Wearable technology takes to the runway

Fashion and technology came together at the Boston Museum of Science, where 'Seamless: Computational Couture' was hosted. Models and designers from around the world participated in the event showing off designs that incorporated technology. ...Watch the video 'Wearable technology takes to the runway'

Unix Tip: Reassembling Very Large "split" Files

By Sandra Henry-Stocker

One of the unwritten rules of computing says that, as various storage media grow in size, so do the files that are written to them. I recently found myself staring at two files, each roughly 4 GB in size, that needed to be combined into one before the file could be decompressed and its contents extracted. What I was expecting to work with was a large cpio archive ... continue reading 'Reassembling Very Large "split" Files'

Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion

Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo for around $44.6 billion in cash and shares, to better compete with Google in the market for online services. ...continue reading 'Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion'

Read Microsoft's offer letter to Yahoo board

Terry Semel quits Yahoo board

Terry Semel is stepping down as Yahoo's non-executive chairman, six months after handing over his CEO title to Jerry Yang. ...continue reading 'Terry Semel quits Yahoo board'

Motorola may spin off mobile phone division

Motorola may spin off its handset business, the weakest part of a wireless giant that has seen hard times and a management shakeup in recent months. ...continue reading 'Motorola may spin off mobile phone division'

Flash price drop spurring innovation

A massive decline in the price of NAND flash memory, the chips that store photos in digital cameras and music in iPods, is prompting innovation among companies trying to increase sales. ...continue reading 'Flash price drop spurring innovation'

AT&T data network fails for BlackBerry, iPhone users

AT&T's wireless data networks in the Southeast and Midwest U.S. are down, causing BlackBerry and iPhone users to be without data services. ...continue reading 'AT&T data network fails for BlackBerry, iPhone users'

Large block in 700MHz auction meets reserve price

A nationwide block of spectrum in the 700MHz band being auctioned by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission received a high bid exceeding the 'reserve,' or minimum, price of $4.6 billion on Thursday morning. ...continue reading 'Large block in 700MHz auction meets reserve price'

Amazon buys Audible for $300 million

Amazon.com has begun a new chapter in its battle for customers' ears: it has agreed to pay $300 million for Audible, a seller of audio books that has a close relationship with Apple. ...continue reading 'Amazon buys Audible for $300 million'

Google slams Autonomy over enterprise search claims

Google is firing back at enterprise search vendor Autonomy, saying the company recently distributed a white paper that contains 'significant inaccuracies' about Google's Search Appliance. ...continue reading 'Google slams Autonomy over enterprise search claims'

Fraudsters use malware to direct users to phishing sites

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) has reported a sharp rise in malware that directs users to DNS (Domain Name System) servers controlled by phishers. ...continue reading 'Fraudsters use malware to direct users to phishing sites'

Swedes file charges against Pirate Bay four

Swedish prosecutor Håkan Roswall today filed charges against four people for involvement in running The Pirate Bay, one of the most widely used BitTorrent trackers for illegally distributed music, movies and software in the world. ...continue reading 'Swedes file charges against Pirate Bay four'

PC makers to adopt chips used in MacBook Air

Processors specially developed by Intel for Apple's new MacBook Air laptop will soon be used by other PC vendors in systems, possibly creating competition for what Apple calls the world's lightest and thinnest notebook. ...continue reading 'PC makers to adopt chips used in MacBook Air'

FTC goes after alleged MySpace hijackers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to require an alleged Web page hijacking operation to obey previous orders barring unfair and deceptive practices. ...continue reading 'FTC goes after alleged MySpace hijackers'

Mozilla ups Firefox bug threat, slates fix for Feb. 5

Mozilla Corp. bumped up the threat ranking for an unpatched Firefox bug to 'high' Tuesday, but promised a fix is coming in Version 2.0.0.12, now slated for release on Feb. 5. ...continue reading 'Mozilla ups Firefox bug threat, slates fix for Feb. 5'

Apple MacBook Air laptops ship, but no stock in stores

Apple Inc. announced Wednesday that it has begun shipping the first MacBook Air laptops to customers, but acknowledged that a planned update to Apple TV has been delayed for up two weeks. ...continue reading 'Apple MacBook Air laptops ship, but no stock in stores'

Is $.20 enough to stop domain tasters? ICANN thinks so

A proposal by the overseer of the Internet's addressing system could make it a lot easier for people to reserve the domain name they want for their Web site. ...continue reading 'Is $.20 enough to stop domain tasters? ICANN thinks so'

New attack proves critical Windows bug 'highly exploitable'

Security researchers Tuesday said they'd discredited Microsoft's claim that the year's first critical Windows vulnerability would be 'difficult and unlikely' to be exploited by attackers. ...continue reading 'New attack proves critical Windows bug is highly exploitable'

