Features

Palm Inc. chief technical officer resigns position 

SANTA CLARA — The chief technology officer of leading handheld device maker Palm Inc. has resigned, company officials said Tuesday. 

Bill Maggs resigned late Monday “to pursue outside opportunities related to the next phase of the Internet,” company spokeswoman Marlene Somsak said. “He’s helped us identify a terrific roadmap and exceptional technology choices.” 

A replacement has not been named. Maggs has not made his specific plans public but will continue to consult with Palm for an undetermined period of time. The resignation comes as the Santa Clara-based company prepares to release a new operating system for personal digital assistants and increases efforts to license the Palm OS to other mobile device makers. 

Unsold goods pile up, show economy is weaker 

WASHINGTON — Inventories of unsold goods at U.S. companies piled up in November as sales fell for the second straight month, adding to mounting evidence of a slumping economy. 

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that stockpiles of goods on shelves and backlots nationwide rose by 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted $1.22 trillion in November. Sales dropped by 0.3 percent to $896.3 billion. 

The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measures how long it would take businesses to exhaust their inventories at November’s sales pace, rose to 1.36 months, the highest since April 1999. 

Number of TV stations owned by minorities drops 

WASHINGTON — The number of television stations owned by minorities has dipped to the lowest level in at least a decade, while minority ownership of radio stations increased slightly in the past two years. 

The Commerce Department report highlighted the impact that industry consolidation and limited access to investment capital have had on ownership diversity. Separately, a federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out rules requiring broadcasters and cable companies to widely disseminate information about their job opportunities in an effort to reach more minorities and women. 

Companies, Feds team up to catch computer hackers 

WASHINGTON — Nineteen of the nation’s top technology firms – including archrivals Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM – have teamed up with the federal government to catch hackers. 

The competitors vowed to share intelligence with each other about product vulnerabilities and hacker trends in order to shore up public confidence in e-commerce and protect the over $7 billion in business-to-business revenue over the Internet.