The seven dirtiest jobs in IT

Dan Tynan, InfoWorld

Working in IT isn't always pretty. Some of us have to get dirty -- in some cases, literally. The good news? Master one of IT's dirty jobs and you're pretty much guaranteed work. We don't guarantee you'll like it, though. Here are seven of the dirtiest jobs in IT, and why they're needed. ...continue reading 'The seven dirtiest jobs in IT'

Buggy Microsoft Excel patch causes bad math

If you installed one of those Excel security patches issued by Microsoft earlier this week, you may want to double-check your math. ...continue reading 'Buggy Microsoft Excel patch causes bad math'

Microsoft blames Xbox shortages for lagging sales

Microsoft is citing a shortage in console availability as the reason its Xbox 360 console trailed substantially behind competitors in U.S. sales for the second month in a row in February, according to the latest numbers from the NPD Group. ...continue reading 'Microsoft blames Xbox shortages for lagging sales'

India may stop short of BlackBerry ban over security

The Indian government is continuing in its demand that Research In Motion make it legally possible for the government to intercept and monitor emails on the BlackBerry service offered by Indian service providers, but it is not likely to use a ban of the service as a bargaining counter. ...continue reading 'India may stop short of BlackBerry ban over security'

Intel expects Atom desktops for $199

Taking advantage of dropping hardware prices, Intel expects to plug its newest Atom chips into desktops that will be available later this year from under $200. ...continue reading 'Intel expects Atom desktops for $199'

IT News Podcast for 3/14/08

AOL buys Bebo for $850M ... Atom desktops to start at $199 ... Trend Micro falls victim to Web attack

Report: Microsoft, Yahoo enter tentative discussions

Microsoft and Yahoo executives met for the first time on Monday to discuss Microsoft's initial $44.6 billion cash and stock bid for the company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. ...continue reading 'Report: Microsoft, Yahoo enter tentative discussions'

Wall Street Beat: IT M&A provides opportunities

Though many tech vendors are suffering as the widening U.S. financial crisis slows down consumer and business spending, IT mergers and acquisitions including bellwethers such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Electronic Arts and AOL continue to reshape the technology landscape and provide opportunities for investors. ...continue reading 'Wall Street Beat: IT M&A provides opportunities'

Arcot brings two-factor authentication to Google Apps

Arcot Systems on Wednesday announced that it was making its A-OK On-Demand authentication service available to Google Apps Premier Edition users to add another layer of security to the logon process. ...continue reading 'Arcot brings two-factor authentication to Google Apps'

Trend Micro hit by massive Web hack

Security vendor Trend Micro has fallen victim to a widespread Web attack that splashed malicious software onto hundreds of legitimate Web sites in recent days. ...continue reading 'Trend Micro hit by massive Web hack'

Microsoft to buy Rapt for ad management tools

Microsoft hasn't yet snagged Yahoo, but it plans to acquire another company it hopes will boost its online advertising yields: Rapt, of San Francisco. ...continue reading 'Microsoft to buy Rapt for ad management tools'

Red Hat buys Amentra to bolster JBoss enterprise plan

Red Hat has purchased Amentra, an IT consulting firm with open-source expertise, to sell its JBoss Java infrastructure to enterprises as the basis for SOAs (service-oriented architectures). ...continue reading 'Red Hat buys Amentra to bolster JBoss enterprise plan'

Google launches hosted ad management service

Google launched a free hosted service on Thursday that helps Web site publishers sell advertising faster and fill unsold slots on their sites. ...continue reading 'Google launches hosted ad management service'

AOL to buy Bebo for $850 million

AOL will buy Bebo, a social networking site popular in the U.K., for $850 million in cash, the companies said Thursday. ...continue reading 'AOL to buy Bebo for $850 million'

Asus predicts Windows Eee PC will outsell Linux version

Asustek Computer predicts the Eee PC it has started selling with Microsoft Windows XP Home edition on board will outsell the original Linux-based version by a ratio of 6 to 4 in the market by the end of this year, a heady prediction considering the Windows machine costs nearly twice as much as the cheapest Linux one. ...continue reading 'Asus predicts Windows Eee PC will outsell Linux version'

EBay now letting Skype be Skype, exec says

Two-and-a-half years after buying Skype, eBay has moved away from trying to create new, merged capabilities through the acquisition and is letting Skype be what it is. ...continue reading 'EBay now letting Skype be Skype, exec says'

Heart device hack a shocker

It didn't take much to hack into the heart monitoring device and get it to administer a 137-volt shock: an oscilloscope, a PC, a wireless radio with a couple of antennas and some free software. ...continue reading 'Heart device hack a shocker'

Busy Twitter a poster child for new communications

Microblogging site Twitter had its busiest day ever Tuesday and needs more than 30 servers to help its thousands of users keep each other posted about their lives, founder Blaine Cook said Wednesday. ...continue reading 'Busy Twitter a poster child for new communications'

Seattle and Silicon Valley square off

In the way that really only an online discussion can, the debate over which place is better, Seattle or Silicon Valley, has spun into a gloves-are-off, let's-take-this-outside kind of brawl. ...continue reading 'Seattle and Silicon Valley square off'

Microsoft submits Windows 7 for U.S. antitrust review

Microsoft has submitted the follow-up to Windows Vista to the committee that oversees its U.S. antitrust compliance, to ensure the operating system is meeting the terms of the company's agreement with the government. ...continue reading 'Microsoft submits Windows 7 for U.S. antitrust review'