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iPhone 4 pre-orders stymied by technical problems
After a day when some customers gave up trying to buy a new iPhone 4, both AT&T and Apple continued to have major problems handling online orders Tuesday night. As of 8:30 p.m. ET, AT&T’s Web site was returning an error during the part of the ordering process when a current customer’s account is checked to determine whether he or she is eligible for a new iPhone at the subsidized prices of $199 for a 16GB model or $299 for the 32GB device. Order attempts at Apple’s online store at 8:30 p.m. ET were also stymied, as they have been for much of the day.
IBM to buy Web analytics software firm
IBM will purchase Coremetrics, a provider of Web analytics software, the company announced Tuesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. IBM will add Coremetrics into its portfolio of business analytics software and services. A privately held firm, the San Mateo, California-based Coremetrics offers a set of cloud analytics services that help companies better market their brands.
Economic recovery means more PCs shipped
The continuing economic recovery and growing interest in mobile devices will drive PC shipment growth by 19.8 percent this year compared to 2009, IDC said on Tuesday. Consumers and enterprises opened up their wallets to buy PCs starting in the fourth quarter of 2009, IDC said. The sustained growth will continue through the end of this year, which could help increase PC shipments. Worldwide PC shipments will total 354.8 million units this year, compared to 296.1 million last year, IDC said.
New network standards released
Two home-networking groups have announced new specifications less than a week after the ratification of the G.hn standard for networking over all types of household wires. On Tuesday, MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) said it had completed the MoCA 2.0 specification, which will at least double the speed of the system for sending video and other content over the wires usually used for cable TV. On Monday, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance announced its Green PHY specification, which is a use profile for the HomePlug AV and IEEE 1901 standards that is intended for home energy management.