Silverlight for iPhone next? Not quite, says Ballmer

Could Silverlight be the next Microsoft technology to work on the iPhone? Don't bet on it anytime soon, said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. ...continue reading 'Silverlight for iPhone next? Not quite, says Ballmer'

Intel prepares for EU antitrust hearing on Tuesday

Intel is preparing to defend some of its questionable business dealings with PC makers at an antitrust hearing with European regulators and competitors next week. Questions about its dealings with retailers will have to wait for another day. ...continue reading 'Intel prepares for EU antitrust hearing on Tuesday'

Samsung, Adidas take on iPod, Nike

Samsung Electronics and Adidas have joined the race against Apple and Nike to offer people a device that plays music and keeps track of workouts. ...continue reading 'Samsung, Adidas take on iPod, Nike'

Ballmer grilled on Yahoo deal in quirky Q&A

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer couldn't avoid being trampled by the elephant in the room - the company's bid to acquire Yahoo - during a quirky keynote Q&A session at the company's MIX 08 conference Thursday. ...continue reading 'Ballmer grilled on Yahoo deal in quirky Q&A'

Analysts: Google must upgrade hosted apps to appeal to IT

Google Inc. must provide stronger data models along with role-based access and records management archiving capabilities before most IT managers will take its Google Apps hosted application suite seriously, analysts said this week. ...continue reading 'Analysts: Google must upgrade hosted apps to appeal to IT'

Oops! Repetitive Strain Injury

By Sean McGrath, ITworld

Twenty five years bashing a computer keyboard has finally caught up with me I'm afraid. Movable aches and pains running up and down arms, in and out of my wrists, through my fingers, shooting pains in my shoulder and arm muscles...the works! What's a geek to do? ...continue reading 'Oops! Repetitive Strain Injury'

Gates falls to world's third richest on Forbes list

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates fell to third place on Forbes' 2008 list of the world's richest people after 13 years at number one, due largely to Microsoft's bid for Yahoo, Forbes said Wednesday. ...continue reading 'Gates falls to world's third richest on Forbes list'

IT jobs "very sexy indeed" says Commissioner Reding

The European Union's information society commissioner Viviane Reding has an idea how to make up the shortfall of 300,000 skilled information and communication technology personnel in Europe: convince young women that IT isn't just for geeks. ...continue reading 'IT jobs "very sexy indeed" says Commissioner Reding'

Cisco router comes with a water cooler

When Cisco Systems introduced its latest big line of routers on Tuesday, it threw in something that's never come in a major platform from the company before: Fun. ...continue reading 'Cisco router comes with a water cooler'

Intel to deliver six-core Xeon processor this year

Intel on Wednesday confirmed that it would ship the six-core Xeon processor in the second half of this year, putting to rest rumors about the processor's actual ship date. ...continue reading 'Intel to deliver six-core Xeon processor this year'

Microsoft debuts IE 8, aims for CSS interoperability

Microsoft on Wednesday released a host of developer technologies aimed at creating rich Internet applications (RIAs), including a beta of the next version of Internet Explorer (IE) that the company hopes will promote the development of applications that have the same look and feel across different browsers. ...continue reading 'Microsoft debuts IE 8, aims for CSS interoperability'

Retailers boost notebook sales

The trend toward users buying notebook computers instead of desktop PCs is helping boost market share for companies that have a strong retail presence, such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer, according to analysts. ...continue reading 'Retailers boost notebook sales'

Geek Comic of the Week: Pictures for Sad Children

Some harsh words for nerds in the most recent set of comics on this one. But isn't it something nerds need to hear? We'd say yes! ...read more

Ozzie: Microsoft needs Yahoo for Web, advertising plan

Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie on Wednesday attempted to clarify Microsoft's Web-based advertising and services strategy and lay a case for why buying Yahoo is integral to that plan. ...continue reading 'Ozzie: Microsoft needs Yahoo for Web, advertising plan'

Yahoo allows more time to nominate board members

Yahoo has lifted next week's deadline for nominating directors to its board, an attempt to discourage Microsoft from launching a proxy fight to replace the current board with members willing to approve its Yahoo acquisition bid. ...continue reading 'Yahoo allows more time to nominate board members'

Apple hints at enterprise future for iPhone

Apple hinted that the iPhone might become more useful to business workers during a discussion hosted by Morgan Stanley on Wednesday. ...continue reading 'Apple hints at enterprise future for iPhone'

Wi-Fi takes to the sea

While wireless Internet access has become a virtual commodity in homes and offices, exhibitors at this week's Cebit show in Hanover, Germany, are displaying wares focused on extending and optimizing the technology. ...continue reading 'Wi-Fi takes to the sea'

AT&T plans $1 billion network investment

AT&T will spend US$1 billion in 2008 to expand its IP (Internet Protocol) networks for large businesses, driven by an 'explosive surge' in data, voice and video traffic, the company said Wednesday. ...continue reading 'AT&T plans $1 billion network investment'

