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Andrew Wahl

Andrew Wahl: The amazing promise of 'One Laptop Per Child'

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | 08:03 AM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

The holiday season blankets us like a Rocky Mountain snowfall with both consumerist anxiety and charitable guilt. You wouldn’t expect that buying a new computer, of all things, would allay both of those conflicting feelings. But then, you may not have heard of the XO Laptop.

The XO was developed by One Laptop Per Child, an American non-profit organization. It aims to provide children in developing nations with an easy-to-use, low-cost, and rugged portable computer.

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Andrew Wahl: Amazon.com enters the e-book world

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | 08:18 AM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

You probably think there’s nothing wrong with trusty old paperbacks, and that the last thing the world needs is another high-tech gadget. And you’re probably right on both counts.

But don’t tell that to Amazon.com, the world’s biggest online retailer, which built a $10 billion business by first selling books. Last week, it launched a new device in the U.S. that promises to change how people read.

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Andrew Wahl: Why the Cognos takeover is a big deal

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 | 01:13 PM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

Just four weeks ago, I told you about how Cognos, Canada’s largest software company, would almost certainly be acquired because its closest rival had itself just gotten snapped up. Well, on Monday, it happened: IBM, always the most likely suitor, announced it was buying Cognos for $5 billion US.

It’s a big deal for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s the largest acquisition in IBM’s 96-year history, which shows the value it perceives in Cognos. Based in Ottawa, Cognos is a strategic partner of IBM in the area of business Intelligence software, a hot growth segment because it helps corporations mine their data and put it to better use.

But the more important aspect of this deal is that it darkens another of the brightest lights in Canadian technology.

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Andrew Wahl: IBM's new plan to license its vast patent portfolio

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 | 08:40 AM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

IBM knows a thing or two about patents. For each of the past 14 years, the U.S. patent office has granted Big Blue more patents than any other company in the world. IBM now has roughly 40,000 patents worldwide, and its intellectual property earns about a billion dollars U.S. annually.

So, maybe we should have seen this coming: IBM now wants to patent a system for licensing patents.

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Andrew Wahl: Will Cognos be the focus of a bidding war?

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 | 09:00 AM ET

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

We all have those days when we wish the rest of the world would just leave us alone to go about our business. I’m sure that’s how the executives at Cognos felt last week.

The company is by far Canada’s largest maker of software, and plays in a hot segment of corporate software called performance management. On Thanksgiving weekend, its larger rival, Business Objects, agreed to be acquired by SAP, the German software giant, for nearly $7 billion US.

All the shifting allegiances now leave Cognos, the number two player in performance management, as the last one standing on its own.

~

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Andrew Wahl: Privacy in the age of Google maps

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 | 12:54 PM ET

I don’t know where you live, but I bet that cars drive past your home all the time. You probably think nothing of it.
But what if the car had a special camera mounted to its roof, and it snapped a photo of your house? And what if you were standing in the window at the time? Finally, what if a company made that photo available on the internet?

Sound a little far-fetched? It’s not. That scenario is already happening. The car is being driven by a Calgary firm called Immersive Media, and as it trolls along, it uses a specialized camera to capture high-resolution spherical images—360-degree views of surrounding streetscapes. (Read more or listen to the original audio)

Money Talks is a collection of daily columns from The Business Network, which airs weekday mornings on CBC Radio One at 5:45 a.m. ET (6:15 a.m. ET in N.L.).

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World »

Karzai, Musharraf target Taliban
The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan have begun a two-day meeting to talk about co-operating in the fight against insurgents based in the lawless border area between the two countries.
December 26, 2007 | 4:16 PM EST
6 bodies found east of Seattle
The bodies of six people have been found at a rural property east of Seattle, King County sheriff's detectives said Wednesday.
December 26, 2007 | 7:05 PM EST
French aid workers convicted of taking Chadian children
Six French aid workers have been sentenced to eight years' forced labour by a court in Chad for trying to abduct children from the African country.
December 26, 2007 | 2:31 PM EST
more »

Canada »

Canadians flock to Boxing Day bargains
Millions of Canadinas took part in the Boxing Day bonanza on Wednesday, although shopping malls may have been less crammed with bargain hunters this year.
December 26, 2007 | 11:32 AM EST
Dozens of carcasses discovered at Quebec quarry
Police and wildlife officers are investigating the discovery of dozens of pig, fox and coyote carcasses at a Quebec gravel quarry.
December 26, 2007 | 6:32 PM EST
Homolka's prison boyfriend could be freed in '08
A convicted killer, said to have had a relationship with Karla Homolka while the two were behind bars, could be released from a Quebec prison early in 2008.
December 26, 2007 | 8:20 PM EST
more »

