Oracle: We’re Cloudier Than You Think; CEO Larry Ellison and other Oracle executives sought to counter fears that the company is falling behind to competitors in cloud-based products

Oracle: We’re Cloudier Than You Think

Company Touts Gains in Its Web-Delivered Software; Quarterly Revenue Rises 2%

CEO Larry Ellison and other Oracle executives sought to counter fears that the company is falling behind to competitors in cloud-based products. Reuters

SHIRA OVIDE

Updated Dec. 18, 2013 7:40 p.m. ET

Oracle Corp. ORCL +2.88% had a message Wednesday for Wall Street: We’re cloudier than you think. Investors have been antsy about missed revenue targets and competition from online rivals to Oracle, one of the world’s biggest sellers of software, computer servers and other back-end technologies for big businesses. Read more of this post

Jimmy Carter’s Costly Patent Mistake; His 1979 proposal has led to ill-conceived protection for software ideas and a tidal wave of litigation

Jimmy Carter’s Costly Patent Mistake

His 1979 proposal has led to ill-conceived protection for software ideas and a tidal wave of litigation.

L. GORDON CROVITZ

Dec. 15, 2013 6:31 p.m. ET

Washington doesn’t agree on much, but all three branches of government now have plans to reform the country’s patent system. What’s not widely understood is that this marks the failure of one of Washington’s most ambitious experiments in industrial policy. Read more of this post

It Seems Weird How Cheap Amazon Kindles Are — Until You See This Crazy Stat; During a single year, Kindle owners spend, on average, $443 more buying stuff from Amazon than the average Amazon shopper who does not own a Kindle

It Seems Weird How Cheap Amazon Kindles Are — Until You See This Crazy Stat

NICHOLAS CARLSON

DEC. 17, 2013, 10:46 AM 42,452 31

These days, you can buy a new Kindle e-reader from Amazon for $49. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX with an 8.9 inch screen costs $379 – much cheaper than a comparable $499 iPad from Apple. How and why does Amazon charge so little for its gadgets? Both questions are answered with one single stat. During a single year, Kindle owners spend, on average, $443 more buying stuff from Amazon than the average Amazon shopper who does not own a Kindle. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners derived that stat from a survey of 300 subjects who made a purchase at Amazon.com in the three-month period ending Nov. 15, 2013. CIRP estimates that Amazon Kindle device owners spend approximately $1,233 per year buying stuff from Amazon, compared to $790 per year for other customers. “Another way to look at Kindle Fire and Kindle e-Reader is as a portal to Amazon.com,” said Mike Levin of CIRP, in a press release put out to announce the study results (.PDF). “Kindle Fire provides access to everything Amazon sells, while Kindle e-Reader has become the way that Amazon customers buy books, Amazon’s original product line.” Amazon sells Kindles cheap – perhaps at a loss – because it knows getting a device into a customer’s hands means that customer will spend an extra $4,500 at Amazon over the next 10 years.

Intel’s hidden ad gamble pays off in first game of deal with FC Barcelona

Intel’s hidden ad gamble pays off in first game of deal with FC Barcelona

By Matt McFarland, Updated: December 16 at 10:07 am

It didn’t take long for Intel to enjoy the effects of its new partnership with Spanish soccer team FC Barcelona. Forward Neymar lifted his jersey during Saturday’s match with Villarreal, revealing the Intel Inside logo. While the Intel portion of the logo was partially obscured, it appears the company’s hidden logo won’t lack for visibility during the five-year deal with FC Barcelona. Read more of this post

If YouTube Were A TV Channel, Its Revenues Would Terrify Its Broadcast Network Rivals

If YouTube Were A TV Channel, Its Revenues Would Terrify Its Broadcast Network Rivals

AARON TAUBE0DEC 14, 2013, 02.22 AM

A recent report from eMarketer says that YouTube is expected to earn more than $5.6 billion in gross revenue by the end of 2014. While that number is certainly impressive in its own right – it’s a 51% jump from last year – it’s especially so when matched up against the longstanding traditional TV networks YouTube is competing against for viewers and advertising dollars. Read more of this post

How products geared to women shaped the technology industry

You’ve Come a Long Way, Silicon Valley

How products geared to women shaped the technology industry

KATHERINE BOEHRET

Dec. 17, 2013 6:28 p.m. ET

From colorful cell phones and laptops to websites like Pinterest and Houzz, much of the recent digital revolution has been inspired by, and geared toward, women. In her final column for the Wall Street Journal, Katie Boehret looks at some of her favorite websites and digital innovations. Read more of this post

