News to know: IE 9 preview; Google in China; Mac sales
Ed note: We’re revamping News to Know to focus on a few key themes for each news day ahead. You can get the day’s rolling postsvia Twitter,RSSoremail.
What’s on tap for Wednesday, March 17, 2010:
Microsoft is giving developers a first preview of Internet Explorer 9 - the "plumbing" of the browser, if you will - at Microsoft Mix. Mary Jo Foley, who is at the show, looks at the roadmap for Microsoft on the release of IE 9 in this post. So is IE9 really all that special? Adrian Kingsley-Hughes thinks so. Want a peek for yourself? Check out the image gallery.
Google, it appears, is headed for the exit door in China and everyone from government officials to Google's partners are waiting for the formal announcement to come any day. The government isn't budging on its censorship rules and Google ad resellers in China are starting to squirm about what this means for them. In the meantime, dealing with multiple government agencies to formally break free is looking to be pretty complex. Larry Dignan asks: Is a graceful exit from China possible for Google?
Watch out Windows. Mac sales soared in the first two months of the year, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Retail sales were reportedly up 39 percent, compared to year ago, which means the company sold between 2.87 and 2.9 million Macs. Why the big jump? Maybe it's a sign of an improving economy. Maybe reduced price tags on some Macs helped too.
It's officially out. The National Broadband Plan - all 360-pages of it - has landed on the steps of Capital Hill. We summarized the executive summary for you yesterday to give you a taste of what the FCC has in mind for the U.S. over the next ten years. But if you're looking for some light reading, feel free to download the full plan from Broadband.gov.
Sure, Google Apps promises to save your business boatloads of money - but Christopher Dawson ponders the question of whether a flurry of paid or subscription add-on apps start to make Google Apps cost-comparable to Microsoft's offerings? There are plenty of free apps out there now, but as business customers discover paid apps that they can now afford, is the savings a wash?