Apple goal of 10 million iPhone sales stays on track

Apple remains on course to sell ten million iPhones in the current financial year, senior executives told shareholders Tuesday. ...continue reading 'Apple goal of 10 million iPhone sales stays on track'

Crackpot technologies that could shake up IT

Nanotech! Pervasive computing! Wireless power! Just a few years ago, these ideas sounded like something out of a sci-fi novel, but today they're on the threshold of reality -- and will really mix things up if they come to fruition. Will 2008 be their big year? Or will they always be the next big thing? ...read more

Where Microsoft lost its way - Google obsession

Don Reisinger, ITworld.com

Microsoft has always been a software company and Google has always been an online services firm. So why are they such fierce competitors? The answer: Microsoft is jealous of Google. And that jealousy has led the company to believe it can be a bloated mess and offer a wide array of products without focusing on its core competency - software. ...continue reading 'Where Microsoft lost its way - Google obsession'

Whatever happened to Google hitting $900?

Last November, investment bank researchers were putting out glowing reports about the prospects of Google's stock going forward, pumping the stock higher. But as of the close of Nasdaq trading Tuesday, Google shares had sank to just under half the top prediction. ...continue reading 'Whatever happened to Google hitting $900?'

Microsoft's cutting edge on display at TechFest

At Microsoft's annual display of research projects, the company showed off a prototype device that actually sees, reflects and responds to your fingers touching the back of the device. ...continue reading 'Microsoft's cutting edge on display at TechFest'

Avaya awaits SDK to decide on enhanced iPhone support

Avaya is demonstrating the iPhone version of its one-X Mobile client at Cebit, but company officials have not yet decided whether to use the upcoming SDK from Apple to enhance the application. ...continue reading 'Avaya awaits SDK to decide on enhanced iPhone support'

IBM takeover of Telelogic gets European approval

The European Commission gave the go-ahead to IBM's planned takeover of Swedish software development tool vendor Telelogic on Wednesday, after an in-depth probe of the deal. ...continue reading 'IBM takeover of Telelogic gets European approval'

Sony-Ericsson phone ranks top in Greenpeace guide

A phone from Sony-Ericsson, a notebook from Sony and PCs from Dell and Hewlett Packard came top of their categories in a study of green electronics devices conducted by Greenpeace. There's little cause for celebration, though, as they only scored around half marks, leaving plenty of room for improvement. ...continue reading 'Sony-Ericsson phone ranks top in Greenpeace guide'

Samsung's new drives can give laptops 1TB of storage

To meet the growing storage needs of laptop users, Samsung Electronics on Tuesday introduced a 500G-byte hard drive that could provide a notebook PC with as much as 1T byte of storage. ...continue reading 'Samsung's new drives can give laptops 1TB of storage'

'Mebroot' proves to be a tough rootkit to crack

A rootkit uncovered in the wild in December is proving to be a real headache to detect, according to Finnish security company F-Secure. ...continue reading ''Mebroot' proves to be a tough rootkit to crack'

Google Gears comes out for mobile

Google's quest to keep browser-based applications running while offline is expanding to where it may be needed most: mobile devices. ...continue reading 'Google Gears comes out for mobile'

Facebook hires away Google online ad vice president

Sheryl Sandberg, Google's vice president of global online sales and operations, will jump to Facebook later this month to become the social-networking company's chief operating officer and help the company to grow globally. ...continue reading 'Facebook hires away Google online ad vice president'

Windows hacked in seconds via Firewire

A New Zealand security researcher has published a software tool allowing attackers to quickly gain access to Windows systems via a Firewire port. ...continue reading 'Windows hacked in seconds via Firewire'

Microsoft's European antitrust point man leaves for Apple

Apple is said to be bringing on a public affairs specialist with years of experience helping Microsoft in its battle with the European Commission's competition regulators. ...continue reading 'Microsoft's European antitrust point man leaves for Apple'

AMD launches 780 chipset for Puma, Cartwheel

Advanced Micro Devices took a step closer to the introduction of its upcoming Cartwheel and Puma chip packages with the introduction of its 780 series chipset at the Cebit exhibition in Hanover, Germany. ...continue reading 'AMD launches 780 chipset for Puma, Cartwheel'

Dell toughens up notebook line

Dell on Tuesday is expected to launch its first ruggedized notebook that meets all U.S. Department of Defense standards for durability and operation in extreme conditions. ...continue reading 'Dell toughens up notebook line'

SAP, Intel partner on new appliance

SAP and Intel are teaming up to sell an Xeon-based appliance geared to run SAP's Business All-in-One ERP (enterprise resource planning) software. ...continue reading 'SAP, Intel partner on new appliance'

Knoa 5.0 tackles end-user performance

Companies might spend millions on an SAP or Oracle implementation. Knoa aims to help businesses determine whether they are getting the most from their investment. ...continue reading 'Knoa 5.0 tackles end-user performance'

