A curated selection of the day’s most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning.
- Cisco named 10-year company vet Gary Moore its first COO. Moore, who’s been running the $8 billion-a-year Services business division as executive vice president, will help CEO John Chambers transition the company into new markets, including data center products like servers and consumer products such as its umi personal teleconference systems. (Computerworld and TechWorld
- Amazon Prime customers can now stream some 5,000 TV and movie programs to their computers or supported devices like Roku for no additional cost. (Reuters)
HP's 8460 offers up to 32 hours of battery life. Photo: HP Give HP kudos for achieving what is likely a laptop battery life record. Its just-announced business-oriented HP EliteBook 8460p laptop can achieve 32 hours in between charges provided you do a few things: pick up the accompanying HP BB09 ultra-extended life notebook battery, download the latest Intel graphics driver and HP BIOS (ie. startup software), and get the Intel flash memory solid state drive option. Obviously, it’ll cost more, and the battery will bring the laptop’s weight to a hair under 6 lbs., but for more than a day’s worth of juice, road warriors might argue that’s a fair trade. (HP and VentureBeat)
- Facebook continues to poach from Google. The social networking champ plucked Alexandre Hohagen, a top Google exec in Latin America, to serve as its VP of sales in that region. Hohagen helped establish Google’s Latin American offices some six years ago and served as vice president of Google Latin America. (New York Times)
- Square, the startup from Twitter creator Jack Dorsey which transforms your phone into a credit card machine, has decided to drop those pesky transaction fees altogether. (The company previously charged 2.75% of each transaction amount plus a flat $ 0.15 per transaction fee.) “Accepting payments should be as easy as using a microwave,” said Square’s General Manager Keith Rabois. (TechCrunch)
- According to reports from AllThingsD and The New York Times, Apple intends to unveil the second-generation iPad, the iPad 2, on Wednesday, March 2. Analysts predict this version will be a rather natural next step for the tablet, with more processing power, thinner form factor, improved display, and front-facing camera with Facetime video chat support. (AllThingsD and New York Times)
- The Cupertino-based software-hardware company could also be readying its Joint Venture service, a customer service arm aimed squarely at small businesses and hardcore consumers who want to speak to store-based Apple technicians, aka “Geniuses,” via phone or request an on-site visit. (Currently, Geniuses do not troubleshoot over the phone.) (9 to 5 Mac)
- AppSense, which specializes in “user virtualization” solutions (think corporate personalized desktop settings on-demand), raised $70 million during its first round of funding from just one source — Goldman Sachs — and intends to use the funds to “capitalize on its position as a market leader” in what it anticipates will turn out to become a $2 billion market in the next few years. Current AppSense clients include ESPN, JPMorgan Chase, and United Airlines. (TechCrunch)
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