The Apple iPad may seem like a bolt out of the blue, but it is in fact yet one more milestone in the long story of mankind's odd fascination with writing on tablets, from pieces of slate to . . .well, Steve Job's latest game changer. So, is the iPad finally the realization of this dream in the electronics age -- or is yet another misguided attempt to pursue a market that feels inevitable, but isn't really there.

After a year of expert prognistications, media hype and consumer anticipation, Apple has finally introduced the iPad It is everything you've dreamed of in a smart tablet? Well, yes and no. One thing for certain, both Apple and its hot new product are getting extra scrutiny in the days after the Big Announcement. Here's an appraisal of the iPad from the reporter who knows as much about Apple as anybody. Commentary and Qik video from NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman

While the rest of the tech world was distracted by the Apple iPad introduction, Oracle decided to announce its plans for the future of its newest subsidiary, the former (and one-time computing giant) Sun Microsystems. Pundits predicted that this move was for Oracle's Larry Ellison to get some cover while he gutted Sun and fired most of its employees. In fact, the lay-offs proved surprisingly small. But what was really surprising was Oracle's announced plan for what it intended to do with Sun -- a move that harkened back to the earliest days of mainframe computers Analysis by former Sun employee and regular Edgelings and Pajamas Media contributor, Charlie Martin.

In a stunning example of tough talk from a diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took to task totalitarian regimes around the world for censoring the Internet. The main target of her comments were, of course, China and its efforts to compromise Google's search engine. Needless to say, Google's been talking tough about China lately, too. But are either the Obama Administration or Google in any position to back up their words? Probably not. Still, all credit to Sec. Clinton for at least making the case for free speech in cyberspace. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

It's been a downpour all week in Northern California -- bringing landslides, wave erosion, floods and falling trees in its wake. It's at times like this that it's good to learn that there still remains at least one old-line factory in headquarters-heavy Silicon Valley: Loral Space Systems of Palo Alto . . .which just happens to make the weather satelllites that are tracking the in-coming storms. Report and Qik video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman.

We've been so busy waving goodbye to the miserable 2000s that there hasn't been much time for the usual prognosticating about the 2010s. But what if they turn out to be even nuttier than the decade we just escaped? Some predictions by Forbes publisher and regular Edgelings contributor Rich Karlgaard.

Hundreds of billions of dollars spent on 'stimulus' -- and what do we have to show for it? Unemployment stuck on 'high' for as far as we can see into the future. The national debt going through the roof -- with more to come. How about a different approach, Mr. President? You can still test all of Progressive theories about government control -- you're going to anyway -- but just set aside a couple billion bucks to actually make a serious attempt at creating jobs. Maybe even a whole bunch of jobs. We'll show you how. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

This year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the most exciting in years. And yet, in the end, the most interesting new technology on display was a hugely sophisticated (and probably equally expensive) system from one of high tech's oldest and biggest companies: Intel Corp. Does that mean something? Commentary and Qik video from NBC-KNTV technology reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman

2009 was a tough year for everybody, including the high tech industry. But it's a new year -- and that means the annual January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With a spate of new products coming out this month -- the Google phone, the Apple tablet (reportedly), and a lot of other fun consumer electronics devices -- Silicon Valley and the rest of the electronics world is ready for some fun . . .and a little optimism. Live report and Qik video from NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

Is the new Google Nexus One smartphone the Apple iPhone killer it was predicted to be? Well . . .no. But it is, nevertheless, a very cool little device. And even if it doesn't set the world on its ear, the Nexus One should still do Google proud in its first foray into hardware. And if in the process the Nexus One also helps legitimize the Android operating system -- and perhaps draw away some of those legions of iPhone App designers --well, that'll just be icing on the cake. A report, complete with Qik video, from NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman.

