TechBiz

By Dana Blankenhorn, TheStreet

One of the biggest mysteries in technology today is what happened to all the gamers?

Nintendo's (NTDOY) Wii U console did so badly the company won't be holding a press conference at the E3 game convention this year. Publisher 2K won't even have a booth.

Sony's (SNE) own launch of the PlayStation 4 may do poorly, and Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 720 may not be a hit, either. (Microsoft publishes MSN Money,)

Meanwhile, social gaming pioneer Zynga (ZNGA) is trying to get a gambling license, the chatter on Facebook's (FB) earnings sounds anemic, and Apple's (AAPL) iOS games have been marked down, in some cases, by 90%, notes Cult of Mac.

By Dana Blankenhorn, TheStreet

When North Carolina Republicans brought forth a bill pushed by the conservative lobbying group ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, to gut the state's renewable energy standards, they figured they had a model piece of pro-business legislation that would sail through the legislature this year.

But, as North American Windpower gleefully reported, it died in committee. Key to the story is the committee where it died -- public utilities and energy.

It died there because the state's electrical utilities, chiefly Duke Energy (DUK), which bought out rival Progress Energy last year, didn't support the legislation, despite the fact that the bill's prime sponsor formerly worked there.

What happened?

By Dana Blankenhorn, TheStreet

Running a big company is not like running a baseball team.

We're used to calling on the managers or general managers of our favorite teams to be fired willy-nilly, and they often are, in all sports. Even though we know that long-term success comes from keeping faith with someone through the hard times, we still do it.

So why don't we have patience with Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook? Obviously, it's because a lot of people have lost a lot of money over the last six months, making short-term bets on the long-term proposition that is Apple Inc.