Today in Tech: The lost 'Google phone'

• HP's PCs: The handwriting was in Léo Apotheker's resumé

  The board sealed the fate of HP's personal systems group when it hired the CEO of SAP

  What the hell happened to Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) last week?

  The simplest explanation is the one suggested Thursday by Techcrunch's MG Siegler and picked up Sunday by Daring Fireball's John Gruber: HP's board put an enterprise software guy in charge of a low-margin PC business and a high-risk play to outflank Apple (AAPL) in smartphones and tablets. When MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 22, 2011 8:02 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Hewlett-Packard, HP, IBM, iPad, iPhone, Léo Apotheker, Mobile, Oracle Corporation, Pre, SAP, SAP AG, Smartphones, Tablets, TouchPad

• Hewlett-Packard's abdication: What hath Apple wrought?

  "The tablet effect is real," said HP's CEO, as he killed the TouchPad & orphaned his PCs

  You don't have to look very hard to find the Apple (AAPL) angle in Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) August surprise: The announcement Thursday that it is pulling the plug on its tablets and smartphones and preparing to abandon the personal computer market altogether.

  This is Steve Jobs' post-PC era writ large.

  "I'm trying to think of a good MORE

  Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Aug 19, 2011 6:06 AM ET
  Posted in: Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, iPad, iPhone, Léo Apotheker, Mobile, Palm, PCs, Personal computer, SAP AG, Steve Jobs, Tablets, TouchPad, WebOS

• IBM: Instant messaging has replaced voicemail

  The original enterprise tech company has been using social tools for years, says its new CIO.

  FORTUNE --Business software makers -- from SAP (SAP) to Microsoft (MSFT) -- are in a race to make their products more "social." IBM (IBM) is no exception. The New York-based company says its social media roots date back to the 1970s, when its mainframe programmers started discussion forums (on System/370 consoles). Today, IBM sells social MORE

  Michal Lev-Ram, writer - May 31, 2011 2:55 PM ET
  Posted in: Business, Chief information officer, IBM, IBM Lotus Sametime, Sametime, SAP AG, social media, Social software

• Larry Ellison's two favorite companies: Oracle and its "competition"

  Oracle and NetSuite go after customers with the same kinds of needs, but they've carved out their own turfs, and are about to get even cozier.

  FORTUNE -- Larry Ellison is cheering for Oracle and NetSuite. Not surprising, considering the billionaire tech mogul (and Oracle founder and CEO) is a major shareholder in both companies. But now Oracle (ORCL) and NetSuite (N) have more than Ellison's stake in common -- they're MORE

  Michal Lev-Ram, writer - May 16, 2011 2:34 PM ET
  Posted in: Evan Goldberg, Larry Ellison, Mark Hurd, NetSuite, Oracle Corporation, Oracle Exadata, SAP AG, Zach Nelson

• Apotheker sets HP's course: Heading for the cloud

  Hewlett Packard's CEO plans to kick the company and its flagging stock back into gear in part by selling apps and services via a new public cloud.

  It's been just over eight months since Mark Hurd left HP (HPQ) beneath an avalanche of tabloid covers. In that time, HP's stock has slid just over 10%, leaving investors wondering when and how the world's largest tech company can get back on course.

  Hurd's MORE

  Michael V. Copeland, Senior Writer - Mar 15, 2011 11:36 AM ET
  Posted in: Catherine A. Lesjak, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Léo Apotheker, Mark Hurd, Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, PCs, Personal computer, SAP AG, WebOS

• HP's big reboot: A new board for a new era

  HP's five new directors will have little to do with this quarter's likely solid earnings, but they will shape the company for decades to come.

  By Ram Charan, contributor

  In order to reboot for 2011, Hewlett Packard announced in January that it was bringing on five new members to its board of directors, replacing four others who wouldn't stand for re-election. The move came just weeks ahead of today's earnings announcement, where MORE

  Scott Olster, editor - Feb 22, 2011 5:00 AM ET
  Posted in: AXA Private Equity, Dominique Senequier, Edward Zander, Hewlett-Packard, Léo Apotheker, Meg Whitman, Patricia Russo, SAP AG

• Four directions enterprise tech will take in 2011

  Social, the cloud, gamification -- it all sounds like consumer-enterprise convergence. It's not, exactly, but these trends are a sign that enterprise has some catching up to do after a year of massive evolution in consumer gadgets.

  With only a day to go until the end of 2010, the lists predicting which technologies will dominate the headlines next year are rampant. Well, I'm throwing my hat into the ring as well, MORE

  Michal Lev-Ram, writer - Dec 31, 2010 5:00 AM ET
  Posted in: cloud computing, Consumerization, IBM, iPad, Jive Software, SAP AG, Software as a service, Web application

• New HP CEO's to-do list

  Leo Apotheker is barnstorming the world as he embarks on fixing the culture and focus of the huge technology company. One to-do stands out above all the rest.

  Here's what new Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker's to-do list might look like:

  Move to Palo Alto
  Increase investment in research and development
  Build a "strong and viable" software business

  The first two tasks should be easy enough to cross off the list. MORE

  Michal Lev-Ram, writer - Nov 29, 2010 2:45 PM ET
  Posted in: ann livermore, BMO Capital Markets, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Larry Ellison, Léo Apotheker, Oracle Corporation, Personal computer, SAP AG