Congress extends surveillance law for 15 days

Following an appeal from President George W. Bush on Monday, the U.S. Congress has granted a temporary extension to a controversial law that allows the government to conduct telephone surveillance on suspected terrorists. ...continue reading 'Congress extends surveillance law for 15 days'

FTC settles with advertiser for spam campaign

An online advertiser that drove traffic to its Web sites by sending out spam with misleading subject lines has agreed to settle a U.S. Federal Communications Commission complaint charging that it failed to tell consumers they had to spend money to receive so-called free products, the FTC announced Wednesday. ...continue reading 'FTC settles with advertiser for spam campaign'

E.U. lawmakers question telecom regulation proposal

Controversial aspects of the European Commission's plan to increase competition throughout the European Union telecommunications sector came under heavy fire late Tuesday by the industry committee of the European Parliament. ...continue reading 'E.U. lawmakers question telecom regulation proposal'

EnterpriseWizard offers customizable CRM

EnterpriseWizard this week is releasing the 2.0 version of its CRM application, a product built on top of its SaaSWizard Web application development platform and designed to be easily customizable. ...continue reading 'EnterpriseWizard offers customizable CRM'

Microsoft to stay under court's eye for two more years

Microsoft's compliance with a U.S. antitrust settlement will remain under court supervision for another two years, in part because the company delayed producing documentation required by the court, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. ...continue reading 'Microsoft to stay under court's eye for two more years'

MySpace to launch developer platform next week

MySpace Wednesday will begin letting programmers pre-register for its developer platform program, which will open for business next week. ...continue reading 'MySpace to launch developer platform next week'

SAP profit drops 6 percent in fourth quarter

SAP reported a 10 percent rise in revenue for the fourth quarter, but earnings fell 6 percent compared to a year earlier, dragged down in part by the cost of launching Business ByDesign, a new offering for the mid-market, the company said Wednesday. ...continue reading 'SAP profit drops 6 percent in fourth quarter'

Yahoo's Q4 sales up, profit down

Yahoo's fourth-quarter revenue grew, but net income fell as the struggling Internet giant tried to put its house in order and improve its ability to compete against Google and other rivals. ...continue reading 'Yahoo's Q4 sales up, profit down'

Stanford center turns to Sun Blackbox for extra capacity

When the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center wanted to increase its computing capacity last year it considered a satellite datacenter or an extension to the existing building, but in the end it chose a faster and more novel approach: it ordered a datacenter in a box. ...continue reading 'Stanford center turns to Sun Blackbox for extra capacity'

Sprint said to be back in WiMax talks with Clearwire

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are back in talks about a possible WiMax joint venture after a previous attempt to work together fell apart last year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. ...continue reading 'Sprint said to be back in WiMax talks with Clearwire'

IBM adds Linux apps support to Unix servers

IBM has added a new capability to its virtualization platform that will allow Linux applications to run on IBM's Unix servers, the company announced Tuesday. ...continue reading 'IBM adds Linux apps support to Unix servers'

Windows Tip: WMIC and non-admins

By Mitch Tulloch, Microsoft MVP

More on Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC), a powerful tool that lets you query Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) providers directly from the command line or using batch files, and if you're an administrator then it's well worth your while exploring its capabilities. ...continue reading 'WMIC and non-admins'

Learn to love simple electronic filing systems

By Sean McGrath, ITworld

A simple remedy might be all you need to organize your information rather than resorting to an overly complicated database management system. ...continue reading 'Learn to love simple electronic filing systems'

EBay unveils lower fees and tighter seller standards

EBay unveiled changes to its online marketplace Tuesday that the company characterizes as sweeping and historic and that are aimed at boosting sales by making the shopping experience simpler and safer. ...continue reading 'EBay unveils lower fees and tighter seller standards'

New Microsoft Word attacks pose as news about Tibet

New attacks using rigged Microsoft Word documents have been launched, a security company said Tuesday as it warned users to be leery of mail touting news about Tibet. ...continue reading 'New Microsoft Word attacks pose as news about Tibet'

Trend Micro stresses 'tested' patent in trade case

Barracuda Networks plans to focus on finding prior art to defend itself and the open-source ClamAV project against patent claims by rival antivirus vendor Trend Micro, which stressed Tuesday that it owns a tested and valid patent. ...continue reading 'Trend Micro stresses 'tested' patent in trade case'

Google fixes Gmail IMAP problem on Windows Mobile

Google said it has fixed a problem that was causing Windows Mobile phone users to receive blank Gmail messages. ...continue reading 'Google fixes Gmail IMAP problem on Windows Mobile'

