Hot King Technology

The Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro was online Friday, Jan. 22 at Noon ET to discuss his recent reviews and answer your personal tech questions.

The microprocessor market is rounding back into form, according to analysts with IDC and Mercury Research. Shipments in the fourth quarter in 2009 showed seasonal increases over the previous quarter, and significant growth over the fourth quarter in 2008. In addition, shipments of server processors also grew in the fourth quarter, an indication that businesses may be starting to buy systems again

Revenue for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company increased 18 percent to $608 million, substantially above the average analyst forecast of $554 million. VMware reported profit of 31 cents a share, which also beat the average analyst forecast of 26 cents. – Virtualization software maker VMware on Jan.

Apple announced that its fiscal first quarter of 2010 was its best ever with news sales records for the Mac and iPhone sales as well as revenue and earnings. On the topic of a pending slate, however, all lips were sealed. – Apple reported yet another record quarter with revenue of $15.68 billion and a quarterly profit of $3.38 billion on Jan 25.

AP – Atheros Communications Inc., which makes semiconductors for wireless networks, posted a fourth-quarter profit Monday, reversing a year-ago loss, as revenue nearly doubled.