Google feeds India and China from new data centers next door

Updated: Thursday December 12, 2013 MYT 7:07:01 AM

Google feeds India and China from new data centers next door

CHANGHUA, Taiwan: Google Inc opened its first two data centres in Asia on Wednesday to cater to the world’s fastest growing consumer technology markets, but the company has no plans to open one in China or India. Read more of this post

Facebook’s Video Ads Risk Alienating Users

Facebook’s Video Ads Risk Alienating Users

Marketers Applaud Move, but Untested Advertising Presents Challenge

REED ALBERGOTTI, SUZANNE VRANICA and BEN FRITZ

Updated Dec. 17, 2013 8:12 p.m. ET

Facebook Inc. said it would begin selling video advertisements later this week, a move that may help the social-networking giant capture a share of the annual $66.4 billion TV advertising market. Reed Albergotti reports. Photo: Facebook.

Some advertisers rejoiced Tuesday when Facebook Inc. FB -0.75% introduced long-awaited video advertisements. A bigger question is how users will react. Read more of this post

Facebook’s big data glimpse at human migration and the growth of mega-cities

Facebook’s big data glimpse at human migration and the growth of mega-cities

By Adam Pasick @adampasick 8 hours ago

Facebook is so ubiquitous—it has 1.19 billion monthly active users, or more than 15% of the Earth’s population—that it’s possible to detect huge migration patterns from a few snippets buried in its users’ profiles, specifically the huge tide of people moving to mega-cities around world. Read more of this post

Facebook Is A Fundamentally Broken Product That Is Collapsing Under Its Own Weight

Facebook Is A Fundamentally Broken Product That Is Collapsing Under Its Own Weight

JAY YAROW

DEC. 17, 2013, 11:06 AM 336,857 102

In 2008, Mark Zuckerberg laid out his theory about people sharing content on Facebook. “I would expect that next year, people will share twice as much information as they share this year, and [the] next year, they will be sharing twice as much as they did the year before,” he said.  Read more of this post

Ex-Peoplesoft execs successfully founded Workday after Oracle’s hostile buyout. But can they successfully make a profit?

For Workday, payback comes at a price

By Kevin Kelleher December 16, 2013: 3:44 PM ET

Ex-Peoplesoft execs successfully founded Workday after Oracle’s hostile buyout. But can they successfully make a profit?

Dave Duffield, left, and Aneel Bhusri, right, co-founders and co-CEO’s of Workday.

FORTUNE — The technology industry loves an underdog, especially when a scrappy startup makes breakfast of a bloated incumbent. In enterprise software, Workday (WDAY) has emerged as just such an underdog, using a cloud-based business model to handle human-resources software and take on giants like Oracle (ORCL) and SAP (SAP). Read more of this post

Bosses Learn Not to Be So #Clueless; C-Suite Executives Take Pricey Courses, Learn to Use Social Media

Bosses Learn Not to Be So #Clueless

C-Suite Executives Take Pricey Courses, Learn to Use Social Media

MELISSA KORN

Dec. 17, 2013 8:02 p.m. ET

Companies are sending executives to basic training to learn how the internet works, spending six-figure sums to help c-suite executives understand how people communicate online–and how not to talk about technology, Melissa Korn reports on the News Hub. Photo: bloodytyrants.com.

Boardroom commanders are being assigned to basic training. Read more of this post

A Missing Revenue Stream From Mobile Apps

DECEMBER 14, 2013, 4:35 PM

A Missing Revenue Stream From Mobile Apps

By JENNA WORTHAM

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is Susan Miller, a popular New York astrologer who has a cult following online. I read her horoscopes religiously and enjoy following her on Twitter for the fun mix of quirky updates and planetary advice she dispenses. Read more of this post

“Little Data” Matters, Too; Big data is an invaluable source of insight, but companies with limited access to analytics can still find information to improve their business

Posted: December 16, 2013

David Meer is a partner with Booz & Company’s consumer and retail practice, and is based in New York.

