Microsoft beats analyst expectations for fiscal even as revenues remain all but flat, reaching $20.5 billion with exactly 0% Y-o-Y growth, results the company describes as "solid" and "broad-based."

In fact analysts forecast Microsoft revenues to total $20.39bn.

“This quarter’s results demonstrate the strength of our business, as well as the opportunities we see in a mobile-first, cloud-first world," CEO Satya Nadella says.  We are making good progress in our consumer services like Bing and Office 365 Home, and our commercial customers continue to embrace our cloud solutions. Both position us well for long-term growth."

Apple might remain one of the biggest companies in the world, but despite record sales revenues Q2 2014 show signs of the juggernaut slowing-- iPad sales are down by -16.06% Y-o-Y to 16.35 million units, worse than analyst expectations.

In fact, the average analyst consensus for Q2 2014 iPad sales stood at around 19.3-19.4m units with -0.7% Y-o-Y decline.

The company blames such the drop on a decrease in channel inventory, and Q2 2014 customer sell-through decline was in fact closer to -3%. CEO Tim Cook says 2013 had a surplus of iPad minis, whereas 2014 supply is closer to demand. Sounds convincing? Perhaps, although analysts have been rumbling for a while on the overall tablet category losing its lustre with customers, and the iPad is no exception even with lower-priced models and much requested upgrades.

Intel reports Q1 2014 revenues are up by 1% Y-o-Y (or down -8% Q-o-Q) to $12.8 billion, with net income falling by -5% Y-o-Y to $1.9bn as Chipzilla's PC and Mobile groups continue seeing losses.

Such results do beat analyst estimates, but only slightly.

"In Q1 2014 we saw solid growth in the data center, signs of improvement in the PC business, and we shipped 5 million tablet processors, making strong progress on our goal of 40 million tablets for 2014," Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says. "Additionally, we demonstrated our further commitment to grow in the enterprise with a strategic technology and business collaboration with Cloudera, we introduced our second-generation LTE platform with CAT6 and other advanced features, and we shipped our first Quark products for the Internet of Things."

Despite being a wonder material for future electronics graphene is yet to achieve commercial reality-- at least until now Samsung claims as it announces a "breakthrough synthesis method" for the manufacture of the material.

The word "graphene" refers to a one-atom thick layer of graphite, the stuff pencils are made of. It has 100 times the electron mobility of silicon, the durability of steel, high heat conductivity and flexibility, making it perfect for smaller and flexible devices and displays. However large-scale production causes it to lose the properties making it so potentially useful.

A partnership between the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) and SungkySungkyungkwan University hopes to change the situation. Researchers discovered a means of "growing" large-area single crystal wafer scale graphene (or big, thin sheets of the material, in layman's terms) on a semiconductor, allowing it to maintain its electrical and mechanical properties.

Microsoft combines all Xbox divisions (including Live, Music and Video) with Microsoft Studios to create a single Xbox division led by Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer as part of a "tuning" effort.

"Combining these teams will strengthen the connection between some of the world’s most innovative creators and those building the Xbox itself," the Head of Xbox says.

Spencer is a 25-year Microsoft veteran, having worked on products such as Encarta and Microsoft Money. He was Microsoft Game Studios EMEA general manager before promotion to Microsoft Studios general manager on 2008, and as Head of Xbox he reports to Operating Systems Group VP Terry Myerson.

Facebook just bought Oculus Rift for USD $2 billion. Mark Zuckerberg promises the new technology would help “change the way we work, play and communicate,” and critics hail the acquisition as a huge win for Facebook.

The Rift has been pitched as a video gaming device, but Facebook plans to use its technology for communications, media and other forms of entertainment. Zuckerberg says virtual reality may be the next great computing evolution, after the current transition from desktop computers to mobile devices. That makes it sounds like the future could be Facebook goggles versus Google glasses…

And $2 billion was for what? Oculus Rift (after launching “Rift” goggles two years ago) has not yet released a version of its headset for sale to the general public. Continue reading...

Intel confirms (and completes) the acquisition of health tracker maker maker Basis Science in an effort to accelerate its push into the wearable electronics business.

The news was revealed earlier this month by TechCrunch in a report claiming Intel paid up to $100-150 million for the company.

Chipzilla will apparently not use Basis to directly sell wearable products, but instead it will develop reference devices, SoCs and other technologies for use by other vendors. In other words, Basis will serve as an advert for Intel-powered wearables against the Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics competition.

Following acquisition the entire Basis team joins the Intel Devices Group, the recently formed (May 2013 to be precise) division with a focus on wearable and connected technologies. It will also continue supporting current customers and selling Basis bands through existing retail channels.

Facebook makes a surprise acquisition with Oculus, coughing up $2 billion in cash and stock for the virtual reality headset maker in order to "[get] ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” as CEO Mark Zuckerberg puts it.

“Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate" Zuckerberg continues. He also tells of ambitious non-gaming plans for the device. "Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face-- just by putting on goggles in your home."

The acquisition might appear leftfield for Facebook, but it makes at least some sense when considering the company's plans to expand the eponymous social network into mobile and wearable platforms. Either way it will shift the focus of the Oculus brand away from pure games development to “communications, media and entertainment, education, and other areas.”