The first personal computer, 1957’s IBM 610 Auto-Point, only cost $55,000 to purchase. If you wanted to rent one of the 180 that were produced, it would run $1,150 a month.

Times have changed, obviously, and personal computer prices, like many other consumer electronic prices, have fallen into a much more affordable realm. Smartphones may finally be heading in that direction, thanks to the folks at Google who want to put a big dent in Apple’s iPhone business.

According to the Financial Times, “Google is preparing an attack on Apple’s iPhone with a device that is more aware of its surroundings and smart enough to anticipate how it will be used next.” Google purchased Motorola back in 2011 and the subsidiary has apparently been working on creating a device called the Moto X—or the 'Hero' phone—that will cost a lot less than the iPhone but pack a ton of advanced technology, like being able to sense whether it's in a car, where it will likely be asked to produce mapping, or on a mountain, where it might activate a camera.Continue reading...

Elon Musk already invented one digital-age business, is well on his way to creating another, and now has his sights set on fathering yet a third: affordable, appealing electric cars.

The co-founder of PayPal, which originated digital currency on a broad scale, and the CEO of SpaceX, which is trying to make space travel mainstream, has run into a recent winning streak with his other company, Tesla Motors. Bouncing high off the low of a tussle with The New York Times over the winter about the charge-holding capabilities of the Tesla Model S, Musk recently has made the company profitable for the first time, sold more than 4,000 Model S units in the first quarter, and paid off a $452 million federal government "green" loan early.

Investors have shown their appreciation by bidding up Tesla stock. Musk is talking about what kind of company might eventually want to acquire Tesla, and he's become a media darling once again.Continue reading...