Fortune Tech: Technology blogs, news and analysis from Fortune Magazine

This fitness wearable tells you how to improve

Caroline Fairchild — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 17:00:50 +0000

Instead of just giving you a bunch of numbers, the creators of Moov want to use data to help you become a better runner, biker or swimmer.

FORTUNE -- Wearable fitness devices seem to be everywhere. From Nike's FuelBand to Jawbone's Up to the Fitbit Flex and now Samsung's new Gear Fit, it feels like everyone is slapping one on their wrists with the hopes of changing their workout habits for the MORE

Box CEO: How will your company compete in the information economy?

Fortune Editors — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:50:51 +0000

The rules of business are changing.

By Aaron Levie

FORTUNE — The CEO of a large insurance provider had the misfortune of being seated next to me at a recent event. As the founder of an enterprise software company, naturally I pressed him on his business's information technology strategy. The conversation didn't last long. His organization lacked a technology agenda beyond using IT to keep the business running smoothly. Recent discussions with MORE

Microsoft culture must change, chairman says

Adam Lashinsky, Sr. Editor at Large — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 16:20:22 +0000

Fortune speaks with John Thompson, the newly appointed chairman of Microsoft's board, about the company's recent turmoil.

FORTUNE -- John Thompson, a veteran software executive and a board member at Microsoft since 2012, led the committee that chose company insider Satya Nadella to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO. In an interview for the current issue of Fortune about Virtual Instruments, where Thompson is CEO, he also spoke about the importance of culture, MORE

What's the deal with Apple's new Arizona sapphire plant?

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 15:15:04 +0000

Whatever it plans to do with all that crystal-growing capacity, it will likely come out ahead.

FORTUNE -- What's Apple (AAPL) up to with that sapphire factory it's building in Mesa, AZ?

That's one of the questions Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi (who covers Apple) and Alberto Moel (who covers Corning) set out to answer in a two-part report to clients issued Wednesday -- the same, day, coincidentally, that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a controversial anti-gay MORE

Content marketing startups NewsCred and Sharethrough join forces with referral partnership

Erin Griffith — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 15:13:10 +0000

Why not just merge? "The opportunity is too big," say the companies' CEOs

FORTUNE -- In 2013, brands got really into content marketing. They bought Promoted Tweets on Twitter (TWTR), they experimented with sponsored stories on BuzzFeed, and they even commissioned freelancers to produce content in-house. They went "native," buying ads that were platform-specific on Facebook (FB), Twitter, StumbleUpon and Tumblr. At one point, the Washington Post's Chief Revenue Officer, Kevin MORE

Ben Horowitz schools you on hip-hop

Miguel Helft, senior writer — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:00:37 +0000

The Andreessen Horowitz co-founder shares his favorite songs -- and annotates them, too.

FORTUNE -- Ben Horowitz grew up listening to hip-hop and to this day remains an unabashed fan. It's the music that he listens to, what's in his head a lot of the time and what often inspires him to write some management lessons on his blog. Horowitz, who has become friends with some of hip-hop's biggest stars, also MORE

Apple is Fortune's 'most admired' for 7th year in a row

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 11:30:04 +0000

The company still shines brightest in the eyes of its peers.

FORTUNE -- You wouldn't know it from the relentlessly skeptical commentary on CNBC, the Pulitzer-prize-winning series in the New York Times, or the measly 12 times earnings Wall Street pays for its stock, but Apple (AAPL) is widely respected by people in the business.

"Apple is undoubtedly a victim of its own success," Adam Lashinsky wrote last year when Apple -- its share price MORE

eBay and U.S. Dept of Commerce partner to help small businesses

JP Mangalindan, Writer — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 20:11:18 +0000

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker tells Fortune how a new alliance with the tech company could help beef up exports and job creation.

FORTUNE — Last year, the United States exported $2.3 trillion in goods and services -- an annual record. But according to U.S Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, that figure could be significantly higher if legislation was more mindful of small businesses.

This Tuesday, Pritzker signed a partnership with eBay MORE

Morgan Stanley: Big investors' stake in Apple is at a 5-year low

Philip Elmer-DeWitt — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 17:18:29 +0000

Meanwhile, institutional ownership of Amazon, Google and Microsoft are near record highs.

FORTUNE -- Apple (AAPL) is an outlier in a major shift of stock ownership that's unfolded over the past five years, according to a note issued Wednesday by Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty.

She writes that as small investors took their money out of stocks and put it into mutual funds, institutions were picking the slack. Average institutional ownership of the S&P MORE

To make the sale, this clothing company turned to tech

Fortune Editors — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 16:49:08 +0000

Cocona was making cutting-edge sports apparel, but its hippy-esque reputation held it back. A new, data-driven name -- 37.5 -- changed everything.

By Mary Catherine O'Connor

FORTUNE -- Humans are basically sweat machines, it turns out.

"You might be sitting in an office right now, probably not doing much aerobic activity," Wesley Burgess, general manager of the yarn division of textile technology company 37.5, told this reporter -- who was, indeed, sitting MORE