NY AG pushes e-safety bill, Facebook, MySpace back it

New York's attorney general and state legislative leaders presented a bill on Tuesday aimed at protecting people from sexual predators on the Internet, as Facebook, MySpace and Yahoo backed the effort. ...continue reading 'NY AG pushes e-safety bill, Facebook, MySpace back it'

European court strikes blow against music industry

In a blow against the music industry, the European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that E.U. countries don't have to require Internet service providers to reveal subscriber data for use in civil cases. ...continue reading 'European court strikes blow against music industry'

EBay to unveil lower fees and tighter seller standards

EBay is expected to unveil changes to its online marketplace Tuesday that the company characterizes as sweeping and historic and that are aimed at boosting sales by making the shopping experience simpler and safer. ...continue reading 'EBay to unveil lower fees and tighter seller standards'

Intel likely to reveal details of Silverthorne next week

Intel will offer a detailed look at a new processor next week during a presentation at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) that should set the stage for an unexpectedly close battle with Taiwan's Via Technologies. ...continue reading 'Intel likely to reveal details of Silverthorne next week'

Open Solutions Alliance creating European office

The Open Solutions Alliance (OSA) is adding a chapter based in Europe, the group is expected to announce Tuesday. ...continue reading 'Open Solutions Alliance creating European office'

Bloggers: Early version of Windows 7 leaked to Web

Reports surfaced over the weekend that an early version of Windows 7 has appeared on the Web, but so far only a couple of users claim to have seen the OS, and Microsoft won't confirm such a version exists. ...continue reading 'Bloggers: Early version of Windows 7 leaked to Web'

MacBook Air add-ons hit Apple stores

With the ultra-thin MacBook Air reaching stores soon, Apple is selling accessories that make up for the laptop's skimpy features. Apple is already taking orders for a slim external optical drive and an Ethernet adapter, both designed for the MacBook Air, that plug into the laptop's only USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. The accessories are designed to match Air's slim footprint, Apple said. Belkin and WaterField Designs are also cashing in, announcing notebook bags designed for the unconventional MacBook Air. ...continue reading 'MacBook Air add-ons hit Apple stores'

PayPal buys Fraud Sciences for $169M

EBay's online payments division, PayPal, will pay $169 million for an Israeli security company specializing in detecting online fraud, the companies said Monday. The deal should close within 30 days. ...continue reading 'PayPal buys Fraud Sciences for $169M'

Swedish prosecutors close in on The Pirate Bay

Swedish prosecutors have until Thursday to file charges against The Pirate Bay, one of the most widely used search engines for locating music and movies on the Internet. ...continue reading 'Swedish prosecutors close in on The Pirate Bay'

Cisco's Nexus forms core of data-center drive

As servers and storage start to merge into unified, virtualized systems, Cisco wants to do the same thing with the networks that connect them. ...continue reading 'Cisco's Nexus forms core of data-center drive'

It's hard to overstate how important the Nexus data-center switching platform is to Cisco Systems: for the dominant networking vendor's enterprise business, it's the biggest thing since the Catalyst 6000, which made its debut in 1999, according to the two key executives on the project. ...continue reading 'Cisco's Nexus is big -- and a big deal'

Nokia to buy software developer Trolltech for $153M

Nokia has offered to buy Trolltech, the Norwegian developer of a widely used application framework, for 844 million Norwegian kroner (US$153 million) in cash. Nokia hopes the Trolltech development team will give its own software efforts a boost. ...continue reading 'Nokia to buy software developer Trolltech for $153M'

Gartner: HD DVD price cuts only prolong agony

Price cuts by Toshiba on its HD DVD players in the U.S. earlier this month may prove to be 'useless resistance' in the battle against the rival Blu-ray Disc optical disc format, according to Gartner. ...continue reading 'Gartner: HD DVD price cuts only prolong agony'

Progress Software views BPM with Actional SOA tool

Progress Software is launching its Progress Actional 7.1 SOA management platform Monday, featuring visibility across business processes and into related services and IT infrastructure. ...continue reading 'Progress Software views BPM with Actional SOA tool'

Hackers hit Scientology with online attack

A group of hackers calling itself 'Anonymous' has hit the Church of Scientology's Web site with an online attack. ...continue reading 'Hackers hit Scientology with online attack'

Lenovo enters the server business

Lenovo announced its intent to jump into the server business by licensing x86 server technology from IBM, helping extend its product offerings to small and medium-sized businesses. ...continue reading 'Lenovo enters the server business'

Microsoft ships second refresh for Vista SP1

Microsoft released a refresh of its first service pack for Vista to beta testers on Thursday, indicating the final release might be near. ...continue reading 'Microsoft ships second refresh for Vista SP1'

Palm to close retail stores

Palm plans to close its retail stores in an effort to focus on fewer programs and better compete, the company said on Thursday. ...continue reading 'Palm to close retail stores'