IBM has been known to revel in its image as the most boring technology company. But Chief Executive Samuel Palmisano took that a step further when he used a rare public appearance to tell his Silicon Valley rivals they should consider being more boring themselves.

Memristors made from pure silicon could enable resistive random access memory (ReRAM) that are simpler and cheaper to manufacture than Hewlett-Packard's titanium-based formulation, according to researchers at Rice University.

An interesting observation by the guys at MobileTechWorld has suggested that computing giant HP will no longer be a Windows Phone 7 launch partner, if slides presented by Steve Ballmer at the Microsoft's WPC 2010 are to be believed.

WebOS tablet is expected to have most of the features and functionality missing from the iPad. A tablet built on a mobile OS, but including USB or SD memory card ports, front and/or rear facing cameras, and compatibility with Adobe Flash content offers business professionals a number of compelling reasons to shun the iPad.

"Palm will be responsible for WebOS software development and WebOS-based hardware products, from a robust smartphone roadmap to future slate PCs and netbooks," an HP statement said.