Health »

Honey-drenched dressings touted as the bee's knees for wounds
Amid growing concern over drug-resistant superbugs and nonhealing wounds that endanger diabetes patients, nature's original antibiotic ? honey ? is making a comeback.
December 26, 2007 | 12:30 PM EST
Boxing Day dips wash away holiday excess, Europeans insist
Across Europe, people celebrated Boxing Day by diving into rivers, lakes and even oceans that challenged the threshold of humans' temperature tolerance.
December 26, 2007 | 3:16 PM EST
Woman's death marks 16th bird flu fatality in Egypt
A 25-year-old Egyptian woman has died of bird flu after she apparently contracted the disease from domestic fowl, a health official said Wednesday.
December 26, 2007 | 4:26 PM EST
more »

Arts & Entertainment»

Canadian jazz great Oscar Peterson dies
The jazz odyssey is over for Oscar Peterson: the Canadian known globally as one of the most spectacularly talented musicians ever to play jazz piano has died at age 82.
December 24, 2007 | 5:17 PM EST
Tributes pour in for 'giant in music' Peterson
Tributes are pouring in for Canadian jazz musician Oscar Peterson, who died Sunday at age 82.
December 26, 2007 | 2:49 PM EST
Broadway, Hollywood choreographer Michael Kidd dies
American choreographer Michael Kidd, who created dance for the stage musical Finian's Rainbow and the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, has died.
December 26, 2007 | 11:41 AM EST
more »

Technology & Science »

Weather odds could become the norm
As man-made climate change continues, the world will experience more extreme weather, bursts of heat, torrential rain and prolonged drought, scientists say.
December 26, 2007 | 2:17 PM EST
Yellowknife looks to old mine for geothermal energy
The N.W.T. capital will soon begin studying what could become Canada's first large-scale geothermal heat plant. Experts say heat from the defunct Con gold mine could supply enough power to serve half of the city's residents.
December 26, 2007 | 12:18 PM EST
Toyota announces plan to sell 9.85 million vehicles in 2008
In a neck-and-neck race that could dethrone General Motors as the world's top automaker, Toyota said it plans to sell 9.85 million vehicles globally in 2008.
December 26, 2007 | 12:10 PM EST
more »

Money »

Canadians flock to Boxing Day bargains
Millions of Canadinas took part in the Boxing Day bonanza on Wednesday, although shopping malls may have been less crammed with bargain hunters this year.
December 26, 2007 | 11:32 AM EST
U.S. house prices drop by a record 6.7 per cent
House prices in the United States fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their largest monthly drop since early 1991, a widely watched index showed Wednesday.
December 26, 2007 | 4:13 PM EST
Apple Inc. shares reach $200 on core strength of IPod
Shares of Apple Inc. hit the $200 mark for the first time Wednesday as investor confidence in the company continued rising near the end of what has been a strong year for the IPod and computer maker.
December 26, 2007 | 3:30 PM EST
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Consumer Life »

Canadians flock to Boxing Day bargains
Millions of Canadinas took part in the Boxing Day bonanza on Wednesday, although shopping malls may have been less crammed with bargain hunters this year.
December 26, 2007 | 11:32 AM EST
Boxing Day purchases in cars easy prey for thieves: police
Vancouver police are advising Boxing Day shoppers not to leave newly-bought items in parked cars because they're easy prey for thieves.
December 26, 2007 | 9:41 AM EST
U.S. house prices drop by a record 6.7 per cent
House prices in the United States fell in October for the 10th consecutive month, posting their largest monthly drop since early 1991, a widely watched index showed Wednesday.
December 26, 2007 | 4:13 PM EST
more »

Sports »

Scores: CFL MLB MLS

Leafs lose Islander game, Toskala
Mike Comrie scored with nine seconds left in overtime as the New York Islanders topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in a game where both clubs resorted to using their backup goaltenders.
December 26, 2007 | 11:41 PM EST
Senators cool off surging Sabres
Dany Heatley notched three points ? including an empty-net goal ? for the Ottawa Senators as the Eastern Conference leaders snapped the Buffalo Sabres' six-game winning streak with a 5-3 road win Wednesday night.
December 26, 2007 | 11:49 PM EST
Tavares leads Canada
John Tavares scored twice in his world junior championship debut and goaltender Jonathan Bernier earned the shutout as Canada opened the tournament Wednesday with a 3-0 win over host Czech Republic.
December 26, 2007 | 5:56 PM EST
more »

Diversions »

Iowa man spends Christmas Eve stuck upside-down in opening of septic tank
Animals - not just the cute animated kind - commanded attention in 2007
Philly transit officer helps deliver special Christmas present - a baby girl
more »