s what VMware does. And Cisco, once friendly with VMware, is increasingly butting heads with it in the d…  show all text
• Win 8 Pro upgrade jumps from $40 to $200 come February 1 | Microsoft – CNET News -
  news.cnet.com
  - Mary Jo Foley
  

  Existing Windows licensees have until January 31 to get Windows 8 Pro on the cheap. After that, the promo price vanishes and upgrade costs head upward.
• California Entrepreneurs Hit With Retroactive Tax – Business Insider -
  businessinsider.com
  - Henry Blodget
  

  As a way of encouraging entrepreneurs and investors to start companies in California, the state has long offered a tax deduction for those who start, invest in, and eventually sell companies.
  This tax deduction allowed entrepreneurs and angels to exclude 50% of any gain on the sale of “Qualified Small Business” stock.
  California’s capital gains taxes are a high 9%, so the deduction reduced the capital gains rate to 4.5%. This encouraged the entrepreneurs to start and keep their companies in Cal…  show all text
• A Mysterious Patch Of Light Shows Up In The North Dakota Dark : Krulwich Wonders… : NPR -
  npr.org
  

  If you are up in space looking down on America west of the Mississippi, one of the brightest patches of light at night is on the Great Plains in North Dakota. It’s not a city, not a town, not a military installation. What is it?
• How Startups Are Managing Their Cloud Computing Costs | MIT Technology Review -
  technologyreview.com
  Cloud computing has made Web startups cheaper than ever to run. Some organizations are now learning anew how to be budget-conscious.
• FAA grounds Boeing 787s, issues emergency AD to cover risk of battery fires | Airline Biz Blog -
  aviationblog.dallasnews.com
  - Terry Maxon
  

  The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement ordering operators of Boeing 787s to ground those airplanes until they prove that the batteries onboard are safe.
  The action comes after Japan carriers All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines parked their airplanes temporarily in response to a battery fire on an ANA flight … [visit site to read more]
• Security audit finds dev OUTSOURCED his JOB to China to goof off at work • The Register -
  theregister.co.uk
  
• BBC News – Graphene: Patent surge reveals global race -
  bbc.co.uk
  

  A surge in research into the novel material graphene reveals an intensifying global contest to lead a potential industrial revolution.
• California to Give Web Courses a Big Trial -
  nytimes.com
  - By TAMAR LEWIN and JOHN MARKOFF
  Udacity, a start-up that offers online college courses, will offer low-cost remedial and introductory classes to students at San Jose State University and local community colleges and high schools.
• Social Conversation Platform Branch Launches To Public, Encourages Users To “Write Like You Talk” With Shorter Thread Starters | TechCrunch -
  techcrunch.com
  

  Branch, a startup focused on enabling high quality public conversations on the web, is today launching to the public. The company is notably backed by the Obv..
• Some future gadgets I’d maybe buy (aka a realist’s guide to CES) | The Wirecutter -