With the recent announcement of Microsoft's new Surface tablet, the decades-old network of partners that Microsoft and Intel built just got a formidable new asset-rich competitor: Microsoft.

Like all successful partner networks, Wintel thrived because all of the players -- the two principals, OEMs, the channel and other stakeholders -- benefited individually from the association while contributing to the growth of the network itself. The Wintel platform is still the dominant desktop and laptop computing architecture.

But with smartphones, tablets and the cloud replacing desktops and more

It looks like the Xbox won't be banned from the U.S. just yet.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is putting off a ruling on whether sales of the gaming console should be prohibited in the states owing to infringement of patents held by Google and its Motorola Mobility unit, Reuters reports.

In late May, an ITC judge recommended the ban, based on his ruling that the Xbox infringes patents regarding wireless Net connectivity, video compression, and other technologies. The ITC had been expected to release a decision on the proposed ban in August but has instead sent more

The man who oversees Microsoft's relationship with makers of Windows PCs is leaving that position, Bloomberg reports.

Steven Guggenheimer, who led Microsoft's Original Equipment Manufacturer unit for four years, will take a sabbatical before heading back to the company to assume a new, unspecified role. He'll be replaced as OEM head by Nick Parker, hitherto the head of marketing for the OEM unit, Bloomberg reported.

The move comes as Microsoft has been ruffling the feathers of some PC makers with its more

The $200 tablet market is heating up as Google introduces its own Android Nexus 7 tablet. Is now the right time to buy one of these bargain tablets?

In this edition of Ask Maggie, I try to help one reader determine which tablet is best for her. And I give her some advice about waiting to see what might be coming next down the mini-tablet line. I also offer some advice to another reader about whether to wait for the iPhone 5 or not.

Nexus 7, Kindle Fire or wait?

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Google's Motorola Mobility unit is improperly blocking access to industry-standard technology that should be licensed to competitors according to traditional industry and legal practice.

A source says Google has been served by the FTC with a civil investigative demand -- similar to a subpoena. The news was reported earlier by Bloomberg, which said the government is also seeking information from Apple and Microsoft.

The issue involves so-called frand patents -- "fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory" -- that cover technology essential to the smooth operation of an industry. As CNET's Roger Cheng has explained, more

More bad news for Samsung in its legal battle with Apple: A U.S. district judge has just granted Apple a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone.

That's the same device Google handed out to developers just a couple of days ago at its I/O conference. Apple had requested an injunction against the smartphone in February, alleging that it infringed on several of its patents. An injunction would keep the Samsung device from being sold in stores in the U.S.

According to Reuters' Dan Levine, the injunction can go into effect as soon as Apple more

Get ready for another wave of round-the-clock analysis over Facebook's business.

The company today set July 26 as the day it will release its first earnings report since going public May 18, according to a note posted on Facebook's investor relations page.

Facebook will report earnings for its second quarter. The company posted $1.6 billion in revenue for its first quarter -- a report it put out during the run-up to its IPO -- and net income of $205 million, which was down 12 percent from the year-earlier quarter.

The stock, as you can see from the more

Beats, the maker of the high-end headphones that have become a status symbol, is finally ready to disclose that it is acquiring digital music service MOG, according to sources familiar with the deal.

The deal could be announced any day, the sources said. Financial terms weren't available.

CNET first reported that MOG was for sale in February and AllThingsD reported three weeks later that Beats was amid an acquisition of the service, which had been a back-of-the-pack subscription music service for years.

"There's nothing to confirm at this time," said a Beats spokeswoman. Representatives from MOG were not more

The bad news just keeps coming for Research In Motion.

In early trading today, the company's shares have shaved off 17 percent to land at $7.55. The trading is the first chance for investors to offer up their opinion on the company's bleak fiscal first-quarter earnings that made many wonder if the end is near.

RIM's shares ended the day down 19 percent to $7.39.

During its fiscal first quarter, RIM lost a whopping $518 million, a catastrophic decline compared to the $695 million profit it posted during the same period last year. Quarterly sales more