[TechRepublic] 2010's most important tech stories

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Editor's note: As always, I tried to cover the most important stories in tech in 2010 and today's lead is my pick of the important issues of the year. Also, check out the story on Microsoft and Nokia potentially joining forces in mobile and the gallery of the secret Motorola-Google-Verizon tablet. -Jason Sanity check 2010: The most important tech stories of the year Out of all the issues that Tech Sanity Check has covered in 2010, here is Jason Hiner's list of the most important stories of the year. Read more Resource of the day Reduce Database Management Systems Costs Are you overspending on Oracle database management, licensing, and maintenance? Download this white paper to find out. You'll learn key information that will help you reduce costs and get the most out of your company's current assets. More from TechRepublic   Apple steals innovation from the heart of the Linux community Jack Wallen cries "foul" to the idea that Apple invented the "app store." Linux has had an "app for that" years before the mega-hip child of Steve Jobs. Read on and see if you fall in line with Jack's claim that it's time the Linux community stood up for its... Read more Study says computers more harmful to IQ than smoking marijuana A study conducted in 2005 said that use of technology was more harmful to one's IQ than smoking marijuana. And that was before the smartphones revolution! Read more Connect your smartphone to your desktop via software or web service The ability to connect to your desktop from your smartphone can be a lifesaver. RDP, VNC, or web-based services will get the job done, though you need to be aware of some drawbacks. Read more News from ZDNet   AT&T grabs more 4G capacity, buys Qualcomm wireless spectrum for $1.92 billion AT&T will acquire Qualcomm wireless spectrum licenses for $1.925 billion in a move that will give it more capacity for 4G services. Qualcomm had capacity to spare since it's shutting down its Flo TV plans. Read more Nokia eyeing Windows Phone 7 for new devices? Not to worry, Symbian will live on! Russian site Mobile-review.com (via Winrumors.com) claims that Nokia has been in talks with Microsoft over putting WP7 on its devices for the past month following ex-Microsoft employee Stephen Elop's appointment as Nokia CEO. Read more Microsoft quietly shuts down Office Genuine Advantage program Late last week, with no public announcement, Microsoft quietly retired one cog in its antipiracy machine. Office Genuine Advantage was officially shut down as of Thursday, December 16, and virtually all traces of the once-controversial program have been scrubbed from Microsoft's web site. Read more The FCC's taking another run at net neutrality: good or bad? There's a lot happening this week in the net neutrality argument. Read more NEC to debut dual screen Android tablet at CES 2011 The wait for CES 2011 is much shorter now, and NEC has already announced some of the offerings it will trot out next month - including a dual screen, Android-based Cloud Communicator tablet. Read more Google Maps 5.0 rolls out for Android with 3D and offline mapping Google Maps is a fantastic mobile navigation and mapping solution on Android devices that just got better with 3D and offline support. Read more Oracle CEO Ellison: Fusion apps will give us edge on cloud crowd Oracle's quarter was dominated by talk about Exadata and hardware, but there were a few signs that CEO Larry Ellison was preparing to position his Fusion applications as an alternative to on-demand rivals such as Salesforce.com and Workday. Read more Google TV: Back to the drawing board may be best bet Word is that Google is rethinking its approach to Google TV. That's probably the best move if the company really wants to revolutionize television viewing. Read more The Fourth Amendment doesn't protect Email as much as You might think The good news is that the courts have ruled that email is email is protected from searches without warrants. The bad news is that your email is still open to being looked at by bosses, management, and snoopy email and network administrators. Read more Facebook vs. Twitter: A closer look at the numbers for 2010 [infographic] 40% of all people on Facebook follow a brand, and 51% of those people will actually purchase a product or service from a specific brand they follow. Read more Amazon names HP's Rubinstein to board, brings periodicals to Android Kindle app Amazon has elected Jonathan Rubinstein, head of Hewlett-Packard's Palm unit, to its board of directors. The company is also bringing periodicals to its Kindle Android app. Read more Sam's Club selling 16GB iPhone 4 for $147 with contract Sam's Club has a big last-minute promotion for holiday shoppers. The retailer giant has cut the subsidized price on the iPhone 4 by more than $50. Read more Amazon offering to replace problematic Kindle covers Beware of buying the Amazon-branded Kindle case at the moment. The accessory has been discovered to be very problematic, causing Amazon to start offering replacements and even refunds. Read more Kindle for Android gets a store and periodical support Amazon continues to improve their Kindle clients and today we see that Android owners get a nice update with a Kindle store and support for newspapers and magazines. Read more Featured multimedia   Going back in Time: Person of the Year winners in tech (images) Mark Zuckerberg, Time's Person of the Year, is not the first honoree from the world of technology and science. He's in good company, with a list that includes tech titans, a machine, and even a planet. View on site Motorola Android Honeycomb tablet, Verizon (photos) Take a closer look at rumored photos of Motorola's upcoming 10-inch tablet for Verizon, running Android's Honeycomb OS. View on site RIM BlackBerry Bold 9780 (photos) The RIM BlackBerry Bold 9780 rocks BlackBerry OS 6, but is there anything new about the hardware? Check out CNET's hands-on photo gallery for a look. View on site Kensington PowerBack Bill Detwiler looks at the Kensington PowerBack--an Apple iPad case with built-in battery and kickstand. View on site Great geek reads for snowy days Nicole Bremer Nash offers geeky book recommendations that you may want to add to your holiday shopping list. View on site Today's recommended downloads Which Small Business Endpoint Protection Software Performs Best? (Symantec) Consolidating IT Infrastructure with Data Center Virtualization (TechRepublic) Selling Through a Slump (Oracle) Estimating a Data Center's Electrical Carbon Footprint (American Power Conversion (APC)) Mobility Powers the Next Wave of Growth for UC (Sprint)   About this newsletter The Sanity Check newsletter is my daily update on the technology world. You'll get my opinions, rants, reviews, user polls, and hand-picked stories of the day. Jason Hiner TechRepublic Editor in Chief My Twitter feed: @jasonhiner What should job seekers be doing during the holidays? HR Recruiter Tim Heard shares tips on how to handle your job search during the holiday season. TechRepublic newsletters   Get IT advice and techniques, mobile news, Mac tips, and product reviews in these TechRepublic newsletters. Automatically sign up today! Five Tips 10 Things Smartphones Macs in Business Product Spotlight Geek gift ideas Download TechRepublic's Geek Gift Guide 2010 Geek Gifts 2010: Call of Duty: Black Ops Geek Gifts 2010: Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics Star Trek collectibles for the ultimate Trekkie The Empire Strikes Back gifts for the ultimate Star Wars fan

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