Microsoft teams with Nokia to put Silverlight on devices

In its quest to make its Silverlight technology as ubiquitous as its competitor Flash, Microsoft is moving full speed ahead to promote adoption of the technology through some strategic moves and partnerships it will highlight at its annual MIX 08 conference, including a deal with Nokia to put the technology on mobile devices. ...continue reading 'Microsoft teams with Nokia to put Silverlight on devices'

Mac attack: Vendors mull security software for OS X

Russian security vendor Kaspersky Lab has a prototype version of its virus protection software waiting in the wings in case Apple Mac OS X suddenly becomes a target of choice for hackers. ...continue reading 'Mac attack: Vendors mull security software for OS X'

Hosted SharePoint stifles partners, for now

Microsoft's announcement on Monday that it would host SharePoint for businesses of any size left some third-party software providers surprised -- and even annoyed. ...continue reading 'Hosted SharePoint stifles partners, for now'

Cisco jams features into faster WAN edge routers

Wide-area data networks, once the workhorses of e-mail and file transfers, now are expected to do a wide variety of things while being as steady as the old-fashioned phone system. On Tuesday, Cisco Systems expects to meet those new needs with a series of WAN edge routers that jump ahead of its current gear in speed and sophistication, and are based on a powerful new core processor. ...continue reading 'Cisco jams features into faster WAN edge routers'

Microsoft Workspace opens to broader availability

Microsoft is set to announce general availability of the free online component of Office on Tuesday. ...continue reading 'Microsoft Workspace opens to broader availability'

10 cubicles that are cooler than yours (and one that isn't)

If you're like most techies, you spend way too much time in your cube. Check out this series of pics that take the idea of "decorating your cube" a little too far... read more

Deutsche Telekom keeps its '4G' options open

Deutsche Telekom hasn't yet decided on a technology for its next generation mobile network, even though at Cebit it is demonstrating the LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology for speeding up 3G (third-generation) cellular networks. ...continue reading 'Deutsche Telekom keeps its '4G' options open'

Italy WiMax auction sets European record

The auction of 35 licenses will raise a European WiMax record of &136.3 million (US$205.8 million) for the Italian government, Communications Minister Paolo Gentiloni announced Thursday. The ninth round of bidding concluded Wednesday, with bids showing a 176 percent increase on the starting offers, the minister said. ...continue reading 'Italy WiMax auction sets European record'

Virgin Mobile enters India with Tata tie-up

Tata Teleservices Sunday unveiled an agreement to launch services under the Virgin Mobile brand name, aimed at youth in India. ...continue reading 'Virgin Mobile enters India with Tata tie-up'

Best practices for choosing and using managed security services

How are you managing without managed services? For Best-in-Class companies surveyed in the recent Managed Security Services Benchmark report, the answer, they aren't. All Best-in-Class companies surveyed used some managed security services as part of their security strategy. Find out which ones and why.

Microsoft expands hosted software offering for business

Microsoft said Monday it will let smaller businesses use some of its key software applications over the Internet later this year, a sign of the company's rapid move to the Internet-centric computing favored by competitors Google and Salesforce.com. ...continue reading 'Microsoft expands hosted software offering for business'

Intel announces Atom brand for Silverthorne, Menlow

Intel's Silverthorne and Diamondville chips will be called Atom and the company's Menlow platform for ultramobile computers will be renamed Centrino Atom when these products hit the market, according to a company spokesman. ...continue reading 'Intel announces Atom brand for Silverthorne, Menlow'

Ballmer: Yahoo still in Microsoft's sights

Microsoft still has its eye on Yahoo, but CEO Steve Ballmer would not say Monday whether the company plans to pursue a proxy fight to remove Yahoo's board. ...continue reading 'Ballmer: Yahoo still in Microsoft's sights'

Acer to acquire smartphone maker E-Ten

Acer, the world's third largest PC vendor, has signed an agreement to buy handheld device maker E-Ten Information Systems of Taiwan. ...continue reading 'Acer to acquire smartphone maker E-Ten'

Supported Drupal distribution on the way

Startup Acquia will release the first commercially supported distribution of Drupal, an increasingly popular open-source Web site builder/content management system, in the second half of this year. ...continue reading 'Supported Drupal distribution on the way'

Web 2.0 experts share startup lessons

It's possible to launch a successful Web startup with little money, especially if you shift your attention away from the business plan and focus on building a great Web application. ...continue reading 'Web 2.0 experts share startup lessons'

Apple slammed over programming secrets

Microsoft may not be the only software company that uses secret techniques to make its own applications work better with its operating system - a Mozilla Firefox developer has discovered similar practices at Apple. ...continue reading 'Apple slammed over programming secrets'

Teen masterminded mega-botnet

The world has been reminded that the era of the teen hacker is far from dead, with the arrest of a fresh-faced 18 year-old for allegedly masterminding a botnetting operation. ...continue reading 'Teen masterminded mega-botnet'