The high tech world, after more than a year of hunkering down and protecting its resources, is ready to bust out -- and plans to start 2010 with bang. Both Google and Apple are rumored to be poised to introduce two important new products: respectively, an Android smartphone (Google's first hardware product) and a new 'Tablet' device that is likely to combine the attributes of the Apple iPod Touch and the MacBook -- and may create a whole new category of consumer products. Does this augur a good year for tech? Ask us again in a few weeks. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

Is there a more important company today than Cisco? It is, after all, the backbone of the Internet and one of the most admired -- and imitated -- companies on the planet. And now, in its 25th year, having flawlessly executed its strategy to survive the recession, Cisco is ready to make its biggest move yet. NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman recently got a rare and extended interview with Cisco Chairman/CEO John Chambers. If you want to know where the electronics industry is going in the next few years, you need to watch the accompanying video.

The decline of newspapers continues apace -- the latest section of the dailies now under assault is, of all things, the obituary page. But somehow newspapers still survive, clinging to that ever smaller, and older, group of readers who still want to drink their morning coffee and not stare into a computer screen. Now, the nation's once great dailies face a Hobson's choice: either convince the government to bail them out (and lose their independence) or abandon the news for something else (and continue losing their credibility). But there is another way . . . . Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone

Promila Awasthi is an Indian-born U.S. citizen who works in the Silicon Valley offices of the Indian software giant, Infosys. And therein, apparently, lies the problem. Awasthi is suing the company claiming that two of her supervisors ridiculed her for not being sufficiently Indian -- in particular, for celebrating American holidays. The case, which goes to trial in April, ought to be a real eye-opener . . .Comentary and video by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

You can stop worrying about the economy now: the White House Jobs Summit is on! With all of those leaders of Big Business, Big Labor and Big Academia gathered in one place, who can doubt that the problem of 10.2 percent unemployment will soon be solved? Seriously, though, does anyone doubt that the Administration knows exactly how to reinvigorate the economy and create jobs . . .and because it has other, larger, goals it has chosen not to implement those solutions? And that instead it has dedicated itself -- for example, with this 'Jobs' summit -- to get us to accept this new status quo? Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

Perfectly positioned to capture video gamers as they save expenses by moving on-line, online gamer site Zynga has seen spectacular growth. It ought to be the toast of the social networking world. But the company is as much villified these days as applauded -- in large part because of its reputation for dealing with sleazy advertisers. Zynga says it has cleaned up its act . . .but critics aren't yet convinced. Commentary and video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

One of the greatest -- and most influential -- feuds in the history of American Business seemingly ended a couple weeks ago when chipmakers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices reached a settlement on anti-trust claims made by AMD against its bigger competitor. This was only the latest move in a battle that has gone on now for more than twenty years . . .and began with a simple courtesy between an industry pioneer and a favorite subordinate. Fortunes were spent on the fight, careers wasted . . .and the world was changed in the process, not least because the endless presence of AMD was the one thing that kept Intel honest -- and propelled forward the digital revolution. Now, with AMD an apparent winner, but also dying as a company, this Great Feud may at last be at end -- and the world will be worse for it.

What do old WWII films, Apple vs. Microsoft and the Republic of Armenia have in common? In the last couple weeks, all have reminded us that if there is one constant in the world of high technology, it is that there are no constants: winners can suddenly look like losers, losers can become winners,and what we've grown accustomed to can suddenly take on new life again. Three brief commentaries by Edgelings.com editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone

Facebook may have finally done it: found a way to take its look-at-me culture one step too far. It's called "Photo Tagger" from Face.com, and its an impressive little photo recognition app that, in use, will absolutely freak you out if you are Facebook user. You'll see what we mean when you read the story and watch the video from NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

A new book by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone and Silicon Valley marketing guru Tom Hayes offers a novel and compelling view of what the emerging global marketplace will REALLY look like. Neither 'flat', nor 'bumpy', the authors predict that it will, in fact, be both: a dizzying combination of the chaos of a global market square combined with the hermetic private world of a million small groups. Here's a quick summary of the key themes of the book.

