| Editor's note: After a lot of coverage of mobile devices for the past two weeks, I'm moving back to broader technology industry topics this week. However, I'll be publishing a review of the multifunctional Motorola Atrix later this week. -Jason New Google CEO Larry Page: Here are your top two priorities On Monday, Google officially changed horses as co-founder Larry Page took the reigns as CEO. Here are the two top priorities that should be on Page's mind as he looks to reinvigorate Google. Read more | News from ZDNet | | | TI acquires National Semi for $6.5 billion, creates analog chip behemoth Texas Instruments acquired National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion in a move that creates an analog chip juggernaut. Read more | | Google bids $900 million for 6,000 Nortel telecom patents Nortel said that it is selling all of its remaining patents and applications for $900 million to Google, which gets wireless, 4G and telecom intellectual property. Read more | | Will Microsoft try to outbid Google for Nortel's patents? In all the stories speculating about who may bid for Nortel's war chest of more than 6,000 telecommunications-related patents, there's one name noticeably absent: Microsoft. Read more | | Intel: First Oak Trail tablets coming next month Intel has confirmed that the first tablets based on its Oak Trail platform will be available starting in May. Read more | | Google kicks off the Larry Page era: 5 challenges ahead Google officially welcomes Larry Page as its CEO on Monday and the years ahead should be very interesting. What's unknown is whether Page, part of a three-headed management structure, will be... Read more | | Microsoft's Windows 8 and the 'I' word (Immersive) The iPad may be "magical," but future Winpads will be "immersive." Understanding what Microsoft means when it invokes the "I" word is going to become increasingly important to Windows developers... Read more | | Windows 8 looking to replace toolbars with Ribbons A new screenshot has emerged of Windows 8 donning the Ribbon menu bar in a prime feature of the operating system. Is it here to stay? Read more | | Microsoft's Windows 8: Can a mashup of various features work well? There's good news on the Windows 8 front: Microsoft may be learning from its more nimble units such as Xbox and Windows Phone 7. The bad news: It's unclear whether this Windows 8 mashup can result... Read more | | Taking back Android: Should Google be controlling the ecosystem? The Android ecosystem is becoming unruly and Google naturally wants to step in to preserve its quality - but is that Google's role in the bigger picture? Read more | | Developer bypasses carriers, delivers Windows Phone update If you're an early adopter with a Windows Phone 7 device, you're probably still waiting for the March update ("NoDo") which adds bug fixes, performance improvements, and copy-and-paste support.... Read more | | The new Ubuntu Desktop: Unity With the Ubuntu Linux 11.04 beta, we're getting out first look at Ubuntu's new Unity face. Read more | | New features headed for Firefox 5 ... but do we need them? A whole raft of new features are headed to Firefox 5 ... but are they features that hardcore Firefox users actually want? Read more | | Instant on: New GE bulb combines halogen, CFL in incandescent format Love the efficiency of CFLs but hate waiting for them to brighten up when you flip the switch?Then you will appreciate that the lighting division of GE has designed a hybrid lightbulb that... Read more | | Water technology = big business Just how much attention does the world's aging water infrastructure need? Enough for market analysis firm Lux Research to suggest technologies to monitor, repair and improve that infrastructure... Read more |
Featured multimedia | | | Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Beta 1 First look at Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Beta 1 View on site |  | | Apple AirPlay-compatible products (photos) Apple's new wireless streaming feature, AirPlay, is just starting to gain some traction. And while only a handful of AirPlay-compatible devices are currently available, several more are on the way. Here's a look at current and upcoming AirPlay gear. View on site |  | | Best Android music player apps (screenshots) If the stock music player app on your Android device just isn't cutting it, we've cut through the clutter of players in the Market to find the best. View on site |  | | Top 5 April Fools' Day photo pranks Yeah, yeah, yeahâ¦everybodyâs a comedian today. Though Iâm usually an April Foolsâ Day scrooge (when you have kids, it gets old quick), a few photo-related jokesters actually had me cracking a smile. So without further ado, my five favorites in (digital) photo foolery this Friday: View on site |  | | TechRepublic's camera phone challenge: March to the beat (music) We asked the TechRepublic community to submit camera photos of music. The venue was left wide open. For example, they could be taken in a basement, a friendâs garage, or from a mosh pit at a concert. Here are the entries. View on site |  | | Must-watch TV series on Netflix streaming To help you dig through the thousands of streaming titles available on Netflix, we asked CNET staffers to pick their favorite currently available shows. View on site |  |
|  | | About this newsletter | The Tech Sanity Check newsletter is my daily update on the world of technology. You'll get my opinions, reviews, user polls, and hand-picked stories of the day. Jason Hiner
TechRepublic Editor in Chief
|  | | | My Twitter feed: @jasonhiner |
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