5 posts and columns on Stephen King

Voices

Why E-Books Aren't Scary

in News on October 29, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

Stephen King has filled HIS share of printed pages: Since “Carrie” was accepted for publication in the spring of 1973, he has written more than 40 books and countless short stories. His latest work, coming Nov. 9, is a collection of four stories titled “Full Dark, No Stars.” In an author’s afterword, Mr. King notes that he wrote one of them, “A Good Marriage,” after reading a piece about Dennis Rader, the “BTK Killer” (for “bind, torture and kill”) who murdered 10 people in Kansas between 1974 and 1991.

CES: Steve Ballmer Keynote

in News on January 6, 2010 at 6:00 pm PT

Steve Ballmer is delivering his annual state-of-Microsoft address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas tonight–the second he’s given since taking over the duties of former CEO Bill Gates. If anything like last year’s, Ballmer’s address will offer a broad overview of Microsoft’s consumer strategy for the year, touching on everything from the company’s hardware-software ecosystem to its home entertainment offerings. Likely to figure prominently in tonight’s address: Windows 7 and the new touch-enabled PC form factors it has evidently inspired; Bing; and Natal, Microsoft’s controller-less game control system, which will launch in time for the 2010 holidays.
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All April Fool's Joking Aside, Omuk Sounds Better Than Kumo!

in News on April 1, 2009 at 9:05 am PT

Microsoft made a funny today with a fake internal memo and screenshot of changes to its search product, which is currently called Kumo. The software giant has jokingly renamed it Omuk, which is Kumo spelled backwards. No kidding, but BoomTown likes it better! Here is the new screenshot and internal memo, sent suspiciously on April Fool’s Day.
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A Sneak Peek Look at Microsoft's New Kumo: A Spidery Cloud? A Cloudy Spider?

in News on March 2, 2009 at 5:07 pm PT

Here are three screenshots of Microsoft’s internal test of a new search product called Kumo. The long expected upgrade to Live Search from Microsoft is being tested for a public rollout later this year. Sources at Microsoft said the company has not yet decided whether it will keep the Kumo name, which sounds a little too much like that crazy dog from the Stephen King novel. Maybe that’s the point, at least related to Google. (Chomp!) In Japanese, actually, Kumo has two definitions–cloud and spider.
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Kindle 2.0 Arrives–Just Nine Years After the First E-Books

in Media on February 9, 2009 at 6:01 am PT

Pumped up about the potential for e-books? So is Stephen King. Just as he was nine years ago. These digital revolutions always take time–just ask the music business, which sells a product that is already delivered in digital form yet derives just 20 percent of its revenue from digital products. So don’t plan on ripping down your bookshelves just yet.