Tim Berners-Lee tops "tech influencer" chart… but more importantly, Jobs beats Gates!

tim_berners-lee_photo.jpgThe widely acknowledged founder of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has been named as the most influential person in technology over the past 150 years for his impact on society and groundbreaking technology.

Intel invited a panel of experts to vote on the world’s 45 most influential technologists, and came up with some interesting results.

Following Sir Tim come the two founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, in second and third places. In fourth place is Gugilelmo Marconi, inventor of the radiotelegraph system, and in fifth place, Jack Kilby, inventor of the integrated circuit and calculator.

Opinion: Is Apple a bigger danger to our lives than Microsoft?

Jon_smal.gifJonathan Weinberg writes… I thought I could rely on Apple so this morning I awoke to disappointment in Steve Jobs after his Macworld announcements yesterday. I was sure he’d launch a new iPhone with either 3G or bigger storage memory, thus annoying the FOUR MILLION people who have now, like cult followers, signed up to the iPhone religion.

But it was a clever move. Save that announcement for a couple of months time, and bring a second-generation device out around a year after the first and no-one can have any complaints… can they? After all, technology is always changing and those of us who spend fortunes on gadgets and gizmos, only to see them bettered just weeks later, are fools of our own making. I do it, as much as you…

CES 2008 Opinion: So why is everyone so disappointed with Bill Gates's keynotes speech?

bill-gates-slash-guitar-hero.jpgI’m sure had he introduced the cure for cancer, people would still be writing up their show reports with comments claiming he ‘missed the mark’, and his cure is ‘too little, too late’. Sometimes people just love to be controversial, but are any of their criticisms warranted? Let’s take a look…

It’s hard to avoid speculating as to what will be shown off in conferences and keynotes speeches, especially when it’s Microsoft, and Gates normally uses his annual keynotes to debut products like the Surface, Windows Mobile, or…

CES 2008: Is getting a plug in Bill Gates' CES opener the gadget kiss of death?

In addition to pontificating about the future of electronics, hanging out with some very cool guests and indulging in a spot of Xbox gaming Bill Gates has traditionally used his CES opener to unveil new Microsoft gadgets and innovations.

However, if you do a quick where are they now search for many of the CES launched gadgets it becomes clear that getting a plug from Gates at the show is actually the kiss of death. Here are a few products that haven't quite fared as well as Microsoft had hoped.