n a partnership involving private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft (MSFT,Fortune 500) and company founder Michael Dell, the group hopes to buy the computer maker for $13.65 a share. That’s slightly higher than where the stock closed Monday but is 25% higher than where Dell was trading before rumors of the buyout began to surface in mid-January.

If successful, the Dell deal would be one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. Shareholders have to approve the deal before it becomes official.

The once mighty Dell has struggled to compete in an ailing and increasingly competitive PC market. Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) lost a third of its market value in 2012 and failed to keep up with rivals like Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Samsung, both of which have done a much better job adapting to the “post-PC” landscape with tablets and smartphones.

Related story: Fortune’s Dan Primack on the Dell deal

Dell has been trying to reduce its reliance on the PC market and shift to hot businesses like cloud computing, storage and corporate software. About half of Dell’s sales come directly from PCs, and another 20% comes from PC peripherals like monitors, keyboards, printers, computer software and services.

But the problem for Dell is that all of its competition is trying to do the same thing.

“It seems to me that the toughest issue for HP (HPQ, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC,Fortune 500), Microsoft and Dell is that they are so reliant on the desktop,” said Dan Morgan, a portfolio manager with Synovus. “I think all these companies have been struggling to duplicate the success that IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) has had in regards to focusing away from the desktop.”

Related story: Can private equity solve Dell’s dilemma?

Dell hopes that by going private, it can more nimbly restructure and adjust its business — without having to answer to shareholders. Going private can take a the company out of the quarter-to-quarter grind of meeting Wall Street’s expectations. But it also means Dell will have less access to funds to make large acquisitions that could help transform the company.

“I believe this transaction will open an exciting new chapter for Dell, our customers and team members,” Michael Dell said in a statement. “We can deliver immediate value to stockholders, while we continue the execution of our long-term strategy and focus on delivering best-in-class solutions to our customers as a private enterprise.”

Despite the advantage of being a private company, it will still be a difficult road ahead for Dell, analysts say.

“While going private makes sense in taking the company out of the limelight and public scrutiny, we are not sure it improves the company’s fundamental position,” said Shaw Wu, analyst at Sterne Agee. He noted that the company still faces tough competition from the likes of Apple, HP, Samsung, Lenovo and others.

Once the transaction is approved, CEO Michael Dell will convert his 14% stake into private shares.

Though most analysts thought the deal would be good for Dell, not all industry experts were in favor Microsoft joining the fray. Microsoft is loaning $2 billion to Dell to help finance the deal.

“The point of going private is so you can serve your own long-term goals without having to worry about short-term performance,” said Carl Howe, analyst at Yankee Group’. “Having an outside investor — Microsoft — muddies those waters. I think Dell would have a more certain future going it alone.” 

courtesy: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/05/technology/enterprise/dell-lbo/index.html

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has unveiled a bespoke Windows-run smartphone exclusively available in Africa.

The customised device is being launched today in partnership with Microsoft as part of its new 4Afrika Initiative.

This includes plans to develop cheap wireless broadband in the Rift Valley in Kenya and help local people in South Africa and Egypt develop Windows apps.

Prices for the new device have not yet been announced.

“Our aim is to be the most affordable Windows phone in Africa,” Gustavo Fuchs, director of Microsoft Windows Phone division in the Middle East & Africa, told the BBC.

It will initially be rolled out in seven countries: Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Angola, Morocco and South Africa.

The phone will be marketed depending on the retail climate of those individual nations, Mr Fuchs explained.

“At first we are making the product available across the southern market.

“We’re looking at the biggest channel for each country. In South Africa, it’s operator-led, in other markets like Nigeria and Angola there’s a mixed environment and in the Ivory Coast they are only sold at retail.”

Accessibility

The phone will be connected to a customised app store including applications designed and built by Africans.

“Affordability is important but without the right local content we believe a lot of users will not see the benefit in the change from a basic feature phone to a smartphone,” said Mr Fuchs.

He said the objective of the scheme was to increase the penetration of smartphones across the continent.

“If you look at current penetration compared with the US or Europe, which is around 50%, in Africa the average is very close to 10%, less in some parts.”

The handset is a customised version of the Huawei Ascend W1 which was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month.

It has a 4in (10cm) touch screen and 5 megapixel camera. The phone can be on stand-by for up to 420 hours between charges.

“The 4Afrika Initiative should make tens of millions of smart devices available across the continent in the next couple of years,” Mr Fuchs said.

Courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21325535

New details of Google’s forthcoming augmented reality headset have emerged in documents published by a US regulator.

A test report describes video playing on the device alongside audio running to a “vibrating element”.

The description tallies with a patent filing suggesting it plays sound via “bone-conduction” tech rather than earbuds.

Developers are due to receive a test edition of the headset later this year.