“Little Data” Matters, Too

Back when I was working at the advertising agency JWT, one of our clients—a U.S. Marine Corps colonel—said something that has stuck with me ever since. “Look,” he said, “if I’m on a battlefield trying to defend a hill and I get a piece of intelligence, even if I’m not 100 percent sure that it’s accurate, I will make decisions based on that intelligence.” His point was that it’s better to have some information than none—and that you’d be a fool to disregard it just because it fell short of being definitive. Read more of this post

Tech Firms Push to Control Web’s Pipes; Google, Facebook Raise Tensions With Telecoms in Power Struggle for Internet’s Backbone

Tech Firms Push to Control Web’s Pipes

Google, Facebook Raise Tensions With Telecoms in Power Struggle for Internet’s Backbone

DREW FITZGERALD and SPENCER E. ANTE

Dec. 16, 2013 8:36 p.m. ET

Technology giants like Google Inc. GOOG +1.15% and Facebook Inc. FB +0.92% are expanding efforts to control more of the world’s Internet backbone, raising tensions with telecom companies over who runs the Web. Read more of this post

The flood of new information available to institutions has the potential to make both donors and charities more effective

How Big Data Will Change the Face of Philanthropy

Flood of new information has the potential to make both donors and charities more effective

LUCY BERNHOLZ

Dec. 15, 2013 4:00 p.m. ET

“It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place,” observed one of the great philanthropists of the 20th century, Andrew Carnegie. Today, with almost two million nonprofits in the U.S., the challenge of knowing which to support and which to avoid is more challenging than ever. How can individuals and foundations put their money where it’s most needed, and in ways that will be most effective? And how can charities themselves spend the dollars they receive in ways that best fulfill their missions? Read more of this post

The man behind the $37.99 tablet wants to sell one for $19.99 within two years

The man behind the $37.99 tablet wants to sell one for $19.99 within two years

By Matt McFarland, Updated: December 16 at 8:24 am

Datawind began selling three of its 7-inch devices in the United States on Monday. The least expensive model, the UbiSlate 7Ci, a 7-inch, Android-powered tablet, will sell for $37.99. Read more of this post

The most exciting mobile gaming company you’ve never heard of: In four years, Kabam went from San Francisco startup to major global player

The most exciting mobile gaming company you’ve never heard of

By Adam Lashinsky, Sr. Editor at Large December 12, 2013: 6:20 AM ET

In four years, Kabam went from San Francisco startup to major global player. (Must have been something in the dumplings.) FORTUNE — Kabam, the San Francisco mobile gaming company, has all the wrong things going for it. Read more of this post

The Unthinkable Is Happening: Apple’s Dominance In Apps Is Slipping Away To Android

The Unthinkable Is Happening: Apple’s Dominance In Apps Is Slipping Away To Android

JIM EDWARDS

DEC. 18, 2013, 2:05 PM 7,541 31

In the U.S., it sometimes feels as if everyone has an iPhone. And historically, Apple has dominated in terms of offering users the most apps, and offering developers the most lucrative place to sell apps. Read more of this post

Tools Help Investors Wade Through All the Chatter on Twitter; They filter tweets and help investors draw conclusions about where the market is headed

Tools Help Investors Wade Through All the Chatter on Twitter

They filter tweets and help investors draw conclusions about where the market is headed

GEORGIA WELLS

Dec. 15, 2013 4:00 p.m. ET

Most investors would love it if they could see into the future. Now, some of them are convinced they can—by monitoring Twitter. TWTR -1.67% A growing number of individual investors believe the microblogging service—which has already proved to be a good source for breaking news, insights from Wall Street’s top minds and major corporate announcements—holds a treasure trove of information that can lead them to the next hot stock. Read more of this post

Top Products in Two Decades of Tech Reviews; Walt Mossberg on the products that changed the digital industry

Top Products in Two Decades of Tech Reviews

Walt Mossberg on the products that changed the digital industry

WALTER S. MOSSBERG

Dec. 17, 2013 9:00 p.m. ET

Newton MessagePad foreshadowed some of today’s most cutting-edge technology. SSPL via Getty Images

Remember the Apple Newton? How about Netscape? Even if these products did not last until the present, they left their mark in the evolution of personal technology. For his final WSJ video column, Walt Mossberg takes us through the last 20 years. Read more of this post

Video analytics startup Vidyard could list within two years

Video analytics startup Vidyard could list within two years

3:16pm EST

By Ashutosh Pandey and Sayantani Ghosh

(Reuters) – When InContact Inc, a provider of internet-based call center services, wanted to gauge the success of its video marketing campaign, it turned to Canadian video analytics startup Vidyard. Read more of this post

Tech Companies Press for a Better Retail Experience

December 15, 2013

Tech Companies Press for a Better Retail Experience

By NICK WINGFIELD

SEATTLE — Looking for a holiday gift? Come on in. Relax. Take a seat in the leather chair. Welcome to today’s electronics store, a place that is now a little like entering a playground crossed with a cocktail lounge, where playing with the goodies is paramount and staff members are trained to act like laid-back tour guides. Read more of this post