It’s getting harder by the day to keep track of the latest developments in the technology industry. With IT vendors trying their best to outsmart and outdo each other, there are always new products and services being launched into the market. And people, whose job requires them to keep watch of the latest trends and breaking events in the IT world, often find themselves barely able to keep up.

Never before has planned obsolescence come with such rapid-fire and staccato rates. The cool and shiny tech toys you bought yesterday are today’s clunker gadgets. For example, Apple’s iPhone 4 is only months away from its antenna woes, but Steve Jobs’ ubercool smartphone feels middle aged.

And if the world’s coolest smartphone is suffering from midlife crisis, where does that leave the big bunch of wannabes – obsolete even before they had a chance at becoming a hit?
 
Touch Mouse

Microsoft introduced at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas the Touch Mouse, a new device that combines the features of standard computer mice with those of multitouch devices. Designed exclusively for Windows 7-enabled computers, the Microsoft Touch Mouse aims to let desktop computer users benefit from multitouch interactions without letting go of the advantages of using a keyboard and mouse.

After working on a number of prototypes, the Microsoft Research team that developed the Mouse 2.0 project believes the Touch Mouse is the best input device for the Windows 7 platform. Aside from doing what a conventional mouse does, it also offers additional gestures with desktop users making use of a finger, or two, or three.
 
Microsoft After Novell Patents

A group of IT industry heavyweights led by Microsoft is pushing through with its plans to acquire about 900 patents owned by Novell. Despite its withdrawal of a plan application with Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, CPTN Holdings LLC intends to get its hands on the patents, some of which have to do with open source technology.

Meanwhile, open-source proponents are opposing the proposed acquisition of the patents by the consortium, which includes Apple and Oracle.

Open Source Initiative and other open-source groups are campaigning against the deal, which they claim would be catastrophic for the open-source community.
 
Facebook Kaput?

Despite the existence of evidence to the contrary, a lot of Internet users believe that the numero uno social networking site Facebook calls it quits come March 15 this year. These people would not even believe Facebook itself and its denial of the rumors about the company’s purported plans to call it quits.

This incident illustrates once again how powerful the Internet is as a means of dispersing information (and misinformation). Unfortunately, it also works for silly rumors.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.