Google has already begun holding hands-on events for selected software writers in San Francisco and New York ahead of the release.

It has previously said it intended to sell the eyewear to consumers before the end of 2014.

Wearable tech

Google is not the only firm betting on the appeal of head-up display units.

The FCC document shows the device being recharged via its frame

Motorola Solutions announced its HC1 headset computer system in October. The voice and gesture-controlled rig is targeted at maintenance engineers, the emergency services and other organisations.

Oakley recently launched Airwave – ski goggles with built-in sensors which provide information on an in-built screen about an owner’s speed, the size of their jumps and what music they are listening to.

Several companies also showed off prototype “smart glasses” at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

They included Vuzix’s Android-powered M100 smartphone display system featuring a small screen and video camera which is due for release before the end of 2013.

Microsoft has also filed a patent for a set of digital glasses that overlay information on top of the user’s view, which it suggested could be used at sports matches and theatres.

Analysts at Juniper Research have predicted the international market for smart eyewear and other mobile wearable devices could be worth more than $1.5bn (£950m) by 2014, up from $800m this year.

But in truth it is still unclear how big the appetite for head-worn computers will be, and Google’s Project Glass – which benefits from the company’s strong tech brand – is expected to play a critical role in determining whether the sector succeeds or fails.

Vibrating audio

The Federal Communications Commission papers – which were firstspotted by the Engadget news site – offer a few new hints about how the search giant’s gadget will work.

Oakley’s Airwave ski goggles superimpose information over the user’s view

They describe data being sent to the small screen display via wi-fi and Bluetooth using a radio unit manufactured by Broadcom.

The equipment is also said to be able to store video files internally and can be recharged by plugging a power connector into the computing unit on the right-hand arm of the glasses’ frame.

However, the most arresting detail is the suggestion that audio is provided without the user needing to wear headphones which might disturb how they hear ambient sounds.

Last week Google filed a patent application entitled Wearable Computing Device with Indirect Bone-Conduction Speaker.

It described how an element on the frame could be made to vibrate in order to send sound to a user’s inner ear via their skull.

The roots of the innovation date back at least to the 18th Century, when the composer Ludwig van Beethoven – who suffered from hearing loss – listened to his compositions by placing a rod between his piano and his head to transmit the vibrations.

The technology was later developed to help the military monitor communications at the same time as being aware of surrounding noise. It has also been used by some hearing aids, and headsets designed for swimmers and cyclists.

Reviews suggest the audio quality offered can be decent but not as good as traditional headphones.

Google’s Sergey Brin has been spotted wearing a headset that builds in sunglasses lenses

A spokeswoman for Google said she was unable to provide further comment at this time, but more details may emerge at the firm’s I/O conference in May.

Last year Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin made headlines by showing off prototypes in a stunt that saw skydivers provide live video pictures from the devices as they plummeted towards the developers forum.

Concept videos have also shown the device bringing up maps, weather reports and video chats – but it is not clear whether this will be possible with the first generation.

courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21290934

Open source software projects may not typically have the marketing budgets necessary to match launch events like the one Microsoft just held for Office 2013, but that doesn’t mean their products are any less valuable.

Canonical surely came close in terms of hype with its Ubuntu phone announcement just after New Year’s, but this week Black Duck Software brought a brand-new crop of open players to light.

Following up on last year’s list, Black Duck released its “2012 Open Source Rookies of the Year” on Wednesday, highlighting 10 key up-and-comers worth watching over the coming year.

This year’s ‘Rookies’

Ready for a run-down? Here are 10 projects to keep an eye on:

1. Ansible, a configuration management, deployment, and ad-hoc task execution tool.

2. Chaplin.js, an architecture for JavaScript applications that uses the Backbone.js library. “It provides a lightweight and flexible structure that features well-proven design patterns and best practices,” Black Duck explains.

3. GPUImage, an iOS library that allows users to apply GPU-accelerated filters and other effects to images, live camera video, and movies.

4. Hammer.js, a JavaScript library that enables multitouch gestures for the mobile Web.

5. InaSAFE, which produces realistic natural hazard impact scenarios to enable better planning, preparedness, and response.

6. Yahoo! Mojito, a JavaScript MVC framework for mobile and Web applications running on client and server.

7. Sidekiq, which provides simple, efficient message processing for Ruby.

8. Syte, a packaged personal site with social app integrations including Twitter and GitHub.

9. Twitter Bower, a package manager for the Web that aims to make it easy to install images, CSS, and more, including managing dependencies.

10. TypeScript, a language for application-scale JavaScript development that offers a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.

Black Duck did also name an honorable mention, it’s worth noting: DCPUToolChain, which is an assembler, compiler, emulator, and Integrated Development Environment for the DCPU-16 virtual CPU.

courtesy: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2026718/10-open-source-projects-to-watch-this-year.html