STEVE INSKEEP, host: A pickup in PC sales is at the top of NPR's business news.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: People selling personal computers rang up higher sales last quarter. The industry research firm IDC says global shipments rose 2.3 percent. PC makers are now hoping for a better holiday season than last year. Much of the bump comes from the sales of low-cost laptops and netbooks, so higher sales do not necessarily mean higher profits.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: The different sales also mean changes in the computer global rankings. A Taiwanese PC manufacturer has now passed Dell to become the second biggest company in the world. Number one is still HP.
The industry research firm IDC says global shipments of personal computers rose 2.3 percent last quarter. That's good news for PC makers who are hoping for a better holiday season than last year. Much of the bump comes from sales of low-cost laptops and netbooks.