In a fit of sanity this week, the House Financial Services committee voted to amend Sarbanes-Oxley, the regulation -- passed in the aftermath of the dot.com bust and Enron -- that was designed to stop corporate corruption . . .but instead crushed U.S. entrepreneurship for the rest of the decade. Without S-Ox, as it is called, the economy still would have crashed -- but we'd also be climbing out of it a whole lot more quickly. This week's vote was a good start, but it should be only the beginning. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

After spending years as a tiny on-line CD trading service, Silicon Valley's LaLa Media decided to position itself right at the intersection between a music industry that has finally decided to accept the new business model demanded by music sharing, and a growing number of new hardware and Web 2.0 platforms that want to offer that shared music. The result is something odd bedfellows -- not least tiny Lala, whose entire staff fits into a tiny Palo Alto loft, and such giants as Google and Facebook. Commentary and video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

There comes a moment to start believing that little voice inside you -- and when it comes to the U.S. economy, that moment has arrived. The stimulus accomplished little, most of the recent good economic news was a Cash for Clunkers bubble, and there's no way you can print and spend trillions of new dollars without runaway inflation. It's time to face reality and start making plans for how to survive the trainwreck in our near future. The good news is that technology is here to help. Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone.

Things appear to be looking up in the tech world -- good news for Washington, which can't turn around this economy without major assistance from the nation's largest manufacturing sector. But what if this recovery in tech is just an illusion, a pretty wrapper on what is now, thanks to over-regulation and the Administration's anti-small business attitude, a hollow shell? Commentary by Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone

One of the great things about Silicon Valley is not only that you get a glimpse of the future thanks to the innovations of local companies -- but you also get to see the best that the rest of the world has to offer as it comes to the Valley looking for buyers. This week, even the most jaded Valley investors and companies were stunned to see a new Taiwanese audio speaker technology made from . . . paper. Dorm rooms will never again be the same. Commentary and a Qik video by NBC-KNTV tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor, Scott Budman.

If you were among the estimated one million users of the Microsoft/T-Mobile Sidekick smart phone, this week's massive data loss was a special kind of betrayal for which the subsequent recovery is only partial recompense. As for the rest of us, this story should serve as a warning to never again put our faith in a vast, distant data 'Cloud' -- and to start asking some tough questions of those who manage it. Commentary by Edgelings Editor-in-Chief Michael S. Malone [See also Scott Budman's blog and video on the same topic, below.]

Who doesn't like clouds? They're soft and fluffy and harmless -- and far, far away. That is, until they suddenly unleash hail and lightning. The same is true for Computing Clouds, that hot new tech term for distant networks of computers that store all of the data that won't fit on your cellphone or wireless device. But, with the recent crash of the Cloud supporting the Microsoft/T-Mobile Sidekick smartphone -- and the loss of billions of bytes of user's private information -- all of the promises made for the safety and security of Computing Clouds have suddenly been placed in doubt. Commentary and video by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

High technology isn't just about the latest products and services from the coolest companies -- though that's what gets all of the attention. The real business of tech is the long slow grind of selling aging technology to budget-conscious companies in non-glamorous vertical markets . . .like real estate. There, great tech wars take place, as vicious as anything between Apple and Microsoft, unnoticed by the outside world. To get a glimpse of this other side of the digital revolution, in a business that may be more affected by this recession than any other, Edgelings editor-in-chief Michael S. Malone spent a day at the California Association of Realtors Expo 2009 Convention.

Looking for a job these days is difficult enough. But even if you are clever (or desperate) enough to try all of those on-line job placement sites like Monster.com -- and the various on-line communities like Facebook -- how do you keep them all organized and up-to-date. Now a new Silicon Valley start-up is offering a free service to help you do just that. Report and video by KNTV-NBC tech reporter and regular Edgelings contributor Scott Budman.

You may be worried these days about making this month's mortgage check and keeping your job -- but in boardrooms of the nation's top high tech companies, they are already maneuvering to get the jump on the competition. What these world-class CEOs know is that bad times, not good, are when you win the war in business. Commentary by Edgelings Editor-in-Chief Michael S. Malone.